Flavoured fruit waters and a Zero Water Jug Giveaway.

Keeping hydrated is extremely for our body and health Water is essential for the kidneys and other bodily functions. During the day water is lost by the body in the form of sweating and urination, and this needs to be replaced. The amount of water needed each day does vary from person to person.However the average recommended amount for men is 3.7 litres and 207 litres for women. This seems rather a lot but this amount is made up from water you get from food, fruits, food, tea, coffee and drinks and drinking plain water too.

Water quality differs from area to area and this also affects the taste if it. With my 12 cup Zero Water jug gives me perfectly clear water no matter where I am. The jug is big enough for a family and is stylish in design. It is NSF Certified and comes with a 5-Stage Dual-Ion Exchange filtration system that reduces Lead, Chromium and Mercury and  removes 99.6% of all dissolved solids.

The filtered water taste delicious and it's perfect for drinking and cooking with too. The Jug comes with a filter, a water quality meter tool for checking the water quality and it has a push button tap at the base of the jug to allow filling bottles easily. This function is handy to use when the jug is full and too heavy to lift for some people.

To encourage my family to drink more water during the summer months I make my own sugar free fruit infused waters using the filtered water from my Zero Water jug.

You can make zero sugar fruit infused waters, our favourites are cucumber and lemon, cucumber and mint, pineapple and mint, mixed berries with mint. You can add any fruits to your water to flavour it and it makes a refreshing healthy sugar free flavoured fruit waters. I also make my ice cubes with the filtered water to add to the drinks.

I love my new jug and as always I love my readers to get a chance to try it out too.Zero Water have agreed to send one simplyf00d reader a jug to try out.

How To Enter:

• Simply complete the Rafflecopter widget below to verify your entries
• Entries can be via blog comment, Facebook, Twitter etc
• Please read the rules they form the terms and conditions of this Giveaway
• Closing date – 16th June 2019 12.00 am
• Prize  One 12 cup Zero Water Jug
• Open to UK residents  and over 18 years of age.

How Rafflecopter works:

• You will need to complete the mandatory entry first – usually making a blog comment. You can do this by clicking on leave a comment at the bottom of the post and leaving your reply in the comment box. Please note your comment will not show immediately as it needs to be moderated however rest assured it will appear on the site, so carry on with rest of entries.
• Login to Rafflecopter – click to see what the question is. Make a comment answering the question on the blog.
•  Go back to Rafflecopter and click the green button to tell me you have made a comment, this will unlock all the other options. All entries are checked to see that the mandatory question is answered, if its not all bonus entries will become void. 
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a Rafflecopter giveaway

**In collaboration with Zero Water

Ginger Tea and the health benefits of Ginger.

Ginger is a flowering plant whose rhizome, ginger root or ginger, is widely used as a spice and for medicinal purposes. It belongs to the Zingiberaceae botanical family. Ginger is grown mainly in India, China, Japan, Indonesia, Australia, Nigeria and West Indies islands.

Ginger is very commonly used in south eastern Asia, India and China. Ginger contains very strong anti-inflammatory compound called gingerols. There are many benefits of the gingerols. 

Ginger is known to reduce risks of heart disease and high cholesterol.  It helps to reduce pain in osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis. Chewing a piece of ginger helps in reducing discomfort and pain in the stomach, colic, and dyspepsia.  

Those who suffer from motion sickness including dizziness, nausea, vomiting and cold sweating can benefit from taking ginger either in the form of ginger tea, chewing on it or in capsule form. It also helps with nausea caused by pregnancy. not only is ginger widely used for culinary use but for centuries ginger has also been used in Ayurveda and beauty products. It is commonly used to help with acne, dandruff and anti-aging.

Ginger is available in various forms:

• Whole fresh roots
• Dried roots  
• Ground ginger 
• Crystallised ginger 
• Pickled ginger.  
• Preserved or 'stem' ginger.  
• Ginger oil
• Ginger capsules

Preparation of fresh ginger:

Fresh root ginger will keep in the fridge for weeks f its washed and dried and wrapped in kitchen paper. Alternatively you can scrape the ginger root with a teaspoon and cut into slices. 

Add the slices to blender jug like the  powerful Optimum 9400 blender to make a pulp which can be stored in a jar in the fridge for up to a month to use when ever needed. The pulp can also be frozen in a tray and then stored in zip lock bags in the freezer to use as and when needed.

Ground ginger is also very useful to have to add to baking etc. Ground ginger can be stored in a clean airtight jar in a cool place out of direct sunlight.

The flavour of ginger is warm and fragrant and its perfect to add to masala tea, honey and ginger flapjacks and ginger syrup.  You can even have chutney with ginger in it. I love ginger tea and drink it daily. Its refreshing and totally healthy has lots of medicinal qualities.

