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Delicious, Healthy Goji Berry Recipes

1196737361 5482e2468e m Delicious, Healthy Goji Berry Recipes

The benefits of Goji berries are very well known to many and more and more people are becoming aware of the health benefits of Goji berries. It is available to one and all in fresh, dried or in juice form. Let us try to have a look at some of the Goji berry recipes which could let you enjoy this delicious as well as highly beneficial fruit.

Most of the Goji berry recipes dont need any cooking and are very simple. So, you can have Goji trail mix which involves mixing Goji berries with other dry fruits and grains. It is a wonderful snack. The same goes with salads also. As you use dried cranberries or raisins in your salads you can use Goji berries. Who says, you can’t add Goji berries in your favorite scoop of ice cream.

Well, there certainly are Goji berry recipes which are relatively more complex. So, recipes like blueberry, Goji berry compote and peach pie etc do need some effort on your part but is relatively simpler. You need to treat Goji berries as you use raisins and other dry fruits. You can add Goji berries to your chicken or duck marinade or better still add some Goji juice. And if you have been using raisins in your rice dishes; try switching over to Goji berries.

What’s more you can freeze Goji fruit or juice to prepare delicious Goji sorbet. Kids would love Goji-cicles. Well, it is so simple. Just pour the Goji juice in an ice cube tray and stick in toothpicks. Well, your popsicles are prepared. What about chewy Goji bars? Well, just add Goji berries to the mixture of your fruit and nut bars. The best thing about Goji berries is that it is a very versatile product. You can use it in any way you want and you can prepare your own Goji berry recipes that suits your tastes.

GOJI DRINKS

It is very simple to prepare. Start with adding about one handful of Goji berries to a big glass of water (hot or cold juice) or even herb tea. Now leave the mixture to hydrate for a while until they look plump and juicy. If you like the taste, prepare jugs full of this wonderful drink and go on drinking all through the day. It is one of the healthiest drinks that you would ever drink and chew with Vitamin C about five hundred times more than oranges.

GOJI FRUIT SMOOTHIE

If you want phytonutrient energy running your body, go for this recipe. Just mix equal quantities of Goji berries, blueberries, raspberries, apples, blackberries and cherries. Let the mixture churn in the blenders for a few seconds. You can add a cup of water, or orange juice or rice milk to smooth blending. Serve it with the toppings of cocoa powder and chopped pine nuts.

GOJI TRAIL MIX

This very popular recipe is one which could be played up on every time you prepare it. Thus, you can go for Goji berries with sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, flax seeds, pecans, pieces of walnuts, pine nuts, slices of apples, dried blueberries, peaches, cherries, pineapple and coconut shreds. You can make any innovations as you decide.

GOJI BERRIES AND CREAM OF BUCKWHEAT

Buckwheat has always been considered the best by people who are allergic to wheat and gluten. It is also seen that if you are feeling physically and emotionally challenged, getting rid of wheat and gluten foods from your diet can have good overall impact on your life. The main constituents of buckwheat include proteins in rich quantities and vitamin B. It is also very rich in potassium, phosphorus, calcium and iron. Despite it’s seemingly resemblance to other grains, it is actually a fruit biologically and that is why it could be consumed by people who are allergic to wheat. Now, about the Goji berry recipe!

Let us first talk about serving two people. Boil about 2 1/2 cups of water and then stir about 1/2 cup of cream of buckwheat slowly. Boil the mixture. Now, add a Goji berries as per your wish. Adding salt is also optional. Now, reduce the heat and let the mixture simmer for about ten minutes with continued stirring.

GOJI JUICE BREAD RECIPE

The ingredients that you would need are:

2 1/2 cups of flour
1 cup of sugar
1 table spoon of baking powder
1 table spoon of salt
1 egg
1/2 cup of shortening
3/4 cups of milk
3 tablespoons of finely grated orange peel
1 cup of chopped pecans
1/2 cups of Goji juice

It is pretty simple to prepare. Take all purpose flour, baking powder, sugar and salt and mix it in a mixing bowl till the mixture becomes uniform. Now, use blender or a fork to add the shortening to the mixture. Enjoy!

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The benefits of eating fruit

Close your eyes and imagine standing in the middle of a peach orchard on a hot August day. Can you smell the tree-ripened fruit? Don’t you want to pick one and savor its sweet, juicy, fragrant goodness? The pleasures of sweetness, flavor, fragrance, and texture are reasons enough to eat fruit. But besides those inviting wonders, fruits offer us many compounds of great benefit to our health.

We all know they provide vitamins and minerals, but there are many other compounds in fruit, some of which we cannot name, that give health benefits to those who consume them. We call those compounds, collectively, phytonutrients-that is, nutrients from plants (“phyto”=plant).

Many of these phytonutrients have antioxidant activity, and others may yield their benefits by different mechanisms, such as inhibiting an enzyme. In many cases, we don’t know how they work.

