Tag: Weight loss

What are Just Drink Basil Seed Drinks like?

Basil Seed drinks have always been popular across Southeast Asia and India. Many people will have encountered the drink on their travels to Thailand or Vietnam. Basil seeds are similar to chia seeds in that they are packed with nutrients and have a number of health benefits. I’ve been sampling the new Just Drink Basil Seed Drinks and finding out more about the health benefits of this unusual drink.

What are Just Drink Basil Seed Drinks like?

Basil seeds are low in calories and are cholesterol free. They contain high levels of beta carotene and Vitamins A, C and K; as well as minerals including potassium, manganese, copper, calcium and magnesium. Basil seeds are also an excellent source of iron and have a number of antioxidant benefits.

Basil seeds apparently have a cooling effect on your body, so they’re great in the summer mixed into cold drinks. They are also good for maintaining healthy skin, for digestion and bowel regulation, sore throats, colds and respiratory disorders and they are known for being a good mood food.

Basil seeds, especially in drinks like the Just Drink Basil Seed Drinks, are also said to be good for weight loss. I have to say, I feel very full after I’ve had a glass of the basil seed drink, and the full feeling lasts for a while. I think that’s a big selling point for me, they make me feel full and as a result I’m less prone to snacking.

What are Just Drink Basil Seed Drinks like?

The Just Drink Basil Seed Drinks are available in three different flavours, strawberry, peach and pineapple. The drinks come in 350ml bottles and there’s probably enough for two or three glasses in the bottle. I wouldn’t suggest drinking it all in one go as you will feel very full and you might need a nap.

I’m no stranger to unusually textured drinks and these basil seed drinks are no exception. Aloe Vera drinks have clear, fleshy pieces of Aloe Vera in them, and these are in a way similar. The drink is a normal fruit juice based drink and the basil seeds are suspended in a sphere of something like jelly, a bit like bubble tea. 

You can swallow the seeds whole, but if you bite into them the jelly yields easily and you can crunch on the seed if you want. I feel very full when I’ve had a glass of one of the basil seed drinks, and they are quite sweet, but I find them very refreshing especially when they’re nicely chilled.

I would say, if you spot this in your local shop or supermarket it’s worth buying and trying. It is unusual, there’s no getting away from that, but I have enjoyed trying the drink and I like that when I have some I don’t feel the need to snack. I also think (and I’m just free-styling here) it might be nice in prosecco or cava, I think the bubbles with the seeds in will bob up and down in the glass and be a bit of a talking point.

So what are Just Drink Basil Seed Drinks like? Well they’re fruity, filling and a little bit weird, but weird in a good way. Give them a try!

Read my review of Just Drink Aloe here.

Note: I was sent the Just Drink Basil Seed drinks to try for review purposes, all images and opinions are my own. I genuinely think they are weirdly good.

Health Update: Weight Loss or Wheelchair

I’ve been putting off writing this blog post for a week now. You may remember a couple of weeks ago I had an MRI scan, well the results are in and it’s not the news I’d hoped for but it was the news I was expecting. My quite ruined back is absolutely ruined, my dodgy disc has now vanished, leaving bone rubbing on bone and I have multiple disc bulges.

I’ve been referred for pain management, physio and told to think very careful about my next surgical option which is getting my spine fused. In the meantime I need to lose some weight to take the pressure off and to help get me fit for surgery. It’s no exaggeration to say that I’ve spent much of the past week crying. I will not feel sorry for myself now, I have a project to focus on. Losing weight.

I’ve done it before. In 2013 I lost about a stone and a half, mainly through starving myself and walking miles, but starving myself isn’t a sensible option. Nor can I walk for miles, I just don’t have the time these days. So what am I going to do?

I’ve logged back in to ‘My Fitness Pal’ which is an app where you diarise your food and exercise each day. I’m aiming to eat around 1300 calories a day to begin with and its already starting to have a positive effect. I’ve lost a couple of pounds in just under a week. I’m feeling positive about that. I’m trying not to drink, or drink as much. I went to the pub with a friend and drank diet coke and survived. It’s doable.

We’re going away for half term and I’m not going to deny myself nice food and drink, but it will be in moderation, I’d just like to get a bit of a head start on losing weight before I go.

As for exercise, well I am quite limited in what I can do. I spent Monday morning helping out at school and both of my legs have been numb ever since, I know resting will help the feeling come back, it’s just stuff from inside my discs pressing on some nerves. It’s weird, it’s worrying but it’s kind of normal for me.

I can walk, so when I can I will. I can swim, so I know I must make an effort to get down to the local pool during their ridiculously restrictive swimming times. And I’ve just bought myself a Fitbit which should help me get an idea about my current level of (in)activity and hopefully help motivate me to improve.

I think long term it’s going to be about making small changes, keeping moving, drinking less, making better choices about what I eat. It’s a long journey, a lifetime journey but if I want to stay out of a wheelchair and on my feet then it needs to be done. Wish me luck.

Weight loss