Posts Tagged With: smoothie

Chard, Coriander and Avocado Smoothie

P1000667

Quite a mad sounding smoothie, but we can’t get enough of it at the moment. It’s more of a breakfast pudding than a smoothie. You can drink it, but a spoon is probably the safer bet.

What we haven’t mentioned yet is that this smoothie is sweetened with banana, so its not all funky vegetal flavour, but actually well balanced and thick like beautiful green custard.

We experiment with all sorts of things in the blender and they normally work.  Kale is fine, some cabbages are hard to take (especially when sweetness is involved in the mix), asparagus is fine and spinach is a real hero, melding into all sorts of flavour combos.  Soaked nuts add dramatic richness, different milks are fun to play with and really anything that needs using up from the veg basket/ drawer can be smoothed out into something lovely and superbly nutritious.  It’s floppy leaf territory.

Recently we juiced a parsnip with excellent results.  Next up swede (rudabaga), which could prove quite a challenge.  Turnip juice sounds fresh and sweet……

I think  my body likes me even more when I give it a smoothie first thing, I can feel it smiling and appreciating the pureed magnificence.

Jane on a beach walk, near Bolunuevo, Mazzaron, Spain

Jane on a beach walk, near Bolunuevo, Mazzaron, Spain

The Bits – For 2

1 avocado (de-stoned), 1 bananas, glug of rice/ soya milk, 3 chard leaves (stems kept for a stir fry), handful coriander leaves (stems in or out)

Do It

Place all in a blender and blitz into a very thick smoothie.

Hands off!!!!!!!

Hands off!!!!!!!

Serve

We love it with a splash of milk on top, like a green pint of guiness, you can then mix the ‘head’ in with a spoon.  It also looks very cool (the importance of which is never underestimated in the BHK).

We Love It!

Thick and green, two things we always appreciate, add sweet to the mix and sold.

Foodie Fact

Coriander (or cilantro) hails from the Mediterranean and like all green things boasts an almost ridiculous amount of antioxidants.  It helps fight ‘bad cholesterols’ and has a brilliant range of vitamins.  Coriander  has one of natures highest levels of Vitamin K which helps us in so many ways, mainly assisting the bones in growth and repair.

Categories: Breakfast, Healthy Eating, Recipes, Smoothies | Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

Primitive Juice Man Conquers Mighty Mountain!

Primitive Juice Man - on the way up

Primitive Juice Man – on the way up

I did.  Two days ago I climbed the second highest mountain in Britain, Snowdown, which is just behind our house.   I climbed it in record time (for me) fueled only by a beetroot, carrot, apple and ginger juice.  Wahee!  Juice power.

Super Juice

The Super Juice

As many of you will know, the Beach House is tucked away in the valleys of Wales, overlooking Anglesey and the Llyn Peninsula.  We have the most spectacular views and on days like today, when the skies are clear, I can see some of my favourite landscape anywhere.

Britian is experiencing a  heat wave at the moment and we are getting some of it, with temperatures in the mid 20’s for the past two weeks.  The garden is loving it (post to come soon) and our veg patch is looking amazing.

RAW EARTH MONTH UPDATE

The weather has come at the perfect time for our Raw Earth Month and it is definitely salad and smoothie weather at the moment. The only down side to a proper British summertime is that I get chronic hayfever, which is a huge drag.  We have consulted Jane’s homeopathic/ magician friend and she is sending up some remedies as we speak, hopefully this will stop my sniffles.

We are going to extend our Raw Earth month by two weeks, we are loving it!  The candle light at nights is perfect as it doesn’t get dark until 10ish anyway.  It adds a very peaceful feel to the house and there is something timeless about reading by flickering candlelight.  Handwashing our clothes has been interesting.  It takes a while and a little effort, but with the sun out and a special herbal soap, we are getting great results.

We have been making once a week trips in the car to pick up our amazing veg box from some wonderful people a couple of valleys away, full of the finest organic produce and the courgettes are coming thick and fast at the moment!

