A Simple Green Juice & why I support local produce

Cooking has been something I have really enjoyed even since before having children, I find spending time in the kitchen making fresh and healthy food really relaxing. I have always been keen on using natural whole foods and each week I have a small local organic salad box dropped off. Despite this I have a very tight weekly budget for a family of four of around £60 which includes my salad box, toiletries and all our meals which I cook from scratch most nights as well as bake treats for the boys when I can. 

I tend to keep up with trends although I refuse to believe I need to pay an excessive amounts on the next "superfood" to keep healthy. Also I have a real belief that despite a lot of foods being packaged as healthy they are not always ethical choices which is something I am very interested in, trying to leave as little negative trace on this earth. Being a plant loving vegetarian I try and make educated choices but when it comes down to it I honestly think simple, local and when you can afford it organic food is the best for you, as you can see I have a very small weekly budget but I sacrifice a lot of treats to be able to feed our family for that amount. 

Many people don't know what the popularity of Quinoa has done to communities and environment of the Peru and Bolivia growers - the rise in popularity has meant this staple grain has sky rocketed in Peru meaning the poorer community which relied on it can no longer afford it as well as Llamas being displaced and environmental impact - this is only a small example and buying it fair-trade obviously helps a little but I think supporting our own local healthy produce is key, or even produce that grown in Europe as appose to the other side of the world.  

While I was struggling with my cold I really helped boost my immune system with strong ginger, honey and lemon tea. Then as I was finally getting my energy back I found that my skin had taken a hit so I had a little look at what I had lying around and came up with this super quick and easy healthy skin tonic that is refreshing and re-hydrating. Best of all the ingredients are all easy to find

Easy Green Skin Boosting Juice

1 Apple

1 Cucumber

1 stalk of celery

1/2 inch ginger

1/2 lemon

Make sure you wash all the fruit and vegetables. Get your juicer ready and start with either the apple or cucumber first and then the rest of the ingredients and enjoy. Not only is this great for your skin as the ingredients contain skin friendly minerals and anti-ageing benefits but also helps the immune system as it's packed with vitamins.

I was also recently sent a little food pack from Co-op who have partnered with SORTEDfood and together have created Now Cook It which helps address the cooking skills gap and offers free advice and online cooking course to make learning how to cook fun, simple and healthy.

They sent me all the simple ingredients to make this wonderful roasted veg and cous-cous dish topped with Greek Yogurt. What I love about it was how easy it was to put together as well as being very nutritious yet is filled with easy to find ingredients and all very budget friendly and is a great meat-free Monday option.

Do pop over to the SORTEDfood website now to see how to make this wonderful dish. As I said before I don't think you need to spend a fortune on chai seeds and flaxseeds and Cacao to feel the energy gains that comes from simple healthy eating.