Tuesday, June 26, 2012

Nutrition Packed Banana Strawberry smoothie and a Chrysanthemum Mirror :)

If the part about the mirror in the title baffles you, let me try and explain. No, this site hasn't suddenly transformed into a home decor blog, it still continues to be a food blog:)  But regular readers of this site know that from time to time I share interesting links and other tit bits that I come across in this space. This time that tit bit happens to be this chrysanthemum mirror I made:)   I got the idea for this mirror from Kristi who blogs at Addicted to decorating. She has so many wonderful ideas, but this one was just something I fell in love with and wanted to try immediately. After spending a week, collecting all the items I would need to make this mirror, I spent the next week devoting any extra hour I got into this project and at the end I was rewarded with this.............

 Chrysanthemum mirror

It is not the most perfect effort, I am sure if I tried this again I would be able to perfect it a little more. But it turned out fairly well and it definitely helped in filling a bare wall in one of our rooms so I'm happy :) For step by step pictures hop over to Kristi's blog post 

Moving on, the right kind of food is very important after a workout. Foods that are a good balance of carbohydrates and protein are said to help in repairing/ replenishing muscles after a workout. Ideally the sooner these foods are consumed after a workout the quicker you recover. Smoothies, I find are the best kind of workout food. Especially smoothies such as this one that I have begun to make frequently. It has milk,  bananas, strawberry, oatmeal, chia seeds and almonds. Power packed with a good balance of carbs and protein. This also makes for a great breakfast, since it is very nourishing and filling, if you are not into working out very much :) 

Banana Strawberry Smoothie

Click here for a printable view of this recipe

Ingredients and Method to make Banana Strawberry smoothie
1/4 cup 1 minute oatmeal cooked until soft (I microwaved it with 1/2 cup of water for a couple of minutes)
1/4 cup almonds
3 tbsp chia seeds
3 large bananas cut into small pieces
6 large strawberries cut into small pieces
1 1/2 cup milk
2 tbsp brown sugar (or to taste)(optional, can be substituted with white sugar)

Cook 1 minute oatmeal in the microwave until soft and keep aside.
Soak chia seeds in a little bit of milk for a few minutes and keep aside.
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In a large bowl, add  all the ingredients including cooked oatmeal and chia seeds + milk. Using a hand blender blend everything together until smooth. Alternatively add all the ingredients to a large blender jar and blend until smooth. Chill and serve chilled. Refrigerate balance if any and use up within a couple of days.

Suggested Variation:
This smoothie can also be made with bananas and pears. Just substitute the strawberries in this recipe with 1 large pear de seeded and cut into small pieces and puree along with bananas and other ingredients. Optionally add 1 tsp vanilla extract for this quantity of smoothie for a little additional flavor.

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