PURA VIDA

Pura Vida is another Miami juice & smoothie bar and a health food cafe. Not the best one in my mind but definitely worth checking out if you are somewhere in the neighbourhood. They have the sweetest wheat grass shots and their açai bowls are not bad either.

Heidi x

RED SMOOTHIE

This sweet smoothie is a delicious start for the day. It's full of antioxidants and vitamins. I love the frozen Açai purée that you can use for smoothies and bowls. If you can't find frozen Açai you can easily substitute it with blueberries or black currants.

You need:

• 1/2 apple
• 1 frozen açai berry smoothie pack 
• 1 cup frozen rasberries (or fresh)
• chunk of red cabbage (about a handful)
• splash of coconut water or coconut milk

Optional:

• handful of greens e.g. kale, collard or spinach
• 2-3 tbs of coconut yogurt (I like Coyo)
• goji berries on top

Blend all the ingredients until smooth and decorate with few goji berries on top.

Heidi x

RASBERRY & MANGO SMOOTHIE

I love my morning smoothies. Here's a another simple and delicious recipe for you to try.

You need:

• 1 cup of raspberries (fresh or frozen)
• 1 cup of mango (fresh or frozen)
• splash of coconut water
• handful of ice cubes

Optional:

• 1 banana (if you prefer yours a little sweeter)
• 1-2 table spoons of aloe vera juice
• your favourite protein powder
• chia seeds 

Mix all the ingredients in a blender until smooth.

Sometimes I leave a little shot of smoothie in a blender and throw in my supplements and superfoods and drink it separately so I can enjoy my smoothie!

Wishing you all a great weekend!

Heidi x

THE JUICERY AT 108

There's a lovely little gem in Marylebone that I want to tell you about. It's located just off the High Street on Marylebone Lane and called 108 Bar and Restaurant. Last year they opened a Juicery within it too. I lived in Marylebone before moving to Notting Hill so it was local to me but I still spend a fair bit of time in the area so I often pop into 108 for a juice and sometimes for breakfast too.

This is the juice I go for every time, called Vine. It has in it celery, cucumber, apples, spinach, lime, mint and avocado. 

And they do my favourite eggs too by request!

As you can tell by the decorations these pictures were taken in December. It's a cosy, comfortable place to hang out in. I've never tried it for dinner but when I've walked past it looks lovely in dim lighting and is always quite busy so I'm going to give it a go sometime soon. 

I hope you all have a happy weekend!

Minna x

A TASTY GREEN SMOOTHIE

Happy Friday! As it's January (although you wouldn't believe it looking at the temperatures) and many of us are trying to maintain a healthy diet I thought that I too would share a healthy but delicious recipe, a smoothie one at that. This could be illegal though... because the recipe is not mine! It's from a very popular (for a reason) book Honestly Healthy, which I (and I know Heidi would too) highly recommend purchasing if you're into leading a healthy lifestyle but eating good food. For the smoothie you need:

1 pak choi

1/2 mango

1/2 papaya

250ml of coconut water

125ml of water

1 tsp of your chosen green powder (I use spirulina)

I also like to throw in a few other mixtures such as milled seeds, nuts and goji berries. In addition I often add a table spoon of MCT oil (you could use another oil too, such as Udo's). 

Obviously if you want to keep your sugar intake low mango and papaya are not something you should include in your diet on daily basis but a bit of fruit every now and then won't hurt and let's face it a "half green" smoothie tastes a whole lot nicer than a totally green one. This one tastes delicious and is quite filling too. Mine is always ice cold as I freeze my chopped fruit and keep smoothie size portions in the freezer. A great tip (thanks to a friend of mine) if you find making smoothies too much hassle and / or are always rushing around like me.

What are you doing this weekend? I'm going to see 12 Years a Slave tonight. Last week I saw American Hustle (thumbs down, unfortunately, despite the amazing styling) and Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom (a definite thumbs up, a great history lesson, which brought me to tears on several occasions). I'm having a bit of a cinema January and loving it!

Oh and also, I'm going to be quiet here on the blog for a few days. My laptop is going in to be fixed today and I'm not sure when exactly I'll be getting it back. Hopefully soon. Have a great one!

Minna x

BREAKFAST BOWLS

This recipe is inspired by an amazing juice bar that has fabulous organic, cold pressed juices, superfood smoothies and vegan snacks.

 You need:

• 1 1/2 frozen bananas
• 1 apple
• 1 tablespoon of raw honey
• 2 - 3 tbs of almond butter
• splash of coconut or almond milk 
• 1/2 teaspoon of spirulina
• 1/2 teaspoon of chlorella
• 1-3 ice cubes

Optional superfood toppings:

• goji berries
• golden berries
• chopped cashew nuts
• cacao nibs
• bee pollen
• chia seeds

Place all the ingredients in a blender. Blend with barely enough coconut or almond milk to keep your blender going until smooth. Pour into serving cups and decorate with your favourite superfoods, nuts and enjoy.  

  

 Perfect start for the weekend!

Heidi x

CREAMY CRANBERRY SMOOTHIE

I like using a bit bitter and sour berries in my smoothies and sweeten them with a ripe banana.  Cranberries, lingonberries, gooseberries, red currants, black currants, you name it!

Hemp milk is another great dairy alternative. It has all the essential amino acids and is a good source of omega 3 & 6, calcium and vitamins D, B12 and riboflavin. It works really well in smoothies giving them a smooth and creamy texture.

If you like your smoothies sweet I suggest you add raw honey or few pitted dates into this one.

You need:

• one banana
• approx. 1/2 apple (peeled and diced unless you use a high speed blender)
• approx. 1 cup of cranberries (fresh or frozen)
• approx. 2/3 - 1 cup of blueberries (I used frozen wild)
• approx. 2 cups of hemp milk

Optional:

• handful of ice
• chia seeds
• your favourite protein powder

Blend until smooth and enjoy! 

Heidi x

GREEN LEMONADE SMOOTHIE

This smoothie has been the favourite of my week. I love starting my day with it - is so fresh, delicious and full of green goodness.  

You need:

• one banana
• one apple
• handful of spinach
• handful of kale (remove the stem)
• lemon wedge (leave peel and seeds on if you have a high speed blender)
• 1 mint spring (3-5 leaves)
• handful of diced mango (I used frozen)
• handful on sliced peaches (I used frozen)
• splash of coconut water or water
• handful of ice

Optional:

• bee pollen
• chia seeds  

Blend until smooth, pour in a glass and sprinkle with bee pollen and chia seeds on top. Cheers!

Heidi x

INCREDIBLE HULK SMOOTHIE

Like many of you I like to start my day with a smoothie full of vitamins and minerals. Keeps me going all morning. I tried this smoothie not too long ago in an organic cafe. Total addiction. I had to create my own version.

 You need:

• one banana
• large handful of cashew nuts
• handful of spinach
• 6-8 leaves of basil
• 2 table spoons of coconut yogurt (or coconut milk)
• 1/2 cup coconut water
• 2-3 ice cubes

Optional:

• one table spoon hemp protein (or your other favourite)
• one table spoon soaked chia seeds
• one table spoon psyllium husk
• one tea spoon super green powder

Place all the ingredients in your blender and blend until smooth.

Heidi x