Some Hope and a Recipe

Its been a long week but I am recovered from last weekend. DH persuaded me to have Nandos yesterday but he researched them first. The good news is that their food has NO glutamates! Absolutely fantastic. The chicken has the fat trimmed as well and all their marinades are in the safe zone. No headache, in case you're wondering :)

Today's recipe is a Fruit cordial. I missed having a soft drink every now and then but couldn't risk it even with a sodastream machine. Then I found this recipe courtesy of Food Preserving and I can fizz some soda and pour with some home made cordial. tastes amazing and with no additives at all. I have added thermomix instructions as well.

Fruit concentrate is a great and easy to make drink and FAR better than shop cordial. next time you are in the supermarket, read the ingredients. There is very little real items on there and many chemicals including glutamates.

I can almost people thinking at this point - how is she losing weight?? Read my first post again. Glutamates will:

1. Destroy appetite control. Eating diet food will not help, in fact most diet food contains glutamates
2. Tell your brain you are using too much energy and to slow down.

I haven't dieted at all to lose weight since I started this. Trying to convince DH to start posting as he has finally gone 'glutamate free' and has lost 6 kilos in 2 weeks.

Woolworths and Big W are now stocking the Ball Mason Jars that I recommend using for the recipe below.

Strawberry Lemon Concentrate

Ingredients:

6 cups strawberries (approx 2lbs / 1kg) - can be fresh or frozen
4 cups freshly squeezed lemon juice (I needed 14 lemons)
6 cups white sugar
 
Concentrates are a fantastic way of using fruit juices with freshly squeezed lemon juice to make delicious drinks to serve during summer or year-round.

Pre-heat pint or half-pint jars by covering in water and boiling for 10 minutes, pre-heat seals and rings in simmering water for 10 minutes.

Stove Top Instructions

Wash strawberries, hull and puree until smooth. If using frozen berries, thaw in a bowl and puree with any liquid (juice) from the bowl, too. You can use a food processor, blender or stick blender to puree the fruit. Then put the puree into a large stainless steel pot. I like to put all of the fruit into the pot then use my immersion (stick) blender to puree.

Halve lemons then squeeze juice, either manually or using an electric juicer (mine was only $12). Pour through a sieve to catch any pulp, pouring juice into measuring jug. Add correct amount of lemon juice to pot. Add sugar to pot and stir to combine all ingredients.

Now we want to heat the concentrate over medium to 190 degrees fahrenheit (88 degrees celsius), which is almost bringing to a boil (but don't boil). Clip your thermometer onto the side of the pot, whisking the concentrate over medium heat until the sugar has dissolved. Stir occasionally until you reach 190 degrees, then turn heat off. Skim foam from the surface.

Thermomix Instructions

Wash strawberries, hull and place in bowl. Speed 9 for 10 seconds. Add lemon juice, half sugar. Cook at 90C, speed 1, 6 minutes. Add remaining sugar, 90C, speed 1, 10 minutes. Skim foam.

Sieve if desired through a fine mesh strainer or muslin. (optional)

Ladle concentrate into prepared hot half-pint or pint jars to 1/4 inch (0.5cm) headspace. Remove bubbles, adding extra concentrate if necessary to correct headspace. Skim foam (if any remains) from the surface then wipe rims, apply seals and twist bands on to fingertip-tight.

Process in hot water bath canner for 15 minutes. Turn off the heat and remove jars after 5 minutes to a teatowel-covered bench to rest overnight. The next day remove bands, label and store in a cool, dark place for up to 12 months. I made 4 pints and 1 half-pint of concentrate following this recipe.

Enjoy your own fruit cordial!