Over the past couple of decades, aloe vera has been included in an increasing number of products. This includes foods and beverages.

One trend that is only now starting to take hold is the inclusion of aloe vera in cocktails of different types. An example of a cocktail that is on the forefront of the inclusion of aloe vera in a recipe is the always popular Margarita. If you are interested in giving a cocktail containing aloe vera a go, starting with an easy to make Margarita recipe is ideal.

The Ingredients You’ll Need

There is nothing complicated about the ingredient list that you will need to make an aloe vera Margarita.

2.5 ounces aloe vera juice

2 ounces Agave Tequila

1.5 ounces lime Juice

1 tablespoon honey syrup (the directions for making honey syrup discussed in moment)

Salt, for rimming

You certainly can substitute a different brand of tequila in your own aloe vera Margarita. Agave Tequila has been “tried and tested” in an aloe vera Margarita and it blends nicely.

Making honey syrup is simple. You need only blend equal parts of warm water with honey and stir.

Some people suggest that you can create a Margarita using edible aloe vera gel. While that is a possibility, it’s far easier to prepare a Margarita using widely available aloe vera juice.

Preparing an Aloe Vera Margarita

Making a Margarita of any kind is an easy task, and it’s not harder when you include aloe vera juice as an ingredient. You need only to pour the aloe vera, tequila, lime, and honey syrup into a cocktail shaker. You then shake all the ingredients for about 30 seconds.

In addition, you prepare a glass by salting the rim, if desired. Keep in mind that no all Margarita drinkers want a salted rim.

Once you’ve tended to the rim, you then add ice to the glass. You finish the task by pouring the shaken Margarita into the glass and serve.

Possible Benefits of Aloe Vera Juice

Of course, you really can’t accurately consider a Margarita a health drink. You can make it a bit healthier by paying attention to the ingredients you utilize in making your cocktail. You do a dash of the healthy by including aloe vera in the mix.

Research is ongoing regarding the benefits that can be derived from consuming aloe vera. With that said, there is evidence that consuming aloe vera can provide you with some health benefits.

Aloe vera seems to be helpful in assisting people with digestion issues. It appears to help eliminate stomachaches and may also aid in reducing heartburn. Aloe vera seems to also be helpful in relieving constipation for some people.

Some individuals who regularly consume aloe vera state that it detoxifies the colon and the body more generally. Others maintain that aloe vera can be helpful in regulating blood sugars. There is some suggestion that aloe vera can improve circulation. There are individuals who regularly drink aloe vera juice who believe that it has been helpful in regulating blood pressure.

When it comes to the benefits of aloe vera, some users contend that it has helped them with weight loss. The thought is that aloe vera can assist in increasing a person’s metabolic rate. This can result in burning additional calories.

Of the people that consume aloe vera regularly, there are a number of individuals who contend that it has strengthened their immune systems. Other individuals believe that it has helped to reduce inflammation.

In order to really enjoy health benefits associated with aloe vera, the suggestion is that you consume two to four ounces a day. The Margarita recipe here calls for 2.5 ounces of aloe vera juice. This does meet the threshold for possible health benefits. However, you are consuming it as part of a cocktail. With that said, having an occasional cocktail does not have a negative impact on an individual’s health in most cases.

You certainly do not want to rely exclusively on a cocktail in order to meet a goal you might have set for consuming aloe vera juice for health reasons. Nonetheless, adding it to Margarita is a thoughtful step.

Where to Purchase Aloe Vera Juice

Aloe vera juice is widely available today. There are a myriad of online resources through which you can order aloe vera juice. In addition, over the past decade or so aloe vera juice has become more widely available at retailers in the brick and mortar world as well. This includes health food stores and even more traditional grocery markets. Big box stores are also stocking aloe vera juice for their customers.

Jessica Kane writes for TIPS Alcohol Training, offering TIPS responsible alcohol service training online for both on and off premise needs.

If your business or organization will be participating in a tradeshow as a vendor or presenter, you also want to consider hosting a hospitality suite. A hospitality suite can enhance the overall presence of your business or organization at a tradeshow. There are five key tradeshow hospitality suite food ideas that you need to take into consideration. By following these suggestions, you will be in the best position to present a truly successful tradeshow hospitality suite.

Keep It Neat

When selecting food items to be served at a tradeshow hospitality suite, keep it neat. By that it is meant do not select food items, no matter how delectable, that are messy when held and consumed.

The reality is that people attending a tradeshow look forward to hospitality booths, but most balk at trying to eat items that are hard to manage because of sauces or other ingredients than render them sloppy in their presentation.

The best course is to stick to easily handled and eaten finger foods. There are many such items that can be served at a tradeshow hospitality suite that you don’t have to resort to sloppy food items, no matter how tasty they may be.

Fresh Fruit

A perfect choice for tradeshow hospitality suite eats is fresh fruit of different types. You can go a truly health route and serve fresh fruit unadorned. On the other hand, you can dress fresh fruit up and turn it into a sweet dessert. Perhaps you want to consider incorporating both options into a tradeshow hospitality suite spread to satisfy the likes of the widest swath of guests.

One of the benefits of fresh fruit is that it provides an affordable option when it comes to tradeshow hospitality suite eats. Even if you elect to incorporate some more exotic fruit selections in the mix, because of the way fruit is portioned for service, you will not break the bank in the process.

