Acai, Apple and Dates Ice Pops

Discover another delicious way to eat fruits this summer! Nothing is better than an all-natural, no sugar added, homemade fruit Popsicle to cool off from the heat. Let’s try to keep our family eating as healthy as possible, and in summertime, that means making our own popsicles.

Fruit pops are a perfect snack for the whole family, especially for the kids who love a sweet treat. The family will be able to enjoy a healthy and naturally sweetened dessert made with real fruit and filled with vitamins and minerals.

Take advantage of the fruit’s natural sweetness to create 100% wholesome and delicious juice combinations for your popsicles. These ice pops are completely vegan, low fat and gluten free. It is also recommended that you use organic and local produced fruits to enjoy the full benefits that nature has to offer.

Another tip is using natural sweeteners like honey, Agave nectar and Stevia; or adding another sweet fruit like dates to your ice pops’s juice mixture instead of adding refined sugar or artificial sweeteners.

GRACIEMAG have selected the 6 coolest most refreshing all natural fruit pops flavors for you to make it at home this summer! These recipes are simple and easy to make. Check it out:

Watermelon

Ingredients:

½ Seedless Watermelon

Directions:

Cut the watermelon into cubes and throw it in a blender. The sweeter your watermelon, the better it will be. If it is not too sweet you can add 2tbsp. of honey or Agave nectar. Then, If you don’t have a potent blender you might need to add a little bit of water (or you can use coconut water for extra flavor) so you can blend the watermelon until it becomes a smooth fruit juice.  Now, just pour the liquid into the molds and leave it in the freezer for a few hours. It makes about 12 Pops.

Avocado coconut

Ingredients:

2 Hass avocado
1 cup coconut milk
1/3 cup of dried coconut (unsweetened shredded)

Directions:

Scoop out flesh of ripe avocado and place into blender. Add in coconut milk. Blend until batter is smooth. Mix in the shredded coconut. Pour into ice pop molds and freeze. To remove frozen pops from the molds, bring it under running water for a few seconds.

Coconut

Ingredients:

2 green coconuts (meat)

1 cup coconut water

2 tbsp. Honey

Directions:

Scoop out the meat of the green coconuts (or look for frozen coconut meat in market). Then, blend it with coconut water and honey. Pour the mix into the Popsicle molds and freeze it.

Acai

Ingredients:

2 pure unsweetened Acai frozen pulps

4 apples

1 cup seedless Dates

Directions:

Run apples in a juicer to extract the apple juice. Then, blend it with the Acai pulp and Dates until batter is smooth. Pour into ice pop molds and put it in the freezer.

Grape

Ingredients:

5 cups of sweet grapes

1/2 cup water

2-3 tbsp. Honey (optional)

Directions:

After simmering the grapes on the stove with a little bit of water, just pressed them into a strainer to extract the juice. Then, add honey and freeze the mixture in the Popsicle trays. Leave it in the freezer for about 4 hour before serving.

Papaya Melon

Ingredients:

1 Papaya

2 C Melon

½ cup coconut water

1 tbsp. Honey (optional)

Directions:

Take the seeds out of the papaya and the melon. Scoop the flash of the fruits and mix into a blender with a little bit of coconut water and honey. Pour the mix in the pops molds and freeze it. Leave it in the freezer for at least 4 hour before serving.

Banana prevents cramps. 

Jiu-Jitsu requires healthy muscles. If you are training tonight, we recommend a juice that relieves cramps and protects against muscle fatigues. The ingredients are rich in potassium, which is a mineral that the body needs to work normally. It helps nerves and muscles communicate. According to the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, potassium is a mineral that, among other things, helps your muscles contract, helps regulate fluids and mineral balance in and out of body cells and helps maintain normal blood pressure by blunting the effect of sodium. Potassium may also reduce your risk of recurrent kidney stones and possibly bone loss, as we get older. Guidelines issued by the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies of Science encourage adults to consume of at least 4,700 milligrams of potassium every day. That’s almost double what most of us actually consume. Potassium is found in a wide range of foods, especially fruits and vegetables.

Check out the recipe below and always follow a diet that is colorful and rich in nutrients!

Ingredients:

1 green coconut
100g Tofu
2 bananas

Instructions:

Blend it and be healthy!

Fruit Salad

The Gracie diet says fruits are essential part of healthy eating. Marco Gracie Imperial, grandson of Carlos Gracie, knows the diet from birth. He argues that the proper combination of foods as researched by his grandfather for decades, purifies the blood and prevents diseases.

Today he shows here a fruit salad recipe for you to enjoy during summertime!

Gracie Fruit Salad:

Sweet Oranges cut into small pieces

Fresh figs, only the red part

Papaya

Pear

Red apple

Peeled sweet Grapes

Persimmon

Honey to taste over

Preparation:

Cut the fruits into small pieces. Put everything in a big bowl and top it with honey. Serve it fresh!

The classic Gracie Diet Acai

The acai, fruit that is found in large quantity in Pará, north of Brazil, is already known worldwide for its energizing properties. It is a traditional meal for Jiu-Jitsu athletes and other sportsmen. In a bowl, juice, ice cream or jellies are some of the ways people consume this fruit nowadays. But the question that GRACIEMAG brings you today is: How do you prepare your acai at home?

The form most commonly found in restaurants, markets and juice stores in Brazil and here in the U.S. is a combination of acai pulp mixed sometimes with some other fruit (bananas, strawberries, etc.) and guarana syrup, which is made from a Brazilian berry found in the amazon, or honey. Now, how about trying the classic Gracie Diet Acai and, once and for all, review your concepts about this fruit’s flavor?

