bos.kitchen

Cherry coconut nice cream

12th June 2016 by bos.kitchen 2 Comments

Cherry season is here! They taste so delicious right now. I love everything cherry flavour (including lip balms and fizzy cola bottles). Enter the perfect healthy treat to showcase this ruby red summer fruit, cherry coconut nice cream. The carob sauce is a firm staple in my kitchen, it’s luscious and gooey and a doddle to make. If you love dark chocolate, give carob a go. It’s more nutritionally dense than cacao and doesn’t contain caffeine which means it’s perfect to eat any time of the day! The toasted coconut chips on top of this take it to ice cream sundae level, so I’d really recommend making them. Cherry, carob and coconut may just be my new favourite thing.

Recipe (Makes enough for two, as pictured)

4 frozen bananas, chopped
1/4 cup coconut milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp cashew butter
2 medjool dates, pitted
1 tbsp Organic Burst maca (optional)
1 cup fresh cherries, pitted
1/4 cup toasted coconut chips
2 tbsp carob powder
2 tbsp maple syrup

If you haven’t toasted your coconut chips, chuck the chips onto a small baking tray. Bake in the oven at 140°c and keep an eye on them. After about 10 minutes they should be starting to turn golden around the edges. Take out and leave to cool.
Make your coconut nice cream by adding frozen bananas, coconut milk, vanilla extract, cashew butter, dates and maca powder (if using) to your blender or food processor. Pulse and mash every so often, adding a little coconut milk at a time until smooth. Add water bit by bit if you need to soften it.
Smooth your first layer down in your jar(s). Split the remaining mix in half, adding the cherries to the half left in the blender. Mix well until smooth. Now scoop out the cherry nice cream and pop in the freezer with the coconut nice cream and your jar(s). Leave to set for at least 30 minutes.
Make the carob sauce by mixing carob powder and maple syrup until smooth and glossy.
Grab everything from the freezer and layer up! Top with your toasted coconut chips, carob sauce and fresh cherries on top!

Tropical golden kiwi smoothie

9th June 2016 by bos.kitchen Leave a Comment

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!

Radiant skin smoothie bowl

7th June 2016 by bos.kitchen 2 Comments

smoothie bowl beetroot kale kiwi blueberry cacao nibs coconut

This is actually a green smoothie bowl in disguise! It tastes sweet and creamy and boasts a whole host of skin boosting ingredients such as strawberries, beetroot, kale, avocado and flaxseed. Quality sleep, exercise, plenty of water and a healthy diet all contribute to a beautiful complexion. However, I’m also passionate about using as many organic, natural products as possible. Your skin absorbs up to 60% of what you put on it, so it’s worth taking the time to check out the ingredients. Organic Surge are have a beautiful collection of organic skin and hair care. Their products are not tested on animals and are 100% free of harsh chemicals – no parabens, sodium lauryl sulphate, artificial fragrances or colourants and no genetically modified ingredients. They kindly sent me a few bits to try recently and I am thrilled with them. You can find out a bit more me, my favourite products and my beauty routine on their blog here if you like.

I’m taking over their Instagram this week, please follow along for some more beauty boosting recipes.

Recipe

-makes enough for two bowls or three small glasses

1 large handful of frozen strawberries
3 frozen bananas
1 large handful of kale (stalks included)
1/2 avocado
1 tbsp ground or whole flaxseed
1/4 cup coconut or almond milk
1/2 cup water
1 tbsp beetroot powder or 1 small raw beetroot
2 tbsp dairy free yoghurt
Toppings of choice: I used blueberries, kiwi, cacao

Recipe

1.Add all smoothie ingredients apart from the yoghurt to your food processor or blender and mix until smooth. Pour into your bowl.

2.To make the pretty yoghurt topping, add small dollops of yoghurt all over your smoothie bowl. Stir with a chopstick of knife to make swirls. Top with fruit, cacao nibs and shredded coconut.

Mini sunshine pizzas

25th May 2016 by bos.kitchen 4 Comments

Gluten free, vegan and full of superfoods. Not something we generally associate with pizzas, but this recipe is a game changer. It takes less than half an hour to whip up these mini sunshine pizzas. Containing maca, chia seeds and turmeric, they pack a real nutritional punch. I topped mine with humous, but use whatever you have on hand, I’m sure tahini or tomato sauce would work well too. If you’d like the recipe for the pretty pink humous, take a peek here. I had these for lunch yesterday and they kept me going right through the afternoon.

