Tag: tiger nut milk

Dairy-Free Frozen Chocolate-Flavoured Breakfast Smoothie Bowl

16D342DD-5171-499D-A90A-59CCFB55A00DI keep rescheduling this post because the weather insists on returning to winter temperatures!  Plus, I think the colour and the fact that it has spinach in it may put you off. If I hadn’t written ‘smoothie’ in the title, you would probably have thought it was soup!

However, I’m relegating porridge bowls for now, I need a change, and I have to hope that things will warm up sooner rather than later.

Admittedly, this smoothie doesn’t look very appealing, but appearances can be deceiving and it is chock full of the good stuff.  Using frozen instead of fresh banana makes the smoothie thicker and creamier. Slice over-ripe bananas and freeze them in the amounts you’ll want to use them. Bananas that start to have black spots on them are much easier to digest, fresh or frozen.

Use less milk than you would for a normal smoothie in a glass.

Vegan, Gluten-free and can be Nut-free.

All quantities approximate.

Ingredients

1 Banana (frozen)
½ cup of Blueberries, washed
1 small handful of Spinach, washed
2 Tbsp Peanut (or any nut or seed) Butter
1 Tbsp Raw Cacao Powder*
½ cup of Tiger Nut Milk (or any plant milk, click link for how to make)
Optional: 1 Medjool Date, but as I’d put one in the milk, I didn’t add another
Optional: 1 Tbsp Moringa**, or a scoop of Vivolife ‘Thrive for Her’ Green Superfood, Wild Berry flavour*** or any other flavoured Protein Powder
Toppings: I went for a crunchy mix to offset the creamy texture of the smoothie. Chopped nuts (I used Walnuts here), Mixed Seeds, (I used Sunflower, Pumpkin & Chia*), Cacao Nibs*, Blueberries or other berries, Buckwheat

Blend until smooth, but don’t overdo it or it will become too thin.

Sprinkle with chosen toppings.

Nutrients include: antoxidants, b vitamins, iron, magnesium, prebiotics, probiotics, protein, calcium, zinc, potassium, healthy fats, dietary fibre. Great for breakfast, dessert or a healthy pick-me-up.

Here are some links to other smoothie recipes:

Frozen Mango, Banana & Passionfruit Protein Smoothie

Monday Meditation: Two Year Old Frank’s Berry Good Smoothie – Made With Love & Smiles

Almond, Chia & Spinach Super Smoothie

Heart-Healthy Carob, Walnut & Lucuma Smoothie

Monday Meditation: Indulgent No-Banana Cherry & Chocolate Smoothie

The Mood Booster: Raw Chocolate Mulberry, Banana & Walnut Smoothie

Kumquat & Cacao Protein Smoothie

*I buy from The Raw Chocolate Company, their products are Vegan, Organic, Fairtrade, Kosher, Gluten-free, high quality, ethically-sourced and made in the UK.

**Also Vegan, Organic, Gluten-free & Kosher Aduna support African small businesses, often run by women.

*** From Vivolife also Vegan, Organic, made in the UK and Carbon Neutral.

Copyright: Chris McGowan

Paul’s No-Cacao Banana Berry Smoothie w Tiger Nut Milk, in the Garden

Last weekend, my brother and sister-in-law paid a visit during their farewell tour before emigrating to the US. You can read about it here. We had lots of fun and lots of food, all homemade apart from the Persian Christmas Pudding, courtesy of Heston Blumenthal at Waitrose! Remembering that I had caused him to sample rather too much cacao last visit*, I suggested to Paul that we make a different and simpler breakfast smoothie using tiger nut milk, which they had both sampled and approved the previous evening.

This is the result:

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And this is the recipe:

We used the larger Froothie UK Optimum blender and it made enough for the three of us.

All amounts are very approximate!

Rich in protein, calcium, antioxidants, B vitamins, omega oils, potassium and other minerals, vitamin E, prebiotics and probiotics for a healthy gut, fibre.

Vegan, organic, gluten-free.

