Good Morning Smoothies

I never get tired of smoothies, no matter what time of the year it is! Lately I've been loving a combination of banana, spinach and vanilla or a strawberry one with just banana and vanilla. Such a delicious start for the day! 

Bionade

It's been a very warm start to autumn here in Sydney and on most days it still feels like summer. Humidity has been similar to what we usually get in February and that has made days feel even muggier. Hence I gladly accepted an offer to review and taste test Bionade, a refreshing organic soft drink that's been a best seller in Europe for quite some time and is now making its way down under. 

I must admit I was a bit hesitant first and I thought this drink would be way too sweet for my liking. I haven't been able to drink sugary soft drinks for ages and those sweetened artificially don't suit my gut at all. However, I was really pleasantly surprised by Bionade; it is not overly sweet and it also isn't overly carbonated. There are four flavours currently available: Herbs, Orange & Ginger, Lychee and Elderberry, all of them which I really enjoyed, but if I had to pick a favourite it'd probably be Lychee. So glad I have Bionade to get me through these warm and humid autumn days! 

What is Bionade?

• 100% certified organic in both raw materials and production
• contains 40-60% less calories and sugar than conventional soft drinks
• gluten-free and vegan friendly
• non-alcoholic
• free of colourants, preservatives and artificial flavours 
• made in Germany and fermented like German beer, just without alcohol
• contains water, sugar, malt from barley (2%), carbon acid, calcium and magnesium carbonate

White NYE Tea Party + A Review

I have to admit, I am notorious for not having any plans for New Year's Eve. There seems to be a reasonable amount of pressure (although less so nowadays) to do something spectacular, along with a special New Year's resolution that will supposedly make you a better person in one way or another. I'm a pretty content person as far as resolutions go, but I think this is still a good time to stop and reflect on the past year and think of ways to improve in the coming year. 

I thought it would be fun to plan a little tea party for New Year's Eve and I decided to go with an all white theme. Somehow, New Year's for me is not so heavily 'season-infused' as Christmas is, but I still subconsciously go for a winter colour palate, rather than a summery one. Little meringues seemed like a lovely sweet thing to have with a perfect cup of tea (this is one of my current favourites). 

Do you make plans for New Year's Eve? Do you make resolutions? 

Recently, I was offered to do a review for an online store called KitchenwareSuperstore.com.au. As you may know, I don't normally do reviews or product advertising, but I had been wanting to try out the Cuisinart Programmable Kettle for a while, so I agreed to review it. Please note that this is an honest review, unaffected by the fact that I was given this kettle in return for a review.

My husband and I both enjoy a cup of tea quite regularly and a kettle with different temperature settings felt like a perfect addition to our kitchen gadgets. I am a rather impatient tea maker, so I've often had to cool down my cup of tea with a dash of cold water in order to be able to drink it immediately. With the Cuisinart Programmable Kettle, however, I can choose between six different temperature settings, set the temperature to 75°C (recommended for delicate teas with a short steeping time) and enjoy a perfect cup of tea immediately. For the same reason, we have also found that this setting is great for making a perfect bowl of miso soup! Another great feature is the 'keep warm mode' which means that the kettle automatically maintains the selected temperature for 30 minutes. This is particularly convenient for that much needed second cup of tea.

As a bit of an aesthetic, I also love the sleek and modern look of the Cuisinart kettle. The stainless steel colour is easy to match with other appliances in our kitchen.

Check out my other post: Ode to Tea

Cuisinart Programmable Kettle from KitchenwareSuperstore.com.au

Protein Smoothies

 Strawberry Protein Smoothie

(serves 1)

a few fresh strawberries

250ml almond milk (recipe here)

a few ice cubes

2 tablespoons pure pea protein isolate

ground vanilla, to taste

Banana Protein Smoothie

(serves 1)

1 ripe banana, peeled

250ml almond milk (recipe here)

a few ice cubes

1 heaped teaspoon Miessence Berryradical Antioxidant Superfood/

raw cacao powder

Feel free to add your favourite leafy greens (kale is superb), avocado, different berries, etc. 
Sky is your limit!

Keeping it Cool with Summer Drinks

Happy Sunday!