Yield: serves 2

Author: Nayna Kanabar

Ginger Tea

Aromatic and fragrant ginger flavoured tea with honey and lemon

prep time: 5 Mcook time: total time: 5 M

Ingredients:

• 200 ml hot water
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 2 Tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon ginger pulp

Instructions:

How to cook Ginger Tea

1. In a jug add the hot water ginger pulp, lemon juice and the honey.
2. Mix with a spoon and strain into serving cups.

Created using The Recipes Generator

Consuming this ginger tea is really helpful in keeping at bay colds, flu and minor ailments.

Ginger is a staple spice in my household and I use it daily in a majority of  my dishes. Most commonly ginger is added to curries and even rice dishes, I love the sound of this ginger and garlic rice.
I also love the flavour of ginger in sweet dishes too,  such as is these delectable gingerbread crinkle cookies and this lemon and ginger cheese cake.

Raw banana Fry ~Recipe Swap May 2019

This is the May challenge for recipe swap and this month I was allocated F for flavour blog written by Shalini. Shalini is a software engineer, who is currently a stay at home mum. She gets her recipe inspiration from her mother, grandmother and aunts. 

Looking through Shalinis blog, I shortlisted three recipes; veg momos as I have never made momos at home and wanted to try them, mango chutne as its mango season at the moment and the raw banana roast. It was a tough decision but finally I decided to make the raw banana fry as I had friends visiting and it makes a lovely appetiser.

I followed the recipe and the only changes I made was that I added a little chopped coriander and red chillies and doubled the quantity. The recipe was delicious and I will definitely be making it again. 

Yield: serves 4

Author: Nayna Kanabar

Raw Banana Fry

Raw bananas marinated in herbs and spices and shallow fried until golden brown and crispy

prep time: 15 Mcook time: 15 Mtotal time: 30 M

Ingredients:

• 2 Raw green bananas (matoke)
• 3 sprigs fresh coriander finely chopped
• 1 red chilli finely chopped
• 1 tsp Red chilli powder
• 1/4 tsp Turmeric powder
• 1 tsp Coriander powder
• 1 tsp Ginger Garlic paste
• 1 .5 tablespoons Rice flour
• 1 teaspoon Salt
• 3 tablespoons Olive Oil
• Lime wedges to serve

Instructions:

How to cook Raw Banana Fry

1. Cut the top and bottom of the raw bananas and place them in a large pan with cold water.

2. Boil the bananas for 6-8 minutes . Do not over boil as bananas need to be a l dente and not fall apart when peeled and sliced.

3. Once bananas are boiled remove from heat and place them in cold water. 

4. Peel and slice them in to 5 mm thickness slices.

5. In a bowl add the flour, salt, chilli powder, turmeric powder, coriander powder, ginger garlic paste, red chilli and chopped coriander .

6. Toss the banana slices in the seasoned flour and leave aside for 20 minutes.

7. After 20 minutes add 1 tablespoon of water and toss the marinated bananas ensuring all, the slices are well cover with the seasoned flour mixture.

8. In a frying pan add the oil and heat it. Shallow fry the banana slices in small batches until golden brown. Remove from the oil and place on kitchen paper.

9. Repeat for all the slices.

10. Serve hot with lime wedges.

Created using The Recipes Generator

NB-There are various types of raw bananas available in the market depending on which country they originate from. There is plantain which are the long green bananas mainly used in Caribbean cuisine or the little green Indian variety from India or the East African variety called matoke.

In this recipe I used matoke. I am sure the recipe would work well with any kind of raw banana. I have previous cooked with matoke when I made my Matoke Bhel and Kenyan Matoke stew

To see what the other bloggers created in the recipe swap check the links below:

Turmeric Milk

Turmeric is one spice that is commonly found in most Asian kitchens. It has numerous health benefits since it is contains curcumin, a substance with powerful anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. Research has shown that including turmeric in our daily diets helps to cure us of  ailments. It is beneficial to people suffering from cancer, heart disease, skin problems, liver disease, arthritis, stomach problems, gallbladder problems, depression and Alzheimer’s too.  

You can get turmeric in the fresh form or dried both are equally good for the health. You can make a lovely  fresh turmeric pickle  that is tasty and oil free or even add fresh turmeric to make a turmeric smoothie.

I also like adding fresh turmeric to my curries and salads but there are many more ways to  incorporate it in your recipes such as in these delicious  turmeric aniseed rusks made by my friend Mayuri.


In most Asian household, one home remedy that is regularly used is Turmeric Milk known as Haldi Dhoodh. Butter, pinch of pepper and turmeric are stirred in to warm sweetened milk and drunk. It is thought that this concoction aids in a speedy recovery.

The Turmeric milk recipe varies from household to household and is made by adding various spices such as pepper, cinnamon and turmeric and butter. I grew up with this very simple and mild flavour but still with lots of medicinal benefits.

Yield: serves 2

Author: Nayna Kanabar

Turmeric Milk

Warm sweetened milk flavoured with spices and turmeric.

prep time: 1 Mcook time: 5 Mtotal time: 6 M

Ingredients:

• 200 ml Full Cream Milk
• 1/2 teaspoon Turmeric
• 1/2 teaspoon butter
• 1/4 teaspoon white pepper
• 1 teaspoon sugar (to taste)

Instructions:

1. Place the milk in a saucepan and bring to boil.
2. Leave it to reach room temperature then add sugar, turmeric and black pepper.
3. Stir in the butter.
4. Pour into two glasses and serve immediately.

