Friday feels and forest fruits...

Recipe of the week is...
... a Forest Fruits Smoothie

Ingredients: 1 frozen banana, 2 handfuls of frozen forest fruits, 1 mugful of milk, and a tablespoon of honey.

Time taken: 5-10 mins (if you’ve already frozen your fruit).

Serves: Either one big meal-sized smoothie or two smaller snack-sized smoothies.


Hi readers,

Happy Easter everyone and welcome to our four day weekend!! Isn’t it great?! For any readers not living in the UK, I’m really sorry you’re missing out this treat. Here, we get Friday off work as a Good Friday Bank Holiday.. and then we get Monday off work, too! (For Easter Monday.. and that is ???). Sorrry if you don’t share in the glory of our four day weekend.

It's this level of glorious... Turkish sunset glorious
@sert_mehmet

But, wherever you may be, I hope you’re having a terrific Friday, readers. Here in the ChefBeHere household.. things are very leisurely. I woke up without an alarm today. Bliss. And did I have to spring out of bed? Noo. I flicked through the news on my phone in a warm duvet cocoon. Finally got up, made it out on a run (and did a really fast sprint!) and then Spring cleaned the house. So, everything’s looking brighter and shinier now.

And I am DONE with achieving things. That’s me over and our for attainment this weekend. Thoroughly intend to spend the rest of my days reading and sleeping, eating and drinking, and enjoying some quality time with the friends and famalam. Easter eggs and hot cross buns will, of course, feature heavily throughout my weekend.. but how about you, readers? What do you have planned for your Bank Holiday break?

Munching lots of these?
@thedepotbakery

Or maybe you’re still making plans? If you’re looking for ideas for healing things you could do over the next four days, while your head takes and break from work and routine, maybe a little yoga would be fine idea? Have a good stretch out and unwind. Or, if the suns out, perhaps you could venture outdoors and head off on a walk? Get those legs moving and some fresh air in your lungs.

Wherever this weekend may take you, readers, I hope it has you feeling refreshed and upbeat. With the warmer weather to enjoy and with so many Spring colours around at the moment, from blossom on the trees to daffodils by the roadside and bluebells in the grass, I find it inspiring at this time of year to have a real look around. Without the rush of routine and the pressures of work, maybe this weekend will be your first chance in a while to take stock of your surroundings? And see that Spring has sprung.

Our pinkest time of the year
@maepress

I was reading a blog post just now called ‘23 Mantras To Live By’, by Jessica Sletmo, (which you can read here) and – though I’m not a big believer in token phrases and kind of bland sayings – I did find a quote amongst these mantras that struck a chord…

… perhaps this is the time, readers, to let someone off the hook for a small fault? Let it be gone and forgotten, and enjoy their wonderfulness again now. Or possibly, readers, this four days off work gives you more time than normal to surprise someone with a small act of kindness? Maybe a loved one, or even someone you never met before. All you have to do is be kind and – who knows – you just might make their day. Or their weekend. Or their April.

I’m heading out for drinks later with some of the girls and I’ve made it my intention to be filled with compliments tonight.. as they’ll all have made an effort with their hair and their make up and their outfit, and everyone deserves to feel good and be told just how great they look. So, I’m on it! Meanwhile, readers, I’ve been charging my batteries ready for tonight with a super new smoothie recipe. One I invented on the spot!

There’s very little in my fridge at the moment, but I was fancying something fruity on this Spring afternoon. And, as luck would have it, I thought ahead a while back and bought in loads of frozen fruit – perfect for occasions just like today. I really recommend this as a handy way to save money and also save on food waste, as frozen fruits cost less I find and they're good to eat for a really long time.

Good value and good for the planet

So, I dug out a freezer pack out forest fruits and turned this into a smoothie success. Fancy following in my fabulous footsteps, readers? Yeahhh?? Well, you definitely can. This is a really simple recipe, readers, with only five steps and no kitchen skills required. Very do-able. All you need is a smoothie maker or blender, and a thirst for something thick and fruity!! Here’s how to prepare a Forest Fruits Smoothie…

1.     Peel a banana, cut it up into a few bits, and leave in the freezer overnight.
2.     The next day, take your frozen banana out of the freezer and pop this in a smoothie maker or a blender.
3.     Add a couple of handfuls of berries and cherries from your pack of frozen forest fruits.
ChefBeHere Top Tip: Whenever I’m at Boost Smoothie and they ask if I want to ‘double my fruit?’ I always say no as it costs more.. sadly! If like me, you do the same, then when you add your second handful of forest fruits you can think of this as doubling your fruit.. it pleased me to no end!

Alll the fruit for meee

4.     Fill a mug with milk and then pour this into the smoothie maker, too.
5.     Add a tablespoon of honey to sweeten the deal, and blend until smooth. Then find a straw and slurp away!
ChefBeHere Top Tip: This smoothie is soo thick that my normal-width straws struggled with it. I don’t have any of the chunky ones like you get at Boost, so I tried using two regular straws at once.. and this still didn’t work! In the end, I got out a spoon. If you have any chunky straws, then this is there time to SHINE.

This straw was NO MATCH
for my smoothie

And that’s all there is to it, readers! You have a berry and cherry-filled beauty of a smoothie to enjoy, hopefully in the sunshine, and this will give you lots of energy to fuel you on for a powerful afternoon.. and potentially for dancing all night long! What do you think, readers? Has anyone tried a similar recipe in the past? How did it go?

