Grapefruit juice

I was quite repulsive towards grapefruit because of its bitter sour taste, but eventually I chanced upon a wonderful recipe which made me embrace this super food ^^

Just simply blend 1 peeled grapefruit, add a handful of ice and a drizzle of honey and blend all the ingredients together. The pretty looking pink juice is a good source of fibre and vitamin c:)

Those on a diet or have weak immune system should incorporate this into their everyday diet:) However take note, this fruit interferes with medicine! So don't take this with other medications!

Cactus Juice

Decided to be adventurous today and added cactus to my smoothie adventure:) The result was more of juice. The cactus is a bit sticky and has a very greenie taste but since I added orange, the citrus twist made it acceptable:)

For those who are new to this plant, below is the benefits of cactus: 

(from http://www.fitday.com/fitness-articles/nutrition/healthy-eating/the-nutrition-of-cactus-juice.html#b) 

Cactus juice has shown to help to prevent inflammation in the muscles, arteries, gastrointestinal tract and cardiovascular region.

Cactus juice has a laxative effect and has shown to effectively treat constipation. In addition to easing constipation, cactus juice can reduce inflammation in the urethra and bladder. This has shown to help reduce pain experienced by individuals with bladder infections and gallstones.

Cactus juice is a good source of photochemicals, which can help strengthen the body's immune system. Lab animals have shown to have a reduce tumor growth after ingesting cactus juice because of an increased immune system response.

Additionally, the nopal cactus has high levels of betalins, which are antioxidants. This antioxidant has shown to prevent premature aging, promote optimal cellular health, reduce inflammation and detoxify the human body.

The American Heart Association has conducted research examining the benefits of cactus juice in reducing cholesterol levels. Nopal cactus nectar is high in soluble fiber, which the American Heart Association has shown to help control or reduce cholesterol levels.

Cactus juice has shown to be an effective remedy for non-insulin diabetes. Research shows that cactus juice can help decrease and stabilize blood glucose and insulin levels. 

Cheers to more smoothie and juice recipes:) Looking foward to more exotic and fun tasty smoothies^^

The Decline

Went for my last lesson for this week and it was such a disaster. I thought that my week had been bad enough, with students not giving a shit about learning on Tuesday and students complaining my game was boring (as compared to the previous week's game) on Wednesday. I was wrong. Horribly wrong. I went to the lesson half an hour early with the marked worksheet and decided on what to teach each student. 15minutes into the lesson and I was still waiting. Alone. In the classroom. Only at the 15th minute mark did 1 student step into my class. 1 student out of a freaking class of 6.

I felt a surge of despair and guilt as I spent the entire 2 hours fixated on 1 student. I felt so bad for screwing up the lives of the students as they must have skipped my lesson to go for makeup lessons, meaning to say I'm a useless teacher who can't even teach properly. Even for that one student, I couldnt teach properly as he was a slower learner, hence making me slightly exasperated. Exasperation compounded by my sense of guilt just threw me into a deep hole of shit. Think I should just give up on this path and source for alternatives, instead of screwing the lives of students who are unluckily placed in my class. 

Since there is still 1 month of relief tutoring left, I shall just persevere and strive hard to lessen my guilt. In the meantime, I need some Running Man and Mango-Orange-yogurt smoothie to ease my depression. 

"Life is a marathon, there are times you're ahead and times you're behind. But ultimately it's merely a race with yourself" 

(thanks to a special friend for this inspiring motivation:)

Blueberry Avocado Smoothie

Couldnt resist myself from posting this photo because I love the colour of this Blueberry Avocado smoothie:) Special request from my mother which made me try making this smoothie:)

On a side note, I just changed my Apple to Samsung phone! Still trying to get used to the interface:/ Hopefully I can get used to it asap^^

Green Citrus Smoothie

Woke up in the morning and while I was preparing the ingredients, my bro requested me to make an extra serving. Glad that he liked it:)

Green Citrus Smoothie
Makes 2

Ingredients:
1 avocado, fully ripe
2 oranges
2 cups of frozen spinach, chopped (I froze the spinach to prevent it from turning soggy in the fridge, to extend their fridge life)
2 carrots, chopped
2 handfuls of ice

Blend avocado and oranges with a bit of water until smooth. Then add in frozen spinach, ice and carrots to blend.

Post-internship nua day: Treated myself to banana+Choco chips+ milk smoothie:) Life's good without having to wake up early in the morning and squeezing with people on the mrt.

 

Appreciate the little things in life. For it's these little jigsaw puzzles that makeyour life complete.

Shagness overload

2nd last day of internship. All I've been busy with for today were printing notes, figuring out how to use the printing machine and drafting email. 

Tuition for a class mixed with students of different levels and syllables. Expended lots of mental energy and patience. Shagness overload. Thankfully no more tuition for this week and tmr is the last day of work. After which will be the time to crash.

But before that, a cup of avocado yogurt shake with chocolate chips to energize me for tonight's World Cup. So what if I've work tmr? #yolo

Angel Food Smoothie

Smoothie King sells this for $6 but I can make it too, with a bit more effort and a bit less sugar without having to travel out of my house:)

Ingredients: Strawberries, banana, yogurt, topped with chocolate chips for added happiness^^

Love this mix and how fuss-free it is. Sweet pink treat to end off Monday blues

World Cup to start a Monday

Woke at 6am specially to watch Ronaldo in action. Disappointed that he didn't make it to the scoresheet once again, but Team Portugal: job well done:) 

And now, a celery-carrot-avocado-orange smoothie to start my Monday:)

Hoping for a great week ahead^^

Special Gift from Father: NEW BLENDER:)

So, on the 8th day of my smoothie breakfast plan, my old blender broke its "leg". Thus it retired from its duty and passed its duty to the new blender. New toy kindly sponsored by my dad:) Thankew dad for the awesome present! Now I have additional motivation to continue my smoothie plan^^

Celery+Carrot+Mango smoothie

My dad asked "So after so many days of smoothies, do you feel any difference?" Well, I have only started on this 1 week ago, so in such a short period of time of course there wont be marked difference. But I feel happier every day, because I know I had a healthy breakfast and knowing that you have a healthy start to a day just makes you happy:) There's always something sweet to look forward to every morning and it is really great fun experimenting with different fruits and veggies^^ 

For those interested in trying out smoothies, can always check out the smoothie recipes listed on the sidebar at the right hand side of my blog:) All the smoothies look good and smoothies are generally cheap and easy and hassle free. Best of all, it is healthy and guilt-free sweet treats:)

#eatclean

After listening to my friend raving about all the benefits of a clean diet, I decided to embark on this special challenge- green smoothie for breakfast. Shall see how long I can sustain on this green smoothie brekkie:)

 Personal favorite for now: Celery + Carrots + Mango.
Some people may eew at the thought of a green smoothie and the addition of veggies may scare away many. But trust me, this is not that green afterall. Especially since mangoes help to enhance the sweetness of the drink, making u happy in the morning ^^

Bringing raw vegan diet to a whole new level, she made a RAW VEGAN fruit pie for my family:D The crust is raw, made from walnuts, dates and dessicated coconut. Instead of the usual fattening custard filling, she used mango puree which added sweetness to the pie. And finally, an array of colourful fruits for aesthetic purposes:) The pie was quite chewy and crunchy because of the coconut. The pie was generally a great attempt which received good review from my picky dad:P

Who says healthy diet and desserts have to be mutually exclusive?