Complete the Cook - week 3

 

Are you shopping on a budget?  But want to find cheap, healthy products?

We've got you covered with 3 of the best budget buys we found this week

Product recommendation: Oat Dream

Oat Milk 

£1 for 1 litre (current offer reduced from £1.50 @ Tesco)  

More about OAT DREAM 

We love dairy alternatives when it comes to milk and there are so many different varieties now, its getting difficult to choose.  Ive always gone for GOOD HEMP milk or OATLY (original or Oatly chocolate is the BEST) - and honestly there is no beating them for cereal, puddings, cooking, and in hot drinks BUT on a budget we tried this one this week and its come up trumps.  Works perfectly in coffee/tea - no curdle!  And its creamy, silky texture works so well to make drinks and smoothies that little bit more luxurious.  A really subtle flavour that works with just about everything.  Great substitute for almond milk in the breakfast smoothie bowl recipe below.

Product recommendation: Chia Seeds

Chia Seeds
£1 for 150g (@Tesco - own brand)
Shop HERE 

**Want to learn more about Chia Seeds? SIGN UP today for our FEATURE FOODS email Starting with the lowdown on Chia Seeds (and followed by a focus on many other "superfoods", "added extras" and "magic powders" you can use while still on a budget) we will take you through the pros and the cons of each, with nutritional info, recipe ideas and of course where to buy the cheapest versions or alternatives that might be just as good to power boost your smoothies, salads and more #nononsense!

Product recommendation: Lancashire Farm, Natural Bio Yoghurt

Whole Milk Yoghurt

An amazing £1 for 1kg

More about LANCASHIRE FARMS products 

We were championing The Collective Dairy in a previous Complete the Cook blog and we are still loving their work, their product, their branding, their ethos and everything about them! The only reason we are sharing this one with you today too is that its a KG for a £1 !!  So in the theme of a great budget buy - this is a fantastic one.  And its still healthy and versatile for breakfast, pudding, in sweet or savoury recipes!  We chose the Whole Milk variety.  There are also lower fat versions available if you prefer, but we never recommend low fat.  If you are doing it, do it properly - its still unsweetened natural yoghurt, its still not a "baddie" so be good to yourself and choose the whole milk version with a thicker, creamier texture and ultimately a better taste (in my opinion).

OK - to finish you will want the recipe:

BREAKFAST SMOOTHIE BOWL - for protein, fibre and energy

Ingredients:

• Yoghurt (large tbsp) as per last weeks recommendation or AS ABOVE
• Almond milk (as per last weeks recommendation) or Oat Milk AS ABOVE 
• Milled flaxseed (large tbsp - the more you add, the thicker it will be) 
• Bran (2 handfuls of all bran / bran flake cereal) Almonds (handful) 
• Chia seeds (large tbsp) 

Topped with: 

• More almonds (as much as you can see) 
• More Chia seeds (as much as you can see) 
• Rolled oats (as much as you can see) 
• Maca powder (as much as you can see)     

**WANT TO KNOW MORE ABOUT MACA?  Maca will be in our Featured Foods series starting soon - sign up to be first to receive info**

• Maple syrup (drizzle over the top, quantity up to you depending on your sweet tooth)

Just remember we recommend this for after exercise so don't ruin what you just worked so hard for, by topping up on too much sugar and sweet!

Method: 

• Pop the flaxseed, bran, almonds and chia into a blender 
• Cover with milk and blend until thick and smooth and creamy 

*note* More flax will thicken, more milk = less thick - find your consistency to sit nicely in the bowl or add more milk and drink as a smoothie, adding a tiny bit of honey and maca powder to sweeten your drink too! 

• Pour/spoon into bowl
• Top with the added extras and fresh fruit to taste

If you're sick of protein shakes and you don't have time for eggs, its too early for chicken or fish as a protein source - get on this.  Great after exercise or training to help repair sore muscles and to give you some slow release energy to keep you going until lunchtime.  Plus you can prep it in advance ready for when you return from your run, or take some in a sealed pot in your gym bag with you!

More recipes to come in complete the cook next time!  If you don't want to miss it - you can sign up for the FREE newsletter HERE

Want to know more about maca, chia and other perhaps not so common ingredients we use to boost our smoothies, salads, snacks and more?  Then be one of the first to receive our "Feature Foods" series where we focus on pros and cons of so called superfoods and provide no nonsense shopping lists of the added extras - just click HERE

 

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www.nitakothari.com 

 **Please remember this is advice ONLY (as is all other information contained in this blog, the website and social media related to it) None of the info or advice is intended to override any recommendation from your GP or health professional**

 

  

 

 

Complete The Cook - 3 of our favourite products this week

WARNING - Gratuitous product shots below....!

