Browsing Tag

dang chips

Friday Fare, Health

Mint Chocolate Chip Smoothie Bowl

November 22, 2014

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone who is celebrating! Ever since I had my first real experience of Thanksgiving just a few short years ago (Brit’s don’t celebrate it!), it has fast become one of my favorite holidays. I can’t pinpoint exactly why; I love the food involved (PUMPKIN), the focus on being grateful and spending time with people you love. To show you all my appreciation, I thought I’d give you all a fun new recipe to try that is healthy yet tastes like a delicious dessert … Mint chocolate chip smoothie bowl!

Mint Chocolate Chip Smoothie Bowl

Mint-Chocolate-Chip-Smoothie-Bowl

 

The inspiration for this recipe came from  supermodel Cindy Crawford. She talked about a smoothie she made and so of course I HAD to make it too, but with a few alterations. I used cow’s milk instead of almond milk for more protein and instead of carob chips, I used Dang’s dark chocolate covered (coconut) chips instead. This smoothie features mint, which is something I have never used in a smoothie before. Mint is extremely low in calories and is a vitamin and mineral powerhouse. The mint you tend to find in supermarkets is spearmint, which has a significant amount of vitamin A which has been said to promote healthy skin and support your immune system. Perfect for this dry and cold winter weather! It also provides a good source of iron, which is good for your blood, and manganese, which supports healthy brain function and aids the production of sex hormones hehe.

[Tweet “Superfood mint chocolate chip smoothie inspired by Cindy Crawford”]

Recipe

Mint Chocolate Chip Smoothie Bowl

Alice Williams
A healthy smoothie bowl that is easy to make and tastes just like mint chocolate chip ice-cream!
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Servings 1

Ingredients
  

  • 1 C frozen spinach
  • 1 C cow's milk I used 2%
  • 1 frozen banana - sliced
  • 1/4 cup fresh mint
  • 1 tbsp Dang dark chocolate covered chips
  • Optional: 1 scoop vanilla protein powder
  • Optional toppings: chia seeds fresh mint, sliced banana (any fruit)

Instructions
 

  • Blend the above ingredients together in a blender until smooth.
  • Serve cold and enjoy!

Notes

Cow's milk can be subbed for milk of choice (almond, coconut, soy, etc).
Dang dark chocolate covered chips can be subbed for carob chips.
Adapted from Neka Pasquale
Mint Chocolate Chip Smoothie Bowl

Mint Chocolate Chip Smoothie Bowl

I found that adding both frozen banana and spinach makes for a deliciously creamy smoothie bowl with a texture close to that of soft serve. So good and healthy! I love having it for a nutrient-rich and protein packed breakfast before a workout or as a sweet dessert before bed. Let me know what you think of it and if you do share your recreation, please tag #HFMCCsmoothiebowl

Will you be indulging over the holiday season? What foods are you most looking forward too?

Honestly yours,
Alice

Friday Fare, Health

Overnight Kombucha Chia Oats with Matcha Green Tea Yogurt

June 6, 2014

Overnight Kombucha Chia Oats with Matcha Green Tea Yogurt

Hiiii. I am so sorry I missed last week’s Friday Fare 🙁 I swear, I have so many delicious and healthy recipes to share with you all but I have been travelling a lottt recently and two situations occur:

a) I make a delicious and healthy meal but have nowhere I can photograph it (good lighting and scenery is everythaaang people) or b) I have a perfect place to take photos but I am really busy and do not have time to make anything special. Oh blogger dilemmas, man.

Anyway, a few nights ago I was really craving oatmeal and somehow managed to be quite creative and come up with overnight kombucha chia oats with matcha green tea yogurt … AND photograph it!! I probably should have done something to make the photos a little nicer (’tis a bit plain) but alas, I did not.

The idea for soaking the oats in kombucha came to me because I actually had a bottle of Synergy’s cherry chia kombucha chilling in the fridge (pun .. hehe). I had nooo idea how the combo of cherry flavored kombucha, chia seeds and rolled oats would take, but I decided to take the risk and I am really glad I did. It was delicioussss. Now, the matcha green tea yogurt idea came about because I bought some matcha green tea powder at Safeway the other day despite it being kind of expensive.

But seriously, matcha green tea powder is so bloody hard to find and I really could not be bothered to drive to Japan Town (HATE driving in downtown San Francisco) and the good Asian supermarket nearest me is still kinda far … so yeah anyway, tangent. Since I had the powder I thought it would be fun to make a flavored yogurt which was also delicious, although I did have to lightly sweeten it with liquid stevia. And the toppings seemed self-evident because they are all awesome, delicious and healthy.

Overnight Kombucha Chia Oats with Matcha Green Tea Yogurt

Okay, so now that you have the full-blown history of how I thought of this recipe (hope I didn’t bore you all!!) let’s get to making it!

Overnight Kombucha Chia Oats with Matcha Green Tea Yogurt Recipe

Overnight Kombucha Chia Oats with Matcha Green Tea Yogurt

Alice Williams
A perfectly invigorating blend of kombucha chia soaked oats with fat fighting green tea yogurt
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Ingredients
  

  • 1/2 cup rolled oats I used Bob's Red Mill brand
  • 1/2 a bottle of Synergy's Cherry Chia Kombucha
  • 1 teaspoon matcha green tea powder
  • 1 cup of full fat plain yogurt - don't fear fat ... or a fat-free version, but check to make sure it doesn't have any extra added sugar as most fat-free versions are really high in sugar
  • 1/2 cup of blueberries
  • 1 teaspoon or more if you wish honey
  • 1 teaspoon or more if you wish pumpkin seeds
  • 1 teaspoon or more if you wish shredded unsweetened coconut
  • 1 teaspoon or more if you wish slivered almonds

Instructions
 

  • 1. The night before you plan on eating this meal, put your rolled oats and the cherry chia kombucha into a mason jar (or anything that will be sealed) in the fridge overnight to soak.
  • 2. Now that your oats are ready and soaked, let the fun begin! To make the matcha green tea yogurt layer, simply get a bowl and put your yogurt, matcha green tea powder, and liquid stevia in a bowl and use an electric whisk to blend it all up (you can use a normal whisk too). Once the yogurt is ready, dollop it on top of your oats.
  • 3. Now layer the blueberries on top of the yogurt layer, followed by the honey, shredded coconut, pumpkin seeds, and slivered almonds.
  • 4. Voila! A really easy, delicious AND healthy breakfast which can be taken on the go or enjoyed at home. I like having mine with a cup of tea, green tea of course 😉
Overnight Kombucha Chia Oats with Matcha Green Tea Yogurt
Overnight Kombucha Chia Oats with Matcha Green Tea Yogurt

How else can I enjoy Overnight Oats?

Overnight chia oats with kombucha are so versatile and can be altered in so many delicious and simple ways. Another variation involved using greek yogurt (I like Fage) instead of normal yogurt, strawberries and Dang coconut chips, mmm.

Overnight Kombucha Chia Oats with Matcha Green Tea Yogurt
Overnight Kombucha Chia Oats with Matcha Green Tea Yogurt

I hope you all enjoyed this week’s edition of Friday Fare. If you make this, please share a photo with me and hashtag it #fridayfare if you upload your re-creation on Instagram or Twitter!

Honestly yours,
Alice