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Spoil your mom this Mother’s Day by creating a Rooibos-filled day at home. This Sunday, 10 May, will be the first time that you won’t be able to take your mom to her favourite restaurant or coffee shop to treat her. Due to the lockdown in South Africa, you will have to make the best of the situation and get creative by celebrating Mother’s Day in the comfort of your own home.
In this newsletter, we give you some tips on how to create a Rooibos-inspired spa day at home. The methods we list are easy and guaranteed to make your mom feel special and loved. Besides that, we also list recipes for a three course Rooibos-infused meal. After reading this newsletter, you’ll know exactly what to do this Mother’s day!
Finally, we reveal who the winner of our #RooibosExperience competition is!
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Still looking for the right way to show your mom you love her? Recreate a spa day experience for her at home! To make it even more unique, create a Rooibos-inspired spa day. In this section, we are going to give you several ideas of things you can do at home to make your mom feel relaxed and rejuvenated, with a little help from Rooibos. All of these treatments have been tried by numerous team members at Rooibos Limited and they all agree, no spa day will ever be quite as good as a Rooibos-inspired one!
You might be wondering why Rooibos ought to be used for something like spa treatments? Well, Rooibos is rich in anti-oxidants and zinc, which are both important nutrients for healthy skin. Anti-oxidants reduce the signs of ageing and Rooibos is used very effectively in anti-ageing skincare regimes. Anti-oxidants also revitalise the skin and Rooibos can be used very effectively as an exfoliator or a scrub to help get rid of older layers of skin cells to reveal the newer, healthier cells underneath.
Other than that, Rooibos also has a calming effect on those who consume it. Coupled with its beneficial effects on the skin, this combination makes Rooibos the ideal ingredient for a day filled with relaxation.
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So, which treatments can you recreate for your mom at home? We’ve asked the team at Rooibos Limited to tell us what their favourite DIY spa treatments are and we’ve listed them below. All of them are easy to try at home and foolproof, meaning that it is the perfect way to show your mom just how much you love her, right from the comfort of your own home.
1. To start the day, apply an avocado, egg or mayonnaise mask to the hair, wrap in a warm towel and leave on for the duration of the spa day. At the end of the spa day, wash the hair as you normally would and rinse in a strong cold brew of Rooibos tea for added shine.
2. Exfoliate with sugar scrub. The scrub can be made by combining sugar, olive or coconut oil and (of course) Rooibos tea leaves. After making the scrub, gently scrub the whole body to slough off dead skin cells.
3. Next, soak in a hot tub with Rooibos bath soak. The soak can be made by combining epsom salts, Rooibos and other herbs/spices, like vanilla, lavender, mint, rosemary, etc. Both Rooibos and epsom salts have a calming and immensely relaxing effect. Rooibos improves skin tone and fights against aging by scavenging free radicals and epsom salts draw toxins from the body.
4. Amp up the atmosphere with candles, a relaxing playlist, fluffy towel and a Rooibos cocktail or mocktail.
5. At this stage, you can put cold Rooibos tea bags over the eyes, lie back and relax further. The anti-inflammatory properties in the Rooibos contained in the tea bags will help with reducing bagginess or puffiness under eyes.
6. Finally, you can use cold brewed Rooibos, with a few drops of oil from a lemon peel squeezed in, as a refreshing facial toner. The ascorbic acid (Vitamin C) in the citrus oil helps brighten and tighten the skin. The Rooibos will smooth and soothe the skin, leaving your mom feeling refreshed for the rest of the day.
After the spa day, it is time to get going with your three course Rooibos meal. Have a look at the recipes we have listed below.
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| ROOIBOS CURING MIX
100 ml Rooibos tea leaves
10 ml honey
Juice of 1 lemon
Finely grated zest of 5 lemons
10 coriander seeds, crushed
200 g (250 ml) brown sugar
100 g (90 ml) coarse sea salt
SALMON AND DRESSING
500 g thick salmon fillet, skin on
500 g cucumber (use a large cucumber)
10 ml coarse sea salt
100 ml Rooibos tea leaves
100 ml water
30 ml honey
Juice of 1 lemon
Finely grated zest of 5 lemons
ROOIBOS CURING MIX
1. Blend the Rooibos tea leaves, honey, lemon juice, zest and coriander seeds in a food processor to form a fine paste. Mix the sugar and the salt together. Add to the paste and mix well.
SALMON AND DRESSING
2. Rub the paste on the top of the salmon fillet. Place a weight on top of the fish and leave it to stand for 12 hours in the fridge to cure.
