Pineapple and kale smoothie

Kick start the New Year with a health boost, perfect for those detox days

I'm already a lover of fresh spinach in smoothies (just add a handful to any kind and it shouldn't taste too different but is really good for you) and only recently tried adding kale. I've always heard how good it is for you - calcium, B vitamins (folic acid), anti-oxidants (lutein), vitamin A, vitamin C and vitamin K, so decided to give it a try. I now love adding it (even though it makes the smoothie a horrible brown colour) and have come up with a recipe below that I hope everyone else can enjoy too!

Makes 1
- 2 spoonfuls of low fat natural yogurt
- handful of frozen berries
- half a tin of chopped pineapple (or fresh)
- handful of raw, curly leaf kale
- pumpkin seeds or other seeds (optional)
- dash of ice cold water

Simply blend all together until smooth!

Enjoy :)

Smoothie & pumpkin seed hype

So I am a massive fan of making smoothies and although they're not always super 'healthy' since they are loaded with sugar from fruit, they are still a great way to get some good nutrients in and I love that you can put absolutely anything you want in them!

Below I have linked two smoothie recipes I have posted before, the pineapple and spinach one I particularly love and it is nearly always the one I go for when making a smoothie. It has such great, tangy flavour from the pineapple and you get all the goodness from the spinach and oooof just is too good.
http://eatrainbowlove.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/pineapple-and-spinach-smoothie.html
http://eatrainbowlove.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/peach-and-raspberry-smoothie.html

My boyfriend has got a new blender recently which he is obsessed with so we've been making a lot of great smoothies. One of our favourites has had pumpkin seeds in which I've recently discovered and love (what have I been doing this whole time!?) - they make smoothies more filling and add a new dimension of flavour. Plus they are a great source of fibre so you can't really go wrong. I also expected them to be quite pricey since nuts and seeds tend to be, but I got these from Lidl and they weren't bad at all and they seem to last ages so I would definitely pick some up. You can also use them in baking, add them to cereal or yogurt etc.

Makes 2
- 2 bananas, broken into smaller pieces,
- big glug of almond (or soya) milk 
- 4 heaped tbsp of low fat natural yogurt
- big handful of frozen berries
- big handful of pumpkin seeds
- big handful of spinach (optional)

(Sorry nothing is very specific - the good thing about smoothies is you can add as much of anything as you want)

Another one we tried was a garlic smoothie which was a shock to the taste buds as you can imagine. Lets just say it kept the vampires away... But, garlic is really good for the immune system as well as many other things, so eating it raw is the best way to benefit from it. We used the same recipe as above but just added two cloves of garlic (one each) and a bit of honey as well. It was so strong! So I wouldn't recommend it if you want to sit back and enjoy your smoothie, but if you want a good detox, health-kick smoothie then that is the one!

I also made a garlic smoothie recently but replaced banana with pineapple hoping it would mast some of the garlic flavour but I was very wrong...

Hope you try out some of these ideas and jump on the pumpkin seed bandwagon! Just to prove how much I love them, here is a picture of the breakfasts I've been having

It's bran flakes, dried fruit (raisins, sultanas and cranberries), pumpkin seeds and soya milk - so delicious!

Enjoy :)

Summer smoothies

It's been such a lovely sunny, hot day here today even though it's September now, woo, so these cold smoothies were perfect for today. I have also had a really bad cold these last few days (surprise surprise) so although I haven't had much of an appetite, I've been trying to eat as healthy as possible. I really wanted to make the pineapple and spinach smoothie that I've posted on here about before because it has lots of yummy and nutritious ingredients in, and in the end I made two different smoothies. The purple (and more attractive) one is exactly the same as the pineapple and spinach one, just without the spinach! They are both really delicious, I had the spinach one with my lunch and am going to have the sweeter one after dinner later!

You can find the recipe for the smoothie here - it is low fat natural yogurt, frozen berries, fresh pineapple, fresh spinach leaves and some water.
This time I added a little more of everything (particularly yogurt) so it made two drinks rather than just one. I also added some fresh blueberries as well as the frozen berries. Add everything but the spinach into the blender then pour half of it into a glass.

Add the spinach to the remaining smoothie in the blender, continue to blend, then pour that one into a glass too!

Enjoy :)

Low fat blueberry muffins

So the one's I baked were incredibly low fat since I forgot to put margarine in... As you can imagine I was extremely annoyed remembering I didn't put any in when they were 5 minutes away from being done in the oven! I tried one straight from the oven (always best when they're warm) and it was still delicious, soft on the inside, crisp on top and a lovely fruity flavour along with warm cinnamon flavours - mmm! However, they were stuck to the paper cases which I presume may not have been so bad if there was more fat in there (from the marg). I also think they would be more moist with marg in as well, so of course, don't be silly like me and forget to put it in! What I particularly love about these is the golden colour from the sprinkling of sugar and spices before baking in the oven.

