recipe – Page 2 – CLARE HOPKINS

My Delicious Detox Smoothie

September 20, 2017April 23, 2020Posted in ALL POSTS, FOOD, HEALTHTagged blogging, breakfast, Colourpot, delicious, detox, detox smoothie, FOOD, fruit, HEALTH, healthy, journal, LIFESTYLE, recipe, smoothie, smoothie recipe, wordpress6 Comments

Mmm a smoothie is the perfect breakfast when you wake up on a hot day.

A lot can go into a smoothie (and sometimes I do go a bit overboard), so it’s important to fill them with beneficial ingredients. Sometimes I can go a bit overboard on the cacao powder and peanut butter that the smoothie isn’t as nutritious as I had hoped (still healthy relative to a thick shake).

Below is my recipe for a quick, healthy and FILLING smoothie for breakfast. This thing keeps me full until lunch, and I’ve made sure I packed it full of ingredients with wonderful health benefits.

It’s the perfect smoothie if you’ve had an indulgent week (or perhaps a big night) and you want to boost your system with beneficial vitamins and minerals.

You will need:

1 cup spinach – high in protein, fibre, vitamins.
1 tsp turmeric – contains curcumin which increases your immune.
1/4 cup almond milk – rich in protein and calcium.
1/2 cup blueberries – antioxidants combat ageing and boost cognition.
1/2 cup strawberries – source of manganese and potassium.
Ice
1/2 banana – great for your daily intake of vitamin B6 and B12, as well as magnesium and potassium.
1 tbsp chia seeds – loaded with nutrients for hardly any calories.
1 tbsp greek yoghurt – makes you feel full and has great probiotics (The Wise Bunny has great Dairy alternatives)

Blend them…

Enjoy!

If you have any good smoothie recipes please share them with me! I’d love to try them.

Banana and Almond Muffins? Yes pleaaassee

September 12, 2017April 23, 2020Posted in ALL POSTS, FOOD, HEALTHTagged almond, baking, banana, blogging, colour pot, Colourpot, craving, dessert, filling, FOOD, fun, HEALTH, healthy, healthy eating, healthy recipes, healthy snack, muffin, recipe, snack, treat, vegan, weight loss, wordpress1 Comment

You know when you have that sudden craving to bake? Well, I experienced this at about 11pm last night and stayed up until midnight baking & feasting away.

I usually head straight for the cacao and dates to make something super chocolatey, fudgy and sweet, but for some reason today my eye caught the two overripe bananas that were sitting on the kitchen ledge.

So, I preheated the oven to 180˚C and gathered together what I could find in the pantry for my banana and almond muffins. These can be vegan and are gluten free.

I used almond meal instead of ordinary flour, as it is high in protein and vitamin E – providing essential nutrients whilst filling you up (read more here). The bananas are the perfect natural sweetener, and they provide a sweet note as well as potassium and fibre.

Dry Ingredients:

1 cup almond meal
1/2 cup rolled oats
1 tsp baking powder
Sprinkle of salt

Wet Ingredients:

2 eggs (use an egg replacer for the vegan option)
2 bananas
1 tsp vanilla essence
1 tbsp almond milk (or any milk of your choosing)

I popped the dry ingredients into a blender, whisked them together (make sure the oats are ground into a fine powder) and poured them into a bowl. Then I blended the wet ingredients to form a runny mixture, which I combined in the bowl with the dry ingredients.

I placed about 2 heaped spoonfuls of mixture into 8 lined cupcake tins. All they needed was 30 minutes in the oven (check with a skewer – no mixture residue should be on it when you poke it through the middle of a muffin), and they were done. Voila!

Nutritional Breakdown (per serve):

137 calories/572 kilojoules
5.0g Protein
8.5g Fat (0.8g Saturated)
9.0g Carbs
43mg Sodium

Cauliflower Pizza & Movie Night

July 30, 2017April 17, 2020Posted in ALL POSTS, FOODTagged blog, blogger, delicious, diet, easy recipe, efficient, FOOD, fun, guides, HEALTH, healthy, healthy dinner, healthy pizza, healthy recipe, homemade, movie, photography, pizza, quick, recipe, the intouchables, writing4 Comments

On the weekends, I try to whip up something a little fancier than protein and veggies for a bit of a change – Thai green curry, lamb roast, or laksa for example.

Tonight I decided to keep it simple and throw together a pizza. It turned out to have quite an eclectic mix of toppings because I had bits and bobs of leftover food I wanted to use.