 

One thing we are using alot is the dehydrator.  Jane is taking full advantage of the abundant herbs and wildflowers at the moment and we are drying them for use in teas and infusions.  We realise that it uses a bit of electricity, but know that we will have to buy less in the long run.  It seems to at least balance out.

We watched an interesting documentary recently ‘No Impact Man’ about a guy giving up many things in a one year project, in the centre of New York.  We can draw alot of parallels with Colin and his family, but we are lucky to live in the country and have no TV anyway!  We are well from many temptations up here on the hill, no restaurants, bakeries or cafes.  No cinemas, shops, pubs!   It would be alot more difficult to do this kind of thing in a city.  Hats off to Colin and his family for sticking to it and setting an amazing example, his project became huge and was all over the media.  I am sure it made a big impact and they seemed to be having a good time doing it, which is surely the main thing!

I think we’d do this all again, especially the raw food part.  We are consuming alot less, recycling most of our water on the garden and generally life has slowed down.  So far, the experiment is going well and the sun is shining.  What more could you want!

View from the bottom - Snowdon, Nantlle Side.

View from the bottom – Snowdon, Nantlle Side.

View of Nantlle Valley from Snowdon

View of Nantlle Valley from Snowdon

What has this got to do with food you may ask?  Very good question.  I guess it highlights the fact that you don’t need a full English/ Welsh breakfast and 5 mars bars to go walking in the hills and that juices are super cool and full of energy.

I also realise that the weather is chilly in some parts of the world now (Tasmania especially I hear!) and it is surely nice to look at little wet Wales bathing in glorious sunshine for a change!  Long may it continue…..

OK, heres something food related, todays smoothie.  It’s a:

Green Banana, Coconut and Almond Smoothie

Makes one large jugful, enough for three glasses:

The Bits

2 bananas, 2 cups coconut milk (watered down), 1 apple, 1 cup cucumber, 3 cups spinach, 1 cup soaked almonds, 2 teas green powder (barley powder, spirulina), 1 cup grapes, 1 lime (juice and zest)

Do It

In the blender and blend, scrape down the side, blend, scrape down the sides and blend…….repeat until all is smoooooth.

Banana, Coconut, Almond and Spinach Smoothie

Banana, Coconut, Almond and Spinach Smoothie

We Love It!

Very sweet and filling smoothie, packed full of nutrition.  Anything green is great.

Foodie Fact

Spinach is regarded by many as the best thing you can eat.  Ever.  We agree.  Not only does it taste so, so good, it contains more iron than beef, pound for pound.

Categories: 'The Good Life', Healthy Living, Raw Food, Smoothies | Tags: , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Nourishing Banana Smoothie

Banana Smoothie

Eat your greens.  Now they are real words of wisdom.

A clean and fresh smoothie that feels so good on the way down.  A green smoothie a day is a huge step in the right direction for a zinging, healthy approach to living, especially in the morning time when our body needs some real t.l.c.

This was a part of my little detox spell which went incredibly well.  It always amazed me, when we inhibit or restrict our diet in anyway the cravings or desire for that food just slips away.  That’s me anyway, I think I’m a lucky one!   When I make a clear decision to give up something that is blatantly not doing me any good (we all know what they are……booze, coffee, lots of fatty, processed foods) my body respects that decision and responds in a very positive way.  It is such a reassuring step in the right direction.

Smoothies do most of the breaking down that our bodies would normally do, making nutrients readily accessible to be snapped up by our bodies and make us shine.  This is why they’re such a wonderful thing early in the day.

This smoothie is so simple and effective for a morning super boost.  You can play around with the fruit and veg, just keep the quantities the same and don’t add and citrus fruit (remember the Raw No No’s!).

I always try and pack as much spinach into the blender as possible, I normally add the spinach last as it does not blend well.  As a rule, add your juicy bits first to the blender.

This smoothie recipe is taken from the raw food book ‘Live Raw’ by Mimi Kirk which I can recommend highly.  Mimi is a real foodie and some of the dishes would grace any fine dining restaurant (not that  they have anything to do with real food).

