Pomegranate Margarita

On a recent trip to Mexico we discover this great treat that makes the best Pomegranate Margaritas -- Pomegranate Tequila.   And I could not wait to get home to make up a batch or two.

Pomegranate Margarita

Ingredients 

• 1 cup tequila (Pomegranate if you are lucky enough to get your hands on some)
• 1 cup triple sec
• 1/4 cup confectioners' sugar
• 4 cups ice
• 1 cup pomegranate juice
• 1 cup fresh lime juice

Directions

Pour the tequila and triple sec into a pitcher. Sprinkle in the confectioners' sugar, and stir to dissolve. Add the ice, and pour in the pomegranate juice and lime juice. Stir to mix, then serve. You can add more tequila to taste if you're a professional.

You can sugar coat the rim if you desire and garnish with a lime wedge

This summer I also discovered the best idea ever...........Mason Jar Frozen Margaritas

Pretty much the same, except, no ice or blender needed.

Mason Jar Frozen Pomegranate Margarita

Ingredients 

• 1 cup tequila (Pomegranate if you are lucky enough to get your hands on some)
• 1 cup triple sec
• 1/4 cup confectioners' sugar
• 1 cup pomegranate juice
• 1 cup fresh lime juice 

Directions

Put all ingredients in a picture.  

Stril until the sugar is dissolved.

Pour in mason jars and cover with lids.
Put in freezer and wait for them to freeze up.

NOTE:  they will not freeze completely, they will be nice and slushy.

 Best thing ever, is you can make a large batch and have a freezer full, so they are ready whenever you want one to enjoy, or when unexpected company comes over, you have ready made cocktails.

This has unlimited possibilities with various flavours.  Let me know what you think and what flavours you have experimented with.

Cheers!

Now that's Creative!

All Natural Cellulite Treatment

Ugh!! The dreaded cellulite!  You check out your backside and to your dismay you see those unsightly dimples of cellulite.

Your first reaction is to search for a "magical cellulite cream".  These creams tend to be quite expensive and full of chemicals and toxins -- all the things you are trying to avoid and a common cause of cellulite in the first place.

Well, did you know that most of the cellulite creams contain essential oils?  In fact, most beauty products contain a variety of different essential oils.  Beauty companies know the power of essential oils and use them in their products.

Juniper is a excellent essential oil to use for the treatment of cellulite.  Along with eating right and doing targeted exercises you can rid yourself of the unsightly cellulite for good.

Cellulite is a collection of fat, water and waste which are trapped beneath our skin.  Since Juniper oil is a natural detoxifier it helps cleanse toxins from the blood, acts as a diuretic as well as a stimulant, making it a great choice to choice to use in a cellulite treatment.

Other great choices to add to your cellulite treatment are:
Cinnamon leaf oil - strengthens connective tissue, stimulates blood flow
Rosemary oil - increases circulation and unclogs sluggish and under active tissues.
Citrus oil - strengthen capillaries, tightens skin, increases circulation, reduces water retention

Cellulite Massaging Oil Recipe

• 1/2 cup jojoba oil (or carrier oil of your choice)
• 10 drops cinnamon leaf essential oil
• 10 drops juniper essential oil
• 10 drops rosemary essential oil
• 5 drops citrus essential oil (orange, lemon or lime) 

Method:
Mix and store in a dark glass bottle with cap in a dark cool place.  Shake thoroughly before each use.  Massage oil onto your skin where your cellulite appears.  Massage until the oil is absorbed into your skin.  For best results, use after a dry brushing and shower.

NOTE:  in order to receive the healing benefits from essential oils, make sure you ONLY buy 100% pure therapeutic grade oils - with no preservatives, dyes or mineral oils.

I love to support local companies, and Escents Aromatherapy is one that I highly recommend.  A local BC company, committed to quality products and the environment, make sure and check them out.

Cellulite Targeted Exercise

In addition to your essential oil massage, you will need to do specific exercises targeting the troubled area.  You need to tighten up the muscles and fiber tissue below the skins surface.  When not toned, your fiber layer become very flabby and add to your cellulite problem.

Do this routine 3 times per week:

Your Diet And Cellulite 

The final step to ensure you rid yourself of cellulite, is to eat a clean and healthy diet, removing processed foods as much as possible.

When we pump our bodies full of processed foods our bodies are unable to get rid of the foreign waste and therefore stores it in our fat cells.  Due to this toxic waste our fat cells become hard creating the "orange peel" dimpled cellulite skin.

