Spooky & Delicious Halloween Cocktails

Posted on October 21, 2018 by Trina Solomon | 0 Comments

We love any excuse for a yummy cocktail and Halloween provides the perfect opportunity to treat yourself and guests to festive spooky libations. Check out four unique and delicious recipes that we recommend to take your season up a notch.

Hard Cider Pumpkin Float

Ice cream float, adult style. This indulgent drink is made with hard cider ale and pumpkin gelato (drooling). You could also make this as an alcohol free version. 

Recipe Here: Dine & Dish

Black Widow Cocktail

This cocktail may bite back a little, but it sure is refreshing. To make this delectable potion, you’ll need: 2 oz. blackberry juice, 1 oz. simple syrup and 1 oz. vodka and ice. Fill a highball glass with ice, add ingredients, stir and serve.

Recipe Here: DIY Network

Dark & Stormy Punch

We are in love with the spooktacular lychee & cherry eyeballs. Plus, you can't go wrong with ginger, lime and rum. This drink is refreshing and spirited.

Recipe Here: Food & Wine

Black Magic

Hands down this is the most spectacular drink. It is dark and mysterious and magical. Created with black vodka, lime juice and magic dust, this recipe is easy to make (once you find the ingredients) and filled with spookiness.

Recipe Here Elle Talk

Posted in COCKTAIL, HOLIDAY, RECIPE

Jungle Goddess Smoothie

Posted on October 03, 2017 by Trina Solomon | 0 Comments

Jungle Goddess Smoothie

There are so many food trends that are prevalent in today’s world, it’s hard to keep track, know what’s worth it, and what will be forgotten about a year from now.  However, there is one trend I definitely think is here to stay, and that is the green smoothie.  Looking back over the years, the evolution of my personal green smoothie has been quite the journey.  It began as a small handful of baby spinach was wearily added to my usual concoction of frozen berries and yogurt.  Once I had that under my belt, I slowly began to discover the beauty of using banana to thicken the smoothie and add creaminess, and I also began adding healthy fats, like a spoonful of almond butter, peanut butter, or coconut.  From there, I became even more adventurous and started adding different “superfoods” such as hemp seeds, chia seeds, flax oil and maca powder.  I learned many lessons along my “green smoothie journey,” and have some tips and tricks for creating that perfect smoothie every time:

1. Don’t use too much fruit: a good rule of thumb is no more than 1 cup of fruit per smoothie.  It helps to ask yourself if you would sit down to that much fruit in one serving normally, if it weren’t all pureed in a blender.  While fruit is an extremely valuable and nutritious food, too much eaten at one time can actually have adverse effects, such as spiking blood sugar and can even cause weight gain.
2. Put as many veggies as possible into your smoothie: Not only does this allow you to “bulk up” the smoothie without adding extra fruit, it is also so important to be eating as many vegetables at every meal as we can.  Vegetables are the key to a healthy diet, hands down.  And you don’t have to limit yourself to just spinach- think out of the box, too!  Frozen cauliflower and zucchini are very mild in taste and add a nice thick consistency to the smoothie.  Other vegetetables I have used (all frozen) include cucumber, sweet potatoes, beets, butternut squash, and even green peas!
3. Always add healthy fat: If your smoothie only consists of fruits and veggies, it is not going to keep you full for very long, and you have a higher chance of all of that fruit spiking your blood sugar if you don’t have a good, high-quality fat to go with it.  Nut butters, flax oil, nuts and seeds, and coconut all work here.  Plus, they add a really nice satiating quality to the smoothie!
4. Don’t forget the protein: Since smoothies are often used as a meal replacement, it is important to make sure you have all of your macros (fat, protein, and carbs) covered.  The fruit and vegetables cover the carbohydrate factor and we already addressed healthy fats.  Luckily, healthy fat and protein often go hand in hand (nut butters, nuts and seeds), but if you use a low-protein fat like coconut, you want to make sure and throw in some hemp seeds or your favorite protein powder, especially if you are having your smoothie for breakfast. 
5. Add those superfoods!: Have a bag of chia seeds or raw maca powder that you have heard can work wonders but you are not sure what to do with?  Throw them in your smoothie!  This is the place where you can really rack up nutrition points so don’t be shy!  My favorite smoothie superfood add-ins are hemp seeds, chia seeds, flax oil, maca powder, cacao powder, and spirulina!
6. Don’t be afraid to amp up the flavor: Dried spices, herbs, flavored nutmilks, and citrus can add so much flavor to your smoothie and will keep things interesting.  Cinnamon goes great with a banana and almond butter based smoothie.  Cardamom is a really interesting twist on a smoothie made with mango and coconut.  Basil is delicious when paired with blueberries and bananas.  Vanilla and sea salt will really amp up the chocolate flavor when using raw cacao.

