Smoothie showdown

Neo and I had a great time in the kitchen this afternoon!  We made not one, but two, different smoothies and thought it would be interesting to taste and rate...I found two recipes on Pinterest - one that was considerably healthy and one that was on calorie overload, serious stuff!
Neo couldn't wait to help but I think his idea of helping was eating...ha-ha it got messy!  We saved a glass for Peter who came home an hour later and my niece stopped by as well so we gave her a taste too and made her rate our creations...

Smoothie 1.
Healthy 'Banana Cream Pie'
2 bananas (frozen for an hour or two...)
1 cup vanilla yoghurt
good pinch of cinnamon
good splash of vanilla essence
1 cup almond milk
Blitz it all up until thick and creamy.
Serve with crushed biscuit (optional) and whipped cream (optional)

Average score out of ten.
Flavor 6.25
Texture 5.5
Smell 5.6 (only 3 of us scored this as my niece had a blocked nose...)
Satisfaction 6.75

I scored this quite high actually as it was a really yummy smoothie, the kids were really tough on this one

Next up we have the wicked smoothie...the real deal!
Smoothie2.  
Salty Pretzel and Chocolate Fudge Milkshake with Nutella and Malted whipped cream...phew!

Chocolate Fudge sauce:
150g dark chocolate
1/2 cup thick cream
2 Tblspns Brown sugar
splash of vanilla ess
Heat over a medium stove until thick and gooey - drizzle all over the inside of your serving glasses...
Milkshake:
1/4 cup pretzels - crushed
3/4 cup vanilla icecream
1/3 cup Nutella
1/2 cup almond milk
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
Blitz it all up until thick and creamy.
Whip 1/2 cup thick cream until stiff and add 1 Tablespoon malted milk powder and some vanilla essence.  Fold gently.  Top the Milkshake with the Whipped malted cream and drizzle more of the chocolate Fudge sauce.
Enjoy!

Score for this indulgent smoothie...(yes it was a huge hit with the kids but no surprise there...)
Average
Flavour  8.5
Texture 7
Smell 8.6
Satisfaction 9

so I hope you liked our little Smoothie showdown...

Soup-y!

Soup! Is there anything nicer on a cold day...?
Its the most perfect simple meal that fills that hungry spot.  Packed with goodness.
I made two different types of soups on the weekend 'Roasted Vegetable' and 'French Onion'.

I don't always get the chance to cook ahead but I spent Sunday afternoon cooking since it was freezing outside -  its so great not to have to scramble in the kitchen after a tiring day at work during the week.
I'm always happy having a bowl of soup to eat!

French Onion soup
(my easy version)
a small knob of butter
3-4 onions, thinly sliced
dollop of olive oil
Add all to heavy saucepan and caramelise, over low heat stirring often for about 15-20mins until soft and fragrant.
Add 1 litre Vegie (or Beef) stock
Add a bay leaf or two and gently bring to the boil.
Remove Bay leaf and
season with Salt & Pepper.

Grate some Parmesan cheese (or other strong cheese) and sprinkle over the soup of the hot soup.
Serve straight away!



More yummy Soups (click away...)

*Lemon, Chicken and Ozro soup

*Mick's easy Pumpkin soup

*Tuscan white bean soup - 2 ways

*Restorative Vegetable broth

*no bake* Power balls

I've made these delicious Power balls a few times, they were handy during the 'low sugar' wellness program and you will always find them in my fridge now for those 'craving something sweet'
moments (hello afternoon!)
....there is no refined sugar or flour in the ingredients so wont upset my tummy, actually there is
no baking required! Too easy.
They are dense and full of goodness - a satisfying little snack and moorish in taste!
yum!

Ingredients
3 cups rolled oats
1/4 cup flax seeds (or almond meal)
2 Tablespoons cocoa (or cacao) powder
1/2 cup dried cranberries (or raisins)
1/2 cup walnuts
1/2 cup chocolate chips
1 cup peanut or almond butter
1/2 cup raw honey or rice malt syrup
1/4 cup coconut oil, melted.

Mix all ingredients until combined.
(if it feels sticky add some more dry ingredients - if it feels a little dry add a little more melted coconut oil.)
Roll into balls and roll coat the balls in some shredded coconut - store in the fridge and have one or two a day!

Day 15 on #lowsugarlifestyle

Today is day 15 of the 'Low Sugar Lifestyle'  and so far so good!
Lately there has definitely been a war on sugar in the mainstream media but for me sugar is the main culprit to making me feel bloated, irritable and always hungry.
Not only is sugar hidden in so many of our 'everyday' processed foods - I've just concluded that the only way for my family and I to avoid eating the white stuff is to eat clean,
eat fresh and prepare our meals at home.

