Best Cherry Smoothie

Cherries not only are a beautiful summer fruit but they boost energy and are beneficial to the heart, muscles and nerves. They have anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and detoxifying properties.

This Creamy goodness is simply made with frozen cherries, mango and Strawberries and freshly blended with coconut water.
I added some raw chocolate nibs on top for extra flavour!

Easy and quick nutritious hummus

I have always loved hummus and even if it is easily and cheaply available in any store I prefer to make it at home. It is such a quick recipe to prepare and can be stored in the fridge for a few days.
Chickpeas are a staple food in many Mediterranean and North African countries. They are very nutritious, rich in calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorus and potassium. Chickpeas are antioxidant, antistress and lower cholesterol.

Hummus Ingredients

One tin of chickpeas
3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
5 tablespoons of water
Juice of one lemon
One handful of basil or mint leaves
1 tablespoon of tahini
salt to taste
1 teaspoon of cumin
Pepper or chilli (optional).

Method

Blend the chickpeas with lemon juice, salt, olive oil, water. Add tahini and basil or mint leaves and blend again to a smooth paste. Adjust the seasoning and place in a serving bowl. Garnish with mint or basil and sprinkle a little olive oil. Perfect if served with crudite’.

Basil smoothies

Being Italian, I have always used basil in a lot of recipes but never thought of tossing it to smoothies too. Then read about this idea on Women Health Magazine and decided to have a go!

Basil has got anti-bacterial and anti-inflammation properties. Flavor is fresh and sweet, yummy!

I have tried it in two different smoothies this week.

1. The first smoothie is made with cantaloupe, apples, pineapple, one handful of basil and chia seeds. Very sween and refreshing!

2. This is a very summery smoothie made with Peaches, Poly Pears, Blueberries, Hemp powder and… BASIL! Topped with coconut yogurt and extra blueberries.

 

Blitz and Enjoy x

Gluten free Italian Focaccia

This afternoon Italy is playing vs Costa Rica in  the 2014 Fifa World Cup and because we’ll be having Italian friends coming over to watch the match, I have decided to prepare a very easy and typical Italian appetizer: Focaccia with Cherry Tomatoes.

Gluten Free Italian Focaccia with Cherrry Tomatoes: Ingredients

• 300 g gluten free flour (I used the Doves Farm Gluten Free White Bread Flour
• 1 medium potato, boiled and mashed with a fork
• 1/2 tsp quick dry yeast
• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil plus extra for drizzling
• 1 tsp salt 
• 1 tsp  sugar
• 200 ml warm water
• 10/12 cherry tomatoes cut in half
• basil leaves
  

Method

1. Place the flour, salt, sugar, mashed potato, yeast, 2 tbsp pf olive oil and 150 ml of the water into a large bowl. Gently stir with your hand or a wooden spoon to form a dough then knead the dough in the bowl for five minutes, gradually adding the remaining water.
2. Stretch the dough by hand in the bowl, tuck the sides into the centre, turn the bowl 80 degrees and repeat the process for about five minutes.
3. Tip the dough onto an oiled work surface and continue kneading for five more minutes. Return the dough to the bowl, cover and leave to rise until doubled in size (approx 45 min).
4. Roll out the dough on a well-oiled baking sheet, place the tomatoes, add a pinch of salt and one / two tablespoons of oil. Bake in a preheated oven at 220 degrees for about 20 min. Add the fresh basil before serving.

Enjoy the focaccia and the match x

 

 

Green Juices: a great source of vitamins, minerals, enzymes and phytochemicals

So far I have always preferred smoothies to juices, because I didn’t like much the idea of wasting all the fruit’s pulp, skin and fiber.

However, I am currently reading a lot of interesting books about nutrition and healthy eating and among them The Gerson Therapy: the Proven Nutritional Program for Cancer and Other Illnesses.

According to Dr Gerson, juices  provide most of the vitamins, minerals, enzymes, phytochemicals and other nutrients essential to healing along with adequate
fluid intake.

