Friday 14 April 2017

Friday feels and forest fruits...

Recipe of the week is...
... a Forest Fruits Smoothie

Ingredients: 1 frozen banana, 2 handfuls of frozen forest fruits, 1 mugful of milk, and a tablespoon of honey.

Time taken: 5-10 mins (if you’ve already frozen your fruit).

Serves: Either one big meal-sized smoothie or two smaller snack-sized smoothies.


Hi readers,

Happy Easter everyone and welcome to our four day weekend!! Isn’t it great?! For any readers not living in the UK, I’m really sorry you’re missing out this treat. Here, we get Friday off work as a Good Friday Bank Holiday.. and then we get Monday off work, too! (For Easter Monday.. and that is ???). Sorrry if you don’t share in the glory of our four day weekend.

It's this level of glorious... Turkish sunset glorious
@sert_mehmet

But, wherever you may be, I hope you’re having a terrific Friday, readers. Here in the ChefBeHere household.. things are very leisurely. I woke up without an alarm today. Bliss. And did I have to spring out of bed? Noo. I flicked through the news on my phone in a warm duvet cocoon. Finally got up, made it out on a run (and did a really fast sprint!) and then Spring cleaned the house. So, everything’s looking brighter and shinier now.

And I am DONE with achieving things. That’s me over and our for attainment this weekend. Thoroughly intend to spend the rest of my days reading and sleeping, eating and drinking, and enjoying some quality time with the friends and famalam. Easter eggs and hot cross buns will, of course, feature heavily throughout my weekend.. but how about you, readers? What do you have planned for your Bank Holiday break?

Munching lots of these?
@thedepotbakery

Or maybe you’re still making plans? If you’re looking for ideas for healing things you could do over the next four days, while your head takes and break from work and routine, maybe a little yoga would be fine idea? Have a good stretch out and unwind. Or, if the suns out, perhaps you could venture outdoors and head off on a walk? Get those legs moving and some fresh air in your lungs.

Wherever this weekend may take you, readers, I hope it has you feeling refreshed and upbeat. With the warmer weather to enjoy and with so many Spring colours around at the moment, from blossom on the trees to daffodils by the roadside and bluebells in the grass, I find it inspiring at this time of year to have a real look around. Without the rush of routine and the pressures of work, maybe this weekend will be your first chance in a while to take stock of your surroundings? And see that Spring has sprung.

Our pinkest time of the year
@maepress

I was reading a blog post just now called ‘23 Mantras To Live By’, by Jessica Sletmo, (which you can read here) and – though I’m not a big believer in token phrases and kind of bland sayings – I did find a quote amongst these mantras that struck a chord…


… perhaps this is the time, readers, to let someone off the hook for a small fault? Let it be gone and forgotten, and enjoy their wonderfulness again now. Or possibly, readers, this four days off work gives you more time than normal to surprise someone with a small act of kindness? Maybe a loved one, or even someone you never met before. All you have to do is be kind and – who knows – you just might make their day. Or their weekend. Or their April.

I’m heading out for drinks later with some of the girls and I’ve made it my intention to be filled with compliments tonight.. as they’ll all have made an effort with their hair and their make up and their outfit, and everyone deserves to feel good and be told just how great they look. So, I’m on it! Meanwhile, readers, I’ve been charging my batteries ready for tonight with a super new smoothie recipe. One I invented on the spot!

There’s very little in my fridge at the moment, but I was fancying something fruity on this Spring afternoon. And, as luck would have it, I thought ahead a while back and bought in loads of frozen fruit – perfect for occasions just like today. I really recommend this as a handy way to save money and also save on food waste, as frozen fruits cost less I find and they're good to eat for a really long time.

Good value and good for the planet

So, I dug out a freezer pack out forest fruits and turned this into a smoothie success. Fancy following in my fabulous footsteps, readers? Yeahhh?? Well, you definitely can. This is a really simple recipe, readers, with only five steps and no kitchen skills required. Very do-able. All you need is a smoothie maker or blender, and a thirst for something thick and fruity!! Here’s how to prepare a Forest Fruits Smoothie…

1.     Peel a banana, cut it up into a few bits, and leave in the freezer overnight.
2.     The next day, take your frozen banana out of the freezer and pop this in a smoothie maker or a blender.
3.     Add a couple of handfuls of berries and cherries from your pack of frozen forest fruits.
ChefBeHere Top Tip: Whenever I’m at Boost Smoothie and they ask if I want to ‘double my fruit?’ I always say no as it costs more.. sadly! If like me, you do the same, then when you add your second handful of forest fruits you can think of this as doubling your fruit.. it pleased me to no end!

Alll the fruit for meee

4.     Fill a mug with milk and then pour this into the smoothie maker, too.
5.     Add a tablespoon of honey to sweeten the deal, and blend until smooth. Then find a straw and slurp away!
ChefBeHere Top Tip: This smoothie is soo thick that my normal-width straws struggled with it. I don’t have any of the chunky ones like you get at Boost, so I tried using two regular straws at once.. and this still didn’t work! In the end, I got out a spoon. If you have any chunky straws, then this is there time to SHINE.

This straw was NO MATCH
for my smoothie

And that’s all there is to it, readers! You have a berry and cherry-filled beauty of a smoothie to enjoy, hopefully in the sunshine, and this will give you lots of energy to fuel you on for a powerful afternoon.. and potentially for dancing all night long! What do you think, readers? Has anyone tried a similar recipe in the past? How did it go?

I thought this smoothie came out really well, it was thick and colourful, and tasted lovely and fruity! A hit with me.. but would you agree? Let me know your thoughts, readers! Are you a fan of a Forest Fruits Smoothie? Where would be your favourite place to drink this fruity treat? Do you have any ideas to make this taste even better??

Fire away, readers. Let me know what you think. And I’m wishing you all a wonderful long Easter weekend away from work. Remember, if there’s a fault that could be forgotten or some act of kindness you can share with another, then perhaps this the weekend is the right time? I’m sure you have something in mind and I’m sure you can do it, readers.

Smoothie safely,

Hayley

Be bold
@awaisha_art





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