Ingredients

2 Bananas

Large handful frozen Mixed Berries

2 Heaped Tbsps Golden Linseeds

2 Tbsps Chia Seeds

1 Medjool Date

2 Heaped Tbsps CoYo Live Plain or Vanilla Coconut Yogurt

500mls Homemade Tiger Nut Milk (see here for recipe). Add more if you want a thinner smoothie.

Blend on fast for 60 seconds.

The chia seeds will thicken it if left to stand for a couple of minutes.

I like to use a spoon.

(See Golden Linseeds (aka Flax Seeds): The Original Superfood? and Three Cheers for Chias! What Are Chia Seeds & How Do I Use Them? Recipes included for the benefits of these amazing seeds).

Remember to drink water when consuming chia seeds as they swell and form a gel which helps create a healthy gut and clear the digestive system.

*

The morning was just warm and fine enough to sit outside and listen to the birds. The garden has come to life now, with forget-me-nots and aubretia really showing off while the bright pink Japanese azalea (below), not quite in full splendour, was doing its best to compete.

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Oh, and meet Slugger, descendant of Bruiser, we know this (not really!) because they both had/have white patches on their head and back. They are so-called because they see off all-comers and take no prisoners! Mrs Slugger is busy with their newly-hatched offspring.

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*See Paul’s ‘Too Much Cacao’ Banana Baobab Smoothie! – oddly, it’s become one of my most popular posts!

The Raw Chocolate Company for cacao and chia seeds.

The Tiger Nut Company  for organic, peeled tiger nuts.

CoYo yogurts are available at Ocado and Waitrose.

Copyright: Chris McGowan

Go Nuts With This Raspberry & Red Peanut Smoothie!

I had a handful of raspberries, an over-ripe nectarine and a handful of coarsely ground organic red peanuts left over from making a chilli-burger (see recipe here), so as they had become friends in the fridge I thought they would get on well together in the blender!

Raspberries contain much more Vitamin C than oranges, are a good source of Vitamin K (important for bone health), anti-oxidants, iron and the anti-aging resveratrol. They are considered heart-healthy.

Peanuts have the highest protein content of all the nuts, while tiger nuts and shelled hemp seeds are also excellent sources of protein, fibre, calcium and many more vitamins and minerals. Wheatgrass powder is absolutely packed with nutrients.

Ingredients

(All organic, measurements as always are approximate) 

1/2 Ripe Banana

A Handful of Raspberries, washed

A Small Ripe Nectarine

A Handful of Coarsely Ground Organic Red Peanuts

A Glass of Tiger Nut Milk

2 Tbsps Shelled Hemp Seeds*

1 Tsp Wheatgrass Powder 

1 Medjool Date

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Save a raspberry to decorate

Blend and add ice, unless you’ve used frozen raspberries.

Find more Tiger Nut Recipes and Smoothie Recipes by clicking the links.

Here’s a clip from Peanuts to watch while you drink your smoothie, hope it starts your day with a smile! If you’re reading this via email  you’ll need to click onto the blog to watch.

*http://www.therawchocolatecompany.com/

Copyright: Chris McGowan

Raw Tiger Nut, Walnut & Chocolate Orange Cookies

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This is my version of The Tiger Nut Company’s Coffee and Walnut Cookies (see website for original recipe*). They are a great way to use up the pulp left over from making Tiger Nut Milk or Horchata. I have also adapted my original post to include the use of their new Naked Organic Peeled Tiger Nuts, which produce a much finer pulp.

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I don’t drink coffee but these looked so good, we decided to adapt them by substituting orange zest and a tiny squeeze of orange juice.

They are so easy to make.

To make Tiger Nut milk:

100g of pre-soaked Naked Organic Raw Tiger Nuts from The Tiger Nut Company* (almost a Cup) (these peeled tiger nuts give a finer pulp).

Soak overnight in 3x as much filtered water 

Blend with 1 Pitted Medjool Date and Half a tsp Vanilla Extract

Pinch of Pink Hamalayan Salt

Strain through nut bag and save pulp

Keep milk in airtight bottle in fridge.