Created using The Recipes Generator

Swap Your Oil for Bacofoil® The Non-Stick Kitchen Foil

With the summer fast approaching I love cooking outdoors on the barbecue. Being vegetarian I have tried barbecuing every vegetable imaginable but my all time favourite is cauliflower. Cauliflower is a very delicate vegetable when it’s cooked as it falls apart if overcooked.

These Tandoori Cauliflower bites are done on the barbecue. The trick is to marinade them and then put them on Bacofoil® The Non-Stick Kitchen Foil on the non-shiny side, which has a unique BacoLift® surface, making it non-stick. There is no need to use oil or grease the pan as the Bacofoil® is totally non-stick and the cauliflower bits will just lift off without breaking.

I am so excited to have discovered The Non-Stick Kitchen Foil, that I have been using it all week in my kitchen. I made cookies, normally I would use grease proof paper, but I used the Bacofoil® and they just lifted off even better than using greaseproof paper.

My next day I made veggie burgers, my mixture was a little too soft, so I just patted it down on the Bacofoil® without greasing it. There is no need to use any oil to prevent the burgers from sticking, making it the healthier option. I was expecting to have to peel the foil off but to my surprise the burgers just lifted off.

I also made sweet potato fries , I just tossed them in a tiny bit of oil, added rock salt and black pepper and spread them out on a baking sheet lined with the Bacofoil®, the results were perfect and the sweet potato fries did not stick at all.

For my fussy eater, my daughter I made french fries, rather than fry them, I baked them again great results and so much healthier.

Baked apples who doesn't love them ? We always make them every time we have a barbecue. I  wrapped apples in the Bacofoil® and placed directly on the barbecue. The cinnamon sugar in the apples caramelised beautifully and the foil protected the apples from the charcoal and retained all the lovely caramel.

At the weekend I also made Baingain Bhartha, a roasted aubergine curry cooked with tomatoes, onions and garlic. The recipe calls to oven roast the aubergines.

I placed my aubergines on the Bacofoil® non stick and the aubergines cooked well and just lifted off. Another success.

I am so happy that I have not had to scrub any baking trays. The Bacofoil® protected the trays and because it’s really strong it did not break and allow any juices to seep through. This is the ideal hassle-free solution to notoriously sticky food - no sticking, no mess and definitely no scrubbing. If you have not tried Bacofoil® I would highly recommend that you put it to the test, you will not be disappointed. You can purchase it from all major supermarkets.

** In collaboration with Bacofoil®

Orexi - Feasting at the modern Greek table By Theo A.Michaels ~Book Review

I love all types of cuisine and especially those that include my favorite ingredients  such as courgettes, aubergines, fresh herbs, tomatoes, peppers and lemons. The cuisine that predominantly uses these is Greek Cuisine. On my trips to Crete, Skiathos and Athens I enjoyed the flavours and textures in many dshes and I have been creating a lot of Greek inspired dishes in my kitchen.
Recently when I was sent the cook book Orexi - Feasting at the modern Greek table By Theo A.Michaels, I was really excited to cook from it. 

The book is hardback and divided into section :

Eat like a Greek-  Author introduction
Yoghurt & Pita- Recipes for Greek staples
Meze- A selection of lovely Meze recipes

Sea -A selection of seafood recipes  
Land- Maincourse recipes and a tale of family dining

Sun- Lots of vegetarian and salad recipes  

Fire-Lots of barbecue recipes
Sundowners- Cocktails and drinks and desserts.

Index

The book is well writen with very beautiful family recipes and memoirs. It's well illustrated with lovely photos of beautiful Greek places.

It certainly makes you want to visit all the places to try out the food which all looks really traditional and authentic.

My favorite sections of the book are the sun and fire section, both these sections have some vegetarian recipes. I loved creating a few of them such as the Greek salad, grilled aubergines and feta, charred courgettes and the filled crispy filo rolls and my family favorite Greek Potato Salad.

I enjoyed the book however,  I think the book is really more suited for a non vegetarian as a large percentage of the recipes are using either meat or seafood. I also found that the ingredient list would have been easier to read if it had bullet points and also the recipe instructions would have been simplier to follow if they were numbered instead of written as a paragraph. This little addition would be more useful for an amateur cook following the recipe.

Overall a lovely book that would make a great gift for a foodie with the scope to be able to recreate some lovely Greek and Cypriot cuisine.

You can purchase the book from Amazon and most large book shops.

Book Details : Orexi - Feasting at the modern Greek table By Theo A.Michaels
ISBN  978-1-78879-079-6
Retails  £16.99

My score for the book: 10/15

Content -3/5
Illustrations-4/5
Recipe Instructions-3/5

** I was sent a copy of the book to review as always all thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.