I used butternut pumpkin, asparagus, basil, low-fat mozzarella, a tomato, roasted peri peri chicken slices, shallots and a tin of champignon mushrooms (the mushrooms were a bit random.. don’t know if I’d do it again).

For the base, I used Picasso Kitchen Cauliflower Base! It was delicious! Only 282 calories in the entire base. You can also make your own Cauliflower base if you are feeling creative.

The best part was that it was only 15 minutes from when I started cooking to serving the meal. This was perfect because I was having a hungry day and I just wanted to eat!

I winged the tomato sauce by blending 3 tbsp greek yoghurt, basil and 1 whole tomato. All the pizza needed was 10 minutes at 200˚C in the oven before it was ready to eat.

We ate our pizza’s while watching The Intouchables – if you haven’t seen this movie, I highly recommend it.

Healthy Almond-Cacao Protein Balls

June 11, 2017April 17, 2020Posted in ALL POSTS, FOOD, HEALTHTagged chocolate, delicious, energy balls, focus, FOOD, friends, fun, guides, happy, HEALTH, healthy baking, healthy chocolate, healthy dessert, healthy recipe, journal, nutrition, photography, protein balls, recipe, snacks, wordpress9 Comments

Protein balls are a fantastic, filling, healthy snack. Just try not to eat all of them on one go (they are very moreish).

I use coconut oil because it much more filling compared to lots of other cooking oils, and also helps stick them together. Alternatively you could mix up the flavours and use peanut butter instead.

Each ball has about 205 calories and is dense with healthy fats and protein to make it the perfect snack.

My recipe makes 5. You will need:

1/2 cup almonds
1/3 cup chia seeds
50g sultanas
2 tbsp cocoa
2 tbsp peanut butter
1 tbsp coconut oil

Method:

Put all dry ingredients in food processor and blend until smooth
Put peanut butter and coconut oil in the microwave for 1 minute
Pour peanut butter/coconut oil mixture into dry ingredients and mix with spoon.
Using your hands form the mixture into 5 little protein balls
Place in fridge for an hour
Enjoy!

Let me know if you try the recipe out!

Baking a Giant ANZAC Cookie

April 23, 2017April 17, 2020Posted in ALL POSTS, FOODTagged amazon, anzac, baking, beginning blogger, cute mugs, first world war, giant, giant cookie, gifts, inspirational, kitchenware, life is beautiful, mug, mugs, poppy red, quotes, recipe, wordpress6 Comments

For those reading who aren’t Australian, ANZAC Day is a Public holiday held to commemorate the first military action initiated by Australian and New Zealand forces in the first world war. Hence, ANZAC stands for Australian and New Zealand Army Corps.

Traditionally, Australian’s bake ANZAC cookies (a sweet biscuit made of rolled oats and syrup) on the day, in memory of the soldier’s staple food which was a hard biscuit (no sugar involved) made with ingredients that ensured the biscuit wouldn’t go mouldy. Sadly, the soldiers didn’t get the sweet, warm, oaty crunch of the ANZAC biscuits we bake today.

Today, instead of baking lots of little biscuits I decided to make one giant cookie.

If you want to make it yourself; preheat your oven to 170˚C and mix 150g melted butter, 2 tbsp golden syrup, 1.25 cups of self-raising flour, a dribble of water, 1 cup rolled oats and 1/2 cup caster sugar together. Then use your hands to spread it into a giant cookie and bake for 17 minutes or until golden brown.

I had a slice of cookie with some hot cocoa (cocoa powder, almond milk and a squeeze of maple syrup) in my favourite ‘Life is Beautiful’ Mug. As simple as it is, I love having a funny/inspirational message on my mugs to start the day and this one has to be my favourite.

If you want an fun mug to cheer you up at the start of the day, I recently found these awesome ‘life is beautiful’ mugs. You have to admit they are absolutely adorable… if you’re a sucker for cute things like me. They would make a great gift as well!

Enjoy!! Have you made ANZAC cookies before? Comment below and we can chat 🙂

Carrot Cake Tea Party for Easter

April 16, 2017April 23, 2020Posted in ALL POSTS, FOODTagged baking, betty crocker, blogging, carrot cake, carrot cake cupcakes, chocolate, Colourpot, cupcakes, dessert, easter, FOOD, fun, journal, my day, recipe, sweets, treats, wordpress9 Comments

This Easter long weekend I decided to have an Easter Tea Party to celebrate. It was the perfect morning tea to begin the day with family.

