More fun with freezy narnas | Frozen Banana Desert

Hello! 

A few years ago I had a very nasty accident with a hand held blender. I won't bore you with the details but I did get a ride in an ambulance with half the contraption strapped to my arm because the ambos were unable to get the blade off my finger... Oh yes! You read that right.

So roll forward and with a new safer blender in my kitchen battery - I find myself with 3 very ripe bananas that even I balk at eating without a bit of creative upcycling.

I give you - my take on a frozen, creamy narna desert. Or Frocrarna - as we will now all call it. 

Frocrarna: Is very versatile - you can chuck pretty much anything into it. I added cocoa powder and ground sunflower, pumpkin and hemp seeds for extra taste and a healthy booster. 

Here is the basic recipe.

3 very ripe bananas

1 tub of ricotta cheese

1/2 cup frozen berries

Put all the ingredients in a powerful blender/food processor like Optimus Prime* and blend whack the dial up to maximum - froothie the schmoozie out of that Frocrarna! 

No put it into a big tub and stick it in the freezer. You will be taking it out every hour or so to beat the crystals out of it - so make sure you have something to do in the meantime. A watched freezer never freezes. 

After about an hour - take the mixture out and beat it by hand or with a hand held blender - break up the crystals and then return it to the freezer for another hour or so. 

If you do it by hand this will use up enough calories for a double helping. Terrue!

Repeat the freezing and beating for a few goes - it really depends on how smooth you want it and how much you can be bothered to take it in and out of the freezer. I just do it every hour or so until it's tea time.

Additions: You can add PNB for the last whip. DELICIOUS! ARE YOU KIDDING ME WITH THIS SHIT?! No friend - I am not - you seriously can add peanut butter or wait! Woah there Nelly = what about Nutella - how'd ya like them hazelnuts?

You can also add some protein powder if you want it to pack a bigger punch - do this at the beginning. If cream is your thing then add cream. Go on! You know you want to.

I was going to make mine with marscapone but I accidentally came home with ricotta. Boom - just use what you've got. I originally made this in Cyrpus years ago with 0% fat yoghurt and it really tasted wonderful. These days I would use full fat Greek Yog - which will taste A-MAZE-ing! 

You can skip the narna altogether - but why would you?

You can add good quality cocoa powder and you wouldn't ruin this at all!

Add nuts, ground almonds, some bashed about pecans - or some finely chopped dried apricots and dates. It really just depends on your diet - and what you like. 

When it's ready - scoop it into your best bowls - it really deserves your love and respect.  OK - it looks revolting - but it is absolutely, without parallel among Frocrarna deserts. I promise!

If you don't scoff it all in one go - then you'll need to take the next lot out a little ahead of time and let it soften in the fridge. Beat it and then serve.

Enjoy your Frocrarna - and remember me in your will.

*Froothie Optimus 9400 - Fast Blender - I call mine Optimus Prime - we're in love.

Narna Smoothie

Hello!

I have been struggling with the weather - like everyone else. It plays havoc with my eating habits. All I want is carbs and fat. Toast and butter with extra pnb. Pasta, slathered with thick cream sauce and cheese a lot of cheese. Cheese makes life sunnier. I believe this to be true.

None of this scoffing is doing my waistline any good - and it is also adding to my feelings of sluggish meh-ness. The woman with the massive arse - can't be. Arsed that is... oh keep up!

So this week - I have put in some serious effort to eat good things, yummy things, healthy things. 

This morning I managed a carb wonderment that is both delicious and nutritious. All hail me and the humble narna.

Here we go...

2 ripe bananas (super useful recipe if you are one of those pussies that won't eat properly ripe bananas)

10 pecans (more if you are not counting calories)

5 dates (omit if you are counting calories) - they are not essential but make the smoothie taste caramelly good.

500ml whole bean soy (You can use any type of non dairy milk - tbh you can use dairy if that is your thing - I am a woman of a certain age - so soy milk is a thing now). 

