Cold & Flu Drink

If you got sick despite all the precautions you took, here is a great drink that will boost your immune response and relieve your congestion. Now if you, like everyone, after the ingredient list go " oh, gross!" bear with me! Everybody I have come across has that same reaction. Then I make the drink for them, convince them to try a sip and they go "wow, that's not bad, wow, that's kind of good, I like it"....

So give it a try, you can always ditch if you really don't like it, all you have to lose is an orange and your cold...

Ingredients:

1 orange
1 teaspoon of honey
1 clove of garlic
1 piece of ginger (about the size of 1 clove of garlic)
1 pinch of cayenne pepper
hot water

: Finished Drink

Preparation:

Squeeze orange, pour juice and pulp into glass or cup
Squeeze garlic, add to cup
Peel and grate ginger on fine grater (lemon zester), add to cup
Add one pinch of cayenne pepper
Fill remainder of the cup with very hot water
Add 1 teaspoon of honey
Stir well

Enjoy!

Make sure to swallow all the bits and pieces. Stirring as you drink will make that easier.

Feel better soon!

Balinese Coconut Rice

This is a delicious breakfast dish I learned how to make when I visited Bali many years ago. It is easy to make and liked by all! I changed the ingredients just a bit to make it really healthy. Instead of using coconut milk only, I use coconut water and just a bit of coconut milk. If you want more creaminess without the fat, use a bit of vanilla soymilk. Because it takes a bit of time to make it, (about 45 minutes) I recommend you plan to make it on a leisurely weekend morning.

Ingredients:

1 Cup Black forbidden rice (in bulk at whole foods)
1/3 can light coconut milk (trader joe's)
1 cup coconut water trader joe's)
Unsweetened vanilla soymilk (optional)
Walnuts - handful
1 large banana - sliced
Dried,shredded coconut - handful
1 cup Water

Preparation:

Put rice in medium size pan
Add coconut water and water
Put on full heat, almost bringing it to a boil ~ lower heat, just like you would if you made regular brown rice
Add coconut milk
Add more water as needed or vanilla soy milk (soy milk makes it creamier)
After about 30 minutes add walnuts, banana and coconut.
Continue to cook until rice is soft, about 10-15 more minutes

I don't add any sweetener to the dish, I don't like foods that are overly sweet, and the bananas give the dish a natural sweetness. If you need to, you can add a tad of maple syrup at the end.

The dish can be served warm or cold.

Enjoy!