Green Chocolate Smoothie (Dairy Free)

I love green smoothies. A lot of people wrinkle up their noses at them and won't give them a try because they can't imagine a drink with spinach in it could taste any good. Are you one of those people? Well I'm here to tell you that green smoothies are delicious! And for those of you who haven't been game to try them yet, here's a chocolate version that will help you 'put your foot in the door' of green smoothie addiction!

I make this one (or variations of it) fairly often, and my younger kids have no idea it has spinach and avocado in it. You honestly can't taste it. So why bother adding the spinach, you ask? Because it's soooooo good for you! And most of us don't get enough raw leafy greens in our diet, especially the kids. And it's a lot easier to drink up your greens than to eat a big salad. By the way, I add the frozen avocado when I have it because it makes it so thick and creamy.

You can pretty much add any leafy greens to any juice or smoothie to make a green smoothie, but my favourite greens to use are baby spinach, lettuce or kale. I've also used vine spinach (Ceylon spinach), which I don't mind, but my kids found it a bit odd tasting in a chocolate smoothie. So if you're new to green smoothies, stick with baby spinach or cos lettuce - it's pretty bland. Add as much as you like - start with a big handful, and add more as you get used to it. You can also add leafy greens to sorbets for a 'green sorbet' - see the variations at the end for ideas.

This smoothie is based on an old favourite of ours, my Chocolate (or Carob) Almond Smoothie.

Green Chocolate Smoothie

1. First grind up the nuts, seeds and dates on speed 9 for about 10 seconds:
- 4-5 pitted raw dates
- 100g raw almonds (if you can't have nuts, try sunflower seeds instead)
- 2 Tbsp of seeds (whatever you like: chia/sunflower/pepitas/linseeds)

2. Next add the ice and grind on speed 9 for about 10 seconds:
- 200g ice (or more, depending how thick you like it)

3. Add and grind on speed 9 for 10 seconds, mixing with the spatula if needed:
- 30g raw cacao powder (if you use regular cocoa or carob powder, you may need a bit less)
- 2 frozen bananas, chopped in pieces
- 1 frozen avocado, chopped in pieces (fine to use fresh if you don't have frozen, or leave out)

4. Add the greens and water and mix on speed 9 for a minute or so, until well blended and creamy:

- 60g (2 big handfuls) of baby spinach or butter lettuce

- 600g unsweetened coconut water, or filtered water

Variations:
- Leave out the banana, increase the frozen avocado or ice, add a handful of fresh mint, and add a few more dates.
- Leave out the avocado.
- Use more or less ice depending on how thick you like it - you can always add more ice at the end if it's too thin, and whiz it up for another minute.
- Try frozen berries instead of frozen banana.
- Add a couple of spoonfuls of spirulina powder.
- Add a couple of spoonfuls of MiEssence Berry Radical (for an antioxidant boost) and/or In-Liven (for probiotics, also contains spirulina).

- Green Sorbets: Try adding a couple of handfuls of leafy greens to your sorbets - works well in just about any flavour. You can also add a couple of handfuls of fresh Italian parsley, or fresh mint, to lemon or orange sorbet - it's delicious!

Mmmmm...

Quick Quinoa Granola

I got up this morning to hungry kids and nothing much to eat, so I made a quick batch of quinoa granola with some quinoa flakes I picked up at the supermarket yesterday. It was so easy and delicious, I just had to share it with you all! While it was toasting I made a banana & chia seed custard (no eggs or dairy) to have with it - but I'll save that for the next post.

Making granola is not an exact science. Just throw in handfuls of your favourite ingredients and spices, drizzle over some oil or melted butter plus honey or syrup, sprinkle with salt, mix it up, and toast it. Mine is a little different every time. I just made a small batch this morning, mixing it straight on the baking tray - if you want to make a big batch, mix it in a large mixing bowl and adjust amounts to suit.

So here's a basic recipe for a quick quinoa granola that you can mix up in seconds, toast in minutes, and enjoy before dashing out the door for the day. Tweak to your heart's delight! :)

Preheat oven to 180 degrees. OR you can toast this under the grill for quicker results, but you'll have to watch it closely and stir it every couple of minutes.

