Fresh lime juice

Prepare one of these fast and delicious fresh lime juice recipes so you will be refreshed on a hot summer’s day in a very healthy way.

What do you do when working outside on a hot day? I bet you grab some fuzzy drink, add lots of ice and well, before you know it, you are adding lots of sugar in your system that gets immediately stored as extra fat. And the latter isn’t really what you want to show off on a summer beach, do you?

When in Malaysia, you have delicious and more healthy options. The best isotonic drink on a hot day is coconut juice from a fresh coconut. The second best choice is making yourself a fruit smoothie, but when you want your drink on the spot, try one of the lime juice recipes below.

I admit, there will be some sugar involved as well, so not ideal for diabetics who want to control their bloodsugar with how they eat. Having said so, I use palmsugar (still a sugar!), that isn’t refined, has more taste than normal sugar and is said to have a lower glycemic index (GI). The latter means that it won’t spike your bloodsugar level as fast as refined sugar would do. Add to that the fibers of the lime that we don’t filter out, and you will give your body more time in order to digest the sugars before they enter your bloodstream.

Calamansi drink

When you live in Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines…: then you probably have a calamansi tree growing in a pot like we do. In warm summer countries like California – or actually more or less "everywhere" these days due to global warming -, you can grow your own calamansi tree as well.

We are talking about those small green limes between about ½ to 1 inch (1,2 – 2,5 cm). Seems they are also called Philippine limes – kalamansi in Tagalog -. In Europe it is known as an ornamental houseplant under the name Calamondin and in Malaysia we call them "limau kasturi".

The easiest way to make a drink out of it goes as follows:

• take 2 calamansi limes (yes, leave them whole, no need to peal or do anything!)
• add to taste (at most 1 oz (25g) gula melaka palmsugar)
• add about 3 oz (80gr) ice (add more if you want a smoothie/soft ice consistency in stead of a cold refreshing drink)
• add about one and a half cup (330ml) water (that is until my Magic Bullet blender is full)

Add all ingredients in a blender, mix, poor into a glas and your lemon juice drink is ready.

Lemon smoothie recipe

Same ingredients, different quantities and an extra sieve: like I saw it being done in a Malaysian coffee shop:

The ingredients below make 1 smoothie of about 2 cups (total 500 ml):

• 3 limau kasturi or calamansi limes, no need to remove the skin
• 12 ice cubes
• to taste: palmsugar

1. Place all the ingredients in the cup of an electric blender, milkshake maker or food processor and blend until smooth.
2. Taste, add more sugar or an extra lime if needed and blend again.
3. Strain the smoothie through a small sieve.
4. Pour into chilled glass and serve immediately.

Bitter fresh lime juice recipe

More and more people die from cancer or heart disease or diabetes type 2 these days due to :

• too much stress
• obesity
• intestine problems due to too much red meat causing colon cancer
• food filled with pesticides
• too much added sugar in drinks and processed food

We only have one earth and we only have one life: that’s why our health is out most important asset.

Obese people should follow a weight loss program that works, like a LCHF (low carb high fat) paleo diet. All of us should start eating organic food from sustainable farming.

Having the luxury of living in a hot country, I have a lime tree as well. Having a good digestion in mind and on the lookout for quick dinner recipes : I thought to make myself a delicious homemade digestive:

• I took 1 green lime, didn’t peel it
• threw it in the smoothie blender with some water and sugar.

The result was a green bitter sweet lime drink, which at best reminded me on Schweppes bitter lemon tonic water… but with some extra fibers and palm sugar. Other than that, the taste is really bitter. So when you don’t like bitterness, calamansi limes are your best choice, like in the recipes higher above.

How to know you have organic produce

When you grow your own lime and lemon, obviously you know what you will be eating. Other than that, you will have to rely on your local farmer, on the label "organic" or on the PLU (Product Look UP) fruit labels.

• Organic lemons are the ones with a five-digit number whose first digit is 9 (9XXXX)
• Genetically modified products should show a five-digit number whose first digit is 8 (8XXXX), however not all GM products will mention the 8 digit and just label with only 4 digits. (read the whole Huffington Post article here)
• Conventionally grown products use the 4 digit numbers (XXXX)

Do buy organic lemons, because the most tasty part is the lemon zest, which you can easily add into smoothies, drinks, soup and as a baking ingredient.

PLU codes for lemons:

• 3362 : Lemon without post-harvest treatment
• 4033 : Small sized lemon
• 4053 : Large sized lemon
• 4304 : retailer assigned
• 4958 : Medium sized lemon

PLU codes for limes:

• 4305 : Key limes, including Mexican and West Indian
• 4306 : retailer assigned
• 4048 : Regular limes, including Persian, Tahiti and Bearss

As you can see: not a lot of information on your lemons… The lemons in the picture above are "4958 – LEMON: Medium". Again, look for the 5 digit numbers so you get organic lemons!

Summarized: when you want to make fresh lime juice, calamansi lime will be your least bitter choice when you want to use the entire fruit. When using lime and lemons, do know that the bitter taste is in the white rind, beween the fleshy part and the zest. Always use organic produce from sustainable farming so you can show your children and grandchildren you have more energy than them.