Radiance - The Juice Cleanse Co.

We're not usually avid football fans, but it's been hard not to get excited by the hype of the World Cup. Now that it's come to an end we thought we'd keep the spirit of the hosts Brazil alive by creating this Brazilian inspired smoothie.  It's the colours of the Brazilian flag, and it's also packed with ingredients native to Brazil.

The smoothie uses our Cashew Milk to give it a rich creamy base with protein. Perfect for post training. Some of the ingredients included which are native to Brazil: cashews, coconuts, avocado, pineapple. 

To make a Cashew Milk:

• 60g cashews (ideally soaked for minimum of 1 hour)
• 450ml water
• 1 tsp coconut butter
• 1 tbsp maple syprup, agave or honey
• pinch salt

Place all the ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth.  Pour half the cashew milk into a separate container and set aside. 

To create the green part of the smoothie:

• 1/2 ripe avocado
• large handful of fresh mint
• large handful of spinach
• 1 tsp greens powder - optional

Add these ingredients to the cashew milk in the blender and blend until smooth.  Set aside.

To create the yellow part of the smoothie:

• 1/2 ripe pineapple (or you could use mango instead)
• 1/2 tsp vanilla essence
• 1/2 tbsp lucuma (optional)

Place these ingredients along with the cashew milk set aside earlier into a blender and blend until smooth. 

To construct the smoothie pour in some of the green smoothie mixture and then alternate with the yellow smoothie mixture until the glass is full.  We topped our smoothie with blueberries and dessicated coconut to represent the disk of blue starry sky on the Brazilian flag, but you could leave these ingredients off or add another fruit of your choice. Drink immediately and enjoy whilst picturing a gorgeous Brazilian sun-filled day!  

We catch up with the owner of MKD Osteopathic Wellness and internationally experienced Manjot Dehala to explore her health philosophies, stress management and making time for yourself!

What's the best health and wellness advice you've ever been given?

Stick to the 80/20 rule. Eating healthy, staying active and exercising is 80% and 20% is on your conscience! So I enjoy everything in moderation or have a "cheat meal" once a week! 

What do you try to include in your daily diet that you know will benefit you and your health?

I’m a vegetarian so naturally I consume less protein in my diet. Therefore, I always have a protein shake in the morning using organic whey protein powder, frozen mixed berries, cinnamon, organic cold-milled flax-seed, almond milk, water and half a frozen banana to set me up for the day! I also ensure I keep hydrated with water and have green tea in the evening.

Do you have a favourite juicing recipe or ingredient?

I love mixed green juices with carrots, ginger, lemon and turmeric. To keep up on iron and phyto-nutrients I’ll juice fresh organic greens and will always add ginger and turmeric as they’re natural super foods and turmeric is a natural anti-inflammatory.

What's your philosophy on health and wellness? What can we all be striving towards?

As an osteopath I am a strong advocate for remaining accountable of our decisions, bodies, health and lives. I offer a lot of advice on stress-management and sleep so I strongly believe in a well-cared for life balance. Life is too short, so make it a happy, healthy and vibrant one! My one strong piece of advice for everyone would be: To take care of others you must first take care of yourself; create a strong, grounded and well nourished anchor, so that you can continue to live your purpose, enjoy your life and other’s presence.

Do you take any supplements? What are they for?

I daily take professional-branded supplements starting my morning with a green juice which is rich in great probiotics and anti-oxidants. This helps keep my gut and immune system healthy and strong! Then I’ll take a Vit B complex and iron to help with functioning of organs, nerves and red-blood cell health and my evening regime consists of Omega 3,6,9 to keep all the cells of the body and organs healthy. I also take Calcium and Magensium with Vit D - very important when there is at times a lack of sunshine!

How do you like to relax and find time for it with a busy schedule?

I strongly believe in a healthy balanced lifestyle: I have to be able to take care of myself to take care of others in the best way possible. I make time to practice yoga, meditation and mindfulness alongside making time for fun with my friends, family & things I enjoy! It makes such a massive difference, and really balances hormones in the body.

What's your goal for 2014?

To continue becoming my healthiest by taking a variety of classes and become stronger, I love Barre classes so I want to step it up with that and maybe try a bootcamp class.

Do you have any crazy health advice/rituals?

I practice diaphragmatic ayurvedic yoga every morning, drink warm water with lemon and when I wake up and before going to sleep I practice the art of gratitude by remaining thankful for everything I have been blessed with! Research has shown this to be a very healthy way to live :)

What is your approach to helping your patients? What makes you unique?

To maximise all benefits, my philosophy maintains strong belief in working from both the inside and out, offering and fulfilling fully-comprehensive wellbeing. My experience allows them to monetize their health potential with a strong philosophy in a combined mind, body and spirit approach to optimise wellness. I am extremely passionate about promoting and supporting my patients in enriching their physical and overall health and lives to become the best version of them! My experience has allowed me to specialise in osteopathic care for pre-natal, expectant mothers, post-natal rehabilitation and paediatric osteopathy, alongside dancers and sports-enthusiasts.

My aim is to ensure my patients receive an extremely high quality of care, meet their individual goals and have the tools to become independently healthy. I have vast experience with women experiencing fertility and pre-conception treatments so by working on each patient’s individual muscular-skeletal needs, including stress-management, long-term advice, providing personalised tools, really helps them throughout this time in their lives and I ensure they experience a positive feeling of overall balance & wellbeing.

Do you have any top tips for stress management?

Plenty! It’s one thing I work very heavily on with most of my patients as stress gets stored in the body so quickly and manifests in ways that disrupt a lot of balance in the body. My top 4 tips for relieving stress are:

• Breathing exercises to increase oxygen levels and reduce anxiety
• Self-meditation to help clear the mind of stress triggers
• Physical exercise to release a burst of happy hormones and
• Nothing beats a warm bubbly bath with scented candles, relaxing music, good dark chocolate, a hot cup of herbal tea, followed by a good night’s sleep!

Michael from The Herball has shared his summer cordial recipe with Radiance. This light and bright blend is bound to freshen up you day and keep you cool. 

8x Fresh red rose heads

5x Fresh lavender flower spikes

20ml Rosa damascena aromatic water

500ml Light local honey

200ml Filtered water

You can use any unsprayed fresh rose but if you have access to fresh Rosa damascena then use this. Adding a little Rosa damascena aromatic water helps to intensify and brighten the flavour. It's best to pick the whole flower head because this helps with retaining the aromatics of the plant.

Place 7-8 freshly picked roses (save 1-2 flowers heads for next step) and the fresh lavender in a pan with 500ml of light local honey and 200ml of filtered water. Gently heat whilst stirring, be careful not to boil. Place the lid on the pan until it just starts to simmer (roughly around 6mins), turn off the heat and allow the mixture to cool with the lid on for at least an hour. Once cool, strain off, stir in the aromatic water and decant into kilner jar over 1-2 fresh roses. Close the lid and macerate overnight, this adds a further fresh, fragrant dimension to the cordial.

The cordial will keep for around 14 days but must be kept airtight. The cordial is best served over ice with sparkling water, a squeeze of fresh lemon and a rose petal garnish.