Strawberry Banana Smoothie
Recipe by me
Today the day began with one of the best smoothies I've ever tasted. It's so good I've had it three times this week. It is comforting, and is completely reminiscent of one of my favourite summer fruit combination's: strawberry banana. I honestly don't think you could go wrong with those two, and with the addition of coconut, it's even more sinful. I love this smoothie, it becomes nice and thick, almost as if you've incorporated yoghurt into the mixture but you have not. This is definitely going to be a go-to smoothie for me this summer, it is simple, I almost always have this fruit combination on hand, so how can I go wrong. So here we are:In your blender mix together: 1 frozen banana + 1/2 cup strawberries, hulled and washed + 1/2 cup coconut water + 1/2 cup milk (I've been using strawberry soy milk to enhance the flavour even more) + 1/2 scoop vanilla protein powder + 1/2 tbsp chia seeds - until nice and smoothe, let sit for a couple of minutes to fully thicken, then take a straw and slurp it on back!
Creamy Smoked Kale Salad
Recipe taken from here
For lunch I had one of the most flavourful yet simple salads I've had in ages. When it comes to salads, I like to stick to a simple balsamic vinegar + EVOO + red wine vinegar dressing, this however, sent my tastebuds to feel as though they were on hard drugs. This was so so so flavourful. I loved every second of this salad. I kept it simple with just the kale, dressing, plus one medium sweet potato roasted for 35 minutes on 425 tossed with a bit of EVOO + sea salt + pepper. It was complete bliss. It was something that would be perfect served with a side of wild rice and grilled tofu, oh... boy, I loved it. I definitely plan on making this again, very, very soon.Ingredients:
- 1/2 head dinosaur/lacinato kale ~4c chopped
- 1/2 tbsp EVOO oil
- 1 tsp homemade peanut butter
- 1 tbsp water
- 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 1/2 rounded tsp smoked paprika
- 1 large garlic clove, minced ~2-3t
- 1/8 tsp sea salt
- Ground black pepper
- 2 tbsp sunflower seeds
Wash kale thoroughly and pat dry. Tear from stems and chop or rip into small pieces and put in a large bowl.
In a small bowl add EVOO, peanut butter, water, apple cider vinegar , smoked paprika, garlic, salt, and pepper. Whisk until well combined and pour onto kale. Mix with a fork or your hands until very well coated.
How did the evening end? Well, over the weekend I made homemade hazelnut spread i.e. Nutella. Yes, it certainly was sinful, do I have a photograph of the homemade spread? No, no I do not, because instead of simply using it as a spread over toasts, or in an incing on top of some decadent vanilla cupcakes, or smothered on homemade graham crackers, I decided to knock it up a bit, and put them into ice cream. And no, it was not just banana soft serve, this was actually ice cream and you do not need an ice cream maker for this, just how perfect is that for all of us who do not own one? Weeeeee.
Hazelnut Spread - Vegan
Recipe taken from here
What I loved about this recipe is the fact that it didn't have confectioner's sugar in it, nor did it have honey, it has barely any sugar (just what is in the cocoa powder and that's it), the list is short, and every ingredient is one that you can pronounce. Did this spread pass the test? It literally tasted like the real thing and it was vegan! Perfect.
Ingredients:
- 2 cups hazelnuts without skin (I used skin)
- 1/2 cup cocoa powder
- 2 tbsp vanilla protein powder (recipe suggest 5-6... but since I knew it would be in a recipe for ice cream with additional sweetness I decided not to add too much)
- 2 tbsp coconut oil, softened
Lightly toast hazelnuts in the oven (8-10 mins at 180C/350F) and let cool a little. Throw in food processor and process until a smooth butter. Now, add in cacao powder and vanilla protein powder, use 5 or 6 T according to preferred sweetness. At last, drizzle in 2 T coconut oil with the motor running for a super smooth consistency. I let my processor run quite long for a super smooth result.
And now for the winner of the lead of this show:
Hazelnut Ice Cream
Recipe adapted from here
This is such a simple recipe to make, it took barely any time at all, thankfully to my wonderful food processor, and the result is one creamy, smooth, light tasting hazelnut ice cream that you don't have to feel guilty about.Ingredients:
- 1 cup homemade or store bought homemade hazelnut spread aka Nutella (see recipe above)
- 1 cup light coconut milk
- 3 tbsp chocolate soy milk
- 2 tbsp hazelnut agave nectar
Line a 9 x 9 inch (22.5 cm) square pan with plastic wrap or waxed paper, or line 6 regular muffin cups with silicone liners (paper liners won’t do for this purpose).
Place all ingredients in the bowl of a food processor and process until perfectly smooth and blended (or place in a bowl and whisk really well to combine). Pour the mixture into the pan or divide evenly among the muffin liners.
If using a pan, freeze until firm, 2-3 hours, then remove from pan and cut into 9-12 squares. Place the squares in a clean (food grade) plastic bag or sealed plastic container, or pop the frozen mixture out of the liners and place in a bag or container and store in the freezer until ready to use.
To make the ice cream: Use 1-2 frozen disks (from the muffin liners) or 3-4 squares for each serving. If you used the muffin liners, chop each frozen disk into 2-3 pieces (if your processor isn’t very powerful, you may wish to chop the pieces even smaller). Place the cubes or pieces in a food processor and process until smooth (the mixture will first crumble and appear like bread crumbs; press it down with a rubber spatula, then keep processing and eventually it will form a ball that rolls around the processor bowl; at this point, it’s ready to scoop).
Scoop and serve. Makes 3-4 servings.
Have a good day :)
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