Mangoes are all the Rage this Summer

Mangoes Here ...Mangoes There ...Mangoes, Mangoes Everywhere..

I love Mangoes and today I made up a Mango Black Bean Salsa for dinner. The recipe can be found at our sister blog Recipes 4 Shweet Living.
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Mangos taste so good that people forget they are also healthy!  Discover how the “king of fruits” can help you, plus fascinating trivia and a few mango cautions and concerns.

Health Benefits:

1.  Prevents Cancer: Research has shown antioxidant compounds in mango fruit have been found to protect against colon, breast, leukemia and prostate cancers. These compounds include quercetin, isoquercitrin, astragalin, fisetin, gallic acid and methylgallat, as well as the abundant enzymes.

2.  Lowers Cholesterol: The high levels of fiber, pectin and vitamin C help to lower serum cholesterol levels, specifically Low-Density Lipoprotein (the bad stuff)

3.  Clears the Skin: Can be used both internally and externally for the skin. Mangos clear clogged pores and eliminate pimples. (Read more on page 5.)

4.  Eye Health: One cup of sliced mangoes supplies 25 percent of the needed daily value of vitamin A, which promotes good eyesight and prevents night blindness and dry eyes.

5.  Alkalizes the Whole Body: The tartaric acid, malic acid, and a trace of citric acid found in the fruit help to maintain the alkali reserve of the body.

6. Helps in Diabetes: Mango leaves help normalize insulin levels in the blood.  The traditional home remedy involves boiling leaves in water, soaking through the night and then consuming the filtered decoction in the morning. Mango fruit also have a relatively low glycemic index (41-60) so moderate quantities will not spike your sugar levels.

7. Improved Sex: Mangos are a great source of vitamin E. Even though the popular connection between sex drive and vitamin E was originally created by a mistaken generalization on rat studies, further research has shown balanced proper amounts (as from whole food) does help in this area.

8. Improves Digestion: Papayas are not the only fruit that contain enzymes for breaking down protein. There are several fruits, including mangoes, which have this healthful quality. The fiber in mangos also helps digestion and elimination.

9. Remedy for Heat Stroke: Juicing the fruit from green mango and mixing with water and a sweetener helps to cool down the body and prevent harm to the body. From an ayurvedic viewpoint, the reason people often get diuretic and exhausted when visiting equatorial climates is because the strong “sun energy” is burning up your body, particularly the muscles.  The kidneys then become overloaded with the toxins from this process. ****Use Coconut water with Mango to balance without having to add a sweetener. ****

10. Boosts Immune system The generous amounts of vitamin C and vitamin A in mangos, plus 25 different kinds of carotenoids keep your immune system healthy and strong.

Info from an Article by Diana Herrington

Fennel, Beet, Prickly Pear Pick Me Up Juice Recipe

Now if the title of this new recipe has not scared you away I would love to share with you this Smooth Morning Juice I came up with today. Let's go back to my last visit to the Farmer's Market. While we were there I decided to pick up at least 2 items I have never juiced before and create a new recipe. So the two new items are Fennel and Prickly Pears or cactus.  I brought them home and started my journey of creating a new recipe not only for good taste but also for the healing properties.

Health Benefits

What can Fennel can do for you... It's main aid is on your digestion. It will help to regulate you as well as in reliving nausea, indigestion, constipation and flatulence. You can also use fennel to detox your body as it works as a natural tonic for your kidneys, liver and spleen. It has a very sweet licorice taste which can be controlled by the amount of fennel you use and also by the other produce you juice along side it.

Prickly Pear,  Cactus, Nopales different name for the same plant. This fruit of a cactus plant, really interests me as I have high cholesterol and have worked long and hard to lower it with proper diet and without the use of medicines. Cactus has polysaccharides fibers which help to lower LDL Cholesterol (the bad kind) and triglycerides (fat cells). It also high antioxidants which is always a good thing.

So now that I know about my two new produce and the benefits so next the big thing...

HOW DO THEY TASTE?

Both the Fennel which tastes like licorice and the Nopales or Prickly Pear which really has no taste maybe a slight vanilla taste will work well in many combos. The Nopales when juiced is slightly thick....I thought it might be slimy but I was pleasantly surprised to find when I juiced the green cactus the juice was clear, slightly thick and lightly flavored. I decided to add it to one of my morning juice recipes and                                          see how it taste. I was not disappointed  Oh let me say I do NOT like licorice AT ALL. BUT the fennel juice is not overly sweet and when added to the right combo of other juices it accents and did not over power.

Fennel, Beet, Prickly Pear 

Pick Me Up Morning Juice

1 Cup Cranberries
6 Large Strawberries

2 Bartlett Pears

1 Large Beet

1 Prickly Pear (Cactus)

1 Fennel Bulb

1 Large Gala Apple
1 Large Granny Smith Apple

8 Carrots

Juice in the Order Shown Above. Drink over Ice or Cold.

Til Tomorrow

Eat and Stay Healthy

Sandi~

My Eat 2 Live Lunch

I've been reading Dr Fuhrman's,  Eat To Live Book and have been really studying it closely. Each day I take one of his ideas and add it to my juicing regimental.  Since I had juice for breakfast today I decided to have a nice filling salad for lunch.