Ingredients for Cookies

(All ingredients are organic, vegan and gluten-free. All measurements are approximate and may need adjusting, but that means you get to keep tasting and testing!)

Leftover Tiger Nut Pulp

3 Pitted Medjool Dates

Handful of Walnuts + some for decoration

2 Tsps Ground Organic Linseeds/Flaxseeds

2 Tsps Raw Chocolate Company Cacao Powder*

2-3 Tbsps Raw Virgin Organic Coconut Oil

1 Generous Tsp Orange Zest

Tiny squeeze of Orange Juice, be careful, it doesn’t want to be wet.

Splash of Organic Maple Syrup

 Method

Process all ingredients until it starts coming together.

Press together and roll into a ball

Dust a very little Tiger Nut Flour or Cacao Powder onto surface and rolling pin to stop the dough sticking

Roll out and cut into shapes

Freeze for about 15 minutes

(Eat any leftover scraps that won’t form another cookie and lick your fingers – cook’s prerogative!)

Icing

Either:

Gently melt some coconut oil with a splash of maple syrup, a couple of teaspoons of raw cacao powder and a squeeze of orange juice

or

Gently melt some Raw Chocolate Company Pitch Dark or Orange raw chocolate in a bowl over some hot water (but not boiling). You might like to add a drop of coconut oil or cacao butter to make it go a little further and drizzle.

Decorate cookies and top with broken walnuts. 

Freeze and Keep or Eat at leisure!

Ps At the request of Rachel @healthy&psyched, here is today’s video – don’t blame me, it was her suggestion! (I’m not quite sure this is what she meant 😂 Sorry, (not sorry).

*http://www.thetigernutcompany.co.uk

*http://www.therawchocolatecompany.com/

Copyright: Chris McGowan

The One That Got Away: The Sweet Carob & Blueberry Vegan Tiger Nut Pancakes That Became Sweet Carob & Blueberry Vegan Tiger Nut Porridge!

When I read the big build-up The Tiger Nut Company’s Ani gave me on Instagram, telling everyone I was going to be posting new Tiger Nut recipes every day this week, I have to say I panicked! I read it out to my husband and he said, ‘right, you’d better get your thinking cap on’ and went off to oil his bike.

imageSo, I thunk and I thunk and thought, aha! I have Chufa di Valencia flour, we can make pancakes. My husband makes the traditional pancakes so beloved by our grandsons – they can demolish a baker’s dozen without blinking an eye – but I don’t pay much attention. So does our son, all sorts of weird and wonderful concoctions. Again, I don’t give them a glance. I’ve never been a pancake lover, all that smoke and fumes and alarms going off, no thanks. I like peace and quiet and clean air.

But, to get my husband on board with the project, I decided pancakes it would be, and to further tempt him, they would have carob in (a bit ‘out there’ for him, but so long as it has a chocolate flavour, he won’t mind what it’s called).

Here’s the recipe:

Add 1 Tbsp Chia Seeds to 3 Tbsps Water, stir vigorously and allow to stand for 15 minutes to form a gel (chia egg)

1 Cup Chufa de Valencia Tiger Nut Flour

1 Tsp Gluten-Free Baking Powder

2 Tbsps Finely Ground Almonds

1 Tbsp Carob Powder

Sieve all dry ingredients into large bowl.

Add a pinch of Pink Himalayan Salt and the Chia egg,

plus approx 1 1/2 Cups Tiger Nut Milk or Almond Milk (click on links for how to make your own, it’s very easy)

and 1 Tbsp Maple Syrup

Mix well.

Add a Cup of Frozen Blueberries.

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Heat a tiny drop of coconut oil and add a ladle of the mixture, it will sizzle and bubble like a pancake should…

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…and that’s as far as I can take you, because that’s all it did! No way would it come together, let alone flip over!

So I failed. As I threw a strop and it was scraped into a bowl, I had a taste of it. It was surprisingly good, so I put some Coyo plain coconut yogurt with it and ate it like dessert, it tasted a bit like summer pudding! Very yummy. I forgot to take a photo while I was pondering and had eaten it all before I realised.