The 'Low Sugar Lifestyle' is not a diet ...far from it actually...I'm eating a whole lot more than what I used to but what I am putting into my body is fibre rich, filling and nutritional.
... and coffee is still allowed (yes!!) Its been really handy to have the weekly meal plan choices to follow and most are quick and easy to prepare.
Life is busy...I get it, but preparing food doesn't need to take hours.
We also get a daily email full of great nutritional info.

I'm eating for energy and I've seen a huge change already ...
No more afternoon slump or fog brain!  ... because I'm eating so well, I'm just not craving anything sweet - It feels too easy.
I guess it is.
'you are what you eat'...we all know that right?
 I made this nutty granola last week and it turned out so toasty and delicious, I'm going to make another batch - thats breakfast sorted! Planning ahead is the way to go...that way there is no chance to get crazy hungry!
I still need to work on drinking more water ...that's my challenge this week!

Low Sugar Lifestyle

The past few weeks I've been off balance and I decided enough is enough - I need to put myself back at the top of my priority list.
 I need to start taking care of my health and the first thing that I need to tackle is what goes in my mouth.  I've fallen off the bandwagon...
lately my day consists of a large coffee (or two ) for breakfast, eating quickly at my desk, grabbing a handful of nuts or maybe some chocolate for a snack...just not paying attention to what I'm eating, no excercise, not much time out.
My digestion is playing havoc and I feel like on a wheel spiraling at a crazy pace - I just want to get off!  My energy levels are at an all time low and its obviously because I'm making some wrong food choices.
My body is craving for me to be mindful of what I eat - enough neglect!
Starting on Monday, I've agreed to join in to do
 'My Family Wellness' 28 day Low Sugar Lifestyle program created by author, health speaker and nutritionist, Michelle.
I need a little structure and guidance, ready to print meal plans and recipes and am looking forward to a healthy change -  I think this will help kick it all off for me!
I will keep you posted how I go!  I think by blogging about it weekly might help me keep on track as I try to create some changes and good habits.
Wish me luck!

Michelle is offering $20 off the next program and a free download of two recipes - take a look!

Frangipane Galette

What day is it?
It feels like Friday ( I know its not...)
What a week!
I haven't blogged in days, the boys are on Easter break, work has been super busy and today the hubs and I spent the whole day devoted to looking into a new build.
We are so close now!

I've been meaning to post this delicious sweet treat...Figs are totally out of season now but this is a recipe worth bookmarking to try in the warmer months.
Two weeks ago I had a girly lunch at my house.
It was fun hosting and planning a lunch gathering for three close friends, girls I worked with at the 'Sydney Olympic Games' organising committee over 15years ago...(feels like a life time...) We try to catch up at least two to three times a year (and lots of emails in between).
Only two made it to my place for lunch and for afternoon dessert I made
Frangipane Galette with Fresh Figs, Thyme and Marscapone - it was enjoyed by all!
I actually had Pear & almond tartlets planned for dessert but my fruit grocer had beautiful fresh figs available so I had a quick change of plans.
They do say we should plan our meals at the market and not in the kitchen.

Frangipane
60g soft butter
1 teaspoon orange zest
1/4 cup caster sugar
1 egg yolk
1/3 cup almond meal
Beat butter, zest and sugar in a small bowl until creamy.  Add egg yolk and almond meal - set bowl aside.
Preheat oven to 180 degrees celsius.
Use 1 & 1/2 squares ready rolled shortcrust pastry and press pieces together to form a rectangle.
Slide onto baking paper and onto large oven tray.
Spread Frangipane over pastry leaving a 5cm border.  Fold edges over frangipane.
Brush pastry with beaten egg white and sprinkle with demerara sugar.
Bake for 20 minutes or until golden. Let it cool.
Topping
5 large figs cut into wedges
250g marscapone
1 Tablespoon icing sugar
1 teaspoon lemon thyme leaves
Honey to drizzle
In a bowl beat marscapone and sugar until smooth. Spread over baked frangipane.  Arrange figs on top.  Sprinkle with thyme and drizzle with honey.
Serve with coffee or tea.
* Recipe from Home Beautiful magazine

Fresh + fast cookbook

I love a jumble book sale …you can usually find them set up in the middle of shopping centres, mini pop-up book shop and always when you are casually walking by with no intention of buying books.
But they always draw me in as I just never know what l’ll find!
I recently bought this ‘Fresh +Fast' cookbook, part of a series from
Marie Claire magazine and food editor, Michele Cranston - a $10 bargain!!! (hey that’s the price of 2 and half coffees ha-ha…)
Its actually a really lovely book – and at such a cheap price!
over 100 recipes and when you combine an intelligent fashion magazine like Marie Claire and beautiful healthy food styled in a gorgeous way, its pretty inspiring to eat well!

Its not just about food styling though...
for me its more about living and eating nutritious, real food
that seems to improve everything – my mood, my skin, my body!
You are what you eat after all....

