Tuesday, December 29, 2009

Day 45

My dear friend Christy asked about Dragon Fruit and Kombucha.  Dragon Fruit is apparently officially called Pitaya.  It's pretty alien looking.  I'm not actually sure if it's grown in Israel or imported from the Far East (we say Far East because we are, you know Middle East.  That cracks me up.  East of WHERE?  Yeah, I know.)

Kombucha is fermented black or green tea.  You brew tea with lots of sugar and then add a yeast/bacteria culture, like when making sourdough or yogurt, and then let it sit at room temp (with a filter on top to keep out flies and harmful bacteria).  It gets mildly fizzy and takes on a vinegar sort of taste.  I honestly can't believe that I like it, it sounds so gross, but I really like the taste, the light fizz and most of all the way it makes me feel.  It IS slightly alcoholic so maybe that's all I'm reacting to, but it makes me feel calm and centered and if my belly is at all bloated or gassy, Kombucha takes that right away.  Mmm. think I need to go pour a glass right now!

You can google it and read tons of more information.  The brand I used to buy in the States is this:

Company:  Synergy  Brand Name:  GT's

I miss it!!!

I liked the ones flavored with juice.  My brother-in-law drank a bottle of plain when he was visiting us in NY once and said "Um, it tastes like straight vinegar"  but he finished it!

Anyway on today's food front I juiced a bunch of oranges and grapefruits this morning.  Sunshine in a glass!

But truthfully, straight citrus juice is a bit too sweet for me on it's own.  Boy, never thought I would EVER say something is "too sweet"!  So I made a delicious smoothie with banana, citrus juice, frozen blackberries, ground flaxseeds for fiber and a spoonful of tahina for protein.  It was yummy and fueled me right through teaching a class today.  I didn't get hungry for lunch until 2pm! 

But then I was really hungry and wolfed down my lunch before I could take a picture of it, sorry.  It was the Coconut Cauliflower Curry over Brown Rice from Get It Ripe by Jae Steele and the Pressed Cabbage Salad from the same book.  Dinner will be some simple vegetable soup with noodles I think.

Parent-Teacher Conferences tonight, Heaven help me!

3 comments:

  1. That dragonfruit looks tasty! I imagine it will be hard to find in Pittsburgh. I've tried some new fruits this year. In Hawaii, I tried starfruit, lychee and longanberries. Here at home I tried persimmons. I loved them all.

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  2. I am fascinated with the Dragon Fruit. It's so unbelievably pretty on the inside and gorgeously exotic on the outside. My eyes will remain open for one of these beauties in the produce department. I've probably seen one before but was too scared to know what to do with it.

    Now, on to the Kombucha report. Uh, Em, LOL, I wish you could have seen my face this morning. First, never ever shake Kombucha before opening. Or you will be running to the sink as in my case.

    Then, WOWZA, the smell hit me.........MOMMA MIA.....could it be? A small taste... and..yes, indeed....Kombucha tastes JUST like a wine cooler! At least the one with strawberry puree does. Same brand you bought here in the states, Synergy.

    Now maybe it's because I haven't had a drink in twenty something years that I was so sensitive to it OR maybe not because hubby said it reminded him of the same thing.

    I couldn't drink it so early in the day...heh, heh, so I'm saving it for tomorrow afternoon. Will be pretty cool if that will calm me plus give me all those health benefits and it's non-alcoholic to boot. Well, 0.5% but not enough to count, right?

    Oh, Dragon Fruit comes in yellow too. Wiki says so. Native to Mexico, Central & South America, China, Israel, Hawaii.....shouldn't be that hard to find. I'm making it my mission.

    Christy

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  3. Pitaya grows in Israel,I believe in the south. You have some lovely recipes in this blog.

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