My husband suggested we cook the rest like porridge. So porridge it became. With extra blueberries and some CoYo plain yogurt on top.

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It won’t be to everyone’s taste, it is a bit bran/oaten-like in texture, but it’s nice and fruity, sweet and very good for you – and extremely filling. I could only manage half of it.

So I’ll leave it up to you. If anyone can suggest what we did wrong, I would be very grateful – and I just know boingghealth will be first in the queue 😉

Sorry, Ani!

Ps I was told off, very nicely, by Rachel @healthy&psyched because there was no video last time, so to make up for it, here is a great wake-up video of sand and surf and Jake Owen singing ‘The One That Got Away!’ (Click on the blog to see it)

Home-2016

Copyright: Chris McGowan

Tiger Nut Chia Breakfast Bowl with Apricots & Raspberries

Ani of The Tiger Nut Company set me a challenge with her announcement on Instagram that I would be publishing new recipes on my Tiger Nut Page every day this week, which was a little daunting to say the least. In fact I had intended posting a couple of new recipes and reposting old ones! So I had to work fast, this and the following  posts are the results of my efforts…

In my first post, I did a review of their new Naked Organic Peeled Tiger Nuts and made Horchata with them (see here). The next morning, I decided to use some of the resulting tiger nut milk in my breakfast bowl and came up with this summer fruit combo that is not only rich in protein, fibre, essential fatty acids, B vitamins, Vitamins A and C, and minerals, but will satisfy your taste bids and your tummy too!

I promise there are no hidden veggies in this one!

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Tiger Nut Milk made from Naked Organic Peeled Tiger Nuts and stored in my funky Grip and Go glass bottle.

It’s a good idea while the summer fruits are in season to pop some in the freezer for later on when they are no longer available. I have used frozen apricot slices for this (I did let them defrost before I ate it!)

For a change, I used buckwheat flakes instead of oats. Despite their name, they are gluten-free and have a nice texture too. They are high in protein, dietary fibre, antioxidants and have cholesterol-lowering properties too. They aren’t from grain but a seed that is related to rhubarb.

This can be prepared the night before or put them to soak while you have your shower in the morning.

All ingredients were organic, vegan and gluten-free.

Ingredients

1 Cup Buckwheat Flakes

1 Tbsp Chia Seeds*

1 Tbsp Golden Linseeds

Soak all these in

1 1/2 Cups chilled Tiger Nut Milk (recipe here)

for at least an hour or overnight in the fridge

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When they have absorbed the milk, add a litle more if needed.

Decorate with fresh Apricot slices and Raspberries

Top with plain CoYo Coconut Yogurt and a Blueberry (or two)

*

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This is such a healthy and satisfying breakfast, it will keep you going all morning and if you prepare it the night before it will take no time to finish it off next morning.

*http://www.therawchocolatecompany.com/

Copyright: Chris McGowan

Review: Taste-Testing The New Naked Organic Tiger Nuts from The Tiger Nut Company

I love Tiger Nut Milk or Horchata. It is sweet and creamy and full of nutrients: Tiger Nuts (tubers really, not nuts) contain protein, fibre, potassium, magnesium, calcium, iron, multiple vitamins and oleic acid, they’re also a prebiotic which makes for a healthy gut environment in which probiotics can grow (see here for recipe).

We usually make Horchata with unpeeled Organic Tiger Nuts from The Tiger Nut Company* and use the resulting pulp residue to make raw cookies or energy balls, but the pulp can be a bit coarse from the skins. So I was delighted when Ani recently announced their new product: Naked (ie peeled) Organic Tiger Nuts!

I couldn’t wait to try them and to see if they would make as good quality milk as the original Organic Unpeeled and also it would be interesting to see if the pulp was any finer or more versatile.

I used the same recipe for both milks, omitting the vanilla extract I usually add, because I wanted to taste them raw.

Here is the result:

On the left is the original unpeeled milk, on the right the new Naked milk. (Stored in my glass Grip and Go bottles).

