Green Smoothie #1

I recently bought myself a Blend Active and I think it might just be the best thing I have bought this year! With over 1000 reviews on Amazon stating how much everyone loves their new blender, I couldn’t resist and I will never look back.

 The Blend Active consists of a compact (for a blender anyway) blender base with not 1 but 2 takeaway bottles that you simply screw the blender blade onto, blitz, screw off, twist your lid on and you’re on your way! They blend everything including ice and every time I have used this, I’m always left with a really smooth, great tasting smoothie for my Breakfast. 

I’ve really enjoyed getting into my Green Smoothies recently, they provide you with so many benefits from your skin to your energy levels so it’s really transformed my day swapping my usual breakfast for one of these vitamin/nutrient packed smoothies. 

After a bit of research and scrolling through endless recipes I finally landed on SimpleGreenSmoothies.com. If you sign up with them they send you a starter guide for your green smoothies and they post fresh, interesting and seasonal recipes regularly; so your green smoothie will never be boring. 

So here is my first Green Smoothie recipe for you to try with a little info on what each ingredient can do for you. 

Spinach – A great source for vitamins, filled with Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Vitamin E, Vitamin K, Thaimin, Riboflavin, Vitamin B6 as well as Iron, Magnesium and Calcium, Spinach is a great all-rounder for skin clearing as well as aiding digestion.

Romaine – This type of lettuce is packed with vitamin, minerals, phytonutrients and fibre that can help keep illness at bay throughout the year. An excellent source of Vitamin A and Vitamin K makes your smoothie super heart healthy. 

Grapes – High in water content and antioxidants, Grapes provide numerous benefits from eye health to clearing skin whilst remaining low in calories.

Bananas – Low in saturated fat, cholesterol and sodium, Bananas are not only tasty but are a great source of dietary fibre, vitamin C, potassium and Manganese. Although Bananas contain a bit of sugar, this doesn’t mean you should avoid them, use them in smoothies that are meal replacements and you’ll find it easier not to go over your recommended daily sugar allowance. 

Raspberries – One of the best benefits of raspberries is that they can increase your metabolism in fat cells through their phytonutrients especially in Rheosmin (aka raspberry ketone). These little berries are also packed full of antioxidants, so these don’t just add great flavour to your smoothie. 

Water – We all know that water is just THE best thing out there when you’re trying to get healthy. The reason I choose water in my green smoothies is for the endless amounts of goodness that it provides. From skin to energy levels, water is key to keeping hydrated and to aiding weight loss. 

1 cup spinach

1 cup romaine lettuce

1 cup grapes 

1 medium ripe banana

1 cup raspberries

Add water to your preferred smoothie thickness

Slutty Brownies

When I saw these gooey, crunchy, heavenly brownies on The Londoner, I couldn't wait to make myself some. 

I've made them a few times before and they're really easy to make. 

All you need is;

2 packs of Cookie mix
2 packs of Oreos
1 pack of Brownie Mix 

Mix your cookie and brownie mix ready to place on your greaseproof tin.

Make the cookie mix and spread along the bottom of your greaseproof papered tin. 

Layer with Oreos (try not to eat any)

Pour over the brownie mix and cook for roughly 30-35 minutes. But keep checking it and bring out if you like your brownies to be a bit gooeyer.

Then they're yours to enjoy. Your friends and family will love you for these.

Chocolate Cake & Peanut Butter Frosting

I'm one of those lucky few that actually get along with the people they have to work with and this Friday is my colleague/friend Laura's birthday.

Having known Laura for little over a year I know that she loves two things - cake and peanut butter. So combining the two I've rustled up a chocolate cake finished with peanut butter icing for her to enjoy.

