Banana Blueberry Smoothie

I wasn't feeling terribly hungry tonight, so instead of cooking dinner I made a banana and blueberry smoothie!  For extra goodness and to ensure I still received the nutrients I need, I also added chia seeds and almond milk!  OMG, it was soooooo tasty! :)  My daughter also loved it!

Banana Blueberry Smoothie with Chia Seeds & Almond Milk

Ingredients

3 frozen bananas
1 handful fresh blueberries
1 tbsp coconut oil
1 tbsp chia seeds
3 cups (approx) almond milk


Peel and cut the bananas into chunks and wash the blueberries.

Put the bananas, blueberries, coconut oil, chia seeds and approx. 3 cups of almond milk into a blender.  Turn it on and blend until smooth.

Pour into 3 glasses and drink.

Enjoy!

Caryl ♥

Pumpkin, Leek & Kale Soup

Cold, wintry weather always calls for a warming soup at the end of the day.  The snow stopped me from going shopping today so I had to create something with veggies I had available and came up with this unusual, yet very tasty combination.

Pumpkin, Leek & Kale Soup

Ingredients

1 butternut pumpkin - cut into small chunks
3 leeks - roughly sliced
1/2 bag kale - roughly chopped
2 cloves garlic - crushed
Ground cumin
Chicken stock (I used home-made, but you could use stock cubes and water)
Lemon


Melt a knob of butter in a large saucepan. Add the leeks, garlic, pumpkin and a good spoon or more of cumin. Stir well and cook for a few minutes.

Pour in enough stock to cover the vegetables and bring to the boil. Pop a lid on the pan and turn the heat down to a simmer for approx 15-20 minutes, until pumpkin is cooked.

Stir the kale into the soup and let it cook for a couple more minutes.

Take off the heat and blend it all together.  (I use a hand blender.)

Squeeze half of a lemon into the smooth soup, stir and serve.

You can add shavings of parmesan, or a swirl of creme fraiche (or both).  I also serve it with In Caryl's Kitchen: Cornbread Muffins.

Enjoy!

Caryl ♥

Red Lentil Dahl with Carrots & Sweet Potato

My daughter has recently decided to try being a vegetarian.  Luckily, I often cook vegetarian meals anyway, so this one was pretty easy.  I used carrots and sweet potato because that's all I had left, before the delivery of my next organic veggie box, but you could really add any vegetable you want.

Red Lentil Dahl with Carrots and Sweet Potato

Ingredients

2 small onions - peeled and finely chopped
3 large carrots - roughly chopped
1 large sweet potato - roughly chopped
3 large garlic cloves - crushed
1 tbs curry powder
250g red lentils
1 400g tin kidney beans - drained and rinsed
1 400g tin tomatoes
2-3 cups vegetable stock or water
1 large handful fresh flat-leaf parsley or coriander (cilantro) - roughly chopped
1-2 tbs red wine vinegar


Stir fry the onions, carrots and sweet potato in a little oil, until the onion is softened.

Add the crushed garlic and curry powder and stir until nicely fragrant.

Pour in the lentils and give it all a good stir, then add the kidney beans, tomatoes and stock.  Stir well and bring to the boil.  Cover with a lid or some baking paper and simmer for 15-20 minutes, until the veggies are just cooked.  Add extra water if needed.

Stir through the parsley/coriander and red wine vinegar.  Serve over fluffy brown basmati rice or with naan bread.

Enjoy!

Caryl ♥