Kale and Spinach Smoothie

I’m strong to the finish, ’cause I eats me Spinach, I’m Popeye the sailor man!(Popeye from theme song)

Kale and Spinach Smoothie

It’s the final week of healthy recipes for my World Cup Workout and I’ve chosen to share a drink recipe that would count towards your 5 a day. You might not think it at first, but it is surprisingly tasty, not to mention filling! If you don’t believe me, all I can say is . . . try it, you might like it!
Don’t tell my husband, but I may actually miss the World Cup once it has finished!

(serves 2)

Ingredients

50 grams Kale
70 grams spinach
350 ml milk
1 large ripe banana, sliced into small chunks and frozen
1 tbsp. honey

Method

1. Place the kale, spinach and milk into a blender and blend until there are no more big bits left.
2. Add the frozen pieces of banana and the honey and blend until smooth.
3. Pour into two long glasses and serve

Suzy Says:

• Experiment with your fruit and veg. I plan to add cucumber or strawberry next time.
• If you would prefer to avoid dairy, what about trying almond milk instead? This was used in the original post that inspired this post. Do let me know how it turns out – or if you add any of your own ingredients.

Enjoy

Quinoa and Oat Energy Bars

There is no quick easy way to the body you want…. commit yourself now to your workout and get started (Tracy Anderson)

Quinoa and Oat Energy Bars

As you may have read on Facebook earlier this week, I have created my own “World Cup workout” to coincide with the football! My friend Steven from work designed the programme for me and over the coming weeks, my aim (whilst my husband is watching the tournament) will be to lose weight for the summer by working out and eating healthy home-made food. It is going well and my repertoire has so far included my falafel burgers, bean casserole and Suzy sorbet. All very healthy!

To keep me from snacking during the day on cakes etc, I have made some healthy energy bars. I have tried not to add anything too unhealthy and they still taste great.

(Makes approximately 24 bars)

Ingredients

250 gr. oats
80 gr. uncooked quinoa, rinsed and left to dry for as long as possible Approx 70 gr. of nuts, seeds and dried fruit. (I use sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, pine nuts and goji berries, a mix I bought from Aldi)
140 gr. smooth peanut butter
3 medium ripe bananas, mashed
2 tbsp. milled linseed
6 tbsp. honey
25 gr. caster sugar

Method

1. Preheat the oven to Gas 4/180C
2. In a large frying pan, toast the quinoa on a low to medium heat until you can smell an almost fragrant aroma.
3. Place the peanut butter and mashed banana in a saucepan and mix together on a low heat until it has melted and is well incorporated.
4. In a large bowl, add the oats, nuts, seeds and dried fruit, as well as the linseed, honey and caster sugar.
5. Once the quinoa has cooled slightly, add to the bowl as well.
6. Add the peanut butter mixture and mix all the ingredients together until the oats are well coated.
7. Line a tray bake tin with baking paper (the tin is approximately 20x30cm) Place the oat mixture into the tin. Spread the mixture evenly and flatten down as much as you can.
8. Bake in the oven for approximately 20-25 minutes, until golden on the top.
9. Once cooled, cut into approximately 24 bars.

Suzy says

• Add your own combination of nuts, dried fruit and seeds to suit your taste.
• I am currently experimenting with this recipe as I am not the biggest peanut butter fan. However in spite of this, I do really enjoy these bars!

 

Bean Casserole

Dieting is the only game where you win when you lose (Karl Lagerfeld)

This week I have chosen a simple, tasty and healthy recipe to share with you. Here it is:

Serves 4-6

Ingredients

Bean Casserole

1 x 420 gram can of mixed beans (I use mixed beans in mild chilli sauce by Sainsburys)
2 x 400 gram cans of peeled plum tomatoes
1 x 165 gram can of sweetcorn
1x 425 gram can of baked beans (you can use the value brand for this)
Approximately 220 grams of frozen mixed peppers
1 large carrot
1 large courgette
1 medium onion
1 clove of garlic
2 tsp. Cajun spice
Salt and peppers to taste
1 tbsp. olive oil

Method

1. In a deep sided large frying pan, heat up the olive oil.
2. Add the frozen peppers to the pan once the oil is heated.
3. Whilst the peppers are cooking, chop the carrots, courgette and onion into small pieces and add to the pan.
4. Crush and chop the garlic up as small as you can and add to the pan.
5. Fry the veg for about 10 minutes.
6. Open up all the cans.
7. First add the can of mixed beans and stir.
8. Then add the sweetcorn and stir.
9. Pour the can of beans into a sieve and place under some cold water to wash away the tomato sauce. Add to the pan and stir.
10. Finally add the two cans of plum tomatoes, break up the tomatoes with a wooden spoon and stir so all the veg are covered in the tomato sauce.
11. If the veg are not covered, add some more water.
12. Add the Cajun spice and some salt and pepper to taste.
13. Leave to simmer for approximately 20 minutes or until you a happy with the consistency.
    Serve.

Suzy says:

• Eat on its own or accompanied with rice or pasta.
• If you like spice, add more Cajun or some hot chilli powder.
• Try sprinkling some grated cheese on it as well. Delicious!

Bon appetit.

Soup of the Week

I always think if you cook once, you should feed twice. If you’re going to make a big chicken and vegetable soup for lunch on Monday, you stick it in the refrigerator and it’s also for Wednesday’s dinner. (Curtis Stone)

This week I decided to spend as little as possible on my weekly shop. I made an effort to use up what I could from my food cupboard/ refrigerator and create recipes using these ingredients. These cost-effective concoctions can still taste great, as well as being good for your health and your purse!

