Matcha Yuzu Mango Popsicles With Mint

April 27, 2015

Summer is fast approaching and the weather is heating up fast! I have been absolutely loving the longer, warmer days and as such, my appetite has adjusted along with the weather. This past winter (not sure I can really call what San Francisco had winter though), I have been living off of warm zucchini pasta, soups, teas (best tea EVER) and oatmeal. I admit that while my love for these foods lasts year round, light and cool foods such as smoothies, fresh rolls and ice-cream have been calling my name.

Sure, I will have the occasional cheat meal (what’s up Ben & Jerry’s), but since I try to keep things healthy around here, I have become quite creative in my attempts to make desserts that are both healthy and delicious. I am absolutely obsessed with matcha green tea, and when I was younger I would always get the sugary and highly calorific green tea frappes from Starbucks and matcha green tea ice-cream whenever I could.

I was thinking hard as to how I could make a matcha dessert using the Republic of Tea’s matcha yuzu powder (what a freaking amazing combo, right?!) that was delicious, healthy AND unique. I like to make things easy for myself, don’t I lol? And then suddenly it hit me: popsicles!! I feel as if popsicles are THE epitome of summer 🙂

Recipe

Matcha Yuzu Mango Popsicles with Mint

Alice Williams

A refreshing and healthy popsicle for summer made of mango, mint and matcha yuzu from Republic of Tea.

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Ingredients

2 tsp matcha yuzu powder from Republic of Tea
1 1/2 cup frozen mango cubes can be found in most supermarkets
3 large or 5 small mint leaves
1 small tub plain greek yogurt I used Stonyfield
1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk
1 tbsp honey

Instructions

Firstly, get your popsicle molds out and ready to be used!
Put all of the ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. This could take a few minutes depending on your blender.
Pour mixture into popsicle molds and freeze it overnight.
The next day, run the popsicles under hot water for a few seconds to easily take the popsicle out of the mold.
Eat and enjoy!

Notes

Almond milk can be subbed for other milks but may affect taste.
Greek yogurt can be subbed for dairy free yogurt such as coconut, but may affect texture and taste.
Honey can be subbed for sugar-free sweetener such as stevia.

I dare you not to like these Matcha Yuzu Mango Popsicles With Mint 🙂 Please let me know what you think about it if you do try it either by commenting below or giving me a shout on social media.

Honestly yours,
Alice

P.S. The popsicle molds are Zoku Classic Pop Molds. I absolutely recommend them!

Thank you for always supporting me! For more Honestly Fitness, check out my Instagram, Facebook, Twitter & Pinterest and don’t forget to subscribe!

Disclaimer: Republic of Tea provided me with the matcha yuzu powder but I received no financial compensation for this post. Rest assured that my opinions will always stay unbiased and that I would never recommend a product I don’t personally use or like.

Health, Products I love

The Best Foods And Drinks If You Are Sick

April 6, 2015

Before I launch into this post, I just want to put out a little disclaimer: the following foods and drinks are what I have personally found to work best in helping me bounce back to my healthy self again. I am not a medical doctor and these are just recommendations based on my opinion and experience 🙂

The Best Foods And Drinks If You Are Sick

Therefore, let’s dive into what I think are the best foods and drinks if you are sick!

Best Foods

1. Chicken noodle soup is an oldie but a goodie. The broth is said to contain anti-inflammatory properties that can help prevent the side effects of a cold.

2. Bananas are really calming for your stomach if you have a stomach virus or are feeling sick and nauseous.

3. Oatmeal; I find oatmeal to be really soothing and comforting if I am confined to my bed and feeling horrid. Plus, oatmeal has plenty of complex carbohydrates which will keep your energy levels high.

4. Avocado is said to be really good if you are experiencing lots of aches and pains because it contains magnesium. It is also an easy to eat food if you are having trouble getting down any solid foods.

5. High fiber crackers are great for if you are constipated (come on, it happens to the best of us), but avoid them if you have an illness which makes it hard for you to digest foods.

6. Dates; when I am sick, I struggle to eat enough foods for fear of throwing up or making my stomach feel worse. I love having dates because they are really sweet and provide a lot of energy.

Best Drinks

1. Green tea with honey and lemon. Green tea has so many health benefits (click here and here to learn more), as do honey and lemon. Honey is anti-bacterial and calming if you have a sore throat, and lemon helps to calm down an upset stomach and also contains vitamin C.

2. Freshly squeezed orange juice with ginger. I don’t know why (could be placebo effect), but this combination always makes me feel better. Could be because of the strong taste of ginger … I really don’t know but it works for me!

3. Green juice, because it is easy to digest (great for a body desperately using all it’s energy to fight off a sickness) and is full of vitamins and minerals.

4. Any herbal tea with honey and lemon (same as #1).

5. Kombucha; kombucha can be great for helping an upset tummy. When I was younger, I would drink coke or sprite when my tummy felt unsettled because the carbonation helped a lot. Kombucha is a much better and lower in sugar alternative which also contains probiotics.

6. WATER! This will always be the king of liquids and nothing beats it. Drink tons of water to flush out anything nasty that is in your system and to keep you hydrated.

… And A Tip

If you feel the start of a cold coming on, you might want to invest in zinc lozenges. This systematic review states that there is strong evidence that zinc can shorten how long you have a cold for. Worth a try, right?! Also, I always tend to reach for chocolate when I am sick hehe (not recommended, but oh so good).

What foods or drinks do you gravitate towards when you are feeling sick?

Honestly yours,
Alice

Thank you for always supporting me! For more Honestly Fitness, check out my Instagram, Facebook, Twitter & Pinterest and don’t forget to subscribe!

Health, Healthy on the cheap, Products I love, San Francisco

Superfood Cereal and Vegan Soup

April 4, 2015

Unfortunately, this wasn’t my best week. I came back to San Francisco on Tuesday morning and started feeling ill on Thursday, which was a nightmare because I had to do a presentation that night and submit a very important assignment on Saturday. I somehow managed to get all that done and try out some good food in the process (although my stomach was killing me Friday and Saturday :()

Superfood Cereal and Vegan Soup

Superfood Cereal

So, on Tuesday, I arrived back home to find a gem of a package from Abe’s Market. I have been using Abe’s Market ‘Try for 2’ program for the past few months because it is a fantastic way to try out new healthy foods and products; for only $2! I’ve tried a few different superfood cereal flavors from Vigilant Eats before (Maca espresso is bae), so I was really looking forward to trying these. NOT gonna lie; I was SO intimidated by the sweet potato and rosemary thyme superfood cereal. However, I am glad I just got on with it and ate it because it was absolutely delicious. Better than the banana chia (although that was delicious too). How sad is it that I was intimidated by a cereal flavor haha?!

Vegan Soup

After feeling like I was on the path to recovery on Friday (and indulging with a rose-geranium macaron and honey lavender ice-cream … whaaaat, I like food!), I felt like crap Saturday morning. Which was really quite annoying because I had plans to meet up with a good friend that morning! Met up with her anyway and tried out a powerball and the vegan split pea soup with eggplant ‘bacon’ from Seed + Salt in the Marina, before having to call it a day and going home to nap. Such a princess 😛