Where is my Sunshine?!

This morning I was standing in the kitchen looking out the window, feeling a little less than enthusiastic about the sudden disappearance of the beautiful sunshine. I don't know about where you are but I was cold and feeling like crawling back under the covers was the best option this Sunday morning.
However with a husband getting ready to leave for work and a 3 year old hanging off my leg it was sadly not an option.
I am not a fan of tea (yes I said it) and I usually don't drink coffee unless out and about, so I needed to come up with something else to pep me up. We have a rather large selection of herbal teas but I just wasn't feeling the urge for that distinctive green tea taste.

While checking the plants and herbs by the window for dehydration I, as I often do, rubbed my fingers over the mint leaves for a quick intake of beautiful aroma

**Light bulb**

Mint into a glass, pour hot water over and leave to cool. The mint infuses beautifully and leaves a warm tummy pleasing drink.

So if you're feeling chilly today and happen to grow some mint, why not try this out?

Your insides will thank you

R

Mango Smoothie

This is a personal favourite of mine Mrs Red Kitchen

It was the only thing I could comsume for the first 16 weeks of my first pregnancy!

This is a great breakfast. Filling and super healthy

Makes 2 - 4
(depending on serving size)


Ingredients

1 ripe Mango, peeled & sliced
125ml milk (low or full fat)
100ml natural yogurt
2 tbsp honey
Handful ice OR scoop of vanilla ice cream


Place all ingredients into a blender and pulse until smooth. Enjoy as a healthy breakfast or snack

Blueberry Smoothie

Natural Yogurt 150ml
Fresh Blueberries 3 tbsp
1 Banana
1 tsp icing sugar/honey (optional)



Simply combine and blitz until smooth. Pour and Serve.

This can also be stored in the fridge for later :)

Great as a snack or breakfast!

Wanted to share

I found this and wanted to share. They do say Breakfast is the most important meal! We may as well do it RIGHT!

http://uk.lifestyle.yahoo.com/food-drink/top-10-healthy-breakfast-options-blog-6-real-buzz.html

It's a list of the top 10 breakfast foods.

Porridge & Berries
Beans on Toast
Bagel with low fat cream cheese and salmon
Fruit & Yogurt
Bacon, Tomato, Beans, Mushroom on toast
Crumpets and fruit spread
Muesli and soya milk or low-fat milk
Pure fruit juice and iron-fortified breakfast cereal
Smoothie
Scrambled or poached egg on granary toast


Actually speaking of I have a FAB smoothie that looks SO good you FEEL good from that alone! I'll post it soon!

Peanut Butter Breakfast Muffins

You will need;

250g self raising flour
150g caster sugar
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 egg
1tsp vanilla extract
200ml milk (ff or ss)
150g melted peanut butter **
3 tbsp veg oil


Mix your dry ingredients first.
Self raising flour, baking powder and sugar. Add half the milk and the vanilla extract. Next add the egg and the remaining milk. Finally add the oil and melted peanut better.

(To melt the peanut butter pop 150g into a microwave save bowl and heat for 20 - 30 seconds)

The mixture with the very heavy and sticky.

Divide into the muffin cases in a muffin tin. Place in a pre-heated oven at 160C for around 30 mins. As always with cakes, keep an eye on it and test with a skewer before removing. With muffins watch for the cracks to appear in the top of the bun. This is usually a sign that they're done.


** smooth for breakfast, crunchy for other **

Light Pancakes

You will need;

225g flour (roughly 3/4 cup)
2tsp baking powder
1tsp sugar
2 eggs
1 cup milk
2 tbsp butter

As always I like to make my pancakes the night before but leaving it a few hours to rest and thicken will help too. You can of course use it right away but the batter will be more runny.

Pop the butter into a small dish and melt either on the stove or in the microwave. 15 seconds in the microwave will do it. Set aside to cool.

Simple as any. Sift the flour, baking powder and sugar into a mixing bowl. Add your milk and give it a quick mix with a whisk. Add the two eggs and mix well. With the butter you have two options. You can put it in now or leave it until right before you'll be cooking. The only difference is if you're leaving it to rest, the butter will rise to the top in the fridge. No harm but be warned it may happen. A quick mix before cooking will fix all!

Cooking pancakes is the same as crepe below. These are much lighter so don't worry about how soft they will be. ONLY FLIP ONCE! Golden rule to keep pancakes light and fluffy.

Serve with honey or golden syrup and top with a fruit of your choice. We loves grapes in my house!


Enjoy!