Sometimes body injuries happen outside our control that come and go. And when you’re slightly injured, say with a common sprain, you can still do light work around home workouts being careful, and then gradually restoring back to regular exercising and good fit health routines.
For a light strain or sprain, you can be out for a few weeks before you’re back to regular activities. If you have a more serious injury, it can be a few months before you’re mobile, and that’s when you may want to come up with a different strategy so the rest of your healthy body doesn’t have to wait. It’s easy to get out of a regular workout routine with a good excuse!
…I want to encourage you to keep doing home exercises year-round no matter what (unless your doctor tells you not to or you’re sick), as your mental health and happiness improve — a fact we all know about the happy hormones and endorphins that release in working out.
As you get the blood circulating into your brain and body, you gain more energy from working out and that can help you sleep and eat healthier. If you have a foot sprain injury, for example, you could still do simple arm exercises to keep moving (a good body goal to maintain).
With common inflammation, you probably know it’s good to rest and ice your injury first, which can take a few days or weeks (everyone is different).
If you’re an athlete, you’re usually less fragile as your body is strong compared to someone who doesn’t work out as often.
In either case, when you’re back on the road to body recovery, you can think about strengthening other body parts. You don’t want to not do any exercise for weeks waiting for your sprain to heal completely if you can, so you can stay strong (and not get weak) both overall mentally and physically.
Physical therapy (exercises) exists, so you can rehabilitate your overall body and health back to your norm or stronger than before your injury.
If you think about it, when you do regular daily activities like brushing your teeth, cooking, or cleaning, you still need miracle muscle strength to do those common tasks. We underestimate the need for muscles unless we don’t have the ability to do what we need to do.
Even though our muscles are adaptable, we want to create progressive muscle growth, especially in our large muscle groups like our legs, buttocks, arms, and upper body so we can be independent to lift, walk, and pull or push even daily light weighted things.
Ok cool.. all makes sense so far, right?
Below I share a few of my favorite exercises, sprain injured or not, for staying toned and getting some cardio in even if you have light limitations, such as a common foot sprain.
We all have some personal fitness goals even if we don’t believe in writing resolutions. One of mine is staying the same consistent size, proportions, and weight. Since I’ve been the same size for years, measuring is not necessary but if I were trying to lose or gain weight, then measuring would be more accurate and a way to determine if what I was doing, was working.
Another goal is staying toned (or sculpted which sounds like a muscular statue). This is good no matter what your weight is… it’s obvious if you’re toned or not from a mirror, so you don’t have to step on a scale.
The tone goal is good for most women because if you’re serious about achieving good tone, you will naturally do the things in between or in the process to make that happen, like eat less and do more pushups.
Remember the “7 Habits of Highly Effective People”? – the second habit is “begin with the end in mind,” which is good for any goal setting you do. (I’m having a déjà vu moment right now where I can picture Stephen Covey who wrote the 7 habits. I was in a class of his decades ago where he taught his principles… I digress)…
Healthiest cookie vibes are almost unheard of, as they often have too much high fructose corn syrup, other sugar, fat content, artificial flavoring… and did I mention sugar? 😊
This spiced cookie is one powerful bite, loaded with anti-inflammatory spices. Recipe below. ⬇️
But, I share a piece of good sweet news… today, you could look for the healthiest cookie that tastes good (and not like the box it came in), and then feel better for your reduced sugar choice.
Included below is a helpful sugar content list next time you’re out cookie grocery shopping.
If you were born with a sweet tooth (ahem…Vatas!), eliminating sugar from your diet, may be one of the worst food elimination news you could hear.
But wait!… before you give up on all sugar, know that your natural makeup and desires are there for a reason, so you don’t have to give up all your sweets if your body and health allow.
Instead, you could look for better, daily choices so you don’t have to give up entirely one day.
Cookies are one sweet type and if that’s not your go-to sweet, what are some of the other daily sweet delights? Ice cream, cakes, pies, candy, and donuts.
Sugar is sugar. But some sweets are better for you and they originate in nature and from plants.
If a piece of dark chocolate or a juicy piece of fruit will give you the same effect, learn to let your healthy taste bud rule over your eyes that plays tricks.
Because the truth is if you or I tell ourselves, no, we can’t have that sweet piece of joy, then we just want it more as we have an internal debate.
And once we get a taste of the tasty stuff, our brain’s pleasure center can easily tempt us to go overboard in a weak moment, even if we consider ourselves self-disciplined in every other way.
