Cucumber Cooler

Why don’t you hydrate with a glass of refreshing cucumber cooler with fresh mint? So refreshing! From casaveneracion.com.

You need to add very little sugar because cucumber is already naturally sweet. You just want to heighten that sweetness to make a more exciting drink.

Cucumber Cooler


Ingredients:

1 medium cucumber
1 teaspoon sugar
3 to 4 mint leaves plus a sprig to garnish
2 to 3 ice cubes


Directions:

1. Peel the cucumber.

2. Cut the peeled cucumber lengthwise and scrape off the seeds. The sensation of ground cucumber seeds in your mouth is really bad. Cucumber seeds are perfectly edible. Sure, if you’re eating the cucumber. But since you’re pureeing it to make a drink, you want the puree to be smooth and free from “grits” which the ground seeds resemble.

3. Dice the deseeded cucumber.

4. Place the diced cucumber in the blender with the ice cubes and a quarter cup of water. Process just until smooth.

5. Add the mint leaves and pulse two to three times.

6. Pour the cucumber cooler into a glass, garnish with a sprig of mint and enjoy!

Serve your cucumber cooler and fresh mint with plenty of ice!

Green Smoothie

Most smoothies have fruits in them which are high in acid. Here is a smoothie that hits the spot that is IC friendly. Do be aware that bananas are a caution on the IC-Diet list because of the high potassium content. However, many people can tolerate them just fine assuming that your diet is good, and you don't go overboard. From niceats.blogspot.com.

Green Smoothie


Ingredients:

1 banana (if tolerated)
1 pear
1 avocado
1 cup spinach, packed
1 cup water
1/2 cup ice


Directions:

Combine all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth!

Blueberry Watermelon Smoothie

A frosty Blueberry Watermelon Smoothie is exactly what you need. From addapinch.com.

Blueberry Watermelon Smoothie


Ingredients:

3 cups blueberries
3 cups cubed watermelon
1½ cups ice

Directions:

Add blueberries and watermelon to the container of a blender. Blend on high for about 40 seconds or until completely pureed. Then, stop blender and remove the lid. Add ice to the puree and secure the lid back onto the container. Turn the blender on high for 40 more seconds or until completely blended and smooth with no ice pieces remaining. Serve immediately.

Notes: Add 1 cup Greek Yogurt (without problem ingredients) if you prefer your smoothies creamier and with yogurt.

The Perfect Peanut Butter Milkshake

You are almost sure to have the only three ingredients needed to make this quick treat on hand. Be careful, this thick shake is so good that it is extremely addictive! From allrecipes.com.

The Perfect Peanut Butter Milkshake


Ingredients:

2 cups vanilla ice cream (without problem ingredients)
1/4 cup milk
2 tablespoons creamy peanut butter


Directions:

Place ice cream, milk, and peanut butter in a blender; blend until smooth, 45 seconds.

Pumpkin White Hot Chocolate

Oh, this sounds really good! Since it’s getting rather nippy out, a mug of Pumpkin White Hot Chocolate is just the ticket! From niceats.blogspot.com.

Pumpkin White Hot Chocolate
(Makes 2 large mugs)

Ingredients:

4 tablespoons pumpkin
2 cups milk
1/2 cup white chocolate (chips, chunks, whatever)
A sprinkle of pumpkin pie spice** (if tolerated- see below)
milk frother


Directions:

In a saucepan over medium heat, combine milk, white chocolate, and pumpkin. Wisk periodically allowing chocolate to melt and ingredients meld together. Once ingredients are mixed and very warm, pour into 2 mugs. Using your milk frother, froth the milk until you have several inches of delicious foam. Sprinkle with pumpkin pie spice at your own risk... Enjoy!!

(Warning- my little milk frother had a little bit of pumpkin in it after frothing this mixture- I soaked it in hot water and soap and was able to pull the little bits of pumpkin out. As an alternative, you can just froth the milk and pour it on top- however, just know this pumpkin foam is to die for, trust me.)

