How to Infuse Water and Stay Hydrated

Water infusions are so easy to prepare it’s hard to believe how special they make a gathering feel. Infusions have been used for thousands of years in virtually every culture to treat ailments, lose weight, and add a punch of vibrant color and flavor to a pitcher of everyday water.

The options are endless when it comes to infused water recipes. Herbs and citrus are always a good choice, but thinking outside the box is also a fun and excellent way to use up ingredients in your refrigerator that haven’t yet found a home.

A chilled pitcher of infused water is so simple to prepare but virtually always elicits delight when it’s served because of its elegance and its flavor. Here are eight recipes to get you started. Once you’ve infused a few pitchers you’ll realize the options are only limited to your imagination.

Lavender Lemon Water

Houseful of Handmade

This recipe is as gorgeous as it is flavorful. Lavender perks up the senses and adds elegance to this easy infusion containing only dried lavender, lemon, and water. But lavender’s virtues don’t stop at its beauty. It also decreases nervous anxiety, improves blood circulation, is a powerful disinfectant, and is a pain reliever. Get the recipe.

Cucumber Basil Infused Water

Sunny Sweet Days

Basil is an unexpected ingredient for infused water that pairs perfectly with virtually any meal. Serve it at your next pizza party, with roasted chicken, or alongside a bowl of pasta. Basil is thought to help fight depression, improves cardiovascular health, is an anti-inflammatory, and contains high levels of antioxidants. The addition of lemon to this easy recipe detoxifies and amps up its flavor virtues. Get the recipe.

Apple Cinnamon Detox Water

Sugar + Soul

Cinnamon has been used for centuries to improve alertness and help with concentration. It also contains anti-inflammatory properties, improves heart health, increases metabolism, and even acts as a breath freshener. This recipe also contains star anise and apples which makes it perfect for colder months. It’s considered a detoxifying combination that’s both healthful and flavorful. Get the recipe.

Grapefruit and Rosemary Infused Water

Christy Vega

Grapefruit and rosemary might not seem like infused water dancing partners but they pair surprisingly well together. The combination in a pitcher of water is also beautiful to serve at your next winter gathering. Grapefruit has long been appreciated for its detoxifying properties. When it’s combined with the antifungal, antiseptic, and anti-inflammatory properties of rosemary, it makes this infused water recipe as nutritious as it is flavorful and eye-catching. Get the recipe.

Lemony Herb Cucumber Water

A Couple Cooks

Even the name of this water infusion is energetic and the good news is that it tastes as lively as it sounds. Cucumber and lemon are powerful detoxifiers that pair so well together. Their contrasting vibrant colors are also aesthetically pleasing in a large pitcher of water, especially when combined with a medley of herbs including rosemary, mint, and thyme. Get the recipe.

Strawberry Mint Water

Nutrition by Mia

The combination of strawberry and mint have long been appreciated in countless dessert recipes but they also pair well together in a pitcher of infused water. The lively color combination entices the eyes and the invigorating flavor enlivens the palate. Make a double batch for your next gathering because it’s sure to go fast. Get the recipe.

Sage, Fig, and Juniper Infused Water

Samia’s Alchemy

If the word beguiling was ever going to be used to describe an infused water recipe, this is the one it would be attributed to. The unexpected combination of sage, juniper, and figs make this recipe as flavorful as it is extraordinarily beautiful. It’s a festive way to serve water at your next dinner party but also a way to treat yourself on a quiet winter day at home when you need to perk yourself up and lift your spirits. Get the recipe.

Pomegranate Tarragon Detox Water

Scaling Back

This recipe really will transport you to summer in the middle of a bitter cold winter. It’s also the perfect place to use the pomegranate seeds from the fruit you used to decorate your holiday table. It’s festive enough for a winter party but also a lovely everyday go-to when you need a pick-me-up. Get the recipe.

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The Ultimate Chicken Noodle Soup

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America’s Going to Eat More Meat in 2018 Than Ever Before

Living up to our global reputation as gluttonous carnivores, Americans are poised to eat a record amount of meat this year. The USDA estimates the average person will eat  222.2 pounds of red meat and poultry in 2018, beating out a record set in 2004.  If you do the math, that works out to about 10 ounces of meat a day, nearly double the recommended serving of 5 to 6.5 ounces. That’s a lot of meat!

At the same time, we’ll be farming over 100 million pounds of meat products in the United States alone, another record-setting number. Eggs and dairy will also be in high demand.

