Juices & Smoothies

I've been drinking a lot of juices and smoothies lately. I find it's the easiest and quickest way to get a high volume of nutrients. I start my day with either a green juice or fruit smoothie, I add superfood powders and sometimes natural sugars. Most of these can be found in a health food store or chemist warehouse. Below is a bunch of photos of my morning smoothies. The ingredients are listed and adjust amounts according to taste and size of blender. 

Banana & Raspberry muffins

INGREDIENTS

2 cups of plain flour
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
2 eggs
1 cup milk
2 tbsp coconut oil
1 mashed banana
1/2 cup raspberries fresh or frozen


Pre heat oven to 160.
Mix all dry ingredients together. Whisk eggs in a separate bowl add milk and coconut oil. Mix wet ingredients into the dry. Then mix through mashed banana and raspberries. Spoon into greased muffin tin and bake for approx 20 minutes.
Enjoy.

Breakfast Smoothie

This smoothie recipe contains just 3 simple ingredients, almond milk, dates and banana. 

2 cups of Almond Milk 

15 Dates chopped

2 Bananas 

I just put all ingredients in the blender and blended for approx 2 minutes. I had some frozen banana in freezer so added one fresh and one frozen to get the smoothie chilled. Otherwise you could use ice to chill it a bit. I put oats/nuts on top when serving. 

Green Smoothie

I was beyond excited when Tracy bought a Vitamix this week and she was happy to have me bring a bag full of fruit and vegetables to her house to play with this high powered blender. I did a bit of reading to try and find the best recipes as this surely could taste very bad if done wrong. Most people encourage 2cups green such as Kale, spinach etc, 2cups liquid such as water, coconut water or milk and 3cups fruit. You can also put powdered super foods in for that extra boost of nutrients. At the moment if been researching foods for fertility and have come across Maca. Maca supports hormonal balance and contains 31 different minerals including being a great source of iron. It also helps with mood regulation by improving serotonin levels. I'm keen to give it a go. 

 I hope to post other smoothie recipes here in the future. 

Green smoothie recipe

1 cup Spinach 

2cups water 

1 banana 

2 oranges 

2 pears

Slice of lime

1 teaspoon Maca 

Ice 

Put all ingredients in blender in this order blend on high for approx 1 minute or until smooth. Pour into glass and sprinkle with Chia seeds. Enjoy x

Auction time

I've only just started to get into auctions and now I'm totally obsessed. The thrill of the biding can be quite overwhelming as you make a quick decision to bid higher or stop. This auction was huge it was one persons life collection and they had great taste. It was a pleasure to be amongst it and hear the regulars talk about this man and what he was like. These are the pieces that Melissa and I liked and the pieces we won. 

Quinoa double chocolate & cashew cookies

Makes approx 12 

1/2 cup unsalted butter softened

3/4 cup brown sugar 

2 eggs 

1 1/4 cup quinoa flour 

1/3 cup cocao powder 

1 tsp baking soda 

1/4 tsp salt 

1 cup chocolate chips 

1/2 cup raw cashews, chopped 

Preheat oven to 190c 

Cream the butter and sugar in large bowl until light and fluffy. Add egg one at a time beat till well combined. In another bowl add dry ingredients and stir to combine. Add flour mixture to butter mixture until well combined. Stir in choc chips and cashews. Roll dough into small balls and press flat on greased baking tray. Bake for approx 8-10 minutes. Then allow to cool on rack. 

-you can add any nuts that you like or take them out 

Enjoy 

Peanut butter chia cookies

I just bought a new cookbook The Quinoa Revolution and I'm totally hooked on Quinoa. I'm sure the girls at work are totally over hearing about which Quinoa salad I have for lunch. This recipe uses Quinoa flour. It's the first time that I have used this flour and it works very well, the cookies are light and fluffy.

You will need 

1/2 cup peanut butter 

1/2 cup unsalted butter softened

3/4 cup brown sugar 

1 egg 

1tsp vanilla extract 

1 cup quinoa flour 

3/4 tsp baking soda 

1/2 tsp baking powder 

2tsp chia seeds 

1/2 cup chopped unsalted peanuts 

Preheat oven 190c put baking paper on tray. 

In mixing bowl add peanut butter, sugar, egg, butter and vanilla mix till combined. 

In medium bowl add flour, baking powder& soda, stir in chia seeds and peanuts. Add flour mixture to peanut butter mixture and mix well. Scoop dough into balls and place on tray making sure they are 5cms apart. 

Bake for 10 minutes or until golden. Allow to sit on tray for 4 minutes then transfer to wire rack to cool 

Enjoy