Fresh Vegetables

On a related note, fresh vegetables provide another tasty, and healthy, option for food served at a tradeshow hospitality suite. Oftentimes, businesses and organizations hosting tradeshow hospitality suites take a very simple approach to serving fresh vegetables. For example, the obtain baby carrots, slices celery, and perhaps diced pepper (in different colors) to adorn platters.

A tip that you might want to consider in serving fresh vegetables at a tradeshow hospitality suite is to include a variety of dips to accompany the selections. Popular dip options that easily can be paired with vegetables include ranch and bleu cheese dressing as well as French onion dip.

Baked Goods

Unless they are on a low carb diet, baked goods are always the rage at a tradeshow hospitality suite. One of the great benefits associated with baked goods, including desserts, served at a tradeshow hospitality suite is that so many of these types of food items can readily be made in finger servings.

Keep in mind that baked goods do not need to be limited to desserts. They can include small rolls and other bread items as well.

A growing number of people seek out gluten-free food items. Traditional baked goods oftentimes do contain gluten. However, in this day and age you will be able to find a nice selection of different baked good items that are gluten-free.

Meat and Cheese

The old, reliable meet and cheese tray never fails when it comes to a tradeshow hospitality suite. They are affordable and offer guests a nice selection of different meet and cheese options.

Meat and cheese trays can be easily paired with different types of crackers. In addition, if you are also going the baked goods route, and will be included small roles or finger bread slices, these items can also be paired appropriately with a meet and cheese tray. (Make sure you pay attention to serving table layout to ensure the easy pairing of different food items.)

Mix It Up with Salt, Spice and Sweet

The most pleasing presentation when it comes to food at a tradeshow hospitality suite is one in which a selection of flavors and favorable items are available. Make it a point to include food items that range in flavors including salt, spice, and sweet. Of course, some individuals favor one of these tastes above the others. However, more often than not, a guest to a tradeshow is going to want to try the different derivations or taste options. Indeed, experimenting with nibbles available at a tradeshow hospitality suite is one of the more enjoyable aspects of this type of entertaining gathering.

Jessica Kane is a professional blogger who focuses on personal finance and other money matters. She currently writes for Checkworks.com, where you can get personal checks and business checks.

One of the aspects many people enjoy about the summertime is backyard or patio barbecues. If you are contemplating such an event, you are also likely puzzling over how to set the table, what do to in the way of a tablescape. There are seven solid tablescape ideas well-suited to a summertime patio barbecue.

Go Western

Yes, having a Western theme tablescape comes close to being a cliché. Having admitted that possibility, you can make some twists on the theme and end up with a truly dynamic look for your patio barbecue.

For example, you can not only go Western, but go Old West or Wild West. With a little research, you can find dining practices of people in towns during the heydays of the Wild West. At the other extreme, you might even want to give a go with a tablescape theme that hearkens to eating in an encampment while traveling across the Old West. Another option would be considering some of the fancier rail passenger cars of the day and take tips for a tablescape from them.

Go Counter Scape

When you think of a barbecue dinner on the patio in the summertime, you brain likely flashes to casual. Of course, casual is the norm when it comes to a barbecue. Indeed, you might not even think about tablescaping for such an affair. But, in the end, even when you set a table simply, you really are tablescaping on some level.

A concept to bear in mind for a summer time patio barbecue tablescape might best be called the “counter scape.” The counter scape means that you go the opposite direction from casual and simple when it comes to designing your tablescape for a patio barbecue.

Perhaps don’t bring out the China, but maybe you do incorporate nice silver within the tablescape. You abandon paper plates and disposable utensils, and take it all up a couple of notches. After all, except when having a patio barbecue, the other common place to dine on a delicious stake is in a higher quality restaurant. You don’t eat off paper in that type of eatery.

Go Picnic

You don’t have to overcomplicate things when tablescaping for a patio barbecue. Moreover, you don’t have to ignore the season you are in. The fact is that you are dining outside precisely because it is summertime.

With this in mind, consider a picnic theme for a patio barbecue dinner. Lay this tablescape foundation with something as basic as a red and white checkered table. You can accent it with mugs in silver, which adds a stylish touch the presentation. As was the case with the counter scape idea discussed a moment ago, you can “up” the look of the table by fancying up the picnic look a bit more.

Go Era

Another idea for a summertime patio barbecue tablescape is decorating around a particular era. Select a decade and does some research and find out how a tabletop would be set during that time period.

Perhaps you want to carry the era idea throughout the summer. For example, start in the 1920s, and then move forward decade-by-decade as the summer progresses. You might think about putting different members of your family in charge of the different time periods. In the alternative, if you have dinner regulars at your home during barbecue season, think about assigning different decades to the quests.

Barbecue and Game Night

Another take on the tablescape theme can be to incorporate a patio barbecue and game night. In other words, the gathered group will enjoy games after a hearty meal.

For the purposes of illustration, assume the game night element of the gathering will be Monopoly. You can includes attributes of Monopoly into the tablescape. In the alternative, you can isolate one aspect of Monopoly and build the tablescape around that.

For example, focus in on Boardwalk, the highest priced property in the game. You can have a Boardwalk theme for the tablescape, including adding silver pieces into the mix to enhance the sense of elegance.

In the final analysis, there is a tremendous amount that you can do when it comes to a tablescape for a summertime barbecue. In a very real sense, you are only constrained by your creativity.

One more thought. As was referenced in one design scheme a moment ago, but can be expanded throughout the summer, make sure to involve your family in this process. Share ideas between family members for tablescape ideas for these memorable summertime patio barbecues.

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Jessica Kane is a writer for Silver Superstore, home of the internet’s best flatware.