In order to get started with juicing I began using a very easy, basic and sweet recipe before going into proper green juicing.

As first attempt I just used what was available in my pantry and balcony so simply juiced 2 apples, 1 piece of celery, about 1 cm of ginger and an handful of wild strawberries from my plants.

It was nice and sweet.

Last week I also went for the first time to the Good Life Eatery and tried their Green Salad Juice made with spinach, parsley, cucumber, kale, celery, romaine, ginger and lemon and must admit was not yet ready to drink it all as the flavour was really strong.

 

I’ll keep experimenting initially adding more fruit. Below an image found of Pinterest about the formula for green juicing, useful as guideline for fruit and vegs proportions.

Juice and Enjoy x

Raw Cacao Energy Balls. Perfect for Chocolate Cravings

According to a 2012 study by Leatherhead Food Research, Uk is the third of the top 20 chocolate consuming nations with a Per Capita chocolate consuption of 9,5Kg per year.

Considering that a regular chocolate bar is around 40-45 grams, this means that each person consumed almost 220 bars over the course of one year!

Despite not being on those levels, I have to admit that often I have chocolate cravings, especially now that I am pregnant. However, because I have completely removed caffeine and chocolate from my diet, I am coping with these cravings eating these yummy Raw Cacao Energy Balls.

 

This recipe is really quick and simple to make, my suggestion is to prepare quite a few of them as you can store them in the fridge for up to 10 days.

Raw Cacao Energy Balls Ingredients

• 1 cup almonds
• ¼ cup walnuts (or any other preferred nut)
• 5 medjool dates, pitted
• 2 tbsp raw cacao powder
• 1 tbsp coconut oil
• 1 tbsp water
• Pinch of salt
• 1 tablespoon of hemp protein powder
• 1 tablespoon of maca powder

Method

In a food processor blend the almonds and walnuts until they form a fine meal. Add all the other ingredients and blend until it comes together in a firm dough-like mix. If it is too dry, add a little more coconut oil.

Roll the mixture into small balls, either using an ice-cream scoop or your hands. If preferred, roll the balls in the cacao or seeds.

What we need when we crave chocolate? I found this table on Pinterest, showing what we should eat when we have food cravings.

Food Cravings: What to Eat Instead

Green Smoothies: basic, quick and healthy recipes

Drinking a green smoothie for breakfast might sound weird to a lot of people. The idea of having vegetables, and moreover green vegs, first thing in the morning when usually a strong coffe (and possibly a croissant or eggs) would appear the most obvious and fair alternative, is not easily accepted by many, my partner included.

However, after reading about the numerous healthy benefits of green smoothies, I have started to slowly introduce them in our family breakfasts. The result? Despite the green colour, the flavour is actually good and they have been well accepted by both my partner and my 3 years old daughter.

Below some of our favourite green smoothies recipes, all very easy and quick to prepare.  They are all sugar free and dairy free (I usually just use water for blending but if preferred any kind of milk is good too).

Green Smoothie Recipe 1: Spinach, Mango, Kiwi, Apple

Ingredients

• 1 mango
• 2 kiwis
• 2 apples
• 2 handful spinach
• 1/2 cup water or milk
• 1 tbsp hemp powder
• 1 tbsp baobab poweder
• fresh straberries for the topping

 

Green Smoothie Recipe 2: Kale, Banana, Kiwi, Cherry

Ingredients

• 2 (frozen) bananas
• 2 kiwis
• 1 handful kale
• 1/2 cup cherries
• 1/2 cup water, yogur or milk
• 1tbsp chlorella powder
• cacao nibs (or chocolate), coconut and cranberries for topping (I used one from my Graze weekly delivery called Bounty Hunter

 

Green Smoothie Recipe 3: Pineapple, Spinach, Apple, Kiwi

Ingredients

• 1/2 pineapple
• 2 apples
• 2 kiwis
• 2 handful of spinach
• 1 tbsp hemp powder

This image below, found on Pinterest, simply explains how to create a custom green smoothie and the ratio between ingredients.

