How I prepare : Green Coffee Bean Drink!

As I am a fan of health drinks, I have been trying and drinking a lot of it.
One of which I am just currently trying is a brewed Green Coffee Bean! Yes, you've read it right, brewed GCB!

I have seen a few post of article in Facebook on claiming that green coffee promises weight loss, and I must admit, this was the main cause why I leaned towards finding where I can get my hands on green coffee may it be powdered or beans because of this weight loss promise. But because it is not widely used here in the Philippines, and especially here in my area where there is no coffee plantation nor nearby provinces, I cannot get it that easily. So, I did my research and contact my sources, and viola! there was a kind person to gift me green coffee beans! Though she warned me that the taste is bitter and not good, I still insisted I want to try.

A very good friend hand-carried the green coffee beans when she arrived here in the Philippines for Chinese New Year vacation. Yes, the green coffee came from abroad (in Vietnam) and as hard it would seem, I need to figure out next time how I can get my hands on it if my stocks run out. :)

How I prepare my brewed green coffee bean :

Things you'll need :

5pcs green coffee bean
1 1/2 cup water
Pan for boiling

Procedure :
1. Combine green coffee and water.
2. Put in high heat until boiling.
3. Once water is in a rolling boil, lower the heat and simmer for 15mins.
4. After 15mins. turn-off the heat and let it stand for 10mins.
5. Remove the beans and what I like to do is keep the boiled beans for next use.

Serves 1 cup.

If I want to prepare ahead of time and make more cups for immediate drink, i just double the ratio of the beans and water, example 2 cups of brewed green coffee drink would be 10 beans and 2 1/2 - 3 cups of water. I put the remaining green coffee in the fridge to store up to 2 days. When I am ready to drink it, I can drink it cold or hot (heat up in microwave) depends on my liking.


The taste : it is not the most pleasant taste of a drink I have ever encountered, it is bitter and has an astringent after taste (not that I have tasted an astringent, but you know what I mean).

I will try to drink in a daily manner, 1 cup in the morning and 1 cup in the evening, before meals. 

Green coffee has a natural substance called chlorogenic acid when roasted will decrease, and this chemical is known to affect post-meal blood sugar levels, boost your metabolism, curb carb absorption and block fat accumulation
which aid weight loss. The chlorogenic acid content is higher when coffee beans are in their pure, natural form.

Disclaimer : I am not an expert on this to know green coffee weight loss benefits and I just read articles in the internet about it, so I am not sure if this will work for you as our body is different from one to another.


Thanks for reading!

Refreshing Drink : Watermelon Virgin Mojito

I have been trying some refreshing drinks lately and I've tried to make a Virgin Mojito, for recipe click here, and I just added watermelon on the recipe and it was another sure hit for my family!

Here is the recipe for this refreshing drink!

Watermelon Virgin Mojito

Serves : 2 thirsty people in need of a cool respite
Difficulty : Easy Peasy
Preparation Time : 5 minutes.
Cook Time : Nothing

Ingredients

• 30 fresh mint leaves
• 1 lemon
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 200 ml of Sprite/Soda (If using Soda, double the amount of sugar)
• 10 ice cubed Mint
• 2 cups of sliced and removed seeds 

Instructions

1. Chop up the fresh mint leaves.
2. Slice the lemons down into thin wedges, removing all the seeds.
3. Drop the mint leaves and wedges into your jar/glass.
4. Add in the sugar.
5. Using a spoon/muddler, mash up everything. Ensure if everything is combined.
6. Pour in the Sprite/Soda.
7. Put all ice cubed mint.
8. Put sliced watermelon
9. Pour yourself a glass and Enjoy!

Enjoy this refreshing drink with your family and let me know how it did~

Thanks for reading!

Refreshing Drink : Using Mint in Our Virgin Mojito!

Last night I have tried to make Virgin Mojito for my family.

As we are living in a tropical country, this kind of refreshment drink is very much appreciated by my husband and my kids.

Virgin Mojito

Serves : 2 thirsty people in need of a cool respite
Difficulty : Easy Peasy
Preparation Time : 5 minutes.
Cook Time : Nothing

Ingredients

• 30 fresh mint leaves
• 1 lemon
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 200 ml of Sprite/Soda (If using Soda, double the amount of sugar)
• 10 ice cubed Mint

Instructions

1. Chop up the fresh mint leaves.
2. Slice the lemons down into thin wedges, removing all the seeds.
3. Drop the mint leaves and wedges into your jar/glass.
4. Add in the sugar.
5. Using a spoon/muddler, mash up everything. Ensure if everything is combined.
6. Pour in the Sprite/Soda.
7. Put all ice cubed mint.
8. Pour yourself a glass and Enjoy!

My family enjoyed it as much as I did preparing it!

Feel free to try this recipe out and let me know what you thin :)

Thanks for reading and happy drinking!

Regrowing Herbs FAILED : Tarragon and Rosemary

I was trying to regrow the herbs I got last December and I have some herbs that I really have a hard time regrowing.

Two of which is my Tarragon and Rosemary.
I cut 2 new stems from my 1 year old Tarragon mother plant, and tried to grow roots from them, and put them in a cup of water.
Sadly, 1 wilted. I am not sure what I did wrong on it, but in the same cup 1 stem is still surviving, no roots though.

