Valentine’s Special Recipe

Add a Little Love to Your Cravings

Help rehydrate and combat fatigue with this nutritious and life-enhancing feel-good drink recipe from our Healing Foods Cookbook! This Valentine’s Special contains antioxidant-rich fruits and coconut water, plus pistachios, cardamom, and concentrated rose, which are said to keep love on your mind!





Put all the ingredients in a powerful food processor or blender and blitz to a smooth consistency. To make a smoothie, add yogurt instead of the coconut water. If serving immediately, pour into long glasses and serve. Otherwise, the drink will last for up to 2 days if stored in a tightly sealed bottle and refrigerated.

Serves 2:
½ small container raspberries
½ small container blueberries
A dash of rose syrup
¼ tsp cardamom seeds, crushed (no more than 10 pods)
2 tbsp pistachio nuts, shelled
9 oz coconut water, to top up

Rose Syrup
Mildly sedative and immune-enhancing rose syrup can be used to sweeten herbal infusions, poured over pancakes and ice cream, drizzled over fruit saleds, used in a sorbet, or drunk as a cordial diluted with water. Highly perfumed damask rose or French rose are best for this recipe.

1. Dissolve the sugar in 10 fl.oz of water in a small saucepan over a low heat without letting it boil (which will make the mixture cloudy).
2. Add the citrus juices, then turn the heat down and simmer for 5 minutes. Over the next 15 minutes, gradually add the rose petals and stir thoroughly before adding more. Remove from the heat, allow to cool, and strain.
3. Meanwhile, sterilize a heatproof glass bottle and lid: wash in hot soapy water, drain upside down, then place in a cool oven (275°F) for 15 minutes. Pour the hot syrup into the sterilized glass bottle, seal, and label. Keep refrigerated and use within 6 weeks.

Makes 16 fl. oz:
8 oz unrefined granulated sugar
Juice of 1 lemon
Juice of 1 orange
3½ oz dried red rose petals, or the petals of 10 fresh red rose heads