The beginning of high season 2015!!!

Now that it is the beginning of high season here in Tamarindo, Costa Rica, we are excited to welcome back old friends and make new friends with guests coming to visit our boutique bed and breakfast for the first time. Along with high season comes wedding season, and we couldn’t be more excited to get back in the swing of things by welcoming some wedding industry friends to our boutique hotel for our three-course breakfast! Sueno del Mar is open to the public for breakfast daily, and you will not be disappointed by the spread we provide on our breakfast terrace looking out to the beautiful beaches of Playa Langosta.

If you’re looking for the perfect place for your destination wedding or elopement, come check Sueno del Mar and join us for a relaxing morning. We can help you plan the details for a memorable event over a gourmet breakfast and delicious Costa Rican coffee or fresh fruit juice.

Wedding industry friends joining us for breakfast in celebration of the beginning of high season (from left to right): Jonathan Cooley and Kirsten Juntunen of Four Winds Weddings  Jeff Hooper of Katherine Stinnett Photography, our very own Sol of Sueño del Mar, Katie Stinnett of Katherine Stinnett Photography, Julie Comfort of Comfort Studio and Christina Craft of Funkytown Photography.

Our beachfront hotel in Playa Langosta is the perfect setting for your next Costa Rica vacation.

The Bennefits of the Beet Juice.

Every week with our gourmet breakfast Lily surprise us with a delicious beet juice!! When our guests see this unusual color when the juice arrives to the table they always hesitate to take their first sip… they love it!! If you like to try it come to Sueño del mar and we prepare one for you.

Below here you can find interesting information about this healthy vegetable.

Benefits of Beetroot Juice


Known for decades as a liver-protective food, beets may not be the newest kid on the super food block, but mounting research is showing why you should take another good look at this root vegetable in juiced form.
Many of our patients have mentioned that juicing beets will give them more energy for their day. Research is showing that this may be due to the ability of components in the juice to improve blood flow. Beetroot juice has been shown to help the body respond better to exercise, by balancing oxygen use and increasing stamina.
Beetroot juice is one of the richest dietary sources of antioxidants and naturally occurring nitrates. Nitrates are compounds which improve blood flow throughout the body – including the brain, heart, and muscles. These natural nitrates increase a molecule in the blood vessels called nitric oxide, which helps open up the vessels and allows more oxygen flow as well as lower blood pressure. 
Beetroot juice may also be an important ally to lower blood pressure. Whether the yellow or red kind of beets, the juice provides excellent blood pressure-lowering ability. Meta-analysis (a quality study that reviewed many past studies) of 254 people between 2006 and 2012 showed clear reductions in blood pressure, with the systolic blood pressure (the number on top) showing the best reduction.

For Blood Pressure, Is It Better to Eat Beets or Drink the Juice?
 In many cases, eating the whole food is the best way to get all the nutrients, fiber and healthy effect. But, in this particular case for blood pressure lowering, you are actually better off drinking the juiced beet root to get the maximum benefit. When you cook the beet or ferment a beet (like we find in a pickled beet), the amount of healthful nutrients for blood pressure benefits will decrease. By juicing, you are going to get 100% of the phytonutrients (plant chemicals) that help your blood pressure decrease.
How Much Juice Should I Take?
One to two cups of beetroot juice a day have been shown to have a significant effect for lowering blood pressure. Many doctors have been quite surprised by how little was needed to see a benefit for people with high blood pressure. You can juice the beets on your own, which is freshest and cost efficient, or you can spend about $7 for a prepared bottle at the health food store. Because beets are a potent detoxifier, some patients feel best when starting with a lower dose (like a quarter cup) and increase the amount over time.
Please note it is important to not change any prescription blood pressure medication without speaking to your prescribing doctor. Please let your doctor know you are using natural means to lower your blood pressure, which may result in requiring less medication.

Are There Any Side Effects to Drinking Beet Juice?
 The dark carotenes of beet juice may give your urine and bowel movements a red color. This color change is harmless. Since beets are high in oxalates, people who tend to make oxalate kidney stones may want to avoid beet juice.

Reed more: http://www.doctoroz.com/videos/benefits-beet-juice

 

 www.margauxphotography.com 

Our beachfront hotel in Playa Langosta is the perfect setting for your next Costa Rica vacation.

Learn how to make Passion Fruit juice

Lily, our chef at Sueno del Mar, always surprises us with an exquisite variety of natural juices. At our Bed & Breakfast, we try to provide our guests with the energy that nature has to offer us, giving them a delicious "fresh tropical drink". Here is how we make delicious Passion fruit juice:

Ingredients

• 5 ripe passion fruit
• cold water
• ice
• sugar or sugar substitute

Buy five or six tropical passion fruit - the yellow kind. They need to be crinkly but not rotten. Don't let the look put you off because they need to be very ripe to make the juice.

Cut each in half and scoop out the flesh into a blender.

Add about 3 times the amount of water and run the blender for a minute or so. The black seed will separate from the jelly. Don't over blend as the seeds will break up and create a grit.

Add about three times as much cold water again and sugar to taste. Use a teaspoon to taste the juice until you get the right amount. You may still need to add more water, but do it cautiously as you don't want to make the juice too weak.

Run the juice through a funnel into a jug or bottle and cool. 5 passion fruit will make around 2 1/2 litres of juice, so make sure your bottle is large enough.

Enjoy straight from the fridge, with ice, or as a cocktail with rum or vodka!

Tips

• The juice and the water may separate. If this happens, just shake up the bottle or stir the juice in the jug to remix.
• Your passion fruit juice will probably last 5 days or so in a refrigerator.
• Make sure your jug or bottles are really clean, especially around the neck.
• For those who want to watch their calories or who have diabetes, a low-calorie sweetener can be used in place of the sugar
• If you do not have a blender (and are patient), you can still make the juice if you sieve the fruit with a fork into the jug.

 

Our beachfront hotel in Playa Langosta is the perfect setting for your next Costa Rica vacation.