Radiance - The Juice Cleanse Co.

The whole Radiance team loves a smoothie and if we're not starting our day with a green juice then we're often found to be drinking a green smoothie instead. This green smoothie is a bit of a treat with the raw cacao nibs but is still a healthy and balanced way to start the day, or as a snack mid afternoon. We wanted to share it with you as Christina and I have both tried it out on our families and it was resoundingly successful!

Ingredients:

250ml raw cashew milk (you can also use coconut water or rice milk)

1/2 avocado

large handful spinach

1/2 tsp matcha powder

4 sprigs of mint leaves (stem discarded)

tbsp porridge oats

2 tbsp cacao nibs

Optional extras:

a greens powder (such as Pure XP Synergy, Amazing Grass or Organic Burst Wheatgrass)

1 tsp Manuka honey/maple syrup/agave to sweeten

Method:

Place all the ingredients except for the cacao nibs in a blender and blend on high until the ingredients are a smooth consistency. Add in the cacao nibs and give a final quick blend, reserving some nibs to sprinkle on top if you wish. This should be enough for about a 500ml smoothie, so enough to serve one as breakfast or two as a snack. Enjoy!

We recently met with Leonora Bamford, the mother of two beautiful children and founder of MyBaba.com a wonderful resource for expectant and existing parents.  The website aims to help and inform with lots of news, reviews and expert opinions. As something of an expert herself, we asked Leonora a few quick questions and she was kind enough to give us her thoughts.

How do you balance running My Baba, being a busy mother with looking after your own health?

Since having children my health and beauty regime has definitely taken a back seat. Now the children are at nursery, I do have more time for my work and I always make time for eating with the children every day. I'm a copious list maker, and if I do this before I go to bed it relaxes me knowing what i've got on the following day. I try to fit in the gym a few times a week, and my kids love stretching with me in front of Postman Pat in the morning. 

What is your favourite quick and easy weekday supper?

I'm mad about pasta, and I love making proper Italian tomato and basil sauce with a touch of mozzarella. I fry up an onion, celery, a carrot and some garlic, then throw over a few tins of plum tomatoes, a spoon full of sugar and a slug of both olive oil and balsamic vinegar. 

Leave it for as long as you have, and then put if through a mouli, if you don't have one, a blender works too. If you need to get extra veg in there, it's so easy to do and they'll never know! 

My fridge is full of fresh fruit and I love making fruit faces on a plate for pudding. Quick and easy! My children love cooking with me and we try to make at least one new quick and easy recipe each week. Annabel Karmel is my hero. 

How do you make sure that your children eat healthily?

I'm really lucky because both of my children have always been good eaters. I think it helps that I eat with them, and we often cook together. We're lucky to have a great butcher, fishmonger and green grocer at the bottom of our road so we often set off and make cooking dinner a fun little outing. 

They have a good balanced diet, but on the weekend I'm much more relaxed and there are more treats all round. 

What are your go-to healthy snacks? 

Daylesford Energy Bar if I need a major pick me up, or I love my children's Yo Yo Fruit Roll Ups by Bear Nibbles. 

What is your favourite way to work out?

If I have the time, I would do yoga and pilates every day. I love walking with the children and the dogs in the park. 

What advice do you give to busy mums who find it hard to make the time to eat well?

Don't be too hard on yourself! If you get the chance, try making one new thing for the family each week. If you have five minutes to spare, (likely!) check out food blogs or apps on your phone. There are so many to choose from and lots of inspiration. 

Start the day off well with a good breakfast and try not to eat on the run - easier said than done! 

The whole team loves to try different raw recipes and when I saw this one on Polly Noble's newsletter I knew I had to test it out. I thought a birthday was the perfect excuse. The team loved it so much that I wanted to share it, with Polly's kind permission. 

Polly is renowned in the raw food world and is an inspiration. Her website is full of recipe ideas to keep you healthy. The picture below is not quite how mine turned out (I was missing the spirulina when I did mine) so I thought I'd include her picture as it would inspire you more! Happy creating!

Raw Peppermint Coconut Slice

Base:

• 2 cups pecans
• 1/3 cup desiccated coconut
• Pinch salt
• 4 tbl coconut oil

Place the nuts, salt and coconut in the food processor and whizz to a flour consistency. Add the coconut oil and mix to combine. Turn out the mixture into a cake tin lined with cling film or plastic wrap so removal is easy. Place in the fridge to set. 

Filling:

• 1 cup dates
• 1/4 cup water

Combine the dates and water in the food processor until a paste forms.

• 1 cup coconut milk
• 1/2 tsp peppermint extract
• 1/4 tsp vanilla powder
• 1 tsp spirulina, chlorella or green powder

Add the coconut milk, peppermint extract and vanilla. I used a teaspoon of spirulina to colour it as I wanted a green cake! Any green powder can be used and the amount up to you but beware that some powders taste stronger than others. Pour the filling onto the base ensuring an even finish and place back in the fridge for 3-6hours.

Topping:

• 1/3 cup coconut oil
• 2 tbl cacao powder
• 2 tbl maple syrup
• 1/2 tsp stevia

Place all ingredients in a mini-blender and combine. Once the filling is set (2-3hours), using a jug, pour the chocolate over the filling in whatever design you like and sprinkle with coconut/cacao nibs/goji berries – your choice!

For the original article on Polly's site please click here.