Chia Fresca

Hot summer days are just around the corner and I can't wait to relax at the pool. Nothing better than a cool drink in your hands, a great book, good friends and music. With a proper drink I mean water, of course. You can add a twist to your daily water intake by adding some Chia seeds. What you'll get is a natural energy drink called Chia Fresca. It is an amazing drink and so easy to do.

When drinking this in public, a lot of people will stare at your bottle suspiciously because it looks really amazing. Probably they won't ask you what it is, though. 

You need:

2 table spoons Chia seeds

1,5 litres water

Pour the water into a glass or bottle, add the Chia seeds and mix well. Let sit for 15 minutes, then mix again to break the clumps. Enjoy! 

Look at those little energy seeds!

Chia Banana Bread

Let me introduce you to my latest obsession: 

I absolutely love Chia seeds. They are so rich in fibre, protein and omega-3. You can easily add chia seeds to your diet; I sprinkle them over pancakes, blend them into my smoothie, or just enjoy them on my banana. A friend introduced me to this little superfood seeds and I can't have enough of them.

Banana bread with chia seeds is also a great way to sneak some superfood into your diet. This is such an easy recipe for banana bread, and it also contains chocolate!

Recipe adapted from here.

You need:

1/2 cup chia gel (1/2 cup water with 1 table spoon chia seeds; soaked for 30 minutes)

1/2 cup light brown sugar

1 tea spoon vanilla

2 eggs

3 very ripe bananas

1 1/4 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 cup ground almonds

1 tea spoon baking soda

2 table spoons chocolate chips (or more, if you wish :)

Preheat the oven to 200°C. Put the chia gel into a small bowl and mix it up with an immersion blender. Add the sugar, eggs, vanilla and bananas. Mix until well combined. Combine the dry ingredients in a separate bowl. Gradually add the wet ingredients to the dry ones and mix until just combined (with a fork or spatula). Pour into a greased loaf pan and bake for 40 minutes.

Strawberry-Yogurt Pops

Can you believe it's May already? Summer days are just around the corner and I can't wait to wear flip-flops and sip iced coffee in the back yard. It was hot and humid the other day, and home-made strawberry pops were just the perfect treat to make. I recently bought a popsicle mold, and it was the purchase of the month. Seriously. I love frozen yogurt, but hate spending so much money on the store-bought one.

The peanut snuck her way onto the blog today as she approved the recipe. She has taste! 

I couldn't get a proper picture of her eating because she is so quick.

You need:

1 cup strawberries

1/2 cup Greek Yogurt

1 table spoon honey (optional)

Put the strawberries in a blender and mix until smooth. Add the honey and mix well. Spoon the strawberry mixture in a popsicle mold, half full. Put the yogurt on top and insert a wooden stick into each popsicle. Freeze the pops completely before serving (best overnight).

Added to this link-up party.

Vegan Banana - Date Buns

My dad is the biggest anti-vegan I've ever met. He truly believes that there is nothing better than meat for dinner and he will never ever eat any vegan dessert. Sometimes I trick him by not telling him what a certain (vegan and non-vegan) dish contains - this is the only way he even tries it. Last week however, he came to me and said he had found a great looking recipe and if I want to give it a try. Can you believe it? Of course I made a vegan dessert for him, and he loved it. He even requested another batch the following day. Win-win.

You need:

100 ml lukewarm water

150 grams whole-wheat flour

50 grams all-purpose flour

3 table spoons light muscovado sugar

pinch of salt

1 table spoon dry active yeast

3 table spoons olive oil

For the filling:

8 dates

1 banana

Put the yeast, sugar and warm water in a small bowl and mix well. Set aside, in a warm place (I love using the microwave or the oven), cover and leave it there for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, mix together all of the other ingredients and make a hole (for the yeast) in the middle. 

Combine with the yeast and mix well, first with a wooden spoon and then knead until you get a nice, stretchy dough. Cover and let sit for one hour in a warm place.

After one hour, knead the dough one last time and roll it out, about 2 centimetres thick. Use a glass to cut out individual circles and put them on parchment paper. 

Put the dates in a small bowl and pour some hot water over them, leave them in it for five minutes, then cut them into small pieces. Cut the banana into thin pieces. 

Put two slices of banana, with a few dates on top on the buns. Cover with another circle of dough, press the edges firmly with your fingers so the two parts will not separate while baking. 

Put the buns into a preheated oven (to 50°C) and let them rise for ten minutes. After that, turn the heat up to 180°C and bake for 20 minutes, or until golden.

Let them cool down completely, then sprinkle the buns generously with powder sugar and enjoy.

Sesame Seed Buns

My best friend came to visit the other day and she always brings something delicious. This time she brought me these amazing Sesame seed buns. If you like sesame seeds and buttery pastry, you'll love these buns! I demolished a ton of these within minutes and I want to share her recipe with you.

For the dough:

700 grams flour

1 active dry yeast (7 grams)

1 table spoon sugar

200 ml lukewarm milk

100 ml sunflower oil

A dash of salt

For the filling:

250 grams butter or margarine, at room temperature

2 egg yolks + 1 for the top

Mix the butter with two egg yolks with a hand mixer.

Mix together the yeast, sugar and warm milk and let sit for a few minutes, or until it starts to bubble. Then, mix together the flour, oil, salt and the prepared yeast. Use your hands to knead a soft, light dough.  

Form the dough into two buns, put in a bowl, cover with a tea towel and let rise for one hour (make sure you put the dough in a warm place, like a turned off oven or microwave). After the dough has doubled in size, roll each bun out into a square and smear with the filling. 

Roll the dough from the narrower end up, like making a jelly roll. Make sure you roll it tight, enclosing the filling. Once rolled, cut the roll into small triangles. Spread the egg yolk over the top and sprinkle with sesame seeds. 

Bake for 25 minutes, or until golden.

Added to this and this link-up party.