Drink away your January blues with Simply Nectar

It's January, the days are short and to make it worse it's snowing.  A depressing opening statement I know, but these are the groans of so many people.  I know because I hear them every day and I see them across social media sites.  January is not an enjoyable month for so many people.  To add insult to injury a lot of people are short of money because of Christmas, and many are having a 'dry January', so they can't even drink away their blues.  That is there own choice though!

Has that made you feel worse than you did already?!  Apologies if it has.  But don’t fret, we can offer solace in the form of some of our Simply Nectar.  Why?  Because our Simply Nectar is available in Apricot and Peach – two fruits that naturally help beat depression and improve mood.  We’re not making it up!  It’s been proven. I'll tell you the science behind it so you can see for yourself.

Apricots and peaches are rich in potassium, fibre and tryptophan, an essential amino acid that is best known for being a precursor for serotonin.  Serotonin helps the body regulate appetite, mood, relaxation and sleep, so it is important to keep your serotonin levels steady.  You can easily do this by drinking Apricot and Peach simply Nectar.

Apricots and peaches can also help more than just depression too.  The fruits are excellent sources of beta-carotene and vitamins A and C - antioxidants that help combat the effects of free radicals.  Free radicals can damage cells and are believed to accelerate the progression of cancer, cardiovascular disease, and age-related diseases.  It has been shown that antioxidants tie up these free radicals and take away their destructive power. Vitamin A is also essential for vision and for maintaining healthy mucus membranes and skin. 

Photo courtesy of Bill Longshaw / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Simply Nectar Apricot contains 50% of apricot pulp so by drinking just one bottle you’re getting lots of apricot goodness.  What’s more we don’t add any refined sugars to the drinks so you can be sure that every sip you take is a healthy one.  The other 50% of our drink is water (to liquefy the pulp) and a dash of grape juice to naturally sweeten it.  See, Simply Nectar contains only natural ingredients.

Our Peach Simply Nectar is the same.  It contains 50% peach pulp so once again the drink can offer lots of goodness to those who choose to drink it.  The other ingredients are water, grape juice and a dash of lemon juice to keep it tasting its best.

Photo courtesy of Suat Eman / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

So now you've seen how good apricots and peaches are for you, what are you waiting for?  Get some Peach and Apricot Simply Nectar down your neck and start smiling through dull, dark and cold January...and the rest of the year.

Simply healthy,

Simply Nectar

Non-alcoholic cocktails for a dry January

If, like us, you are attempting to have a dry January, and you’ve also made a New Year’s resolution to stay healthy, then you are going to love this post.  Why?  Because we have pulled together eight different non-alcoholic (and healthy!) cocktail recipes – one for every flavour of Simply Nectar.  You can call them mocktails, not-tails or even virgin cocktails.  Whatever you call them you can be safe in the knowledge that these drinks contain no alcohol.

The non-alcoholic cocktails drinks will have you feeling fresh, happy and hydrated, and they’ll certainly help you stick to that healthy diet.  Plus they won’t leave you craving alcohol as they will keep you full and satisfied.  In fact, they may even whisk you away to far away shores.  The exotic flavours will make you think you’re sipping cocktails on a sandy beach under the blazing sun.  Well, until you open your eyes and look out the window of course. 

Photo courtesy of Kongsky - FreeDigitalPhotos.net

 

We hope you enjoy our suggestions.  Good luck with the resolutions!

  

Winter Delight

• 250ml Pear Simply Nectar 
• 50ml Cranberry juice
• 30ml Citron Pressé Simply Nectar
• Slice of lemon
• Cinnamon stick

Take a cocktail shaker and fill half of it with ice.  Pour over the Pear Simply Nectar, cranberry juice and Citron Presse Simply Nectar. Shake the cocktail well and strain martini glasses.  Pierce a round slice of lemon with a cinnamon stick and lay across the top of the glass.

 

Safe sex on the Beach

• 150ml Orange Simply Nectar
• 150ml pineapple juice
• 50ml Peach Simply Nectar
• Juice of half a line
• Wedge of lime
• Orange peel

Add the Orange Simply Nectar, Peach Simply Nectar, pineapple juice and lime juice to a cocktail shaker that is half filled with ice.  Shake the mixture and strain into highball glasses.  Top with ice and garnish with a lime wedge and orange peel.