I’ve been asked  recently what products I would recommend, use, buy regularly, enjoy eat, drink etc….So in full disclosure, without sponsorship, endorsement or any kind of money changing hands I thought it would be a good idea to tell you straight up, no nonsense, the good the bad – and of course the ugly – WHAT I really consume – and WHY.  This is the start, so full intro below and more recommendations to follow...

Ok, so I currently shop at Tesco because its close, convenient and cheap.  Don’t hold it against me.  I can’t afford whole foods supermarkets, have no local access to farmers markets and cant wait in and pay for delivery from specialist online stores all the time. There ARE some AMAZING ones though so I'm not knocking them, but simplicity, no nonsense, budget and time saving is as key for me as it is for you (or at least as you keep telling me), so this works while I still manage to produce nutritious, quality, tasty, meals.  AND - If I can, of course you can.  Right? 

So to complete the cook (do you like what we did there?) - ie for our recipes this week we recommend:

The Collective Dairy - Straight Up, Unsweetened Live Yoghurt

£1.79 for 450g (Tesco) 

Twitter @collectivedairy 

Facebook @thecollectiveinuk 

Web www.thecollective.com

 

 

Tesco - Perfectly Imperfect Range, Strawberries 

£1.29 for 400g

Twitter @Tesco 

Facebook @Tesco 

Web - Perfectly Imperfect Range 

 Tesco - pre chopped Mango Chunks

£2 for 275g

Twitter and Facebook same as above for Tesco and if you want to find out more: TescoPLC

For our recent recipe creations, shopping lists and MORE you can CLICK HERE and be one if the first to receive our new email newsletter starting this summer 

 

Here are this weeks complete the cook ingredients lists to start you off:

 

Breakfast

Live yoghurt ("Straight Up" as above)

Grapefruit (tinned - no fuss, mess, no nonsense - in water never syrup)

Fresh blueberries

Granola

Chia seeds

Honey

Strawberry Salad

Strawberries ("Perfectly Imperfect" as above)

Orange rapture tomatoes (Yes I admit I bought them cos they were on special and I loved the name!)

Mixed salad leaves

Fresh mint

Fried (or better grilled) hallumi

Olive oil and balsamic vinegar to dress

The Perfectly Imperfect range is the Tesco version of Asdas "Wonky Veg" we shared the launch of a little while back (http://your.asda.com/news-and-blogs/wonky-fruit-veg-boxes).  The Tesco brand were only £1.29 for 400g compared to £2 for the same weight in the better looking strawberries.  Honestly these taste just as good, there is NOTHING wrong with these beauties!

 

Monday was the Summer Solstice AND there was a Strawberry Moon.  This hasn't coincided since 1967 apparently and the next time it happens will be in another 46 years so for some of us a once in a lifetime!  The strawberry moon marks the arrival of strawberry picking season!  So I figured it would be rude not to eat some strawberries (even if I cant get out to pick them myself right now).

I wouldn't usually, but went for pre-cut fresh mango this week.  Mango is a faff anyway and often not the cheapest of ingredients.  These are done for you saving mess and struggle (no nonsense), plus they are guaranteed ripe. Also 1 mango weighs in a approx 375g and that includes the skin and stone, so taking that on board and considering the other bits for the smoothie we used these in came to a grand total of £2.59 (for approx 6-7 servings - that's only 37p a pop)  I think its worth shelling out the £2 for lazy mangoes.

Green Smoothie

Chopped mango (from Tesco as above)

Spinach

Kiwi 

Curly Kale

Apple juice

Water

You said it looks like sludge - yep we do make an abundance of green smoothies and they often look like pond life - I admit that.  I think a lot of people have an aversion to green foods - not the best colour for a drink really, but I can assure you this one was sweet and smooth and 5 out of 5 of your 5 a day!  If you really dont like the idea of drinking the green stuff - check out our other smoothie recipes - you can search via our Facebook page and Instagram while we set up a recipe archive to make it easier for you - just click the pics you like and you should find a nice list of healthy ingredients too - if not you can always ask and we can see what we can whip up for you!

Remember we do offer personal, made to measure plans (online or 1 to 1) to get your health back on track, put a spring in your step, help you shop smart, budget, and eat well.  We also offer fully comprehensive weight management programmes and health coaching, so drop me a line info@nitakothari.com if you'd like to find out more.  We'd love to work with you to create healthy recipes using the foods YOU like so YOU enjoy them! 

