Add more zest to your life!
When I think of living a life with zest, I think about living with intention, excitement and energy. Something that I strive for on a regular basis. But when I say that you need more zest in your life, I quite literally mean, citrus zest.
Citrus zest not only adds brightness, liveliness, and a touch of sweetness to food, it also infuses your recipes with bioflavonoids.
Bioflavonoids are found in lemons, limes, oranges, grapefruit, tangerines, clementines -just to name a few. They are highly concentrated in the skin of citrus fruit, which is why that zest should never be tossed in the trash -it is a nutritional goldmine!
Bioflavonoids work together beautifully with vitamin C to reduce the risk of heart attacks and cancer, aid in liver detoxification, help maintain strong bones/teeth, healthy skin, and good vision. They are water-soluble, which means they don’t require cooking. In fact, cooking may breakdown these important compounds so zest is best added after cooking.
Here are a few ways that you can add citrus zest to your diet. If you think it sounds like a lot of work, just give it a try using a good quality zester like a microplane zester and decide after you’ve tasted the flavor boost! Tip: freeze zest for later use in a glass jar.
Ways to Use Citrus Zest
1. Add to dressing: The basic vinagrette ratio is 3 parts oil + 1 part vinegar. From there, you can add a little high quality sweetener (think raw honey, maple syrup) and citrus zest. My favorite dressing is 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil + 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar + 1 teaspoon raw, local honey + 1 teaspoon orange zest. SO GOOD!
2. Add to Salads and Slaws: Cold salads (especially grain-based salads) and slaws can always use a bit of brightness! Sprinkle citrus zest on your salads and slaws and enjoy.
3. Infuse Olive Oil: You can add a strip of lemon peel to a mason jar filled with olive oil. Let it sit for about two weeks and you’ll have a lemony-olive oil infusion!
4. Infuse Tea: Take your cup of tea to the next level by adding a strip of citrus peel. Grapefruit, lemon, lime, tangerine all work beautifully. My favorite combo is ginger tea with a strip of grapefruit peel! Bright and spicy.
5. Make an easy citrus salt: this is divine sprinkled on fish, chicken or to rim a cocktail glass 😉
6. Make the best butter in the world: Martha’s Maple Orange Butter (make sure to use butter made from the milk of grass-fed cows! The butter will have a higher composition of omega-3 fatty acids and other nutrients)
7. Finish soups, stir-fries and stews with a sprinkle of zest: Just as you are about to serve that hot bowl of soup/stew or stir-fry, sprinkle a little zest on top. It is amazing how much flavor just a bit of zest can add.
Question: How do you add more zest to your life? I would love to hear from you!
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Obsessed with that zest picture! So colorful, and citrus zest is one of my favorite ways to take dishes from good to great!!
My two favorite things to add citrus zest to are seafood dishes and smoothies. Both transform into amazing with citrus zest 🙂
I’m a huge fan of citrus zest! Use it in grain salads, salad dressings, rubbed on poultry and beef, and added to cocktails too.
When I got my microplane, I was so happy! Easy zesting ALL the time!
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