Pink milk smoothie

If you've ever seen Charlie and Lola or read the books, you'll know that pink milk is very very special. Unlike normal pink milk though, this yummy smoothie is also very healthy.

Serves 1

1 banana

handful of fresh raspberries

1-2 handfuls of strawberries

4 tbsp coconut yoghurt (I use Coyo brand)

Amber agave syrup (to taste)

250ml soy milk

1. Put all ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth.

2. Take in that pink milk deliciousness.

Happy drinking :)

What I'm drinking: green juices

So recently I blogged about cooking quinoa and dried beans for the first time. It was a shockingly un-vegan admission, that I had never cooked either of these foods before (I'm sure the gasps reverberated across the world as the news spread from vegan forum to vegan forum). Well hold onto your chairs because I'm about to drop another bombshell; I had also never made a green juice or cooked with kale before!

Now don't get me wrong, I'd eaten (and drank) these things before but I'd never actually made them myself. More due to our very very small student wages than anything else. Recently though, a lot of work has flowed my way and consequently the death-grip on our food budget has relaxed slightly. This means that we are now able to buy a whole load of different fruits at once, and at the same time, our local Woolworths has recently begun to stock kale. Yay!

So finally I was able to experiment with green juices. I didn't play around with the 'green things' (just stuck to the kale for the initial flavour experiments), but hopefully in future I can explore that as well. I did vary the types of fruit and fruit juices I put in though (note to self: don't use strawberries as the redness mixing with the green-ness makes for an unappetising brown-ness), and this one is my favourite so far:

1 banana

Large handful of blueberries

Large handful of kale

Juice of 1 freshly squeezed lemon

A bit of water

Another thing I experimented with was adding 3-4 tablespoons of cocoa powder to this particular juice (and leaving out the lemon juice). It was really yummy and would be great to try if you have little ones with an aversion to green juices!

I think that this would also be great with a bit of ginger added. Your could even make a ginger tea by boiling some grated ginger in water, straining the ginger out, putting the tea in the fridge, and then using that instead of water. I might have to try that myself actually!

I've been having these juices for breakfast and following them up with baked beans on an English muffin. I feel that my energy levels have really improved and so has my mood, ah the wonders of fresh produce!

Happy drinking! :)

Chocolate Breakfast Milk Recipe

Now in my opinion, anything that starts with 'Chocolate Breakfast' is already a winner. Sometimes I find that I don't have time to make AND eat breakfast though, or sometimes I'm just not that hungry. That's why I love smoothies, because even when you're in a rush or not feeling very hungry, you still need to eat something for breakfast. Lately my life has been a bit hectic and I've come up with this breakfast milk recipe, it's quick, easy, and surprisingly filling.

300ml soy milk
1 1/2 tbsp rolled oats
1 tbsp cocoa powder

1. Put all ingredients into a blender and pulse for a couple of minutes until smooth and combined. Drink immediately.

Variation: try adding half a banana and/or a scoop of chia seeds for a thicker more smoothie-like drink.

Happy drinking! :)

Tropical paradise smoothie recipe

We have been having freakishly warm weather for this time of year here in Adelaide so I've been getting about in shorts and t-shirts, hanging my washing out and getting it DRY, and enjoying the warm breezes and sunshine. All of this has got me feeling very summery and so this morning the Tropical Paradise Smoothie was born.

Serves 1

Flesh of 1 mango
Pulp of 1 passion fruit
1/2 banana (or you could use a so-tiny-it's-cute ladyfinger banana like I did!)
1 dessert spoon of dessicated coconut
2 tbsp vanilla soy ice-cream (coconut ice-cream or Coyo yoghurt would also be delicious)
1 cup breakfast juice (or you could use tropical or orange juice)

1. Blend it all up until smooth.

2. Drink it up with your eyes closed, pretending you're relaxing on the beach while on holiday in a tropical paradise. Your holiday is long and you have no worries in the world.

3. Sigh contentedly.

Happy eating (and drinking)! :)

No-egg nog

I don't know about you, but I'm a big eggnog fan. Too bad about the egg. Luckily I found this little beauty to keep me going over the Christmas season! The recipe is from The Joy of Vegan Baking by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau, which I highly recommend you buy!

Makes six 1/2 cup servings

340g silken tofu
1 ripe banana
2 cups soy milk
1/2 cup maple syrup
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp cardamom
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground cloves

1. Combine all of the ingredients in a blender until smooth. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour and serve chilled.

If you want to be naughty, you can also add 1/2-1 cup of rum, whiskey, cognac, or brandy - though I haven't tried that yet!

Happy drinking! :)

Strawberry breakfast smoothie

A nice quick breakfast for when you're just about to run out the door. It's tasty, filling, and has plenty of fibre ;) As with all smoothies, the amounts of ingredients really depend on your own tastes. I don't have a set recipe, I just add however much I want of everything. This recipe is a guide to be tweaked at your will!

1-2 handfuls of frozen strawberries
1/2 frozen banana
Handful of rolled oats
Handful pitted prunes
Generous sprinkle of chia seeds
Agave syrup or golden syrup
Soy milk

1. Put banana in blender and blend until no big lumps remain. Add stawberries, prunes, oats, chia seeds, agave or golden syrup to taste, and enough soy milk to just cover the rest of the ingredients.

2. Blend until smooth with no lumps remaining. Adjust amount of milk to suit if the smoothie is a bit thick. If it's too thin, add some more oats and blend again.

Summery Tropical Smoothie

Having just purchased a blender, I have been experimenting with smoothies. This is one that I invented and absolutely love. It's the perfect drink for the upcoming summer evenings.

Serves 1

Flesh of 1 mango
1/2 frozen banana
Flesh of 1 passion fruit
100-150ml natural orange juice (I use Nudie Nothing But 21 Oranges Juice with Pulp)
A few scoops of soy vanilla ice-cream (I use Sanitarium So Good)

1. Put all ingredients into a blender.

2. Blend.

3. Drink.

Mmmmm....

Happy drinking! :)