Apple Cinnamon Milk Shake

 Cinnamon and Apple are such an unbeatable combination not only in muffins, cakes and pies. But also in milk shakes. Cinnamon is such a wonderful spice and gives a lot of flavor to the food and also with loads of health benefits. Recent studies show that half a teaspoon of cinnamon a day has shown to significantly reduce blood sugar levels, LDL(bad) cholestrol and total cholestrol levels in people with type 2 diabetes. You can also soak a table spoon of chia seeds in 3 Tbsp of water and add the gel to this milk shake to stay full for a longer period of time and also to fortify with omega 3 fats to this calcium and vitamin rich milk shake.

But if you are on a low sugar and low carbohydrate diet plan, this milk shake will not work for you. Instead go for Almond Butter Chocolate Milk Shake or Chocolate Truffle Shake. Green apple would be the best bet for people on a  low sugar diet because of its low fructose content. If you are going in for organic apple there is no need to peel the apple otherwise peel them to avoid the wax.

Preparation Time - 10 Minutes

Cooking Time - Nil

Serves - 2

Ingredients

Organic Apples - 2(Washed, Cored and chopped)

Raw Milk - 1 1/2 Cups

Water - 1/2 Cup

Cinnamon powder - 1 Tsp

Xylitol - 1 Tbsp or per taste

Ice cubes - 4 to 5

Method

1) Place the apple, milk, water, xylitol in a blender and blend till smooth.

2) Add the ice cubes and cinnamon powder and blend for few more seconds and serve in tall glasses.

3) Enjoy!!!

Event Participation



1) This goes to Ramya's ABC event - the Theme Apple for september

Read more »

Beat the heat - Sugar free Vegan Strawberry Ice Cream

Most of you must be wondering about so many beverage recipes coming up here lately. But it is summer time and with seasonal fruits in abundance,  it is very easy to live on milk shakes, juices and smoothies during the hot weather. In few places this is the time for summer school break for kids and that means lot of running around and entertaining the kids. So with less time to spend in the kitchen and frequent need to feed small hungry tummies thought that I will share my quick and easy to make recipes with you all. Most of the recipes are so simple, you can involve your kids to make it or if the kids are little older instruct them to make on their own. Healthy, simple home made stuff ready in minutes. This ice cream recipe is so simple to make and tastes great. Not to leave the point, is made without sugar and with protein rich nuts, coconut milk and vitamin c rich strawberries. Now let us get on to this recipe and do try this and let me know your feedback.



Preparation Time - 10 Minutes

Cooking Time - 10 Minutes





Ingredients

Coconut Milk - 4 Cups

Xylitol - 1 1/2 Cups or to taste depending on the taste of strawberries

Cashews - 1 Cup

Agar Agar Flakes - 4 Tbsp

Strawberry - 25 (Pureed and chilled)

Method



1) Soak the cashews in enough water and leave it for 3-4 hours.



2) Soak the agar agar flakes in warm coconut milk and let this soften for 30 minutes.



3) Simmer the coconut milk along with agar agar flakes and xylitol till the agar agar flakes are dissolved.



4) Strain this to filter any undissolved agar agar flakes and let this cool for 30-40 minutes(luke warm)



5) Now grind the cashews into a fine paste adding just enough coconut milk and once it becomes a smooth paste add the rest of the coconut milk and blend for a second.



6) Place the coconut milk and cashew mixture in a refrigerator and let this cool for an hour. Now take it out and blend in a powerful blender like vitamix for few minutes along with the strawberry puree and  transfer the contents to an ice cream maker and process according to its instructions.



Note - In store bought ice creams a variety of stabilizers are used for a better texture and to prevent the ice cream from melting rapidly. Because agar agar is a vegetarian stabilizer and a much healthier choice I went for that. You can also use Corn starch or Arrowroot starch in place of agar agar.

Events



This goes to Healing Foods Berries event hosted by Smitha an event started by Siri.

Read more »

Beat the Heat - Almond Butter Chocolate Milk Shake

Looking for a high protein, low sugar but super delicious milk shake. Then you have to try this out. Power packed with protein rich almond butter, calcium rich raw milk, antioxidant rich unsweetened cocoa and sweetened with xylitol these are perfect to kick start your day. Easy to make and absolutely delicious on a hot summer day. Do try it out and let me know, how you liked it.



Preparation Time - 5 Minutes

Cooking Time - Nil

Serves - 1





Ingredients



Raw Milk - 3/4 Cup(Since I used raw milk it has little bit of cream on top, so the milk is a mixture of cream & milk)

Cocoa Powder - 1 Tbsp

Almond Butter -2 Tbsp

Xylitol - 1 Tbsp or as per taste

Vanilla extract - few drops

Ice - 4 to 5 (optional)



Method



1) Place the raw milk, cocoa powder, almond butter, xylitol and vanilla extract in a blender and blend till smooth.



2) Now add the ice cubes and blend for a second and pour into tall glass and enjoy immediately.

Read more »

Beat the heat - Strawberry Smoothie

With certain parts of the United States reeling under a severe heat wave, I thought will share with you couple of Beat the Heat Recipes which are simple to make and good for you.



