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Organic Cold Brew Coffee – Benefits and How to Make

Organic cold brew coffee is the coffee you can drink regularly if you’re a cuppa joe in the morning type of person and want to be more healthy.

Organic cold brew coffee looks like regular coffee.
You can use the information below s to make your organic cold brew coffee and routine. ☕️

Let’s break this down into two parts.

Brewed coffee (or the regular coffee process) yields a more acidic coffee than cold brew in the process.

So if you want a lighter feeling coffee with a medium taste, then cold brew has its body health benefits.

…And why I do organic coffee cold brew daily. 

Then, the organic coffee part is important because the bulk of coffee is sprayed with pesticides that we’re ingesting.

And if you’re noticing brain fog or blips in short-term memory has got you these days and you don’t know why, if you do drink regular coffee (cold brew or regular brewed) then the coffee could be the offender.

Switching to organic coffee for a month is a good idea to see if you feel a difference.

Organic coffee to buy can be more expensive and slightly harder to source, but you get to ask yourself what your health is worth and if you want to make the additional search effort.

These are just a few organic cold brew coffee benefits:

☕️ You can make and drink cold brew coffee faster than you can wait for hot coffee to brew (and wait for it to cool some).

I describe below 👇  how you can make your own below if you’ve never made before.

☕️ Cold brew also has health benefits. It’s less acidic through the cold brew process than regular hot coffee or espresso. This is good especially if you have a sensitive stomach or gut lining, and feel heartburn effects from coffee.

☕️ With cold brew, you may not need to eat your first meal first before your first cup as it’s more gentle and doesn’t need the food buffer.

…Many of us wake up groggy and tired, and we want our coffee first thing. But first we need a soft pillow of food in our stomach, that’s not the preference when you’re not quite awake and ready yet for eating.

So that’s where cold brew ROCKS… and is ready for you as you can make the day before or batches days or a week in advance and refrigerate!

☕️ If you gave up on coffee because it tears up your stomach or gives you heartburn, then cold brew coffee could be a good option so you can bring the healthy drink back. This point can’t be emphasized enough. ‼️

Or if you want a lighter cup of coffee during your day that won’t affect your sleep at night, cold brew coffee could be the way to go!

☕️ Cold brew coffee is great for hot weather days as your coffee is served cold. You make at room temperature and then refrigerate.

Making cold brew at home is also a mindful, relaxing activity. And it doesn’t have to end there…

If you know me, you know I like to zhugh up any food or beverages (probably from my catering background), so I’ll share how I do that too below!

What you will need for basic cold brew coffee:

-Ground coffee

-Mesh catcher (with a lip or rim)

-Coffee filters

-Spoon

-Water

-Deep bowl at least 6” high/deep OR pitcher with a large opening almost or just slightly larger than the mesh catcher diameter is ideal (but as long as most the mesh catcher sits inside the pitcher, it’ll work).

If you use a pitcher, you won’t need another pitcher to pour your finished coffee into as your cold brew coffee can go straight into the pitcher and fridge.

Cold Brew Setup:

Bowl: Find or buy a right-size mesh catcher that works comfortably for your cold brew coffee prep setup, where the coffee filter fits in easily.

Rest the mesh catcher to then rest on top of the bowl.

Set the coffee filter to sit in the catcher as flat or parallel to the table surface as best it can, so you don’t have coffee and water in the filter dripping or tipping over. Then you have your bowl setup.

 

home cold brew coffee setup.

Or…

Pitcher: You can put your filter/catcher ontop of a wider-opening pitcher. If you use a pitcher, you want most of the bottom half of the catcher to sit inside the pitcher so your coffee brewing doesn’t spill over in the sides.

organic cold brew coffee strained into and stored in a large jar.

So then you have your setup from one of the options above.

Good job!

Next, you can bring on the ground coffee grinds. See what I did there… ground grinds. 😊

I like to make cold brew coffee in the morning to get a good whiff of the coffee grounds, and as a sensory experience and relaxing mindful activity. 🧡

You can even pull out your setup the day or night before if you just want to make a cup in the morning or a batch for a couple days.

Mind you, the fresh-made coffee will be room temps warmer than when you refrigerate, but that’s actually better for your stomach in the morning when you’re getting your day started.

The stomach prefers room temperature liquids, and preferrably a big glass of plain water first.

