Green super smoothie with fennel and buckwheat

I really like smoothies. Smoothies that are filled with vitamins, minerals and fibres - and feels like a proper meal. I always blend my smoothies in a high speed blender, instead of only juicing, as that makes my smoothies even more nutritious - plus it gives them a nice and quite thick but still smooth texture which I like! This green super smoothies is made of not only fruits (which tastes very yum, but isn't very good when you want a proper meal) but lots of veggies too!! Thats the recipe for a filling smoothie. 

Whenever I start my mornings at location when styling I always bring a smoothie just like this one. 

sweet hint of kiwi. 

Photo by photographer Fanny Hansson. 

Green super smoothie with fennel and buckwheat

2 big glasses

Make sure to use organic ingredients, 

Ingredients

1 avokado 

1 green banana 

1 fennel 

1 dl soaked and rinsed buckwheat groats 

2 hand fulls of baby spinach 

1 kiwi 

2 tbs freshly squeezed lime juice (if you've got a high speed blender you might want to add the whole lime, peel and all) 

4 dl water plant based milk of your choice (or water) 

How to

Peel, pit and scoop out the avocado. Peel the banana. Trim of the fennel stalks, plus a little bit at the bottom of the bulb to remove any rough root bits. Rinse the buckwheat. Put all the ingredients in a blender (preferably a high speed one as that will make your smoothie unbelievable smooth!) and blend until creamy. Add extra plant milk for a runnier texture (OR, less if you want to eat it as a smoothie bowl! Then make sure to use frozen banana, and maybe even frozen avocado, for best result), 

Oat and carrot bread with hummus, avocado and kale chips

Alright, so this post is really all about my absolute favourite bread in the world; let me present to you my very moist oat and carrot bread packed with nutrients and lots of flavour. Plus it is very easy to make. It’s gluten free, nut free and vegan, so pretty much anyone could enjoy it. I always cut the loaf in slices and put the ones I don't eat straight away in the freezer. That gives me the chance to just take out a slice or two for any occasion I’m craving a healthy slice of bread (which is very often). 

Have a slice for breakfast or the weekend brunch, eat it as a side with you lunch soup or bring as a snack-on-the-go. A couple of slices topped with hummus, avocado and roasted kale + a sprinkle of sea salt and freshly grounded black pepper is one of my favourite ways to have them. And that is just what my dear friend Fanny Hansson, aka talented photographer of my cookbook The new green salad, and I had a couple of months ago during a creative workshop day. I cooked and styled, Fanny took lovely pictures and Sofia Törnqvist did her retouch magic. Not a bad day at work. 

Well, enough writing. I’ll just post the recipe below and let you try the bread for yourself. I’m sure you’ll understad where I’m coming from once you’ve tried it! 

Oat and carrot bread

Makes 1 loaf

4 dl oat flour

3 dl buckwheat flour

1 dl crushed buckwheat groats

1 dl sunflower seeds

1/2 dl pumpkinseeds

1/2 dl flax seeds

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

1 tsp himalayan salt

1 tbsp chia seeds + 3 tbsp hot water

1/2 tbsp apple cider vinegar

2 dl finely grated carrot (about 70g) 

4 dl almond milk (or any other plant based milk of your choice)

Pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds and sea salt to sprinkle on top

Serving suggestions

hummus (on p. 102-105 in my book The new green salad you'll find my three favourite hummus recipes!) 

avocado 

kale chips *see instructions below

dried cherry tomatoes, or try my recipe for Semi dried cherry tomatoes

cress

sesame seeds (toast them for an even more intense flavour!)

How to

Preheat the oven to 175°C. Bring 3 tbsp water to a boil. Mix water with chia seeds and allow it to sit for about 5 minutes, until it takes on a texture similar to jelly.

Mix all the dry ingredients in a bowl. Finely grate the carrot. Add carrots, chia mixture, apple cider vinegar and almond milk to the dry ingredients and mix well.

Grease a bread tin with olive oil and cover the bottom of the tin with baking paper. Put the “dough” in the bread tin, sprinkle with additional seeds and sea salt, and place in the lower part of the oven for about 60-70 minutes, until the inner temperature reaches about 100°C. Let the bread cool completely before slicing it. Preferably wrap it in a kitchen towel and leave on the kitchen counter over night. This will allow the bread to sit and the flavour to develop even more! 

Hope you’ll like it as much as I do!

* Kale chips. Pre heat the oven to 175°C. Tear the leafs in to smaller pieces, massage with some olive oil and flakey salt. Spread out on a baking sheet and roast in the oven for about 10 minutes, until crispy, tossing around the kale every now and then. 

Fruity brunch bowl with kale, tamari tofu and cannellini mint dip

During my last visit to London I met up with my dear friend, and big source of inspiration, Kimberly. She is an amazing prop stylist, food photographer and food blogger from London who I actually met through Instagram some time back. We had been following each others foodie journeys via Instagram for some time and then last autumn when I was in London we met up and attended a supper club hosted by Uyen Luu together with a couple of friends. I absolutely love how social communities like Instagram can bring people together. With an open mind you can meet the most interesting and kind people who share the same passions as you - all over the world! Anyway, this supper club that we went to on our first friend date really is a must do if you're in London and are looking for a really cool and delicious food experience! 

