Tag: vitamin c

A Choc-Orange Slice recipe

Today I’m sharing another recipe, this time featuring Oranges.

At this time of the year our orange trees are full of fruit and I like to find different ways of using it.

What I like about this recipe is that it uses the whole fruit and nothing is wasted. You get every bit of nutrition out of the fruit.

I have previously written about the health benefits of Oranges, of which there are many.

As is usually the way with many fruits, eating an orange is healthier than just drinking the juice. With this recipe, you eat the peel as well, which actually contains higher amounts of some nutrients than the flesh.

This slice is wheat free and almost dairy free (the eggs) and tastes amazing when served a little warm with cream or yoghurt.

 Choc-Orange Slice

Makes 16 pieces

 Ingredients

2 whole organic oranges (about 400gm weight)

4 large eggs

100 gms desiccated coconut

75 gms almond meal

100 gms rapadura sugar

2 tbsp maple syrup (or rice malt syrup)

3 tbsp cacao

2 tsp bi carb soda (or baking powder)

 Method

  • Wash oranges and put them in a large saucepan, covering them with water. (Put a small plate on top of the oranges to stop them floating.)
  • Bring to boil, and then simmer for approximately 40 minutes till the skins have softened.
  • Take the oranges from the water, cut them into quarters and allow to cool.
  • Remove any pips and place the pieces into a food processor.
  • Process till you have a smooth pulp.
  • Add the eggs and maple syrup processing till just mixed.
  • Add the dry ingredients and process till combined.
  • Pour the mixture into a prepared 20 x 20 cm tin and bake at 180* for approx. 1 hr until firm to the touch.
  • Allow the slice to cool a while before removing it from the tin and cutting into squares.

** Variations **

  • If you have a nut allergy you can swap out the almond meal for more coconut.
  • If you don’t want the chocolate, just leave it out.

A bit about Orange peel

Although orange peels are edible, they are not nearly as sweet or as juicy as the pulp.

It may surprise you that the skins have about four times more health benefits than the actual orange fruit that we eat.

Orange peel actually has more fibre than the fruit inside. The pith of the orange — the white part between the skin and fruit — can be sour or bitter but actually contains just as much vitamin C as the fruit itself.

The orange peel contains flavonoids and other phyto-chemicals that are highly beneficial for our health. Flavonoids are antioxidant compounds that help prevent chronic diseases such as cancer and heart diseases.

Orange peels contain several B vitamins, vitamins A and C. In addition, the peel contains considerable amounts of copper, calcium and magnesium.

(Sources:  www.livescience.com, www.manipalhospitals.com, www.articles.mercola.com)

Also keep in mind, that unless you’re eating peel from an organic orange, it could be covered in chemicals.

I hope you enjoy this slice as much as we do.

Till the next post,

Live clean n Prosper

Passion fruit & a great recipe

Todays post is about Passion fruit. We have a very healthy passion fruit vine on a shared fence at the moment, so we have a good supply of fruit.

I really like passion fruit, though not always with the seeds. It is also a good source of nutrients, especially fibre, and vitamins C and A. So I decided to make some nectar.

After harvesting a dozen fruit off the vine, which were all ready to eat. I put the pulp from all of the fruit into the blender and pulsed it for a couple of seconds. To seperate the seeds, I then put the mixture in a sieve over a bowl and rubbed the nectar through the sieve to remove the seeds. This made approximately 250 ml of passion fruit nectar. The nectar is really versatile; you can mix it with soda water for a refreshing drink of pour it over ice cream.

I decided to make a really easy Chia Mousse. Something healthy enough to have for breakfast and yummy enough to eat for dessert.

 Passion fruit Coconut Chia Mousse

serves 1

  • 70 ml Coconut Cream
  • 60 ml milk or water (or non dairy milk)
  • 3 tablespoons Passion fruit nectar
  • ¼ cup Chia seeds

Just mix all of the ingredients together, pour into a glass and refrigerate till set. (approx. 1hr)

Top with the pulp of 1 passion fruit.

 The passion fruit health profile.

Passion fruit is a beneficial fruit. It contains high levels of vitamin A, vitamin C, Beta-carotene, Magnesium, Iron, Potassium, Phosphorus, Niacin, and approximately 2 grams of fibre.

It’s also rich in beneficial plant compounds, including antioxidants such as carotenoids and polyphenols. In fact, one analysis found that passion fruit was richer in polyphenols than many other tropical fruits.

Polyphenols are plant compounds that have a range of antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects. This means they may protect against chronic inflammation and diseases like heart disease and cancer.