And then in choosing coffee types, use ground coffee types. It’s easy to get enamored by coffee flavors, packaging, and brands, but be sure it’s “ground” otherwise they’ll be “whole” and you’ll need to make the grounds.

It’s better to use a mix of superfine ground coffee and a coarser ground coffee so the grounds don’t fall through the filter. Or find one that is just perfect for you and stick with it.

They stay grounded 😉

How to Make Cold Brew Coffee

To start making cold brew coffee, pour your ground coffee mix (about 1/2 cup to ¾ cup coffee grounds total for a large batch) in the filter. Every coffee grind is different. You can use less if you just want to make a cup.

You can start with 1/4 cup coffee grounds to make a cup or two of coffee. These will be the strongest cups from the grounds.

With a spoon, mix the ground coffees up a little in your catcher-filter setup before you pour in water to possibly prevent fine ground coffee from falling through the filter.

Pour cool water over the coffee grounds. Filtered water is good. The cold water is the process secret to keeping the coffee from becoming more acidic (healthy benefit). You can use room temperature water and it will be fine.

After you refrigerate it will be served “cold brew.”

In the beginning, the water will go through the filter fast and you will get a light brown/caramel trail of coffee water in your pitcher or bowl.

That won’t be the final coffee you’ll be drinking.

When you keep pouring into the catcher-filter, then the darker coffee color comes out that you were probably expecting.

Troubleshooting: If your ground coffee mix sends some of the grounds through the filter or you accidentally spill some grounds in your ready-made coffee, then you can simply start over with a new coffee filter in a second bowl.

The second bowl can catch the second round of coffee being made that sometimes can turn out better. Pour your first setup coffee and coffee grounds into the filter of the second.

So back on track… from time to time, take a spoon and stir the coffee ground and water in your filter, trying not to have coffee water overflow.

Keep pouring water as it filters down. And if you pour into a cup, watch it drip  darker coffee after the first half of a cup or so.

More Coffee… thinking ahead for tomorrow

Then if you want to add more ground coffee, you can make a bigger coffee batch or a pitcher with your current setup.

This less potent coffee is good for lighter coffees.

…I like to make cappuccinos with after the first two cups of cold brew coffee.

You can make foam or froth milk (I find unsweetened coconut milk the easiest to get a good froth with a frother), or you can use a little whipped cream.

Then I add a dash of cocoa, cinnamon, pumpkin spice, or cardamom.

Oh, and one final cold brew coffee benefit: If you make cold brew coffee at home, you’ll never again be without coffee if the machine doesn’t work! You can always make your own instant coffee without a machine.

You can also pair your plant-based coffee habit to some great plant-based breakfast ideas to break away from the sugar breakfast habits or adding sugar to coffee. Sugar we know accumulates and works to destroy the biome.

So organic cold brew coffee and healthy eating together can be a better habit.

cold brew coffee
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Easy Cold Brew Coffee

Equipment

  • regular paper coffee filters
  • strainer for filters
  • pitcher or large deep set bowl

Ingredients

  • ¼ cup ground coffee for 2 cups stronger coffee
  • water

Instructions

  • After you have your cold brew coffee setup, pour water through. The first 30 seconds of water pours will go right through. Examine if you're getting the medium to dark brown coffee color (if not, pour the watered down coffee into a temporary glass and then pour through again). If the coffee is too finely ground or too coarse, this can happen. If too fine, add/blend about a tablespoon of a slightly coarser ground coffee to the filter. This should even out the coffee grinds.
  • Keep pouring water and pour your first cup of coffee (will be the strongest). You can keep going until the cold brew coffee is weaker strength or turning lighter color.

Easy Homemade Pizza Recipe (Step-by-Step)

Homemade Pizza is easy and fun to make as homemade pizza dough. Pizza can be a healthy meal… and I have a homemade pizza recipe you can try along with all the detailed steps from scratch.

You can learn techniques from me, a once-upon-a-time  pizza maker who worked at the busiest Domino’s Pizza store franchise in the world 😊

We would crank out over 200 pizzas an hour on any given Friday or Game Day Sunday. This was when the 30 minute guarantee still existed and then became a well-known business case study.

Homemade wheat pizza crust creatively decorated with veggies.
Thin, cracker-like crusts.
Thick crusts like pan-pizza style with the toasty bake.

Which btw you can make your own special pizza masterpiece from start to finish, faster than you can order a pizza and have it delivered.