Photo courtesy of Carlos Porto - FreeDigitalPhotos.net

A Passion for Mangoes

• 250ml Mango Simply Nectar
• 100ml Orange Simply Nectar
• 1 tablespoon honey 
• Juice of one lime
• 50ml soda water

Add the Mango Simply Nectar, Orange Simply Nectar, lime and honey to a coktail shaker that is a quarter full with ice.  Give the mixture a good shake and top with soda water. Stir the drink and strain into highball glasses.  Top with ice if desired.

Apricot Dream

• 85ml Apricot Simply Nectar
• 70ml white grape juice
• 30ml ginger ale
• 1/4 tsp ground clove

Pour the Apricot Simply Nectar, white grape juice, ginger beer, and most of the ground clove into a cocktail mixer.  Top with ice and shake.  Strain the mixture into a martini glass and sprinkle the rest of the ground clove on top of the drink.

Virgin Bellini

• 60ml Peach Simply Nectar
• 1 teaspoon grenadine syrup
• 60ml soda water
• Fresh raspberries

Add the Peach Simply Nectar to a champagne flute followed by the teaspoon of grenadine.  Top the flute with soda water, garnish with fresh raspberries and serve.

Sucking bitter lemons

• 200ml Citron Pressé Simply Nectar
• 200ml ginger ale
• 1 tsp grenadine syrup
• 1 dash bitters
• Orange slice

Add the Lemon Simply Nectar, grenadine and bitters to ice-filled highball glasses.  Top with ginger ale and garnish with a slice of orange.

Raspberry Sunset

• 200ml Raspberry Simply Nectar
• 100ml Peach Simply Nectar
• 50ml Guava juice
• 50ml soda water
• Fresh raspberries

Half fill a cocktail shaker with ice and add the Raspberry Simply Nectar, Peach Simply Nectar and guava juice.  Shake the mixture well and top with soda water.  Stir the drink and strain into glasses.  Top with ice (if required) and garnish with fresh raspberries.

Simply mocktails,

Simply Nectar

Christmas 2012 in (rather embarrassing) photos

It’s December, the weather is dire and Christmas is just around the corner.  This can only mean one thing...the Simply Nectar and What On Earth work Christmas party.  Oh yes!  And what a night was had. Are you sure you're ready for this blog post?!

This year we decided to go all Mexican.  I'm not entirely sure why this was the theme but everyone seemed happy with it.  I personally think it was just the excuse we all needed to wear fake moustaches, eat lots of burritos and drink lots of tequila....and Corona, and Sol, and wine...!  So that is what we did.  Oh and we played some piñata.  If you're brave enough to look below then you can see exactly what went on at the party.  Hopefully the following photos will get you giggling - they certainly did us!  Enjoy.

Here are the sensible pics:

Mexican decorations

Mariachi in an impressive stance

Beers

TEQUILA!!!!

Lots of delicious dips made by Sergei

Yummy Indian food made by Ekta

And now for the fun pics:

"The boys, the boys..."

What a handsome bunch

Piñata!

Ekta turns into the piñata!

So there we have it - a brief insight into the delights of our Christmas party.  If you want to see more head over to our Facebook page and take a look at the full album: www.facebook.com/SimplyNectar.   There are certainly a few more embarrassing pictures in there!  Don't forget to 'like' our Facebook page while you're there.

We hope your work do is/was just as fun as ours.

Simply Christmas, 

Simply Nectar.

Our foodie friends are helping cut food waste

We're proud to announce that our friends at What On Earth are providing 29kg of organic chopped tomatoes for the Alternative Christmas Banquet, which takes place from 6-9 December 2012.  This event is being held in conjunction with the inspirational food charity, FoodCycle, and Tom Hunt’s Forgotten Feast, a fantastic restaurant that supports ugly, unwanted and unloved food that would normally go to waste.   The event will be held at the Brunel Museum in London and will be based on the idea of having a ‘Forgotten Feast of 7 Fishes’.  For vegetarians there is also the option of an Italian Vegetarian Banquet.  The Feast of 7 Fishes’ is eaten on Christmas Eve in Italy and traditionally 7 or 13 dishes were served after the seven sacraments and the 13 apostles.  The idea was to bring lots of people together to eat.

