Soothing Smoothie for a Stuborn Stomach

Happy Deepavali everyone! And I hope you all had a relaxing and spooky Halloween! 

Here is my easy and fast (the way I like my food) recipe for a Soothing Smoothie, sort of my version of the Finnish 'marjapuuro'. I'm not really one of those people who crave for something refreshing and light for the start of the day. I like heavy and warm breakfasts! However, this smoothie works well as a snack for me and it's also great for a sensitive stomach like mine. You know, one of those days that your tummy is upset, nothing tends to digest or "move", so to speak ;) This smoothie is calming and does wonders to your digestion!

What you need is:

• A handful of frozen papaya cubes
• 1 small frozen banana
• A handful of berries of your choice (I used cranberries)
• A large handful of almonds
• 1 dl of rolled oats
• 1-2 tablespoons of chia seeds
• 1/2 inche ginger
• water/milk
• honey to sweeten

First pulse the frozen papaya and banana cubes, then add in almonds and berries, ginger and liquid. Sweeten with honey. Finally pour the oats and the chia seeds to the mixture. You can either blend them or just mix by hand depending on the structure you want. I like my smoothie to be quite thick and I often spoon it as a 'porridge' :)

Papaya is known as a nature's remedy for constipation. Almonds have good fatty acids and essential vitamins. Chia seeds help the stomach work faster and ginger is great for indigestion. On top of all this the smoothie tastes yummy!

I decorated mine with blackberries and cacao nibs!

If you would like some more pleasure for your eyes, I recommend checking out my fashion blogger friend Jaslin. She has a great style and beautiful photos. She just blogged about her halloween outfit which looks very chic! You can find her blog here.

X Ang Moh Chick

Spinach Pancakes and Cranberry Jam

Yes you heard correct - pancakes can well be savoury! Spinach pancakes is a common dish at Finnish schools where the food is free from primary school all the way until university where is's government subsidised. 

Food is not only one of the most important joys of life, it's a way to gain energy for the body and the brains, share love, try something new and of course most importantly enjoy the taste of life! For me even food can look pretty and visually appealing. Presenting food in a nice way makes it taste much better ;) Moreover, food is a great way to bring back memories. I felt like having something Finnish and eating these pancakes brought me back to my school days!

These spinach pancakes are packed with iron and good carbs to give you strength for the challenges of the day. First you need to prepare the sweet&bitter cranberry jam. 

Mix 3 tablespoons of chia seeds with 1 dl of water. Place in the fridge for about 15 minutes or until the seeds have 'jellified'. Mix the jelly with a handful of grated cranberries, or alternatively use a blender. Add in honey to taste, about 2-4 tablespoons depending on how sweet you want your jam to be. Place the ready jam in the fridge to wait.

Here is what you need for the pancakes:

• 1 cup white quinoa + 2 cups water
• 1.5 cups grated pumpkin
• 3 eggs
• a large handful of spinach
• 1.5-2 cups rolled oats
• fresh or coarsed parsley, black pepper, salt to taste
• butter or oil for frying

First cook the quinoa in 2 cups of lightly salted boiling water for about 15 minutes. Set aside to cool. Pulse the pumpkin in a blender and then add rest of the ingredients. If you don't own a blender, grate the pumpkin and spinach until fine, then mix with other ingredients. The mixture should be thick enough to be shaped into patties. If it's not thick enough, add more oats.

Place the mixture in the fridge for 30 minutes. Heat the oil or butter in a large pan, adding enough so that the patties will not stick to the pan. Form the mixture into pancakes in your hands and fry about 4 pancakes at a time. Fry for about 3 minutes per side.

Enjoy with your homemade cranberry jam!

Sidenote: After happily eating my pancakes I noticed that my quinoa package is full of tiny tiny Singapore ants running around. Lovely. Should have named the post 'Spinach Pancakes with an Anty Crunch'. 

X Ang Moh Chick