It’s almost the end of 2018 and even though the year is coming to a close and people are winding down for New Year, life seems busier than ever. My intentions for 2019 are to slow down and really practice living in the moment. Nothing says ‘slow down’ to me more than a cup of hot herbal tea. Soothing, calming and refreshing, it’s the best way for me to come back to the present moment and take stock….
Drinks
Nutella Milk
Did you enjoy drinking chocolate milk as a kid? There’s something I’ve always found comforting about it, especially when it’s hot outside.
The only thing I love more than chocolate milk has to be chocolate hazelnut milk. It’s hard to go wrong with hazelnuts and chocolate, I’m always down for Nutella flavour anything. Come to think of it, I don’t think I’ve ever met a person who doesn’t like it….
Cookie dough milkshake
There’s a couple of milkshake shops in my city and for years I’ve walked by them, glancing longingly at the extensive menu and wishing they’d have a change of heart and decide to go dairy free. You can get pretty much any sweet or chocolate you can think of blended up with ice cream or ice cold milk. As tempting as they look, I can’t stomach dairy or huge amounts of sugar any more, so I decided to create these super easy, delicious and secretly nutritous cookie dough milkshakes! …
Blueberry acai iced latté
A coffee free iced latté made with blueberries, acai and coconut milk. …
Rose sherbet
An exotic Rose Sherbet, the best way to cool down on a warm day. Made with ice, cashews, strawberries and rosewater. This sherbet is so creamy and refreshing. My version is refined sugar and dairy free. I added a little raw beetroot to boost the rosy pink, but you can omit this if you don’t have any. I made this originally with 1 tbsp of rosewater, which wasn’t enough for me. My advice is to add a tbsp at a time and taste, some rosewater can be very potent.
- 3/4 cup cashews (soaked overnight and drained)
- 1 large handful of ice
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 cup frozen strawberries
- 2-3 tbsp rosewater
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 tbsp rice malt syrup (or other liquid sweetener)
- 2 inch piece of peeled, raw beetroot (optional)
Add all ingredients to blender and process on high until smooth and creamy.
Tropical golden kiwi smoothie
Summertime is well and truly here in the UK and I couldn’t be happier. After what seems like an eternity of cold weather, I can finally start to enjoy my smoothies and nice cream in the heat! What better way to celebrate the sunshine than slurping on a big chilled jar of tropical smoothie. I used golden kiwi here, but feel free to use regular kiwi if you can’t find this one. Although the golden kiwi does really work well- it tastes like a cross between a banana and a green kiwi!
Recipe (Makes one large smoothie, or two regular glasses)
- 1 cup coconut milk
- 1 cup water
- Handful of ice
- 1 cup frozen banana
- 1 1/2 cups pineapple chunks
- 1 tbsp coconut oil
- 1/2 mango
- 2 golden kiwis
- 1 tsp turmeric (optional, but makes it extra golden and nutritious)
- If you want to decorate your jar, thinly slice some kiwi and brush with a little coconut oil. Stick to the inside of your jar and pop the jar in the freezer- this helps the slices to stick. Add coconut milk, water, ice, banana and pineapple to blend and mix until smooth. Pour half the mix into your jar and pop back into the freezer to set. I left mine for about 30 minutes.
- To the remaining smoothie, add coconut oil, mango, kiwis and 1 tsp turmeric. Blend until smooth. Slowly pour into your jar. Decorate with fresh mint, toasted coconut and fruit slices. Enjoy the tropical vibes!
Tropical turmeric smoothie
A tropical turmeric smoothie, to recharge and boost your immune system! Turmeric has to be one of my favourite superfoods, it boasts an endless list of benefits and has been used for centuries to deal with pain and inflammation. If you’re new to turmeric, try adding a tsp at first and gradually building up until you’re used to the flavour. It can taste a little bitter to some people, which is why I’ve paired it with a delicious combination of fruits and ginger.
Recipe (Makes enough for two smoothies)
- 2 large frozen bananas
- 1 mango
- 1 orange
- 2 tsp turmeric
- 1 thumb size piece of ginger, peeled
- 1 tbsp coconut oil
- 1 1/2 cup nut mylk (I used pecan mylk)
- 1 tsp Organic Burst baobab
- l large handful of blueberries
- 1 small handful of blackberries (optional, but makes it more purple)
- 2 tsp Organic Burst acai
- Add all ingredients apart from the blueberries, blackberries and acai to your blender and mix well until smooth. Pop half the mix into the freezer to thicken.
- Add blueberries, blackberries and acai to the remaining mix and blend well.
- Grab your chilled golden smoothie and pour 3/4 into your glass. Now pour in the purple smoothie which should sink to the bottom. Swirl through with a chop stick to make pretty layers. Top with coconut shreds, blueberries and fresh mint.
Strawberry kiwi slushie
Strawberry kiwi slushie
Kiwi vanilla power matcha smoothie
Kiwi, vanilla, bananas and a delicious power matcha blend from Your Superfoods are packed into this energising smoothie. I like my smoothies super thick and very cold so I added some ice to keep these babies creamy cool to the last slurp.
I layered a little vanilla chia pud at the bottom too for an extra burst of energy, which makes this the perfect breakfast smoothie. Have I mentioned how much I love matcha? Well, I do love it…a lot. I never thought it would be possible to find something to compete with my morning Americano but matcha always hits the spot. This blend is a mix of matcha, maca, moringa, wheatgrass and barley grass and actually has a really delicate flavour. A nice surprise for a green powder.
Sorry for the delay with getting my blog on the go. It’s been an unpredictable rollercoaster of a year so far and I’ve needed time to process the changes in my world. One thing I can be sure of is making food makes me feel happy so I’m going to keep creating and eating!
Recipe (makes two big smoothies) –
- 4 frozen bananas
- Handful of frozen ice cubes
- Seeds from one vanilla powder
- 2 tbsp hemp seeds
- 2 tsp peanut butter
- 3 kiwis (cut off a few thin slices if you want to stick some to your jar)
- 2-3 pears
- 2 cups almond mylk
- 1 cup broccoli florets
- 2 tsp matcha
- Blend all ingredients apart from the broccoli and power matcha until smooth and creamy. Set aside half the mix into your glasses (or a jug if you want to make pretty layers) and blend the remaining mix with the broccoli and matcha.
- Add a layer of chia pudding to the bottom of your jar and stick some kiwi slices to the inside of your jar. Layer the smoothies with dollops of each smoothie for a swirly effect or layer with the light colour underneath and green on top for the ombre effect.
- Sprinkle with hemp seeds and enjoy!