Cucumber and watermelon coconut coolers

These coolers are just as perfect for sipping on a hot summers days as they are for replenishing electrolytes after a strenuous bout of exercise.

Good for everybody and every body ;-)

For any fitness foodies out there, or in fact any one into plant based health... if you haven’t already checked it out then Thrive Forward by Brendan Brazier is well worth a look. It’s a fairly new newsletter subscription but so far (a few months in) i’ve been pretty impressed and it’s given me lots of useful info and tips...including inspiration for today’s post.

As ever I made a few tweaks to simplify things (mainly because I didn’t want to wait overnight for the tea to seep) but Brendan’s method probably has the nutritional edge in this respect so I’ve linked it here if you’d prefer to follow it. There are some other recipes and info in his recipe article too.

Out of the two I preferred the watermelon version but both are super refreshing and hydrating- perfect prep for any endurance race!  I will definitely be making them again throughout the summer for sipping in the sun or post workout. (note: I've since made these again and fused the two options by basing the cooler on the watermelon recipe but adding cucumber to sub some watermelon and a few raspberries to maintain the lovely pink colour)

Dress with a straw and a slice of fruit and you can sit by the poolside and smile in the knowledge that good taste need not come with a sugar overload and a mouthful of additives!

Recipe: Watermelon coconut cooler

Serves 2-3 (depending on size of glass)

Ingredients:

1 ¼ cups plain coconut water (equivalent to 1 can)

1 cup berry flavoured herbal tea of choice

½ tsp fresh grated ginger

½ tsp coconut sugar (or a couple stevia drops)

Pinch sea salt

1 cup watermelon chunks (unpacked)

Recipe: Cucumber coconut cooler

Serves 2-3 (depending on size of glass)

Ingredients:

1 ¼ cups plain coconut water (equivalent to 1 can)

1 cup mint tea

1 tsp lemon or lime juice

½ tsp coconut sugar (or a couple stevia drops)

Pinch sea salt

Approx. 10cm chunk of cucumber- chopped

Method:

Blend all ingredients together until smooth. Strain into glasses.

Best consumed within 24 hours. Store in the fridge if not using straight away and shake before drinking.

For further guidance on making gluten free choices please see this post.

For tips and info on recipe measurement conversions, ingredients, substitutions and the methods behind how I do things.... check out my 'baking tips' tab at the top of the page.

Creamy dark chocolate pudding or shake....you decide!

I am dreaming of chocolate...probably...as I'm trekking up mountains as you read this!

I know being the week after Easter you are probably now screaming at the screen... 'no more chocolate, i'm all chocolated out'  Maybe? Maybe not?

Either way, you'll enjoy this chocolate treat, super chocolatey, BUT super light and healthy (i'm still enjoying my sugar free explorations!) and best of all you can make it two ways. A thick after dinner chocolate pudding or a dreamy creamy chocolate shake. Just a slight tweak or ingredients gives you both options...can't decide? half and half the mixture after the first stage before adding the rest. Its not too sickly sweet, more of a dark chocolate twang, and it has a great lower fat and higher protein content. The banana taste is very subtle in the background and so barely noticeable (in my opinion).

Ok, so if you've got a little impatient and have already scrolled down to the recipe you'll have noticed the first item in the list... black beans! Have any of you guessed where this concoction was inspired from?

Yes...these babies!  When making a batch of truffles I always add a little soy milk to the remains in the processor and then blitz to loosen the mixture from the blades and sides before washing the Thermomix bowl out... It makes a fab chocolate milk, so then I tweaked it a little added a few extra bits to turn it in to a super creamy shake.  Simple! just make sure you blend and blend... I recommend straining the mixture through a sieve into the glass before drinking it so make sure it is super smooth, this is less important for the pudding as you wont notice the odd tiny piece of bean or date fibre.

The topping you see is my own so light but decadent newly created coconut flour frosting...it is what inspired this creation, so you can probably figure it out for yourself if you want to give it a try, but I will write up the post in full for you next week. Dust with cacoa nibs and you are good to go!

Recipe: Chocolate pudding or shake...you decide! 

Serves 2-3

Ingredients: chocolate shake

½ cup black beans

1 small mashed banana (1/4 cup approx)

3 tbs date paste (or 4 softened dates)

A pinch of stevia to taste

¼ cup cocoa powder

1 tsp vanilla

Approx 2 cups milk of choice (I’ve tried with both almond and soy)

1 tbs melted coconut oil

Note for a chocolate pudding reduce the milk to 1 ½ cups and increase coconut oil to 2 tbs)

Method

Process the beans, banana and dates until you have a thick smooth paste. Add remaining ingredients and blend until very smooth. Pour into serving glasses or bowls and chill for approx 30 minutes until thickened.  If serving as a shake strain through a sieve.

Serve in tall glasses or short bowls...perfect with a coconut cream topping... recipe to come next week! sorry to make you wait :-)

For further guidance on making gluten free choices please see this post.

