Banana-berry smoothie with Loving Earth

 Pin It

So, as you already may know, I've been working with Loving Earth, making recipes from their amazing products and then GIVING THEM ALL AWAY!

Not the used ones, that would be mean. Brand new packages of goodness headed straight to you!

And let me tell you - this next prize pack is huge and awesome and is giving me second thoughts about having to let it out of my sight and out of my mouth. Methinks a shopping trip is in order.

Anyhow, we've been having smoothies here every day lately - its fun to sit outside in the sunshine and get messy with a fruity drink packed with goodness and health. Bananas and strawberries are super-cheap at the moment and we've just been keeping on top of the load I buy every week. Farmers markets FTW!

Did I mention messy? You should see her at the end!

Cup skills are getting better too!

Anyway, if you want banana-berry smoothie goodness in your life, here's what I do:

(makes 1 serve)

Ingredients:

1 large banana

handful strawberries

1 tsp Loving Earth Raw Organic Maqui Berry Powder

1 tsp chia seeds

1 tsp flax seeds

splash Loving Earth Raw Organic Agave Syrup

1/4 milk of your choice (I use soy, almond or rice)

1-2 tablespoons yogurt of your choice

Directions:

Blend like crazy until silky smooth.

*

I often use frozen berry blends, which are delicious and make the smoothie icy cold - and so do the bananas if you freeze them beforehand. Summer's going to be awesome!

If you're wondering what maqui powder is, it is considered the highest antioxidant berry on the planet, and is harvested from the Patagonian region of southern Chile. It has been used medicinally for thousands of years for a number of ailments and has a huge range of health benefits that the Loving Earth website outlines fabulously.

Don't forget to come back next Friday, September 7 for a brand-new recipe and the bumper giveaway! You WILL NOT want to miss it.

Dark Mint Spanish Hot Chocolate

Pin It

It was a sunny mid-semester afternoon and I was meeting an American friend for coffee. I had randomly sat next to her in our local courthouse a few weeks earlier, both of us there to cover stories for our News Rounds class. I was nervous as hell, and always had visions of being stalked outside the courtroom for scribbling notes about the trial by the defendant's angry family. I saw a pretty, perky blonde with a notepad and cute shoes and sank down next to her gratefully, whispering "I think I'm here for the same thing you are!". She smiled and we bonded over our mutual love of Sweet Valley High books. She was bold and confident, on exchange from her beautiful big college in Pennsylvania. I was jealous.

A week later she popped up in my Forces of Change in International Politics class. We swapped numbers. Little did I know, it was the start of something seriously awesome.

So this day we decided to forgo coffee and headed straight to the new San Churro nearby for some hot chocolate instead. I had the dreaded less-than-$20-so-can't-get-cash-out-from-an-ATM student syndrome, and I was told at the counter I they had a $10 maximum spend when I went to order my Classic Spanish. The sad fact was, I had less than $10, too. I mumbled not to worry about it, and something else ridiculous, like I'd live off the fumes of my American friend's. She giggled. I died.

Anyway, we sat down and before I could pester her with millions of questions about my obsession with American food, she took a sip of her chocolate.

"Oh," she said.

"Oh my".

I was intrigued... I watched the viscous chocolate ooze back into its place in the mug every time she finished sipping. I barely heard anything she said. I needed this chocolate for my very own.

So I went home, and in true food-obsessed starving student fashion, I made my own.With a random Lindt Easter bunny I found in my refrigerator. And now you can too!

Ingredients:
1 cup milk per person
1 teaspoon cornflour per cup of milk
4 squares Lindt Mint Intense dark chocolate per cup of milk.

Directions:

1. Put milk and cornflour into a saucepan and whisk to combine. Heat over medium heat until chocolate just boils, stirring regularly.

2. Add the chocolate, broken into small pieces and whisk until blended. It will get deliciously thick and you will be the envy of all your friends.

*Disclaimer: I am in no way affiliated with Lindt... it was mere randomness that I never ate Easter eggs and had one rolling around in my fridge that I originally made this with. It was so good that I've never used any other chocolate. This time it happened to be mint. You can choose whatever flavour you want. I have not received anything in return for this post.

YUM!!

Fourth of July Coney Island Hot Dogs and a Cherry Coke Float

This is what I was doing this time last year - watching the fireworks over the National Mall in Washington, DC.

I could feel the heat rising through the blanket I on which I was sitting from the concrete below. It had been a super-hot day, the news stations and papers filled with pictures of children sitting in buckets under hoses, and talk of record-breaking temperatures. I had presented my sweaty face to the Lincoln Memorial,

Mr Lincoln, Mr Lincoln!

I had gotten up close and personal with President Obama,

I had watched the annual Independence Day parade along Constitution Avenue - lots of marching bands, baton-twirling and giant-helium-balloon-holding.

I had waded through a throng of patriotic people to be that guy that gets their photo taken with the White House. I also nearly got my head taken off when I stepped a toe outside the barrier keeping people on the sidewalk. At least I wasn't part of the crew getting their photo taken with the back of the President's house...

I had sought refuge in the cool interior of the United States Holocaust Museum, and I had stood on the steps right where Dr Martin Luther King, Jr made his "I Have a Dream" speech. I had looked out over the Reflecting Pool and had visions of Jenny splashing into it in search of Forrest Gump.

Forrest!

 I had also watched the annual Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest at Coney Island on TV from a food court earlier that day (54 hot dogs in 10 minutes, people!), and it was that memory that made me decide what to make to help celebrate this year.

We eat a lot of hot dogs in the Veggie Household - they're one of the few mock meats we truly like. Our concoctions usually consist of ketchup, mustard, onion, pickles, relish and cheese. Occasionally we have chili dogs, and occasionally I like to branch out and try something new on my poor guinea pig husband.

This year I decided on Coney Island Hot Dogs, which are very specific in their preparation. We couldn't help but doctor them up somewhat, although I've made them here in their original veggie form.

Not actually made in Coney Island, but in Michigan, the hot dog is topped with a beanless chili, a strip or two of yellow mustard, and lots of chopped white onion.

And it is good.

Especially when you add extra ketchup and cheese...

And a Cherry Coke Float.

Happy Fourth of July!

 To make the chili:

Heat one 300g packet veggie mince with one can diced tomato and 1/2 cup water. Add 1/2 teaspoon cumin, 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander, a sprinkle of cinnamon, basil and as much chili powder as you want. Add a crushed veggie beef stock cube. If it is still too soupy, you can thicken it with a teaspoon of cornflour in a tablespoon of hot water.

To make the float:

Ice cream. Cherry Coke. Mix.