Vegan banana split recipe

I don't like ice cream. There, I said it. It's a real thing guys. So banana splits aren't really on my radar as enjoyable dishes. But I love the idea of them, so I've created my own version that makes for a hella yummy breakfast and is totally vegan. It's warm and filling and I love having it in the morning at this time of year.

Kiwi and Pear Vegan Smoothie Recipe

Smoothies are possibly my favourite 'everyday' breakfast. I'd love to have pancakes everyday (who wouldn't?!), but they take forever to prepare and make me feel a little groggy. I find that a good smoothie with a cup of lemon and ginger tea is the perfect remedy for turning a grumpy morning Steph into somebody who is actually a functional human being. I love experimenting with smoothie recipes, but usually end up coming back to the same basics that involve berries and salad. The recipe I have for you guys today however veers a little off of my beaten track, and is totally berry free *cue shocked face*. It's a completely green smoothie, but still contains a lot of fruit, so you can drink something sweet whilst all of your friends stare in envy at your green goddess smoothie Instagram posts. 
I love how quick and simple smoothies are for when you need to make breakfast in a rush. You can even chop everything up the night before and put it in the fridge, so that all you have to do in the morning is drop everything into your blender and hit the power button. I've actually posted a TONNE of smoothie recipes here on Nourish ME, but not in the past few months. If you're looking for more smoothie inspiration, here are just a couple more of my recipes:
- Mango vegan smoothie - Strawberry and basil smoothie (this is one of my all time favourites!) - Antioxidant green smoothie

So, without further ado, here's how to make a yummy kiwi and pear smoothie:
Ingredients:
1 kiwi 1 conference pear 1 large handful baby spinach 3 romaine lettuce leaves, or about 2 handfuls 1 small apple 150ml rice (or other alternative, e.g. almond, oat) milk
Method:
1.) Chop the kiwi, pear, apple and romaine lettuce up into small pieces. 2.) Place everything in the blender and whizz for a few minutes!
What's your go-to smoothie recipe?
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Vegan Pear and Raspberry Oatmeal Recipe

It feels like FOREVER since I've shared a recipe with you guys. The last one I posted was my homemade orange juice recipe waaaay back in December! I've been obsessed with Pinterest recently (follow me here) and it's inspired me to get back in touch with the roots of Nourish ME. If you've followed me since Nourish ME was a wee un-SEO'd, disorganised, poor picture quality baby, then you'll know that originally this was solely a recipe website for me to share all of my creations with you guys. Since then it's expanded into a more lifestyle orientated blog with a bit of beauty, fashion and foodie content thrown in. 
 So, I've decided to share my favourite breakfast of all time with you. I fell in love with Deliciously Ella's blueberry and apple oatmeal recipe - it was totally my go-to Winter breakfast - and I created this one as a yummy alternative to add a bit of variety to my mornings. Although Spring has sprung it seems to have pretty much disappeared here in the UK - it snowed (snew???) today and was so cold I'm pretty sure my baby finger has frostbite from cycling to work this morning. 
If you want to add normal milk instead of a vegan alternative then this recipe will definitely work with that too. Also, the majority of the ingredients for this easy four-ingredient recipe can be bought organic, so doing that will increase the nutritional quality of the dish, but will obviously make it more expensive.
I'm a pretty big fan of all things Instagram, so I'm always looking for ways to optimize my food photography. With the pictures in this post I've added my Beyonce wall art from Coconut Lane (you can get 20% off with the code 'nourishme20') and my That Lame Company list pad. I love adding a touch of stationary to my food pictures because I am a serious stationary obsessive and they add a depth to the photo. This recipe is pretty great for sharing on Instagram or other social media because it's super easy to create and makes you look like a top-notch foodie. 
In terms of topping the oatmeal to make it Instagram-worthy, I usually thinly slice a banana and arrange that on top, then add a few flax seeds, chia seeds and sometimes even a teaspoon of wheatgrass powder for that extra boost.
Pear and raspberry oatmeal (Serves 1)

Ingredients
1 pear 100g raspberries 40g porridge oats 200ml rice milk (or any other milk alternative)
Method
- Place the raspberries in a pan with just enough water to coat them. Allow to simmer for ten minutes.
- Whilst this is cooking, grate the pear into a bowl and add the rice milk and oats. Leave to soak for a couple of minutes.
- Cook the porridge mixture in a pan for 2-3 minutes until thoroughly heated. 
- Add the raspberry mixture (should look like a compote with a few whole raspberries or parts of raspberries remaining) to the porridge. Mix and serve. 
What is your go-to breakfast at the moment?

