Homemade Kiwi Fruit Popsicles

One of my favourite ways to cool off during summer is eating frozen fruit! Cool off with these homemade frozen fruit pops without the unnecessary additives that most popsicles are made with today. They will super-charge your body with plenty of vitamin C, and the antioxidants will help protect you from the UV rays from the sun. 

When eaten RIPE (the fruit feels slightly squishy instead of firm), kiwis do not give you "itchy mouth," which most people complain about with the kiwi fruit. Let your kiwis ripen fully before committing to eating them or turning them into frozen desserts.

Here are some of the many benefits that kiwi help provide your body with:

- Depression: inositol found in kiwi can be beneficial in the treatment of depression.

- Diabetes: the natural sugar, inositol, found in kiwi, may play a positive role in regulating diabetes. Inositol can even help improve nerve conduction velocity in patients with diabetic neuropathy. 

- Eye Health/Macular Degeneration: Carotenoids (beta carotenes, luteins, and xanthophylls), antioxidants and phenolic compounds (flavonoids & anthocyanins) found in kiwi help protect and strengthen our eyes. 

- Cardiovascular health: kiwis are high in two amino acids: glutamate and arginine. These amino acids help promote an increase in arteriolar dilation, working as a vasodilator and improving blood flow important for heart health. 

- Immunity: Kiwi is incredibly rich in vitamin C, an important component of maintaining a healthy immune system. 

- Cholesterol: fruit rich in pectin, such as kiwi, help regulate and lower cholesterol levels.

Ingredients:
- 10 ripe organic kiwis, peeled
- 1/3 cup coconut water
- 1 lime, juiced

Blend 8 kiwis with the lime juice and coconut water and set aside (blend long enough for the green to combine, but not so long that the black seeds start to break apart). Cut the other two kiwis into cross sections and place one in each popsicle mould. Fill the moulds with the kiwi paste and put popsicle sticks in the centre. Let freeze overnight! Enjoy :)

The Anti-Cancer Green Juice

Alkalizing and chock full of vitamins, minerals, phytonutrients and antioxidants, this juice has it all! Drinking at least one green juice per day can help drastically reduce your risk of developing cancerous tumours. Cancer has a hard time living in alkaline environments and cannot stand the miracle compound chlorophyll, which makes our green juices GREEN! 

This juice features plenty of celery, which contains at least eight anti-cancer compounds that may fight against just about every cancer type. Two of these anti-cancer compounds, acetylene and phenolic acid, help stop the growth of cancer cells. 

Get juicing, get healthy!

Ingredients:
- 6 stalks celery
- 1 cucumber
- 3 large swiss chard leaves
- 1 cup arugula
- 3 inches ginger root
- 2 limes (peeled if non-organic)
- 2 granny smith apples

Juice the above ingredients in a juicer such as the Omega, and enjoy immediately to prevent oxidation!

The Ultimate Green Juice Cleanser

This amazing juice is packed with chlorophyll, antioxidants, minerals and nutrient dense greens! The celery helps to infuse the body with magnesium and calcium to help soothe the nervous system and prepare the body for rest. Parsley and cucumber boost our immune system by flooding our body with nutrient dense chlorophyll, while ginger aids in digestive fire, helping to alleviate any stomach or intestinal issues. 

Parsley is one of the best blood purifiers, and helps control blood cholesterol levels, constipation, gum and tooth issues and protects the body from harmful free radicals. Cucumber is a great natural diuretic and helps regulate body temperature and aids in cell hydration, waste removal and dissolves kidney stones. Celery is a natural appetite suppressant and has a calming effect on the nervous system. It is beneficial for respiratory conditions like bronchitis and asthma and can even help lower blood pressure up to 14% in hypertensive patients. 

Go ahead and get juicing! 

Ingredients:
- 1 cucumber
- 2 limes (peel removed if non-organic)
- 2 cups spinach
- 1 bunch parsley
- 3 green apples
- 5 stalks celery
- 3-4 inches fresh ginger root

Juice the above ingredients in a juicer such as the Omega, and enjoy!

How To Make Raw Coconut Milk

A lot of people use coconut milk to create tasty thai recipes, or enjoy it in smoothies (if they like the more rich full-on coconut taste). Pretty much all coconut milk is found canned, and highly processed, and isn't the best option if you are trying to avoid BPA's found in most canned products (linked with hormonal issues and cancers).

Fresh raw coconut milk is loaded with B vitamins, vitamin C and E, as well as minerals like iron, calcium, phosphorous, selenium and magnesium. Not to mention, all of the enzymes remain intact, so that your body is better able to process and recognize what you are putting in your body. 

This raw coconut milk recipe is incredibly simple, and can be whipped up in seconds! Use in your next smoothie or milkshake recipe, or even a lovely raw curry (think, coconut milk, curry, lime, garlic and onion - mmmm). 

