Guilt-free Chocolate Smoothie

I couldn't wait to put up this post! :) I have a few friends with kids who are allergic to dairy and it just so tragic (ok, not tragic tragic but you know what I mean) to go through childhood and never enjoy simple pleasures like ice-cream, toast smothered in butter and yes, chocolate! Lovely decadent chocolate..mmm...which by the way IS good for you, minus the sugar of course. So I came up with this lovely chocolatey smoothie that's dairy-free and sugar-free and packed with Vitamin C too. I used Packham pear, frozen banana, freshly squeezed orange juice, Cocoa Powder, Organic soya powder and Organic oat milk.

It was SO GOOD. YUM!!

This is what I used to squeeze the orange juice, practically an antique I inherited from mum. I remember using this when I was a kid!

Cocoa powder - I used Van Houten Pure Soluble Cocoa

Guilt-free chocolate Smoothie Recipe

1 large Packham pear - skinned and cored

3-4 chunks of frozen banana

Juice from 1 orange - freshly squeezed

3 tbs of cocoa powder

3 tbs of Organic Soya Powder

1/2 cup of Organic Oat Milk

I am definitely letting my dad who's diabetic, try this awesome treat! Next variation to this is to add avocado to make it even creamier..mmmm....chhhooocccoolllatttee :)

Hair Art

N had her first Ballet Exam this week and this mommy was tasked to put all her hair up in a neat bun. Did I say all? Yes, all strands of hair to be in place. Including those little fine baby hair that just flit and fly every which way. Boy, I was stressed! Her ballet teacher, bless her, said just use a lot of gel and hairspray. Maybe put in a few braids as single buns are too traditional. With N's hair being just shoulder length, do you see why I was stressed? How do you put her hair up in a bun when you can barely twist it once around?? So I went out to buy an arsenal of black bobby pins, gator clips and a hair net and went surfing to figure it out :)

Here's the result!

Her teacher added the cute little pink bows to go with her leotard. Not bad for an amateur? :) Notice those little hairs are sticking out...this picture was taken after her exam and changing out of her clothes. They were a lot more in place during the exam, thanks to super strong hair art gel and hairspray (double dose thanks to her teacher) 

I learnt how to do the corkscrew twist braid here and got my eye candy inspiration from here. O my, if you have girls and they have long hair, there are SO MANY ways to do their hair! How blessed it is to have two of them :)

Green Grape Avocado Smoothie

Green is good. Green food that is. And the more of it the better. I have had to reprogramme my tastebuds (and everyone else's tastebuds I hold dear - hubby, kids, parents) to salivate at the sight of green. A bowl of green salad, a slice of green avocado, a large serving of dark green kai lan, dark green spirulina, etc. Any of you have to do the same?

Well, try this smoothie and perhaps your tastebuds will grow to love GREEN :) I used green seedless grapes, avocado, packham pears, frozen bananas, organic soya powder and a touch of spirulina powder. All green except for the bananas and soya powder. Notice I upped the amount of avocado to 1/2 portion. I think it could do with a whole avocado and still have the same delicate flavour. The result, a lovely light green smoothie that's yummy and creamy!

Green Grape Avocado Smoothie Recipe

1/2 ripe avocado

2 generous handfuls of washed seedless green grapes

1 packham pear - skinned and cored

3 chunks of frozen banana

2 heaped scoops of Organic Soya Powder

1-2 cups of water

1/2 teaspoon of Organic spirulina powder'

Note: Be sure you wash your grapes with a fruit and veggie wash and give them a good scrub to get rid of any nasty pesticides since you'll be eating the skin. Organic if you can find them reasonably priced :)

Creamy Quinoa Asparagus Soup

Ok, this doesn't look as pretty as a smoothie but I assure you it is absolutely yummy! Mum has been asking me for asparagus. With her appetite low, a request like that will surely be fulfilled ;) So I came up with this creamy asparagus soup with quinoa flakes for added protein and iron. And yes, I said flakes!! I found organic quinoa flakes last week and what a great way to add this superfood more of our food. We use quinoa regularly in our diet but in the whole seeds form. Now with flakes I can throw them in creamy soups, cookies, bread, cupcakes, etc. I'm just giddy with thinking of how many ways I can use them in our food! 

What a find!

Creamy Quinoa Asparagus Soup Recipe

1 pack of fresh asparagus - snip off tops (about 3 inches) and chop up the stems

2-3 cloves of garlic roughly chopped (be generous if you can take the taste, garlic is so good for you)

1 small yellow onion roughly chopped

1 tbs grapeseed oil

3 cups of organic oat milk (you may substitute with low fat milk)

2-3 tbs of quinoa flakes

salt/pepper to taste

1 - Heat the grapeseed oil in a pot

2 - Throw in the garlic and onions. Saute till soft

3 - Add the asparagus stems, saute till tender. Add salt /pepper

4 - Pour in the milk then bring to a boil for 5 mins. 

