Refreshing Summer Green Juice (Vegan)

Its summer time!....Well apparently... I personally haven't seen much sun in Newcastle which is a little depressing, and the weather has had me craving less salads and more winter food.

But on the odd occasion the sun does show its face, it's beautiful in North East England and this refreshing drink is perfect to go with the mood. I've just started growing my own herbs and used my mint from the garden in this recipe. I love creating my own recipes and look forward to creating more with my own home grown herbs, Ive just made a beautiful tomato sauce with basil and that'll be up on here soon.

For now enjoy this one.....

Ingredients (serves one)

• 1 Handful of Spinach
• 1 large slice of fresh Pineapple
•  Few sprigs of fresh mint 
• 1 teaspoon Spirulina 
• 1 teaspoon of Wheatgrass 
• 1 teaspoon Hemp Protein 
• and add a little water if its too thick for your liking

Blend it all up and off you go. Easy Peasy. 

Love Stace x

The Barbie Smoothie

You know you have your co-ordination skills on point when your meals match your outfits... Yes I'm being a little silly with this post...we can't be serious all the time! But when I made this up I was head to toe in bright Pink so thought I'd make a smoothie to match! This delicious smoothie, is a gentle wake me up, perfect for those in a rush! Looking sweet and innocent my Barbie Smoothie is a great breakfast which packs a punch with vitamins, but it also looks delicious too. I whizz mine up in the morning while doing my stretches and yoga.


 Ingredients (Makes 1)

• Handful Strawberries
• Handful Raspberries
• 300ml Unsweetened Almond Milk
• 2 tablespoons Oats
• 8 Cashew Nuts

Method

Whizz everything up in a blender and off you go!

Buckwheat Porridge (Vegan and Gluten Free)

Porridge the fuel to keep us going through the day....but why oh why is it so temperamental?! Either it ends up too dry and turns into cement like mixture or its over runny and more like a oaty soup then a thick creamy dish.

Ive done a Buckwheat Porridge Recipe (which I absolutely love at the moment). Hopefully my method should mean that we will always end up with that creamy porridge with a perfect consistency.

Buckwheat Porridge (seves 2)

• 60 g Buckwheat 
• 220ml dairy free milk (almond, coconut, soya)
• 100ml water

Toppings

• Handful Blueberries
• Hemp Seeds
• Pumpkin Seeds
• Flaxseeds
• Pine Nuts

Method
Soak the buckwheat in water overnight, this softens it up for the morning and makes it so much quicker for when your in a rush! Drain the water off and place in a pan with the dairy free milk/water and gently simmer for 10mins, stir occasionally to make sure non of the mixture sticks to the pan. If the temperature is too high the liquid might evaporate quickly and you'll need to add more! After 10mins the buckwheat should absorb the liquid and expanded into a creamy mixture. If you find you do have a bit to much liquid left, turn the heat up slightly and stir to make sure the buckwheat doesn't catch and burn.
Take off the hob and split between 2 bowls and I tend to top mine with fresh blueberries, hemp seeds, pumpkin seeds, flaxseeds and pine nuts. No need for added sweetness the blueberries should give you enough! 

Stace x

Breakfast Banana Superfood Bread! (Vegan and Gluten Free)

Yes I know its a mouthful but this Breakfast Banana Superfood Bread really is packed with goodness to set you up for a busy day ahead. With the use of Bananas for Potassium and Carbohydrates; Mixed Linseeds for Fibre, Vitamins and Omega 3's, Coconut flour for Fibre and Minerals, Chia seeds for Protein, Magnesium and Antioxidants, Walnuts for Vitamin E, B6, Folate, Melatonin, Antioxidants, and Omega 3's. Then Cinnamon for Anti-inflammatories and more Antioxidants! This bread really is packed full of Superfoods. No need for added sugars from dates/agarve or anything else, the sweetness from the bananas is all it needs.

This recipe is great for when you don't know what to do with left over bananas, mine were really ripe and almost black and are perfect for baking with.
The bread is quite dense and shallow, so I cut mine in thirds and halved it length ways for slices, then I have mine with a little almond butter on the top.

Oh and it fills the house with such a lovely smell!!




Ingredients ( 3 servings)

• 3 Bananas
• 2 tablespoons Oats
• 1 tablespoon Mixed Linseeds (got mine from ALDI for a bargain)
• 1 tablespoon Coconut Flour
• 1 tablespoon Chia Seeds
• 5 walnuts
• 1 teaspoon Cinnamon

Method
Gas Mark 220, Blend all bananas in a large bowl and add the dry ingredients (apart from chia seeds) and blend till a smooth mix in, mix in the chia seeds and leave to set for 10mins for the mixture to absorb and the chia seeds to swell up.
If you like your bread with added crunch don't blend up the walnuts, crush them instead and pop them into the mixture at the end.


Place the mix in a tin loaf (use greaseproof paper to make sure the mixture doesn't stick) and bake for 25mins at 220, until the top looks golden.

Leave to cool before turning out and slicing, sometimes the bread can be a little fragile.
Keeps for 3 days

Banana Split Breakfast

I've never ever liked banana splits. Loaded with sugary ice cream, whipped cream out of a can and dripping in chemical laden syrups just doesn't appeal to me.
This however is like a dessert for breakfast, except there are no artificial nasties and it's not loaded with proccessed sugars! This breakfast wonder is full of energy, nutrients, good fats and essential vitamins and minerals.

I made this up last week when I didn't know what to have for breakfast and thought I'd be a bit creative! Its fun, easy, and quick and I'm sure it would appeal to a lot of children (or child minded people like me) so if you're struggling to feed the little one fruit try this! I've used a selection of toppings and I've also mixed coconut and cinnamon together,  I really wasn't sure how it would turn out but the concoction is amazing and I'll definitely be trying to use these two ingredients together in more recipes.


Serves one

• 1 Banana (split length ways)
• 30g porridge
• 250ml of soya/nut milk
• 1 tablespoon tahini 
• 1 tablespoon agarve syrup
• 1 tablespoon coconut 
• For the toppings sprinkle over pumpkin seeds, slivered almonds, cinnamon, or anything else you like. 
• Handful of grapes (strawberries would work well)

Directions

Place the porridge and milk in a pan and simmer for 5mins until it turns thick, then turn off the heat. 

Split the banana length ways and place in the middle of a shallow bowl (too deep and it will snap). Using a tablespoon carefully pour the porridge in the middle of the banana in a neat line, then add the tahini and agave syrup on top (trying to be as neat as possible). Next sprinkle on the coconut and cinnamon, then add which ever toppings you like! Place the halved grapes down the side. 

Love Stace x