Okay, just throw all these ingredients together, either straight onto your baking tray, or in a mixing bowl:

- 3 big handfuls of quinoa flakes. (If you like you can mix with some rolled oats to save money)

- a handful or two of roughly chopped almonds or other nuts, eg. pecans, hazelnuts (chop in Thermomix on speed 5 for a few seconds) If you can't have nuts just add more seeds.

- a couple of handfuls of sultanas (or other dried fruit)

- a handful of sesame & sunflower seeds (or other seeds, like chia)

- a pinch or two of celtic sea salt or himalayan salt (I like to use a flaked or roughly ground salt to get that occasional slightly salty crunch in my granola)

- a big pinch or two of ground cinnamon

- a smaller pinch of ground nutmeg

[Note: Try grinding up your own nutmeg and a cinnamon quill in the Thermomix for more flavour!]

- a good drizzle of melted coconut oil or butter (I don't measure, I just add more as I'm mixing if I think it needs to be 'wetter'. It depends on how crunchy you like it. More oil, crunchier granola.)

- a good drizzle of raw honey or pure maple syrup or agave syrup (again, I don't measure, just drizzle some over)

- a splash of vanilla extract

Now for the fun bit - get your hands in there and mix it up! Use your fingertips to rub the oil and honey/syrup into the dry ingredients, until it's evenly mixed. Spread out evenly on the tray.

Pop it into the hot oven (180 degrees) and cook for about 10 minutes. Remove from oven, stir with a fork, place back in oven and give it another 5 minutes or so.

I don't even bother letting it cool - just dig in! But if you want to cool it first you can - it gets crispier as it cools.

Sprinkle your granola over some fruit and/or yoghurt. If you're dairy free, try this coconut milk yoghurt!

It's also great sprinkled over banana or vanilla custard.

And of course, it's delicious with cold rice-almond milk or cashew milk too.

My favourite time to eat granola is actually supper time... think I'll go have some now! :)

Banana Carob Thickshake (Dairy Free)

We love dairy free banana thickshakes around here - they're creamy, delicious and filling. And living in Far North Queensland, we have plenty of bananas all year round to use in thickshakes and smoothies. I buy bananas by the bag full when they're over-ripe and marked down at the grocery store, for $1 or $2 per kilo. I peel them, chuck them into a plastic freezer bag and pop them in the freezer. Then whenever we want a smoothie, banana ice-cream, or a thickshake, I just slice some off while they're still frozen, throw them into the Thermomix and whiz it up! 

Recently I received an exciting package in the mail from The Australian Carob Co.,* and now I have a new favourite ingredient to add to my banana thickshakes - carob syrup! Wait, don't go away - I know carob gets a bad rap from chocolate lovers, but this carob syrup is like nothing you've tasted before! It's naturally sweet (the only ingredients are carob and water, which is a BIG plus for me) and it has a lovely flavour - not overpowering, just deliciously silky smooth and subtle. You can use it in drinks, as a syrup over ice-cream (banana ice cream would be good!), instead of sugar on your porridge, drizzled over pancakes, in cakes and carob brownies - it's delicious. My sister got hold of it and made a few hot carob drinks with it before I managed to get it back off her - she's on the Failsafe diet and can't have chocolate, so she loved this syrup. The Australian Carob Co. also produces raw carob powder, roasted carob powder and carob kibbles, and I was excited to hear that soon they'll also be bringing out a carob 'chocolate' which is said by taste testers to rival the best brands of chocolate in creaminess and flavour, and has no added sugar. Great news for Failsafers! Oh, and they're insecticide and pesticide free too, which is great. I'm pretty sure their carob powder would go well in my 'Almost Raw' Chocolate, if anyone wants to try their hand at making their own carob 'chocolate'...

So here's my thickshake recipe - it doesn't have a strong carob flavour, just a hint, and an extra bit of natural sweetness. Try it! I'm sure you'll love it as much as we do. And maybe even as much as our bird does...

