Refreshing Green Iced Tea

Finally the sun then reappeared in the Netherlands! Of course we are all very happy, and fortunately I was able to work from home today. That means I get up just as early, but I'm also done on time which means I can relax on my balcony with some magazines, fresh fruit and homemade iced tea. So I made a can this morning!

I drank it in this beautiful quilted mason jar of 500ml available at www.masonmadness.com.

The recipe for 1 liter:

Homemade Healthy Chocolate Milk

In the Netherlands it's almost 'Sinterklaas' (Sint Nicolaas) which means that at 5 december kids will get presents and till that time eat a lot of spice nuts ('pepernoten'), chocolate letters and chocolate milk. So I was looking to make a more healthy version for chocolate milk since I try to avoid eating and drinking too much dairy products. So I don't drink as much cow's milk as a year ago. I choose to incorporate alternatives for milk into my diet like almond milk and coconut milk. You can also try soy milk or rice milk but I prefer almond and coconut. I always make my morning oats with almond milk!

But I always have loved chocolate milk, but the store bought ones contain too many unnecessary food additives and sugars. So how can you make your chocolate milk somewhat more healthy and enjoy it without feeling guilty? Well it's really easy! Sure it doesn't taste exactly the same but it's still good!

Just poor in one cup of unsweetened almond milk. In a small bowl mix 1 tbs cocoa powder with 10 ml agave syrup, 1/4 ts vanilla extract and 1 tbs of water until it's a chocolate syrup. Add 1 tbs of this syrup to the milk, heat it for 1 minute and 30 seconds in your microwave and it's done!

Superb Spinach Smoothie

Up till now I only posted one smoothie recipe: the strawberry smoothie! So it was about time I posted another one. I had some leftover spinach and a lot of pears and bananas since these were on sale so I decided to put them all together in a smoothie after my workout and it was absolutely delicious!!! Didn't expect this at all because the idea of spinach in my smoothie just didn't seem right. But it was perfect! It's the perfect post workout smoothie due to the added quark, but if you want a dairy free version just omit it. You can also have it as breakfast!

The ingredients for 1 smoothie:

• 1 banana
• 1 pear
• handful spinach
• 1 tbs coconut grater
• 1/2 tbs chia seeds
• splash of water
• 2-3 tbs quark or (greek) yoghurt
• And on top: some linseeds, chia seeds, coconut grater, pumpkin seeds and 1 crushed pecan

What you do:

Just mix all the ingredients, expect for the ones on top, in your blender until smooth. If it's too thick just add some more water. Poor it into a glass, top with the linseeds, chia seeds, coconut grater, pumpkin seeds and crushed pecan and this delicious superb spinach smoothie is ready!

Enjoy!

Hydration!

Hydration is a key aspect of healthy living! You need to drink about 2 liters of water every day since
the human body loses water trough perspiration, urine (we produce about 1.5 liters of urine everyday) and evaporation (we lose about 0.5 liter of water just by exhaling)!  Since the human body contains large amounts of water it also makes use of it in almost every process in your body. Water helps to transport nutrients to your cells, it passes trough your kidneys making sure that they have the capacity to filter your blood system of by-products, it is essential in maintaining your body temperature and it's necessary in your whole digestive system. Frequently mentioned complaints related to insufficient water intake include: higher fat storage, constipation, kidney stones, headache, muscle pain and more.

Still, many people, including myself have trouble drinking enough water, especially on busy days! So a tip that works for me is always making sure that you have a small bottle of water (0.5 liter) with you in your bag or on your desk. Or if possible a large bottle! And when you exercise also take a bottle with you because then you lose even more water which needs to be supplemented.

But only drinking plane water during the day can get a little bit boring. So the solution is to make your own flavored water. My favorite is lemon-lime-mint water. Adding lemon or lime to your water helps flush out some of the toxins that are build up in your body. Lemon also alkalizes the body and provides among others vitamin C, B, magnesium, iron, potassium! The fresh mint leaves are rich in vitamin C, helps calm your digestive system and relieves headaches. It's also very refreshing and adds some sweetness!

The ingredients:

• 1 liter of water
• 1 scrubbed lemon 
• 1 scrubbed lime
• 2 fresh mint sprigs

Directions:

1. Put the water in a large bottle. Cut the lime and 1/2 lemon into slices or parts and add to the water bottle. 
2. Squeeze the juice of the other half of the lemon into the water and add the mint sprigs and give it a good stir. 
3. Leave in your refrigerator so you have access to it during the day! If it's too strong in flavors after a couple of hours just add some more water. If you keep the bottle with you on your table add some ice cubes.

Tip: You can also add some cucumber slices, ginger or fruit to your water to change it up. 

Recipe: Strawberry smoothie

I love smoothies in the weekends! I think they are a great way to make sure you eat you're 2 pieces of fruit a day and this one is dairy free!

The ingredients for 1 glass (if you want more just double the ingredients):

• 10 medium size strawberries
• 1/2 banana
• 100 ml unsweetened natural almond milk 
• 1 tablespoon of grated coconut
• 1 teaspoon chiaseeds

Directions:

Just put all the ingredients (besides 2 strawberries) in your blender and blend until smooth and yummie! If the smoothie is too thick just add a little bit more almond milk until it has the consistency you like!

Enjoy!