Firstly, I noticed that the Naked made roughly 100mls less milk than the unpeeled – about 600mls compared with about 700mls – hardly anything (although it looks in the photos as if it’s the other way round, there was some left over that I put into small jars).

Second, the pulp from the Naked was lighter and slightly finer.

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On the left is the unpeeled, on the right the Naked and for comparison the Chufa de Valencia Tiger Nut Flour.

The milk from the Naked was infinitesimally thinner, but only a regular drinker could notice the difference, and only by tasting one after the other and really thinking about it! My husband couldn’t tell. It was still sweet and creamy.

The pulp from the Naked was much better for baking, easy to use with a much finer texture. We made some Dipped Tiger Nut, Mango & Orange Fruit Treats, which I’ll post later in the week, they were smooth and not at all gritty.

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My son asked if there would be a loss of nutrients, which is a fair point, but the Naked still retain a little of their skin and if it it makes the difference between discarding the pulp because it is too coarse or using the finer Naked pulp, I’d say it balances out pretty well.

All in all, I am delighted with this new product and highly recommend it!  

Ps There are other Tiger Nut Recipes here

Home-2016

Copyright: Chris McGowan

Zoats: Mark 2 (I like this one better!)

imageWell, only one person had any enthusiasm for the original savoury porridge or Zoats (zucchini or courgette oats), so here is my second try and I liked this much better. I left out the cacao and made it with tiger nut milk which is sweet and creamy (recipe here), but you can use nut milk or soy or rice milk – though the latter will give you a thinner porridge and doesn’t have the same nutritional value. I also used raisins instead of dates to sweeten it, which is what I would normally put in straightforward, everyday porridge.

Courgettes contain heart-healthy potassium, folate (necessary for cell-division), anti-oxidants, B vitamins, iron and zinc.

Have a go, it won’t do you any harm and it might very well do you some good!

Vegan and Gluten-Free if you use gluten-free oats.

Ingredients

1/2 Cup Oats

1/2 Cup Tiger Nut Milk or Horchata

1/4 Cup Water

1/2 Courgette/Zucchini, grated

1/4 Cup Raisins

1 Dsp Shelled Hemp Seeds*

1 Dsp Lucuma Powder* (mild, malted flavour)

1 Tsp Wheatgrass Powder (for extra nutrients – optional)

Goji Berries* and Raw Chocolate Mulberry Chips* to serve.

….

Method

As before, add oats, milk, water and courgette to pan and warm imagethrough until it starts to cook, stirring well. Cook for about 5 minutes.

Add raisins and cook for another couple of minutes.

Add hemp seeds, lucuma powder and wheatgrass powder, of used. Mix well.

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Transfer to a bowl and add goji berries and raw chocolate mulberry chips, and a little more milk of desired.

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*

I loved this version! Of course, this is only a template, add whatever flavouring and fruit you like and happen to have.

This is such a satisfying breakfast and starts you off with 1 of your minimum 5 a Day veg and fruit.

We buy our tiger nuts from http://www.thetigernutcompany.co.uk/

* http://www.therawchocolatecompany.com/

Copyright: Chris McGowan

Tiger Chia Smoothie

 It’s orange with black chia seeds and it roooaaarrrs! It doesn’t really have tigers in, but it does have tiger nut milk! It’s packed with protein, Vitamin E, potassium, omega oils and lots of other goodies to help power you through your day.

Ingredients

1 Banana

Handful of Organic Sunflower Seeds

Handful of Raw Chocolate Company Goji Berries*

1 Tbsp Raw Chocolate Company Chia Seeds

1 Heaped Tbsp Organic Quinoa Flakes

1 Organic Dried Apricot

Medium Glass of Tiger Nut Milk* (see Recipes) – more or less depending on how thick or thin you like it.

Blend until smooth, and if you’re reading this in Summer, pour over ice – if not, add a pinch of turmeric and roooaaarrrr!!

(Psssst couldn’t resist posting this YouTube link to Katy Perry’s ‘Roar’!)

*http://www.therawchocolatecompany.com  http://www.thetigernutcompany.co.uk

Copyright: Chris McGowan