For tips and info on recipe measurement conversions, ingredients, substitutions and the methods behind how I do things.... check out my 'baking tips' tab at the top of the page.

Green smoothie...I found a recipe I like!

Good day to you all!

I'm a little overexcited as some of you may have seem a few 'oh my gosh' type of announcements over on my Facebook page in recent days....all due to the fact that I have actually finally concocted a Green Smoothie I actually quite enjoyed!

I did this 30 day experiment some time ago and whilst a few flavour combos kinda hit the spot- mainly the mango infused versions, I always felt it was a compromise with the proportion of fruit being too high. I'm not generally a smoothie girl as I prefer to eat my fruits whole in stead of drink them, but I was intrigued by the green smoothie 'revolution' that seemed to have taken the world by storm...I felt like I was missing out big time!

So, a week or so ago I tried a change of tactic. Instead of using fruits to try and 'hide' the greens I thought I would 'celebrate' the greens by addding just a little fruit simply to complement them. You know what...it worked! For me anyway, I totally appreciate that for many people the whole hiding the greens thing does work- my taste buds were simply not fooled, plus it was very easy to end up with a 'grey sludge' when using greens and red berries. Not the prettiest look.

I will warn you now, this smoothie is very refreshing and 'green' tasting, no bananary berryness to try and cover things up. The subtle hints of ginger and lemon work perfectly to give a refreshing tart kick whilst the apple gives a little touch of sweetness and the avocado offers the smooth undertones. You can omit the avocado if you prefer, I've had it like that to, it's just not so smooth. I use frozen pureed apple to thicken and chill the smoothie without the need for ice cubes- speeds things up that little bit more too!

So here is my Super Green Smoothie. The greenest of the green...just check out these ingredients!

It's perfectly timed for St Paddy's Day too. I'll toast with a big glass on Sunday and I hope you do too, whatever your favourite greens combo is.  Let me know your favourite flavours in the comments- you never know there may well be another amazing smoothie combo I just haven't tried yet.

Recipe: 'Super Green' Smoothie

Serves 1

Ingredients

1 cup water (or more to reach desired thickness)

1 cup packed spinach (or other greens)

1/3 cup cucumber

½ cm fresh ginger

2 tsp lime juice (or lemon)

1/3 cup frozen pureed apple or pear

Approx. 1/4 cup sized chunk of avocado

Optional extras:

1/2 tsp greens powder

A couple of fresh mint leaves

A few drops of stevia or sweetener of choice

Chia seeds to garnish

Method

Blend everything together until as smooth as possible. I find it easiest to add half the water first, blend well and then add the remainder and re-blend to get the smoothest consistency.

Note: I partially defrosted the apple/pear puree ‘blocks’ before adding to the processor. Serve immediately.

P.S just a few more green recipes from the archives to continue St. Paddy's Day style.

Mint choc brownie

Pea and bean dip

Peppermint chocolate slice

Pea, courgette and mint soup

For further guidance on making gluten free choices please see this post.

For tips and info on recipe measurement conversions, ingredients, substitutions and the methods behind how I do things.... check out my 'baking tips' tab at the top of the page.

Banoffee milkshake

This was an accidental concoction. One of those instances when you are with a friend (actually the ex-Boy who was missing my healthy sweets) when asked to ‘create something’ for dessert. Knowing that there would be very few ingredients to hand I rummaged through the food cupboards on a mission….

Luckily, I chanced upon these ingredients, he’s vegan so I had figured I’d be able to pulls something out of the bag! The packet of carob flour was also once mine that I given him a few months back to jazz up his protein shakes and oats….so it came into good use here.

There are two really great things about this recipe:

1-      It is so easy to through together with a simple hand blender (or any blender)

2-      It has a lovely subtle sweetness with none of the ingredients dominating to overall taste 9yet you can taste the banana but it is not overly dominant)

I loved this shake so much I made another the very next day for it’s own photoshoot…any excuse, right?  I haven’t tried this but I would think you could also add a handful of crushed ice to the mix to slightly reduce the richness of the shake without reducing the overall thickness, this would also give it a cooling summer chill.

The carob in this recipe gives a lovely caramelly sweetness that really compliments the bananas, the peanut butter adds a full flavoured nutty richness. You could use any nut butter but the peanut butter flavour works really well to balance the carob and banana. Similarly, you could swap cocoa for carob but you would loose the subtle caramelly tones and also since carob is naturally sweet you’d need to add some extra sweetener.

Perfect serve up with some super-healthy fudge…I just can’t stop making this stuff!!

Recipe: Banoffee milkshake

Serves 1-2

Ingredients:

1 medium ripe banana

1 ½ cups ‘milk’ (I used soy)

2 tbs peanut butter

½ tsp cinnamon

2 tsp carob

1-2 tsp agave to sweeten (if needed)

Method

Blend together until totally smooth. Pour into glasses and serve. Chilling is optional.

Note: add a handful of crushed ice for a cooler shake.

For tips and info on recipe measurement conversions, ingredients, substitutions and the methods behind how I do things.... check out my 'baking tips' tab at the top of the page.