Stay Healthy All Winter Long

Do you by chance have a New Year's goal to be healthier? Here are two things I've discovered recently that  have made a huge difference in my energy level and overall health...

Green drinks! Yes, they look like Nickelodeon slime, but it's a super great way to get all those servings of veggies your body needs each day. It also helps to alkalize your body (a subject for another post). There are many different green drink recipes online, but here's what I do...

Ingredients:

2 handfuls of spinach

1 cucumber

2 stalks of celery

little bit of parsley

little chunk of ginger root

juice of 1 lemon

an apple or kiwi (or both) if you aren't used to the pure veggie taste

Directions:

Blend it all in the blender and enjoy! I drink at least two a day--one in the morning and one before dinner.

This next recipe has saved me from a nasty cold that keeps trying to get me for the past several months. Every time I feel a hint of sore throat, aches, chills, or whatever else I make a batch of this garlic soup. Within hours I feel all better! 

Ingredients:

2 entire bulbs of garlic

olive oil

1 lb. potatoes, peeled and chopped

4 cups chicken broth

1/4 cup parmesan cheese

Directions:

1. Cut the garlic bulbs in half (hamburger bun style). Drizzle oil on them and wrap tightly in tinfoil. Roast in a 350 degree for 40 minutes or so. 

2. Squeeze the roasted garlic cloves into a saucepan. Add the chopped potato and chicken broth and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer for 12 minutes or so until the potatoes are soft. 

3. Add parmesan cheese then, in batches, puree the soup in a blender. 

4. Eat with your favorite bread (then go rinse with mouthwash cause your breath probably stanks!)

Hope these will help you to stay healthy all winter!