For this Green Jungle Goddess Smoothie, I stayed true to my advice and covered all of my bases I talk about above.   Not only is this smoothie delicious in all of its tropical vibes, but it packs killer nutrition, too.  Fresh ginger is a very power inflammation-fighter and fresh mint is good for your skin and digestive system.  You get a healthy serving of both fruit and veggies, which contain all kinds of goodies such fiber, iron, folate, vitamin C, and vitamin K, among others.  Hemp seeds contain a good dose of protein and the coconut milk covers your bases for weight-loss aiding healthy fats.

To make this smoothie over-the-top good for you, consider adding the spirulina powder.  It is one of the highest quality and most bioavailable sources of plant-based protein and iron on the planet, and contains crucial b-vitamins like thiamin and riboflavin.  And as an added bonus, it gives the smoothie the most insane green color!

Try out this delicious green smoothie and see if this is something you want to add to your daily routine!   This smoothie can easily be a blueprint for what you have on hand!  You could swap out pineapple for mango or almond milk for coconut milk. Throw in some chia seeds if you have them lying around or a handful of pumpkin seeds for an extra dose of magnesium.

Whatever you do, enjoy this smoothie in your SoloSol Jungle Goddess Yoga Pants, dreaming of palm trees, waves, and sunshine!  

Guest Blog by Elizabeth Lim, Holistic Health Chef and Beach Babe 

To see more of her recipes and meal delivery, check out her site Kale & Coconuts

Posted in HEALTH&WELLNESS, RECIPE

Healthy Strawberry Ice Cream Recipe

Posted on August 31, 2017 by Sila Atikol | 0 Comments

There is a general misconception about healthy food, that it is not tasty. We all want to opt for the healthy but when you think about it, who wants to eat tasteless food, or how long can you keep it up? As someone who have been staying on the healthy side of things, I can tell you that healthy doesn't mean not delicious. I am a fat soul and I cannot live without enjoying my food. You might think that I got used to the taste of healthy food because I am going on for so long, and it is true that your eating habits are only habits and when you choose differently, you do get used to it and eventually built new habits. But that's definitely not the case here. I have some friends who are strictly against healthy eating. When I have them over at my house as guests, I refuse to serve them something that I would not normally eat. So I am serving them one of my healthy or paleo deserts along with coffee and I can tell you with great pleasure that they are enjoying every bite and cannot tell the difference.

In summer avoiding the ice cream would be the biggest challenge for most healthy eating newbies. So I would like to share with you some of my favourite, most delicious and easiest alternatives for the hottest days of summer.

1. Strawberry

This one can actually be done with pineapple, peach (peeled) or mango as well.

Ingredients

4 cups of frozen strawberries (I always make sure they are not completely frozen and not completely melted)

Posted in HEALTH&WELLNESS, RECIPE

Full of Love-Valentines Day Recipes

Posted on February 06, 2017 by Trina Solomon | 0 Comments

5 Yummy Valentines Day Recipes

Coconut Sorbet

Toasted Coconut Banana Nutella Gluten Free Muffins

Everybody loves Nutella!

Vegan Dark Chocolate Mousse

A sophisticated treat

Tinto de Verano 

Cocktail Hour: Spanish Style

Herbed Pomegranate Quinoa Salad

Delicious Nutrition

Posted in HOLIDAY, RECIPE

Strawberry Chia Pudding

Posted on October 28, 2016 by Shan Maher | 0 Comments

What you’ll need:

Posted in HEALTH&WELLNESS, RECIPE

Yummy Summer Refreshments

Posted on July 05, 2016 by Trina Solomon | 0 Comments

Our Favorite Summer Sippers!

We love a fun yummy refreshment! Right now we are obsessing over Mojito Iced Coffee and Coconut Water Sangria! 

The Mojito Iced Coffee is the perfect balance of creamy latte and refreshing mint to both give you a caffeine boost and keep you cool!

We are loving this Coconut Water Sangria because it is light and refreshing and keeps you hydrated. We love everything tropical but feel free to substitute pineapple or mango for your favorite fruit. 

xoxo, 

Charlene & Trina 

Posted in RECIPE