We called the pizza with everything the Extravanganza that had all the toppings.

So let’s begin…

First, you don’t need a pizza kit. To make homemade pizza, you just need two simple ingredients you already have in your house (or can easily get) to make the dough.

Plus 4 ingredients if you want a bigger crust rise.

Homemade pizza needs no long prep time like pulling out ingredients in advance, like in other baking recipes. So it can be making and baking EASY.

It also has an advantage over breadmaking: you don’t need to wait for hours for the pizza dough to proof.

Making homemade pizza dough needs only a few minutes. You can simply prepare, bake, and enjoy in less than an hour.

If you’re not a planner this can be a winner.

But then again, you’d probably buy store-bought or order delivery. …but then that would be no fun, and you wouldn’t get the healthy, homemade pizza.

So I’ll assume you’ll give it a try at least at some point. You’ll be glad you did! 🎉

Here’s how to make homemade pizza…

Before you do anything, there is one area to plan. You should consider what you’ll add on top of your pizza crust.

If you load with gobs of cheese, then you’ve added fat and dairy (…that isn’t always a bad thing as cheese has vitamins, calcium, other minerals, and satisfies cheesy craving…).

For a healthy recipe, use fresh shredded mozzarella cheese or sliced buffalo mozzarella like on a Margherita pizza. It’s one of the healthier (less greasy) cheeses if your stomach is sensitive and end up sopping up the cheese grease.

Now you’re ready to start and pull out all your homemade pizza dough ingredients.

Instant yeast. I buy the small Red Star packets. The yeast balls look like microscope-tiny, perfectly round khaki brown color beads.

Water. 1 cup warm or room temperature tap water is fine. You may want to experiment as you know what they say about the famously delicious New York pizza crust (the rumor is that it comes from the water).

I’ve used seltzer and filtered water for pizza crust, and I find tap is still the best all-around.

Flour. You have options. Bread flour is the one for Neapolitan-style airy pizza. You don’t need special “00” flour even though you’ll find many recipes with this.

With bread flour you can use for other breads and it’s generally less expensive.

And if you aren’t doing an airy crust, other options are:

You can use a mix of regular or all purpose flour with whole wheat flour (that has a higher bread protein content). Whole wheat flour dough will be less sticky.

And if you use semolina flour for your bench flour, then that will help your dough from sticking to the metal pizza pan you use.

Another reason to choose whole wheat flour is the slightly higher, healthy fiber content. There are also gluten-free options.

In total, use about 2-1/2 flour total, but you will need more when you’re working with the dough.

You get better with practice and experience. You may be able to later eyeball how much you need.

Salt. 2 teaspoon table salt. You can use a little more salt if you use sea salt or if you plan to use fresh mozzarella (or buffalo mozzarella) that doesn’t have as much salt as some other cheeses. Kosher salt or a coarser salt will work well.

Optional: 1 tablespoon EVOO (helps with adding taste and less sticky dough).

Here are the 5 easy homemade pizza steps (broken down in detail):

Step 1: Make the pizza dough.

homemade wood-fired pizza with mushrooms recipe.
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Homemade Pizza Made Fun and Easy (But Looks Like a Pro!)

Course lunch, Main Course
Cuisine American, Italian
Author Brandy @ Healthy Happy Life Secrets

Ingredients

  • Flour of choice (bread flour, 00, and/or whole wheat, etc.)
  • instant yeast
  • salt
  • water
  • Optional: cheese, mushrooms, and toppings of choice.

Instructions

  • After proofing dough, add bench flour and shape crust. Tip: use silicone Silpat so the crust doesn't stick to pan.
  • Bake pizze on 350°F/180°C for 15 minutes and then pull out of the oven. Add sauce, cheese, and toppings and bake for another 5 minutes.
  • Remove pizza pan and add pizza to the top oven shelf. Turn on oven "broil" setting for 2-4 minutes maximum, watching the "wood-fired-style toasting" the entire time as burning can happen quickly. You can turn off oven as soon as you see your first brown toasty spots on the crust.

 

Add the yeast to water and let it settle/dissolve for about 5-10 minutes. The mixture will have a milky color and consistency. Set aside.

Separately, add the flour or mixed flours of choice to your mixing bowl (I like half and half whole wheat and regular or all-purpose flour). Add 1 teaspoon salt or you can use 1-½ teaspoon sea salt (if you want to use non-iodized salt as I use). Then add EVOO if you’re using, and the water-yeast mixture.