So what’s to blame for these stratospheric projections? Falling meat prices are one factor, as are the rise of trendy, high-protein diets.  Though be forewarned: Carb-cutting can certainly be beneficial, but when consuming meat in such high volume, some of which are pretty fatty to begin with, the health benefits are essentially negated.

If you’re a vegetarian, or just looking for a more compassionate and environmentally conscious alternative to your standard burger, never fear. The sale of products that mimic meat are also expected to reach all-time highs. High-tech innovations and experimentation with plant-based proteins have led to more faux meat options than ever before. Items like The Impossible Burger and Beyond Meat even “bleed” when you cut them, something your basic tofu could never achieve. Market research from Euromonitor International confirms this trend with the retail value of meat substitutes likely to surpass 700 million this year. Fast food restaurants and casual dining options like McDonald’s and TGI Fridays are even expanding their offerings, as these innovations go mainstream.

While these projections are high, they’re still unlikely to make a dent in the sales of actual meat. And yet it’s still an important food development to watch (especially with all those New Year’s resolutions to cut back on the real stuff) even if classic steak and milkshakes never go out of style.

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6 of New York’s Classic Cocktail Bars and Their Famous Signature Recipes

There are many who lament the disappearance of New York City’s iconic restaurants, bars, and storefronts as owners succumb to high rent and operating costs. But there are still places where the city of yesterday is waiting to be discovered. Notable are the legendary cocktail bars evoking a bygone era where some of the world’s most famous cocktails were invented.

Some locations showcase their timeworn shabbiness like a badge of honor whereas others still gleam with the elegance and luster that made the gathering spot famous in the first place. These are the locations where the romantics in love with the nostalgic allure of yesterday still gather to discuss politics and culture while sipping a cocktail in the same way guests have done for decades.

Here are six of New York’s most iconic bars and recipes for the iconic cocktails that are served at each one.

The White Horse Tavern: Sidecar   

Brooklyn Supper

The White Horse Tavern bills itself as one of America’s oldest bars and it’s hard to argue with a place that opened in Greenwich Village in 1880. The interior has changed very little in the tavern’s nearly 150-year history but the clientele certainly has. Today, The White Horse Tavern is a destination for tourists and rowdy college students but it was once the gathering place of famous writers who engaged in heated debates with fellow writers and artists while imbibing on classics like Manhattans and Sidecars. A few of the tavern’s most famous patrons include Dylan Thomas, Bob Dylan, Jack Keroac, Hunter S. Thompson, and Jim Morrison. The vibe might have changed over the years but the decor certainly hasn’t and neither has the recipe for the sidecar which remains one of its most popular cocktails. Get the recipe. 

Fraunces Tavern: Hot Buttered Rum   

Mommypotamus

George Washington is arguably Fraunces Tavern’s most famous patron. His drink of choice was hot buttered rum which kept him and his soldiers warm during the bitterly cold winter months of the American Revolution. It is said that the nation’s first president once made 13 toasts in a row with his favored cocktail but that could merely be a legend passed down through the centuries as a way to bolster the popularity of the tavern.

What is known for sure is that the original tavern was established in 1719 and was not only a favorite watering hole of the President, it also served as his headquarters where he negotiated for peace with the British and established the federal offices for the early republic. Today, Fraunces Tavern is a cornerstone of the American Whiskey Trail and a popular tourist site that also boasts a museum. The tavern has changed drastically over the years but what hasn’t changed is the hot buttered rum recipe that’s still served to the history buffs who gather there. Get the recipe.

Ear Inn: Dark & Stormy

The building housing the Ear Inn was built in 1770 but the tavern itself didn’t have a name until new owners named it in 1977. Not having a name didn’t deter imbibers from gathering at the tavern since its doors opened in 1817. The building is called the James Brown House, after an aid to George Washington who assisted him during the American Revolution. By the mid-1800s, Thomas Cooke was selling homemade whiskey and homebrew to the sailors who made the pub their favorite watering hole. In the early 1900s it became a restaurant that refused to stop serving alcohol during the era of Prohibition, transforming itself once again into one of the city’s most famous speakeasies. Today, the bar still serves the Dark & Stormy, a favorite of locals and visitors since The Ear Inn’s notorious speakeasy days. Get the recipe.

Knickerbocker Hotel: Martini

The Knickerbocker Hotel in New York City’s Time Square neighborhood was once one of the city’s most beloved gathering places for an elite group of businessmen including the Carnegies and Rockefellers. The hotel cost $3.3 million dollars to construct, a hefty sum in 1906 when it opened its doors to the wealthy patrons who stayed in its 556 rooms and enjoyed cocktails at its bar.

