Banana-Almond Butter Ice Cream with Crushed Walnuts

This ice cream always takes me back to my childhood. Grandma used to buy these banana ice cream sticks the looked the actual fruit. I had one every time we visited her for dinner. Yes, fine,maybe I had two..So since moving away, if I was missing my grandma, I would sometimes get myself an ice cream cone and one of the flavours would be banana. It was never the same though, too sweet, not sweet enough, didn't quite taste right.. And then I discovered this recipe! It's incredibly quick and easy. I added some homemade almond butter for an extra layer of flavour and a protein kick, and topped it with crushed walnuts to add crunch and healthy fats.

All you need is a food processor and in no time you'll have a bowl of delicious ice-cream. xxx

INGREDIENTS ( makes 1 bowl) 

2 medium bananas ( sliced and frozen for a few hours or overnight) 

3 tbsp brown rice milk 

1 tbsp almond butter 

1 handful walnuts crushed into pieces

METHOD

Just pop the frozen banana slices and milk in the food processor and let it go for about 5 minutes. Every now and then you might have to use a spatula to add the mix detach from the sides of the food processor ( I only had to do it once). When it starts to become smooth just add your almond butter, and once you get that creamy consistency transfer it to your favourite bowl, top with walnuts or any other other topping you might prefer and enjoy.

Happy Chocolate Mousse

I'm currently going through a pretty stressful time in my life, and the essay I am working on is not making the situation any better.  One thing I can control in this situation is the food I eat, and I am trying to always choose foods that will help me and my body feel happy and healthy.

Enter this raw chocolate mousse. 

I mean who doesn't crave chocolate at some point in their life? And why deprive yourself of it, if you use the right kind you can satisfy your cravings while putting some goodness into your body!  

I find all of these facts so fascinating, how can such a heavenly food also be incredibly good for me? I guess that's why I'm studying nutritional therapy, this way I'll get to increase the amount of foods that will also make me feel and look fabulous!

There's this one recipe that never fails, it's from my all time favourite cooking book Honestly Healthy, filled with delicious recipes that are also so good for you. Actually, their second cookbook has just come out and of course, it's already on my kitchen shelf..

This mousse uses raw cacao which is packed with natural antioxidants ( hellooo beauty food!!!), magnesium and it also increases the levels of serotonin in you brain, it basically increases the "happy".  All I did this time around was add some raw honey instead of agave and some cinnamon too, because I just think cinnamon makes absolutely everything taste better! Also, it's a comforting spice that will always put a smile on my face. Exactly what I need right now. Finally, I increased the dose of water as my blender wasn't working as well as I needed and I ended up making this mousse sooooo wonderfully smooth!

So here it is, a Honestly Healthy recipe with a tiny Foodolina twist.

Raw chocolate mousse

1 soft avocado

1 tbsp coconut oil ( melted) 

3 tbsp water 

1 tbsp raw honey

2 heaped tablespoons of raw cacao

1 tsp cinnamon 

raspberries as topping ( optional but they add extra flavour and texture that makes this mousse just irresistible)

Add avocado, water and melted coconut oil to a blender ( mine wasn't working properly so ended up transferring everything in my food processor..) whizz till smooth. Add the rest of the ingredients,except raspberries, and whizz again. if there's still a little cacao powder here and there or everything hasn't mixed to perfection just transfer it to a bowl and fold it in yourself with a spatula which you'll then be able to lick till it's clean! 

Pop the chocolaty mixture in a ramekin and place in the fridge for 1 hr. When you take it out just add your raspberries and enjoy. xxx

Oh sooooooo good smoothie! (or my Saturday morning's leftovers delight..)

Today I'm going to my first ever health conference and I'm so excited about it! Having said that, I woke up to find I didn't have much to have breakfast with... So  looked in my kitchen to see what was left around and this insanely delicious smoothie was born!  I'm sipping as I write this post, it's so good I might jump late in the shower just to give you this recipe, perfect for this Saturday morning. Or any awesome morning really!
It's full of antioxidants, vitamins, minerals and fibre on top of being so delicious.The chia seeds in it, make it velvety and creamy and no need for honey or agave as the dates will add the perfect amount of sweetness :) I added the powder of a probiotic capsule to give some extra love to my tummy and keep it healthy and happy.

