Banana Raspberry Smoothie

Hello guys,

how are you?

I hope you are planning a great day today. Since a lot of my friends are moving away and I don't have so much to do till university, I get a bit bored during the day. However, today I am going to go clubbing again with my best friend and enjoy this lovely night. I hope you also have great plans for the day! In order to have enough energy for the whole day, I made a really tasty Banana Raspberry Smoothie this morning which I wanted to share with you. 

Banana Raspberry Smoothie

Ingredients: 1 banana, one hand full of raspberries, 1/2 juice of an orange, 1 cup of almond milk

Calories: 205 cal

Ideal for: breakfast, energy boost, protein-based, extra fruit portion

 

Not only does this smoothie look incredibly delicious and pink, but also is in fact incredibly delicious. I personally think that frozen raspberries are the best frozen fruits for a smoothie, followed by frozen strawberries. The smoothie is really fresh, sour and satisfying. I personally found that it didn't give me enough energy for my whole workout, but by adding some oats to the drink, this would work as a pre-workout drink.

I hope you liked this post. Do you also like to have a smoothie as a breakfast?

I wish you a wonderful day!

Love,

The Perfect Smoothie Formula

Hello guys!

How are you doing?
Do you enjoy your day?
As you might can tell, I have developed a passion for smoothies during the last weeks. However, I make really basic smoothies with so little ingredients that they are never PERFECT. With perfect I mean that they really contain all ingredients that are theoretically ideal for the breakfast. By dealing with the ideal smoothie, I had to realise that this topic is much more difficult than I thought it would be. So I use the help of Matt Frazier.

The Perfect Smoothie Formula

Matt Frazier from http://www.nomeatathlete.com
Article: http://www.nomeatathlete.com/the-perfect-smoothie-formula/

(makes 2 smoothies)

• 1 soft fruit
• 2 small handfuls frozen or fresh fruit
• 2-4 tablespoons protein powder
• 2 tablespoons binder
• 1.5 tablespoons oil
• 1.5 cups liquid
• 1 tablespoon sweetener (optional, less or more as needed)
• optional superfoods, greens, and other ingredients
• 6 ice cubes (omit if soft fruit is frozen)

Select one or more ingredients of each type below and add to blender in specified proportions. Blend until smooth.

Recommended Soft Fruits

• Banana
• Avocado

(If you have a high-speed blender that can puree, say, a whole apple or carrot without leaving any chunks behind, then the puree of almost any fruit or vegetable can act as your soft fruit.)

Recommended Frozen or Fresh Fruits

• Strawberries (you can leave the greens on if you have a powerful blender)
• Blueberries
• Blackberries
• Raspberries
• Peaches
• Mango
• Pineapple

Recommended Protein Powders

• Hemp
• Sprouted brown rice (tastes chalkier than hemp, but packs more protein per dollar)
• Pea
• Vega Sport (combines all three for complete amino acid profile)
• Lifetime Life’s Basic’s Plant Protein (an affordable hemp, rice, pea, and chia protein blend)

(Soy and whey are higher-protein, generally cheaper options, but for a variety of reasons I don’t recommend either for long-term use.)

Recommended Binders

• Ground flaxseed
• Almond butter or any nut butter
• Soaked raw almonds (soak for several hours and rinse before using)
• Rolled oats, whole or ground
• Udo’s Wholesome Fast Food

Recommended Oils

• Flaxseed oil
• Udo’s Blend or other EFA blend
• Hemp oil
• Coconut oil
• Almond, macadamia, or other nut oil

Recommended Liquids (unsweetened)

• Water (my favorite)
• Almond milk or other nut milk
• Hemp milk
• Brewed tea

Recommended Sweeteners

• Honey (not technically vegan)
• Agave nectar (high in fructose, so choose this only before workouts)
• Stevia (sugar-free natural sweetener, the amount needed will vary by brand)