2 desert spoons of 0% Greek Yoghurt (again full fat if you wish - this is the only reduced anything product that I have any truck with).

Put the lot in a high speed blender and whiz until smooth and creamy.

This makes plenty - you could easily share this with your lovey dove. Or if yours is like mine and would prefer to eat his own shoe rather than drink a creamy breakfast bevvy - then you get to consume the lot all by your self! 

I haven't worked out the PP for this - I will return with the information directly. Enjoy x

Bannana & Cherry Choc 'Icecream'

Oooh! Stop what your doing, chop up two large narnas & stick em in the freezer, pop to Tesco & buy frozen cherries 3 packs of frozen fruit for a fiver when I last looked! 

Then do this ...

Put bananas, two big handfuls of frozen cherries & 1 tablespoon cocoa powder* into a high speed blender - I use Froothie's Optimum - way cheaper than the American bad boys & just as effective!  (*raw, organic if you have - any old dark chocolate powder will do).

Switch on the blender @ low and slowly up the ante - use the tamper to smush the frozen fruit to the middle - eventually it will all start blending.

Don't over blend... 

Add smashed up bits of broken chocolate if you like. I don't like cold chocolate.

Serve immediately - tŵo piggy portions or three to four smaller ones.

You can add almond milk to the stuff stuck in the bottom & whizz - to make a cheeky milk shake too! 

Perfect, creamy, fruity & cool - if you don't add choccy powder it's practically guilt free! 

Tastes like heaven fell into your bowl!

No pic - scoffed it before I even gave a thought to sharing!

Watermelon Smoothie!

Oooh ooh - we scored a huge watermelon for £2.50 today - and I made this amazing smoothie. It took seconds in my new toy Optimus Prime. You will get excellent results in your blender - you may need to let the narnas soften a little.

I chop up ripe bananas and stick them in ziplock bags in the freezer - so they're ready to go for banana ice cream and smoothies whenever I fancy it!

Recipe:

3 very ripe conference pears - washed and chopped
1 big chunk of a big watermelon (about 1/8)
2 bananas - frozen in chunks
1 large bunch of mint

Put all the ingredients in a high speed blender - and whizz on high for @45seconds - until really smooth.

This made enough for 3 large glasses of smoothie.

Sweet, watermelony, cold and refreshing.

Maca Narna Smoothie

Super quick supper tonight. This is my version of comfort food when I am being healthy! 

Put 500mls of water & 2 desert spoons of good, raw, almond butter into your blender.

I've got an Optimum 9400 high speed beast. If you haven't - just use almond milk. 

Add the following:

2 small bananas 

Handful of spinach

1/2 desert spoon maca powder

1 desert spoon good, cacao (cocoa) powder

1 squeeze of maple syrup (you can use a sweetener of your choice)

4 dates halved

Heaped desert spoon of ground mixed seeds (you can make your own or buy fab combos from a health food shop)

You could also add cinnamon or ginger or vanilla - or go mad & bung in all 3! 

Whiz it up and yum it down! 

If you've got a brute whizzer like an Optimum or a Vitamix then you can whizz for a few mins & gently heat your smoothie. 

But if you're fully raw - then ditch the maple & add ice! 

Mine was off the scale delicious - I'm giving it five stars *****

Breakfast Smoothie | Hello Choccy Narnia

Super quick recipe - mainly to capture the ingredients for my own rememberating. I'm juicing quite a lot at the moment. I do love it - but I do start jonesing for something indulgent and this whopper brekky smoothie hits the spot.

Our lovely Sparks arrived early to do some little niggly jobs - hello light fitting above the kitchen table - that works when you flick the switch at that end... and goodbye steamy bathroom windows - our new spanky fan will banish condensation for EVER...

We were swapping smoothie ingredients. He is pretty hardcore - fermented rice protein anyone? Blearch... right? I'm more your cacao and maple syrup kind of a gal.

Anyhoo while we were nattering - I made this: