snacks – WHAT TO HAVE FOR DINNER TONIGHT

Black Forest Fruits and Beetroot Smoothie

August 21, 2017TheseNovelThoughts3 Comments

Mornings can be rushed. Particularly weekday mornings. And when you’re trying to eat more healthily, it’s hard to avoid falling into the trap of grabbing something quick and instantly gratifying for breakfast (like a cereal bar).

If you’ve got two minutes and a smoothie maker though, you have a healthy and nutritious breakfast at your fingertips.

When I first got my smoothie maker, I was a bit put off by the fruit and veg prep – if I’ve got to peel, slice, and de stone then it’s not exactly quick and easy. For this recipe, though, the extent of the prep is pouring – so easy and so delicious!

Black Forest Fruits and Beetroot Smoothie

Serve one

Ingredients

1 handful frozen Black Forest Fruits

1 handful oats

250ml beetroot juice

1. Put all of the ingredients in the smoothie maker. Top up with water.

2. Whizz. Add more water if it’s too thick.

You’re done! Simple, quick and so healthy.

Baked Camenbert

February 9, 2015TheseNovelThoughts24 Comments

Here is a first for my blog – my husband actually put this recipe together as a birthday treat for me. It was so delicious that I had to share it with you.

If you enjoy cheese fondue then forget about all of the hassle and just have this instead. It would be a perfect treat for your Valentine’s Day meal next weekend!

The meal came from my husband asking what I wanted for my birthday dinner. We hadn’t eaten in the house for three days, so thought it would be nice to stay in, and I naturally answered his question with “cheese”.

This was a wonderful, simple treat for a birthday meal – give it a go. This will serve 2.

Baked Camenbert

2 small camenbert

4 cloves garlic

2 sprigs rosemary

1 loaf crusty bread

2 carrots

6 celery sticks

100g green 0lives

A selection of cured meats e.g. salami, chorizo

1. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees.

2. Take the camenbert from their boxes, remove any plastic packaging and put the cheese back in the boxes. Put a sprig of rosemary in the centre of each one. Stab the unpeeled garlic cloves with a knife and place 2 each on top of the camenbert. Bake the camenbert (on a baking tray) for 10 minutes. Place the bread in the bottom of the oven to heat through.

3. Cut your carrots and celery into batons – arrange the rest of your ingredients on a board and it’s done!

Cherry Chocolate Cookies

February 2, 2015February 2, 2015TheseNovelThoughts14 Comments

It’s a good day today! Firstly, although it’s still freezing cold outside, on looking out of the window this morning I saw these little heralds of approaching Spring:

They weren’t there on Saturday, so they must have popped through yesterday or overnight. It’s not too long now until it’s still light when we get home from work, and until we can step outside without the risk of flu/frostbite.

Secondly, it is now just a week until my birthday! You’d better get cracking buying my presents.

And thirdly, I have another Monday off work (I was working yesterday), and so I’m free to spend my day baking again. Yesterday, when I was working, my husband cleaned the entire house and had dinner ready for me when I got in, so I’m repaying the favour by cooking something I know he loves.

These cookies are soft, sweet and delicious. They’re cakey, rather than thin and chewy, and I promise you will love them.

These take around 30 minutes to make (plus cooling time) and will make 12 (very) large cookies.

Cherry Chocolate Cookies

200g butter

300g brown sugar

2 eggs

80g cocoa powder

300g self-raising flour

1 tsp baking powder

200g glace cherries (get the undyed ones if you can)

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees.

2. Cream the butter and sugar in a large bowl, then beat in the eggs until fully combined.

3. Sieve the flour and cocoa powder, then fold this and the baking powder into the butter and sugar mixture.

4. Roughly chop the cherries and stir them into the mixture until evenly spread.

5. Grab a non-stick baking tray (you’ll probably need two, or cook the cookies in shifts) and spoon the mixture onto it, making sure there’s a gap of 2-3 inches between each dollop.

6. Bake in the oven for 12 minutes. They will still be very soft when you take them out, but leave them to cool completely and they will be the perfect consistency. Enjoy with a cup of coffee. Yum!