**So, pumpkin pie spice has cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and cloves listed as ingredients. Cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger are all on the "foods worth trying" list. Cloves, however, are a caution ingredient. Sprinkle at your own risk- if I would have looked up cloves before topping my drink with this spice concoction, I would have just left this out or topped it with a bit of cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger. However, I didn't. So. top at your own risk! (all that being said, that tiny bit of sprinkling caused no pain.)

Brown Sugar Caramel “Latte”

If you’re counting calories right now, I give you fair warning. This drink is far too rich, sweet, creamy and downright delicious to be low-cal. I would understand if you turned it down for the benefit of your waist line. I think many would embraced it fully–tight pants and all. From theicdairies.tumblr.com.

Brown Sugar Caramel “Latte”


Ingredients:

1 cup milk
2 Tbsp. caramel sauce (without problem ingredients)
½ tsp. vanilla extract
1/8 tsp. brown sugar plus extra for garnish
whipped cream for topping


Directions:

1. Heat the milk in a saucepan over medium heat.

2. Add the caramel sauce, vanilla and brown sugar and stir until evenly mixed.

3. Remove from heat and transfer to mug.

4. Top with whipped cream and sprinkle with brown sugar.

Caramel Pumpkin “Latte”

When Starbucks officially rolled out their seasonal fall drinks, an IC patient had been suffering from severe coffee envy. There are no words to describe just how much her taste buds had been begging for a pumpkin spice latte. She knew she would never make it through the entire season without something to satisfy her craving, so she took matters into her own hands and came up with this scrumptious recipe. Although this drink doesn’t taste so much like a latte, it’s absolutely delicious and it certainly hits the spot in those moments when all you want is a hot, festive beverage. So grab a blanket, snuggle up on a cool Saturday morning and say hello to the season with this amazingly caramely, pumpkiny drink that will remind you of Grandma’s homemade pumpkin pie. From theicdiaries.tumbler.com.

Caramel Pumpkin “Latte”
Yield: 1 8oz. beverage


Ingredients:

1 C. milk (I used skim but anything will work)
3 Tbsp. canned pumpkin (without problem ingredients)
3 Tbsp. caramel plus extra for drizzling (without problem ingredients)
whipped cream for topping (without problem ingredients)


Directions:

1. In a saucepan, heat the milk on medium heat until warm. Stir occasionally to keep it from burning.

2. Add in the pumpkin and whisk until there are no clumps.

3. Once the pumpkin is smooth, add the caramel and stir until everything is well mixed and the drink appears creamy.

4. Remove the saucepan from the heat and transfer the beverage into your favorite mug or cup.

5. Top with whipped cream and drizzled caramel.

Drink up!

Sweet Cinnamon Smoothie

Cinnamon is one of the most popular and favorite spice in the world. It’s commonly used in flavoring desserts, snacks, pastries an other food. It’s unique taste and scent isn’t the only reason why you should love it. Cinnamon is a great way to maintain and control blood sugar level, energy and mood. It’s also known to contain anti-bacterial compounds which helps prevent bacterial disease. This Cinnamon Nutribullet recipe is smooth and sweet without being too crazy high in calories, although it can be made higher for people seeking more calories by adding more maple syrup or some protein powder. Adding a garnish of nuts also can add protein.

A sweet, refreshing smoothie from allnutribulletrecipes.com.

Sweet Cinnamon Smoothie Recipe
Makes 1 cup

Ingredients:

2 medium banana, sliced
1 tsp. nutmeg (if tolerated)
1 tsp. cinnamon (if tolerated)
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. pure maple syrup
Almond milk to fill line (unsweetened)- if using a regular blender start with 1/2 cup and add more as needed in order to get proper blending
Nuts (those you can tolerate) as garnish (optional)
Shredded Coconut (without problem ingredients) as garnish (optional)


Directions:

Place all ingredients into the NutriBullet or blender and blend until smooth. Garnish with nuts and coconut if desired.