Makes 6 muffins

- 115g plain flour

- 1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda

- pinch of salt

- 1/2 tsp mixed spice (or just cinnamon)

- 55g caster sugar

- 1 egg

- 1.5 tbsp low-fat margarine

- 75ml (5 tbsp) low-fat natural yogurt

- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

- 40g fresh blueberries

1. Pre-heat the oven to gas mark 5/190 degrees. Place 6 muffin cases in a muffin tin.

2. Sift the flour, bicarb of soda, salt and half the mixed spice into a mixing bowl. Add 6 tbsp of the sugar and mix together well.

3. In a separate bowl, whisk the egg, margarine, yogurt and vanilla extract. Stir in the blueberries then pour the mixture into the dry ingredients. Gently stir until combined.

4. Divide the mixture into the muffin cases (about 2/3 full). Sprinkle over the remaining sugar and some mixed spice over the muffins.

5. Bake in the oven for around 20 minutes, or until well-risen and golden brown. Cool on a wire rack. Best eaten warm!

Enjoy :)

Peach and raspberry smoothie

 It can be really difficult to get your 5-a-day - I know that I've noticed that most days I'm only reaching 3 and some days none at all! I used to be really focussed on eating lots of fruit & veg, but recently it has slipped my mind. I was really craving a sweet, fruity drink and since we didn't have any fresh fruit in the house I had to improvise. So there was no banana, no natural yogurt, no fruit juice - all the ingredients that always make up the base of my smoothies. Instead, I used an Activia fig yogurt, some milk, frozen raspberries and tinned peaches, and I'm glad I did, because it was scrummy! Really thick and sweet. It wasn't the healthiest of smoothies, since the Activia yogurt wasn't low fat, but you can use low fat yogurt if you choose. This only contained 2 of my 5-a-day, but with sweetcorn at lunch and two different veg with dinner I am there! And I will try to keep this up, will keep you all updated...

Makes 1 large smoothie
- dash of milk
- 100-150g frozen raspberries (not entirely sure of quantities!)
- 1 Activia fig yogurt (or any flavour, any brand etc.)
- 1/3 tin of peach halves


Simply blend everything together in a food processor, and pour into a glass! Drink, or use a spoon.

You can blend the raspberries from frozen, but I let them defrost for about 20 minutes first so there weren't bits of ice in my drink. Using frozen is perfect for getting the smoothie refreshingly cold.
Taste the smoothie as you make it, and stir to check the consistency - this way you can add any other ingredients to change the flavour or texture. For example, if you have plain natural yogurt you may need to sweeten the smoothie with some honey, or if it is too thick add some water or juice!

Enjoy :)

Soured cream, cheddar and chive muffins

I have just bought a new baking cookbook (yay!) by love food - the same company that produced my comfort food cookbook shown in my post on spaghetti alla carbonara. I can't find a link for this new book online, but I got it in Debenhams for only £2.50 (half off!) and it seems really good so far, with different sections for cakes, small bites, desserts, baking with yeast and savoury nibbles. I couldn't wait to try something out and these muffins looked delicious. They were really quick and easy to make, but be careful because like with all savoury muffins, they do go quite dry the next day after baking them. They taste best warm out the oven either on their own or spread with butter for extra flavour, so make sure you bake them in the morning for lunch, a buffet, or a picnic. Having said that, you can heat them in the microwave up to a few days after baking to warm them through and retain some of the moisture - they were just as yummy when I did this!

For 12 muffins
Ingredients:
- 280g plain flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 25g cheddar cheese, grated (although I would recommend using more for a stronger flavour)
- 35g fresh chives, finely snipped, plus extra to garnish
- 1 large egg, lightly beaten
- 200ml soured cream
- 100ml plain unsweetened yogurt
- 4tbsp butter, melted (I used unsalted, but I would recommend using salted for more flavour - or just add a pinch of salt instead)
1. Line a muffin tin with 12 muffin cases. Sift the flour, baking powder and baking soda into a large bowl. Add the cheese and chives and mix together well.

2. In a separate bowl, mix the egg, soured cream, yogurt and melted butter together. Add this mixture to the flour mixture and gently stir together until combined. Do not over-stir the batter - it doesn't matter if it is a bit lumpy.


3. Divide the muffin batter evenly between the 12 muffin cases - they should be about two-thirds full. Sprinkle over the remaining snipped chives to garnish and transfer to a preheated oven; 200 degrees/gas mark 6. Bake for 20 minutes or until risen and golden. Remove the muffins from the oven and serve warm, or place on a wire rack to cool.

