Benefits of Cranberries

Source: Cranberry Institute

Scientific research is revealing how healthful cranberries can be. Packed with nutrients like antioxidants and other natural compounds, cranberries are a great choice for the health conscious consumer. Cranberries are available in a wide variety of forms including fresh fruit, juice, sauce, and dried. Juices and sauce are available year-round at your grocery retailer. Fresh fruit is generally available from September to December. Include more cranberries in your diet today and start eating healthier today.

Cranberries contain proanthocyanidins (PACs) that can prevent the adhesion of certain of bacteria, including E. coli, associated with urinary tract infections to the urinary tract wall. The anti-adhesion properties of cranberry may also inhibit the bacteria associated with gum disease and stomach ulcers.

After completing a little research recently here at Flowercarole.com, we discovered which type of fruit smoothie recipes our visitors like to make for their breakfast.

(Number 1 being the most popular smoothie)

1.   Banana, Honey and Cinnamon Smoothie

2.  Apple Mania Smoothie

3.  Banana and Strawberry Burst Smoothie

4.  Very Berry Smoothie

5.  Fruity Delight Smoothie

6.  Sweet and Healthy Smoothie

7.  Banana and Peanut Butter Smoothie

8.  Pear Pine Smoothie

9.  Cranberry and Strawberry Smoothie

10. Tangy Tomato Smoothie

These days there are too many tempting adverts on TV, in comics, billboards etc which are all tailored to entice kids to their particular products. Of course we are not trying to say don’t ever buy anyone of them, but what we are trying to say is try and tempt your kids away from certain things, such as cola, fizzy drinks, sweets etc.

Most children enjoy a glass of milk, so why not try making them a smoothie for a change. This way you know that your child is getting fruit and vegetables into their diet.

A friend of mine asked her son if he would like a banana, he instantly replied “No, I don’t like them”. I suggested she make him a simple banana smoothie made from 1 banana and a large glass of fresh milk just to see if her son would drink that instead. She passed the smoothie to her son, he took a sip at first then gulped the rest down saying that he loved it! So please don’t give up trying to get your children to eat fruit and vegetables there are other ways, you just have to make them look more inviting to them.

Have you ever tried a fruit smoothie recipe for your breakfast? If not, you don’t know what you are missing out on!

Many people automatically reach for a cup of tea or a strong coffee first thing in the morning, followed by a greasy breakfast of some sort. However, just once, try making a fruit smoothie recipe for your breakfast and you will be amazed at how full and also how alert you will feel. Not only that, you are contributing to your 5 portions of fruit and vegetables per day, all in one smoothie.

Some people say that eating fruit by itself can be a little boring, especially if you are on a diet or trying to make a difference to your daily diet. So by making a homemade smoothie it makes that boring banana turn into something tasty, something healthy and something you will want to make again and again.

If you have never made a smoothie before, then all you need to do is have a look through the hundreds of free smoothie recipes here on flowercarole. Buy the ingredients for the one you like the sound of, follow the blending instructions and then pour your healthy smoothie out – and enjoy it!

Here are a couple of breakfast smoothie recipes I would recommend for those new to smoothies:

1. Banana and cinnamon smoothie

2. Berry brazzle smoothie

3. Pineapple and banana smoothie

4. Mango squeeze smoothie

5. Bright morning smoothie

Homemade fruit smoothies

With all this credit crunch situation at the moment we all need to start watching our money, and we need to look at how and where we can save money when doing our weekly / daily shopping.

If you buy fruit smoothie drinks on a daily basis you are no doubt spending a rather lot of money over a one month period, work it out exactly how much you are paying for them, you will be surprised.

My advice is that if you are buying fruit drinks and smoothies ready made then don’t! Buy yourself a standard smoothie maker, you don’t have to spend a fortune on a huge hi-tech machine, something simple will work just as good. Browse through the hundreds of free smoothie recipes here on flowercarole and then go to your local market / shops / supermarket and buy yourself the fruit you require (I usually buy enough fruit to make around 4-5 different types of smoothies which will last a few days). Then basically just get blending and making your own fruit smoothies, you will be surprised as how good they actually taste and they taste much fresher than the pre-made ones you used to buy in the shop. You are also helping to reduce waste, because there are no plastic bottles or cardboard cartons to dispose of, you just pour your delicious drink into your glass, easy!

So what are you waiting for? Start saving money today and make your own homemade smoothies, you won’t be stuck for a free recipe because we have every combination on our site – and they are all free to use!

With Christmas now gone and 2009 now here we wondered how you were all getting on with your New Year Resolutions? Have you managed to stick religiously to them or did you fail?

If one of your resolutions was to diet and you have failed then don’t worry about it, start again tomorrow! If you love your food like us and always have done then you will certainly find it difficult to diet. Start dieting gradually, don’t cut out all the foods you enjoy, why punish yourself? Also try to incorporate more exercise into your daily routine.

From the many emails Flowercarole received during the Christmas period we understand that many of our visitors received blenders / juicers and smoothie makers as presents and you wanted to know which smoothie recipes to start to off with. Our advice is that if you are new to making smoothies we would suggest you try a basic smoothie recipe at first, something like Berry Banana Twist smoothie recipe or even just a one fruit smoothie recipe. The more you make the more you will get used to both your blender and the quantity of fruit to put into the recipe. Some people like their smoothies nice and creamy without any lumps of fruit in, whereas others prefer their smoothies with more lumps of fruit in. It won’t take you long to get the hang of smoothie making, we promise!

Let us know how you are getting on with your smoothie makers and even send us a photo!

Whatever your preference, here is one smoothie for Christmas you must try. This smoothie is the perfect recipe, especially as we are now leading up to that festive time once again.

Try our spiced apple smoothie recipe today. Let us know your thoughts and if you too think this is the perfect Christmas smoothie recipe.

At the start of the year we asked how many of our smoothie readers were on their January diets, and a large number of readers said they were. Dare we ask… have you kept to your diets? or did you fail on your diet? Either way we are sure you are still eating and drinking lots of fruit…otherwise you wouldn’t be here reading this!

We have a tempting Christmas Morning smoothie recipe which tastes superb, is low fat and a breeze to make. This particular smoothie contains strawberries, mint, melon, a banana and ice cubes, delicious!
Browse through our extensive range of free fruit smoothie recipes because we are sure you will find something that tempts you!

If you have or are planning to fit into that little black dress for Christmas do you need to lose just a couple of pounds or so before then? If so, start making your fruit smoothies again because as you know they fill you up and they are an excellent source of fibre, vitamins etc and best of all you can get all of your 5 portions of fruit / veg in just one smoothie!

Drink up, be happy and look after yourself – your body is a temple you know!

When freezing blackberries it’s best not to wash the fruit beforehand as they are prone to going mushy once defrosted.

Place the blackberries on a flat tray (one that is small enough to go in your freezer), arrange the blackberries on the tray ensuring that they don’t touch. Place gently into the freezer and allow to freeze for a few hours.

Once the blackberries are completely frozen, remove from the tray and place in either a sealed container with a lid on or a freezer bag with a tie.

Depending on what you want to do with the blackberries, you can either throw them in a smoothie (defrosted or frozen) or bake in a pie.

A quick free tasty smoothie recipe is blackberry and honeydew melon. Click here for the recipe.