Vitamin C-Boosting Smoothie

 

Ouch

Has this ever happened to you?

You wake up, groggily reach for a glass of water, and because of carelessness, you accidentally knock it over and it breaks into shards?

Then shards hit your toes and immediately,  blood gushes from the wounds?

And ow, ow, ow --- the searing pain makes you want to scream?

I feel embarrassed to admit it, but yes, I was that clumsy and now I have a deep wound in my right toe as well as the middle toe (that one’s not quite as deep). Sniff sniff.

First Aid

My first impulse was to pinch the area to immediately stop the bleeding. (But sometimes first impulses are incorrect. The rules of first aid dictate that I should have checked first for shards of glass still embedded in the skin before washing the area.) If I could have walked to a safer spot, to avoid additional shards of glass, I would have, but it was just too risky. I didn’t want to slip and injure myself even more. 

So I just stayed put.  While calling for help,  I applied pressure between the two edges of the skin to stop the bleeding wound. I didn’t know the other toe was cut at that point — I just wanted to get the blood to clot ASAP. 

Thank God for nurses! Thank you, Janice! We also had a first aid kit, which included a topical antibiotic and some gauze and tape. 

Ahhhh…. Relief at last.

The body heals itself

Right then, I had this incredible urge to just stop and marvel at the One who created my body and its self-healing properties. And I also wondered why it is only during times like these that I praise Him for how wonderfully-designed human bodies are. 

 

Think about it.  

When our skin tears, it bleeds to draw debris that was lodged in the wound during the point of impact, to expel it, then after a while, it forms a clot to seal the cut and stop the bleeding.

Our bodies’ existing cells then build a cushion supporting the clot, and the body makes new cells to repair damaged tissue.

Something created, that when damaged, heals itself?

Have you ever made a project which when accidentally damaged, can repair itself? 

In contrast, your body works together cohesively to utilize absorbed vitamins and minerals and your cells work to heal the damage. You are fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139:14). Praise our creator!

Vitamin C Boost

Give your body awesome fuel to get such repairing work going. Use Vitamin-C-rich food. Also known as ascorbic acid, vitamin C boosts cell repair. 

Not just in citrus fruit!

Daily intake of fresh raw ripe fruit is a wonderful source of naturally-occurring vitamin C. We are taught in school that vitamin C sources are primarily citrus fruit, such as calamansi. But did you know that non-citrus fruit can provide it as well? Papayas and pineapples are a few awesome examples. And guess what? They are available year-round in the Philippines! (For readers overseas, kiwis, strawberries, and oranges are excellent sources as well)

Here's a smoothie recipe for your vitamin C needs.

Have you tried the recipe? What other recipes are you looking for? Are you thinking of eating more fruit and veggies in 2022? Let's chat!

Vitamin C-Boosting Smoothie

Mulberry Smoothies

So how did everyone enjoy the long weekend?

I went on an amazing  retreat that I highly recommend. So blessed to have been part of it! Let me know via kontactr if you want to know more about it.

Since other people prepared the food, I wasn't able to eat all raw - had steamed veggies and fish. (Yes, yes, since I am unable to take locally available vitamin B12, I decided to eat raw or steamed fish  - usually salmon - once a week) The first night I ate fried string beans and some sauteed fruit and veggies - I think I ate a little bit of the breading so I started to itch, but praise God nothing other than some redness occurred!

Anyhoo, on to the post...

A few days before leaving for the retreat, I enjoyed a mulberry smoothie - thanks to Monina Carandang of Herbana Farms who graciously offered some freshly picked ones from their tree!

Anti-oxidant Mulberry Green Smoothies

Ingredients:

2 cups locally harvested, fresh organic mulberries
4 ripe bananas (or substitute 3 bananas plus half a cup to one cup other berries for an uber anti-oxidant experience)
1 bunch  kangkong leaves

1 cup of water or 1/2 cup water and 1/2 cup ice

(I like my smoothies thicker and I often forego water, but you could try this with water and see if you like it this way)

Preparation:

Blend everything in your trusty high-speed blender!

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I love these mulberries on so many different levels!

They remind me of when a friend from New Zealand took me on my first fruit foraging experience in Washington State.  Blackberries are not a big deal there. They seem to just grow everywhere, even in poor soil.  And no one really minds if you forage.

So a-foraging we went! 

(By the way, the blackberry isn't a real berry. It is a compound fruit. Nerd alert! :P)

* * *

And the fact I went foraging helps me forge some kind of kinship with author Canadian Frederic Patenaude and the many California and Las Vegas raw foodists who have foraged before me. 

* * *

I also love that these mulberries  are cheaper than the blueberries at the health food stores/groceries. 

Contact:
Monina Carandang
0921-664-7027
Salcedo Market, Saturdays

(I don't get discounts for advertising Herbana farms. Monina is the daughter of one my dad's law school brods, but I have been ordering from her for a long time even before I discovered this. I usually get my veggies from her weekly, but I couldn't during the long weekend since I was away.)

Mulberry Smoothies

Pineapple - Malunggay Green Smoothie

Ingredients:

An entire ripe organic, non-hybrid, non-GMO, fresh pineapple, skin and eyes removed
A few sprigs to many sprigs of malunggay  (1 sprig if this is your first time to try this recipe)
2 cups of water or more to taste


For high-speed blenders: Blend everything at once.
For regular blenders: Put in the pineapple little by little and pulse until well blended.

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This is not a smoothie to make for a first-time smoothie drinker. For beginners, I recommend this smoothie instead. Once you are ready for a malunggay smoothie, use only one sprig. Then build up your taste buds to take two sprigs the next time, and so on.