Dough by hand method: You can make the dough by hand, and if you do it that way, I’d recommend creating a neat flour mountain on a shallow baking pan where the flour won’t stick to everything.

Using semolina flour as a lightly floured surface is a preference.

Then add a dip in the middle of the mountain where you would add the liquids, like you may have seen or done at home making pasta the old-fashioned way (except there are no eggs needed in pizza making).

Dough with machine (recommended): It’s easier to use a mixing machine with the dough hook, like the Kitchen Aid mixer (I have a pink Cadillac color one… Paris Hilton and I have something in common, lol).  

With a machine, in a few quick minutes, the dough should be ready. You’ll know when it’s done when it’s not too dry, and not too wet, and has some good elasticity. Pizza dough is forgiving and is only part of the pizza pizzazz (say that 10 times).

Remember to scrape down the flour from the sides of the mixer. As you’re waiting for the dough to finish mixing, generously flour your pan.

I recommend a mix of coarser semolina flour and regular all-purpose flour for the bench flour.

When it’s ready, pull the dough out of the bowl. You’ll be able to form a small ball with the dough, and you may need to add more regular flour on the outside if it’s too sticky.

Form a dough ball and let it rest on the pan you’ve floured. Leave it sitting or resting at room temperature for 10 minutes.

Note, you don’t even need a plastic wrap or another container you’d have to clean like in bread making!

Step 2: Prep the toppings and the sauce.

While the dough is still resting, I get the topping ingredients ready.

I open the tomato sauce can (many restaurants use San Marzano tomatoes that I recommend), and I add finely chop anchovies with a serrated knife to the sauce as my secret ingredient (that’s not a secret anymore).

It adds salt and another flavor dimension (or you can just add a teaspoon of salt to the sauce if you prefer a saltier-tasting pizza).

Tomato sauce will add sweetness back. You can make your own tomato sauce but since it’s not the star of the dish, canned will work just great.

If you want a chunky style, Marzano tomatoes are plum tomatoes which are the kind commonly used in Italian restaurants. Or else use any tomato sauce or paste.

If you are using fresh cheeses like buffalo mozzarella, slice the cheese into smaller bits.

And if you use basil leaves, wet them a little like with a wet paper towel as they will settle a little better on the pizza. Alternatively, you can use spinach leaves like I use as healthy-alternative inspiration.

For any other wet ingredients like black olives, drain any excess liquid and dry them with a paper towel if you need to (as that would be a damper to your pizza… sorry, I couldn’t resist. Today is a fun day.).

By the time you finish this step, your pizza dough should be ready to work with.

A quick back story: I used to be a pizza maker (or pie maker as they referred to) as a teen before I could drive, and for the busiest Domino’s Pizza… not in the country, but in the world (yes the world! that is becoming smaller every day). 

I stuck around for 4 years until I took on other food-related jobs in college.

So, I still make the dough the way I learned from the modern pros!

We used to crank out 300 or so pizzas in an hour as a team during the busy football nights, and during the 30-minute guarantee years (you probably don’t remember!).

Our heads were down but it was fun energy in the shop![OK back to the business of making your homemade pizza]…

Equipment you need:

-Pizza pan. Any metal pan will work.

-Pizza cutter or pizza wheel (optional)

You don’t need a pizza peel.

Step 3: Flatten the dough into the pizza pan, to get it ready for the oven.

You can turn the oven on to pre-heat or you can wait if it’s your first time or so baking pizza.

Regarding temps, if you want to use 425 degrees (Fahrenheit, just to clarify for my Brit friends), that will give you a crispier bake like a pizza oven would.

If you prefer to cook under 400 degrees because it’s a hot summer day or your fire alarm can go off in apartment living, then you can bake with standard 350 degrees/180°C.

So anything in between 350/180°F and 425/218°C degrees will work. Remember pizza crust is forgiving (and I dare say easy).

OK, so here’s how to make the crust…

Fancy hand way: Take your dominant eating hand and place ontop of your weaker hand. Put your dominant index finger and middle finger below your weaker hand index finger and middle finger (crossing your thumbs). 

Or…

Simple hand way: Place your hands side-by-side, index fingers touching.

