Apricot Banana and Pear Smoothie

Ingredients

• 1 banana
• 2 pears
• 2 apricots
• 1 cup of milk

Pears, Apricots and Banana

Instructions

• Cut the apricots into half and remove the stone, cut the pears and bananas and place in blend, add milk
• Blend till smooth
• Pour in glass and serve cold.

Pears, Apricots and Banana Smoothie

Pears, Apricots and Banana Smoothie

Nice bit of information for you on summer fruits http://www.fruitsinfo.com/summer-fruits.html 

Enjoy!!

Salmon and Steamed Vegetables

My love for salmon started a few years ago.

As a child I despised fish with a passion and still do but secretly I love fried fish especially red snapper or white fish (my sister calls me a fake fish eater) the trick for me is that the fish has to be fried and then really dry otherwise I won't eat it.

My mum always cooked/baked mackerel, the black and blue skin often made me sick. 
On many occasions she would place the baked mackerel, garnished lemon and all that jazz on the table and I would literally feel sick at the sight of the black and blue creature staring at me on the plate.

What you looking at huh??

I hated fish of any kind and refused to eat it. I am still very fussy and won't eat any cooked fish but salmon won over my heart and to be honest when I do bake my salmon I  rip the skin off as I can't bear to taste the skin but I have resorted to buying the skinless salmon fillets from the supermarkets.

The truth is when my mum put the mean looking mackerel on my plate I would it pass it to my sister and if she was unable to pick it from my plate without my parents catching us then the teddy bear would get stuffed with it ..mum will be shocked if she ever found out ha ha ha!!  Sorry teddy :-(

Tonight I fancied my favourite salmon and matched it up with some steamed vegetables and a little sweetcorn, tomato and cucumber salad.

Ingredients

• broccoli
• cucumber
• cauliflower
• carrots
• salmon
• sweet corn
• tomatoes
• lemon sauce

Salmon, Cauliflower,Carrots,Broccoli, Tomatoes, Sweet Corn and Cucumber

Have a lovely evening!

Whoop Whopp Summer Is Here....

On Sunday the 18th of May we had a  "heat wave".  It was baking hot, it was so hot that you could fry an egg under the sun ha ha!!

Summer has become a very rare occurrence for us in the United Kingdom. Let's just say we don't get a right proportion of the four seasons and one of our seasons called winter seems to take over all year long but the sun came out and my oh my were we glad to see the sun.

For many of us that's an excuse to have a barbecue, go the beach or sit in the garden which was the case for me.

After church I dashed home, stripped to my summer gear and sat in the garden with my lunch, infused water, some Afro beats and of course a smoothie. What is summer without a smoothie?

Blackberries and Strawberries

Here's hoping for more great weather this weekend!!

Banana Apple Plum & Apricot Smoothie

 A nice mix of summer fruits to make a nice a summer smoothie.

Ingredients

• 1 banana
• 1 pink lady apple
• 2 apricots
• 2 plums
• orange juice

Banana, Apricots, Plums and Apple

Instructions

• Place banana, apple, plums and apricots in the blender,add some orange juice
• ice cubes and blend till smooth
• pour in glass cup and serve cold

Apple, Bananas, Apricot and  Plum Smoothie

Enjoy!

Banana and Coconut Smoothie

Hello Smoothie Lovers,

I hope you're all well.

It's been a busy couple of days for me but I'm back with a new smoothie recipe for you.

On my way home from the office today I walked pass the mini fruit stall today  and I saw coconuts and thought oh wow I haven't had one of these in ages. As usual I bought two for £1.. bargain eh?

Whilst breaking the coconut I remembered why I hadn't bothered buying a coconut all this while. Breaking a coconut can be such a tedious task Grrrr!! and not to talk of taking out the white meat out of the shell. The white meat is  known as the "Endosperm" ....what a peculiar name for the internal part of a coconut ha ha !!