Optional Superfoods, Greens and Other Ingredients

• Cacao nibs (1-2 tablespoons)
• Carob chips (1-2 tablespoons)
• Ground organic cinnamon (1-2 teaspoons)
• Chia seeds, whole or ground (1-2 tablespoons)
• Greens powder (1-2 teaspoons)
• Whole spinach leaves (1-2 handfuls)
• Maca powder (1-2 teaspoons)
• Jalapeno pepper, seeds and stem removed (one small pepper)
• Ground cayenne pepper (small pinch)
• Sea salt (pinch)
• Lemon or lime juice (1 tablespoon)  

So this is the formula constructed by a professional instead of a "fitness wannabe" like me :D I admit that usually forget to put in oils or binders into my smoothie, so maybe I should try putting them in. 

I hope this was helpful for you and tell me how do you make your smoothie?

I wish you a wonderful smoothie day!

Love,

Nespresso Variations 2012 Winter Limited Edition

Nespresso has released its new Variations for 2012! The Winter Limited Edition offers three coffees with three different flavors: Hazelnut, Coconut and Macadamia Nut. Quiet Nutty. You can see an overview of their new collection on their website here.

But firstly, let's talk about my coffee story:
I have to admit that I hated drinking coffee for years and only really enjoyed drinking a cup of coffee three weeks ago. I am still a total tea-drinker, let's say that I drink tea for 95%, and just drink a cup of coffee as a special treat. However, after years of making a disgusting face when thinking about coffee, I have to admit, yes, I like coffee with lots of milk. I still don't like the pure taste of it as I find it too bitter,  so the Nespresso Vanilla flavoured coffee was like heaven. Not as sweet as the vanilla latte from Starbucks, but with a less noticeable roasting. So I was really looking forward to this year's winter limited edition and wasn't disappointed of these capsules.

Hazelnut
Description: "The combination of the lightly roasted hazelnut notes with Livanto Grand Cru reveals praline flavours, giving it a well balance in the mouth."
Intensity: 6/10
Size of cup: Espresso - 40 ml

Macadamia Nut

Description: "The rich savours of the macadamia nut combined with the roundness of the Livanto Grand Cru, develop a sup rising freshness, revealing citrus notes."

Intensity: 6/10

Size of cup: Espresso - 40 ml 

Coconut

Description: "A perfect harmon between the coconut notes and the Livanto Gran Cru creates a gourmand experience reminiscent of coconut macaroons."

Intensity: 6/10
Size of cup: Espresso - 40 ml

One package consisting of 10 capsules costs 4,20€ or you can buy each capsule individually for 0,42€. They currently also offer a "Discovery Variations 2012" set which consist of 2 packages of hazelnut, 2 packages of macadamia nut and 1 package of coconut for 21€.
The capsules can be drunken as espresso, cappuccinos or regular lattes.
I am really looking forward to testing these out and will do a review of them as fast as I receive them. What do you think about Nespresso capsules?

Wish you a wonderful day! Lots of love,

Tea With Or Without Milk

Since I'm little I always drink black tea with milk and I never though about drinking black tea without milk! For me it is way to bitter and I don't want to put to much sugar in my tea.

My question is: Why does the minority of people drinks tea with milk when the majority drinks milk with coffee?

I have to admit that coffee is way more bitter than tea, but tea is, at least for me, still bitter and seriously tea with milk taste so good! And every time when I go to city I asked myself why Starbucks doesn't offer milk tea, or tea latte. I know that they have chai latte and I also know that a lot of people adore that drink so why doesn't Starbucks offer a black tea latte.

Also, I know from a lot of people that they love to drink chai tea with milk which I think is because of the description which comes with the tea and which says that you have to put milk in it.

However, I am talking about normal black tea, e.g. English Breakfast Tea or Lady Grey.

I agree with people who say that they don't want to have milk in fruit teas and perhaps rooibos teas, but seriously, even green tea and rooibos tea with milk taste absolutely amazing!

Do you drink tea with milk or do you prefer it just with sugar or even with a bit of citron?