Get the Juices Flowing

So the sun is finally shining over Britain, spring is most certainly in the air and thoughts begin to turn to BBQs, festivals, picnics and beach days. Here at Semple we’ve decided that is we are going to look our best at all these summer events then we really need to take a look at our diet. So it’s goodbye burgers, pizza and fizzy drinks and hello salads, fruits and the new celebrity fave; juicing!

Juicing is a healthy way of consuming a large amount of fruit or vegetables in one hit by condensing them down in a juicer or by simply extracting the juice from them. Juicing initially became popular in the early nineties and whilst the trend never really went away it has increased in popularity over the last few years. This may be in part to a renewed interest in healthy living or even the fact that as we appear to be clawing our way out of the recession fresh fruit and veg is once again more affordable rather than a luxury expense.

We are becoming a nation of food lovers so it is only logical that more of us will balance those nice restaurants and extravagant menus with a little bit of healthy eating and detoxing in between. Instagram is full of (let’s be honest here) smug people holding up their latest juicing concoction as they rock the sportswear trend on their gym honed bodies. So let’s take a leaf out of their book – without the lycra though please.

Juicing can be a really efficient way of getting your five-a-day and almost any fruit or vegetable is suitable. Global travel means that we are no longer limited to the traditional apple and pears and the exotic fruits that are now available all year round can really spice up your juicing recipes. We spoke to Soraya Bahrami, Co-Founder and CEO of Toucan Fruit, which imports tropical fruits, to get some ideas. “Most of our fruits seem like they were made for juicing. Our Colombian range in particular makes great smoothies. Authentic recipes involve blending, Guanabana, for example, with milk and nutmeg! As a separate point, this fruit also known as Soursop, is our fastest growing product due to its Pina Colada like taste and rumoured potent anti-cancer properties!”

Some Toucan Fruit favourites

Soraya agrees that recent years have seen more of a call for exotic fruits, “We are seeing a rapid increase in demand partly due to a greater interest in health. Also, there seems to be a great move at the moment towards vegetarianism and a tendency to return to the fruits of mother earth.” Soraya started out with a career in banking but, two years ago, in search of a more holistic lifestyle she combined her finance knowledge with her Mauritian heritage to open Toucan Fruits and started importing exotic fruits from around the world. Toucan fruit is perfect for the later juicing trend so be sure to check out the website and  get yourself stocked up on fruit and join us Semple girls as we get ready for summer.

By Samantha Vandersteen

www.toucanfruit.com 

Soraya Bahrami

Co-Founder & CEO

Tel: 44 (0) 208 964 8033