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Beverages That Are Good For You

It’s almost time for summer in the nothern part of the world.  That means people will likely be drinking a lot more.  People are apt to be more thirsty during hot weather since the body loses fluids.

Consuming a soft drink full of sugar and chemicals isn’t a good way to replace lost fulids.  You don’t need artificial ingredients, high fructose corn syrup or massive amounts of other sweeteners, because there are lots of healthy beverages these days.

Yerba Mate is A Healthy Energy Drink 

Why not give Yerba Mate a try instead of a stew of chemicals?  It has 24 vitamins and minerals, 15 amino acids, and abundant antioxidants, making it a great natural alternative that also boosts energy.

One of the healthiest and most commonly used stimulants in the world, Yerba mate provides both energy and nutrition.  Yerba mate is a natural food full of vitamins, minerals and other nutrients.

It makes a great iced tea and is available in many flavors.  It’s also economical, because unlike most teas, the leaves can be infused several times since it does not become bitter when steeped for extended periods.

Besides loose leaf tea and as tea bags, Yerba mate comes already bottled and in lattes.

Another Tea For Good Health

Green tea is wonderful as a cold drink.Because it has antioxidants, it’s also a good health food.  Green tea is made from the steamed leaves of Camellia sinensis. It not only quenches your thirst, it’s a great energy drink!  Shown by research to boost the metabolic rate, green tea also increases mental alertness.  For a flavorful alternative to plain water, give it a try.  To satisfy your thirst, healthy tea is a super choice!

Juices And More 

Try fruit juice mixed with a sparkling water for something different.  Vegetable juices, other teas and milk are also good healthy drinks.  There are all kinds of recipes out there for healthy beverages. 

Water, Water Everywhere 

Plain water is probably the most healthy beverage available, provided it’s pure.  Many bottled waters are no better than what you get from your tap, so buy a water filter for your home as an economical alternative.

For water on the go, there are great reusable water bottles available these days.  Have a healthy beverage available wherever you go by filling them with filtered water.

Be Kind To Your Body

Green tea, Yerba mate, and other drinks full of nutrients are a better choice, avoiding drinks made with synthetic chemicals.  So when you need a drink to quench your thirst, reach for a healthy tea or some other healthy beverage and forget the soft drinks!

Tagged As: drinks, health food, healthy beverages, juice, tea, water, yerba mate

Vegetable Drinks

We are all familiar with vegetable drinks like Tomato Juice and V-8 Cocktail. Are they a good way to get some high quality nutrients? Probably not the best, especially since they lack most, if not all, the fiber content. They also contain LARGE amounts of sodium.

Try making your own vegetable drinks, or vegetable smoothies. Here are some sample recipes. By using raw vegetables you get ALL the nutrients, AND the fiber.

You will need a juicer for these, unless you soften the harder vegetables and then a blender will do. Just don’t use any processes that see some of the goodness thrown out. For example, my best juicer separates the juice from the pulp. I then take at least some of the pulp and use a blender to add it back to the juice. The pulp has too much goodness (and fiber) in it to just throw away.

I have 2 juicers. A small powered (and relatively inexpessive) one, and a heavier duty Champion juicer. The Champion is more powerful and much easier to clean. When you buy a juicer, try to get a look at all the parts, especially the parts that grind or crush items like carrots. Picture how easy or hard they will be to clean.

Vegetable Smoothie

• 1 cup plain yogurt
• 6 ice cubes
• 1 cucumber, peeled and chopped
• 1 small tomato, chopped
• 1 celery stalk, chopped
• 1 small handful spinach or romaine leaves
• 1 tablespoon minced onion
• salt and pepper to taste (careful with that salt!)

Carrot Apple Smoothie

• To start, just juice some carrots and apples together. Experiment with quantities to get a nice taste. (just don’t cut out too many of the carrots!)
• Next, add some other interesting items, like beets, celery, cucumbers, radishes, onions, strawberries, or cranberries. Maybe even some hot peppers! One author I read of even uses turnips and parsnips. I have not tried adding those, but obviously experimentation is fine.

Have fun drinking your vegetables!

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Tagged As: juice, smoothies, vegetable