Have a wonderful day everybody!

RECIPE
1 medium ripe banana
1 cup frozen mixed berries
1 1/2 medjool dates soaked for 3 minutes in hot water
1/4 cup oats
1tbsp chia seeds
1 probiotic capsule (optional)
1 cup brown rice milk
1tbsp water
pumpkin seeds (optional topping)


Add fruits and milk to blender and whiz for a minute. Add the rest of the ingredients and whiz of 1 more minute. Yes, it's that difficult.. Pour in your favourite glass and top with pumpkin seeds. Enjoy!xxx

Energy Boosting Overnight Oats

My life is currently pretty busy with two part time jobs, studying at Uni and auditioning or filming in between...This is why discovering the genius idea that is Overnight Oats has changed my life (and energy) for the better. Wayyyy better.
I had heard of this breakfast for a while and seen pictures on Instagram but never really had a chance to try it. Then my life got busier than usual and I felt the need for a filling breakfast that would last me till lunch.
I needed it to be full of nutritious goodness but mostly, it had to be delicious!
After doing some research on different recipes and ingredients, I created my perfect overnight oats.
My recipe has chia seeds in it, they are my new favourite "power food". They are a fabulous source of protein, fibre and omega 3 fats (which our body needs but cannot produce), not bad for such tiny seed right? I also used cinnamon as it helps curb sugar cravings while adding sweetness. And a tsp of manuka honey (completely optional) because of its antibacterial properties and because its just plain yummy.
Pumpkin seeds and nuts add texture to this breakfast pot and are another great source of healthy fats; raspberries are absolutely delicious and the fact that they are also packed with antioxidants is an added bonus! Beauty foods anyone??

INGREDIENTS
1/2 cup Oats
1cup Brown Rice Milk (or any other milk of your choice. I personally love the Rude Health range and alternate Brown Rice and Almond Milk)
1 sliced banana
2 tsp cinnamon (even though I tend to keep adding more as i LOOOOVE it!)
1tsp manuka honey
1 chia seeds (I use The Chia Co ones and really like them)

Topping (to be added just before eating)

1tbsp pumpkin seeds
1 handful chopped walnuts
1 cup fresh raspberries (my current obsession but you can choose any berry of your choice)

The night before just pop all your ingredients in the pot of your choice and mix, except raspberries and nut/seed mix. Before leaving the house in the morning, just add the fruit and nuts if you're going to eat it on the train to work, otherwise just bring a small container with your toppings in it to work and add everything in once you're there. How easy was that?

Enjoy your breakfast and have a wonderful day. xxx

PS: just thought I'd let you know that whenever I choose to share my favourite brands with you I do not get any money from them. I just genuinely love their products and am happy to share the deliciousness.x

Cinnamon, Cacao and Hazelnut Truffolini

I have three weeks off uni before the new semester starts and I'm using this time to do what I love the most but had no time to do because of studying : experimenting in my kitchen..Trying new foods and flavours.
Enter my Truffolini.
They're actually called truffles but they're so tiny and cute I gave them my own nickname.. A couple of days ago I bought my very first dates and I was dying to try them in a recipe.
Healthy truffles sound pretty good to me so I started researching on line and in the end came up with a recipe that includes my favourite things: Cinnamon, Cacao and Hazelnuts.
I find the smell and taste of cinnamon extremely comforting, raw cacao is perfect for my sweet cravings and packs some serious antioxidant power and hazelnuts have protein, healthy fats, vitamins and minerals. On top of that remember that dates are packed with fibre, potassium, zinc, selenium and B vitamins amongst others...
These are the perfect small treats to eat while me and my boy are powering through the whole Harry Potter Box Set. Somehow, every time I watch one of those films I always end up needing something sweet and I'd rather have something delicious that I also know is oh so good for me!
They are perfect to take in to work (1 or 2) to give you a little boost mid afternoon, or as an energy bite after your workout. As with everything though, don't stuff your face with them as dates have more potassium than bananas but also more calories..
So treat yourself but don't overdo it!