+ + +

Malunggay can just grow in your backyard if you live in the Philippines. It can also grow in Hawaii. The Philippine consulate in Israel has also tried growing it there - and it has! It sure would be nice if every Pinoy (or the local public school) has this in the yard, wouldn't it?

To prepare, grab a few sprigs and wash carefully. Sidebar: Do you have a 2.5-3 year old at home? Show her how to do this one by one, and sloooooowly.  I guarantee you - you will have a very happy camper! Just be patient! S/he will like plucking the leaves off into a bowl until it is ready to be washed.

I don't soak mine in sukang tuba, because I grow malunggay organically at home.

Malunggay leaves have a waxy coating that deter pests and can be grown pesticide-free!

+ +  +

An organic pineapple is about P70 each.

Imagine this: for less than P100, you can provide a cancer patient with a pineapple - malunggay green smoothie with the following nutritional, bioavailable benefits:

This recipe has a high amount of Vitamin C, Vitamin A, Calcium, Manganese, Zinc, Selenium, Protein in the bioavailable form of 18 essential amino acids, and trace amounts of:

Copper
Iron
Niacin
Pant. Acid
Phosporus
Riboflavin
Selenium
Sodium
Thiamin
Vitamin B6

When eaten raw (not canned or frozen), and  fresh from the blender, and taken alone (not as an accompaniment beverage to a Standard Filipino Diet meal), your body assimilates this recipe's goodness super fast!

Too often, Pinoys equate pineapples with upset stomachs because to begin with, their stomachs are acidic. Pinoys also equate pineapples with opening a can of ______. (Can anyone say "tricalcium phosphate?!). Preservatives in canned pineapples exacerbate the stomach's reaction to pineapples. Slowly alkalize your body with fruit and vegetables, and over time, you will not find eating organic, raw pineapples upsetting.  In fact, they will have an alkaline-forming effect on your body. Strange but true!

Pineapple - Malunggay Green Smoothie

Stuff Raw Foodists Like #7: Flexible Chefs at Non-Raw Restos!

What's better than being allowed to bring raw baon to a resto that doesn't have raw food selections for you? Restos with flexible chefs!

When I first read that Victoria Boutenko (of 12 Steps To Raw) flashes a raw card whenever she eats out, I wondered if such a thing would ever work in the Philippines. (Has anyone ever tried this?)

I haven't. But I have tried calling a resto in advance, asking what happens if someone in the party had a lot of food restrictions. (Take note, that I have never come out to say that I was it! He he :)) Sometimes I would get a sympathetic head waiter who would tell me to look for him so I could be accommodated. Sometimes I don't. But at least I can adjust accordingly (read: bring my own baon).

So when someone else does the asking for you, in advance, it's nice.

My sister did just this when she booked us a table at Blackwood Bistro in Venice Piazza one Sunday. She forwarded to Chef Goody Jose my raw food guidelines, and Chef Goody gamely rose to the challenge. She told me later it was her first time to encounter this kind of food restriction.

What did she serve?

For starters, she provided shiitake mushrooms on fresh zucchini with olive oil and citrus zest salt on the side.

For my main course, she steamed (ok, not really raw but allowable under the circumstances) asparagus, and served the other ingredients raw/fresh. The onions were really sweet.

For dessert, assorted fruit. The mangoes were yummy. Chef offered a yummy-looking sherbet to the meat-eaters. 

As for my meat-eating companions, I know they enjoyed their meals. Huge servings for the meat eaters, I must say. The salmon looked particularly appetizing, but oh well. :D

(Just a sidebar- if you are in Venice Piazza on a Sunday evening, stay outside so you can watch whatever outdoor show they have on. When we went, they had a Mardi Gras. They also have other events. Thursday is ballroom night, I believe. Do ask first because I could have heard wrong.)

Thanks a lot Chef Goody for the accommodations! 

The other time I enjoyed a raw meal was at Rainmaker at CVC Law in Bonifacio Global City. This resto is catered by Gaita Fores, one of my culinary inspirations when I was still into cooked food. (Fun memories of Cafe Bola, Pepato and Cibo!) She wasn't there though, so I couldn't be all fan-girlish.  

Chef Gerald Montelibano was there and he received not just my raw food guidelines, but some recipes from Gone Raw and a few of the Dahon Kusina classes I attended. (My sister insisted) 

 From these, he chose to do my beginner's breakfast green smoothie (bottomless!!!!), his own take on raw salad, and Thai-inspired papaya rice. 

(Tsk, tsk, someone flunked the marshmallow test for "wait until after the picture before you drink". And this was already after the second glass. Quadruple tsk.)

Thai-inspired papaya rice

It was awesome to have a non-raw chef interpret a raw dish!

Other non-raw restos worth checking out for their accommodations to raw foodists: Cyma, Cafe Mediterranean, Jasmine (at New World Hotel) and the room service at East Asia Royale Hotel in General Santos. None of them are raw restaurants, but quite accommodating. Jasmine and EARH might bargain with you to lightly steam the veggies. I think that is OK. Just remind EARH not to use butter/Star margarine. Steaming for a few minutes only partially removes the nutrients, compared to grilling (which adds carcinogens from the blackened parts of food) or frying (which uses trans fat). 

Disclosure: Chef Goody Jose is related to my brother-in-law. My sister is senior partner at CVC Law so of course the chef at Rainmaker had no choice but to do what she said! I don't have any connections with Cyma, Cafe Mediterranean, Jasmine or East Asia Royale Hotel in General Santos and I don't receive any discounts/favors for these mentions.

Stuff Raw Foodists Like #7: Flexible Chefs at Non-Raw Restos!