That’s why lose weight diets (a.k.a. yo-yo or fad diets) don’t work long-term or lifelong because we feel we are missing out on what our mind and body know is out there. Short-term diets are not natural to our bodies. We want real tasty foods that we crave.
But, if you want to fit into that special dress or get your bathing suit body ready for the summer season, you’re better off doing it naturally so that you can stay the same size year-round.
Thankfully our abundant society has wised up with better accessible plant-based and healthier ingredient options (from farm to store), than when we were kids.
Decades ago, I wrote a lifelong diet guide with recipes that included enjoying more or less one day “off” a week.
A few years before then I had gone on a diet of eating low-fat cookies that came from a dark green healthy-color box (that was anything but healthy or plant-based).
I don’t see those cookies on the grocery shelves anymore, but they were a terrible food substitute that led to weight gain and adding unhealthy processed ingredients to my body. I learned the hard way, but that saved me a lifetime of going down the wrong eating path, and from then on, I wised up.
And I try to save others from making the same mistakes I made.
I still very rarely eat red meat, dairy, or more than one or two bites of a sugary sweet, not because I don’t like those foods or can’t eat them (au contraire!), but because I choose to, now knowing what I know. And like Oprah says, “when you know better, you do better.”
And you can do the same with knowledge and a little discipline, which then becomes second nature where you don’t even want those foods anymore because you know they don’t make you a healthier being and that is more satisfying to you.
There’s no guilt, either way… it’s just a choice.
Plus, as you get older, the bad foods and sugar your body could tolerate in your 20s aren’t the processed same in your body so you’re better off wanting to change instead of having to or being forced to.
So that’s where cookie consciousness came into the picture for me.
My sweet weakness is cookies (and decadent cakes and cupcakes). It’s wired in my DNA.
But, I’ve learned to be discerning and find the best ones out there.
I enjoy the cookie if it tastes great and has low sugar content, or if I make my own in a controlled sugar baking environment.
And mostly bake my own cookies or biscuits like these biscotti that uses natural sugars (fructose) to sweeten. The nutrients also offset some of the sweet downfalls without compromising adult taste! 😋
Healthy Biscotti (No Butter or Sugar) - Black and White Chocolate Biscotti
Author Brandy @ Healthy Happy Life Secrets
Ingredients
2-1/2cup flour
3tspbaking powder
1-1/2tspaniseed, crushed
3/4tspsalt
1/4tspcinnamon
1/4tspnutmeg
1/2cupcoconut oil
1-1/4tspalmond extract
2eggs
1cupsblanched almonds
2tspmilk
finely choped dates, orange zest, dried fruits as sweet
Instructions
Make your dough with the ingredients. It should be cohesive and sticky enough to become a dough. You may need to add more oil or can substitute with yogurt or apple sauce.
Roll our two rectangular loafs flattened at the top in 350°F oven for 25 minutes.
Let cool completely. Then use a serated knife to make even-cut biscotti pieces.
Then flip over and bake for 10 more minutes for twice baked.
Let cool and dip in melted chocolate.
Refrigerate and then dip in white chocolate for duo-chocolate.
Keeping it real to yourself is what it’s all about…
And also celebrating your efforts, leaves you happy, your mental health improves, and your body benefits, so you want to balance health and happiness (btw, my blog name is healthy and happy 😊). I mostly do this through modern Ayurveda that my blog is about.
I also like to balance rules because they keep life simple.
So looking at nutrition facts is one practice that I like to do (and seriously I do find fun in a mature, adult sorta way).
And I started out my career out as a catering manager at a DoubleTree Hotel where they’re famous for their c.c. cookies you can make healthy 🍪 but yeah the original ingredients in the official recipe is not listed on the fresh brown paper cookie bags.
I know because I sat next to them and used them as a pound of butter paper weights for my BEO contracts I had on my desk, taking a bite here and there to curb my breakfast appetite.
Gosh, those were the early days!
And, on that note…
Quick trivia question:
Which of these cookies was famously credited as the first?… is it the Fig Newton, Animal Cracker, or Chocolate Chip Cookie? (Keep reading, as the answer is below ⬇️).
Choosing the Healthiest Cookie
This is a healthy chocolate chip cookie without added butter, white sugar, and flour.
In choosing cookies, the first step is acknowledging that all cookies are not created equal. You know this without having to think about it twice.