I thought this smoothie came out really well, it was thick and colourful, and tasted lovely and fruity! A hit with me.. but would you agree? Let me know your thoughts, readers! Are you a fan of a Forest Fruits Smoothie? Where would be your favourite place to drink this fruity treat? Do you have any ideas to make this taste even better??

Fire away, readers. Let me know what you think. And I’m wishing you all a wonderful long Easter weekend away from work. Remember, if there’s a fault that could be forgotten or some act of kindness you can share with another, then perhaps this the weekend is the right time? I’m sure you have something in mind and I’m sure you can do it, readers.

Smoothie safely,

Hayley

Be bold
@awaisha_art

SLURPING, BOUNCING, DUNKING... ADULTING.

Recipe of the week...
... Spicy peach pineapple smoothie!

Ingredients: 1 frozen banana, half a mug of tinned peaches, half a mug of tinned pineapple, 1 mugful of milk, a shake of ground nutmeg, and a big shake of ground cinnamon.

Time taken: 5-10 mins (if you’ve already frozen a banana).

Serves: Either one huge meal-sized smoothie or two more modest snack-sized smoothies.

Hi readers,

How are you this evening? Are you home from work? Out of the clothes you’ve been wearing all day? Feeling fresh and comfortable now? I hope you are, readers, and I hope today’s been a good one for you. A day of bold moves and memorable occurrences.

Just saving the day

As I write, readers, it’s a Tuesday evening in April and I’m away on a work trip to Milton Keynes. We’ve checked into our hotel, after a full day with a client, and I’ve enough sanity left to have put the kettle on for a strong brew. I’m adulting! Read: I’m watching Couples Come Dine With Me and dunking my way through all the free biscuits. There are a lot of free biscuits but I need to recover strength (spent a while bouncing from one twin bed to the other) before dining with my boss. Will drink modestly and speak intelligently. As adults do.

At the moment, readers, it’s a slow news day in the UK (launched search for missing boy… found missing boy hiding under his bed). Hmm. But there are a few noteworthy stories from around the world. There’s steady reporting on the aftermath of the terrorist attack in Russia yesterday. Ongoing coverage of the search for survivors following the massive mudslide that occurred in Colombia over the weekend. And continuing bafflement about the humongous South Korean ship (a VLOC.. Very Large Ore Carrier) that disappeared in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean a few days ago, and is presumed to have sunk with most of its crew aboard.

A VLOC... look how big it is!

Interesting stuff. Not inspiring exactly, a lot of lives have been lost these last few days, but lives have also been saved. Due to the bravery and determine of others.. which is a positive thought. Wish me luck, readers, dining with my boss tonight and trying to maintain the ruse that I’m an intelligent, responsible member of staff! I can do this!! I’m sure some of you can relate and I’m sure – like me – you too are intelligent, responsible people most of the time.. it’s just convincing colleagues that you are 100% of the time! When that’s a BLATANT lie.

Tonight, I write to share with you a fab fruit smoothie recipe that I tried out this weekend. This recipe comes straight from the Primavera Kitchen blog and you can read the original post here. I happened upon this recipe, readers, as I had an abundance of tinned pineapple and peaches in, along with one very neglected smoothie maker… and I thought there must be some way to turn this into a tasty smoothie?!

Where there's a will...
... there's a way

And there is! A quick google led me to this simple recipe, which spices up the fruits with a little added nutmeg and cinnamon. The result is a warm, tropical smoothie… with 3 of your 5-a-day inside! Whether you’re still feeling hungover from the weekend, readers, and in need of a vitamin kick, or you’re feeling a little unwell maybe and need something to boost your system, or you could just generally do with an energy burst to power you ahead with the working week??

Whatever the reason (perhaps you just want a fruity bev), I recommend a spicy peach pineapple smoothie! This drinks tastes like summer loving and the sun on your face, salty sea air and warm sand between your toes, like you’re sipping in a hammock under a blue blue sky, with tropical tunes drifting over from the bar, and the sound of crickets in the bushes… with only a little imagination required.

Just close your eyes...
... and you're there

 SOLD? Want to blend your own spicy peach pineapple smoothie?? Yeahhh you do. This is a very straightforward recipe, readers, with only five steps and absolutely no culinary skill required. Any idiot could do it, I promise. Even you. I’m kidding! So, all you need to do is…

1.     Peel a banana, cut it up into a few bits, and leave in the freezer overnight.

2.     The next day, take your frozen banana out of the freezer and pop this in a smoothie maker or a blender.

3.     Half fill a mug with tinned peach slices, then fill the second half with tinned pineapple pieces and tip into the smoothie maker.

4.     Fill your mug with milk and then pour this into the smoothie maker, too.

5.     Shake a little nutmeg and quite a bit of cinnamon in there, and blend for a minute or so until smooth. Then find a straw and slurp away!

SLUUURP

Et voila! What do you think?? Do you think this sounds a tempting recipe to try out, readers? And, if you’ve given it a go, did it go well? And did you like the taste of your smoothie? Did it taste how summer tastes to you??

I think, to me, summer tastes like barbecued grub (burned to a crisp) and fresh fruit, melting ice cream and aperol spritz! This smoothie recipe will be perfect for sunny afternoons on summer weekends, to drink out in the garden, sunbathing with a good book… bring it on! I cannot wait for summer, readers, and I hope this smoothie inspires you the same way it has me. Summer will be with us soon.

Until then.. slurp safely,

Hayley

See you there!