Ice Tea Float

This sounds so yummy and perfect for a warm summer day! Inspired by a recipe in "Best Places Seattle Cookbook: Recipes from the City's Outstanding Restaurants and Bars." by Kaspar Donier of Seattles Kaspar's. This recipe has also been adapted to made it IC friendly.
From alchemybakingblogspot.com.

Ice Tea Float


For the Sorbet

Ingredients:

4 1/2 cups (1 liter and 65 ml.) water
1 1/2 cups (300 g.) sugar
5 - 7 chamomile or peppermint tea bags, depending on how strong it is
juice of one lemon (if tolerated) or use or you can use a little lemon extract, oil, or zest (if tolerated) instead of lemon juice or just omit
a small bunch of fresh mint


For the Liquid Element

Very Cold Unsweetened Iced Tea (chamomile or peppermint) – add fresh mint to this to let it infuse while it cools


Instructions:

To make the sorbet. First make some strong tea by adding the water to a saucepan, then add the sugar and stir it. Almost bring it to a boil. Add the tea bags and mint, and remove the pan from the stove. Cover it and let it steep for 30 minutes.

Remove the tea bags, squeeze out the tea from the bags and discard. Add the lemon juice. Now you can either leave the mint in the sorbet base while it cools, if you want a stronger mint flavor, or you can remove it now. Refrigerate this till it's very cold, at least 4 hours. Now remove the mint if you haven't already. Process the sorbet mixture in the ice cream machine according to manufacturers instructions. Freeze mixture until firm, at least 2 hours.

When you are ready to serve, first let the sorbet sit out a few minutes until it's soft enough to scoop. Add a few scoops of sorbet to a glass, then fill glass with iced tea and garnish with fresh mint.

You can also serve the sorbet as a refreshing dessert with some tropical fruit if desired.

*IF YOU DON"T HAVE AN ICE CREAM MACHINE, Make an Icy Slushy- Make the sorbet mixture as directed above.

Pour it into a shallow dish in the freezer. Scrape it after it starts to freeze. About 30 minutes later, scrape it again. Keep scraping it every half hour or so till it's icy and frozen. Put this mixture in a glass and add iced tea to it to make an icy slushy.

Infused Spa Water

Restaurants & spas do it, why not you? Placing fresh herbs and/or fruit in a gallon of water and leaving it in the refrigerator overnight is a great way to add flavor and reduce the boredom of drinking plain water. In fact, the “Classic Spa Water” is simply chilled spring water with a few sprigs of mint, rosemary and cucumber. From icdietproject.com.

Infused Spa Waters


There are many flavor combinations that you can play with using the fresh, simple ingredients, such as:

• HERBS – a few sprigs of fresh mint, rosemary or sage
• FRUITS – pears, apples, blackberries, raspberries, blueberries, peaches, watermelon, honeydew
• PEELS – lemon or lime peel has a fraction of the acid that the juice would have
• SPICES – cinnamon, cloves, vanilla beans & ginger root


Ready to experiment?? Try these flavorful combinations:

• fresh mint, rosemary or sage leaves
• fresh cucumber & mint
• sliced pears & a cinnamon stick
• blackberries, fresh mint & lime peel
• raspberries & lemon peel
• strawberries & mint
• peaches & vanilla bean
• gingerroot, mint & lemon peel
• blueberries & pomegranate seeds
• cantaloupe, watermelon, honeydew & mint


Looking for some soda fizz? Low sodium mineral water, such as San Pellegrino, works perfectly!

Need a little extra sweetness? No artificial sugars should be used. Use a little bit of honey to taste!

Refreshing Smoothie

Live healthy by drinking this refreshing smoothie. From urologyhealth.org.

Refreshing Smoothie
Makes 1 smoothie
Approximate nutrients per serving: 200 calories, 4 grams of protein


Ingredients:

½ cup unsweetened almond milk
1 frozen banana, chopped
1 cup frozen blueberries
1/8 cup quick oats
½ pear, sliced
½ ripe avocado
½ cup kale leaves


Directions:

Add all ingredients in blender. Blend on high speed until smooth (about 2-3 minutes). Enjoy!