It's been very warm couple of weeks here in Sydney, so I've been keeping my food and drinks very cool. Salads, fruit and yoghurt have sufficed for meals and these filling smoothies  make a great breakfast or an afternoon snack. I can't pick my favourite, they are all equally delicious!

Hope you have a great new week ahead!

xo

 

 Peach Matcha Latte

(serves 1)

2 shots of powered green tea (about 125ml)

a few ice cubes

a dash of milk

1 peach, stoned

Add all ingredients in a blender and churn away!

Banana-Vanilla Smoothie

(serves 1)

1 ripe banana

1/4 teaspoon ground vanilla

a dash of milk

a few ice cubes

Do as above and enjoy whilst cool.

Ice Coffee

(serves 1)

strong filtered coffee (about 125ml)

a few ice cubes

a dash of milk

sweetener of your choice, optional

Add all ingredients in a blender and churn. Enjoy cool.

An Ode to Tea

"Strange how a teapot can represent 
at the same time the comforts of solitude 
and the pleasures of company."

There is really nothing quite like a cup of freshly steeped tea: it can be vitalising, calming, comforting and warming, it will caress all your senses and leave you feeling restored and content. Tea truly is the elixir of life, and over the years I've moved on from drinking coffee to enjoying and embracing green and herbal teas. I've become fascinated by the rituals deep engraved in the traditions of serving and drinking tea and I've become more appreciative of this magnificent beverage. 

I find it incredibly fascinating how, a humble leaf of an ever-green camellia plant, can be so highly celebrated over the whole world, can have the most precious ceremonies formed around it and can still be the most standard beverage found in the most modest of homes. 

For thousands of years the Chinese have used tea for medicinal purposes and tea is now known to contain high quantities of antioxidants, those cell-hugging substances that are believed to lower the risk of heart disease and cancer. There are many additional health benefits of regular tea consumption, including improved artery function and increase of good cholesterol, as well as decrease of bad cholesterol. 

We all know the different types and varieties of tea - black, green, Oolong, white, Rooibos, Pu-erh, herbal teas and so on. The flavour of the brew is affected by the way tea is harvested, dried and processed, but the soil, climate and altitude also leave a mark on the flavour. Whilst certain countries and areas are only known for their black teas (India and Sri Lanka, for instance), others are commonly producing only green varieties (like Japan). There is a whole art of steeping associated with each type of tea, but without going into too much technicalities, I will refer you to this steeping guide that will most certainly guide you towards right direction.

There is so much to say about tea, but I will now introduce you to Helene von Schrenk, who, together with her husband Richard, founded Swedelicious, a Swedish tea business located in Melbourne, Australia. I had a few questions in mind for Helene and here's what she had to say. 

Q1. Can you tell us a bit about Swedelicious – Why did you decide to start a tea business? 

Coming from Sweden where there are tea houses around every corner it seems, I have missed all the beautiful tea blend varieties one can enjoy there. I decided to see if I could import some of my favourites down to Australia for my own enjoyment. To do that was not easy or cheap, as I needed an import permit for each ingredient for each tea! It all started to snowball and all of the sudden I had an online business and wholesaling black, green, rooibos and organic (Viking) tea blends. It seemed that there were more Scandinavian other than my husband and I that were missing these sorts of blends that were impossible to find in Australia.

My aim with Swedelicious is to continue bring in more tea blends, introducing other scrumptious Scandinavian products and eventually have a typical Swedish Tea house for all to sample, buy and enjoy a cup of tea and other delicacies. 

Q2. Are there any dos and don’ts one should know about brewing a perfect cup of tea at home?

I think the main problem in brewing a great cup of tea is the length and temperature of the brew. Green tea can become quite bitter if it is brewed for too long (black can get a more tannin taste too) and we shouldn’t scald the tea leaves either with the water. So when I make green tea I try to turn the kettle off before it has reached boiling point and I taste the tea so that I know when to remove my tea strainer in time. Milk doesn’t go that well in green tea, but is a great accompaniment in black and I also have it in my rooibos blend but that isn’t everyone’s cup of tea :-)

Q3. What is your favourite tea variety? And how do you like to enjoy it?

I have many favourites :-) The hardest is choosing which one to have each night, but I tend to lean towards the black tea blends and rooibos during the colder months especially. Green teas I tend to drink more during the summer months and make lots of ice teas!

