Popeye Inspired Smoothie - Spinach, Satsuma, Banana and Homemade Apple Juice Booster

 I don't usually like posting smoothies and juice drinks as they're so simple to make and require very little culinary expertise. This one however, was too good to exclude. As always, dairy-free and gluten-free...just pure goodness!

Ingredients (makes 3 small glasses)

- 1 1/2 bananas

- 3 handfuls fresh spinach leaves

- 1 satsuma or orange

- 6 tbsp healthy apple juice (I used 'Diana's Discovery' - apples picked by myself and my lovely mumma)

1. This shows just how simple delicious homemade juices can be. Wack all the ingredients into a tall blender or food processor and whizz until smooth and liquidy. If you want the drink to stretch further, either add another satsuma or a couple more tablespoons of apple juice.

Apple, Cinnamon and Apricot Porridge with Soya Yoghurt and Blueberries

I can't get enough of this porridge!

Ingredients (for one)

- 40g plain porridge oats

- 1/2 tbsp unsalted butter

- 1 1/2 - 2 tsp dark brown sugar

- 1 apple, chopped into similar sized pieces (skin is optional)

- a handful of blueberries or chopped banana

- 4 apricots, chopped

- 1 - 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon (depending on taste)

- 2 tbsp water

- milk

1. Start by melting the butter in a saucepan, then add the chopped apple and cook for one minute. Put in both the sugar and cinnamon and stir continuously until the apples start to soften. If they are starting to burn, add a little water.

2. Pour in the porridge oats, water, and cover them with milk. Keep stirring and adding milk (if needed), until the porridge oats are fully cooked and at your desired consistency. Then add the chopped apricots and stir a final time.

3. Finish it off with a spoon of yoghurt (and 1/2 tsp brown sugar if you've got a sweet tooth), a sprinkle of cinnamon, and any desired fruit.

Apple and Prune Crumble

There were some leftover tinned prunes that needed eating, and tonnes of windfall apples in the garden, so this crumble was a serious experiment. Having searched 'Apple and Prune Crumble' online, I wasn't successful. Therefore this might be the only recipe out there!

Ingredients (serves 8)

for the crumble base -

- 4 small/medium apples, peeled and chopped

- 7 tinned prunes, pitted

- 2tsp water

- 4 tsp prune juice from tin

- 1 dessert spoon golden syrup

- 1 tsp cinnamon

for the crumble topping - 

- 170g plain flour

- 75g demerara sugar

- 25g porridge oats

- 75g unsalted butter, softened

- 10g goji berry flaxseed (optional)

- 10g pumpkin seeds

- 1 tsp cinnamon

1. Start by pre heating the oven to 180°c. Choose a suitable dish and place the apples inside. Cover them with the water, prune juice and golden syrup, then stir. Finally, sprinkle over the cinnamon and place the prunes on the top.

2. Place all the ingredients for the crumble topping into a bowl and blend with your hands until the butter has broken into small bits and combined with the mixture. (Tip - Your fingers should be dirty and your palms should be clean. Lift the mixture up with your finger tips to let the air in).

3. Once the crumble topping is ready, pour it evenly over the crumble base.

4. Put the crumble in the oven and cook for 30-40 minutes until golden. Serve how you wish - hot or cold.

Scrumptious September Blackberry Tray Bake

After a stinted start to September blackberries, a delicious bowl was finally picked. This is the best blackberry recipe I have made to date, and I wanted to share it's scrumptiousness with you all. Due to the fact that blackberries don't cost a penny, the apple was from our garden, the free-range eggs were bought down the road for next to nothing, and the rest of the ingredients equate to as little as £1, this is a highly economic and cheap cake! Unfortunately it is not my own creation, I nabbed it from the Tesco Mag website, the original recipe can be found here: http://img.tesco.com/todayattesco/cookbook/archive/apple_blackberry_tray_bake.shtml 

Ingredients (makes 12 pieces)

- 100g softened butter

- 175g self-raising flour

- 1tsp baking powder

- 170g caster sugar

- 2 eggs

- zest of one lemon

- 1 Cox apple, peeled, cored and diced (or as an alternative you can use tinned pears, around 4 pear halves)

- 150g blackberries, rinsed

1. Start by preheating the oven to 190°c and line a shallow 20cm square cake tin with baking parchment (I used a glass 20 x 15cm dish instead). 

2. Place all the ingredients, apart from the apple and blackberries, into a large bowl and mix with a wooden spoon until smooth.

3. Next, stir the apple and blackberries into the mixture and spread evenly into the prepared tin. Bake for 30-40 minutes, until the centre is firm to touch and a knife comes out clean.

4. Remove the cake out of the tin by picking out the baking parchment, and leave to cool on a wire rack.

http://instagram.com/p/em3Mgyuks1/

Apple and Cinnamon Overnight Oats with Vanilla Yoghurt, Goji Berries and Apricots

Ingredients (breakfast for one - fills a medium jam jar)

- 1/3 plain porridge oats

- 1 large tbsp flaxseed (find my recipe a few posts down)

- 2 tbsp vanilla yoghurt 

- 2 apricots, chopped

- 1 very small apple (or half a medium apple), grated

- 1 tsp flaked almonds

- 1 tsp sunflower seeds

- 1 tsp pumpkin seeds

- 1 tbsp goji berries

- 1 tsp raisins or sultanas

- 1 tsp linseeds

water (about 1-2 tbsp)

- 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

- 1-2 tsp golden syrup or jam

Overnight oats is so simple and delicious, I'd eat it every morning if I could. I have continued to experimented with this apple version, and I think I've hit the jackpot! All the seeds and currents add extra flavour and texture, the goji berries are also a great addition as they absorb the water, soften and become super juicy.

