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Health

Why I love juices & smoothies

July 9, 2014

Ahh, summertime. All you wanna do is be at the beach or by a pool and sipping something cool and refreshing.

healthy and easy green smoothie recipe

A simple green smoothie

My go to for hot weather is definitely juices and smoothies! Sadly I do not have a juicer and cannot make my own juices (one day I will own a juicer!) but I do have an awesome blender and love experimenting with different smoothie combos. Smoothies and juices are wonderful as you can pack them full of nutrient dense fruit and veg. As much as I love salads and chomping away on fresh fruit, it’s really nice to have a small snack which is full of goodness and also easy to take on the road with me if I have a particularly busy day.

Healthy Juices and Smoothies

green juice from suja juice is a great travel snack

Suja ‘Glow’ juice – my fave on the go companion!

delicious green juice from vive juicery in Salt Lake City

‘The Hulk’ juice from Vive Juicery, Salt Lake City – contains blue-green algae!

Although I love both juices and smoothies, there is a slight difference to the two. Juices do not contain the fiber of the fruit which can make it easier on your digestive system, but you obviously do not get the benefits of fiber (which include keeping you full, keeping your bowels moving hehe and lots of other good stuff). Smoothies on the other hand do contain the fiber of the fruit and veg, but they are a little bit heavier on the stomach, but not by much as the fruits and veggies are still easily digestible since they have been blended up. It really depends on your preference whether or not to choose a smoothie over a juice or vice versa, but both are great options. The best way to enjoy a juice or a smoothie is to of course make your own, but time does not always allow! When choosing a smoothie or a juice, the most important thing to look at is the ingredients list. Make sure that the smoothie or juice contains nothing but a dairy or non dairy base, fruits and veg. If you see something like ‘sugar, cane sugar’ or etc, run!! Many juices and smoothies are already so naturally sweet from the fruit in it that there is simply no need to add any more sugar. So avoid brands that do. My juice brands are definitely Suja Juice and Project Juice as they do not have any added sugar in them.

Greenhopping is a fabulous app that lets you locate green juice bars, so definitely make sure to download it when you can.

delicious turmeric mylk juice from Project Juice in San Francisco

Turmeric Mylk is so yummy and unique!

delicious dtox juice from Project Juice in San Francisco

Mmm, my fave Project Juice drink

delicious Swiss Beetz juice from Project Juice in San Francisco

The juice that made me loves beets again 😀

Okay soooo if you want to make your own smoothie, I can definitely help with that. Sadly, I do not have my own juicer but I have found that a lot of juice places let you choose your own blend of juice and what to put in which is really cool.

Anyway, the basics of making a smoothie are:

  • the base liquid (this could be water, coconut water, brewed green tea, milk, coconut milk, unsweetened almond milk or another of your choice)
  • fruit (I prefer to use frozen fruit in a smoothies; choose away from any fruit such as bananas, strawberries, blueberries. Dates are a yummy addition too)
  • vegetables (optional, but makes the smoothie so much better; choose from cucumber, leafy greens such as spinach, kale, romaine lettuce and etc)
  • healthy fats (optional; choose from natural peanut butter, coconut oil, avocado, flax seeds, chia seeds and etc)
  • protein powder (optional for those looking for a more filling smoothie, I use vanilla whey protein powder)
  • citrus (lemon juice, lime juice, oranges and etc)

So there you have it! Feel free to add anything else your heart desires. I have seen some pretty unique additions to smoothies such as spirulina, chlorella and maca powder. The world is your oyster when it comes to smoothies. My favorite smoothie is pictured below and is made up of frozen bananas, unsweetened almond milk, lime juice, spinach, and vanilla whey protein powder topped with fresh mango.

easy homemade st patricks day green smoothie with mango

I hope you enjoyed this post! I love making, drinking and buying these healthy juices and smoothies, and I just wanted to share with you all why I loved them as much as I do. If you already make juices or smoothies, what is your fave combination?

Honestly yours,
Alice

 

Friday Fare

Healthy Blueberry Coconut Muffins

June 13, 2014

Ah muffins, how I adore thee, and especially these healthy blueberry coconut muffins. But certainly not the kind you buy from the supermarket or from most commercial stores.

healthy blueberry coconut muffins

Healthy Blueberry Coconut Muffins

Most commercial muffins are made with many unnecessary ingredients and tend to be packed full of sugar and starchy carbohydrates. My delightful muffins are not only filled with ingredients that will actually do your body good, but they are also low in added sugar and have a good amount of protein and fiber in them. Of course they are a treat, but when choosing a sweet treat it is always better to make your own sweet treat using ingredients that provide your body with energy and nutrients. Plus, not all places provide the nutritional information and ingredients used to make their muffins .. so who knows what you may be eating and how many calories and added sugar you may be having! I like knowing exactly what is in my food, thanks very much.

Healthy Blueberry Coconut Muffins

These muffins are a sweet combination of complex carbohydrates, healthy fats, protein and fiber. All of your daily macronutrients in one little muffin! In place of white or brown sugar, the sugar in these muffins come from bananas, blueberries, and honey. Of course these ingredients still have sugar in them, but they also provide you with a lot of other things such as vitamins, minerals and fiber. I replaced white flour with coconut flour because it is packed with fiber, protein and iron and gives the muffins a lovely and moist texture. The majority of the protein of course come from the eggs and the vanilla protein powder to help us with our weight loss and strength training goals. Oh, and for those with nut allergies or gluten sensitivities, these muffins are gluten free and are nut free 🙂

Healthy Blueberry Coconut Muffins

I am pretty sure that by now you are convinced that you must try them!

Healthy Blueberry Coconut Muffins

Alice Williams
A succulent blend of sweet blueberry and coconut wrapped in a warm muffin!
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Ingredients
  

  • Dry Ingredients
  • 1/2 cup coconut flour
  • 1/4 cup vanilla protein powder
  • 2 tbsp chia seeds
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • Wet Ingredients
  • 1 banana
  • 3 eggs or 1 cup egg whites
  • 1/2 cup coconut oil
  • 1/4 cup honey
  • 1 cup blueberries

Instructions
 

  • Preheat your oven to 400 degrees farenheit
  • You can use either a food processor or a whisk to mix the ingredients together. First, combine your wet ingredients in a bowl (EXCEPT for the blueberries) and then mix in the dry ingredients. If using a food processor, put the wet ingredients in first and then pulse until smooth (minus the blueberries). Then add the dry ingredients and whizz some more until you get a smooth and thick consistency.
  • Now you may add in the blueberries. Do not blend or mash them in! Simply fold them into the muffin mixture.
  • Evenly divide the muffin mixture into 10 muffin holders and bake for 18-20 minutes. Let them cool for 5 minutes.
  • Eat and enjoy - try and put some in the fridge for the coming week (if you can resist)!
Healthy Blueberry Coconut Muffins

I hope this week’s edition of Friday Fare inspires you to try this healthier version of a muffin instead of reaching for something easy and convenient when you are next out shopping. There are so many ways that you can enjoy the foods you live whilst living a healthy lifestyle. And half of the time, the healthier versions taste better than the unhealthy versions! I have certainly noticed this and most ‘normal’ desserts I have are just far too sweet for me now. What is your fave healthy sweet treat?

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
Print Recipe Pin Recipe

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