GOOD MORNING to you all……….

The Bits

2 bananas, 4 stalks of celery, 1 apple (quartered), 3 handfuls of spinach, 1/2 cucumber (cut in half), 1 1/2 cups of filtered water (add to your liking, ice will be nice in hot places)

Do It

Add all to a blender and blitz until nicely smooth.

Serve

In your finest glassware, add a slice of fruit of vegetable to give it that special finish, you can use it to scrape out the leftovers in the glass.

Foodie Fact

A good tip with fruits is, freeze them.  If you have a glut of something, get it in the freezer and use it whenever you like.  Great in smoothies as it gives them that lovely chilled touch.

Categories: Breakfast, Detox, Healthy Eating, Raw Food, Recipes, Smoothies, Vegan | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Apricot, Avocado and Kiwi Smoothie

Apricots

Today’s smooth one came out rather nice. The richness of avocado and the zing of kiwi, with the touch of sweetness from the apricot. A well-balanced cup of goodness.

Jane and I had just taken a long walk down to Trigonos Organic Farm in the nearby Nantlle valley.  It has been an absolutely stunning day in the hills.  We popped down to see Pete and the gang and also managed to pick up some delicious little onions, carrots and potatoes.  Pete grows some really interesting, rare varieties.

Down on the farm, Trigonos (taken in April with snow on the hills)

It is all go down there at this time of year, as it is in our own garden and we are picking up many tips from the wise bunch at Trigonos.  Today we learnt to always water your seedlings at night, especially when sunny.  There seems so many do’s and dont’s when it comes to gardening, I have just been sticking seeds in pots and the earth and hope for a bloom.  We shall see…

Nantlle Valley and a black pony

So smoothies.  We needed something filling, I was shooting off to work , so this is a nice thick one, reminiscent of a milkshake with its creaminess, but without all that fat.  Avocados are excellent for this, creaminess without the cow.  I’m sure all vegans will agree!

Happy blending!

The Bits

Makes enough for two cups:

1 avocado (seeded and scooped out), 4 apricots (de-stoned), 2 kiwis (peeled and quartered), 1 cup of soya milk (or milk of your choice)

Do It

In the blender, blitz for a short time until smooth.

Serve

In the nicest glasses available, will also make a delicious smooth topping for a fruit salad or dessert (ie CAKE!), you may need to add a little something sweet to the mix, maybe honey or dates would be nice.

Foodie Fact 

Avocados are technically berries and are sometimes called alligator pears.  They contain a wide range of vitamins and fat (good fats, they’re full of fibre), which is actually a good thing for raw foodist.  We will be needing alot of avocados in a few days (see raw June)!  Avocados actually help your nutrition absorption by up to 300-400%.

Apricot, Avocado and Kiwi Smoothie

Categories: Desserts, Garden, gluten-free, Healthy Eating, Local food, Raw Food, Recipes, Smoothies | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Pear and Peanut Smoothie

Rampant Azaleas

This one was made to top the Sunbeam Fruit Salad but is delicious served straight up.

We needed something creamy, so I was dragged away from the juicer for a day.  It was time for a smoothie.

The peanut butter adds a lovely creaminess and bags of energy and the kiwi has a nice sharpness to it.  Pears are always buttery and bitty.

It is vegan and supercharged to get you buzzing come the morn.

This is enough for 2 glasses (and one left for later).  Just peel the kiwi, the rest is best with skins and seeds in we think.

The Bits

2 pears (chopped), 1 large apple (chopped), 1 handful of spinach leaves, 2 kiwi fruits, 1 large tbs of chunky peanut butter (organic, with not too much salt), 2 cups of soya milk (or the milk of something that you prefer).

Do It

Pop all in a blender and blitz up until smooth.

Pear and Peanut Smoothie

Serve

Over a fruit salad or in your finest wine glass.

We Love It!

