Summer Mocktails

The silly season can mean a little more food & drinking. This mocktail is a great alternative to alcoholic drinks, they whole family can enjoy.

Ingredients

• 1 cup blueberries

• 2 tablespoons coconut sugar

• 1 cup filtered water

• 2 cups sparkling mineral water

• 2 limes juiced

Instructions

1. Place blue berries, coconut sugar & 1 cup of water into a small saucepan and simmer for 15 minutes.

2. Strain blueberries through a fine sieve & discard blueberries skins.

3. Fill 4 glasses with ice and disperse syrup between 4 glasses.

4. Top the syrup with sparkling mineral water & lime juice to taste

*The human body cannot excrete alcohol; it has to be converted into acetaldehyde by the liver. That is what gives you a sore head the next day.
*When we drink daily, or, for some, just regularly, the liver can be so busy dealing with alcohol as its priority, other substances that the liver has to change so they can be excreted don't get any attention and are recycled. Estrogen and cholesterol are two examples. Think hormone imbalance/high cholesterol.

*The worst thing for that hangover is panadol, just another toxic load for the liver to excrete. *A good quality B vitamin supports phase 2 liver detoxification (not Berocca).

Gingerbread cookies

I love family traditions, things that stick in the memory box that you carry through your life. One thing I have been doing with my children each year is making Christmas cookies, the smell that fills the kitchen, jingle bells playing in the back ground and a precious moment of time spent together rolling dough & cutting cookies.

Ingredients

• 1 + 1/4 cups almond meal

• 1 cup flour, plus more to dust (I use buckwheat)

• 1/3 cup honey or maple syrup

• 3 x tablespoons ground ginger

• 1 x tablespoon coconut oil

• 1 x tablespoon chia seeds

• You’ll also need 95ml of water and biscuit/cookie cutters.

Instructions

Pre-heat the oven to 200c (fan 180c), gas mark 6.

1. Add all the ingredients to a food processor and blend into a sticky mix.

2. Wrap the dough in a bees wax wrap (or cling wrap) and refrigerate fro 15-30 minutes.

3. Dust a clean dry bench top & rolling pin with flour and roll out the dough until its nicely thin and perfectly smooth.

4. Kids love this step - cut cookies into your favourite shapes a place onto a lined baking tray. Once you’ve made the first batch of men re-roll the remaining dough and make some more until it’s all used up.

5. Bake for 10-15 minutes until golden then leave to cool on the tray before storing in an airtight container.

6. We decorate them with melted white chocolate.

Summer Smoothie Bowl

Smoothie bowls are in vogue at the moment, they’re delicious & you can play with flavours & toppings but be aware that most recipes call for a heap of frozen bananas & not a lot of protein or healthy fats. This recipe has the same great taste and hits all the macro-nutrients to create a balance meal or snack.

Ingredients

• 1 frozen banana (peel & cut into slices before freezing)

• 1 frozen zucchini (cut into slices before freezing)

• 2 Tbsp coconut yoghurt

• 1 Tbsp flaxseeds

• Serve of vanilla protein (optional)

Toppings

• 1 teaspoon chia seeds

• 1/4 cup chopped nuts (almonds/brazil/cashews)

• 1 teaspoon cacao powder

• zest of an orange

• A few berries & fig’s (you can use any seasonal fruit)

Instructions

1. Place banana, zucchini, coconut yoghurt, flaxseeds & protein into a high powered blender & blend until smooth & creamy.

2. Spoon into a bowl.

3. Pulse dry toppings in the blender (chia seeds, nuts, cacao) & sprinkle on top of the smoothie bowl.

4. Add fruit & serve.

Healthy Rum Balls

• 2 cups nuts raw mixed nuts

• 1/2 cup rolled oats

• 1 teaspoon ginger powder

• 1 teaspoon mixed spice

• 1 teaspoon cinnamon

• 1 tablespoon cacao

• 1 tablespoon chia seeds

• 10 fresh dates

• 1/3 cup rum

• 2 tablespoons honey

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• extra cacao or coconut for coating (optional)

Instructions

1. You don’t have to do this step but it does add a lovely flavour - Place nuts in a medium skillet on medium heat and toss them around for a few minutes until fragrant.

2. Place all dry ingredients into a food processor or high powered blender & blitz till fine crumb.

3. Add dates & other wet ingredients & process until a dough forms

4. With wet hands roll into balls and then coat in coconut or cacao powder. I find the easiest way to do this is to place desiccated coconut into a cup and tilt the cup back & forth to cover ball.