Logo courtesy of foodcycle.org.uk

Photo courtesy of tomsfeast.co.uk

Renowned eco chef, Tom Hunt, will be cooking the dishes for the event and will source wild foods, misshapen vegetables, unusual cuts of meat and fish that are often neglected or not normally seen on British menus.  The feast will include options such as carpaccio of scallop, risotto nero with cuttlefish, pumpkin and sage risotto, forgotten fish stew and garbanzo stew with borlotti and glut tomatoes.

Photo courtesy of foodcycle.org.uk

What On Earth’s Organic Chopped Tomatoes will be used within the feast and we are extremely proud of the company for donating this food.  Both Simply Nectar and What On Earth are very eco-friendly companies so we’re always keen to help the environment in any way we can.  By contributing products to the event What On Earth is able to cut food waste, which is a growing problem.  As a country we throw away around 7.2 million tonnes of food and drink from our homes every year, which costs us around £12 billion.  Also, according to FoodCycle, an estimated 400,000 tonnes of surplus food can be reclaimed each year from the food retailer industry to be made into healthy and nutritious meals.  These are shocking statistics and we are happy to help in any way possible.

The Forgotten Feast of 7 Fishes is set to be a fantastic event and we encourage anybody who hasn’t already got tickets to try and get their hands on the remaining few.  Tickets are available from £35 and all proceeds will go to FoodCycle, which helps serve meals to people at risk from food poverty.  It also aids the creation of more Forgotten Feast events.  For those who attend the event on the 6^th, 7^th and 8^th December, there will be an extra treat.  Guests will be offered an excluded guided descent into the underground Grand Entrance Hall of Brunel’s Thames Tunnel.  Closed to the public for over 140 years, this was the first tunnel under a river anywhere in the world and is one of the great wonders of the Victorian Age.

Photo courtesy of IanVisits.co.uk

As well as buying tickets, volunteering options are available.  Please see the event website for more details. The delicious menu for the event is as follows:

Forgotten Feast of 7 Fishes Menu

- An Italian inspired Christmas feast -

 Due to the sheer volume of food surplus we are able to pick the highest quality ingredients. As we are sourcing surplus food the menu is subject to change.

Antipasti

Carpaccio of scallop frills and megrim sole

Baccala mantecato - salted dab pate with saffron

Salmon trim fish cakes with aioli verde

Primi

Risotto nero with cuttlefish

or

 Pumpkin and sage risotto with a foraged salad

Secondi

Forgotten fish stew of gurnard, pouting and red signal crayfish with cheeky bacon

or

Garbanzo stew with borlotti and glut tomatoes

Served with

Sorrel salsa, buttered chard, caramelized fennel, roast tomatoes

Cleo the sourdough

Dolce

Clementine chocolate fondant with Salcombe dairy ice cream

For more information please visit:
What On Earth - http://www.whatonearth.co.uk / @whatonearthfood
FoodCycle - http://foodcycle.org.uk/   / @foodcycle
Forgotten Feast - http://www.tomsfeast.com/restaurants/forgotten-feast/
Tom Hunt - http://www.tomsfeast.com/   / @tomsfeast
Brunel Museum - http://www.brunel-museum.org.uk / @BrunelMuseum

We hope some of you can make it along to the event and we hope you enjoy all the food...especially What On Earth's Organic Chopped Tomatoes!

Simply tomatoes,

Simply Nectar

The benefits of using agave syrup

Our friends over at What On Earth have recently launched some delicious new organic granolas, which have excellent health benefits.  Why?  Because rather than sugar or honey the company uses organic agave syrup in the granolas.  Agave syrup (also known as agave nectar) is a healthier alternative to honey and sugar and it has numerous other benefits.  This struck a particular chord with us because we do not like refined sugars  - we don't add them to Simply Nectar drinks after all.  Hearing about natural alternatives to sugar is therefore extremely interesting and something we want you all to know about.

What On Earth's new granolas

Agave syrup is produced from the blue agave plant, which grows in the southern United States, northern South America and the hilly regions of Mexico.  There are four parts of the plant that can be used in cooking – the flowers, leaves, stalks and sap.  The sap, which is used in the production of agave syrup, comes from the flower shoots.

Agave syrup has been used for centuries as a folk remedy for its medicinal properties.  Aztecs used to mix it with salt and use it as a dressing for wounds and a balm for skin infections.  Modern medical studies have also confirmed agave’s remedial properties. 