I love peanuts, so the more the merrier!  Spinach adds a great deep green.  We have missed the chunks (far too much juicing recently).

Foodie Fact

Pears are actually a member of the rose family and are full of good fibre.

Patterns in the sand near the Beach House

 

Categories: Breakfast, photography, Raw Food, Recipes, Smoothies, Vegan | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Sunbeam Fruit Salad

Blooming great rhododendrons. It’s finally May!

The perfect fruit salad!?

Impossible to tell really, but it certainly hit our spots.

This is not what you would call a seasonal wonder, more a bargain basement bonanza!!!  This is a salad for when you have a glut of fruit that needs eating soon.  Its totally OTT and befitting of my birthday weekend, when excess is embraced.

This fruity number is very delicious and perfect for this morning in wonderful Wales.  It’s a glorious day, full of sunbeams, the birds are singing and Buster (a cat) is lounging in the herb garden.  Everybody is out in their gardens, wondering what on earth to do.  You realise the importance of our sun when it is hidden behind grey clouds for many months.  When it returns, it has an incredible effect on people; they go outside, they begin to re-connect with the light (sun).  We all start shining!

We have this type of salad most mornings, a mixture of fruit and vegetables topped by a thick smoothie.  It keeps us going for most of the day, brimmed full of goodness.   Jane and Mum went shopping this weekend (Mum was visiting for my birthday, which was an amazing time, the best birthday I’ve had since I was 9 years old and organised a mass football match on the local park and had a cake shaped like the FA cup) and chanced upon some amazing bargains in the fruit section.  Organic blueberries, apricots etc for 20p a pack!  Its capitalism gone mad!    We have not seen fruit like this for many, many months and their return has a similar effect to the return of our beautiful sunshine.

Top tip – I have been making these beauty salads for a while now and if there is one tip that I would offer to you lovely people it is this, use a clean board.  Sounds obvious, but the slightest hint of garlic or onion on a board can spell disaster for the subtle flavours of your fruits.  We have a separate board for all things fruit.

If you think that mixing fruit and vegetables in salad is a little weird, perhaps it is, but it is delicious.  Carrots are very sweet and celery has a lovely mild flavour.  They both add real bite to proceedings.

The Pear and Peanut smoothie topping recipe will follow on the next post.  This makes enough for two massive bowls.

Bumble bees get busy with bluebells

The Bits

We used our selection of fruit and veg here, but you can of course have a play and use what is in season or any good stuff that you can get your hands onto.  Mix in seeds/ nuts for added crunch and texture, a citrus fruit to add a little tang, the addition of flax seeds really helps your digestion:

2 apricots (de-pipped and diced), 1 big handful of blueberries, 1 apple (diced), 1 pear (diced), 1 orange (peeled and diced), 2 kiwis (peeled and diced), 3 carrots (chopped), 2 sticks of celery (chopped), 1/2 handful of roasted sunflower seeds, 2 tbs flax seeds, 1/2 handful of roasted hazelnuts, 1 handful of chopped mint (chopped)

Do It

Grab your favourite salad bowl, chop all bits up into your favourite shapes, mix then all in gently and top with your smoothie (see next post).  Serve liberally with smiles.

Serve

In bowls of the size that befit the mouths to feed.  In the Beach House, this means big bowls!

The Sunbeam Fruit Salad

We Love It!

Really, what’s not to like here!  The perfect way to start the day.

Foodie Fact 

Blueberries are a sign from nature that snacking has always been OK.  They are one of the original grab and go foods!!!!  Served straight from the bush.  I am so glad to have these back in my life, they are real burst of incredible nutrition.  I love their dark colour, it adds brilliant contrast to any dish it touches.

They contribute amazingly to our health, that dark purple colour is thanks to some wonder pigments that are full of antioxidants.   They contain some of the highest levels of antioxidants in the plant world.  They limit free radical activity and actually regulate our blood sugar levels.