I’ve always loved carrot cake, but I thought Carrot Cake Cupcakes are the perfect bite size to still enjoy the carroty-cinnamony flavour.

It’s a well-known wives tale that carrots improve eyesight. Whilst incorporating carrots into your diet won’t give you 20/20 vision, they do have vitamin K1, potassium and antioxidants which improve eye health. Cinnamon is a fantastic spice for flavour, but it also has anti-inflammatory properties which boost immune!

I iced these cupcakes with Betty Crocker Vanilla Icing (because it reminds me of my childhood), but they are also delicious with cream cheese icing ← my go-to recipe.

I decorated the cupcakes with edible mini wafer flowers and served them with warmed hot cross buns, chocolate mini easter eggs and French Earl Grey Tea. Delicious!

Recipe (makes 6)

You will need:

2/3 cup self-raising flour
1/3 cup caster sugar (or maple syrup for a less processed sweetener)
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 cup olive oil
3/4 grated large carrot or 1 grated medium carrot
1 egg

Method:

Preheat oven to 180˚C, line a cupcake baking tin with patty pans.
Combine flour, sugar, cinnamon, salt and baking powder in a large bowl and stir.
Slowly mix in carrot and oil
Beat egg in a separate bowl and then mix in with all ingredients
Pour mixture in patty pans (about 2/3 full)
Bake for 18 minutes

Then enjoy!! Happy Easter!

Flourless Banana Pancake Recipe

January 22, 2017April 16, 2020Posted in ALL POSTS, FOOD, HEALTHTagged banana, breakfast, breakfast ideas, breakfast in bed, breakfast recipes, colour pot, healthy, healthy pancake, pancake, recipeLeave a comment

There is nothing better than waking up to warm, fluffy pancakes.

Of course, that requires someone to make them for you, but I’m always happy to do the hard work if it means I get the largest one. This week, I was having pancake cravings so I used my recipe for simple, healthy, flourless recipe for pancakes. I like to substitute white flour for oatmeal because oats are full of fibre, very nutritious, and filling, meaning that the pancakes are sure to keep me full until lunchtime.

The banana also acts as a sweetener instead of cane sugar, whilst providing the fluffy texture

I’ve come up with oatmeal-banana pancakes – the banana acts as the perfect healthy sweetener, whilst adding a creamy texture to the batter.

You only need 4 ingredients and this recipe makes around 3 medium sized pancakes. Each pancake is very filling, which saves you from snacking for the rest of the day.

You will need:

1/2 a very ripe banana
1 egg (vegan option: 1 chia egg)
1/2 cup oatmeal
1 tsp baking powder

Place all the ingredients in a blender and pulse together until smooth and runny. Add a dribble of milk (I use almond) if the mixture is too dry. Sometimes I also like to add powdered peanut butter for some nutty flavour.

Grease pan with coconut oil, and pour batter into pancake shapes over medium heat. Wait for them to bubble before you flip!

For toppings I usually go for a compotee of mixed berries: mix 1 cup of mixed berries, 1/2 tbsp maple syrup and cinnamon together. Microwave for 30 seconds and then stir shaved almonds or coconut shavings through.

This is a perfect fix for breakfast in bed, and it’s filling and contains nutritious ingredients!

Enjoy!

Christmassy Gingerbread Truffles

December 5, 2016April 15, 2020Posted in ALL POSTS, CHRISTMAS, FOODTagged chocolate, cream cheese, easy, festive, fun, gingerbread, quick, recipe, treat, trufflesLeave a comment

These are one of the easiest, tastiest and most MOREISH Christmas treats to make.

I love Christmas because its an excuse to incorporate ginger into nearly every dessert I have. Whilst gingerbread isn’t the healthiest way to incorporate ginger, it’s the time of year to indulge and enjoy things you might not usually have.

Having said that, ginger does have many wonderful benefits. As it is an anti-inflammatory it reduces cell damage and it also aids digestion by settling the stomach.

For my truffles, I used one packet of gingersnaps, half a tub of cream cheese (Sheese for dairy-free option), chocolate sprinkles, cinnamon, 1 tbsp icing sugar and cream (or coconut cream).

After blending the gingersnaps into a fine powder using my NutriBullet, I added a dollop of cream cheese and kneaded the mixture with my fingers to create a cookie dough texture.

Then, I used my hands to create 8 round little truffle balls and laid them out on a plate. Placing them in the fridge for 15 minutes, I waited for them to cool whilst whisking up a spoon of cream cheese, 3 tbsp cream and 1 tbsp icing sugar into an icing paste. After taking them out the fridge I spread the icing on top and garnished the truffles with the chocolate sprinkles and cinnamon.

