Green kitchen smoothies New Book
Across the Indian Ocean and way up to the north of Europe lies the beautiful city of Stockholm, Sweden. There is a little family there that are close to my heart although the distance between us is ginormous (more than 15,000 km by air travel from here in Melbourne). They are special to me because of the Green Kitchen Stories they tell which provide me with so much inspiration. Meet David, Luise and their adorable children Elsa and Isac (plus one more in the making)!
Together they have been able to make a truly “green” kitchen where all things delicious, healthy, clean, seasonal and vegetarian are concocted for everyday eating. Their desire is to inspire others to make simple changes so they too can head “greenwards”.
Yes, turning your own kitchen “green” just got easier with these two wonder minds providing the stories. Luise’s background in nutrition, her respect for the use of whole foods and organic produce and her flare for creative cooking are clearly reflected in the way she develops her recipes. While David simply takes the most captivating snapshots of both the food that is made in their “green” kitchen and of his gorgeous family.
With the release this month of Green Kitchen Smoothies published by Hardie Grant Books and to celebrate the support and love I receive every single day on instagram and facebook, I have two Green Kitchen Smoothies cookbooks hot off the press to give away.
Delicious, healthy food to eat, drink or slurp that takes minutes to prepare can save your life or at least your day when you have run out of time, effort and energy and need the perfect pick-me-up. This is where the smoothie comes into its own. Smoothies are so addictive and especially these ones. From Bounty Jars to Goodnight Smoothie there is a perfect concoction here for each season and every occasion. This book is an absolute treasure trove. I’m always on the hunt for inspiration and flipping through the pages of this little gem of a book assures me that I won’t be short for ideas.
So, I have two books to give away but my only problem now is to choose whom I shall give them to. There is no point asking if anyone loves smoothies because no doubt you all would say “I do!”I thought I would hold a little competition during the next two weeks and this will help me find two most deserving participants to send a book each to.
To enter the competition you will need to carry out the following steps:
1/ In 50 words or less tell me why you love smoothies.
2/ In 50 words or less tell me what it is that you love about Green Kitchen Stories whether it be a recipe or a blog or simply a photo.
3/ Repost one of the recipe pictures with step 1 & 2 and tag gkstories (David), luisegreenkitchenstories (Luise), hardiegrantbooks, and deliciouslylegal in your caption on your Instagram account.
The competition will close 6pm (Australian time), 20th June. The two winners will be announced 6pm (Australian time), 24th June.
Nuts & Blues
Serves 2 or 1 large serving
Nut-based smoothies have always been one of our absolute favourites, with their rich, creamy, sweet and satisfying flavour. To prevent the nutty taste from being too overpowering in this smoothie, we add some fresh blueberries to the bottom of the glasses or glass bottle. They balance out the flavours and at the same time create beautiful blue patterns in the smoothie. For extra finesse, we like to finish with a sprinkling of roughly chopped toasted salted nuts.
2 ripe bananas, peeled (use frozen bananas for a thicker consistency)
½ ripe avocado, stone removed
3 tablespoons hazelnut butter (or any other Nut Butter)
1 tablespoon cacao powder
375 ml (13 fl oz/1½ cups) cold almond milk
pinch sea salt
To Serve
fresh blueberries (or frozen, thawed)
toasted, salted almonds or hazelnuts, roughly chopped*
Roughly chop the bananas and add to a blender along with the flesh of the avocado and the rest of the ingredients.
Blend on a high speed until completely smooth.
Divide the blueberries between two medium-sized glasses or put them in a large glass bottle (as featured in the photo). Muddle them slightly with the back of a spoon to release some of their juices.
Pour the nut smoothie on top of the muddled blueberries, finish with a sprinkling of the nuts and serve.
* To toast the nuts, take the roughly chopped raw nuts and toast them in a dry frying pan (skillet) on a medium heat with a pinch of sea salt for approx. 5 minutes or until golden. If you have a sweet tooth, try adding some cold-pressed coconut oil, a drizzle of pure maple syrup and a pinch of sea salt to the pan (½ teaspoon each of the coconut oil and maple syrup to every 2 tablespoons of nuts).
Marbled Smoothie Popsicles
Makes 10 popsicles
Our popsicle version of a smoothie has a beautiful marbled look that can be made in an array of colours. The photo features three different flavour combinations: mango and passion fruit; strawberries and raspberries; and blueberries, but you can adapt this recipe to any fruit of choice – just let your imagination run wild! If you choose a very ripe and sweet fruit, you can use a little less sweetener, or increase it if your fruit is very tart.
For the Banana Smoothie
2 ripe bananas, peeled
500 g (17 oz/2 cups) full-fat plain unsweetened Greek yoghurt*
2 tablespoons pure maple syrup or quality raw honey
¼ teaspoon vanilla powder or 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
For the Fruit Smoothie
150 g (5 oz/1 cup) fresh ripe berries or fruit of choice
2 tablespoons pure maple syrup or quality raw honey
For the Extras
fresh ripe berries or fruit of choice, roughly chopped
Nut Butter
toasted nuts, roughly chopped
Granola
quality dark chocolate (at least 70% cocoa) or raw vegan refined sugar-free chocolate, roughly chopped
Roughly chop the bananas and add them to a blender along with the rest of the banana smoothie ingredients.
Blend on a high speed until completely smooth.
Set aside about 350 g (12 oz/1½ cups) of the banana smoothie, leaving the rest in the blender. Add all of the fruit smoothie ingredients to the blender and blend until completely smooth.
Carefully fill 10 popsicle moulds with the smoothies, alternating between the banana and fruit one to create a marbled look.
For an even more spectacular look and interesting texture, try adding some of the extras in the moulds between the different coloured layers.
Cover, insert the popsicle sticks and set in the freezer for at least 4 hours until completely firm or overnight. They can keep in the freezer for days, weeks, months, years … (but secretly you know they won’t!).
*For a vegan alternative, try replacing the yoghurt with full-fat plain unsweetened coconut yoghurt or milk. Alternatively, use 300 g (10½ oz/2 cups) raw cashew nuts, soaked in filtered water for 3–12 hours, then rinsed and drained.
Tip: We found our popsicle moulds on Amazon, but if you don’t have any, mini paper cups with popsicle sticks or teaspoons inserted in the middle work well too.
HAPPY SMOOTHIE MAKING