For additional info about healthy benefits of green smoothies in your diet and recipe ideas I woul recommend this book

Blitz and Enjoy x

Perfect Pink Berry Smoothies

Spring is the season of glorious British berries, beautiful and delicious fresh raspberry and strawberries. I am quite addicted to them and lately have been adding them to all my meals and snacks, salads and risotto/pastas included.

This pink smoothie is a family favourite, so awesomely sweet and delicious, made with homemade almond milk. It is fully packed of Vitamin C and antioxidants, perfect for mums-to be and kids.

I am always adding baobab poweder to all my smoothies. Baobab is the closest thing there is to a natural multivitamin and is almost fifty percent fibre, so it has a whole raft of health benefits. Beside boosting energy levels Baobab is the highest ranking fruit in the antioxidant table with almost five times the antioxidant capacity of fresh acai berries and six times the vitamin C of an orange.
Baobab is safe for children and pregnant women, in Africa one of its traditional uses is as a substitute for mother’s milk because is a rich, non-dairy source of calcium and iron. (Info sourced from radiancecleanse.com).

Pink Berry Smoothie: Ingredients

• 2 frozen bananas
• 2 apples
• 2 kiwis
• 1 cup of raspberries and strawberries
• 1 cup of almond milk
• 1 tbsp hemp powder
• 1tbsp baobad powder
• 1 tsp chia seeds

Blitz and enjoy x

 

Raw Cacao and Maca Breakfast Smoothie

I haven’t updated this blog for ages. A lot has happened over the last few months but surely the biggest change is that I am pregnant, expecting my second baby! This time we decided not to know if it is to be a boy or a girl so in few weeks time, we’ll be having a sweet surprise.

The initial months of pregnancy have been a bit tough but now everything is going quite well. I have tried to improve a lot my diet to boost my energy levels and improve health and mood in general.

Breakfast has become surely my main and favourite meal of the day and it always includes a fruit or veg smoothie like this chocolate-y one made with Raw Cacao  and Maca powder. 

 

Raw Cacao is a powerful antioxidant with many health benefits. A mood improver, raw cacao is rich of magnesium and iron. Maca is rich in vitamin B, C, and E. It provides plenty of calcium, zinc, iron, magnesium, phosphorous and amino acids.
Maca increases your energy level & stamina.

Raw Cacao and Maca Smoothie: Ingredients

• 2 frozen bananas
• 2 apples
• 1/2 ripe avocado
• 1 teaspoon Maca
• 1 teaspoon Raw Cacao
• Cacao Paste (optional, for the topping)

Blitz & Enjoy x

 

Gluten Free Italian Aubergine Polpette

Cooking family recipes is a way to remember people you have loved and nice anecdotes of the past, mainly of childhood. I can still see my grandfather spending his Sunday mornings cooking for the family and mainly preparing polpette, Italian balls of goodness made with meat or aubergines.

I try to keep this family tradition here in London, cooking polpette for my daughter for Sunday lunches but making a healthier version, gluten free and baked, I can eat as well.

Gluten Free Italian Aubergine Polpette Ingredients

3 medium aubergines

1 cup of (gluten free) bread crumb

1 egg

3 tbsp grated Permesan cheese

1 clove finely chopped garlic

handful of fresh basil, finely chopped

1 tbsp pine nuts

salt

pinch of pepper or chilly (optional)

Method
1. Bake the aubergines in the oven at 200 degrees C for at least one hour or until tender. Once cooled, remove the skin off.
2. In a large bowl mix together the aubergine’s pulp with all the other ingredients, making sure the mixture is tender but firm.
3. Using your hands roll the mixture into balls with a 3/4 cm diamater and place them on a sheet tray.
4. Bake the polpette for 25/30 minutes in the oven at 180 degrees C, until golden brown.

For the gluten free bread crumb I blended 5 slices of DS Gluten Free rice and corn crackers.