Coconut Shell and Endosperm

Read more about Endospem : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Endosperm

Coconuts are high in fiber and has many vitamins and minerals.It is classified as a
 " functional food" because it provides benefits beyond mere nutrition. Read more about Health benefits of coconuts httwww.symptomfind.com/nutrition-supplements/health-benefits-of-coconuts/

Ingredients

• 2 bananas
• 1 cup of milk
• 1 teaspoon of honey (optional)
• few pieces of the white meat
• ice cubes
• chocolate dust(optional)

Banana,Coconut, Honey and Milk

Instructions

• place the white meat in the blender, add the bananas, ice cubes, milk and honey
• blend until smooth
• pour into glass cup and serve cold 

Banana and Coconut Smoothie

Enjoy!

Green Juice

Happy Sunday All!

It's a Green juice kind of Sunday for me before I head to church to hear the word of God and dance along to the songs from the choir! Today is the 3rd Sunday of the month which is Jeans Sunday in my church so it was relatively quick for me to find something to wear, make a green juice and head out!

On a normal Sunday I rummage through all my clothes testing and trying them all on then ...before I blink it's time to go!! Grrrrr late!!


Ingredients

• broccoli
• courgette
• grapefruit
• kale
• honey
• water

Instructions

• Place the kale in the blender, pour water and blend on it's own till it's  slightly smooth
• Add the broccoli, sliced courgettes and grapefruit
• Add honey (I add honey to sweeten the juice, you can add apples or grapes)
• Pour in glass cup
• Serve cold

Broccoli, Courgettes, Grapefruit, Honey Juice

Sips.. Gulps and Cheers!!

Don't be scared of the Unknown!! Try a green smoothie today!!

Once you go green, you'll never go back!!

Guess where I went today ?

Ha ha!! The fruit market stall of course ...where else?

I bet you all thought It was somewhere exotic ...well yes I guess you can say the fruit market stall is exotic as it's the place to find lovely exotic fruits and vegetables on display ha ha!!

If you recall last week on the blog I talked passionately about my preference when it came to fruits and vegetables shopping, my love for the fruit market stalls coupled with the greats bargains that were always on offer.

Sadly, my favourite market fruit trader George, wasn't on his fruit stall today so I roamed around the market for some serious bargains and as usual I came up trumps.

I got a variety of lovely fruits which included 

• A bowl of 6 pink lady apples for £1
• 2 bowls of blackberries for £1
• 4 Spring onions for £1
• 6 Apricots for £1
• 3 plantains for £1 ( I wasn't happy with this purchase as George sells it to me for at 4 for £1)
• 10 plums for £1
• 3 branches of spinach for £1 
• 2 packs of strawberries for £1 and lots more. 

See for yourself picture below-

Fruit Market Bargains

I was very excited about the blackberries as they were delicious, ripe and dripping with red juice, I immediately made a two-berry smoothie with some apricots.

Two-Berry & Apricot Smoothie

You might already be aware that I rarely use ice cubes in my smoothies and as I always say " ditch the ice and freeze your fruits". So as I unpacked the fruits from the bag, they were washed, bagged and dumped in the freezer. This will last me a good couple of weeks till I go back to the market in a fortnight or so .

Till the next time...keep calm and have a smoothie.

The Two-Berry and Apricot Smoothie

Ingredients

• blackberries
• strawberries (frozen)
• apricots
• orange juice
• ice cubes (optional)

Blackberry, Strawberry, Apricot Smoothie

Instructions

• cut apricots into halves and remove stone, place in blender
• place strawberries, blackberries in the blender, add some orange juice
• add ice cubes
• Blend till smooth
• Serve cold

Cheers!!

Enjoy and have a lovely Saturday!!

Grilled Plantain Spinach Couscous Tomato & Olives Salad

Ingredients

1 packet of couscous

1 plantain
Handful of spinach
Sweetcorn, Cherry tomatoes and olives

Olive oil

Instructions

For the couscous

Place cous cous in a plastic container, cover with 100ml boiling water  and close the lid to let the couscous steam and swell up

After 10mins, open the lid add some olive oil and sweetcorn and stir

  

For the spinach

Wash and drain the spinach

Heat a teaspoon of olive oil in the wok until hot

Add the spinach and light pan fry for 3 mins until the colour changes

Remove from wok and place on a plate.
 

