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!