The sweetened lime-juice with a touch of ice was and perhaps still continues to be a popular thirst quencher. Then came the milk shakes and smoothies. But we now see that vegetable juices are taking over and in a big way. “They are a much healthier option,” avers Vandana Naik, owner, Café Bodega, Altinho, whose menu offers a variety of vegetable juice options. “The most popular is the carrot-apple ginger. The same goes for the beet-apple combination and the celery-carrot and ginger juice,” she elaborates, while attributing the growing trend to an increasing awareness and health-consciousness among people. “Earlier, these juices were not available probably for want of machines. But now with the availability and also a rising health-awareness among people, the public is eager to experiment. These juices not only help to keep the calories in check but are also very nutritious.” The downside, as she points out, is the paucity of choice of vegetables in Goa.
Pastry Chef at the Goa Marriott Resort & Spa, Samantha Nunes, is imbibing the goodness of these vegetable juices while making them popular on the menu as well. “I have been indulging in the goodness of the carrot-apple-celery juice and have felt the benefits of it. There is this pre-conceived notion that these juices are tasteless, but believe me, they not only taste amazing, but are refreshing as they are healthy,” she vouches. “Besides the carrot-apple-celery combination, people also opt for the white pumpkin juice as a good morning refresher. Pomegranate and beetroot juices are equally popular,” she observes.
While these juices have been on regular order with the visitors, the locals have just begun. “People read a lot now-a-days, so there is a growing awareness. Also, they are in a more ‘healthier’ mode now. So, yes, the milk shakes and smoothies are being given a miss for these more healthier options, which also act as great weight watchers and detoxifiers,” maintains Chef Samantha. “These juices go well with salads and one can also make their own combinations of vegetable juices. Celery is very healthy,” she reiterates.
For artist Harshada Kerkar who believes in the goodness of nature’s products, this news is welcome. “I enjoy making a combination of cucumber juice with either pudina and lime or tomato juice and lime, and my preference is for locally grown produce. They are not only easy to make but are so refreshing and without a doubt, healthy. The skin glows and the body itself feels better. And yes they are a much cheaper option to even the tender coconut which costs a princely sum of thirty each,” she explains of choices to tackle the heat.
Cut it up in a salad or juice it up…vegetable juices are saving the day, and the body as well.