1. Place everything apart from the water into a suitable jam jar, and stir the mixture with a spoon. Depending on the size of the jar, you may have to reduce the quantities of seeds or berries.

2. Once the mixture gets too thick, gradually add some water, a little at a time until it resembles rice pudding.

3. Place the jar in the fridge overnight or for a couple of hours before eating, drizzle with extra golden syrup to make it sweeter.

http://instagram.com/p/eHZxiMOkh0/

Stewed Rhubarb, Orange and Mint Smoothie with Homemade Flaxseed

 Ingredients (makes two small glasses)

- 1 banana, chopped

- 1 orange, peeled and chopped

- 2 tbsp stewed rhubarb (in water and a little sugar)

- 1 heaped tbsp homemade goji berry flaxseed (see recipe a few posts below)

- 5 mint leaves

- 1 cup apple or orange juice (optional)

- linseeds and yoghurt to serve (optional)

1. Start by making the stewed rhubarb. Cut up the rhubarb and boil up some water in a saucepan. Add the rhubarb to the pan and simmer on a medium heat until the rhubarb is soft. Strain the rhubarb and sprinkle a little sugar on top. Leave it to cool. (If you make more than you need you can eat it with yoghurt for breakfast or as a pudding. 

2. Place the banana, orange and rhubarb in a tall mixer and whizz up for a few minutes.

3. Add the flaxseed and the mint and mix until a thick paste forms. The rhubarb might be stringy so make sure it is fully mixed. 

4. This smoothie is quite thick so you might want to add some orange or apple juice. I put the glasses of smoothie in the fridge before serving (without juice), and ate them as a cold mousse pudding using a spoon. I also topped the smoothies with linseeds and yoghurt swirls. 

http://instagram.com/p/b3uWEwOkrA/

Grated Apple, Dried Apricot, Raisin Overnight Oats Layered with Yoghurt and Chopped Banana

Ingredients (for one)

for the overnight oats (fills a small jam jar) -

1/3 plain porridge oats

1 tbsp flaxseed

1 tsp almond flakes

5 dried apricots, roughly chopped

2 tsp raisins

half an apple, grated

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp linseeds

1 tbsp yoguhrt

1 tsp golden syrup or honey

2 tbsp water

2-4 tbsp milk

for the prepared breakfast -

pre-made overnight oats

2 tbsp plain or vanilla yoghurt

1/2 banana

cinnamon to sprinkle

1. Place all the ingredients for the overnight oats in a small jam jar and mix thoroughly before placing in the fridge overnight or for a couple of house.

2. When the overnight oats has done its magic, start to layer it up in a glass. Start with 1 large tbsp of porridge, then 1 tbsp yoghurt, then a few slices of banana. Continue this until the glass is full, and sprinkle some cinnamon on the top to decorate. 

The glass I used was a little small, so you can either make two or use a bigger glass. 

Hugely Healthy Fruit Smoothie with Mint

Ingredients (serves 2)

blend all these ingredients - 

1 red apple, cored and chopped

5cm chunk of cucumber, roughly 1/4 of a cucumber

1 orange, pealed and chopped

1 banana

6-8 grapes

1 tsp linseeds

8-10 mint leaves

a handful of spinach leaves

Nothing else! Fresh and healthy! 

Grated Apple, Peanut Butter and Cinnamon Overnight Oats

Ingredients (fills one jam jar) 

1/3 plain porridge oats

1 tbsp ground flaxseed

1 tbsp ground almonds

1 tbsp plain yoghurt

1/2 apple, grated

1 tsp peanut butter

1 tsp almond flakes

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp honey or golden syrup

2 tbsp water

2-4 tbsp milk

1. Add all the ingredients to a jam jar apart from the milk, and mix with a spoon. 

2. Gradually pour in the milk a tablespoon at a time. Until a slightly runny consistency occurs. 

3. Place in the fridge overnight and eat in the morning drizzled with honey/golden syrup and yoghurt. An easy morning boost!

Apple, Cinnamon and Brown Sugar Porridge

Ingredients (serves one)

40g plain porridge oats

1/2 tbsp unsalted butter

1 1/2 tsp dark brown sugar

1/2 an apple, chopped into similar sized pieces

1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

milk

1. Start by melting the butter in a saucepan, then add the chopped apple and cook for one minute. Put in both the sugar and cinnamon and stir continuously until the apples start to soften.

2. Pour in the porridge oats and cover them with milk. Keep stirring and adding milk (if needed), until the porridge oats are fully cooked. 

3. Finish off with a spoon of yoghurt and 1/2 tsp brown sugar.

http://instagram.com/p/YXINuXOkiZ/

Apple, Raisin, and Cinnamon Overnight Oats

Ingredients (serves one, fills a jam jar)

1/3 plain porridge oats

1 tbsp flaxseed

1 tbp ground almonds

a handful of raisins

half an apple, grated

1 tbsp apple juice (optional)

1 tsp cinnamon

                               a few walnuts

                                2 tbsp water

                              2 tbsp yoghurt

                                    1/4 milk

1. Add all the ingredients to a jam jar apart from the milk, and mix with a spoon. 

2. Gradually pour in the milk a tablespoon at a time. Until a slightly runny consistency occurs. 

3. Place in the fridge overnight and eat in the morning with slices of banana.