Are you in need of an energy boost?… Do you wake up tired?…

Here is a recipe for a green smoothie. The video is advertising a certain blender, but my dear old faithful does a good job. I have written out the recipe below if you don’t have time to view the video.

Green Smoothie for energy (It says for anti-aging as well, but we’re not doctor’s or nutritionists to be able to make such a bold claim)

Ingredients

  • 2 handfuls of fresh spinach
  • 1 cucumber
  • the juice of 1 lime
  • The juice of 1/2 a lemon
  • 2 apples (Cored but skin left on)
  • 1 handful parsley
  • 1 teaspoon peeled, crushed ginger
  • 3 sticks chopped celery

Method

  • Place spinach in blender and blend, add cucumber and blend well.
  • Add juice of lemon and lime together with the apples. Blend
  • Add parsley and ginger and celery and blend well together.
  • Pour into a large glass and enjoy. Drink this for breakfast for a healthy, energetic start to your day.

Is a healthier lifestyle one of your New Years Resolutions?… Try this fantastic, simple dish…

Adding more raw, organic food to our diet can be very beneficial. We add much needed minerals and vitamins to our bodies. This You Tube video shows a simple pasta marinara recipe using marrow (zucchini) for the pasta and a mixture of tomato and bell peppers for the sauce. Enjoy, and have a healthy, happy 2012.

We would love to meet you. Come and visit us at Shongweni Farmers Market and enjoy everything else that is on offer too…

The market begins at 6am every Saturday and ends at 10.30am.

You can also diarise Friday 16 December, 9am-4pm (Christmas market).

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Watch this short clip to see what else is on offer. A great alternative to the packed, tiring malls.

Our veggie gardens are planted and with the beautiful rains, they are growing fast… But with the plants comes pests. Here is a recipe using neem oil to deter the pests as well as fungi…

Neem oil pesticide recipe
1. Purchase organic Neem Oil from Essential Herbal Products
2. Make a Pesticide
You will want to a container big enough to hold 2 litres of warm water to mix it in. Add ½ teaspoon of a mild liquid soap and mix it up and then add 1 tablespoon of Neem Oil slowly into the water while stirring it or slightly shake it up. Now pour some into an old, clean spray bottle of some type or you can buy one.
You can double this recipe but it should be used within 8 hours or it will lose its potency.
3. Label the Solution for Safety
Even though Neem Oil is fairly safe, it could be mistaken for a drink by someone (although it smells like a mixture of garlic and paraffin) so you should always mark homemade solutions in big letters on the container with a permanent marker.
Keep it high up or in a locked cupboard where children can’t reach it.
4. Spray the Plants
Spray all of the leaves (top and bottom) with your homemade pesticide (you can saturate the soil with it, too.) Always spray early in the morning or early evening to avoid scaring off the good bugs and scorching the plant in the hot sun.
Make sure to shake it while spraying to keep it mixed well and repeat spraying them once a week or more if it rains.
It will not instantly kill the insects until they bite into the leaf but it will instantly repel them with its strong smell.
Neem Oil pesticide has been known to kill and control aphids, moth larvae, spider mites, whiteflies, and Japanese beetles. It will not harm insects that do not chew the leaves like butterflies, ladybugs and bees. It also prevents fungi.

Watch this short video on the effectiveness of neem.