I received a flood of e-mails last week in response to my food allergy piece. It seems that many people out there are living with this problem and were grateful for my article. Some asked how we could lobby pharmaceutical companies or even the Ministry of Health for drugs not yet available in Jamaica now that allergies are on the increase. Others pointed out that I should have mentioned our beloved national fruit, the ackee, as a common allergen in Jamaica. One lady expressed how she felt so alone, that people thought she was being weird or a hypochondriac as they didn’t believe food was the root cause of her illness. She told me she showed the naysayers my piece and felt vindicated. I appreciate the feedback and hope more dialogue will ensue at other levels about food allergies and how to control them.

Another popular trend in my reader e-mails of late inevitably are New Year diet resolutions; many people are asking me about diets. As I have always stressed, I am not a nutritionist, so I speak only in general terms to give you basic but not medical advice, as I am not qualified to do so. However, I am flattered that I have built trust and goodwill with you over the years and am happy to offer tips where I can. Like you, I also learn something new each day. This is the beauty of life. Many of us want to shed the pounds we gained over the holidays. Fortunately, I barely ate a thing over the holidays, but need to lose weight nevertheless; the chubbiness did not go away, so I can understand about wanting to jump into a fitness regime.

I recently came across a documentary link on a friend’s Facebook page called “Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead” about a man who was 100 pounds overweight and who made a conscious decision to do something drastic to shed the pounds. He went on a juice diet and travelled around the US trying to promote healthy eating, sharing his story and listening to others and trying to get them on board. I don’t think I could manage a 60-day juice diet, but I do know many people who embark upon shorter juice fasts to detox. A close friend and I are about to embark on one. I am trying my best to be disciplined. I will let you know how it works out for me.

Nowadays many of us live fast-paced lives and sometimes we honestly don’t have the time to prepare a proper meal. So having a green juice or a smoothie can fill a gap, so to speak, and be a replacement meal. Based on the ingredients you use, these gems of liquid nutrition can be quite tasty and delicious. Today I am sharing two smoothie recipes. You’ll need a blender for one and a juice extractor for the other. Juicing can be loads of fun. Do not throw out the vegetable or fruit trash, instead save it and use it for compost on your plants as the trash is rich in nutrients. The following recipes make one or two servings. Enjoy!

Coconut Chocolate Smoothie

Looking for a chocolate milkshake without the guilt? Try this low-calorie smoothie.

Ingredients:

1 cup unsweetened coconut milk

1 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk

1 tbsp cocoa powder

2 tbsps protein powder

2 bananas

1 to 2 tbsps honey

Ice cubes

Method:

Add to blender and puree until smooth.

Papaya and Pineapple Smoothie

Nothing says tropical more than our local fruits papaya (paw paw) and pineapple. You can use regular milk in this if you don’t have access to almond milk. This recipe is vegetarian friendly. Vegans can omit the honey and replace with a plant-based sweetener.

Ingredients:

1 large papaya peeled, cut in half, seeds removed, roughly chopped.

_ small pineapple, peeled and roughly chopped

_ cup of almond milk

1 tbsp Jamaican honey

6 Ice cubes

Method:

Add to blender and blend until smooth.

Strawberry and Banana Yoghurt Smoothie

This sweet treat is full of natural goodness. If you don’t do dairy you can replace yoghurt with soy cream.

Ingredients:

1 cup frozen strawberries

1 large ripe banana

1 cup low-fat vanilla yoghurt

Method:

Add to blender and blend until smooth.

Basic Green Juice

This juice screams vitality. You can use whatever combinations you like to prepare a green juice; just make sure everything you use consists of fresh green vegetables or fruit.

Ingredients:

Handful string beans

Handful callaloo

1 green apple

2 stalks celery

1 green sweet pepper

_ inch piece of ginger

Method:

Cut vegetables and apple into chunks after washing them.

Pass through a juice extractor and mix well.

Simple Carrot and Orange Juice

This juice is rich in vitamins A, C and Beta carotene.

Ingredients:

8 carrots, washed and cut into chunks

2 oranges, peeled and sectioned

Method:

Press carrot chunks and orange sections through the juice extractor.

Mix well.

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Contact me at juicycheffoodmedia@gmail.com

Cheers and Happy Juicing!