But when you’re in the grocery aisle, do you make mostly sensible decisions… or sensory-driven decisions?
If you’re not sure or your answer is it can vary, then take a photo of your grocery cart at the check-out line and evaluate when you get home.
Do some grocery introspection.
Take a look at the Nutrition Facts on the back of the food packaging as though you’re looking for the healthiest cookie out there that you want.
When you look closer and compare, you may find an oatmeal cookie may not be lower in sugar count than a chocolate chip cookie. So you are now informed and can make a better decision next time.
In those pleasantly surprising fact discoveries, if nothing else you get what you want and are happier for your choice! And sometimes you’re shocked at what your old favorites tell you.
You can also compare cookies in the same brand like a Girl Scout Cookie.
One GSC can be lower in sugar and another one can be off the charts. They may be made from the same factory, but they have a different makeup.
You can continue reading below how they rank in sugar content as I’ve included in the list. Today, gratefully we have so many healthier choices and from the same brands.
If the food item looks similar to another, the ingredients could be completely different, change over time or the next time, so it’s best to keep doing your due diligence.
This can become a healthy habit and you may end up doing a food pantry audit that’s not a bad thing.
It actually helped me when I discovered it was bothering my skin later in eczema where sweets or over-sweets could exacerbate flare ups. And any inflammation is not a good sign.
If you love a crunchy-style cookie, the list below is meant to open your horizons in search of the tastiest and healthiest cookie (best value). And one day, you may want to switch to even healthier options like making your own savory, plant-based, healthy good recipes and low-sugar summer desserts.
The average cookie listed here has 2 grams or less of added sugar. That’s pretty darn good in cookie terms!
Keep in mind, if a sweet food item or cookie has no sugar or low sugar, it could contain sugar substitute ingredients.
Sugar for sweetness I believe is the safest bet out there (next to pure juices and zests that come from whole fruits, or unprocessed honey or agave).
Be sure to read the actual list of ingredients and pay attention to artificial ones. A general rule of thumb: the fewer ingredients the better (closer to natural vs. processed or store packaged with additives for better taste or preservatives).
In Search of the Healthiest Packaged Cookie (That Tastes Good!)
If you want to be healthier driven, here is a better grocery list with less than 2 grams per cookie (but you should always do your research as cookies change):
Annie’s Chocolate or Neopolitan organic cookies –7 grams of fat for 31 cookies. (Compare that to other store-bought cookie or a deceptively high sugar-filled fig newton)
-Stella D’oro Stella cookies – 8 grams per 3 cookies (I wish they’d bring back the one in the assortment with the fruit in the middle)
-Stacy’s Cinnamon pita chips – 5 grams of fat for 7 chips
-Honey Teddy Grahams- 8 grams per 47 pieces – (wins the sugar healthiest cookie award from this list)
-Dansk Danish cookies (royal blue round tin) – 8 grams per 4 cookies
-Loacker Quadratini wafer cookies – 9 grams for 8 cookies
-Mulino Bianca Batticuori – 1.8 gram per cookie (when in Italy, you may want to stock up on this one)
-Girl Scouts Savannah Smiles – 11 grams per 5 cookies
-GS Trefoils – 7 grams per 5 cookies (the original is the GSC’s healthiest cookie by sugar count… go figure!)
-GS Thin Mints – 10 grams per 4 cookies (my fave stored in the freezer!)
-Nabisco Animal Crackers – 7 grams per 14 crackers
Compared to Not the Healthiest Cookie (above 3 grams of sugar):
-Vienna Fingers: 10 grams per 2 cookies
-Oreo Cookie: 14 grams per 3 cookies
-Chips Ahoy: 11 grams per 3 cookies
-Tate’s Cookies 11-13 grams per 2 cookies
-Carr’s English Tea Cookies (Ginger Lemon Cremes) – 11 grams per 2 cookies
-Girl Scout Do Si Do (peanut butter) – 11 grams per 3 cookies
-GS Samoas – 11 grams per 2 cookies (..was a personal fave until I learned the truth!)
-GS Tagalongs (chocolate/peanut butter)– 8 grams per 2 cookies
-Pepperidge Farm Verona Thumbprint/Brussels/Milano – 11 grams per 3 cookies
-Pepperidge Farm Mint Milano – 9 grams per 2 cookies – (…glad I got this one out of my system as a kid!)
