Prickly pear harvesting season has just begun! These strange-looking fruits come in a range of colors from lime green to yellow, orange, and beet red. Prickly pears are very rich in vitamin C, calcium, dietary fibers and antioxidant compounds. They are a low in calories, saturated fat, and cholesterol free. With all those nutritional facts and more, these fruits help in managing weight, boosts your immune system, aids in preventing cancer, helps preventing dental issues, and the most important thing that makes it essential in detoxing after summer vacation, is its ability to eliminate constipation, bloating, and gastrointestinal issues. It also helps you flush your system.
In order to achieve the perfect after summer detox, what is better than adding coconut to the mix?! This delicious ingredient is truly a “do it all “element that many of us don’t even realize its true potential. This healthy monster is perfect for flushing your body from all the summer toxins (alcohol, junk food, smoke …) for many reasons: Coconut helps the liver detoxify from waste and allows the liver to use this waste as energy immediately before storing the fat found in the coconut. Of course an excess of ANYTHING may lead to fat storage, a moderate intake of coconut will help you in detoxification, and energy, while avoiding taking any supplements and drugs. Coconut is perfect for regulating your digestion and protects your system. Because of the unique way the coconut is digested, it can help with slow motility, inflammation, poor nutrient absorption; regularity, and it works as a natural coating for the throat and digestive tract, reducing by that, the burning sensation and other irritation caused by acid reflux. The lauric acid in coconut oil/butter is a natural antiseptic that kills the fungus and bacteria that cause acid reflux.
So I recommend that you go and buy a small jar of organic coconut oil/butter and keep it in your kitchen because coconut is not a fat to be feared.
Fat is not a negative term and the sooner we can understand that natural sources are there to protect and improve our health, the happier and healthier we will be before it’s too late!
As a liquid in all my detox breakfast smoothies, I prefer to use the aloe Vera organic juice for its many health benefits as well as its great taste once added to the smoothie. The aloe Vera juice helps keep the balance of alkaline and acidic in our bodies. A healthy balance between those two is affected by the food we eat. By alkalizing our organism, Aloe Vera blocks off various illnesses and other health complications since diseases do not survive in an alkaline-rich environment. The gel consistency of this juice allows it to absorb toxins from your gastrointestinal tract. This plant is considered as an adaptogen and a vermifuge as well as the fact that it can regulate your organism and make your bowel movement more regular and helps your body get rid of worms and ease acid reflux. Drinking this juice can boost regulation of your digestive system and get both diarrhea and constipation under control. Not to forget the rich mixture of vitamins and mineral in this juice from vitamins (A, B1, B2, B3, B6, B12, C, E), folic acids, choline, fatty acids and eight essential amino acids.
And to seal the deal with this detox, top it all with a little bit of honey, it doesn’t need any introduction or explanation about how good it is for your health. Because of its anti-bacterial, anti-fungal function honey reduces ulcers and other gastrointestinal disorders.
And it’s a perfect addition to your breakfast smoothie and pre-workout snacks because it is an excellent source of natural energy. Each season has its own beneficial fruits and vegetables that we will explore together through out each season. But some super ingredients all essentials in most of my smoothies like honey, aloe vera juice , coconut (oil, butter, flakes… ) …
Ingredients:
- 1 Small Banana
- 1 Prickly Pear (Indian Fig)
- 1 Cup Aloe Vera Organic Juice
- 1 tsp. Coconut Butter/Oil
- 1/2 Tbsp. Raw Honey
- 1/4 tsp. cinnamon
Instructions:
- peel and cut the fruits and pour in the blender.
- Add the remaining ingredients and blend on high speed until smoothie texture is formed.
- And that’s it! Enjoy
Nutritional information:
Serving Size: 1 smoothie • Calories: 217 • Fat: 4 g • Carbs: 47 g • Fiber: 7 g • Protein: 4 g
Further Resources:
- 35 Wonderful Benefits Of Aloe Vera Juice – on StyleCraze.com
- What Are the Health Benefits of Drinking Aloe Vera Juice? – on LiveStrong.com
- http://www.drweil.com/health-
wellness/balanced-living/ wellness-therapies/prickly- pear-a-cactus-cure/ - http://www.realfoodforlife.
com/health-benefits-of-honey/ - http://homeremediesforlife.
com/coconut-oil-for-acid- reflux/