For a free, no obligation, consultation just get in touch: info@nitakothari.com and mention this post.  For more recipes, ideas, tips and cheat sheets etc just CLICK HERE to be one of the first to receive our new email newsletter starting this summer!  

You can also find and follow us for regular updates and inspiration via social media:  Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Google+ | Pinterest | Blogger

 

www.nitakothari.com

 **Please remember this is advice ONLY (as is all other information contained in this blog, the website and social media related to it) None of the info or advice is intended to override any recommendation from your GP or health professional**

 

 

Smoothie "Recipe" Round Up

You might have noticed my rough attempt at putting food stuffs together (ingredients), usually blending them, and coming up with a delicious smoothie, soup, or other pot of goodness, but as this has been ad-hoc I thought I’d take the opportunity this week to treat you all to a little round up of what I loosely call my smoothie “recipes”.  Pics and ingredients are all below.  Most quantities are changeable – even each time I make them – my blending is definitely not a science, so I’ve added a rough estimate of quantities, but please feel free to play about and find the way you like things if you do attempt any of the smoothies here.

I’d like to add a quick word on blenders…..I use a £7.99 Argos own brand blender and I blend, I don’t currently juice as I like to use the whole fruit/veg and other ingredients too, I don’t like to waste as much as juicer does and I want the fibre that blending the whole piece provides.  Also I am lazy and like to make these in the morning quick, easy, no nonsense and no washing up (I just rinse the blender immediately after use).  You can of course juice some of the recipes below but I would advise using much larger quantities of fruit and vegetables – especially of the more watery fruits and veggies and you won’t need to add the water/juice as listed. 

Back to the blending - You can of course use the professional blenders, or a handheld if that’s what you have or prefer, but the reason I mention this is to let you know you don’t HAVE to use the pro brands.  Lots of people ask me what blenders/juicers I’d recommend, well there you have it – seriously – if I can knock these up in my £7.99 generic appliance that I’ve been using for the last 4 years, then really, if you can’t afford it, there is no need to pay 10 x that much for a fancy one.  Of course if you want a fancy one – go for it! They do look nicer, they work faster, they can be small and sleek and of course have their benefits……

Anyway, SMOOTHIES……

Go To Green Smoothie:

Ingredients: 

1 x granny smith apple

1 x kiwi fruit

1 stick celery

Lemon juice (from about ½ a lemon)

1/3^rd cucumber

1 inch raw ginger

Handful raw baby spinach

Handful raw curly kale

Splash apple juice

½ glass water

Method:

Chop all, add to blender, BLEND (add more water or juice as required for best consistency)

Bright & Boosting Green Smoothie:

Ingredients:

1/3^rd cucumber

Handful raw baby spinach

Handful raw curly kale

1 stick celery

½ lime

1 x kiwi fruit

½ glass water

Method:

Chop all, add to blender, BLEND (add more water as required for best consistency)

Breakfast Smoothie:

Ingredients:

1 glass of milk (skimmed/hemp/oat)

1 small pot natural or Greek yoghurt

A good handful of whole almonds

Handful of coconut (pieces not flakes)

1 banana

1 tbsp milled flaxseed

Method:

Add ingredients to blender leaving a few whole almonds and coconut chunks to mix through/sprinkle on top whole, BLEND (add more milk as required for best consistency)

Red Wake Up Smoothie:

Ingredients:

1 x large orange

2 x carrots

1 inch fresh, raw ginger

1 x enormous beetroot

½ glass water

Method:

Peel and chop all, add to blender and BLEND (add more water as required for best consistency)

Berry Shake:

Ingredients:

1 glass of milk (skimmed/hemp/oat)

1 generous handful fresh blueberries

1 generous handful raspberries

1 tbsp flaked almonds

1 tbps milled flaxseed

Method:

Add all to blender leaving a few almond flakes to sprinkle through and add on top, BLEND (add more milk as required for best consistency)

Give them a go if you fancy and let me know what you think?  You can share your smoothie snaps and any additions/ingredients swaps etc via our Facebook page or on Twitter.  You can also find more of our recipes and images on Instagram and Pinterest.

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For more info or any queries on the ingredients, blenders, or anything else please see www.nitakothari.com and/or email us on info@nitakothari.com

**Please remember this is nutritional advice ONLY (as is all other information contained in this blog, the website and social media related to it) None of the info or advice is intended to override any recommendation from your GP or health professional**