Express Post: Cosy Almond Oats

Quantities for 1 adult. Half portions for children.

• 1 cup jumbo organic oats 
• 1/4 cup ground almonds
• a few dates and dried apricots, chopped
• 1.5-2  teaspoons almond extract (this is what gives it the kick)
• 1 cup of boiling water, poured over all of the above

Leave to sit for 1-2 minutes. Add a small chopped banana, a droozle of honey or syrup, and if you’re strange like me, some chia gel from the fridge.

Because when it is “Midsummer” and freezing outside with driving wind and rain, and your kids have eaten all the cherry-and-berry spelt pancakes, you need something cosy for breakfast!

DELICIOUS.

Banana Pops- You have to try these!

If you follow this blog you may have noticed how much I love the following combinations:

1. Fruit and greens for nutritious smoothies

2. Cashews and water for a blended silky smooth neutral-slightly-sweet “cream”

3.Bananas and a freezer for “I can’t believe this is only a banana!!”

Frozen bananas really do take on the most decadent creamy texture so that my Dad even asked “Are you SURE you haven’t added anything to this ice-cream- JUST bananas??”  It’s fairly easy to whip up- but you need to have pre-sliced your RIPE bananas, and then blend them to a creamy soft-serve in your mini chopper. While it takes a mere ten minutes, you have to love this recipe today, it’s even quicker and NO APPLIANCES NEEDED!

1.Peel banana, cut in half if desired

2.Insert wooden skewer or lollipop stick

3.COAT IT!  I was just finishing off a batch of peanut butter cups made with coconut oil chocolate and I used the left-over chocolate (much to Amelia’s annoyance!) You can also coat them in a little maple syrup or thinned down honey, and then roll, roll roll. Perhaps in some dessicated coconut? Or some pecans and cinnamon? granola? Some melted dark chocolate if you don’t go for coconut oil chocolate?

Allow me to present my first ever banana pops, which would look decidedly better if I had had something more exciting to roll them in, and if the chocolate hadn’t been almost set when I had this idea. (Left hand pop has a coating of peanut butter under that gloopy dogs-dinner chocolate coating. Messy, but yum!

Still- here are some little beauties, courtesy of Pinterest. Good old Pinterest.

For a super-dooper healthy one, roll in coconut, carob chips, or chopped dried fruit (www.organicauthority.com)

Or you can coat in sweeter alternatives, still safe in the knowledge that your ice cream is a banana! (www.bakersroyale.com)

Oh TOO CUTE! These are coated in white chcolate, and you could also do it with sweetened natural yogurt or (you know what I am going to say-) sweetened cashew cream! (www.skinnytaste.com)

This version is from “peas and thank you” blog (www.peasandthankyou.com) dipped in fruit yogurt

OR- banana slices for super-cute little “pops”. (Unfortunately the link on pinterest had broken for the source of this photo, it was http://www.quirkymomma.com)

Are you all inspired??!

No mini chopper needed, amazing texture, SO easy, great  fun to make with the kids, and you can go 100% natural by coating with nuts and dried fruit, or add a sweeter coating and call it a gosh darn good compromise, frankly. Now all we need is some more sun. Please tell me that wasn’t our summer!!!

Bircher Muesli

Well if we are going to be pedantic, this is a re-hashed version of this post: Overnight Oats. Only Bircher Muesli sounds posher.

Swiss physician Maximilian Bircher-Benner introduced muesli to the patients in his hospital, of which an essential part of the therapy was a diet rich in fruit and vegetables. As a lover of plant-foods, I love this last point, and as a linguist, I love that “muesli” is the diminutive form of “mues” meaning “puree” or “mash-up”. It consisted in soaking oats and fruit (generally grated apple), and it was often served with lemon juice and sweetened condensed milk because of fears of bovine tuberculosis in regular milk (pasteurisation and refridgeration not commonly available)

Not sure if sweetened condensed milk (though delicious) would now be considered an integral part of therapeutic diets, but I am sure it was preferable to bovine TB. And after all, they didn’t have blenders to make almond milk with.   🙂

Muesli is the “lazy mans granola”- a great way to enjoy home-made goodness that is not tecnically “made”- just thrown into a bowl!  Traditionally the oats are left in soak overnight to soften them, but principally to break down the “phytic acid” which is an anti-nutrient.So basically- what I always say about juices and smoothies: I am not sure you can call this a “recipe”- you just mix up what you like, and therein lies the beauty of it.  It takes a matter of seconds, it just requires you to remember the night before. In a pinch- leave it all all in soak in the early morning for 1-2 hours,  and enjoy a lateish breakfast.

yum, for real.

 

This particular bowl had:

• 1 cup of jumbo organic oats
• 3 dried apricots, snipped
• flaked almonds
• 1 Tablespon chia seeds (more on these another day: they are the flecks that look like poppy seeds)
• 1/2 a grated apple
• sunflower seeds

Soaked in home-made almond milk overnight.

Serve with extra sweetness- honey, maple syrup etc  Though if you want to go for natural sweetness, chopped bananas and date paste (recipe via this link) work amazingly, and help maintain stable blood sugar levels better.  I had some date paste made and added a large spoonfull and it made it perfect.

 

I can confirm this was de-lightful. Isaac can too 🙂

Hooray for posh re-hashes!

Hooray for oats!

Hooray for physicians before their time!

And hooray for something hearty and filling on a cold day, when (*forheavenssake!!*) we should be eating fresh fruit!

🙂

 

Lime and coriander salsa

Behold: the colours of nature!!

When health professionals advise us to eat a “rainbow” of fresh produce every day, it really is possible, and is a truly sensory experience. So gorgeous!! I have a special love for purple coloured veggies as I mentioned in a previous post (here). The original recipe for this salsa (which comes from my mexican friend) is made with white cabbage and white onion, but my fridge was happily endowed with their purple siblings. So, purple salsa it was!  This salsa is DELICIOUS heaped over rice and bean dishes, and I ate mine with the leftover Jamaican rice. I will eat some more again today with the leftover rice and chickpeas from last night. I am still reeling that my girls ate it without a fuss, Amelia even picked out the chickpeas with her fingers and popped them into her mouth like sweeties.

Like I say: reeling…. (Couldn’t even bear to call her up for table manners. Don’t judge me)

No quantities. Simply chop and dress!

• Cabbage (white or red)
• Onion (white or red)
• Garlic (1-3 cloves, chop rather than press for a less intense flavour)
• Flavoursome tomatoes
• Fresh lime juice
• Plenty of chopped coriander leaf (cilantro)
• A bit of extra virgin olive oil, and sea salt to taste

Leave it to sit for at least a few hours. The longer the better. Mmmmmm!! If you hate coriander, I am sure this would be great with other fresh herbs.

Every time I eat this I am transported back to Ecuador where lime and coriander is everywhere. Like I said, this is SO delicious over rice/beans, and combines wonderfully with fish and seafood aswell. Bon appetit friends…or should I say, buen provecho!  Don’t forget to thank for colourful vegetables  🙂