3. The next day, drain the juices off. Keep the Rooibos curing mixture on top of the salmon. Remove the skin and cut the fish into 3 cm thick slices.
4. Peel the cucumber, remove the seeds and cut into large cubes. Salt the cubes and leave to steep for 1 hour.
5. To make the dressing, heat the Rooibos tea leaves and water in a saucepan to form a strong brew. Add the honey, lemon juice and zest. Add more seasoning, if necessary. Pour through a fine-mesh sieve to remove the solids. Set the dressing aside.
6. Rinse the cucumber under cold water, drain in a sieve and dry on kitchen paper to discard the liquid.
7. To serve, place the salmon fillets and cucumber cubes on plates. Drizzle with the Rooibos dressing.
Serves 4
* Gravadlax (also known as gravlax or gravlaks) is raw salmon cured with salt, sugar, a spirit such as vodka, peppercorns and flavoured with dill.
To view a few alternative recipe options, click here.
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| Tagine is a North African stew, particularly popular in Moroccan cooking. The conical earthenware cooking pot in which it is traditionally prepared is also called a tagine. It is characterized by its sweet and savoury mix of flavours, often due to the use of fruits, honey or orange-flower water.
50 g (55 ml) butter
2 large onions, finely chopped
15 ml crushed garlic
1 green chilli, finely chopped
1 stick cinnamon
2 star anise
15 ml leaf masala
2 tomatoes, chopped
1 kg lamb knuckles
500 ml very strong Rooibos
100 g dried apricots, sliced
5 ml salt
25 g (30 ml) sugar
50 ml fresh coriander, chopped
METHOD
1. Melt the butter in a saucepan. Add the onions and sauté until browned.
2. Add the garlic, chilli, spices and tomatoes, and cook for 2 minutes.
3. Add the lamb knuckles. Cook for about 5 minutes on medium heat until most of the liquid has evaporated.
4. Add the Rooibos and stir to mix. Cook, covered, for about 90 to 120 minutes until the meat is tender.
5. Add the apricots, salt, sugar and coriander. Mix until heated through. Serve with couscous.
Serves 3 to 4
To view a few alternative recipe options, click here.
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| 400 g fresh Granny Smith apples, peeled and chopped
200 g (250 ml) granulated sugar
3 Rooibos tea bags
100 g (110 ml) butter, melted
75 g (90 ml) castor sugar
200 g egg whites (about 6 eggs)
Pinch of salt
80 g good-quality chocolate, chopped
Icing sugar, for dusting
METHOD
1. Place the apples, sugar and Rooibos tea bags into a medium-sized saucepan, cover with the lid and simmer over medium heat to allow the liquid from the apples and tea bags to infuse. Remove the tea bags from the saucepan after 10 minutes.
2. Remove the lid and simmer until the liquid is reduced slightly (the sugar should be a straw-like colour). Remove from the heat and allow too cool. While still slightly warm, blend the mixture to form a smooth purée.
3. Preheat the oven to 190 °C.
4. Grease 6 ramekins well with the melted butter. Place 15 ml castor sugar in the base of each ramekin, shaking it around until the inside of each container is completely coated with the sugar (this will help the soufflé climb the sides of the dish during baking). Place the ramekins in the refrigerator to allow the butter to harden.
5. In a large, clean bowl, free from any oil or fat, whip the egg whites with a pinch of salt until the whites have doubled in size.
6. Weigh out 150 g of the apple-Rooibos purée. Take one-third of the egg whites and beat it into the 150 g apple-Rooibos purée to loosen it. Then fold the rest of the egg whites and the chocolate chips into the purée.
7. Scoop the mixture into the ramekins so that it is level with the rim. Run your thumb around the rim to ensure the mixture rises evenly when baking.
8. Bake for 8 minutes. Remove from the oven and dust with icing sugar.
9. Serve immediately with the Rooibos Ice-Cream.
Serves 6
To view a few alternative recipe options, click here.
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| Recently, Rooibos Limited gave you the chance to win a R400 voucher to spend in our online store, Shop Rooibos. All that you had to do was share your #RooibosExperience with us on social media, which would have shown you enjoying Rooibos at home while the country is in lockdown.
We looked at all the entries and finally found our winner. Congratulations to Shally Chauke on winning this competition! She posted a video and picture of herself enjoying a homemade Rooibos cocktail that looked absolutely delicious.
Thank you to everyone who entered and shared their Rooibos moments with us. Keep an eye on our social media accounts for future competitions. You might just be the lucky winner next time!
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| Stay home, stay safe and have some fun with Rooibos this Mother's Day. To find out more about Rooibos and its health benefits visit: www.rooibosltd.co.za
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