The main health property of agave syrup is its low glycemic index.  Unlike sugar which is a processed sweetener that has no nutritive value other than calories, agave syrup is a natural sweetener.  It provides sweetness without the unpleasant sugar rush and unhealthy blood sugar spike that sugars provide.  This means it won’t cause a sharp rise or fall in sugar and will provide more consistent energy throughout the day.  The glycemic value of agave syrup is 27, whereas sucrose or sugar has a value of 92.

Agave syrup contains saponins and fructans which are known for their anti-inflammatory and immune system-boosting properties.   It also contains natural enzymes, vitamins, minerals, and a nutritious fibre called inulin.  This itself has many health benefits.  It is suggested that inulin is helpful to weight loss because of its low impact on blood sugar and its ability to decrease appetite and keep you feeling fuller for longer.  Inulin is also associated with lowering cholesterol, reducing the risk of certain cancers and increasing absorption of nutrients.  Plus studies have shown that it enhances calcium absorption by as much as 20% and increases bone density by 15%.

Agave syrup has also been proven effective against intestinal bacteria and to treat colon diseases such as ulcerative colitis, irritable bowel syndrome and Crohn's disease.  If applied to the skin it can also be effective against bacteria.  Adding salt to it further boasts this.

Agave syrup can be used to replace natural sweeteners in most recipes.  It is 40% sweeter than sugar so less needs to be used – therefore cutting calories.  Amazingly just a third of a cup of agave syrup can be used to replace one cup of sugar.  If agave syrup is used then the liquid ingredients in the recipe will also need to be reduced by about a third, seeing as agave syrup is a liquid – not a dry matter like sugar.

So, there we have it – a brief overview of agave syrup to let you know all about this wonderful ingredient.  If you need to add sugar to your recipes maybe you should opt for agave syrup instead.

Simply agave,

Simply Nectar

Ekta introduces us to Diwali

Yesterday was the Hindu festival of Diwali, also known as the Festival of Lights.  Every year it is celebrated in Hindu communities around the world and here in the office we had a little celebration of our own.  To be honest, I have to admit to not knowing a great deal about Diwali but luckily we have our very own tutor, Ekta.  And now Ekta has kindly offered to do a guest blog all about Diwali.

Take it away Ekta….. round of applause please

Not many know about the story behind the reason for celebrating Diwali, but it is actually one of the most important Hindu festivals.  Diwali is marked as the day in the Hindu calendar as the day that Lord Rama, along his wife Sita and brother Laxman, returned to his kingdom, Ayodhya, from a 13 year exile in the forest.  Lord Hanuman, his friend, helper and confidante also came along with them.

Photo courtesy of www.iskcondesiretree.net

The kingdom’s subjects welcomed them with great fervour and celebrations. That night being a Moonless night, they decided to light up their kingdom with all the earthen lamps they had. Thus, the festival is known and celebrated as the Festival of Lights.  The word Diwali actually means ‘rows of lighted lamps’ and during the festival houses, shops and public places are decorated with small earthenware oil lamps called diyas.

Photo courtesy of http://fr.wikipedia.org

Diwali is followed by the Hindu New Year the very next day (which is today!) This gives families a reason to come together to celebrate, eat, drink and be merry.  It is tradition to make homemade sweets and savoury snacks in the lead to Diwali.  These snacks are then served to guests and relatives visiting each other.  As a good luck present, the elders give younger members of the family envelopes which contain cash.

Photo courtesy of www.desifoodbuzz.com

As well as making lots of food, the women in the family decorate the doorsteps of their home.  They do this by creating patterns with various coloured powders.  The designs are seen as a welcome gesture, symbolic to Lord Ram’s return and his Kingdom’s welcome.

Photo courtesy of www.thehindu.com

So there we have the story of Diwali, as told by Ekta.  Thank you Ekta!

We celebrated Diwali in the office yesterday by eating traditional foods such as Motichoor Ladoo, which I can confirm were delicious!  And yes, I did have to get Ekta to write that spelling down for me!  Motichoor Ladoo is made of flour and sugar, among other ingredients.  It is a sweet Indian delicacy and is generally made for special occasions.  Hmmm, maybe we should make some pizzas that can be eaten of special occasions?!

Motichoor Ladoo

Today is the New Year for Hindus so we should wish you all a Happy New Year!

Peace, love and Diwali pizza,

What On Earth