Back to the story about the recipe below. During my last visit Kimberly and I spent a day at her place cooking and chatting about what's inspiring us, the food styling business and exciting projects. And this is delicious salad bowl pictured above is what I made us for lunch. It's the perfect brunch, lunch AND light dinner dish. Perfect for any occasion really. It has got all the elements I'm looking for in a complete dish. Other than being full of nutritious plant based goodies it contains lots of different textures (creamy white bean mint dip/crunchy walnuts), flavours (sweet grape fruit/spicy tofu) and cooking methods (massaged raw kale/baked plum tomatoes).

It might sound like a lot of work, but it really isn't. Plus, most components in this salad bowl is something you could actually prepare in advance - or they take no time at all to prepare (like the massaged kale for instance. 2 minutes massaging work. 10 minutes rest. Ready to eat!). The white bean dip and the semi dried tomatoes for example is something that you could easily make a few days before and store in your fridge. And oh, you might want to double the recipe in case you make them in advance, since there is a chance you'll have eaten it all up before it's Saturday and you're about to make you weekend brunch bowl...

And one last tips. I made these salads without any grains at all, primarily because we were talking so much I forgot to cook any. Anyway, add 4 dl cooked grains of your choice (durrah, quinoa or buckwheat are a few favorites) for an even more filling dish. 

NOW, lets cook! 

Best, 

T

Fruity brunch bowl w kale, tamari tofu and white bean mint dip

Makes 4 bowls

Ingredients

270 grams firm tofu

     3 tbsp tamari

     1 tsp paprika powder 

250 grams plum tomatoes

100 grams curly kale 

250 grams sprouted broccoli

1 grapefruit 

1 avocado 

50 g cress, or mixed leafy greens  

2 tbsp cold pressed olive oil 

2 cold pressed coconut oil for frying

2 tsp sesame oil

flaky sea salt

White bean mint dip

1 can pre cooked canellini beans (about 230 g)

1 tsp dijon mustard 

1/2 organic lemon, juice + zest 

1 handful of fresh mint 

2-3 tbsp water

flaky sea salt + freshly ground black pepper 

Topping

40 g walnuts

fresh herbs (mint, parsley)

How to

Drain the tofu well and wrap in layers of kitchen roll. Then place in between two chopping boards and put something heavy on top. This is to press out all the excess water so you get a really firm tofu, which will then soak up all the flavours it will be mixed with really well. Let sit for at least 15 minutes, but the longer the better. Cut the tofu in smaller pieces. Whisk together tamari and paprika powder, and pour over the tofu. Let marinate for at least 15 minutes. 

Pre heat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius. Wash and cut the tomatos in half. Place in an ovenproof dish, drizzle with 1 tbsp olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Bake in the oven for about 30 minutes, until the tomatoes are semi dried and a bit crispy around the edges. Let cool. 

Massage the curly kale with 1 tbsp olive oil and a pinch of salt until soft and ”tender”. Put aside while preparing the rest of the salad. Steam the sprouted broccoli for about 3 minutes. Peel and fillet the grape fruit. Halve, peel and pit the avocado. Tear it in to smaller pieces. Drizzle with a bit of lemon juice.

Rinse and drain the cannellini beans. Mix all the ingredients for the dip, except the mint, until creamy using a hand blender. Add the mint and pulse a few times. Salt and pepper to taste. You might want to add a bit more water to ger your desired dip texture. 

Heat the coconut oil in a frying pan and fry the tofu until golden and crisp. Remove from heat. Drizzle with sesame oil (optional). 

Portion the bean dip in to 4 wide bowls, make a pretty swirl on one side using a spoon. Toss the kale, broccoli, tomatos, avocado and cress together carefully and divide in to the bowls. Topp with the tofu and sprinkle with walnuts and fresh herbs.

Enjoy! 

Coconut and matcha chia trifle w blueberry mousse and date granola

Coconut and matcha chia trifle w blueberry mousse, topped with golden granola! I call it weekend breakfast, brunch, mid day-snack and dessert, just to make sure I can have it as often as possible. Prepare the day before, or even a few days before as it keeps well in the fridge for up to 3 days, and you'll have things delicious thing ready in no time! I top the whole thing with my favorite granola, which I call golden as it looks kind of golden thanks to turmeric which is one of the super spices that gives the granola that special and wonderful flavor. Try it for yourself! 

Coconut matcha chia trifle w blueberry mousse and date granola

Serves 2 as a steady breakky

Chia pudding

1 dl creamy coconut milk

2 dl water

2 tsp organic matcha powder

1/2 tsp pure vanilla powder

2 tbsp chia seeds 

Blueberry mousse

1 ripe avocado, peeled and pitted  

3 dl frozen blueberries

1 fresh date, pitted

Topping

Your favorite granola, try my sweet date granola here

How to
Whisk together coconut milk, water, matcha powder, pure vanilla powder, a pinch of Himalayan salt and chia seeds in a glass jar. Wait 10 minutes and then whisk again to prevent clumping. Cover and put in the fridge over night. You could manage with only 3-4 hours but I find that it gets even more creamy if you let it sit for at least 8 hours.

Remove from fridge and stir well before serving. Mix avocado, blueberries and fresh date until a smooth mousse.

Portion the chia mixture to bowls or glass jars. Scoop the blueberry mouse on top. Serve with fruits or berries + your favorite granola + fresh lemon balm or mint.

ENJOY!