This recipe is so easy to whip up quickly for friends and family. It has really thrown me into the Christmas spirit. If you are tracking macros – each serving has 190 calories, and 7.5g of sugar.

Merry Christmas!

The Perfect High Satiety Breakfast

August 29, 2016April 15, 2020Posted in ALL POSTS, FOOD, HEALTHTagged avocado, breakfast, clean, clean eating, eggs, feeling good, FOOD, gourmet, happiness, HEALTH, healthy, healthy recipe, high satiety, meal, perfect, recipe, weight loss, yumLeave a comment

I have been trying out all different styles of breakfasts (muesli, toast, bacon & eggs, avo on toast, oats, healthy pancakes, smoothies) to try and find a delicious breakfast that I’m excited for every morning, which is also very filling.

It is so important to have a nutritious first meal of the day. Not only to put you in a good mood, but also for several health reasons. The first meal breaks your overnight fast (hence ‘break fast’), replenishing your glucose levels for the day. This stabilises your blood sugar, improves your memory and concentration, and ensure you don’t head for calorie-dense, unhealthy options at the end of the day.

Whilst different people enjoy their first meal at different times (intermittent fasters might have breakfast at 1pm!), it is important to have a balanced first meal. The savoury option I believe I’ve perfected:

2 scrambled eggs cooked in 1/2 tbsp coconut oil, with a handful of baby spinach
1/4 avocado
4 cherry tomatoes (you could also add mushrooms, or halloumi if you like!)
1 piece of multi-grain toast
Black tea with almond milk (or herbal tea e.g. peppermint)

This meal has complex carbohydrates in the bread, healthy fat in the avocado, protein in the eggs, and vitamin C, potassium and magnesium in the baby spinach.

To avoid getting tired of having the SAME meal every day, mix the meal up by replacing the egg with 50g of fish, such as tuna, trout or cooked salmon. Or, you can try different types of bread such as wholemeal, rye or sourdough. It’s up to you!

Green Tea Smoothie: the Yummy Way to Get Your Greens.

June 27, 2016April 15, 2020Posted in ALL POSTS, FOOD, HEALTHTagged acai, almond milk, banana, blueberries, chia, clean eating, green tea, HEALTH, ingriedients, live longer, love food, recipe, smoothie, smoothie recipe, superfood, vegan, vegetarian, weight loss, yohgurt, yum1 Comment

Summer or winter I love a smoothie. Having said that, I live in Australia, so winter isn’t that cold.

After lots of experimenting, I have created the perfect smoothie with ingredients that have different benefits for a healthy lifestyle.

You will need:

1/3 cup brewed green tea
Green tea is nature’s power drink. It’s packed with anti-oxidants and carries 0 calories. The low doses of caffeine stimulate your system, whilst increasing fat burning and preventing the chance of cancer, infections, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes. If you don’t love the taste of pure green tea like myself, finding fun ways to incorporate it into your diet (like through smoothies) is the best way to go.

1/4 cup Natural Yoghurt
I love to add a small amount of creamy Jalna yoghurt to make my smoothie thicker. Go for the full-fat version to make sure your smoothie fills you up. Don’t be fooled by half-fat yoghurts – lower fat means more sugar making you hungrier and wanting more. Dairy-free alternatives I like are Cashew/Almond Yoghurt or Coconut Yoghurt.

A Handful of frozen blueberries
Blueberries are little bursts of nutrients, full of fibre and vitamins. They help prevent cancer and cholesterol issues and have also been shown to reduce the chance of heart disease.

1/2 a Banana
Banana’s are a wonderfully filling, low-calorie snack. They have numerous health benefits, but perhaps the most interesting is that they have been shown to preserve memory due to their levels of vitamin B6.

1 heaped TBSP of Chia Seeds
Chia seeds have dominated the clean eating space for as long as I can remember. No wonder… because they have so many health benefits. They have anti-ageing properties, they aid digestion and bone strength. As they can absorb 10x their weight in water, they prolong hydration and improve nutrient absorption of electrolytes.

1 TSP of acai powder
See more about the benefits of Acai Powder in my recent post.

1 cup of almond milk
I love almond milk! I do believe it’s an acquired taste, but once you learn to love it, you will be using milk that is 40% less calorie-dense than cow’s milk. However, if you are worried about developing lactose intolerance, make sure to still incorporate a moderate amount of dairy in your diet.