4 Medjool dates (soaked in warm water for 5 minutes)
75g Hazelnuts
a handful of almonds (I used some leftover ones)
3 or 4 walnuts (again, they were leftovers in the cupboard)
1 1/2 tbsp coconut oil
1tbsp raw cacao powder
1/2 tbsp cinnamon (plus more to roll the truffolini in)
2tsp chia seeds ( optional)

Place the nuts in your food processor and whiz till they become fine but are still retaining some texture.
Add your coconut oil, cacao and cinnamon and whiz again to mix everything in and slowly add your dates.
Once all the ingredients are nicely blended (about a minute) you can open the food processor and start forming little balls of deliciousness between the palms of your hands, sprinkle some cinnamon on a plate and roll the truffolini in it.
Place them on a tray and pop them in the refrigerator for at least half hour before eating them.
If you can actually manage to wait that long.. xxx

One cup of water and lemon a day...

It's the morning after New Year's Eve or, as some people would say..The first day of 2014! I'm honestly feeling quite sluggish due to the ridiculous amount of sugar I have allowed myself to eat throughout the holidays and especially in the past two days as the weather outside was pretty grim and I chose to snuggle on the couch instead, with my boyfriend, watching Harry Potter and eating all kinds of chocolates and cookies my parents have sent from Italy..

So this morning especially (I actually do this every morning but today there's a giant need of such drink..) I warmed up my water and squeezed the juice of almost half a lemon (you can squeeze more but I find it too strong for me) in it and sipped it slowly while enjoying the view outside my window.

Now, the reason I am telling you this is because I am sure I am probably not the only one feeling this way today and water and lemon first thing in the morning is a fabulous way of stimulating your liver function so we can detoxify our body from all the nasty toxins, on top of that, lemon contains the wonderful vitamin C which boosts our immune system and is wonderful for our skin!

So my suggestion to you for 2014 is to get your body to wake up the right way by preparing this super quick drink as soon as you get up. Here's to your healthy 2014!

Merry Christmas!!!

Christmas is my favourite time of the year, I love absolutely everything about it : fairylights in the shops and Christmas lights hanging all over town, Christmas music playing everywhere, roasted chestnuts and hot chocolate with whipped cream...I just had to write a Christmas Post!

We moved house a couple of months ago and now that we are settled we thought this would be the perfect time to do a small house-warming and celebrate Christmas with our closest friends before everybody left town to go see their families.

As I'm currently studying nutritional therapy I tried to cook lots of delicious food that was also filled with fabulous nutrients, most of my friends. On the menu my guests found:

-Carrot and coriander soup 

-Sweet potatoes with sweet paprika, cinnamon, mediterranean herbs and pink himalyan salt

-Quinoa with roasted brussel sprouts, portobello mushrooms and pomegranate

-Raw vegetables with hummous

-Homemade sausage rolls with fennel seeds, sesame seeds and parmesan (a treat for me a some of my omnivore friends)

 and our sweet treats were

-Coconut flour and raw cacao chocolate softies (gluten and dairy free)

-Oatmeal raisin walnut and dark chocolate cookies (as party favours)

-Nigella's chocolate mousse (naughty treat but oh so gooood)

On top of all this, my wonderful friends Paula and Sara brought a gigantic plate with many cheeses and crackers and decorated with beautiful and delicious red grapes.

To drink: My absolute favourite, a spiced apple juice from Chegworth Valley. I warm it up and it smells like Christmas in a mug! 

Lots of tea lights in the room, Christmas music playing, my lovely friends and boyfriend and delicious food. I was the happiest girl in the world.

Now, as I posted all the pictures on facebook and Instagram I got a few requests regarding a couple of recipes so here they are:

This quinoa salad has been adapted from the original recipe created by Deliciously Ella, I have mentioned her before on Foodolina as I am a massive fan, she has lots of mouthwatering vegan recipes that are also gluten and dairy free. I highly recommend checking her website out.
This salad was massive success with both my vegetarian and omnivore friends, I highly recommend it!