Categories: 'The Good Life', Breakfast, Garden, Healthy Eating, Nutrition, Organic, photography, Raw Food, Recipes, Salads, Snacks and Inbetweens | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 15 Comments

Melon, Avocado and Mint Smoothie

Delhi Melon

We had a good looking melon on the windowsill for a while, what to do……get it in a smoothie.  Gwen and Dan were vising the Beach House and this went down very nicely one good breakfast time.
It’s fresh but rich, light and green.  Its a mellow combo.
Makes enough for four glasses of goodness.

The Bits
1/2 honeydew style melon, 1 avocado (doesn’t matter which type, they’re all nice), 1 sweet apple, 1 stick of celery, handful of mint leaves, 1/2 peeled cucumber, 3 cups of soya milk (milk of your choice), add yoghurt for richness (not needed).

Do It
In a blender, blend.

Serve
Deserving of your finest glasses and bestest friends!

We Love It!
This is a rich and refreshing smoothie that has a lovely subtle flavour.

Foodie Fact
Avocado will not only keep you nice and fat (in a good fat way), it also has many vitamins and minerals. Lots of monosaturated fats here and vitamin K which keeps your bones solid and blood well-clotted.

FRIEND

Categories: Breakfast, Raw Food, Recipes, Smoothies, Snacks and Inbetweens, Vegan | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

RAW! The Beach House goes raw in June

Fancy a juice?

The Beach House Kitchen is going RAW for June (maybe longer).  We are really looking forward to the challenge and the obvious health benefits. Our inspiration for this was a great man named Rob, his enthusiasm for all things raw convinced us to give it a go.

I have some experience with raw food, but would love some advice/ tips/ recipes from avid raw ones.  Any ideas would be brilliant.

We are planning to acquire a good juicer/ blender and are fortunate to have a few good organic producers nearby, we may look on-line to get some ingredients in.  It won’t all just be juices, I plan on making cakes, raw soups, stews etc.  It really is a very diverse and little known area of cooking (or non-cooking).  I fully expect a surge in energy levels and a full dose of shiny energy.

All tempting food stuffs will be banished to the garage, the cravings will be tough for the first few days I’m sure.  Better that the muesli and coffee is kept under lock and key.

This may sound strange to non-raw folk, but your energy levels go through the roof when you cut out cooked and carbs.  We will be going down the raw vegan route, so the lack of dairy gives the system a rest also.  One of the primary reasons for the surge in energy is that so much of our energy is diverted to digest the food that we are getting energy from. It’s a roundabout process. Raw food cuts out the work of digestion and leaves the energy to flow to other parts of the body, most notably the brain. You get a real buzz from the raw diet and creativity levels soar.

Here is good Rob’s raw food site, with excellent information on all things raw and juice:

http://www.squidoo.com/raw-food-today#module154034673

I know Rob is a big fan of Matthew Armstrong, so I checked out his stuff.  He is certainly an active chap with bags of energy:

This clip goes some way to dispelling the theory that raw foodists suffer from a lack of energy!

We will be keeping a daily (I hope) blog on the Beach House Kitchen about all of our antics, struggles and successes.  I hope you join us for the ride.

Categories: Detox, Healthy Eating, Healthy Living, Juices, Raw Food, Smoothies, Vegan | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Bitter Apple and Banana Smoothie


An improvised number, but a good one.

This was one Bramley apple that was hanging around and a nice ripe banana. A great combo of sweet and bitter to get the palate going in the morning.  If you’d like a real filling smoothie, add a handful of oats.  If you fancy a rich smoothie, add yoghurt.

So it’s a slice of bitter England meeting sweet Costa Rica.

This is enough for two cups of goodness.

The Bits

One chopped Bramley (cooking) apple, one banana, 2 cups of soya milk (or whatever milk you prefer), a blob of good yoghurt (optional).

Do It

Stick it all in a blender and give it a whizzzzzzzzzzzzz.

We Love It

It’s a good way to use our abundance of Bramley apples at the minute, there’s only so much apple pie you can eat!

Foodie Fact

The first Bramley Apple tree grew in Nottingham, England 1809 (how is this known!)  and is named after a butcher named Matthew Bramley.