Strawberries have very high levels of vitamin C, fiber, folate and potassium than most other fruits like bananas, apples and even oranges. These berries are good for your heart and acts as a shield for cancer protection. But strawberries are one of the most contaminated produce with pesticide. So grab a box of organic one even though it costs a few more bucks because studies show that the antioxidants are more in organic food than conventional ones. Even though strawberries are so good for you be wary of the fructose content and accordingly adjust your intake of fruits.



Preparation Time - 5 Minutes

Cooking Time - None

Serves - 1





Ingredients



Plain yogurt - 3/4 Cup

Organic Strawberries - 6 to 8

Xylitol - 1 Tbsp or a pinch of Stevia

Ice cubes - 4 (optional)



Method



1) Place the yogurt, strawberries and xylitol in a blender and blend till smooth.



2) Add the ice cubes and blend one more time and serve immediately.

Read more »

Ash Gourd(White Pumpkin) & Cilantro Smoothie

Ash Gourd/White Pumpkin/ Winter Melon/Poosanikai what ever name you call this vegetable, these are used widely in South Indian (Asian Indian) cuisine. This pumpkin unlike its yellow counter part is not sweet and tastes very neutral with lot of water content in it. It is believed that including this vegetable regularly in one's diet will help in reducing excess weight. So what are you waiting for? Try this one out and it not only tastes good but is so good for you and let me know, how you liked it.



Preparation Time - 10 Minutes

Cooking Time - Nil

Serves - 2





Ingredients



Peeled, deseeded and chopped White pumpkin pieces - 1 1/2 Cups

Chilled Yogurt - 1 Cup

Ginger - 1 inch piece

Cilantro (Chopped) - Handful

Salt - 1/2 Tsp

Green Chili - 1 or to taste (or you can use ground black pepper)

Lemon juice - 1 Tsp or to taste

Ice Cubes - 4 to 5 (Optional)



Method



1) In a blender (I used vita mix) place the white pumpkin pieces, yogurt, ginger, cilantro, salt  and green chili and blend till smooth.



2) Add the ice cubes and blend one more time and now add the lemon juice and freshly ground black pepper if you are not using green chili and serve and in tall glass immediately.



Note - Any fruit or vegetable juice gives you a sense of fullness only if you don't filter and discard the fiber. So if you are make these kind of juices regularly it is not a bad idea to get a good quality blender.

Read more »

Cucumber, Bell Pepper, Scallion & Coconut Salad

 Do you love fresh raw vegetables and include salad as a part of your every day meal. Then this recipe is definitely for you. I try to include at least one raw vegetable dish as part of our meal and in order not to get bored, I try a variety of them. This simple salad is perfect for any body including carb watchers. Made with all low GI vegetables, these are perfect even for people on a diet plan.  Do try this out and let me know how you liked it.



Preparation Time - 10 Minutes

Cooking Time - 2 Minutes

Serves - 2





Ingredients



Cucumber - 1

Yellow bell pepper - 1 (Small)

Scallion - 1 bunch

Grated coconut - 2 Tbsp

Salt - 1/2 tsp or to taste

Lemon Juice - 1 Tsp or to taste

Freshly ground pepper - 1/2 Tsp or to taste

Chopped cilantro - 1 Tbsp



Tempering



Coconut oil - 1 Tsp

Asafoetida powder - pinch (avoid this in case of gluten intolerance)

Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp



Method



1) Wash all the vegetables, peel and chop the cucumber into small pieces. De seed the yellow bell pepper and chop into fine pieces. Remove the root of the scallion and chop the white portion and little bit of green portion alone into pieces.



2) Combine cucumber, yellow bell pepper, scallion, grated coconut, salt, lemon juice, chopped cilantro and freshly ground pepper and keep it aside.



3) Heat a small pan and once it is hot, add the oil. After the oil is warm, add the mustard seeds and once the mustard seeds stop spluttering add the asafoetida powder and transfer the tempering to the salad.

Combine well and enjoy.

Read more »

Sugar free Chocolate Ice Cream using Stevia

The Ice Cream truck hovering our development during the summer months make the kids and adults crave for some of this Sinful treats. I normally don't buy these Ice Creams at all and  I promised to make different flavored Ice Creams through out summer to enjoy and this is one such one.  We no longer use sugar  in our house hold.(even for kids - less work for my kids dentist). I have used Stevia as the sweetener in the Ice Cream recipe and my kids weren't able to find the difference because of the chocolate flavor, but for the adults this was very much pronounced. So I am going to stick on with Xylitol for the rest of my Ice Cream recipes.



Preparation Time - 10 Minutes

Cooking Time - None

Serves - 4 to 8





Ingredients



Half & Half - 1 Cup

Heavy Cream - 1 Cup

KAL Stevia - 1/2 Tsp

vanilla essence - few drops

Unsweetened Cocoa Powder - 1/4 Cup



Method



1) Place the Half & Half, Heavy Cream, Stevia, Vanilla essence and Unsweetened Cocoa powder in an Ice Cream maker and process till you get a soft serve consistency as per the manufacturer instruction.



2) Now remove this Ice Cream from the Ice Cream make and freeze over night to get a firm Ice Cream.



3) Run the outside of the container under a hot water tap and use a scoop dipped in boiling water to scoop out the Ice Cream. Enjoy.

Read more »