Either way, using your fingers, put pressure into the dough as you’re making hand imprints. Use enough pressure to make a dent, but make sure you’re not making holes in the dough, and it’s thick enough to hold the amount of sauce you plan to use.

If you get a hole in your dough, simply start over like you would with Play-doh. Roll the dough back into a ball and then flatten the ball with the palm of your hand (that you can coat with a little more flour as needed).

Push down on the dough and make handprints on every part of the dough.

Keep turning the dough 90 degrees while you move along and your hand is at a 90-degree angle (or at 3 o’clock clockwise or 9 o’clock counter-clockwise if you like clock descriptions).

For a right-handed person, you can turn the dough clockwise (and counterclockwise for a left-handed person).

Then flatten down the middle of the dough with your fingers and palm of your hand to get out all the trapped air bubbles.

Do this once and then flip the dough to the other side (back side), and do the same process. Add more bench flour underneath the dough as needed.

Keep working with it until it’s the right crust size for your pan or toppings.

If you want a super smooth dough crust without your handprints or blemishes, turn the dough with your gentle palms while lightly kneading, smoothing, and stretching the dough with palms (like you’re sanding it down).

I skip that part as a handmade-looking pie to me is part of the fun.

For basic round or irregular shapes, making the dough can take one minute or less with practice.

I know my instructions are descriptively long, but once you get the hang of it, it can be fast and easy!

In the beginning, take your time learning. It can be fun and maybe even a ‘lil therapeutic especially if you have some good music going on!

And, then here’s another important step/option that I recommend:

When you’re satisfied with your pizza dough that will be your topping base and crust, pre-bake the pizza crust first (without toppings) especially if you are using lower baking temps.

This is necessary if you are using lower 350-degree temperatures, but you can skip this step if you want if you use much higher temperatures.

I use the prep-baking crust waiting time to clean off my dough hook, mixing bowl, and other supplies I’m finished with, so I have minimal cleanup later.

After 10 minutes (a magic number for pizza step waiting times), pull the slightly toasted pizza crust out of the oven.

Let it cool for a few minutes, but you don’t have to wait until it’s room temperature again.

Then you can add your sauce with a spoon or ladle and spread evenly starting in the middle and applying less and less pressure towards the crust.

That’s the way we use to do it in the pie shop 😉

Btw, you can make other sauces like pesto, barbecue, or balsamic (that are other personal favorites of mine)! Maybe you too as you get to be a pizza pro?

…But here I’ll keep it super simple with the tomato sauce.

Black olives and red onion thin crust

Step 4: Then lay your toppings on.

The secret for better baking through is to put the quickest to cook items on the bottom. So any thin, flat veggies (like black olives and mushrooms) and flat meats like anchovies, and then add the lumpier foods on the very top layer.

If you use buffalo mozzarella (the white ball kind), treat it like a topping instead of cheese. For shredded cheeses like regular mozzarella cheese, add as the first layer over the sauce.

If you want to use tomatoes that aren’t finely diced (tomato concasse in fancy Italian restaurants), bake them on the side in another pan as they could be too wet and create a mess on your pizza in the oven or prolong your baking time (sundried tomatoes are ok on the pizza).

For any meats, cook them through in advance especially if you’re baking your pizza on 350 degrees.

Now you’re in the home stretch! You just have one more step.

Step 5: Bake your pizza (or cook your pie 😉).

When you’re happy with your fully loaded Picasso-pizza art, put it back in the oven on your lowest or medium rack, and if you’ve pre-baked the dough then you don’t need the pizza pan anymore if you want.

You can just set your pizza right on the baking rack. Sometimes I leave the pan baking just depending on the crust I want. Try it both ways.

And then bake for another 20 minutes to your crispy done liking (all ovens are different and depend on your dough thickness, ingredients, etc.).

Check the crust bottom to determine doneness and if it’s not yet done, but toppings are done or shriveling/drying up, then add a piece of aluminum foil on top and keep baking until the crust is done.

Don’t leave the pizza in there after you’ve turned off the oven, like you could in baking other goods, as this can dry out the toppings and the fiery heat will be gone from the crust which usually takes the longest to bake.

When done, pull out of the oven. Presto! Let it cool and then cut and enjoy.

If you want to add individual flavors, like if you’re feeding a larger group, you can have side parmesan-reggiano cheese, oregano spice, red pepper flakes, garlic, drizzle or olive oil, or caper ingredients (just to name a few ideas)!