Banana Ginger Energy Smoothie

This creamy smoothie uses ginger, which is one of the best ingredients for reflux. Also, yogurt and milk are both acid neutralizers that help keep reflux at bay. From doctoroz.com.

Banana Ginger Energy Smoothie
Serves 3


Ingredients:

1/2 cup ice
2 cups milk
2 ripe bananas
1 cup plain or vanilla yogurt (if tolerated and without problem ingredients)
1/2 tsp fresh ginger, peeled and grated fine (if tolerated)
2 tbsp brown sugar or honey (optional)


Directions:

In a blender, add the ice, milk, yogurt, bananas, and ginger. Blend until smooth. Add sugar as needed.

Carob Cinnamon Delight (instead of coffee – a calming hot beverage)

Carob is a delicious alternative to coffee or hot chocolate as it doesn’t contain caffeine. It has a definite chocolate-like flavor and is something that is recommend to those who may be looking for a healthier alternative or who can’t tolerate coffee or chocolate. Carob is originally from the eastern Mediterranean region, Northern Africa and the western part of Asia. Ceratonia siliqua or carob is also known as locust bean gum.

Consider trying carob if you are anxious and stressed. There are a subset of those with anxiety who are more prone to the anxiety-provoking effects of coffee and some very sensitive people may even find the caffeine in chocolate to be too stimulating.

In fact a 2002 study found that carob may actually have calming effects. It is also antioxidant rich, contains the polyphenol gallic acid which has been shown to help metabolic syndrome, it has been shown to lower total and LDL cholesterol, it has chemoprotective properties and helps with digestion.

From everywomanover29.com.

Carob Cinnamon Delight


Ingredients:

¾ cup of boiling water
1 Tablespoon carob powder
¼ teaspoon cinnamon (if tolerated)
Coconut milk (full-fat) or fresh raw cream (if you can tolerate dairy)


Directions:

Boil the water, add carob and cinnamon and top up with coconut milk (or cream), stir and enjoy! The carob tends to settle a bit so you’ll probably need to stir it again when you’re half way through drinking it.

The Perfect Homemade Protein Shake

Research shows that post-workout protein intake can affect these gains in a positive way, but it’s also important to remember that after a workout your muscles stores of glycogen – essentially energy – will be depleted, so including carbohydrate in your post-workout recovery fuel is equally as important. Hydration also goes without saying, but unless your workout exceeds an hour, water will suffice until you have finished your workout.

Chia seeds have been dubbed “the runner’s food” because of their ability soak up to 10 times their weight in water, so they’re great for hydration, as well as being high in protein and packed with other nutrients. Peanut butter has a bad rep for being unhealthy because it is high in fat and calories, but it is also high in protein, so as long as your portion control/will-power is strong, then a tablespoon in your smoothie does no harm at all! Happy exercising! From jamieoliver.com.

The Perfect Homemade Protein Shake


Ingredients:

1 banana, peeled
150g low-fat natural yogurt (without problem ingredients)
100ml of semi-skimmed milk or dairy-free milk
1 tbsp peanut butter
1 tbsp chia seeds (if tolerated)
½ tsp cinnamon (or to taste), if tolerated


Directions:

Simply whizz all the ingredients together in a blender and drink right away!

As ever, remember that a balanced diet and healthy lifestyle will play a massive role in keeping your whole body in tip-top condition – these tips are specifically for all you super-sporty foodies who may require a little extra of the good stuff.

Minty Shakes

Adjust the milk to your preference, a little more for a thinner shake or less if you prefer a nice thick shake. Since green food coloring is a no-no for IC, the shakes will not be green like in the picture. You can make it green by DIY Natural Food Coloring or use organic food coloring without problem ingredients. I adapted this recipe from withablast.net to make it IC friendly.

Minty Shakes
4 Servings


Ingredients:

4 cups Vanilla Ice-Cream (without problem ingredients)
1 cup Milk {more or less to your preference}
1/2 t Peppermint Concentrate OR 2 t Peppermint Essence (without problem ingredients)
4 to 6 drops of DIY Natural Food Coloring or use organic food coloring without problem ingredients (optional)
Whipped Cream, to top (without problem ingredients)
Mint Leaves, to garnish


Directions:

1. Place the Ice-Cream, Milk, Concentrate/Essence and food coloring in a large blender or milkshake maker - blend until smooth - pour into 4 glasses.

