So Valentines day is upon us which means my regular Green breakfast juice is getting a boost of red. I’ve been playing about with red juices all week but for the day thats in it I decided to share my favourite naughty and nice breakfast/brunch/lunch drinks. Both of these will provide relief from the effects of the morning after the night before so if you are feeling a little delicate this morning either of these are a good option for you.

Pineapple Turmeric Smoothie

Pineapple Dream (Nice) Ingredients:

  1. Coconut Milk (from carton not canned)
  2. Pineapple Chunks (I like mine frozen)
  3. Tumeric
  4. Ginger
  5. Blackberries
  6. Strawberry to garnish

I’m not a great one for quantities when I make juices I just play about with my ingredients until I have a nice balance. For this one I used *about* 6 large pineapple chunks (about a third of a medium pineapple), a cup of koko coconut milk, 2 teaspoons of tumeric (this is a lot but I love its flavour against the fragrance of the pineapple and coconut), a grating of fresh ginger and 6 large blackberries to spike it with red.  I blend everything in my NutriBullet bar the berries to get the right consistency and taste and then throw in the berries for another quick blast before serving. Turmeric and ginger are both from the same family and believed to have powerful anti inflammatory effects. Turmeric has many benefits but perhaps the most pertinent to mention here is its capabilities as a natural pain reliever.

 

Bloody Mary Bloody Mary(Naughty) Ingredients:

  1. Big Tom Spiced Tomato Juice
  2. Vodka
  3. Extra Hot Tabasco
  4. Worcestershire Sauce
  5. Ice
  6. Celery, Black Pepper and Birdseye chilli to garnish

This is by far my favourite brunch drink and while I’ll never say no to a nice glass of bubbles if there is a good spiced Bloody Mary on the menu it’s my number one choice to accompany an eggy brunch. The key is definitely in the spice and if it’s right I’ll happily sip away on a Virgin Mary so alcohol is not essential. This drink is about 5 parts tomato juice to one part vodka topped up with tabasco sauce to taste and a dash of worcestershire sauce mixed together well. I absolutely have to have lashings of black pepper on top and the ice to keep it chilled while I sip! Bloody Mary’s are believed to be a good hangover cure as the tomato juice helps soak up alcohol molecules in your system, the salt content helps you retain water and thus reverse dehydration and of course the optional vodka gives you a gentle buzz helping relieve hangover symptoms.

Please note the best “cure” really is prevention! Everything in moderation 😉  Happy Valentines Day my lovelies… I hope it’s a good one for you all.