I started with a large mixing bowl and I added the following and mixed them well.
2 handfuls of baby spinach
4 handfuls of Spring Mix (i buy the premixed and I wash it.)
(It includes baby lettuce, baby greens, endives and radicchio)
6 baby bella mushrooms cleaned and chopped
2 roma tomatoes chopped or 1 beefsteak
1/2 of a large cucumber sliced and chopped
1 Cup mixed beans (I use Kroger's Organic brand of Three Bean mix) Rinsed and drained

Then I made up the dressing below and added it to my salad and lightly stired it around until it is all coated.
DRESSING
1/8 of a sweet onion chopped well
2 cloves of garlic minced
1 orange juiced
1 lime juiced
black pepper

Notice I did not add salt and did not feel like I needed it at all! Yeah! The taste buds have changed and do not crave it now! I started with a large bowl of this and placed the remainder in the fridge. I ate as much as I wanted and guess what this is actually love calorie and very good for you. I adding a large glass of ice cold water and I have been full all afternoon.
Til tomorrow
Eat Healthy Today
Sandi

White Bean Soup for a Fall Day

Today is kinda cold here in the Dallas area...Woke up to 39 degrees and that is a bit chilly. So I wanted  to make up a pot of soup that is healthy and filling and tastes good. This is the soup I made....Must say it DOES taste good and very easy to create. You can put everything into a crock pot and turn it on as you leave out the door in the morning and it will be ready for you when you get home. I choose to cook mine on the stove since I was home anyway and cleaning out the fridge.

Here is Sandi's White Bean Soup
1 Can Organic Great Northern White Beans (15 oz) rinsed well
1 Can 14.5oz of Fire Roasted Diced Tomatoes
+ 1 Can of Water
5 Roma Tomatoes pureed in the blender
4-6 oz of Frozen Corn (if you use canned rinse well)
3 oz  Frozen Bell Pepper (if using fresh 1 small Bell Pepper)
4 oz Chopped Frozen Onion (or 1 small fresh)
dried garlic or 3 cloves fresh chopped
seasoning
2 - 3 Tablespoons Italian seasoning dried
1 Tablespoon Paprika
1/2 Tablespoon or more Black Pepper

After everything above cooks down you will want to add in the following.
1/2 Cup Brown Rice
1/2 Cup Quinoa

 (If cooking in the crock pot I would transfer the soup to a stock pan and cook the  Brown Rice and Quinoa in the soup. They will take in all the flavors from the soup and you will not taste the nutty flavor from the brown rice. Personally I find Quinoa to be bland but in this soup it is amazing! You might need to add extra liquid (I added fresh tomato juice but water is fine) as the rice and quinoa are cooking as they do take up moisture. Cook the soup at least 30 more minutes or until the rice and qunioa are cooked.

**YOU Will Noticed I have not added salt again. I personally am not adding salt to my soups as I find that my using most fresh or frozen produce, I don't have the need for the extra salt. You can add it of course just remember don't over salt.*8

You will have leftovers and I know..."WHO wants to eat the same thing day after day". Well here is a fun way to enjoy our leftover soup and yet it will be different.  Clean 1 cup of fresh spinach and place it in the bottom of a large soup bowl. Ladle your hot White Bean Soup on top of the Spinach. Let it sit for about 3-4 minutes and then stir and enjoy. The hot soup will cook your spinach and add a how new depth to your soup.

Other Add ins:
Steamed Broccoli
Steamed Carrots
Fresh Tomatoes Cut in Chunks
Spaghetti Squash
The list is endless...

Hope you enjoy this soup as much as we did. Love to hear from you. If you would like to share your recipes on our blog please drop me a  note at livingtheshweetlife@gmail.com
Til Tomorrow
Live Healthy!
~Sandi

Recipe for Today Yummo! Red, White and Blue Juice

Perfect Juice for the HOT Memorial Weekend!

Strawberry Blueberry Jicama Juice.

Very Easy to Make and Oh So Good For YOU!

1 Jicima (peeled and cut into pieces)

1 cups of fresh blueberries

6 oz  Strawberries

        Juice all of the above together and drink cold. If you like things to drink smoothies, no problem at all. Simply throw the juice into a blender add ice and blend. You now have a nice Red, White and Blue Smoothie. Jicama when juiced  creates a great deal of cloudy white liquid that is a slightly vanilla taste. It is loaded with vitamins C, A and B, along with calcium and phosphorus.

Enjoy this Good tasty juice that has lots of purposes this holiday weekend!

Remember to stop and thank those how gave their lives to make and keep us safe!

~Til later~

Stay Juicey and Healthy~

Sandi

So excite I Finally Got THE BLOG SET UP! RECIPE BLOG TOO!

I AM SO EXCITED! Can you tell? Marty and I were talking and we decided that since we juice 1 sometimes twice a day and I always make something out of the pulp at least once a day that I just had to add a RECIPE Blog as a companion blog to the Living the Shweet Life Blog. So of course I set to work getting that set up on Wednesday night. I have connected the two blogs together and yet they are also each stand alone blogs in case there are folks who don't want to listen to me ramble on and on... LOL

So Hope you will come by and check out Recipes 4 Shweet Living . I started adding some of our recipes that we are created and that we like. We try to work on the 80/20 ratio  but there are times when it is not that. I will let ya know if it is all fruits so you can be warned.  Like the one I will be blogging about tomorrow and the reason I am still up tonight. OH MY GOODNESS IT WAS SO GOOD!

Just looked at that picture...looks good to eat but you really can't read it to well. Thinking I just need some good graphics from my Shweet gal Carm.

Til Tomorrow
Stay Juicy
~ Sandi