Ingredients:
- 1 mature (brown) coconut
- liquid from coconut (if using blender method)

Instructions:
Juicer method
1. Crack open coconut and pry out the coconut meat (reserve coconut water)
2. Run coconut meat through a juicer such as the Omega
3. You can dilute this milk with some of the coconut water, or with regular water if it is too fatty for your taste

Blender method
1. Crack open coconut and pry out the coconut meat (reserve coconut water)
2. Put coconut meat, and coconut water into high-speed blender such as the Vitamix
3. Strain milk in a nut milk bag, and voila! Coconut milk - fresh, raw, and full of essential enzymes, vitamins and minerals!

The Brain Booster Smoothie

Who knew you could boost your brain power with berries?! This smoothie is loaded with beneficial antioxidants called anthocyanins (found in berries), which provide it with incredible brain-boosting effects. These health-promoting anthocyanins enter the brain and provide protection against inflammation, which is linked to cell aging. They also enhance our memory by improving the way our brains utilize energy from food and increase communication between individual brain cells. 

Consuming 1/2 to 1 cup each day is enough to reap the benefits of these incredible berries! This smoothie contains over two cups of berries, proving it to be very effective in enhancing the way our brain functions. Improve mental clarity, reduce fatigue, improve memory and reduce your chance of getting Alzheimer's disease later in life by including this smoothie in your daily routine!

Ingredients:
- 1 cup blueberries
- 1 cup raspberries
- 1 ripe spotty banana
- 1 cup young thai coconut water
- 1 inch ginger
- 1 tsp. cinnamon

Blend all of the above ingredients in a blender such as the Vitamix and enjoy immediately!

Banish Chronic Fatigue, Joint Pain and Edema with this Liver Cleansing Smoothie

The liver is one of the body's main detox organs. Given the toxic world we live in today (environmental, pesticides, household chemicals, etc.), making sure our liver is clean is incredibly important. If we do not support our body's natural detoxification system, it can become quickly overburdened and lead to chronic disease.

"One of the liver's primary functions is filtering the blood. Almost 2 quarts of blood pass through the liver every minute for detoxification. Filtration of toxins is absolutely critical as the blood from the intestines contains high levels of bacteria, bacterial endotoxins, antigen-antibody complexes, and various other toxic substances. When working properly, the liver clears 99% of the bacteria and other toxins during the first pass. However, when the liver is damaged, such as in alcoholics, the passage of toxins increases by over a factor of 10." (source)

Help boost the detoxification process by starting with THIS smoothie! It contains essential ingredients that help support the liver and it's detox function. 

Ingredients: (serves 1)
- 2 grapefruit, juiced (blocks harmful effects of free radicals)
- 1 orange, juiced (helps to flush the liver of toxins)
- 1 cup cranberries (high in glutathione, which is required by the liver during both detoxification stages)
- 1 cup pineapple (anti-inflammatory)
- 1 bunch watercress (enhances phase 2 liver detoxification pathways)
- 1 cup leafy greens of your choice (I used arugula, because it is a bitter green and helps to stimulate bile flow)

Blend the above ingredients in a blender such as the Vitamix, and serve immediately.

Rejuvenating Citrus Raspberry Toning Elixir

As we enter summer, we also enter a time to fully rejuvenate and shed out of that old winter skin (kind of like a snake!). Help open your pores, and tone your skin with this rejuvenating toning elixir. It is formulated with a Beta-Ginseng Complex, including skin pigmenting beta-carotenes, fat-blasting raspberry ketones, fountain of youth containing siberian ginseng and inflammation reducing ginger. 

To skin toning, blood purification and memory improvement, this drink is a definite must-try! This potent anti-oxidant cocktail will reverse the signs of aging and give you back that youthful glow. It will help reduce the appearance of wrinkles and fine lines, and can help tighten and tone the look of your skin. In addition, this tonic targets the liver and kidneys, meaning that toxins are more effectively eliminated and bypass being eliminated from the skin (which is one of the most common causes of blemishes, rashes, acne, eczema, psoriasis and all types of dermatitis).  

Ingredients:
- 1 cup water
- 2 oranges, juiced
- 1 lemon, juiced
- 1/2 cup raspberries and 1/4 cup water, blended, and strained for the juice (use a nut milk bag to strain, or just a fine-mesh strainer)
- 2 inches ginger root, shredded finely (use a fine grater)
- 3 inches siberian ginseng root (found at asian food stores - labelled as ginseng), shredded finely (use a fine grater)
- Optional: ice cubes & a pinch of cayenne pepper

Combine all of the above ingredients and let sit for 30 minutes. Enjoy cool with ice cubes, or room temperature without.