This super yummy smoothie recipe is a guest post from my beautiful friend Gráinne who runs Karratha Yoga. If you’re up in the West Australian Pilbara region, be sure to check out her classes. Thanks for sharing your recipe, Gráinne! If you want to keep this smoothie raw, replace the soy milk with coconut water or almond milk.
When I was in my 20s I spent eighteen months living in one of the most famous green tea growing areas of Japan, Shizuoka. A rural area, home to Mount Fuji and only an hour or two from Tokyo, the region is proud of its traditional tea heritage and I came to appreciate the mellow lift and health benefits of a good cup of Japanese green tea.
So, unsurprisingly one of my favourite treats is the classic green tea ice cream. This smoothie re-creates that yummy, creamy flavour without the refined sugar or dairy. Add more agave if you have a sweet tooth, or perhaps omit it altogether if you’re having this as a breakfast smoothie.
xx Gráinne – www.karrathayoga.com
Matcha Green Tea Smoothie
1 FROZEN BANANA (nice and sweet and ripe before peeling, cutting in half and popping in the freezer) 1 HUGE HANDFUL OF BABY SPINACH 1 CUP SOY MILK 1/2 CUP WATER 2 TEASPOONS GREEN TEA POWDER (make sure it is powdered “matcha” style green tea – not fine tea leaves)
1 TABLESPOON AGAVE SYRUP
Blitz and enjoy!
Gráinne recommends this brand of matcha (pronounced ma-cha): Absolute Green Organic Tea Powder
I’m crazy about carrot cake, but not so crazy about the usual refined, processed ingredients like wheat flour, butter, sugar and cream cheese! Instead, this cake uses beautiful whole foods with beautiful benefits to create a moist, carrot-cake texture such as fresh carrots for a boost of vitamin A and glowing skin, walnuts for vitamin E and omega-3 fatty acids and iron and potassium rich dried dates.
This recipe is a guest post I created for bespoke activewear company, Mylo-Dee. Mylo-Dee lets you customise your exercise clothing. You begin by selecting a silhouette (which has been designed with body shape in mind), then select a neckline, sleeves, back & front design details and fabric – all from beautiful French performance jersey, and voila! Your custom design is created and shipped to you. Pretty neat, huh?
Head over to the Mylo-Dee blog to get this carrot cake recipe:
Raw Carrot Cake with Creamy Lemon Icing recipe >
This feels like eating a dessert for breakfast (and it works as a dessert, too); it’s reminiscent of bircher muesli mixed with a fruit compote, except this raspberry and apple combination is free from refined sugar. The tiny pieces of chopped date are toffee-sweet surprises amongst the creamy chia pudding. The raspberries are full of vitamin C and Manganese and the chia seeds give you complete protein, a good dose of fibre and slow down the conversion of carbs to sugars, so a good start for your morning 🙂 They’re also high in Omega-3s. By eating chia rather than fish oil, you’ll be reducing the pressure on diminishing fish stocks in the world, and it’s a nice change from flaxseed oil.
I make this recipe in recycled jars for easy transport to work on the mornings I run out of time for breakfast. They’ll last a day in the fridge but are best eaten soon after making as chia seeds absorb up to nine times their weight in water (so drink lots)! Makes two.
RASPBERRY COMPOTE
3/4 CUP RASPBERRIES (I USED FROZEN ONES) 1 APPLE, PEELED AND CHOPPED 1 TEASPOON CINNAMON 4 DRIED DATES, CHOPPED INTO TINY PIECES
1/4 CUP WATER
CHIA BANANA PUDDING
1 BANANA, PEELED 3 TABLESPOONS WHITE CHIA SEEDS 1/2 CUP FRESH ORANGE JUICE 1 TABLESPOON LEMON JUICE
1/2 CUP ALMONDS
TOPPING
1 DESSERTSPOON CHOPPED PISTACHIOS
1 TEASPOON CURRANTS
For the raspberry compote, pulse all ingredients in a food processor until combined but still a little chunky. The dates won’t blend into the mixture, but this is a very good thing, trust me.
For the chia pudding, blend all ingredients in a food processor until smooth. The chia seeds will begin to thicken into a gel within the mixture creating the pudding-like texture.
In two glasses or jars, alternatively layer the chia pudding and the raspberry compote on top of each other. Sprinkle the top with chopped pistachios and currants. Good morning!