Cake ingredients (Mary Berry's own recipe):

50 g (2 oz) sifted cocoa powder
6 tablespoons boiling water
3 large eggs
50 ml (2 fl oz) milk
175 g (6 oz) self-raising flour
1 rounded teaspoon baking powder
100 g (4 oz) softened butter
275 g (10 oz) caster sugar

Peanut Butter Icing ingredients: 
110g butter, softened
250g creamy peanut butter
250g icing sugar
3 tablespoons milk, or as needed

Putting the oven on 180°C/Fan 160°C/Gas 4, I decided that I would utilize my silicone heart shaped cake mold to make this cake. (Laura had actually got me this for my birthday a few weeks ago, how handy)

Blending the cocoa powder and boiling water into a large bowl you then add the remaining cake ingredients to the bowl and mix until smooth. 

Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the sponge is springy to the touch. Leave this to cool. 

Now for the icing. Take your butter and peanut butter and place into a bowl. If you have an electric mixer then you jammy people out there can whip this up in seconds. However, my culinary tools have limited me, therefore some graft is put in to making this first part. 

Gradually mix in the icing sugar until it starts to thicken, this is when you start adding the milk one tablespoon at a time until you get the consistency that you want. 

Voila! Fluffy peanut butter icing ready to top of the cake. 

For the middle layer I used a mixture of peanut butter with a Betty Crocker Buttercream Style Icing. So yummy!

Finished off with a sprinkling of Butterscotch pieces. 

There you have it, a birthday cake that's fit enough to show off how good of a chef you are at work.

 

Sweet Potato Fries

So I don't know if you've ever switched up your dinners before with some Sweet Potato Fries but you need to get on this!

Simply peel and chop up some sweet potatoes (I used 3), and part boil for 15 minutes.

Spread across a tray and add oil (Fry Lite for those of us out there wanting to be healthy) and a sprinkling of salt.

Cook for 10 minutes and turn over. Continue cooking for another 25 minutes. 

Simple. Enjoy this healthy Saturday night treat

Skinny Pancakes

I have a treat for you..

But it's a guilt free one :)

Skinny pancakes... tasty, filling and ohh sooo skinny

These Slimming World beauties are so easy to make to. Take a low fat yogurt flavor of your choice and a packet of Oat So Simple porridge oats and mix together. Leave for 2-3 hours.

Mix 2 large eggs in a bowl with a tablespoon of sweetener. Add the oat/yogurt and mix.

For the best results with this it's best to just make little pancakes. Using a tablespoon of mixture per mini pancake (this recipe makes around 10 mini pancakes).

Fry using Fry Light for a few minutes on each side.

Serve how you like. 

You could add blueberries

or bananas with some golden syrup

These are also gorgeous with chocolate Philadelphia and strawberries 

Only 6 syns for the whole lot :) 

Lasagna Cupcakes

For most of my foodie posts I gain inspiration from a little place called Pinterest.

Here I've discovered a multitude of recipe ideas and today I want to share with you one that I've tried out and think is amazing.

Lasagna Cupcakes

And they are more delicious than they sound, if you can believe that's possible

So for these you will need

1 onion
1/2 a pack of Quorn Mince 
Passata
1 garlic clove
Crushed chilli
Oregano
Dried Coriander
12 sheets of lasagna 
White sauce 
Mozzarella cheese


To start you'll need to soften your lasagna sheets so place them in a pan with boiled water. You won't need to heat these, just leave them to soak.

Whilst they are softening, you can make your mince. Frying off your onion and garlic first followed by your Quorn mince then adding in the passata. For your seasoning I would go with a sprinkling of oregano, a good dose of coriander and crushed chilli to taste. Adding salt and pepper too. Cook for roughly 10-15 minutes.

When the mince is nearly finished cooking, take your now soft lasagna sheets and tear them in half length ways. In your muffin tray make a cross shape with your sheets. This should make roughly 5 to 6 cupckes. With anything left over, use to fill any gaps.

Then add a good spoonful of mince into the muffin trays topping them with white sauce then adding a layer of lasagna sheet again. If you have deeper trays then repeat but mine were quite shallow so I added another layer of white sauce and topped with a good helping of mozzarella. 

Cook for 15 minutes. 

Voila!! How amazing do these look! 

I couldn't resist, I had to have one straight away. Sooooo good!

Hope you enjoy making them :)