…And then you will have 100% impressed your friends with your rock star homemade pizza baking skills ⭐️

The sky’s the limit! And while you’re waiting on your baking oven, you can do a few baking yoga moves, if you’re so inclined.

 

shittake mushrooms homemade pizza.
Shiitake mushrooms and apple cider vinegar pizza crust.

Fresh Orange Juice (No Juicer Needed)

Fresh orange juice is a popular, year-round favorite. In the winter, oranges are in season, so you can find an abundance of oranges.

orange juice

That’s also when most people load up on Vitamin C that they associate with orange juice, and why orange juice grocery shelves can be full or running empty.

And summer is a popular time too as it’s served in vacation towns and resorts.

I share below how you can optimize an entire orange in homemade fresh orange juice squeezed by hand.

If you’re inspired by fresh juices, this is a smart idea to save money, be healthy, and enjoy conveniently at home.

And speaking of enjoyment, last week I had a nice surprise.

I won a gift card to a local smoothie place I’m inspired by. They are my inspiration for tropical smoothies.

One day I saw someone coming out of a yoga studio in my town who was carrying this mermaid blue color bowl that’s the size of a large yogurt container.

I had to find out what this healthy ingredient is!

I learned it comes from an ingredient called blue majik (that’s the magic in the blue bowl). 🥣

The South Block smoothie chain also uses ingredients like camu camu and maca root.

You feel like you’ve been invited to a new array of rainforest superfoods shipped from an exotic locale in the world and infused in your made-to-order bowl or smoothie.

It’s dreamy, no?

OK, I could go on and on excited!…

But, today I also wanted to share how you can optimize oranges in a house-made fresh orange juice.

I’ve become super sensitive to how much sugar I consume and that’s healthy motivation.

And that hopefully inspires you to think healthy food and drinks at least most of the time (as it does for me).

Vatas are attracted to oranges and sugar so this is perfect for satiating sweet cravings.

Next time you think about getting orange juice from the store, consider making your own fresh orange juice from whole oranges where there’s no added sugar.

Fresh Orange Juice

organic navel orange peel for fresh homemade orange juice.
Look for heirloom, organic, or local farmers market produce as in season (free of pesticides, good for us and the environment)

And oranges are one of my favorite fruits as I love the smell of oranges. Here’s why…

They are good for calming anxiety, aromatherapy, and if you’re leaning into the Vata mind-body ways or  wanting to restore any Vata imbalance.

If you can’t get the work life balance or life is stressful, keeping an orange near you to sniff and that’ll help calm you.

And making fresh orange juice will also in its healthy-balancing effects.

And if you feel it in your nervous digestive tract, you can try an orange elixir like this recipe:

organic navel orange peel for ayurveda drinks
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Orange Digestif Juice

Course Drinks
Cuisine American
Author Brandy @ Healthy Happy Life Secrets

Ingredients

  • 1 orange (pulp, zest, peel)
  • Apple cider vinegar (amount adjustable to liking)
  • 5 Spice blend (Five spice is star anise, cloves, cinnamon, fennel, and black pepper) - (amount adjustable to liking)
  • water (dilute as needed)

Instructions

  • Zest and peel an orange. Keep all the parts. Tip: use navel, Cara Cara, blood, or heirloom oranges. They are good for the calming (and good for parasympathetic nervous system also affecting good digestion).
  • Squeeze the pulp into your orange juice container (or enjoy).
  • Add your zest and peels to the container.
  • Add five-spice blend.
  • Add apple cider vinegar
  • Fill up with water. Shake and refrigerate. Enjoy when you have an upset stomach.

There are so many orange varieties to choose from. I love the Cara Cara sweetheart orange variety (common around Christmas) that can be juicier and sweeter than a California navel orange that’s in season a little earlier.

Plus fresh orange juice makes me think of my second home, staying in nice hotels! Once upon a time I worked in hotel catering management where I got my first taste.

And you may have seen out and about those gigantic commercial machines that crank out fresh orange juice from whole oranges. That would be a fun job for a day!

You may have seen one of these at selective grocery stores if you live in a larger metro area.

Fresh orange juice definitely ruined me for any added sugar orange juice that comes from a carton (like I grew up drinking).

Concentrated is high sugar and harsh on the stomach, and especially along with a morning coffee routine that Americans commonly do. That’s double acidity.