QUINOA WITH ROASTED BRUSSEL SPROUTS, PORTOBELLO MUSHROOMS AND POMEGRANATE (adapted from Deliciously Ella)

2 Cups of Quinoa (make sure you rinse it properly before hand)

500 gr of Brussel sprouts cut in half (washed and trimmed and outer leaves taken off)

3 sliced Portobello mushrooms (gills gently scooped out and top cleaned with a damp kitchen paper towel)

1 garlic clove

1 handful of chopped parsely

seeds of 1 Pomegranate

A little squeeze of lemon juice (optional for the quinoa)

Mediterranean dried herbs to season the sprouts (but you can use any herbs you might prefer)

Oil and lemon juice with a pinch of pink Himalayan salt (or sea salt) and pepper as a dressing

First put your brussel sprouts in a tray and add 1tbsp of extravirgin olive oil, the dried herbs and a pinch of salt and pepper. Mix it up and pop it in the oven for 30 min at 200C/ 392 F/ gas mark 6. Just mix them up again after 15 min to make sure the roast evenly.

In the meantime put your quinoa in a pan with a little coarse salt and boiling water from a kettle and a sprinkle of lemon juice for taste (which you'll take down to a simmer) for 12 minutes. The original recipe calls for 30 minutes but I personally prefer my quinoa with a bit of consistency rather the totally soft.

Once cooked, just drain and leave to cool.

Grab a pan and add 1 1/2 tbsp of oil and 1 garlic clove chopped teeny tiny and leave it on a medium/low heat for about a minute, make sure you move the garlic around so it doesn't burn. Add your mushrooms and stir every now and then for about 5 minutes, after 4 minutes add your parsley and stir (the smell coming from the parsley will be just incredible). Ad a little salt and pepper to taste and turn off the heat.

Grab your favourite bowl and add quinoa, mushrooms and sprouts. Take your pomegranate and cut in half then hold one half with the seeded side on the palm of your hand and "spank" the hard outside bit of the fruit with a wooden spoon (no jokes please..hihi). Your seeds will start falling on to the salad between you fingers, just spread them around and mix.

As a dressing i simply put 3 tbsp olive oil and the juice of 1 lemon in a little pot, added a pinch of salt and pepper and shook the whole thing then added it to the salad. Serve it up!

OATMEAL RAISIN WALNUT COOKIES WITH DARK CHOCOLATE (and a lot of cinnamon)

I quickly baked these cookies and packaged them as party favours for my guests to have a little something to take home (or enjoy ON the way home...). It always makes me feel so happy preparing little foodie presents for my friends!

This recipe was adapted The Martha Stewart. You know you can't go wrong with her recipes. In my case though i had to cater for a friend who's allergic to gluten AND dairy so I had to swap a couple of ingredients around.

Here's my dairy free version (and with a larger amount of cinnamon as I am totally addicted to it):

4 1/2 cups oats (divided, as you'll use them at different times). Use gluten free if needed.
2 tbsp cornflour
1 tbsp cinnamon ( i told you i'd use a lot! But you can reduce the amount if you wish)
1 tsp gluten free baking powder
1/2 tsp hymalaian salt (or sea salt)
3 tbsp coconut oil (melted)
1/4 cup organic coconut palm sugar
2 large eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
50gr 85%  chopped dark chocolate (or use chocolate chips)
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Preheat your oven at 350F, 180 C or Gas Mark 4.
Put 1 1/2 cups oats in a food processor till you get a fine meal. Grab a bowl and and add your oat flour, corn flour, cinnamon, baking powder and salt. Mix it up.
In another bowl whisk your eggs,sugar (I used an electric mixer) and coconut oil. Add vanilla and mix again.
Add the oat mixture you made in the previous bowl mixing slowly. Fold in the last cups of oats, walnuts, chocolate and raisins.

Line a baking tray with baking paper, grab a spoonful of mixture and roll into a little ball than squish a little before popping it onto the tray. Keep going till you finished your mixture. You might need two trays depending on how large they are.

Bake 15-18 minutes. Let cool and Merry Christmas!

I wish all of you a beautiful Christmas filled with delicious food, happiness and laughter and hope all your dreams may come true in the New Year...

Love,

Foodolina.

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