Some of the foods our bodies consider as foreign waste are:

• fake cheese
• MSG
• high fructose corn syrup
• gluten
• enriched pasta products
• food coloring
• carcinogens
• partially hydrogenated oils

Keep hydrated.  Drink lots of water.  Water helps flush out toxins from our body.  So if your are going to indulge in processed foods, do your body a favor and drink plenty of water to help flush out the toxins.

So, there you have it.  Three steps to naturally rid yourself you cellulite.

1. Essential oil massage
2. Targeted exercises
3. Clean up your eating habits

Now that's Creative!

Cinnamon, Do You Know What You Are Really Getting?

Cinnamon - Ceylon or Cassia?

I love cinnamon.  I mean what can be better than an apple pie baking and the house filling with the wonderful aroma of cinnamon.  However, I had no idea that all these years I was not even using real cinnamon.

I never gave it any thought at all until I started to see so many posts on Pinterest about the health benefits of honey and cinnamon.  Never hearing about this before, I did what I always do on get right on the internet to see what I could find.

Ceylon or Cassia Cinnamon – What’s The Difference

 To my surprise I found that what I have been consuming all these years is not cinnamon at all.  Most of the cinnamon sold in grocery stores is something called Cassia cinnamon, also known as Chinese cinnamon, which is cultivated mostly in China, Vietnam and Indonesia and comes from a totally different plant call Cinnamomum cassa.

True or real cinnamon is Ceylon cinnamon.  It is native to Sri Lanka and comes from the Cinnamomum zeylanicum plant which is relatively unknown to most people.    Ceylon cinnamon is typically more expensive than Cassia, and is what is referred to when talking about health benefits such as involving blood sugar regulation. 

Now, even though cinnamons are cultivated from different plants, they both come from the same plant family, Lauraceae – the laurel family, and the same genus, Cinnamonum.  Studies have shown they do share some of the same and health benefits, such as promting healthy blood glucose levels and is considered antimicrobial. 

The biggest and most important difference is the levels of a naturally occurring substance called coumarin.  This is a naturally occurring plant component containing strong anticoagulant properties, in other words it is a natural blood thinner. 

Ceylon contains a negligible amount, however, Cassia contains an outrageous amount of 1200 times higher.  The levels of cormarin in the Ceylon compared to Cassia is so drastic, that the German FDA has warned against consuming excessive amount of Cassia bark due to the amount of cormarin it contains. 

Consuming Cassia in large quantities or over extended period of time, poses health risks and can do damage to your liver and kidneys due to the high levels of coumarins.

Cinnamon - Ceylon and Cassia

How To Tell The Difference

 Not only in the flavor and aroma, there is also a big difference visually between Ceylon and Cassia.

They say "a picture is worth a thousand words" and this one clearly demonstrates the visual difference between the two.  

You can see the colour difference as well as the texture.  See how delicate real cinnamon looks with all the thin flaky layers, whereas Cassia is solid containing one very strong piece.

Type	Ceylon	Cassia
Cost	more expensive, can be up to 10 times pricier then Cassia	fairly cheap and inexpensive, can be bought in bulk
Convince	hard to find, only being carried by specialty stores or some health food stores	easily available, carried by grocery stores
Colour	tan brown in colour	reddish dark brown in  colour
Appearance	the cinnamon sticks are made up of multiple paper thin layers when rolled up	the cinnamon sticks are composed of a thick bark that is only one layer
Texture	fragile, easily broken up or ground into powder	very tough and difficult, if not impossible, to break up or ground even with an electric grinder
Flavor/Aroma	delicate, sweet with subtle notes of clove	pungent full-bodies taste
Coumarin	Contains a negligible amount	Contains high level, up to 1200 times more than Ceylon

Health Benefits

Health benefits of cinnamon include:

• diabetes
• alzheimer's disease
• cancer
• anti-inflammatory
• anti-microbial

Cinnamon And Honey

The healing benefits of mixing cinnamon with honey comes from the high quantity of sulfur it contains.  Cinnamon is 26% and honey is 33%, combining the two creates a very powerful sulfur combination of 59% making it the reason it is so effective.   

Check out some of  the healing properties cinnamon and honey (a sulfur-based combination):

• heart disease
• arthritis
• bladder infection
• cholesterol
• colds
• upset stomach
• gas
• immune system
• indigestion
• influenza
• longevity
• raspy or sore throat
• pimples
• skin infections
• weight loss
• cancer 
• fatigue
• bad breath
• hearing loss
• toothache
• high blood pressure

Conclusion

If you are going to add cinnamon into your regular health routine, make sure you know what you are getting.  Purchase quality Ceylon form a reputable source.  Your health is worth the extras expense.

Now that's Creative!