Recipe (makes 6-7 mini pizzas)

For the crust –

3/4 cup gram flour
3 tbsp Organic Burst chia seeds mixed with 6 tbsp water
3/4 cup water
1/2 tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp Organic Burst maca powder
Himalayan pink salt and black pepper

Pre heat oven to 180 degrees and lightly grease a large baking tray or line with greaseproof paper.
In a mixing bowl, mix chia seeds and 6 tbsp water to form a gel.
Add gram flour, water, turmeric, maca powder, pink salt and pepper to the bowl and mix well until it comes together as a sticky dough. Add a little more water if you need to. It should be thick, but still drop slowly off a spoon.
Drop a tablespoon of the mix on to your greased or lined baking tray. Shape into mini pizza bases with as spoon. Bake for 20 mins or until firm.
While the pizza is cooking, prepare your toppings, I used humous and veggies.
When firm and golden, remove from oven and decorate.

Spicy & smoky wedges with guac

20th May 2016 by bos.kitchen 1 Comment

Is there anything more rewarding than eating a plate of perfectly crispy potato wedges with fresh, zingy guacamole? I don’t think so. Here’s my step by step guide to one of my favourite meals ever. It’s worth taking extra care when making wedges, little changes can make such a big difference. Feel free to play around with the spices and make your own bespoke blend.

I’d love to hear what you think if you try this super simple recipe!

Recipe

Wedges –

800g-1kg potatoes (bigger ones are best for finger sized, even wedges)
1 tsp smoked paprika
1/2 tsp hot chili powder (use a tsp if you only have regular chili powder)
1 tsp dried oregano
3 tbsp olive oil
Sea salt and pepper

Guacamole –

2 avocados
Big handful of parsley or coriander
Handful cherry tomatoes, sliced
Juice of one lemon or lime
Sea salt and pepper

Put a large pan of water on to boil. Heat oven to 200 degrees and put two large baking sheets in the oven.
Wash your potatoes well and slice into wedges- leave the skin on. The best way to slice them is to slice them in half length ways, then half again, the same way, keep going until you get even wedges. Long potatoes work best here!
Boil your wedges for about 10-15 minutes, until you can pierce them with a fork. Depending on the potato, you may need longer here, but just keep testing. You want them to stay together so don’t over boil them.
Drain the wedges and leave to rest in the colander.
Make your spice mix by mixing smoked paprika, oregano, chili powder and salt and pepper in a small jar or cup.
Gently tip wedges into a bowl and cover with the olive oil and spice mix, stir briefly until wedges are roughly coated. It’s okay if some parts aren’t quite covered, it all adds to the flavour party!
Tip onto your hot baking sheets in a single layer (try not to have them on top of each other) and roast in the oven for about 20-25 minutes until evenly browned, turning half way through.

While the wedges are cooking, make your guacamole.

Roughly mash avocados in a bowl. I like to leave it quite chunky, so only mash briefly.
Add herbs, cherry tomatoes, lemon/lime juice and salt and pepper. Don’t hold back on the pepper.

Caramel nice cream

18th May 2016 by bos.kitchen Leave a Comment

IMG_3921-1-2

For me, nice cream is just about the best thing ever. I spent years as a vegan thinking I had to buy the overpriced, tasteless soya ice cream in tiny pots from health shops, until I discovered the humble frozen banana. Something magical happens to bananas when you freeze them. They blend up into the most rich, creamy tropical deliciousness that you could only compare to a really thick milkshake. Even the really mushy ones can be frozen and blended up into smoothies. As with all fruit, if it’s almost had it, chuck it in the freezer and use it later, I can’t bear to see food go to waste. If you haven’t tried freezing your bananas before, I can’t recommend it enough. There’s no going back once you’ve tried it. Just remember to peel them before you freeze them. I have admit I’ve made that mistake before.

Guilt free and packed with b vitamins and carbs to fuel you through your day. I managed a good six hour stint digging weeds at the allotment after eating half of this! If you don’t have a very powerful blender, just wait for the bananas to soften a little before blending. You can always pop it in the freezer to firm up.

Recipe (makes enough for two)

4 frozen bananas (peel and chop your bananas into chunks, freeze overnight)
2 pitted dates
1 tbsp Organic Burst maca powder (optional)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp almond butter (plus a little more, for decoration)
1/4 cup almond mylk
2 tbsp cacao
2 tbsp maple syrup

Make your cacao sauce – mix cacao and maple syrup together well and set aside.
Blend everything else together in a food processor or blender. Stop and pulse and mash things up to get it all going. Add a little more almond mylk if you need to, but go steady- too much and you’ll end up with smoothie. Blend until smooth and creamy. If you’d like it a little firmer, pop in the freezer for thirty minutes.
Smear the cacao sauce and a little almond butter around your jar or bowl and layer in the caramel nice cream.
Top with shredded coconut, edible flowers, blueberries and granola.

Tropical turmeric smoothie

13th May 2016 by bos.kitchen Leave a Comment

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.