2. Top with Whipped Cream and garnish with Mint Leaves.

3. Serve immediately.

Coffee

Are you desperate for coffee? Is your IC preventing you from having coffee? There are options you can try. With active IC it is recommended that you slowly work your way up using mild stuff that we know that is going to soothe your bladder then slowly work up to things that might be a little more irritating.

Coffee and Interstitial Cystitis - Is it safe to drink? (Interstitial Cystitis Network)




Suggested Hot Drinks (slowly work yourself up)

1. Hot water or milk (steamers)
2. Herbal Teas (peppermint, chamomile)
3. Roasted Carob Teas- Roastaroma, Almond Sunset, English Toffee
4. Herbal Coffees- Pero, Cafix, Kaffree, Roma, Teecino (can be on the bitter side so be prepared to use a little bit of milk or cream)

If you do well with the above try:
5. Low Acid Real Coffees- Euromild or Puroast (decaf preferred first because caffeine will irritate the nerves in your bladder)


*Remember, if you are having any symptoms at all, go back to the hot water and slowly work yourself up.



Questions about Low Acid Coffee
From ic-network.com.

• Not every IC patient can and should drink even low acid coffees. If you have, for example, Hunner’s ulcers, severe petechial hemorrhaging in your bladder or are currently in a major flare, you should only be drinking water, milk, chamomile tea and/or peppermint tea until your bladder has the opportunity to heal.

• Patients whose bladders are in better shape may find low acid coffees to be tolerable if used in modest quantities.



How to make a low acid IC friendly coffee

1. Start with naturally low acid beans, roasted to a darker roast! We suggest trying a DECAF before trying regular coffee.

2. Use a cold brew coffee maker. The Toddy Cold Brew Coffee Maker ($37.99) uses regular coffee but reduces the overall acidity by 67% when compared to hot brewing systems by using a unique, patented cold brew system.

3. Taking the OTC supplement, Prelief, beforehand may reduce/neutralize acidity levels.

4. Start with a small amount to determine if your bladder tolerates it well!

5. Don’t go to excess. One cup of coffee a day is plenty for our more sensitive bladders and if you start having bladder discomfort again, stop immediately to avoid irritating your bladder further.

Coffee Milkshake

Combine low/no acid coffee with vanilla ice cream and what do you get? Heaven in a glass! Cold brewed coffee is the perfect low acid ingredient for this delicious coffee milkshake recipe. The cold brewing method reduces the acidity level and creates a flavorful, yet extremely smooth concentrate that is perfect for making ice coffee and coffee milkshakes. The resulting brew is much gentler on the bladder and your stomach.

NOTE: Not every IC patient can and should drink even low acid coffees. If you have, for example, Hunner’s ulcers, severe petechial hemorrhaging in your bladder or are currently in a major flare, you should only be drinking water, milk, chamomile tea and/or peppermint tea until your bladder has the opportunity to heal.

It's easy to make this recipe dairy free (Vegan) by substituting So Delicious Coconut Milk and So Delicious Coconut Milk Ice Cream.

From healthyicrecipes.com.

Coffee Milkshake


Ingredients:

1/2 cup cold brewed decaffeinated coffee concentrate (using a Coffee Toddy makes it easy)
1/2 cup Milk (try Coconut Milk Cream for a healthier, non dairy alternative)
Vanilla Ice Cream without problem ingredients (try Coconut Milk Ice Cream for a healthier, non dairy alternative)


Directions:

1. Mix ½ cup coffee concentrate and ½ cup milk in a blender.

2. Add 1/2 cup of ice and 3 scoops of vanilla ice cream.

3. Blend until smooth.

4. Pour into a tall glass.

*If you really want to be decadent, add some whipped cream and a light sprinkle of cocoa or carob powder.