-Pepperidge Farm Milano Dark Chocolate – 7 grams per 2 cookies (…huh, dark chocolate is less? – ok..noted.)
-Keebler Sandies shortbread – 7 grams per 2 cookies
-Keebler Simple Made butter cookie – 6 grams per 2 cookies
-Biscoff shortbread cookie 12 grams per 4 cookies (…good to know as you’re often handed these on some European international flights that don’t include nutrition facts)
-Honey Maid graham – 8 grams for 4 squares (2 whole rectangular pieces)
-Stella D’Oro Swiss Fudge – 11 grams per 3 cookies
Changing Your Sweet Habits
…If your fave is on this higher added sugar list (as my childhood ones are), maybe there’s a lower-refined sugar one in the list above it you can learn to love… maybe?
Just remember, sometimes all you need is a ‘lil something sweet. If you reach for a few raisins or a small handful of low-sugar cereal, that could do the trick to satisfy your want (and add some fiber at the same time ;-). … or maybe all you need is a juicy apple to satisfy your sweet tooth?
Have you ever tried an apple with all-natural peanut or almond butter? I think it’s delicious. If you choose a Granny Smith apple then you get a sweet and sour symphony of tastes, that’s better than a green apple Jolly Rancher… and can be very pleasing to a Vata.
What I’m suggesting here is a lifelong and year-round approach for your health success, and not a list of don’t do’s.
When you start looking at Nutrition Facts sugar content, then you get sugar conscious. Not eating high sugar foods helps you stay healthy and fit, lose weight, and reduce body inflammations (that are no fun).
When you do your household shopping for products at Target or wherever you go, on your receipt printout, most individual items are under say $10, but all those little costs add up… it’s the same with your daily sugar. It adds up daily and your body keeps score. Keep that in the back of your health-conscious mind.
Here are a few additional sugar rules I’ve created for myself and maybe you want to adopt in your life…
1.Be picky about your sugar choices. Think of your dessert as a treat for the day or week. When I was younger, I could’ve had a sugar IV drip in my vein and be happy eating spoonfuls of white sugar.
Weaning yourself gradually to better sweets is a better strategy than eliminating, especially if you have a sweet tooth (remember, the fad diet example I gave above).
2. If you don’t see the Nutrition Facts, ingredients, and the full-sugar content on the food packaging, skip the choice. If you order groceries online and the photos don’t show the written facts, keep going.
3. Eat candy sparingly, and maybe this is a good one to eliminate, as there’s no healthy nutritional value in candy. I think you can get a smile on your face another way. I know that one can be a downer as we all love candy (for the memories if nothing else).
When we were kids, our caretakers/role models could’ve helped us out if they informed us that candy is for kids. I’m serious. When you were a toddler, you were planning to get new adult teeth so cavities didn’t matter. That was the time to enjoy candy galore, not as an adult.
And If you love strawberry Twizzlers like I did and still do, you can stretch out your candy treat choice in moderation. It brings out the inner child happy in me. 👧🏻
You can be smart with your choices and find treats that have a longer shelf-life (e.g. keep in the freezer) so you’re not tempted to just consume more before your treat loses its freshness.
You could also buy a smaller quantity if the item is perishable. Remember telling yourself no, can backfire.
4. And finally, stay away from the gas station junk food aisle. I know that’s a no-brainer for healthy conscious thinking. You aren’t likely to find the healthiest cookie anywhere near those places, but reach for the healthy bar or nuts, or even a Hershey’s dark chocolate bar to fill you up if you get low blood sugar or feel you’re getting hangry with no other food source in sight.
Ok, so now you may know a little about sweet changes you could evaluate/make, and healthier cookies (and not-so-healthy cookies) out there.
Oh, and I didn’t forget…. here’s the Trivia Question Answer (from above):
Depends who you ask, but the Fig Newton made a debut in 1892 from Nabisco (The National Biscuit Company). Then Nabisco came up with the Animal Cracker in 1902. Chocolate chip cookies became famous in the 1930’s, credited to the (Nestle) Toll House Restaurant. You probably know which of these is lowest in sugar content… I’d choose the Animal Crackers.
And if you want a beautifully spiced cookie that’s usually a resurging trend around Christmas but you can enjoy year-round is a spiced cookie.
Bird of Paradise yoga pose I love and share with you why and how in this article.
It’s a mind challenge in a good way… and maybe you want to take the journey to discover more about you and your body!