Cinnamon buckwheat pancakes with chocolate sauce

9th May 2016 by bos.kitchen 2 Comments

Everyone needs pancakes right? Or maybe it’s just me. I love the endless array of toppings you can use, plus they only take a few minutes to whip up. Perfect for a lazy Sunday morning or a post work out refuel. I’ve kept these gluten free, but feel free to sub the buckwheat for plain all purpose flour if that’s all you have. I’ve added cinnamon and maca powder to the dry ingredients. Cinnamon is loaded with antioxidants and is a powerful anti inflammatory. Did I also mention it tastes amazing in pancakes? I love it! Maca powder really energises me and has a powerful balancing effect. I like to have it when I have a big day ahead. It also has a slight caramel flavour, which lends itself perfectly to this recipe. The chocolate sauce is made with carob powder, which is even better for you than cacao, but much cheaper and has more of a rich, dark chocolatey flavour. It’s worth getting your hands on some if you can.

Recipe

Dry

1 cup buckwheat flour*
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
pinch of salt
2 tsp Organic Burst maca powder (optional)
1 tsp cinnamon

Wet

1 mashed banana
1 3/4 cup dairy free mylk (I used almond)
2 tsp vanilla extract
Juice of half a lemon
Coconut oil (for frying)

Chocolate sauce

2 tsp carob powder
2 tsp maple syrup

Mix all dry ingredients together in a large mixing bowl.
Combine all wet ingredients apart from the coconut oil in a jug and add to dry mix. Stir until combined, try not to over mix. You want the mixture to be thick, but very pourable, I always do a little test pancake first and then add more liquid if needed.
Heat your pan up to medium heat and add a dab of coconut oil. Spoon in half a ladel of batter into the pan and fry until bubbles appear all over. Turn over and cook on the other side. Keep in a warm oven until you’ve made all your pancakes.
To make the chocolate sauce, just mix carob powder and maple syrup. Mix well with a fork until the mixture is smooth and glossy.
Serve warmed pancakes with chocolate sauce, fresh fruit and more maple syrup!

*If you don’t have buckwheat flour (it can be expensive, I never buy it), just make your own from buckwheat groats. Simply grind buckwheat groats in your blender until they turn into flour, it only takes a couple of minutes!

Cacao banana maca muffins

2nd May 2016 by bos.kitchen 6 Comments

These marbled muffins are sweet, moist and very delicious. Vegan (as always), refined sugar free and easily made gluten free if you sub the spelt flour for buckwheat or gluten free oat flour.

I included organic cacao powder and maca powder for an extra boost. Raw cacao is made by cold pressing unroasted cocoa beans. This process means the living enzymes in the cocoa are maintained but it removes the fat (cacao butter). Cocoa powder is made when raw is roasted at high temperatures. This changes the structure of the cocoa bean, reducing the enzyme content and lowering the overall nutritional value. Basically cacao means you can get the most health benefits from chocolate, which has to be a good thing! Maca is a great energiser, mood enhancer and balances hormones. It also has a gentle caramel flavour that really works in these muffins. I love the stuff!

I’d love to hear what you think if you try this recipe, it’s a firm favourite here!

Recipe – Makes 12 muffins

3 large mashed very ripe bananas (about 1 cup)
3/4 cup coconut sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 tbsp coconut oil, melted
2 tsp Organic Burst Maca powder
1/3 cup non dairy mylk (I used almond)
1 1/2 cups spelt flour
3/4 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp himalayan pink salt
4 tbsp cacao powder
6 tbsp boiling water

Boil kettle and preheat oven to 180•c. Line or grease your muffin tin.
Mix mashed bananas, coconut sugar, coconut oil, almond mylk, maca and vanilla in a large bowl until smooth.
Mix spelt flour, baking soda and salt in gently. Don’t overmix- it’s okay if you can still see some flour.
Put one cup of batter into a small bowl. Mix in four tbsp of cacao and three tbsp of boiling water with fork. Add another three tbsp of boiling water to the original banana batter and mix well.
Put 2 tbsp at a time into each muffin case/tin until the mixture is evenly distributed. Swirl through a chopstick or knife to make pretty swirl patterns.
Bake in your preheated oven for 20-22 minutes, or until a chopstick comes out clean. Cool and enjoy, or eat slightly warm with peanut butter (couldn’t help myself).

Strawberries and cream ice lollies

24th April 2016 by bos.kitchen Leave a Comment

strawberries and cream ice lollies coconut milk strawberry puree raw natural

A simple, healthy lolly that tastes of summertime. Feel free to try different frozen fruits, you can’t really go wrong with these. Icy, cold, creamy and refreshing. A smoothie in lolly form is always a good thing!

Recipe

1 can organic coconut milk (400ml)
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups strawberries (frozen or fresh)
2 tbsp maple syrup

Blend strawberries and maple syrup together until smooth. Pour into your lolly moulds, until each mould is half full.
Rinse out your blender and add coconut milk and vanilla extract and blend well. Fill up your moulds and pop in your stick. Freeze for at least 6 hours.