Nottinghams finest!

Categories: Breakfast, gluten-free, Raw Food, Recipes, Smoothies, Vegan | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Buzz Smoothie

The Morning Zing!

It’s called ‘The Buzz’ for a reason.  It’s a real lipsmacker!

This beats a double espresso buzz any day.  One glass and you’re de-fuzzed.  After drinking this concoction, the fruit sugars (fructose) and vitamins get to work and the morning coffee jolt seems a little beige in comparison.

It’s a vibrant looking number and bursting with citrus, sweet apple and carrot flavours.  Packed full of all the good stuff that you need in the morning to get you fired up for another day of life.  It’s a wake up call for the body and mind.

We don’t have a juicer (yet) so we blitz it all up in a food processor.  I imagine these ingredients will make an amazing juice, maybe you’ll need to throw in another carrot or so.

Organic fruit and veg will make all the difference in your juices and smoothies with bags more flavour and juice, even if they cost a few pennies more.  They will definitely have more nutrients in them, keeping your insides and outside in better condition.  After visiting a few shops in Spain, I feel fortunate that we have the choice of organic in Britain.  The carrots in this were particularly special, from Hootons Homegrown, Farm Shop on Anglesey (thats in Wales for global readers).  We are blessed with some amazing producers in these parts.

Enjoy responsibly, this is full-on juice!

This recipe will make enough for 4 glasses of what is more a chunky juice than a smoothie.  We keep some in the fridge for later, it’s so full of good things that it takes care of any mid-morning hunger pangs.

The Bits

All chopped into chunks – 1 apple (unpeeled), 1 carrot (unpeeled), 2 oranges, 1 grapefruit (a squeeze of lemon if you really want a hit!), 2 cups of filtered water (or 1 cup of water, 1 1/2 cups of ice)

Do It

Put it all in a blender and whizz it up.  Taste and add more water if needed.

We Love It!

The colour alone helps get my juices going.  We like the balance of sweet and acidic in this one.

Foodie Fact

Grapefruit (Citrus Paradisi or Paradise Citrus in Latin) is full of vitamin C.  On average, half a grapefruit contains 75% of your required Vitamin C for the day.  It also contains the super antioxidant lycopene.

Without getting to grim and technical, eating more grapefruit (and Organic fruit and vegetables) lessens your chances of catching things and dying in general.  Hooray!

The usual suspects

Categories: Breakfast, gluten-free, Juices, Low G.I. (glycemic index), Organic, Raw Food, Recipes, Smoothies, Snacks and Inbetweens, Vegan | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Super Spinach Smoothie

A shot of pure green goodness

This smoothie will kick any day off with a natural sugar hit and good dosing of iron to wake you up and feed your sleepy body.  Sweet and smooth with an iron fix.

It is so simple and quick to make and is Janes favourite morning booster.  You won’t be craving biscuits for elevensies either, the banana will see you through!

The Bits

1 1/2 bananas per person (ideally, I have two because I’m like a sloth in the morning)

2 tbsp coconut cream

Two good handfuls of spinach

A splash of water (to get it all blended nicely)

Need balast?  Add a handful of oats.

Do it

Stick it all in your blender and whizz until smooth.

Serve

Jane eats it from a bowl with a spoon, topped with some finely sliced veggies, celery is nice.  I glug from a glass, which is scrapped out after with a spoon.

We Love It

Its so easy and nutritious and its very green!

Foodie Fact

Spinach is famous as a good source of iron, but surprisingly not as good as much as most beans, lentils, nuts and seeds.  Even a dried apricot has more iron!.

Bananas are packed with natural fruit sugar (frustose), the highest of any fruit by a jungle mile.  This is still relatively low compared to most maufactured sweet foods.  They are great for the digestive system, with lots of fibre and also rich in Vitamin C and Potassium.

Categories: Breakfast, gluten-free, Raw Food, Recipes, Smoothies, Vegan | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

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