5 - Turn off the heat, use hand blender to blend the hot soup in the pot.

6 - Put on the heat and add the asparagus tops and quinoa flakes. Turn off the heat when tops are tender and the quinoa flakes has thickened the soup. Enjoy your nutritious soup :)

Purple Spirulina Smoothie

Don't you just love the colour of this smoothie? This has dragon fruit, bananas, passion fruit, organic oat milk and lots of spirulina powder. I thought the best way to hide the dark green colour of spirulina is the match it with the rich purple of dragon fruit. I don't know about you but a tall glass of dark green slush doesn't quite work as eye candy for me...especially when it's mixed with some red or yellow fruit! Then its dark green brown slush...shudder shudder.. ;) My other recipes have a lot less spirulina in them. With this one, I doubled the amount. Best way to get this awesome superfood into your tummy - in a yummy purple shake! Barney is done proud here I say!

Purple Spirulina Smoothie Recipe

1 large purple dragon fruit - skin removed, cubed *

3-4 chunks of frozen banana

2 passion fruit - pulp only

1 heaped tbs of organic spirulina powder

1/2 cup organic oat milk

* Next time I will freeze the dragon fruit to give it a bit more body..came out a little more runny than I would like

One happy customer :)

Retail therapy at DAISO

You see, this is what happens when I decide to take a break from the crazy busy schedule I've been keeping and indulge in a little retail therapy at DAISO. It was inevitable, the draw of cute was too strong and I ended up with these. If you haven't figured it out yet, they are sushi makers - bear and bunny shaped! Aren't they adorable? And they double up as cookie cutters since they are made of metal. If you're into cute like I am, don't go to DAISO because you'll end up spending waaay too much, like I did :P

But oh, look at the final product...

The girls had so much fun making them! Here's a quick simple recipe for the kid friendly rice sushi.

Bear and Bunny Sushi Recipe

About 2 cups hot cooked brown rice - use a little bit more water so sushi holds its shape better

1 tbs butter

1/2 cup blanched baby peas and corn niblets

Some seaweed flakes

Salt/pepper to taste - mix the above into hot rice and put rice into sushi molds, press down hard

Sliced cheese / ham / Spam / luncheon meat/ egg omelet  - cut out in shapes and place on the sushi..enjoy!

Cool Melon Smoothie

This is the first smoothie I tried out to "cool" the body. Mum who is undergoing radiotherapy, complained of dry throat and lack of appetite. This cooling and refreshing smoothie has Watermelon, Honey Dew, Cucumber, Plain Low fat Yogurt, Wheat Germ, organic Rice Milk and Flax Seed Oil. I added wheat germ and flax seed oil to pack this smoothie with Omega-3. She loved it so much she had two glasses :)

Cool Melon Smoothie Recipe
2-3 slices of watermelon
2-3 slices of honeydew
1/2 cucumber
1 plain low fat yogurt cup
1/2 cup Organic rice milk
1 tbs wheat germ
1 tsp flax seed oil

Goji Berry Smoothie

This has got to be one of the more unique smoothies we've tried so far - Packham Pear, Frozen banana, Goji berries, Avocado, Organic soya powder and cool boiled water. Goji berries (or "Kei Chee" in chinese) is loaded with Vit C, beta carotene (great for K's eyes!), iron, and a whole long list of other goodies. We are used to seeing these little red seeds floating in our chinese soups after they have been boiled for a length of time. Isn't it far better to consume these little gems with their nutrients as intact as possible in a delicious smoothie? Together with potassium rich Avocado, this creamy smoothie is YUMMY and oh so good for you!

Goji Berry Smoothie Recipe
1 Packham Pear - remove skin, cored and cut into chunks
3-4 chunks of frozen banana
2 heaped tbs of soaked Goji berries - Soak dried berries for 1 hour in lukewarm water
1/3 avocado - skin and seed removed
2 scoops of Organic Soya Powder
1/2 cup of cooled boiled water

N's take on this smoothie, "Mom! It looks like strawberry!! Mmmmmmm...!"

Mango Passion Smoothie

Today's smoothie creation is sweet ripe mango, passion fruit, frozen bananas, green apple, low fat plain yogurt and organic spirulina powder. K said it tasted like strawberries but looks like kiwi. I can see why - spirulina and the nanas gives it a nice limey yellow green while the passion fruit seeds remain pretty much intact in the smoothie. N and K loved it! Be warned though, this smoothie is for those who love sour. Try reduce the amount of passion fruit and swap the green apple with a red/yellow and I'm sure this will tantalize your kid's tastebuds!

Mango Passion Smoothie Recipe
1 ripe Waterlily mango - remove skin, cut flesh into chunks
2 passion fruit - pulp only
3-4 chunks of frozen bananas
1 green apple - remove skin, core and cut into chunks
1 low fat plain yogurt cup
1/2 tbs organic spirulina powder

YUMMY! I think I'm addicted to smoothies :)