Carrot Juice

The carrot and lemon combine very well.

The carrot has great antioxidant properties that protect our body from premature aging and helps to maintain a good visual acuity (because of its high content of pro-vitamin A).

The lemon strengthens our immune system and also possesses potent antioxidant properties that help to keep our body younger.

Cook the carrots in plenty of water and a dash of salt to taste, since the raw carrot is more difficult to digest.           

Beat with a blender until you get carrot concentrate. Put it in the refrigerator to keep the concentrate cool.

Prepare a lemonade (lemon, water and sugar to taste) and add the carrot concentrate (quantity to taste).

>> Lemon properties

                    

Lemon, a fruit available all year

Citrus fruits are those that contain citric acid, hence their characteristic sour taste, and ascorbic acid or vitamin C.

Studies carried on the concentrations present of these two acids in the juice of these fruits have discovered that the sweeter it is a citrus fruit, the lower the concentration of citric acid present in its juice is but, on the contrary, the concentration of vitamin C or ascorbic acid is higher.

That´s why we say that oranges, mandarins, grapefruits, tangerines are rich in vitamin C because the ones we eat are sweet. And when we prepare lemonade, we generally add some sugar or honey.

The occasions on which we prepare lemonade or a lemon -based infusion more often is when we usually have a cold, or go through a flu process. We do this because citric acid present in lemon juice is a potent anti-viral and a natural bactericide.

In Portugal it is very typical the consumption of “Carioca de limão”, an infusion made only with a small piece of lemon peel and served in a coffee cup. People order the “Carioca de limão” when they feel the symptoms of a cold or discomfort arisen from flu processes. And it is that the high concentration of vitamin C in lemon is found, precisely, in its peel. And, they also drink a “Carioca de limão” when they feel heartburn or other problems arisen from poor digestion. Citric acid among its multiple properties stands out for the one of alkalizing.

In summer, when preparing a salad with fresh vegetables, it is very typical to dress it with lemon juice or vinegar among other ingredients. Citric acid, in addition to being a powerful germicide, makes easy the absorption of the minerals present in the vegetables.

Popular wisdom brings us remedies, which we call home ones. Science, nowadays, demonstrates why these remedies or food combinations provide us with great therapeutic benefits. And the lemon is a fruit that is available all year.

                    

Fruit juices

◼ Orange juice is part of my lifelong breakfast; sometimes I prepare it only with oranges, others with orange and grapefruit and other times with orange and half a lemon.

With any of the combinations, the natural orange juice is an important source of vitamin C and quick absorption sugars to start the day. And then I prepare whole-grain cereals with nuts or dehydrated fruits and a vegetable drink with oats or rice.

I prepare orange juice from winter till the end of the spring, since during the summer season I add fresh seasonal fruits like strawberries, bilberries … to combine them with the whole-grain cereals.