It is said that the martini was invented at The Knickerbocker when in 1912, bartender Martini de Arma di Taggia combined gin and vermouth together, a combination that became the cocktail of choice for one of the bar’s most famous patrons, John D. Rockefeller. Since Rockefeller was known to abstain from alcohol, this part of the story is more myth than fact but the creation of the martini at The Knickerbocker holds more credence. Get the recipe.

Mulberry Street Bar: Manhattan   

Kitchen Swagger

If you’re a “Sopranos,” “Law & Order,” or “Donnie Brascoe” fan, this is the bar for you. Scenes from each one have been filmed at this iconic restaurant in Little Italy that has changed very little since it first opened its doors in 1908. Frank Sinatra was a patron of this bar that still boasts its original subway tile floor, ornately carved bar, and punched tin ceiling. Today, the bar has lost some of its original allure with the addition of plasma screens to please its game-loving patrons, but it’s still a place to revel in the nostalgia of a bygone time when the Manhattan was served in the same way it still is today.  Get the recipe.

King Cole Bar: Bloody Mary (a.k.a. The Red Snapper)  

The King Cole Bar in the Midtown’s opulent St. Regis Hotel opened its doors in 1904 and boasts an eclectic list of famous clientele including Marilyn Monroe, Salvador Dali, John Lennon, and Joe DiMaggio who all enjoyed cocktails at the Old King Cole bar, named after the expansive mural above the bar painted by the artist Maxfield Parish.

Perhaps even more famous than the bar’s location is the cocktail that was invented there in 1934, the Red Snapper, more commonly known as The Bloody Mary. It was created by bartender Fernand Petiot when one of his wealthy Russian patrons, Serge Obolensky, asked him to recreate a cocktail based upon a tomato and vodka combination he enjoyed in Paris called The Bloody Mary.

The name itself was too edgy for the highbrow bar but the original combination of tomato and vodka stuck, as did the ingredients Petiot added to make it spicier: Worcestershire sauce, lemon, salt, and pepper. Get the recipe.

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Scientists Warn That a Chocolate Shortage May Be Imminent

Better hoard up on holiday candy now because chocolate could potentially disappear by 2050. Thanks a lot, global warming!

50 percent of the world’s chocolate is harvested in the Ivory Coast and Ghana, but thanks to global climate change, it’s become increasingly harder for the cacao tree, the plant that spawns cocoa beans, to survive in those regions. The crop is only capable of thriving in the lower story of evergreen rainforests, but rising temperatures are drying up soil, which prevents the cacao tree from growing. As a result, farmers have tried moving their crops to higher ground, despite the smaller availability of space and lower success rates of growth.

Ghana’s cocoa board COCOBOD, is well aware of these issues, but they’ve got a lot on their plate. They’re not only trying to combat global climate change, but rampant fungal disease as well. (Apparently, chocolate has a LOT of enemies.)  Joseph Boahen Aidoo, chief executive of COCOBOD, has called upon the nations’ top health officials to collect samples of the current diseased pods so they study the best ways to rehabilitate the crop.

Demand for chocolate already massively outstrips supply. The average westerner eats 286 bars of chocolate every year, because, yeah, it’s delicious. But it’s also incredibly unsustainable, especially if we keep gobbling down the stuff at such an alarming rate.

So what’s being done to help prevent this potential culinary crisis? Scientists at University of California at Berkeley are working with the Mars, Incorporated (you know, the folks behind M&Ms and Snickers) to genetically modify the crop so that is could grow in alternative climates. New technology known as CRISPR is being used to alter the plant’s DNA and if it’s successful, seedlings could be farmed in in other geographic areas.

In the meantime, savor the last of your Christmas fudge and maybe lower your carbon footprint, if not for the good of humanity, for the good of our candy cravings.

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A History of Detox Juices and How to Make Them

It’s that time of year again when we commit to a fresh batch of resolutions that are essentially commitments to live healthier, happier, more fulfilling lives. It’s hard to say in this rosy time of the year if we actually will run the marathon, learn a new language, or get out of debt but there is one simple thing we can do each day that will help strengthen and invigorate our bodies: drink a glass of fortifying juice that will detox our system, infusing our bodies and our minds with energy and vitality.