My favourite black (at the moment) has got to be Freya’sPassion, which is an organic tea with passion fruit, kumquat, blueberries and marigold. 

Q4. Can you tell us about the art of blending teas? How do you come up with different flavour combinations?

I have only dabbled a little in blending myself, but would love to become more knowledgeable in that are. At the moment I source the tea blends and import them directly from Sweden.

Q5. What are some different ways one can use tea in cooking and in recipes?

I think you can use tea where and when your imagination lets you. I tend to use it in baking, substituting water for example with tea for a greater taste. But you can also use it in poaching, smoking, BBQ… the list goes on. Great ways to experiment!

Thank you, Helene! 


To celebrate tea, Helene and Richard are kindly offering 25% off all Swedelicious teas, tea cards and Sami bracelets to Scandi Foodie readers! Please visit their website for more information on different blends (Freya's Passion is my favourite too), tea cards and Sami bracelets. Please see Helene's blog for even more information. This offer is available until the end of June, 2012. Please email orders to Swedelicious and make sure to mention "Scandi Foodie" in the order. 

 

Recommended reading

Japanese Tea Ceremony

 Tea Guardian

Steeping Chart

Some of my favourite tea shops

Swedelicious - Scandinavian blends

Obubu Tea - Matcha and other green tea varieties

T2 - Lots of black, green and white teas + brewing equipment

Neo Australia- Herbal teas

Yogi Tea - Herbal teas

Pukka - Herbal teas

Nordqvist - Finnish tea company

"If man has no tea in him, he is incapable of understanding truth and beauty."

~ Japanese proverb

Disclaimer: This is not a sponsored blog post. All recommendations are genuine. 

Juicing and Cleansing

This morning I visited my local health store to stock up on some liquid iron (a supplement I take every now and then), Super Greens powder (containing spirulina, barley grass, chlorella and wheat grass) and other essentials (raw chickpeas, sunflower seeds, flaxseed oil, etc). I can just imagine how busy these stores get right after New Year. Everyone has made that (same) New Year's resolution to lose weight, to quit smoking, to live healthier. People are desperately seeking for a (preferably) quick diet solution that will help them lose those extra kilos.

Although I can't exactly say I over-indulged during my break (see my Christmas menu here and New Year's menu here), I felt like it was a good time to reassess my relationship with food. Having done a three day alkalising cleanse in the past, I didn't really want to set up any time restrictions, nor do a full-on juice fast, but rather just replace some of my meals with fresh juices, leaving one light meal (a salad with greens, flaxseed oil and some sunflower seeds) to have each day. I will go like this for 3 days, 5 days, a week - whatever feels right.

This method works well for me, especially since I have already quit sugar and dairy and consume no alcohol and nowadays very little caffeine, if at all. My juicer has been churning all spring and summer and I've become a little addicted to my fresh vegetable juices in the morning and my daily green smoothies. Juicing is a great way to cleanse and even if you are not keen to do the whole fasting thing, you can easily add fresh vegetable juices in your daily diet and perhaps try a green smoothie as a light meal or just as a snack. For a real super smoothie, try mixing in some flaxseed oil and Super Greens powder.

I'm a strong believer in eating right for your body type - we are not all the same so how could one eating plan possibly work for everyone? I also like to experiment and see what effect these experiments might have in my health and general wellbeing. I can honestly say that quitting sugar and dairy have made me feel better. This to me is enough proof to keep me on this clean path. Equally, eating meat never suited me and I have no desire to go back being a carnivore. Thus, I think each person should first understand their body type (Deepak Chopra's book below is a great way to start) and then make the necessary dietary/lifestyle adjustments. What works for me, might not work for you. It is as simple as that.

Here are some of my favourite vegetable juices to get you started. You can really let your creativity go wild! Almost anything can be juiced, even sweet potatoes, onions, garlic and cabbages! Just remember to use seasonal produce and preferably choose organic. If you're using conventional produce, washing the ingredients with white vinegar-water mixture (with a ratio of approximately 1:3) might help reduce the amount of toxic residue.