We’ve been chatting in the office about motivating and edging each other on to
eat better and move more, sometimes we need that
'cheerleader team' behind us to get us going and keep going.

I think I’ll be opening this book often!

Salted Caramel

I’ve been meaning to post this but time has gotten the better of me (as usual...)
Salted Caramel.  Could there be anything more delicious? comforting like a warm hug ...Caramel sauce is perfect but by adding salt, it takes it to a whole new level. yum!
.. recently,  I was lucky to get the chance to try some butter from 'Lewis road Creamery'  which is located in New Zealand.  Thanks to Lorraine from 'Not Nigella' blog and Liquid Ideas for the opportunity! Firstly, let me just tell you how much I love butter!
Love it!
I know it can get a bad rap but it’s a healthy fat, its fresh and real, tastes amazing and is
satisfying,  so a little goes a long way.
So when this gorgeous butter arrived, I knew I would have to make a few things…I asked the kids for ideas and of course they both wanted chocolate cake so I made a traditional ‘ chocolate’ cake with frosting, …
I then decided to make ta-da!!!
Salted Caramel!
which I served with plain vanilla ice-cream…
Caramel sauce is hands down my favourite sweet sauce and goes well with apples, pears, served on pancakes or crepes or just eaten by the spoonful...(yes, done that)

I followed Donna Hay's Salted Caramel recipe because Donna knows her stuff!

so good!

Fresh and Invigorating: Super easy marinade

Oh my goodness - I love love this easy chicken marinade!
its so refreshing, zesty, smells and tastes amazing...If you need a simple dinner idea, then this is it!



All you need is
a bunch of corriander (stems & leaves),
2 cloves garlic, juice of a lime or lemon and a handful of baby spinach and a glug of Olive oil.
Blitz it all up in a blender and smother over your chicken fillets (or chicken breast).  Wrap your bowl in plastic and refrigerate for a minimum of 2hrs.

Bake or pan fry the chicken and serve with a garden salad.
Delicious!
and healthy!

if I had a British accent....

...so this week the British accent got voted as the worlds most attractive...
that was according to some (silly/fun) poll and hey, it even beat the French accent which was a surprise for many romantics!
I think the British accent is a definite winner but then again I've always had a fascination for all things British...
Some of my favorite foodies are British…Yes! I’d be happy to listen to Nigella Lawson all day long.
I used to read her Vogue column back in the day before she hit our TV screens and her use of the English language to tantalise us with food ingredients is something I admire so much!
Even Jamie Oliver, the crazy, playful and highly energetic celebrity chef we all seem to love is delightful to watch and listen to.
Lately I’ve been obsessed with ‘Great British bake off’ and the soothing, calm voice of baker extraordinaire Paul Hollywood…
There’s no surprise that most of my favorite male actors are British.
Colin Firth …hello!! 
I was hooked on him ever since I watched the BBC series, ‘Pride & Prejudice’ - I've loved him ever since. Hmmm...
Hugh Grant in ‘Notting Hill’ was amazing too, he has not done much lately, but can you remember how great ‘Four Weddings and a Funeral’ was? everyone was talking about that movie for so long
… both Colin and Hugh in ‘Bridget Jones Diary’ - hilarious…
Ralph Fiennes in the English Patient (and everything else he has starred in)
...and the whole mix of fine British actors in ‘Love Actually’ - one of my favourite British flicks ever.



* Top print image
via Lu Green

a meal in a Bowl...

Hello Monday!
I do hope you all had a beautiful weekend...
I spent Sunday evening planning some 'healthy' meals for the week ahead and I'm going to attempt to do this every Sunday to ensure we all eat well during the week, that the pantry and fridge are stocked.
lately Ive been eating on the go, grabbing processed meat and cheese and throwing it in soft processed bread - that's been my lunch lately....ick!
this has not been nutritiuous or good for my digestion.  Something has to change.
These two meals in a bowl look SO good!
they are definetely on my list to try this week.
recipes here 1- Honey Chipolte Chicken bowl 
2 - Warm Roasted Salad bowl 

Coconut Chai Icey-Cream

This has to be one of the loveliest Summer desserts I've made in ages...
I don't know if I can call it Ice cream (so I'll call it Icey-cream) because it wasn't churned, but its hands down better than many ice creams I've eaten.
so creamy and fragrant with a lovely hint of spice.
Such a pretty colour too!
gluten free, diary free, vegan friendly,
SO easy and bloody delicious! Yum!

Coconut Chai 
Icey-Cream
2 cups coconut milk 
1/4 cup sugar (1/3 if you like it sweeter)
3 tea bags - I used 2 Rooibos and black tea teabag
5 whole cloves
5 peppercorns
2 staranise
1 teaspoon cardamon pods
1 cinnamon stick
Stir all ingrediants in a saucepan over a medium heat, until sugar has dissolved.
Simmer for a few minutes.
Take off heat and let it sit for 5minutes.
Remove the tea bags and leave the spices in for another 15mins to infuse.  Strain into a clean bowl or container. Refrigerate until cool.
Then freeze until firm.
Eat and enjoy!

