Tutti Frutti Juice

“If you are planning to fall off the gluten-free wagon, Germany is a good place to start”

Easter holidays are coming to an end which I dread and welcome in equal measure. Doing the daily school run for another term is daunting when you’ve got used to PJ’s until early afternoons and homework free evenings. But I also welcome the routine which keeps me on the straight and narrow when it comes to sleep and food/drink in particular.

We’ve been away, in Germany, and my green habits have gone somewhat off-piste. I have juiced when I’ve been able to (once) and I’ve drunk more wine and coffee than I usually do. And then there was cake (well you try going to Germany without having at least one large gateaux per day) and definitely not as many green vegetables that I’m used to. I’ve had plenty of pasta, bread in all varieties and none of it gluten-free. German bread is second to none by the way just in case you were wondering so if you’re planning to fall off the gluten-free wagon, Germany is the place to do it. The bread comes in a million different varieties and is even packed in special perforated ‘bread’ paper which keeps it fresh for longer. They know how to keep you hooked.

But as I know that my two-week hiatus from healthy (my term) eating was made of stuff that for others constitutes a normal diet it made me think. Because it wasn’t like I was downing junk food or eating anything in excess yet it was a million miles away from what I consider normal these days – and it happened in two weeks which makes me think what it would be like if I ate like that all the time. I’ve got the physical signs to prove it too!

Weight gain – tick!

Loss of energy – tick!

Sniffles – tick!

Congested skin – tick!

Mood swings – tick!

In other words – it did not take long (about two weeks) for my body and mind to show outwardly what I was feeding it inwardly. I can actually see the difference and so can my kids who think it is great fun to poke me in my (much softer) belly. But summer bodies are made in winter and spring so I’ve been going back to basics – big time!

Daily juicing
Lots of good fats (coconut oil, olive oil, nuts, seeds)
Eating lots of rainbow coloured vegetables and lots of green leafy ones – kale, chard, spinach, watercress with every meal.
Plenty of water.
No sugar.
Gluten free only grains.
Less coffee and more herbal tea.

And it feels really good to be back to my Green Swede ways – especially adding more good fats. Fats by the way does not make you fat but sugar definitely does. End of. So more avocado, less cake 🙂

Still, I’m all for balance and I would dread to be a nutrition bore who cannot travel without a whole host of supplements, special powders and spending precious holiday time trawling health food shops for gluten-free this or that. Instead, I try to follow the rhythm of a place and do what feels right there – I know I can always return home and carry on where I left off.

Back to today’s Tutti Frutti Juice which consisted of the very last remains in my fruit and vegetable drawer which I then juiced. The orange coloured and sweetly flavoured brew was divine. The vitamin A from the carrot, the anti-oxidants from the lemons, the pectin from the apple and the anti-inflammatory properties of the ginger made it a zingy, spicy, nutritious and flavourful concoction which worked out just right. I added some mint at the end which, with some added ice, would make a cooling poolside drink in the summer. Keep it in mind!