Festive Breakfast Recipe, with Added Supplement Love*

Pancakes and smoothies are the breakfast of champions, and I'm always looking for a little something I can pop into them for an added health kick. I've tried a number of "superfood" powders out there, but the problem is that I'm SO fussy, so if something tastes a little bit too powerful or different I tend to prefer to avoid it. Thus, I have half a tub of Spirulina at home that I keep trying to get through, but have owned for about a year now and it just changes the taste of everything I put it on so utterly I can't handle it. It's made from blue/green algae and I honestly think it tastes like that. Then we have my cacao & hemp powder, similarly discarded at the back of a cupboard, brought out every so often simply because I hate wasting food and don't want to outright bin it. Everyone raves about cacao so I thought I'd try it, only to realise that everyone raves because it makes smoothies taste kind of like chocolate milk, something that I unfortunately don't like.
Despite these setbacks, I have FINALLY moved into a new zone of nutritious powders with Aduna*; a zone where my favourite smoothie recipes and pancake stacks aren't marred by intense flavouring, but enhanced by a subtle addition of Aduna's moringa* or baobab* powder. So, what do these supplements do exactly? Well, moringa is crammed full of iron, calcium and protein - making it a must for any vegans out there, or anyone who wants an easy way to up their intake of these nutrients. It also strengthens the immune system, supports the normal growth of nails and hair, and much more. Baobab similarly has a whole range of benefits, including masses of Vitamin C, calcium and potassium, and can aid your energy levels, weight management and blood sugar levels (all of which I need a lot of help with!)
So, what's this festive recipe I hear you ask? Well, here we go: it's my Kale and Cranberry smoothie - with added nutritional powder
Ingredients: 1 banana Handful cranberrries (fresh or frozen) 2 handfuls kale 150 - 200ml rice/coconut/soya/oat milk
Whizz these up in a blender with a teaspoon of your baobab or moringa powder and you're good to go! I always like to top mine with a little drizzle of honey because I've got such a sweet tooth, but that's totally optional.
What are your go-to supplements?

Drink Your Greens | Berry Salad-y Smoothie

There is some smoothie under all that fruit I promise! However, I cannot promise that I won't make any more puns like the title for this blog post - I'm already nostalgic for studying English lit! I've pretty much fallen in love with smoothie bowls recently (something you will be fully aware of if you follow my instagram @steph_nourishmindandbody), and so it's good bye pint glasses, hello smoothies with lots of added fruit. This particular recipe was inspired by my need to get more salad greens into my diet; unfortunate because I detest them when solid and filling up my plate. BUT, all is not lost: concealed by the taste of banana and blackberry, I've managed to sneak some lettuce, cucumber and even celery into this smoothie without too many protestations from my tastebuds!

Ingredients:

2 bananas

2 apples

handful of blackberries

couple of cucumber slices

1 celery stick

handful iceberg lettuce

150ml milk alternative (I use rice milk)

2-3 handfuls spinach

large pinch flax seeds

1.) Peel and chop the apple and banana. Chop the celery, lettuce and cucumber.

2.) Place in a blender with the remainder of the ingredients. Whizz for three minutes and you're ready to go!

Enjoy! 

Love and Light

Steph

Blueberry Breakfast Smoothie (Dairy Free)

This is my favourite breakfast at the moment. It's simple to make, and really filling (something I need during this period of intense essay procrastination). I usually sip this as I do some gentle uni work in the morning, hence the coloured pens. I like to keep my work, and diary, organised. The oats in this really make it into a meal rather than a snack, so it's great for days when you're going to the gym, or simply want to ensure that you don't cave before lunch time!

Ingredients (makes 1 smoothie):

1 banana

2 large or 3 medium/small apples

100ml rice/almond/soya milk

handful of oats

handful of blueberries 

small handful of flaxseeds

honey to top

1.) Peel and roughly chop the banana and apples.

2.) Place in blender. Add blueberries. To cut down on cost (student living and all) I  buy my blueberries when they're reduced and freeze them - one pack lasts me about four smoothies.

3.) Add rice milk, flaxseeds and oats

4.) Blend for 2-3 minutes.

5.) Top with honey if you wish, and enjoy!

Love and Light 

Steph

P.S. Check out my giveaway here

Dairy-free healthy pancake recipe

Pancakes are the ultimate breakfast food in my opinion. You can made them savoury, sweet, lather them in syrup or add a gentle dollop of greek yogurt. They're dreamy. 

When I was growing up we only ever ate pancakes on pancake day, so they were a massive treat and as such they've still got a soft spot in my heart. However, since moving to uni I've made them pretty much a part of my staple diet. They add a little extra bit of happiness to my day. They're also ridiculously easy to make once you get the recipe right, so I thought I'd share this with you.

Ingredients (makes 1 serving):

1/2 banana

100ml rice/soya/oat/almond milk (soya makes them a little creamier, but I always tend to go for rice milk)

2oz wholewheat flour

1 egg

Extra virgin olive oil

Fresh lemon juice and demerara sugar to top

Method:

1.) Chop up the banana and place in a blender. Add the egg, flour and soya milk.

2.) Blend for two to three minutes. This ensures that you don't end up with lumps of banana in your pancakes. 

3.) Put a tiny bit of extra virgin olive oil in a frying pan. Allow it to heat and then pour a reasonably small amount of the mixture in. I much prefer thin pancakes because they cook better with this recipe. 

4.) Fry for a couple of minutes on both sides. 

5.) Squeeze some lemon juice and sprinkle a little bit of sugar on the top. 

Enjoy!

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Dairy Free Tropical Smoothie Recipe

I don't know about anyone else, but the thought of getting up in the morning and exercising always sometimes makes me want to stay permanently wrapped up in bed. So, I decided to start making smoothies to perk me up a bit and get me ready for the day. This is pretty much what this one is designed for - getting you ready for the day on a slow morning.