Green Beauty Juice

 1/2 bunch of celery (with leafy tops)

 1 long cucumber

 a knob of ginger

 juice of 1/2 lemon

1. Wash all the ingredients well. Juice the celery, cucumber and ginger. Squeeze in the lemon juice. Drink immediately (or preferably within 2-3 hours).

Green Smoothie

 1 portion of Green Beauty Juice

a large handful of spinach

1/2 avocado, chopped

1 tablespoon flaxseed oil

2 teaspoons Super Greens

1. Place all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. Drink immediately or within 2-3 hours.

Gorgeous Beet Juice

2-3 beets (can use the leaves as well, if you wish)

a knob of ginger

juice of 1/2 lemon

1. Juice the beets and the ginger. Drizzle with lemon. Drink immediately.

Other tasty flavour combinations include:

carrot

ginger

lemon

cucumber

broccoli

ginger

lemon

bok choy

parsley

ginger

lemon

Other tips for cleansing

I try to dry-brush my entire body every day or at least a few times a week. Here is a good guide for dry-brushing.

I love having a (rather large) range of herbal teas in my pantry at all times. Some of my favourite flavours include licorice root, peppermint, different warm spice mixes (like cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, cloves) and dandelion root tea. Herbal teas are a great caffeine-free alternative for coffee.

Exercise-wise, it probably goes without saying that rigorous training, whilst cleansing, might not be the best idea. I prefer walking, swimming and yoga (even when not cleansing), but I also allow my body to rest more during the cleanse.

These are just some of the books I've been reading lately:

Dupont, C.M. Enlightened Eating - Nourishment for Body and Soul (2006)
Deepak, C.  Perfect Health - The Complete Mind/Body Guide (2001)
Junger, A. Clean - The Revolutionary Program to Restore Body's Natural Ability to Heal Itself (2009)

Finnish Christmas with a Twist: Cool rhubarb glögg

It's been a busy end of the year for me and I'm sure I'm not the only one anticipating a little break. It'll be a short one for me, however, but even a few days off are more than welcome. I am hoping to spend some time just sitting outside, on the balcony, with a cool drink in hand, reading a good book. The drink of choice for me would have to be this cool rhubarb glögg - a spiced drink made to remind me of Christmas, but adapted to season's demands. 

I adore rhubarb, I'm sure you've realised that by now, and this drink is for all you die-hard rhubarb lovers out there. It's completely sugar-free, so prepare yourself for some real rhubarb flavour pared with warming spices and a drizzle of lemon juice to freshen it all up. I am more than happy to pour myself a glass of this with lots of ice, lift my feet up and bury my head in a book.

Cool rhubarb glögg

(serves 2)

500g rhubarb, chopped

1 cinnamon stick

2 star anis

5 whole cloves

5 cardamom pods, slightly crushed

knob of fresh ginger, peeled and cut into slices

1/2 lemon, juiced

ice, to serve

1. Place the rhubarb, spices and ginger in a saucepan and add about 1 litre of water. Bring the mixture to boil, then leave to simmer for about 15 minutes. 

2. Drain the juice into a bowl and leave to cool.

3. Drizzle with lemon and serve cool with ice.

Gluten-free strawberry and wattleseed muffins and rhubarb juice

Hi friends!

It's been marvellously sunny and warm here in Sydney for the past few days and I am really loving the smell of blooming spring flowers and the warm breeze that comes through the open windows. The mornings are much brighter and the days are getting longer - Summer is on its way!

I am also happy to let you know that we have finalised the deal for our new home and will be moving in later this spring! I am so excited about planning the interiors for the new place. After five years of living together we have of course accumulated a lot of stuff, but we will need to buy some new furniture as our new home will be quite a lot bigger than our current one. I will try to plan this carefully and select pieces that are perhaps a bit pricier but better quality and therefore (hopefully) longer lasting. Anyway, it's all exciting stuff and I'll be updating you guys regularly when things really start happening.

In the mean while, here's a little Sunday morning treat I made for this sunny spring day. I used roasted ground wattleseed to give these muffins a little extra flavour, but if you can't find wattleseed (a native Australian spice), you could replace it with cinnamon. Wattleseed has a nice coffee-like flavour that goes really well with the ingredients used in these muffins. I'm serving these treats with some refreshing rhubarb juice which is so simple to make and beats any of those sugar and preservative loaded shop-bought juices any day.