One recipe I often use towards the end of a week, is what I like to call my “soup of the week”. It is rustled up using a medley of any leftover vegetables I have in the fridge or freezer. I fry the chopped vegetables in some butter, pour in boiling water as well as any herbs I feel may go with the soup, add a stock pot, blend….et voila! I have been very fortunate with this dish as I can’t remember a time it hasn’t worked, no matter what the ingredients. This week was no exception.

Soup of the Week (serves 2-4 or maybe more, depending on how much vegetables you have left!)

Ingredients

Soup of the Week

1/2 onion
1 apple
2 celery sticks
2 large leeks
1/2 bag of kale
1 clove of garlic
1 chicken Knorr stock pot (vegetable stock also would work)
coriander and parsley (if fresh add 1 tbsp. of each or if dried add 1tsp. of each)
1 tbsp. butter
chives for decoration
salt and pepper to taste

Method

1. Finely chop the onion, garlic and celery into small pieces Chop the leek into small pieces and wash in a colander with the kale.
2. Peel and chop the apple into small pieces.
3. Melt the butter in a saucepan on a low heat.
4. Once melted add all the vegetables (including the apple and garlic) and stir.
5. Place the lid onto the saucepan and sweat down the vegetables for 10/15 minutes.
6. Pour some boiling water over the vegetables so it just covers them.
7. Add the stock pot and the herbs and bring to the boil.
8. Simmer for a further 20 minutes or until the vegetables are soft.
9. Add salt and pepper to taste.
10. You can eat the soup as it is or you can blend to make a smooth consistency. You may need to add more boiling water at this point.
11. To decorate I snip a couple of chives and add to the top of the soup.

Suzy says:

• Blending can sometimes change the taste of the soup and therefore you may choose to leave it just as it is.
• I often add a can of washed and drained chickpeas to the soup for protein.
• As yet, I haven’t found a vegetable or salad ingredient that doesn’t work in this soup, including lettuce and cucumber, which taste great and add a distinctive, fresh flavour. Plus, I always seem to have these leftover!
• Sometimes your soup may not need any stock, especially if it’s packed with veg (or if you use herbs)- so try it first before you add any in.
• I always have fresh herbs in my kitchen for my cooking- I keep them in the freezer and they are just as fresh and delicious when I come to use them.
• Lastly, if you end up making more than is needed, the soup can be frozen to use at a later date.

Bon Appetit!

Suzy Sorbet (with Raspberries)

If you keep good food in your fridge, you will eat good food. (Errick McAdams)

Suzy Sorbet (with Raspberries)

And now for something healthy…..my very own Suzy sorbet! It is prepared without processed sugar or egg whites; in fact, the recipe is simply created from just pure fruit and I have to say it’s delicious. This week I really struggled to come up with a name for my dish (since it has the fruit taste of sorbet with the creamy texture of ice-cream). In the end, I opted for sorbet because it does not have any dairy in it.

If you are wondering how this recipe can taste so delicious, I would say that you would have to try it for yourself! Everyone I have made this for really likes it. It is great for children and adults alike. If you don’t like bananas on their own it’s a great way of hiding them in food and of course, it will count towards your 5 a day!

All that this recipe requires is 4 medium bananas, one other type of juicy fruit and a food processor (you may need some orange juice to add in as well). I have tried this recipe with raspberries, mangos, pineapples, apricots, blueberries and kiwis- my advice is to be experimental! I usually decide on the fruit when I go and see what is on offer at the supermarket which helps to make it as cheap as possible if you are on a budget.

Ingredients

4 medium sized bananas (the riper the better)
1x 150 gram tub of raspberries
(You may need some pure orange juice to hand)

(If you don’t fancy raspberries, I would suggest 1 medium pineapple, 1 punnet of strawberries, 1 tub of blueberries, 4 – 6 apricots, 2 mangos or 6 kiwis)

Method

1. Cover a baking tray with cling film. I use a 20cm x 30cm tray.
2. Chop up the bananas into small chunks and place on the baking tray.
3. Cover the bananas with some more Clingfilm and place into the freezer until frozen (I normally do this 24hrs in advance or I just freeze bananas when they are ripe enough and keep them in the freezer to stop them going off.)
4. Wash the raspberries and place them in the food processor and blend.
5. Place a sieve over a big measuring jug.
6. Pour the raspberries into the sieve and use a spatula to push through as much juice as possible. You should have at least 100 ml of juice. If it is more that is even better.
7. Rinse the bits out of food processor. You will need to use this again.
8. Add the frozen bananas and the raspberry juice to the food processor. Blend until smooth, soft and creamy.

Hints:

• The blending could take a while and you may need to move/shake the processor around to make sure all the banana bits are blended properly.
• It will be its softest and creamiest when it comes out of the food processor. When frozen overnight, it will be fruitier
• If the mixture is still a little stiff, here is where you can add a dash of orange juice.
• Normally, I would use half a tub of raspberries for this recipe but on this occasion, it didn’t produce enough juice so I used the whole tub.

Whatever fruit you are using, it will taste amazing and look lovely and colourful.

I hope to try this recipe with apples one day but if anyone gets there first, please let me know how it turns out.

For now at least raspberries are still my favourite.

Enjoy!