Fresh, Herbal Sun & Sweet Teas

Sun tea today is a far cry from the sun teas made popular by Lipton years ago. Using fresh herbs and fruits, you can create fabulous ice teas that will quench your thirst during the hottest days of summer. All you need is a large glass jar with a tight cover, fresh water and the herbs and fruit of your choice.

Fresh, Herbal Sun & Sweet Teas

It takes 1 to 1-1/2 cups of fresh herbs per gallon of water. Clean the herbs and water container carefully. Place the herbs at the bottom and fill the container with water. Screw the lid on and give it a few shakes. Set the container in a sunny place for several hours. The longer the brew, the stronger the flavor.

At the end of the day, the tea should be warm and have a rich, clear color. Shake some more and pour through a strainer to remove the herbs. While still warm, add honey or sugar to taste and stir well. This is an ideal time to add a little bit of lemon peel if you like that flavor. Refrigerate immediately! From icdietproject.com.


Herbal Tea Flavor Combinations:

Cruising the web, you’ll find many recipes to experiment with. Here are some combinations that could work well!

• peppermint, rosemary leaves with a hint of honey
• peppermint and pineapple sage
• lavender, sage and rosemary
• chamomile and mint
• licorice root and flax seed

You can also use your favorite herbal teas such as Stash Peppermint Herbal Tea or Harney & Son’s Pumpkin Spice Rooibos Tea.

Pumpkin Spice Breakfast Shake

This shake has three main components: oats, banana, and milk. Adding oats to a smoothie makes it thicker and more filling; allowing them to soak in the milk overnight makes the resulting shake smoother and less gritty, although you can definitely make this without the overnight part if you’re in a time crunch. This shake is a complete breakfast in handy drink form! From ohmyveggies.com.

Pumpkin Spice Breakfast Shake


Ingredients:

1/4 c. pumpkin puree (without problem ingredients)
1 tbsp. pure maple syrup (optional)
3/4 tsp. pumpkin pie spice (without problem ingredients)
3/4 c. plain or vanilla almond milk (any milk is fine though!)
1/2 c. old fashioned oats
1/2 small banana, frozen
sprinkle of cinnamon (optional if tolerated)


Directions:

1. Whisk together pumpkin puree, maple syrup, pumpkin pie spice, and almond milk in a resealable container. Stir in oats, seal, and refrigerate overnight.

2. In the morning, combine frozen banana and pumpkin mixture in blender or food processor. Process until smooth; add more milk for a thinner consistency if desired. Pour into glass and sprinkle with cinnamon.

Toasted Coconut & Macadamia Smoothie

Although there are a few minor extra steps involved in making this toasted coconut and macadamia smoothie recipe from the Superfood Smoothies Cookbook, the results are absolutely delicious. Toasting the coconut enhances the flavor, and the coconut ice gives the smoothie a gentle sweetness without adding any refined sugars.

A power blender, such as a Blendtec or Vitamix, will quickly pulverize the nuts and then whip the ice into a frosty texture! This recipe has been adapted to be IC friendly. From blenderbabes.com.

Toasted Coconut & Macadamia Smoothie
Serves: 2 - 12 ozs


Ingredients:

2-3 cups coconut water, frozen into ice cubes*
1 1/2 cups coconut water (without problem ingredients)
1/4 cup dried, unsweetened, shredded coconut (without problem ingredients)
1/4 cup unsalted macadamia nuts (if tolerated)


Directions:

1. The night before, pour two cups of coconut water into an ice cube tray and freeze. (This is your coconut ice).

2. In a small skillet, toast the coconut over medium-high heat, stirring constantly to prevent burning, until golden (about 2 minutes). Transfer immediately to a bowl and let cool.

3. Blend the toasted coconut, macadamia nuts, maca, and coconut water together into a creamy milk base.

4. Once smooth, add the coconut ice and blend until frosty - first low then high (about 15-30 seconds).


Notes:

1. Depending on how frosty you like it, add more coconut ice!
2. Add 1/4 teaspoon vanilla or almond extract for varied flavor.