Cherries, for example, are known to reduce uric acid levels in blood and to increase the urinary excretion of uric acid. Uric acid is what causes gout, and eating cherries, drinking cherry juice, or taking capsules of cherry extract can relieve the pain of gout. What in cherries reduces uric acid? And how does it do it? We don’t yet have the answers to those questions, but while we’re waiting for the answers, we can use cherries to give us relief from gout.

The fruits best known for their high antioxidant activity are berries:

* Raspberries

* Blueberries

* Strawberries

* Blackberries

* Cranberries

* Goji berries (also known as wolfberries)

But many other fruits provide high amounts of the familiar antioxidant, Vitamin C:

* Cantaloupe

* Kiwi

* Kumquat

* Citrus fruits (e.g., orange, lemon, lime, grapefruit, clementine, tangerine)

Fruits, even acidic ones, have an alkalizing effect on the body: that is, they make the body less acid. Evidence is accumulating that certain disease conditions, such as osteoporosis, gout, and rheumatoid arthritis are aggravated by excess acid in the body. Eating alkalizing fruits can reduce overall acidity.

Alkalizing fruits include (but are not limited to):

* Figs

* Dates

* Black currants

* Bananas

* Apricots

* Cherries

* Grapes

* Grapefruit

* Mangos

* Pears

* Pineapple

* Lemons

* Peaches

* Apples

Many people have been advised by their doctors to eat bananas to provide potassium to make up for losses caused by potassium-depleting medications. While bananas are a good source of potassium, so are many other fruits (and vegetables). There is no need for boredom when attaining your daily 3500 milligrams of potassium. Other high-potassium fruits include avocado, grapefruit, orange, watermelon, and raisins. If you eat 3 to 5 servings of vegetables and 2 to 3 servings of fruit per day, you should have no trouble achieving adequate potassium intake.

Eating whole fruits has many advantages over drinking their juices. While nutritionists encourage eating 2 to 3 servings of fruit per day, they do not suggest 5 or 6, mainly because that could lead to excessive sugar consumption, a risk factor for diabetes and obesity. Drinking fruit juice is likely to increase the number of fruit servings consumed, since it takes, for example, three or four medium oranges to make an 8-ounce glass of juice. Juice also is devoid of fiber if the pulp is removed, whereas whole fruits can be a good source of fiber-a nutritional factor not only helpful for preventing or treating constipation but also for eliminating many unwanted compounds from the body.

So, enjoy your two or three servings of fruit daily without guilt. Delight in their deliciousness and appreciate their contributions to your health.

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Goji Berry Juice – 3 Facts And 3 Claims

Goji berry juice is made from a relatively rare berry grown in certain regions in China and parts of Central Asia. Also known as the Wolfberry in the West, the Goji berry has been in use for thousands of years for medicinal purposes in Asia and is now getting attention in the West for the same reasons.

In addition to being consumed as a juice, Goji berries are also eaten in the West in dried form. The taste of the dried berries has a hint of tomato and is similar to that of dates, dried cranberries or raisins. However, the berry is also drier and tarter than these other fruits.

Here are 3 facts and 3 claims about Goji berry juice you should consider before trying it for yourself.

First, the facts: the following facts have been determined by various independent scientific studies of Goji berry juice:

Fact #1: Contains 500 times more vitamin C than do oranges: Goji berries are loaded with vitamin C and have up to 500 times more of it than do oranges on a per-weight basis. 100 grams of Goji juice has between 29 mg to 148 mg of vitamin C.

Fact #2: Has 19 amino acids: The juice has 19 amino acids, including 8 essential amino acids. Amino acids are the building blocks of the proteins that your body needs to survive.

Fact #3: Holds more beta-carotene than carrots: Beta-carotene can be converted to vitamin A in the small intestine or stored “as is” in the liver to be converted to vitamin A later, as needed. Vitamin A is contributes to improved vision and to better skin health.

The claims: the following claims about Goji berry juice are made by both ancient Chinese herbalists and modern Western sellers of the juice. However, these claims have not been verified by any major Western study or by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration:

Claim #1: Boosts the immune system: Goji berries are said in both ancient and modern China to boost the immune system, a claim supported by most marketers of the berry in the West. The abundance of vitamin C found in the juice, along with other elements, lend validity to this claim.

Claim #2: Improves sexual health: The berries are purported to have an anti-inflammatory agent that boosts sexual health and increases sperm count.

Claim #3: Has anti-aging properties: Goji berries contain polysaccharides that control the pituitary gland, which in turn produces the human growth hormone (HGH). Human growth hormone is a powerful anti-aging hormone.

According to both Chinese and Western sources, Goji berry juice has a number of properties beneficial to human health. While it is a fact that the berry is loaded with vitamins, minerals, and amino acids, it is always prudent to take the claims about the juices health benefits with a grain of salt until further scientific studies in the West have been completed.

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