Hope you are all enjoying the weekend!

 

Gluten-free Strawberry and Wattleseed Muffins

(makes 8-10)

100g raw caster sugar

110g teff flour

110g sorghum flour

55g almond meal

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt (I use Maldon)

1 teaspoon ground wattleseed

175ml water

75ml olive oil

2 large free-range eggs

3-4 fresh strawberries, hulled and sliced

1. Preheat the oven to 180C and prepare a 10 or 12 cup muffin tin. 

2. Mix the caster sugar, flours, almond meal, baking powder, salt and wattleseed in a bowl. 

3. Whisk the water, olive oil and eggs in a jug. 

4. Pour the egg mixture in to the dry ingredients and stir quickly together. 

5. Spoon the mixture into the muffin cups and top each muffin with a slice of strawberry. Gently press the strawberry slices into the batter.

6. Bake for 20-30 minutes or until a tester inserted in to the muffin comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack.

 

 Rhubarb Juice*

(makes about 1 litre)

500g rhubarb, cut into pieces

1 lemon, peeled and cut into slices

boiling water

raw sugar, to taste

* you need to start this recipe a day ahead. 

1. Layer the rhubarb and the lemon slices into a clean jar. 

2. Top the pieces with boiling water. 

3. Close the jar and keep it covered (with a tea towel) in room temperature for about 24 hours. Half-way through, gently mash the rhubarb in the jar. Close the jar and continue to let "brewing".

4. Sieve the juice, add sugar to taste and enjoy. This will keep in the fridge for about 3 days. 

Pomegranate Glögg

It was another sunny winter weekend here in Sydney. We spent Sunday in the northern parts of the town, lunching and visiting my partner's parents. This is my favourite part of Sydney and I never get tired of the beautiful beaches and the scenery there. I could have spent the whole day outside, taking photos and enjoying the sunny weather. I certainly enjoy this temperature much more than the heat in summer!

 

A glögg is a perfect hot drink to have on a cool winter's day. I've chosen rather untraditional ingredient of pomegranate, but you could happily use frozen lingonberry, cranberry or black currants instead. The spices give this drink a warm hum without making it too strong, and a bit of rapadura sugar makes the glögg sweet as it should be.

Pomegranate Glögg

(serves 2)

250g frozen pomegranate seeds

2 cups water

1 cinnamon stick

knob of fresh ginger

5-7 cardamom pods

3-5 cloves

1 star anise

1 tablespoon rapadura sugar

1. Place all ingredients in a saucepan, bring to boil and let simmer for 20 minutes. 

2. Drain the mixture through a sieve into 2 mugs. Serve hot.

Home-made quinoa milk and 'Chocoatl'

Some of you may have seen the tweets earlier this week about my experiments with home-made quinoa milk. I adore quinoa and I am convinced about its versatility, nutritious qualities and tastiness. It is suitable for both sweet and savoury dishes and its a perfect gluten-free alternative. Like brown rice, it can also be made into milk and used as a protein-rich dairy-free drink. 

 

As a side note I should say that I have always had a deep interest in the Maya culture. Even as a young teenager, I was (perhaps in an un-cool way) drawn into the fascinating history of the Mayas and I once aspired to become an archaeologist, something along the lines of Indiana Jones. This didn't happen, however, although I did manage to complete a minor in a somewhat less interesting field of Finnish archaeology. 

This quinoa chocolate drink takes me right back to my Maya research days. The combination of chocolate and spices is impeccable and results in a thick, velvety drink that is filling and satisfying. I have used home-made quinoa milk, but you could substitute with rice milk, almond milk or even normal milk. If you use all quinoa milk, you will get a thick almost soup-like consistency. You could use half milk half water if you like, but I the thick filling chocolate drink was exactly what was called for on this rainy autumn's day.

 

Quinoa milk*

(makes 1 litre)**

1/2 cup white quinoa, rinsed

2 cups water

*you need to start this recipe on the previous night.

**Recipe from Food.com

1. Place the rinsed quinoa in a glass bowl and cover with water. Cover the bowl with a lid or cling wrap and refrigerate over-night.

2. The next morning, drain the quinoa and rinse with clean water. Place the quinoa in a saucepan and cover with 2 cups of clean water.