Plus ontop of that, most common foods are usually acidic.

And if that’s your typical morning routine…

👉 You can opt for making your own organic cold brew coffee and  diluting orange juice with water.

So let’s begin and get your fresh orange juice-on!

For equipment, you can use a citrus squeezing tool, which is one of my favorite kitchen tools because it’s bright yellow so I have no choice but to be sunny with the brightening citrus when I use it 😉.

And a zester microplane tool that looks like a zester.

Orange zest from a fresh orange juice.

These are the parts of the orange.

Orange Zest (essence). Before I cut into the orange for orange juice, I go around the orange peel, grating, and capturing all the outside orange zest as essence for zhughing up other sweet morning smoothies, dishes, and garnishes (that’s where my former-catering mind goes and yours can go wild too!).

Orange Pith. Most people throw the spongy, slightly bitter part out, but consider keeping.

This would good in the orange digestif recipe mentioned already.

The orange pith is high in Vit C (as is the juicy pulp) and anti-inflammatory flavonoids. For those reasons alone, it’s worth considering mixing in foods and drinks/smoothies.

Plus leaving no traces of fruit is good for not attracting critters. 😉

Orange Juice and Pulp. Then cut the orange in half (perpendicular to the top or the stem or from left to right).

I know it’s tempting to cut the orange any which way since it’s perfectly round, but cutting the right way lets you cut through each orange segment to maximize juice.

Otherwise you could get stuck on a pillowy-feeling orange segment.

Now you’re ready to squeeze each orange half or use a citrus squeezer tool, and squeeze away the juice into a tall glass.

Let go of all your stress squeezing oranges. Activating calming oranges around you is a relaxing sensory exercise.

Keep repeating until you have the amount of juice you want. Add back pulp as desired if you like high pulp juice.

You can also add some water to dilute some or stretch the juice out for more.

And enjoy!

No-Waste Eco-Friendly Ideas: Save the orange pulp if you prefer high-pulp OJ and add small orange pieces to your drink.

Save the seed to grow a plant. Save the pulp and zest for cooking and baking recipes. Save the pith that has the most nutrients for digestifs and foods. Save the orange sticker as a reminder for getting the Produce LookUp (PLU) item again. 😉

If you like fresh juices, you may want to give Fresh Peach Juice and Mango Juice other sunny yellow inspiring fruity juices a GO.

3 Tips For Your High Acidic Stomach and Cleansing With Alkaline Foods


Here are some common signs you have a high acidic stomach (or higher than your usual), and where you can restore to a normal PH alkaline with your diet:

-Stomach discomfort especially where your GI tract meets the upper stomach intestinal wall.

-If you drink coffee and after you’ve eaten something light, food adds discomfort to your stomach. Btw, coffee on an empty stomach can “tear up the stomach.”

-If you burp more often, and especially if that’s not common for your body.

-You know you’ve been freely eating more of whatever you want, whenever you want, and maybe a usual food offender to your stomach. Our stomachs are naturally acidic and most of the foods we eat that we enjoy are acidic so maintaining a balance between joy and health will make the difference.

-And, if you have the taste of acid washing back up your throat (referred to as acid reflux), then that’s a sure sign. Many people pop antacids like candy after meals. But that’s masking an opportunity for a better and healthy solution of changing your eating lifestyle and habits.

Here are some quick fixes you can make to alleviate acidic stomach pain or discomfort: Continue reading “3 Tips For Your High Acidic Stomach and Cleansing With Alkaline Foods”

Summer Mediterranean Recipes + Faves from Foodie Restaurants

 

summer mediterranean recipesOff and on with my 20-year hospitality career, I worked behind-the-scenes in catering planning and event execution for Spanish, Italian, and Lebanese restaurants and fine hotels in the Washington, DC area — a top foodie hub. During that time, I picked up many great summer Mediterranean recipes and experimented with my own.

Some of my fondest memories were the large corporate and bridal events where I could get creative with the festive food and elaborate decorations.

From those experiences, I learned to create balanced menus for preferred and customized tastes around the specific seasons and events.

I’ve taste-tested delicious foods, recipes, and dishes from the chefs I worked with who came from around the world.

Some of my favorite summer Mediterranean recipes(great for warm seasons!) that I’ve added my take and twists to, are below:

Continue reading “Summer Mediterranean Recipes + Faves from Foodie Restaurants”