Happy Monday friends! How are you? I feel a bit lost in the world today. Not sure why, but it happens. I’m sure I’ll get a hold of today at some point, haha. For now, I wanted to share this aloe tip with you– I found it incredibly helpful for my own health and for my morning routine. Once I hit publish on this post I plan to actually go put this tip into action and right into my favorite juice— since it’s now almost noon and this is typically my *first thing in the morning* routine. Again, it feels like an off day for some reason.
I’ve been making juice as many mornings as I can for a while now. I feel it has really improved my overall energy quite a bit. I’ve also been having a few extra stomach troubles since our last trip to Mexico (likely to be parasites, ick), but ever since I started adding fresh aloe to my morning juice, my stomach has drastically improved. So I’m definitely into it.
So let’s talk about aloe– I now blend aloe into my juice every morning (well every morning that I make juice anyway). Yes, that means I use a juicer and then a blender for my morning juice. But then blender takes an extra 15 seconds, so for me, it’s worth it. It’s really not much work to give the blender an extra rinse after either. It’s incredibly soothing (hence why it’s used for sunburns– speaking of sunburns, I’ve still only ever had the one). Aloe is said to be healing for the gut, reduces inflammation, controls blood sugar, and so much more. As someone who suffered major gut damage from c. diff, I’m glad to finally have a way to ingest aloe and enjoy it!
I tried having aloe last year and gosh, every time I did I GAGGED and gagged some more. Aloe smells and can taste DREADFUL. But it’s supposed to be SO soothing for your gut– and so I wanted to have it. I just couldn’t get myself to handle the taste. Well, thankfully, I finally figured it out. You’ll still have to handle the smell as you prepare it, but you won’t taste or smell it in your drink(s) anymore! Trust me– I tested this out on Alex (haha) and he had no idea there was aloe in his drink until he walked into the kitchen later and saw (and smelled) the leftover leaf!
If you haven’t tried it, definitely use caution with aloe as allergies to it are possible. But if you don’t have an allergy, try it out and see how you do! I think you’ll find that you benefit from it too 🙂
Alright, you see that yellow slime? That’s the extra funky and bitter stuff. You don’t want that!
How to get rid of the disgusting aloe taste
- pull aloe leaf from the plant (or buy in the store, whatever).
- with a sharp knife, slice off pointier sides of the leaf as well as the tip.
- remove the top panel of the leaf to reveal the fleshy clear inside.
- rinse off the interior with clean, filtered water (much easier with two hands). If there is any of the yellow interior, make sure to give that an extra rinse/wipe down– you want to remove any of that part to remove bitter taste.
- At this point, your aloes should be pretty well prepped! It will still smell pretty bad, but it should be ready to use. Scrap off the interior fleshy part with a spoon or thumb and place into your blender. (Again, easier with two hands).
- Blend into your juice or smoothie for about 5-10 seconds or until completely dissolved and voila! You should have an aloe drink with zero aloe taste!
Okay— so now that you know how to drink aloe without gagging– try adding it to your favorite morning juice or smoothie! And well, if you need a juice recommendation– well then, I’ll be back tomorrow with my favorite juice recipe!
This is still my favorite smoothie if you’re curious 🙂
Cheers!
5 Comments
i read that you shouldn’t eat homegrown aloe – is that not true??
Yes and no! You probably heard this because there are varieties of aloe that should not be eaten! If you’re unsure about the type you have– or you’re going to buy some, then its definitely smart to inquire about the variety!
thanks! i have no idea what type i have, so i should probably not test it out.. 🙂
Although known as a tough and sun-loving plant, I’ve found that growing aloe in full shade, or even indoors, yields less of the yellow goo and makes it smell and taste much much more neutral. Also make sure you have true Aloe vera and not a hybrid or different species, as there are many others out there.
Yes!! thank you for bringing this up! I haven’t actually read anything about that– but I totally think you’re right. We had ours in the sun for the longest time and it was always a bit tougher/more orange in color. But now we store ours under the pergola which is shadier and have a daily mister and they look so much more lush in green. I brought one of the pots over to our apartment here and it’s been sitting in the sun outside (no mister) and it is looking more orange again. It’s a confused succulent for sure, haha. So I totally think it makes a difference!