For the  grilled plantain

Preheat the grill, brush the plantain with olive oil

Slice plantain light in the middle

Place plantain in the grill until brown

Turn on each side after 25 mins

Once brown on both sides, remove and place on a plate

Cut cherry tomatoes and olives into two, add black pepper and a drop of olive oil and mix together to make a salad

Serve with  Grilled Plantain with spinach, couscous, tomato and olive salad.

 Enjoy and have a lovely weekend!

Mango & Grapefruit Smoothie

Grapefruits are known for that sour-sweet taste that it produces and I can bet you lots of people will say they don't like grapefruits due to it's peculiar taste.

Mangoes  are generally sweet although the taste and texture of the flesh varies. Some mangoes have a soft pulp texture similar to an overripe plum while others are firm like an avocado or cantaloupe. This fruit compared to grapefruits is much preferred.

I have a very simple recipe that I would you to try with these two interesting fruits.

Ingredients

• 1 mango
• 2 grapefruits
• a teaspoon of honey
• splash of single cream light
• Ice cubes ( not a regular occurrence for me)

Grapefruit and Mango

Mango and Grapefruit

Honey and Single Light Cream

Instructions

• Peel the skin and cut the the grapefruit and mango and put in the blender, add a teaspoon of honey. I add honey to soften the sour -sweet taste of the grapefruit.
• Add a splash of single cream, add the ice cubes
• Blend till smooth
• Pour into glass cup
• Serve cold

Mango and Grapefruit Smoothie

Mango and Grapefruit Smoothie

Enjoy and have a lovely evening xoxo

Light Healthy Snack

Feeling peckish? Don't snack on sweets, cakes, cookies and crisps!

Make up your own light and healthy snack from the contents of your fridge and cupboard.

Light Cracker bread, Avocado,Sweetcorn with carrots sprinkled with black pepper & moringa powder.

Ingredients

• 2 light cracker breads
• half of an avocado
• sweetcorn
• black pepper
• moringa powder
• carrots

Light cracker bread with avocado, sweetcorn , carrots and black pepper and moringa

Enjoy!!

Keep Calm And Drink Smoothies

Fun Smoothie Ideas for Kids

Healthy, homemade smoothies are the fastest way to feed your children with the recommended five daily servings of fruits and vegetables.

It's sometimes hard getting your children to eat their fruits and vegetable but we all know that kids love ice cream or anything solid and sweet so why not incorporate some desserts into your kids smoothies.

The other day my friend dropped my 5 year old Godson round and asked me to babysit. After a long day of games and running around we were worn out.I asked my Godson if he would like a smoothie and he asked " What's a smoothie"? Is it ice cream? I thought Oh boy how do I explain this to a 5 year old without putting him off fruits and vegetables for life what a smoothie is!

I replied not quite but it's your favourite fruits and vegetables blended together to taste like ice cream. He frowned and said "I don't like broccoli,sprouts or raspberries" they're bitter but I like grapes and strawberries ...so I thought hmm how do I convince my 5 year old Godson to have a smoothie filled with one of the fruits he doesn't like?

I looked in the cupboard and found these three flavours of the "Angel delight whip up with fresh milk dessert mix"  which I had used not long ago to entertain my friends kids and had an idea.

• Angel Delight :Strawberry Flavour
• Angel Delight :Butterscoth Flavour
• Angel Delight :Chocolate Flavour

These flavours can be whipped up with fresh milk as it says on the pack to make a fluffy dessert for kids and there's no need to add sugar.

I decided to add the strawberry flavour to a  blender with frozen strawberries, cherries, banana and that raspberry that he mentioned that he didn't like to make him a smoothie.

