Weekend

We had a fairly quiet weekend which was nice. I spent Sat. morning doing some housework followed by this yummy lunch. Homemade flatbread with salad greens grown by us, grated carrot, quinoa and lentils drizzled with olive oil and lemon juice.

I've been making some changes to my smoothie recipe over these past few weeks. To the usual kale, almond milk, frozen blueberries and banana I've added some tofu, cinnamon and some superfoods:

- 1 heaped tab. cacao powder
- 1 tab. raw honey
- 1 tab. goji berries
- 1 teas. maca powder

When adding new foods to my smoothie I added one new thing at a time, starting with small amounts and adding to them gradually. I have found that this works best for me. In the past I have added larger amounts of new ingredients and at times haven't liked them. Whereas this way you can gradually try new ingredients without the smoothie being ruined.

On Sat. afternoon we visited some friends who were staying in a holiday park near us.  This was the view they had outside their cabin.

 Brad and Josh had a lovely time playing on the jumping pillow.

Today I have been doing some housework, putting some of the new soap out (it's not quite ready to use yet though), and getting some pots ready to plant some Cyclamens in. 

As you can see, we haven't done anything terribly exciting, but it was nice just being together and pottering around. 

What did you get up to over the weekend? 

xxoo Julie

Easter Weekend

We had a lovely quiet Easter weekend. I spent a lot of time studying. The boys collected some firewood and made the coffee table for me. We also watched some movies together and pottered around our home and yard. It was so good to be together, all four of us, for four days straight.

I have been making a large smoothie each morning with frozen bananas and blueberries. I then halve it and have one half for morning tea and the other half for afternoon tea. It is handy having the afternoon one already made and it's a great afternoon pick me up.

I made almond milk for the first time this weekend. I've made other nut milks before, but the first time for almond milk. I am having it on my homemade granola and in my smoothie. 

I was very pleased to find these in Woolworths on the weekend. I prefer to use organic veges that are in season, but these will be great to keep in the freezer to use too.

It was JUST cool enough to light our fire on Monday night. We are very keen at the start of the season as we love our wood fire. It creates a nice atmosphere.

I bought these two blue pots and potted up some peppermint and lemon balm to have inside. I am not sure if they'll work, but I decided to give it a go.They are both lovely in herbal tea. I love the idea of having herbs inside and outside. 

Some more almonds soaking ready for making more almond milk. 

I hope you had a lovely weekend.

Thank you for visiting,

Love Julie xxoo

Feel Like Some Chocolate? I Just Had To Share This Healthy Recipe With You

I just made this delicious "Chocolate Smoothie" and IT IS GOOD FOR YOU!!!!!

1 cup milk ( nut or cow's milk)

1 frozen very ripe banana

1 tab. cacao powder

1/2 teas. vanilla

1 tab. agave nectar (or honey or maple syrup)

Place all ingredients in a blender. Blend and ENJOY.

Green Smoothies are Great

Other than water, a green smoothy would have to be my favorite drink.

A green smoothy makes me feel happy and healthy.  It is full of vitamins and minerals.

I usually have a green smoothy for either morning or afternoon tea each day. I enjoy the taste of it and after drinking my green smoothy I feel revitalised, ready to take on anything.

What do I put in my green smoothy, you may ask? In mine goes kale or spinach, frozen bananas, an orange and a dash of filtered water. Just a little bit of water for a thick smoothy and more water if you want a thinner one. Then just blend it all up.

 You may be thinking, like I was before trying one for the first time, that it would taste disgusting, but let me assure you it doesn't.

Along with the "greens" you can put in any fruit you like, but I would always put in some frozen banana as the banana  makes the smoothy nice and creamy. If you don't like the taste you could add some stronger tasting fruit like pineapple.

Here is a great smoothy to start with.  It contains:
1 kale leaf - stalk removed ( it is good to start small while you get use to the "green" taste.)
1 orange
1 frozen banana
1 nectarine ( as they are in season, where I live, at the moment).