Americana: Choc Chip Cookies

My Kids love choc chip cookies...I bake them often as they never last long in the pantry.  If you do a search online there are SO many different variations and recipes to try.
The recipe I used here was a classic 'Chocolate Chip Cookie' but I added a large tablespoon of Nutella and one of crunchy Peanut Butter into the mix - these two flavours are perfect together!
a twist on a classic.
Next time I'll try a salted chocolate cookie...
Ruth Wakefield who ran The Toll House Inn with her husband,  first created the cookie during the 1930s to serve with tea in the lodge -  it quickly became popular known as 'The Toll House' cookie. She later gave Nestle the rights to her recipe and the name and you can see the original Nestle recipe here 

 

Spring Fling

With Spring finally here I'm looking forward to spending lots of time outdoors.  Spring always gets me in the mood to 'do' things - spring clean, go on a picnic, visit a new cafe...I thought it was be a nice chance to collaborate with the lovely Catherine and Mel to feature something 'Spring' related on our blogs today.
On Saturday I headed to 'Ramsgate Farmer's market' with my sister.  I love how Farmer's Markets are so popular now, they seem to be popping up in many suburbs each week.   Its not just a trend - I really think people becoming more aware and informed about where their food comes from.  We also want to eat well ...i know I do - more real food! less of processed stuff please!
Not only is visiting the Farmer's Market a chance to shop from local farmers and buy food that is in season, its a perfect way too discover foodies with a real passion, making and selling some interesting and tasty things!
The 'Farmer's Market' has been up and running a few years now - its my sister's local market and everyone seems to know her as she's there every Saturday!
The produce is always excellent, there's the Cheese guy (French and cute!) who also makes the best yoghurt (so good!)  a few butchers, lots of fruit & vegetable stands...there's the juicers and cake bakers. Older locals offering some delicious treats from their homeland and the hipster raw food sellers selling healthy alternatives...oh and great coffee on offer too!
Its a wonderful way to spend a Saturday morning - with the warmer weather I hope to visit the Farmer's market more often!

Please go visit Catherine's blog 'FarmHouse Home' and
Mel's blog
'Armoire, Pegs and Casserole' 
to see their Spring inspired blog posts...

Fresh, crisp
Fruit & Veggies in all sorts of wonderful colours!

a simple snack and a lovely book!

Last week I started commuting to work by train - we've relocated to a new location in a swish newly-built office. Its all very very nice!
Taking public transport has been a change for me after battling peak hour traffic in my trusty little car for the past 12 years but so far so good..no Sydney rail delays (yet!)
I have a long ride each day and I've been catching up on my reading,  by that I mean my book reading.
Actually, I'm impressed that there are lots of book lovers out there - people still engrossed in a good read, not wanting their stop to arrive too soon.  Others read on kindles, notebooks, phones and tablets...a good read and a quiet train trip go hand in hand!
I recently finished 'Afternoons In Ithaka' a memoir by Melbournite and Greek Australian,
Spiri Tsintziras - what a lovely book, such an enjoyable read!
...not only could I relate to her stories seeped in custom, traditions, and delicious food but also of the expectations, the pressures and self discovery...a daughter of Immigrants trying to find her way. At the end of each chapter there is an accompanying recipe and I made this simple snack from one of the recipes.
its the Greek version of Bruschetta!!  Delicious!
Ripe Tomato, crumbled Feta cheese, a drizzle of olive oil and sprinkled dried oregano on good quality bread...Enjoy!

Coconut Buttermilk Cake

I've been a little obsessed with coconut lately - If you open my pantry you'll find coconut oil, coconut water, coconut milk...coconut flakes (in the fridge)...and shredded coconut - Yum!

My mum always make a super sweet, drenched-in-syrup, coconut cake.  Its one of my dad's favourite cakes so she makes it often but these days I prefer a coconut cake that is dense but still moist...almost like a sweet bread.
I found this recipe by Martha Stewart and it turned amazing - toasting the shredded coconut first that takes it to another (delicious) level!

1.5 cups shredded coconut toasted (slowly so it wont burn)
2 cups SR flour
1.5 teaspoons baking powder pinch salt
125g butter
1 cup caster sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 large eggs
1 cup butter milk
Cream the butter, sugar and then add the vanilla extract.  Add your eggs one at a time and beat well.   Fold in the sifted flour, salt and baking powder alternating with the buttermilk.
Lastly, fold in the shredded coconut.
Bake until golden in a preheated Moderate oven for about an hour.  Cool in the cake pan.
Serve warm and Enjoy!