Enjoy :)

Berry smoothie

Smoothies are so simple to make at home, deliciously healthy, and so much cheaper than buying cartons from the supermarket like Innocent Smoothies.

They are perfect for breakfast, a snack/drink, or for dessert!

Ingredients:
- Skimmed milk
- Natural yogurt
- Banana
- Fresh berries (I used strawberries)
- Frozen berries (I used blueberries, raspberries and strawberries)
- Honey
- Oats

Tips:
- Make sure you add the wet ingredients to the blender first (milk and yogurt) so nothing gets stuck. I will usually add milk, yogurt and banana, and blend until mixed, then add the berries and mix, then add honey to taste until it is sweet enough.
- Oats can be added to make the smoothie more filling and thick, but can often change the flavour so they are optional depending on what you like.
- The good thing about smoothies is you don't need exact quantities - you can add as much of each ingredient as you like depending on the texture or flavour that you want! I usually use 1 medium-large banana and then work the other quantities around it. That should make 2 smoothies - like in the picture.
- If you aren't using any frozen berries then add some crushed ice so it's nice and cold!

Other smoothie ideas:
- To alter the flavours, most ingredients can be kept the same (banana, milk and yogurt) and you can just change the fruit, for example using kiwis or pineapple etc.
- You can also buy flavoured yogurt, which I try and stay away from as it tends to be higher in sugar/sweeteners, but it is good occasionally. I used Onken peach yogurt once which was delicious with strawberries!
- Pretty much anything can be blended - all fruits which is obviously the healthy option, but other ingredients like chocolate and nuts could work, and try adding different things to change the sweetness/flavours like jam.

Nutritious breakfast

One thing you need to know is that i LOVE eggs! I will usually have them soft boiled on wholemeal and/or seeded toast, but they're amazing on english muffins for a treat. The reason I usually choose soft-boiled is because i love how they can taste so creamy and rich, particularly from the yolk, without anything extra - no oil, no butter; just good old eggs boiled in water! It can be, however, difficult to time them to the right amount of boiled that you like, and difficult to peel them when they're soft.

Scrambled egg also make a nutritious breakfast - combine with skimmed milk, some margarine and some herbs mmm.

I try to alternate between having eggs one morning and cereal the next, as the yolk is fairly fatty and contains cholesterol, although i'm sure eggs have more health benefits than drawbacks so i don't worry too much about this.

I stay away from sugary cereal and try to stick to filling whole wheat or bran ones like branflakes or shredded wheat. I have noticed recently, however, than branflakes are quite high in sugar. I therefore bought cornflakes the other day which are low in sugar but have noticed that they don't fill me up nearly as much (i guess cause they're corn and not bran?) I also love special k but can get a bit addicted to it!
I have my cereal with skimmed milk because to me it tastes the same as semi with cereal, and it's less fat so win win! In the case of shredded wheat though, for some reason i only like that heated up in the microwave with milk and honey mm.

I really want to get into porridge in the near future as it is so filling, and warming especially in winter. I would probably vary making it with water or skimmed milk depending on what flavours i was adding, if any.

I love cinnamon sprinkled on things, and in porridge it would be delicious - maybe even with chunks of warm apple in as well.

I am a huge fan of honey which would work perfectly with porridge but i get a bit carried away with it (i love it with everything...) and would have to be careful not to make it too sugary, as it defeats the point of the healthy, nutritious breakfast.

I would definitely recommend buying plain porridge oats rather than the ready flavoured ones - like Quakers cinnamon or golden syrup etc. It would work out far cheaper to buy plain and add your own flavours, and that way you can mix it up daily instead of having to use up a dozen of the same flavours.

Other flavours I would want to try would be slicing bananas with it, adding blueberries, or sweetened dried fruits like cranberries or raisins.

If you are on a healthy diet I would recommend putting as much effort into breakfast as possible as it really should be the most nutritious and filling meal of the day - it starts off your metabolism for the day which is key for tackling any weight loss.


Just having fruit would not be enough for breakfast, but if you really want to block out carbs (which isn't the best idea...) then i would suggest teaming the fruit with some low fat natural yogurt, which is delicious and you can add so many flavours! Likewise if you want to make a smoothie make sure it consists of fruit like berries and a more satisfying fruit like banana to thicken, as well as low fat yogurt or milk, maybe some fruit juice, and adding oats in to keep you full for longer is also a good idea!

Anyway, i will definitely be doing more specific posts on natural yogurt and smoothies in the future because yogurt is one of my favourite healthy night time snacks, especially with blueberries and cinnamon.


Hope you start your day in a satisfying, healthy and delicious way :)