This Spiced Mango Smoothie is a super simple, and summery treat. Not only tasty – it comes with a host of health benefits too!

Turmeric is arguably the food highest in antioxidants, and it’s also a natural anti-inflammatory. Ginger has similar anti-inflammatory effects, and is super soothing on the gut. Mango, known for it’s high levels of vitamin A, C and B6, contains loads of vitamins and minerals that help keep you feeling fuller for longer. The dairy-free yogurt also gives you that healthy dose of good bacteria and probiotics too. 

This is a great breakfast in the summertime. It’s ready in minutes, especially when using preprepared or frozen mango. If you're using fresh mango, make sure it's ripe and a little squishy before using. Just chuck everything in the blender and finish with a slice of lime! 

I love the gentle kick from the turmeric and ginger spices, which really makes this smoothie that little bit different. You can always add more or less depending on your taste too.

Spiced Mango Smoothie

This season brings so many things I love. Knitted jumpers, leaves changing colour, cosy nights in, warm drinks – and don’t get me started on Christmas! But along with all that warm and fuzzy stuff, comes the horrors of cold + flu season. It’s unavoidable. Every year you think you’ve escaped getting ill, and then BAM, you’re sick.

The last time I came down with the dreaded lurgy, I got so fed up of conventional Lemsips that just the thought of my next one made me feel even sicker. Can anyone seriously tell me that they actually like Lemsips? A sour, artificial, lemony cocktail of paracetamol, decongestant + caffeine.

While Lemsips can be a great way to manage the symptoms of a cold, they don’t exactly do a whole lot to treat those symptoms. I wanted to have a go at creating an all-natural alternative, that actually helps to combat the virus, but also delivers on flavour.

My Flu Fighting Tonic delivers on three accounts!

Firstly, we have lemon. Packed full of vitamin C! While the science on this has been under a lot of contention lately, it’s still generally thought that vitamin C may help a cold or flu. It’s said to be useful in the early stages, as it can reduce the length of time the illness lasts.

Secondly, we’ve got turmeric. Widely known for it strong anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. It’s great for treating the widespread inflammation wreaking havoc around your body during a virus.

Lastly, there’s manuka honey. A sweet, sweet super-hero! It has anti-viral and anti-bacterial properties, and can be used to boost the immune system to help fight off illness. It’s so good at healing infection, that in many hospitals around the world now, active manuka honey is used for treatment of antibiotic resistant bugs, when nothing else works.

I hope this Flu Fighting Tonic can help you! Don’t forget to #heartandbowl if you make this, and be sure to let me know if it’s become your permanent Lemsip replacement!

Flu Fighting Tonic

It hit me the other day that it’s been 18 months since I completely transformed my lifestyle and diet. Before that, I had been pretty sick for a while, and was just getting sicker. After far too many doctors appointments, inconclusive tests and unhelpful medications, I was near the point of giving up on myself.

It was only once I started to take action into my own hands, and take a look at what I was eating, did I start to get my health back on track. I removed things like gluten and dairy from my diet, and my body miraculously started to heal. While I noticed quite a big difference right away, it has taken many, many months for me to feel like myself again. Since then, I’ve come to really love leading a healthy lifestyle, filled with unprocessed, all-natural foods.

18 months on, and ‘being healthy’ means more to me than just soup and salads. I’ve begun to learn that there are so many aspects to eating well. Just recently, I’ve become increasingly conscious about eating seasonally, and it’s something I’ve been growing really passionate about.

So, what are some of the benefits to eating seasonally?

You get to enjoy the produce at it’s prime. Flavour and nutrients are all at their peak.

It’s actually cheaper! When produce is in season, the abundance of the crop makes it less expensive.

You may end up getting a wider variety of foods into your diet.

It encourages you to help support local farmers, markets and businesses in your community.

In light of this, I decided to create a recipe that was completely in keeping with the season. I wanted to make full use of some of the amazing ingredients September has to offer.

There’s one thing I’ve always loved about September, and that’s BLACKBERRIES. As a kid, I couldn’t wait for autumn to hit so that I could go blackberry picking with my mum. We were lucky enough to have many wild blackberry bushes only a few minutes walk from our house. We would trek the muddy lane with our beloved dog Sadie, get picking, and within minutes our basket would be full of beautiful blackberries. Then we would eagerly return home to make a homemade blackberry crumble.

Yes, blackberries have always had a special place in my heart! So I decided to create this September Smoothie in honour of the super-dooper blackberry. This smoothie also contains a number of other seasonal ingredients, like apples and spinach! These little guys are also at their peak in autumn.

In my opinion, cooking and eating seasonally is all about respecting the ingredients you’re using, and allowing them to shine through at their prime. You want to highlight their goodness, and let them become the star of the dish.

I think I’ve achieved that with this smoothie! The predominate flavours of apple and blackberry marry together so well, to create something that really screams AUTUMN!

I hope you like this September Smoothie! Don’t forget to #heartandbowl if you make this, and let me know your favourite seasonal tips and recipes.

September Smoothie

Summer is finally here! I know this because I’m gravitating towards anything coconut flavoured. But the sun is also out, which is another teeny-tiny MAJOR clue that we’ve entered summertime. Could Britain really… actually… be having nice weather? Good lord.

Grab your pitchers and grab your BBQs, and let’s make the most of this while it lasts!

So coconut water huh? This is really a ‘thing’ now. As I weep into a receipt of £7.38 for two 1 Litre cartons of the stuff, I’m asking myself – WHY?! It’s water… From a coconut…

Feeling broke and cheated, I had to investigate to see what all the fuss was about and to make myself feel better. In my research, I found some pretty ridiculous health benefits of coconut water. For those who don’t know, let me enlighten you…

Boosts hydration, better than sports or energy drinks

Regulates blood pressure, blood sugar and cholesterol

Is rich in nutrients, particularly electrolytes

So after this overwhelming research, I decided to make a summer drink in honour of my new found coconut water ally. We’re on the same page now.

This lovely refresher is inspired by my love of mojitos, but you’ll find no alcohol or refined sugar here. It’s all natural, completely fresh and super hydrating for those sunny afternoons.

This pitcher is perfect to make up when entertaining friends, whether you’re hosting a small garden picnic or an epic-scale BBQ .

I recommend using either innocent or Vita Coco brands, as they use only 100% pure coconut water. There are cheaper brands out there, but these are likely to contain added nasties, like fructose, flavourings and stabilisers.

I hope you enjoy this coconut refresher! Don’t forget to #heartandbowl if you make this – I’d love to see!

Drinks

Spiced Mango Smoothie

Flu Fighting Tonic

September Smoothie

Coconut Water Refresher