3. Bring to boil and let simmer for 15-20 minutes. 

4. Place the cooked quinoa in a food processor and add 2 more cups of water.

5. Blitz until smooth and velvety, add water if needed.

6. Strain the quinoa milk through a fine sieve or a cheesecloth.

Chocoatl - Chocolate quinoa drink

(Recipe adapted from Ruohonjuuri)

1 litre quinoa milk

25g raw 100% cocoa chocolate

1 tbsp unsweetened, dark chocolate powder

3 tbsp raw honey

1 tbsp vanilla extract

2 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp ground ginger

tiny pinch of chili flakes

tiny pinch of salt

1. Heat the quinoa milk (or half quinoa, half water) in a small saucepan. 

2. In the meanwhile, melt the chocolate in the microwave. (Be careful not letting it get too hot.)

3. Whisk in the chocolate and all other ingredients and whisk until smooth and velvety. Add water if too thick.

4.  Serve warm.

Going through some changes - Spiced rice milk drink

Habits are a funny thing - they are sometimes so difficult to break, but often a change from something that has become a habit (good or bad) feels good. I have been going through some drastic changes during the first quarter of this year and they have really helped me to re-focus as well as made me feel very energised and positive.

Cutting down on gluten and dairy has been much easier than I thought. I haven't done this due to any medical condition, but more because this feels better for me and my body. I am loving gluten-free baking and discovering alternative ways to cook and bake. I am also very excited to try dairy-free options, like this home-made rice milk and the nut milks I've made in the past.

This spicy rice milk drink reminds me of chai mix, but I haven't added any black tea in it. If you're after a stronger taste, you could easily add black tea in the mix. There are a few different ways of making rice milk, but I like this one because of its so easy and results in very creamy milk.

Spiced rice milk drink*

{Rice milk}**

1/2 cup brown rice (long or medium grain)

6-8 cups water

{Spiced rice milk drink}

1 1/2 cups

5-10 cardamom pods

1 cinnamon stick

knob of fresh ginger

5 cloves

1 tsp natural vanilla extract (or 1 vanilla bean)

raw honey, to serve

*Start this recipe by making the rice milk up to 2,5 hours before.
 ** This recipe is from Food.com website. Makes about 1 litre of milk, consume the milk within 2 days. 

1. Place the brown rice and water in a saucepan. Bring to boil and let simmer for 30-40 minutes or until the rice is very soft.

2. Place the cooked rice along with the water into a food processor and blitz until very smooth and creamy.

3. Let the mixture to stand for 45-60 minutes, then drain through a fine sieve or a muslin. (I had the left-over rice with umeboshi paste and it was delicious!)

 4. To make the spiced rice milk drink place all ingredients in a saucepan and bring to boil. Remove the saucepan from the heat and let sit, covered, for about 10-15 minutes. Drain off the spices and sweeten with raw honey, if you wish. Enjoy warm.

Beetroot-Yuzu Juice

My Juice Bar is finally open! I just couldn't resist sharing this lovely beetroot juice recipe with you (and a word of warning that there might be more juice & smoothie recipes coming), and you can probably imagine how excited I've been about my new juicer. After all, I think I've mentioned it here and on Twitter about half a million times by now ;-)

So finally a whole WEEK after I got my new juicer I had time to start experimenting. I had my fridge packed with vegetables so all I needed to do was get everything prepared and start juicing!

I've never been a big shop-bought juice drinker, but if you are then I do recommend you consider buying a juicer. The one that I got is a heavy duty juicer (1200W), so I can chuck pretty much anything in it and it (hopefully) won't break. It cost me about AUD200, but I really don't think it's a lot especially if you drink a lot of juices. The best thing about making your own juice is of course that it's free of any nasty additives and preservatives, and if you can use organic produce, it's even better!

Have a think about it and if you already happen to have a juicer then have a go at this recipe ;-)

Beetroot-Yuzu Juice

3 medium beets, peeled and chopped in quarters
2 oranges, peeled
2 carrots, peeled
knob of fresh ginger

50ml yuzu (can substitute with lime or lemon juice)

Process the beets, carrots, oranges and ginger in a juicer, add yuzu and mix well. Serve immediately.