Bird of Paradise yoga pose is a good metaphor for removing overwhelm thinking blocks through the pose. It’s like no other bird yoga pose because of the personal mindset growth component. It’s a mind challenging yoga pose.
Learn how in this article 👇
In celebration of today’s #InternationalYogaDay and yoga daily, I thought it would be great to highlight my favorite exotic yoga pose, the Bird of Paradise yoga pose.
This is a good pose for mind-body balance.
The Bird of Paradise yoga pose stretches your arms, legs, buttocks, and shoulders while standing on your yoga mat.
If you’re injured somewhere between your head and toes, this is not one you want to try until you’re confidently healed…
I mention that because I recently was injured, and I couldn’t do the pose. I had a left foot injury where I often had to stand on my right foot without a crutch. I must’ve looked like a flamingo with my one leg propped up behind me resembling the number “4.” 🦩
With injuries, the last thing on your mind can be working out. After you start getting on the body healing path, you can get back, restore, and be determined to find ways to work out parts that work normally in case you need the strength, as I needed. A good way to ease back into physical activity is with light yoga poses.
One of these can be The Bird of Paradise yoga pose that helps build strength in your legs when you need to lean on them the most.
TheBird of Paradise also helps with your balance, especially when you need to rely on one side of your body over another.
That’s why it’s good to maintain and build body strength as you never know when you will need the extra gusto — and flexibility and muscles in the right places come in handy (even if you’re a small framed person).
When all is running smoothly, there’s no better time than now to try the Bird of Paradise yoga pose, standing in place. You can do it where you are without a yoga mat.
The pose can sound more complicated than it is. Remember, it’s a mind challenging pose in a good way.
And it’s as easy as it looks, but getting into the pose for the first time, if you’re a newbie, can take a few steps like twisting dough into a pretzel form.
To get in the Bird of Paradise yoga pose on one side, let’s say your right side first…these are the steps:
👣While bending down at your torso, you weave or wrap your right arm under the same side/right leg and then grab behind you, your left hand.
Then without letting go, stand up and lift your right leg straight up. Either let that right bent leg rest on the back of your right arm or aim it up into the air at a pointed 45-degree angle (if you can and wanna show off ;-).
I know it can sound like a game of Twister with yourself, but it’s simpler than the instructions are once you get the hang of it!…
You’re basically hiking that shoulder behind the same side leg — so it can be done in two simple steps. Your leg in the air is more like a front, dangling handbag strap. 👜
I’m not sure what you’re thinking about this pose at this point… hopefully inspired to attempt (and not scary)?
You can do it even if you may have never heard of this Bird of Paradise yoga pose.
If it’s new to you, and a mind challenge yoga pose yoga isn’t quite your thing!, or you’re not a regular yoga class attendee, no need to be intimidated. We all try and then before we know it, we’re doing!
I first learned of the pose when they would teach this one in Hatha yoga classes I attended, or maybe I was just lucky to get a lot of various poses in my classes. Whichever way you first run across this pose (...maybe now?), it’s worth a go…
Besides the stretch benefits, the reason I like the Bird of Paradise yoga pose is it’s a good exercise in not taking yourself too seriously.
…And take off anyway!
When you’re first starting out, you can overthink the pose and not fully get off the floor. Or, you can wobble or fall out of the pose somewhere in the process.
Here’s how you can bypass overthinking the pose… 🧘🏻♀️
You start off standing. Then bending over and taking one arm and threading the same side shoulder underneath the same side knee. Then stand straight up with the entire leg and arm in one fell swoop.
You probably got that part the first time, but where people get hung up (and I know I did in the beginning) is focusing on the arm and leg and how it would finally look instead of just looking straight ahead and trusting all the parts are where they need to be.
…So guess what can happen in overwhelm? Nothing. In my case, I stayed bent over on the ground.
Until I attempted again the next day without giving the pose much thought and looking up slightly, and straight ahead. From there it became easy, breezy, and smooth sailing, as I know it will for you. ⛵️
If you stay in intentional mindfulness, the success rate to bloom is high for your lovely Bird of Paradise. 🦩That’s a good positive booster!
If you think of yourself as the flowering bird of paradise plant in life, 🪷 then you can aspire to achieve this advanced mind challenge yoga pose pose more eloquently and efficiently.