Juice detoxing might seem like a modern phenomenon but the principles of consuming a beverage to cleanse the body and rid it of toxins is actually an ancient one. Recipes for internal cleansing dating back nearly 5,000 years were discovered in China where other remedies such as cupping and colon cleanses were also a popular way to recharge the body.

The Greek word toxon means arrow and the term toxicon was the poison in which the arrow was dipped. This is where the word toxin is derived and in the ancient Greek world, doctors would prescribe juice remedies as a way to remove the toxicon from the body. These juices were considered medicinal prescriptions, aligning with the philosophy that food is medicine if it is consumed properly.

In Thailand, juices formulated to cleanse the body of its toxins have long been incorporated into the lives of ancient and contemporary Thais as a way to achieve spiritual enlightenment and awakening.

Drinking juice as a means to cleanse our bodies is an easy way to illuminate the mind and recharge our bodies. It doesn’t have to mean adhering to a strict detoxing regimen in which nothing but juice is consumed. Starting your day with a detoxifying juice or perking your mind and body up with juice during the afternoon slump that affects so many of us, is a smart way to incorporate a healthful habit into your life that will help you stick to your healthy habit resolution for 2018.

Here are six recipes that are fortifying, detoxifying, and most importantly, flavorful.

Green Juice  

Show Me the Yummy

With just six ingredients, this vibrant green juice recipe will send you on your way into a more energetic day. The ginger adds a bit of fire while the apple contributes a hint of sweetness. Kale, celery, and cucumber are natural detoxifiers as is the lemon which brightens it all up. Get the recipe. 

Beet Juice   

Wonky Wonderful

The vibrant red-violet color alone is enough to entice even the most juice-averse to take a sip but it’s the flavor that will keep them drinking. Apples sweeten the recipe as limes and ginger do the major detoxing work. Beets are beneficial in so many ways. They are loaded with fiber and vitamin C and also packed with potassium, an essential mineral for healthy muscle and nerve function along with manganese which bolsters kidney, liver, bone, and pancreatic health. Get the recipe. 

Pineapple, Cayenne Detox Juice

Salad Days

If you prefer a little fire in your detox juice, this is the recipe for you. Cayenne pepper contains capsaicin which is thought to boost metabolism, lower blood pressure, alleviate hunger pains, and aid in digestive health. When it’s combined with pineapple juice which contributes to eye health, strong bones, and contains anti-inflammatory properties, this recipe is a winner. Get the recipe. 

Cilantro Detox Juice

Elena’s Pantry

Cilantro isn’t for everyone but for those who appreciate its flavor and vibrant color, this is the juice recipe for you. Cilantro is a nutritional workhorse. It flushes the body of heavy metals, prevents urinary tract infections, lowers blood sugar levels, and is thought to improve sleep and decrease anxiety. With just five easy to source ingredients including cucumber, lemon, ginger, and lime which all have detoxifying strengths of their own, this is a powerhouse juice that tastes as good as it looks. Get the recipe. 

Chia Seed Juice   

A Happy Food Dance

Chia seeds have long been appreciated for the texture they add to recipes but they are also valued for their powerful nutritional benefits. Chia seeds contain omega-3 fatty acids which raise the level of HDL cholesterol (or “good” cholesterol) in our bodies. They are also high in fiber, calcium, antioxidants, and iron. This recipe calls for the juice of your choice. To keep it as healthy as possible, use a store-bought juice that is free of added sugars or juice one of your own. Get the recipe. 

Carrot Juice

Cultured Palate

Many of us were told when we were kids to eat our carrots in order to improve our eyesights. Our parents were onto something because carrots are high in vitamin A which is essential in the prevention of macular degeneration and cataracts. Carrots are also a good source of antioxidants which are thought to decrease the risk of certain kinds of cancer, improve cardiovascular health, and decrease the risk of stroke. This recipe celebrates the carrot in all its vibrant orange glory and also includes celery, lemon, ginger, and apples for even more nutrition and energizing flavor. Get the recipe.

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Cambodian Coconut Shrimp Soup

Earlier last year, I had the good fortune to travel to Cambodia to visit a friend who lives there. I had a long stay, so had plenty of time to explore Phnom Penh and the surrounding areas – and eat lots of food!

Most people in Phnom Penh buy their food from the markets. I saw both live and freshly killed chickens, fish that were still wriggling, a very pungent fermented fish called prahok, and baskets piled high with all kinds of fresh produce like lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves, baby (pea) eggplant, banana flowers, morning glory, and water spinach.

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