Tropical Fruit Shake

It's rainy season now in the Philippines and why am I writing about fruit shake?  Blame it on the weird weather but this rainy season is awfully driving us to the extremes.

Expect the rains to come by in the evening if not late afternoon. But mind you, you'll be enduring the sweltering heat during morning until around noon time. 


So, for refreshment and to quench our thirst, we've been having fruit shakes twice in a day. One during breakfast or mid-morning snack and another one in the afternoon for merienda. 


This is a healthier alternative to ice cream, I suppose. And of course, to sodas. I still love coca-cola but I have been consciously trying to evade it to minimize my sugar intake.


Here's a refreshing fruit shake concoction that you can try doing at home.

Cran-Grape: Cranberry or Grape Juice for UTI?

If you are Googling for UTI or Urinary Tract Infection home remedy, chances are you will come across Cranberry or Grapes as the recommended solution.

Cranberries have long been regarded as a good source of vitamin C. The fruit's high acidity combined with its natural proanthocyanidin content prevents bacteria to linger on the linings of our urinary tract. In this acidic environment, bacterias cannot multiply and eventually die until they are completely eliminated.

In addition, cranberries are considered rich in anti-oxidants that helps prevent cancer and other illnesses. They also have anti-inflammatory properties which hastens recovery from infection.

The same goes to grapes, the purple variety in particular. These small rounded fruits also contain anti-inflamatory substances and are said to work better than cranberries (although this is still debatable) since grapes can somehow make the urine less acidic and therefore helps bladder to recover fast from an infection.

Cafe' Mocha

Saw this ground coffee from Lipa in the supermarket and tried to make café’ mocha using it as base for the espresso.  It turned out fantastic! 

For making the espresso, I used my portable Starbucks  French Press.  This can be a very useful kitchen tool especially if you need a quick caffeine-fix.