Not that getting in any yoga pose faster is better, as the words “quick” and “yoga” don’t mix, but you can stay focused on the pose and bypass confusion as your mind and body think and act in synchrony. Whew… that’s pretty heavy stuff for a yoga pose!
I’ve done the pose in office workplaces wearing stretchy leggings and riding boots and I’m not any superwoman, so I’m sure if you want to, this can be a winner for you too! 😊
Just a few final notes and words of encouragement before I close out here…
If you’re on the computer most of the day, the Bird of Paradise yoga pose is a great shoulder opener. Without awareness, most of us have a habit of leaning forward and caving our bodies inward that isn’t great for our bodies.
Especially by our old age when we need support to balance our bowling ball-like weighted heads (and our shoulders are part of the main muscle group that helps with that cause).
So to counteract or correct bad habit postures, to undo them, bend them in the opposite direction from time to time. That’s a good overall rule of thumb for stretching practices.
And, keep challenging and amusing yourself and others around you with your standing poses like Bird of Paradise, Tree, and Dancer Poses (another favorite pose of mine so you can expect a future post on this one).
Yoga poses (…mind challenge yoga pose or not) are a good reminder to lighten your load and light up your day.
If you are having seasonal internal-body symptoms that are preventing you from doing Bird of Paradise, be sure to check out the Body Balance Quiz to learn more about restoring imbalances.
Off 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:
Starbucks has a menu of refresher drinks including the Starbucks Pink Drink and a choice of exotic fruit drinks on their current menu, including these:
Star Drink, Pink Drink, Strawberry Acai, and Mango Dragon Fruit.
A couple of these drink names don’t describe the drink ingredients exactly. Like, the Starbucks Pink Drink has passionfruit and gets its pink name color from the strawberries.
The Star Drink is kiwifruit-based, but the name reminds me of star fruit (that’s star-shaped). When you cut it up, it can have a similar green color to a kiwifruit (but isn’t nearly as sweet).
Curious Tropical Fruits
Tropical fruits make for very unusual and refreshing summery drinks (great for balancing Vata and Pitta). Tropical and most fruits have Vitamin C plus their variety of vitamins and nutrients. The kiwifruit is a superfruit with amazingly high Vitamin C content.
Tropical fruits have strange exteriors, fascinating interiors, and unique colors. They can make you curious…
Like the kiwifruit with an egg-shaped, smooth coconut-looking exterior and the interior of a perfectly patterned seed.
And the dragon fruit, that’s one strange looking fruit with a fireball-exterior color/shape with artichoke-like stems, and contrasting oreo-cookie color polka-dotted interior… whew, that’s one long description…sorry, I tried my best here to describe it to you
What can I say?… it’s in a league of its own.
Then there’s the passion fruit with a soupy-mushy interior with contrasting peach orange and plant stem green colored seeds.
I have to admit passionfruit is not a taste I prefer. I’m passionate about fruit, but not the passionfruit… some people love the taste (calling all Pittas!), but it gives me a pucker face when I drink it because it’s too tart for my taste.
Me — I like pure sweet, but maybe that’s because I’m a Vata… so kiwi, pineapple, or strawberries are more my jam. Those are the sweetest fruits I know 😊.
The good news is, added sugar like the kind you find in a girly pink lemonade drink isn’t necessary as natural fructose sugar is enough.
Dreaming Up Your Drinks
In making my dream version of a perfect Starbucks Pink Drink, I think I’d mix strawberry, basil, and coconut froth. To each her own.
In making your homemade drinks, you can always stick with the fruit basics if all of this is too exotic for you.
You can use strawberry, banana, and orange, but I-yyy think you can get a little more creative!
You could make a virgin pina colada smoothie with pineapple and coconut milk and then zhugh up with a dessert maraschino cherry (that’s lower in sugar than you think 😉).
…Can you tell I turn into my ‘lil girl self when I talk about the fruits?
Other fruits to consider are berries and watermelons — perfectly ripened in the summertime. Watermelons are refreshing and contain lycopene, an antioxidant that you often hear about in tomatoes. You can add mint or basil for a great refresher-balanced drink.
Cantaloupe is another good fruit choice, loaded with Vitamin A. And it’s fun to cut up. I like to cut in half, use a mini-scooper, and add the chunks back into the cantaloupe bowl. That’s a perfect environmentally-conscious way to take mixed fruit to a picnic 😉. But less waste is a whole ‘nother topic I’m passionate about besides fruit.
Off 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. 