Ingredients

• 4 frozen strawberries
• 1 frozen banana
• 1 -2 cups of milk
• 6 frozen cherries
• handful of frozen raspberries
• 1-2 tablespoons of the Angel delight strawberry flavour

Instructions

• Cut the strawberries, bananas ,cherries, raspberries and pop into the blender
• Add mik then top it up by adding  two spoons of the strawberry flavour delight
• Blend until smooth
• Pour into glass cup 
• Serve cold 

Verdict

My Godson loved it and scooped it with a spoon saying it tasted like ice- cream, he even asked if he could have the angel delight strawberry flavour to take home with him. RESULT!!

Give it a try, the kids will love it!

Green Smoothie Oats Recipe for Breakfast

I really look forward to my morning smoothie for a few reasons: they are easy to make, they taste absolutely scrumptious, they keep me full for hours and I feel energised. 

Green Smoothie Oats Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 banana
• 2-4 tablespoons of oats
• 1 large handful of spinach
• 1-2 teaspoons of yogurt
• 1-2 cups of water or coconut water
• Some seed - chia or flax seeds (optional)

Instructions

• Add the spinach to the blender with some water and blend till smooth,I like to do this so I can that green smooth paste
• Add the chopped banana and oats with water and blend until smooth
• Pour into glass
• Add seeds on top (optional) 

Enjoy your green filling smoothie!!

Avocado, Beetroot, Couscous Salad with Carrot & Orange Smoothie

Earlier on I talked about my love for avocado and the various things you could do with avocado. Having avocado with a salad is a common thing to do.

Avocado, Beetroot, Moroccan Couscous and Chicken Fillet Salad

• 2 avocados
• beetroot
• 1 chicken fillet
• Moroccan style couscous
• Sweet sauce

Ingredients for carrot and orange smoothie

• 2 carrots
• 2 oranges
• Ice cubes 
• 2-3 cups of water

Instructions

• Peel carrots and cut into small bits and put into blender, add water and blend until smooth.
• Peel oranges and cut into small pieces add to blender with blended carrots and blend until smooth, add water if required.
• Pour into glass and serve cold.

Enjoy!!

Watermelon & Banana Juice

We've had some beautiful weather today in London and watermelon is the best fruit to cool you down after a long hot day in the sunshine.

Watermelons are a great fruit to help you hydrate and cool down in the summer heat. Also, since it's mostly made up of water, watermelon makes a refreshing cool drink.

Despite being mainly water and sugar, watermelons are actually a very good source of vitamin c (which provides protection against immune system deficiencies) and vitamin A -which promotes good eye site.

Today we will be making a very simple and yet refreshing watermelon and banana juice.

Ingredients

• 2 bananas
• half of a watermelon
• Ice cubes (I rarely use ice cubes as my fruits are always frozen)

Instructions

• Remove the watermelon from the skin and place in a blender, cut the bananas and put in the blender, add the ice and blend until smooth.
• Pour into glass cup and serve cold.

Watermelon and Banana Juice

Enjoy!!

Let's talk about Avocados

Is avocado a fruit or vegetable? The jury is still out on that one haha!!

I will admit that Avocado was never a fruit that I  liked and I know of a few people who do not like it.

Thinking back to the first time I had an avocado it was in my salad and I picked it all out muttering to myself what is this horrible green thing in my salad, I couldn't stand the taste.

But in 2013 a friend of mine invited me round to hers for lunch and made Avocado soup. As I sipped a few spoons of my green soup my mouth was lost in a familiar taste and I asked her what was in the soup and she said avocado....I was shocked because the soup tasted so rich and you'll never guess what we had for dessert ...Yep!Avocado cake! From that day onwards I was in love with avocado and started putting it in all my meals.

Did you know that there are more than 75 things you can do with avocados?  To mention a few-avocado margaritas,avocado pudding, avocado cake, avocado salad,avocado bread, avocado ice cream,avocado toast, avocado fries, avocado cake, avocado lettuce and the list goes on and on.

Nutritional breakdown of avocados

Healthy fats- fats account for around three quarters of the calorie count of an avocado.Most of it is monounsaturated fat, in the form of oleic acid. Monounsaturated fat is considered to be " good fat" which reduces levels of bad cholesterol in your blood and lowers your risk of stroke and heart disease.

Protein- an average avocado contains around 4 grams of protein, which is more than most
other fruits.