Following the diet compiled by Carlos Gracie, the guarana syrup does not enter the recipe, since it’s something processed and rich in sugars. Instead, just use dates. And to give a little more flavor to the acai bowl, how about a few apples? Check out the recipe below:

Ingredients:

2 sweet apples

12 dates

250ml pure Acai (unsweetened)

Preparation:

Pass the apples in the juicer to separate the juice. Instead of water, mix apple juice with the acai pulp, already crushed. Then add the dates, already pitted, and beat everything in a blender.

Now just enjoy your Gracie Diet Acai and good training!

Carrot Pasta with Basil Pesto and Vegan Cheese

Today, learn how to make a light, 100% vegan and nutritious carrot pasta mixed with nuts, kale, parsley and basil pesto.

Besides being a beautiful culinary arts creation, this dish is also healthy and delicious.

Enjoy it!

Carrot pasta with Basil pesto

Recipe by Adriana

Ingredients:

4 medium carrots, peeled

2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil

2 Tbsp. Kale-Parsley-Basil pesto

Pinches of salt and pepper to taste

Cashews or Pine nuts, toasted

Vegan Cheese (Optional)

Basil and parsley leaves, finely chopped

Instructions:

Fill a large pan with water and place on high heat. Then, shave the carrots with a vegetable peeler. When the water comes to a rolling boil, add the carrots and cook for a couple minutes (do not exceed 5 minutes). They should be softened but not breaking apart. Drain the water.

In a small saucepan, on low-medium heat, warm the olive oil and stir in the pesto. Add salt and pepper and continue stirring until the mixture is hot. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary.

Mix the carrots with the pesto sauce. Divide between plates and garnish with the pine nuts or cashews, vegan cheese, parsley and basil.

Kale, Parsley and Basil Pesto

Ingredients:

2 cups combined kale stems, basil and parsley

1/2 cup grated vegan cheese (optional)

1/2 cup toasted pine nuts or cashews

1 large clove of garlic

1 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil

Salt, to taste

Instructions:

Combine kale, basil, parsley, nuts, vegan cheese, and garlic in a food processor and pulse several times to finely chop. Transfer mixture to a small bowl and stir in olive oil. Add salt to taste.

Zucchini Spaghetti

Zucchini, as a part of the summer squash family, offers delightful taste and texture to many dishes and also carries with it many health benefits.

Vitamin A and C, as well as Folate, found in zucchini act as powerful antioxidants that fight oxidative stress that can lead to many different types of cancer. Eating Zucchini will help to fight cholesterol from oxidizing in the body’s blood vessels. These Vitamins not only serve the body as powerful antioxidants, but as effective anti-inflammatory agents as well.

Zucchini also contains magnesium, a mineral proven to reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke. Because it is high in dietary fiber, it aids in digestion, prevents constipation, and maintains low blood sugar. Along with magnesium, the potassium found in zucchini helps lower blood pressure. Both the potassium and magnesium in zucchini can help alleviate the stress on the body’s circulatory system.

Finally, it is rich in manganese, which helps the body metabolize protein and carbohydrates, participates in the production of sex hormones, and catalyzes the synthesis of fatty acids and cholesterol. Manganese is essential for the production of Proline, and amino acid that allows collagen to form, thus allowing for healthy skin and proper wound healing.

With so many health benefits we cannot leave Zucchinis out of the diet. Today, learn how to create a laudable recipe with this delicious Vegan Zucchini Spaghetti by Adriana Gracie.

Ingredients:

2 zucchinis

1/2 onion, finely chopped

3 cloves of chopped garlic

3 tbsp. of dried sweet tomato pesto

3 large fresh sliced mushrooms

1/2 red bell pepper, cut into strips

1/2 yellow bell pepper, cut into strips

Herbs Provence to taste

Black pepper to taste

Olive Oil and Salt to taste

Preparation:

To make the spaghetti I used a machine that cuts vegetables in various formats, including spaghetti, but if you do not have this little machine, you can use a vegetable peeler to make the Zucchini strips. The strips format will come out of your zucchini; however, will be like noodles, not spaghetti. Thus, you can also use a coarse grater to spend the zucchini along its length, it also works out very well.

In a large skillet, heat olive oil and sauté onions along with the garlic. Then add the spaghetti squash and season with a little pepper and salt to taste. When the zucchini starts to fade, add the pesto of dried tomatoes and stir everything, leave for 3 more minutes, but be careful not to let the zucchini long into the fire so it does not get too soft. Remove it from heat and set aside. In another pan heat a wire of olive oil. When the oil is hot, add the mushrooms, red peppers and season it with pepper and salt to taste. This recipe makes 2 portions. Therefore, place half of the spaghetti squash on each plate, and top each serving of spaghetti adding half the mushrooms and peppers mix, if desired sprinkle grated cheese on top.

Enjoy it!

Quinoa Tabbouleh | Recipe by Adriana Gracie

You will love this dish because all the ingredients are consumed raw, thus preserving all their nutritional properties. It’s a vegetarian dish suitable for everyone. Still, it is rich in protein which is good for muscle gain if you often work out, or if you are a BJJ practitioner wanting to build strength or even a high level athlete.

Ingredients:

2 cups (480 ml) of water

1-cup (175 g) quinoa

4 tablespoons (soup) of oil

1/2-teaspoon (tsps.) sea salt

3 tomatoes, diced

1 cucumber, cut into cubes

2 spring onions, chopped

2 carrots, grated

1 cup (60 g) chopped fresh parsley

Preparation:

In a saucepan, bring water to the boil. Once it’s boiling, add the quinoa with a pinch of sea salt. Lower the heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Set aside to cool down at room temperature. Stir the quinoa with a fork.

Meanwhile, in a bowl mix the olive oil, salt, tomatoes, cucumber, spring onion, carrot and parsley. Add the quinoa.

Enjoy it and good training!