Summer health kick with our smoothie maker.

So I bit the bullet and bought a Nutribullet.

Buying smoothies at almost £3 a pop when fruit and veg is so cheep in the supermarkets is just not cost effective, and if you can shop clever you can really get the most out of your pennies. I picked up a pineapple in aldi for 69p. Chopped it into chunks and chucked it in the freezer. I can just add a few chunks to my smoothies for weeks, without any waste. I have done the same with strawberries and blueberries. 

I started today with a delicious breakfast smoothie.

Porridge oats

Strawberries

Blueberries

Natural yogurt

Almonds

Milk

A quick blitz (and the nutribullet is very quick) and it's done. The porridge oats make it really filling and it is soooooo tasty.

We did get a few smoothie recipe books, but to be honest you soon get the hang of which fruits and veg work well together and what works for you. My husband and I really love the green smoothies, we normally use. 

Spinach

White cabbage

Carrots

Green apple

Green grapes 

Banana 

Top up with water

This is really refreshing and you can feel smug all day long as it's got so much good stuff in it.

Really loving my Nutribullet and use it every day and as someone who spends most of my free time baking cakes and biscuits it's lovely to have a kitchen gadget that you know is super healthy and I can know eat my cake guilt free. 

Horse meat scandal from a Vegetarian's point of view

So it would appear this horse meat thing isn't going away any time soon and I have to say from a vegetarians point of view I have mixed feelings.

On the one hand meat is meat. I made a decision 18 years ago that I didn't want to eat meat, for me I don't separate a cow from a horse or a dog from a lamb, they are all beautiful animals that I wouldn't want on my plate, and to hear carnivores complaining that eating horse turns there stomach but a cow would be perfectly delicious from the outside looking in is quite bizarre.

However my second view ( which I think is what most people are feeling) is that it's not the horse meat but the fact that we have been lied to, I religiously stand and read ingredients labels, I check everything for the vegetarian symbol, and if I find out that what was in my food was not what I had been told I would be furious too. I don't buy ready meals but I do buy meat substitute products and have to put my trust in the manufactures that these are being produced under strict regulations. So although the horse meat scandal doesn't effect me directly I share with everyone else a feeling of distrust with supermarkets and food manufacturers.

I suppose the real question is will this change are shopping habits or will we all forgive and forget?

Winter warmer, Vegetable broth

I love soup, it's like a food group all on its own, I could eat nothing but soup, I don't, but I could.

Today I am making Vegetable broth, so the first thing to remember is to soak your broth the night before.

Now I don't normally follow a recipe for soup, I tend to just chuck in what I have, so will just tell you what I'm chucking in today, so anything is changeable or replaceable to suit your own tastes.

1 Onion
1 Good size Leek
3 Celery sticks
1 Large Potato
1 Large carrot
1 Parsnip
2 cups of broth ( soaked overnight )
1 Vegetable stock cube
Cumin

Chop your Onion, Leek and Celery finely, Dice the rest of the vegetables.

Put a good few glugs of oil into a pan and put on a medium heat, when hot add the Onion,Leek and Celery put the lid on to let them sweat but keep an eye on them and stir if needed.
Dissolve the stock cube in about a litre of boiling water add cumin ( I just add a good shake )

When your Onions are soft add the rest of the veg, your stock and your broth ( make sure you drain it and give it a good rinse first) now just pop the lid on and stir when needed. It should take between 20-30 mins.

Know I like to purée my soups, but with the broth I do like it to be a bit chunky so using a handheld purée'er whizz it up in a mashing motion until the texture starts to change but you still have lots of lovely diced carrots and potatoes, put back on heat till boiling and then enjoy. X