 

Sugar-avocados sugar content is low compared to other fruits. Half an avocado contains approximately 0.2g of sugar.

Vitamins and minerals-avocados are an excellent source of potassium(containing more weight than bananas). In addition avocados are rich in vitamins K and B.

Health Benefits of avocado

Apart from being an excellent source of fiber and vitamins, research suggests that there may be a number of other benefits associated with the fruit, including: lowering cholesterol levels, reducing the risk of  diabetes promoting lower body weight and preventing cancer.

After a week of following the avocado enriched diet the patients experienced a 22% decrease in bad cholesterol and triglyceride levels and an 11% increase in good cholesterol.

Risks and precautions

Despite being very rare, avocado allergies do exist. According to a case report published in the journal Allergy, Asthma & Clinical Immunology, avocado allergies are associated with "coughing, wheezing, nasal stuffiness, generalised urticaria and periorbital edema".

It is important to consult your doctor if you begin to experience any unpleasant side effects after eating avocado.

Credit  :Medical NewsToday

Supermarket Vs Local Market Stalls

What's your preference and why?

The Supermarket or your local market stall?

Every fortnight on a Saturday morning I get ready and head to my local market to pick my fruits and vegetables.

As I walk into the market lane of which I love the atmosphere  I can immediately hear George, 50 my favourite fruit trader call out to shoppers and passers by  " Buy your apples and vegetables here, pound a bowl, pound a bowl all fresh, today's produce, fresh on the stall"  the atmosphere in the market is always buzzing and full of life.

As I walk up to him he says " Ello darling you a'right " ? I reply good thanks George what do you have for me today?  The warm reception and smile makes me giggle, he sometimes compliments me on my hair and my lipstick and I tell him that I know it's a ploy to get me to spend more money on his stall. No darling he replies "you know you're my favourite customer" ....Y eh right I reply I bet you say that to all the girls. 

George hasn't lost his touch as his compliments often works a charm.

His fruits and vegetables are always fresh and he sells

• a bowl of 10 granny smiths apples
• a bowl of golden delicious apples for £1, 
• a bowl of juicy red grapes for a £1, 
• 6 raw beetroots for £1, 
• 6 cucumbers for £1, 
• 6 grapefruits for a £1,
• 4 courgettes for a £1,
• a bowl of ripe cherry tomatoes for 50p and lots more.

Shallots, Strawberries and Courgettes at the local market

Cauliflower and  Potatoes at the local market 

Onions,Green-beans and Sweet Potatoes at the local market 

I must say that even though I spend a lot of money on George's stall I like to look around the market as there are also some brilliant bargains on other stalls. The other day I bought 8 avocados for £1 ..YES 8!! I was in avocado heaven if such a place exists and 3 big butternut squash for £1.50.

The highlight of last week was when I bought 3 trays of strawberries for a whooping sun of £1, thinking about it now I was so silly not to have taken a pictures as I got home and for me that was an immediate wash, bag and freeze process with my other fruits.

I guess what I am trying to say is that I love going to my local market stalls to support the traders and I get real value for my money.#Buylocal #Supportthemarkettraders

Oranges, Apples, Bananas and Kiwis at the local market stall

My local supermarket is great but I am never satisfied when I go there. I don't get that one to one attention from George and I meet with lifeless fruits and vegetables on the shelves.

The thought of weighing my fruit irks me especially as I pay so much for so little. Do not get me wrong the supermarket is a great place to shop for fruits and vegetables if that's your preference but it isn't for me.

The supermarket is great when I run out of my favourite fruits or vegetables and for me to quickly pop in and get my produce but for a big batch I rarely go to the supermarket. The other day I ran out of cucumbers and lemons for my infused water and I popped into the supermarket to get a cucumber and I had to pay 90p for a slim mean looking cucumber, I begrudgingly paid for it of course but kicked myself because I could see George's 6 cucumbers for £1 in my thoughts haha!!!


So what's your preference and why? Is it the Supermarket Or Market Stalls? 


Let me know your thoughts.



Photo Credit: My Sister