Antioxidants play a vital role in keeping the body systems healthy. Scientists know that antioxidants improve blood flow, specifically to the brain and nervous system.

Beta-carotene is also an important antioxidant. In your body, it is converted to vitamin A, which is essential for preserving good eyesight.

Our body doesn’t usually absorb iron from plants very well. However, the iron in passion fruit comes with a lot of vitamin C, which is known to enhance iron’s absorption.

Vitamin C is an important antioxidant that you need to get from your diet. It helps support a healthy immune system and healthy ageing.

For such a small fruit, passion fruit is packed with nutrients that our body needs.

 The Chia seeds

I have written before that Chia can be considered a legitimate super food because of its nutrient content. The seeds are full of healthful omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids; they have high levels of protein, fibre, and no cholesterol. They also contain several minerals in significant amounts, including calcium, phosphorous, potassium, zinc, copper, and manganese.

 So for a super easy, very nutritious snack, give this recipe a try.

 Till the next post,

 Live clean n prosper.

Alcohol and the body.

Todays post is about how our body, or more specifically the liver, deals with alcohol.

Many of us indulge in an alcoholic beverage on a regular basis. Some people indulge more regularly and in greater quantities than others. Most of us know the basics of what happens in our bodies when we drink alcohol.

Scott has recently covered this subject in his studies and I thought it was interesting. I decided to learn more details and share this information.

How the alcohol is initially absorbed.

Alcohol absorption begins in the stomach. However, it is absorbed much more rapidly in the small intestine due to the larger surface area. So, the longer the alcohol remains in the stomach, the slower the rise in the blood alcohol level. Fatty acids slow down the movement of food through the stomach. Therefore the consumption of foods higher in fats will slow the rise of blood alcohol. This will also give time for the enzyme alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) to start breaking down the alcohol.

Alcohol dehydrogenase is our primary defence against alcohol, a toxic molecule that compromises the function of our nervous system. The high levels of alcohol dehydrogenase in our liver and stomach detoxify about one drink (10grams of alcohol) each hour.

Once the alcohol enters the blood stream, it goes directly from the digestive tract to the liver.

The science

In the liver there is more alcohol dehydrogenase to break down ethanol in the blood. The alcohol dehydrogenase breaks alcohol down into another compound, acetaldehyde. Next, another enzyme, called aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH) breaks it down further into acetate, another metabolite.

This can then be converted to Acetyl coenzyme A, (acetyl-CoA), an important molecule used in metabolic processes. It is primarily used by the body for energy production and is an essential component in balancing carbohydrate and fat metabolism

 What does this mean?

On those occasions when we consume alcoholic beverages while eating pizza and deep fried foods, followed by cake and ice cream, the body deals with the alcohol first.

This is because the liver recognises the alcohol as the most toxic substance in the body at the time.

So while the liver is dealing with the alcohol, the fats and sugars are getting pushed into the blood stream to wait. This also means that the liver will first break down the alcoholic beverage into its main components and then dealing with the alcohol first.

The liver requires certain essential nutrients from the body to do its job. It also works through the toxins in 2 phases. If there are not enough nutrients available for the liver to do its job, this causes the by-products to hang around for a lot longer in between the phases. This can then cause other issues.

 Supporting the liver

It is possible to provide support to the liver so that it can metabolise alcohol more effectively, therefore reducing long-term damage.

The 2 phases of detoxification require different nutrients.

Phase 1 requires B group vitamins, Folic acid, Glutathione, Antioxidants, Carotenoids, vitamins E and vitamin C.

Phase 2 requires Amino Acids (Glutamine, Glycine, Taurine & Cystine) and sulphurated phytochemicals found in garlic and cruciferous vegetables (broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage & Brussels sprouts)

There are also certain compounds available that may be helpful.

  • Grape seed extract is a well-known antioxidant that assists liver function.
  • Grapefruit seed extract increases gastric protection
  • Vitamin C
  • Zinc
  • Curcumin (found in Turmeric)

Current Australian health guidelines state “For healthy men and women, drinking no more than two standard drinks on any day reduces the lifetime risk of harm from alcohol-related disease or injury.” (NHMRC 2009) Sources – Principles of Anatomy & Physiology by Gerard J Totora/Bryan Derrickson, https://en.wikipedia.org, https://pdb101.rcsb.org

With this in mind, a good diet consisting of whole, unprocessed foods goes a long way in supporting the liver. Many of the nutrients essential for optimal liver function are found in fresh fruit and vegetables.

I hope you found this information interesting.

Till the next post,

Live clean n prosper