I have also cut some Rosemary and put in a cup of water, but this time I have no luck at all.

I think I have cut 9 stems all in all but I have tried several things like planting them directly to soil, putting them in a partial shade area of our house, put them in a window sill, almost all possible way except putting root hormone, but no luck. :(

Sad but true, not all I propagate is a success, but there is always room for improvement and I will keep on trying. :)

Let me know how you propagate your Rosemary or any other herbs, it may help me grow mine.

Thanks for reading and happy gardening!

Regrowing Herbs : Updated! Onion Leeks!

Last January 11, 2016 (2 days ago), I started to regrow Onion Leeks which I bought from Supermarket as usual.

I cut the bottom part , about 3 to 4 inches from roots.
The leaves I used in the dish I made that dinner, and the roots I started to put in a cup of water. I tied them all together, 7 stalks (if that is what it's called, kindly correct me if I'm wrong :D ) and hoped for the best.

From the Supermarket, I just cut the bottom with roots! :)

I put it in a cup of water after that and waited for the best.

The next morning, I checked it and I was amazed on the growth of the leeks.

It grew about 1cm overnight and it surprised me a lot.

And then checked it today and I just can't contain the happiness as a gardener how well my Onion leeks responded as I am trying to regrow them!

It is now about 2cm longer and has new top shoots to grow! :)

I couldn't be any happier with this plants!

In about 5 to 6 days, depending on the progress of the plants, I will transplant them in a pot so they will be more stable in soil.

Let's hope for the best and  will keep you posted ;)

***UPDATE***
Just checked my leeks last night!
Viola!

Amazing isn't it??? I am impressed!!! :)

Let me know if you have regrown onion leeks and how it went, I would love to hear from you!

Happy gardening!

Regrowing Herbs by Cuttings : Basil, Mint, Dill, Tarragon and Rosemary

Since I have bought my herbs from Baguio, I have been trying to regrow some cutting from them.I have tried propagating Mint, Basil, Dill, Rosemary and Thyme by cuttings, and there are some ups and downs to rooting and letting them grow.

 I have tried to cut some Basil, Rosemary, Mint, Dill and Tarragon, and put them on a glass with tap water.

In about 6th to 7th day, the roots of Basil and Dill have sprouted! Yey!

I was a bit impatient in waiting, and not all the cutting of Basil, Mint and Rosemary made to to day 7. But my hopes didn't fade as I saw the leaves were very healthy and alive. But some of them wilted and others rotten from water, I am not sure if I have drowned it but other cuttings were surviving and rooted. But the optimistic me continued to monitor and observe and give a couple of more days to see if they will grow root.

In about 10 to 11 days, the roots were longer, some of the ones that didn't rooted now had their roots starting to grow.

I am still waiting for the Rosemary to grow roots, unfortunately since day 1 I have not regrown any Rosemary nor Thyme. :(  But, I am still hopeful and will continue to propagate from cuttings.

I will keep you posted on how will this cuttings grow more roots.
As of today, I have more that I propagate from cuttings of Mint and Basil from Supermarket, yes, the usual herbs you buy to add in your recipe. ;)

I will have an updated post on this on how I get the cutting and regrow :)
How about you? Have you tried any propagation from cuttings? Let me know which method works best for you!

Hope you have enjoyed reading!
Happy gardening!

Welcome to my BlogSite!

Welcome to my Blog Site where I will be posting random stuff to share. 

Photos below are from our Baguio travel last Dec.2015
We visited couple of places there and I just want to share what we've seen! :)

My two kids Welcome's you to my blog site!

Mines View Park

I love herbs and I have been "trying" to grow them since 2010 and I had very few luck of propagating and planting as many as I want. Why? Cause I live in a tropical country and a region that is mostly hot and humid, the climate does not go well with growing herbs. ( But that was what I thought.)

As years of experience in planting herbs goes by, I have learned that I can grow herbs in the area where I live, that it just needs a lot of research and patience to grow them.

So from last 2014, two of my friends (Jhem and Michelle) gave me herbs which I was able to grow up until to date. Chives and Tarragon. They were very hearty. Continuous rain or very hot weather didn't kill them, and this what motivates me to plant again, but wiser this time.

Tarragon since 2014

Chives (Garlic) since 2014

I am very lucky to still have this plants, and now I am still growing them and trying to propagate by transplant and cuttings. I will have separate blog post on how I propagate Tarragon from cuttings as soon as I have more success to it.

And when we went to Baguio, I saw beautiful plants and herbs in Mines View Park and bought some to take home and start with growing more herbs in my mini-garden. :)

Some of the plants they sell there. Prices differ from which kind of plants you want to buy and how small or big they are. They also have some plants for table displays, and other succulent plants that are also great to grow.

You can even ask to bargain 3 plants for 100php ;) just be nice to the vendor and you will surely get it.

I bought Basil, Mint, Parsley, Lemon Pine, Thyme and Rosemary! Basic kitchen herbs for starter :)

Hope you enjoyed reading and I will share more next time!

Let me know what you think and I would love to here from your experience of growing herbs as well!

Happy gardening!