It's very simple. First grind up some nuts on speed 9 until finely ground - I use a handful of raw almonds and a couple of handfuls of raw cashews. The cashews make it smooth and creamy, but you can use all almonds or all cashews if you like. (My measurements are approximate - alter to taste!)

Grind on speed 9 until fine:

- 50g raw almonds

- 100g raw cashews

Add the remaining ingredients and whiz it up on speed 9 for about a minute:

- 2 or 3 raw pitted dates (or dried dates will do)

- 350g - 400g frozen bananas (chopped in inch size pieces)

- 60g carob syrup

- water to cover (depends on how thick you like it)

Optional: For an extra carob-y thickshake, you could also add 20g of raw carob powder.

 

Amigo trying desperately to taste my thickshake!

* Note: This was not a paid post - although I did get a free sample, which was lovely of them... I just wanted to share what I thought about these products with my many health-conscious readers as I'm sure many of you will be interested to know about insecticide free, Australian carob products! To find a stockist near you, click here, or go to their Facebook page and ask there.

Yep, this thickshake is a favourite of the whole family -

even our Rainbow Lorikeet!

Shrek Juice & Juicing in the Thermomix

We call this drink 'Shrek Juice'. I'm sure you can see why! It's so simple it's hardly a recipe, but I thought I'd go ahead and post it as I get lots of questions about the best way to make juice in the Thermomix.

The Thermomix is great for making delicious, healthy juices. The best way to do it is to make a 'boost juice' style of juice... just whiz up your fruit and/or veges with a couple of handfuls of ice, speed 10 for a minute or two, add a little water if you need to thin it down to a drinkable consistency, and there you are - no wasted pulp, the fibre is there in a drinkable form, and the bowl is easy to clean up afterwards. All you do when you've finished juicing is whiz up some water in the bowl, rinse under the tap, and voila - it's clean! There's no messy filter to scrub out - which makes it much more likely that you'll drink fresh juice every day, right? I know when I had to rely on a juice extractor for juices, I didn't juice too often - those things are such a pain to clean.

The reason you add the ice is because it helps grind up the fibres of the fruit and veges, stops the juice from becoming foamy, and also helps retain the enzymes in the juice by keeping them cool. So don't leave out the ice.

One of my favourite things about making juice this way is that I can afford to use organic fruit and veges and not feel like I'm wasting money by throwing out the fibre, because it's all incorporated into the juice. A couple of carrots, a couple of apples, a handful of baby spinach, a stick of celery and a little ice makes juice for four people - no need to use half the fruit and veges in the fridge! It also makes it a lower GI drink, as the fibre prevents your blood sugar levels from soaring because of concentrated sugars. And the juice is more filling, so it's great when you're in a hurry in the mornings and don't have time for breakfast; or if you're trying to lose weight. So my advice is keep the fibre in your juices - don't strain it all out!

Shrek Juice - makes about 3 serves

Grind up in the Thermomix on speed 10 for 1 minute or so:
- 3 oranges, peeled (cut off skin & pith, leave whole)
- 2 handfuls baby spinach
- a handful or two of ice

That's it!

I love to add baby spinach or other greens to smoothies and juices - you can't taste them, and fresh greens are so good for you. And most of us don't get enough of them.

Sometimes I add nuts to my juices, to make a creamy fruit drink like Pecan Orange Milk, or Creamy Citrus Smoothie. They're great for a breakfast drink, as the protein helps you wake up and gives you energy.

There's so many different types of juices you can make in the Thermomix - this is just a very simple one that's a favourite at our house. So what are your favourite juice combinations?

Oh, by the way, just in case you have little princesses at your house who are totally not interested in Shrek, here's a Princess Fiona Juice too... ;)

(Okay, it's more of a smoothie...)

This one is made from a few handfuls of frozen blueberries, a handful of baby spinach, a handful of raw almonds, a few dates, a frozen avocado or banana (chopped in bits), a handful of ice, water to cover, and a little agave syrup or honey to taste if needed. I don't really measure with juices and smoothies - just keep adding til it tastes right!

Enjoy!