Two Fruit Smoothie Ideas

Comes the warm weather and the fresher, juicer fruits and I'm all about smoothies. If in wintertime I can't say no to a baking session to have cookies always done for an afternoon snack (you know you have a sweet tooth when chocolate becomes a daily basic), in spring and summertime I can easily switch to the healthier smoothie and actually be quite satisfied with my snack! It has been a couple of months that I'm getting into the habit of drinking a freshly mixed fruit smoothie in the early hours of my afternoons, and not only it is super fun to find new fruit combinations and experiment with creativity and colours, but it also makes for a great boost of energy to face the rest of the day!

Smoothies are all about creativity and personal taste, but we've come up with a couple of ideas that make for delicious and different smoothies that I can't really *not* share with you! Hopefully, if you'll ever get bored with your favourite smoothie combinations, these will be a great inspiration!

Serves 2 | Goji & Red Berries Smoothie
15 goji berries
170ml fresh water
A couple of handfuls of raspberries, blueberries and blackberries
A handful of strawberries

First off create the goji juice by throwing around 15 goji berries and 100ml of water in a blender. Blend well until all the berries are chopped and the water becomes light red. Using a small strainer, strain the goji juice over a glass to remove any harsh residues, then pour the juice into the blender and blend together with all the berries (which you previously rinsed very well) until smooth. Serve immediately or let it chill in the fridge and enjoy later (remember to give it a shake before serving if you pick the latter!).

This smoothie is rich and sweet, but also a great way to implement super healthy goji berries in your diet if you're not a fan of snacking on them by their own!

Serves 2 | Banana, Mint & Lemon Smoothie
1 banana
170ml fresh water
Juice of 1/2 lemon
2 or 3 leaves of mint

Pour the water, chopped banana, freshly squeezed lemon juice and mint leaves into a blender and blend well until smooth. Add a teaspoon of honey if you prefer your smoothies on the sweet side. Serve immediately or chill in the fridge for later!

This one is inspired to a smoothie I got on a hot day in Milan last month at VIVA (such a blessing after walking for a long hot day in a busy city!) and it's fresh and delicious but totally different than your average fruit smoothie!

What are your favourite smoothie combinations?! x

Tea shortbread covered in blueberry chocolate

I remember the taste of my step-mother's shortbread covered in Easter egg dark chocolate (that year we won a huge Easter egg, that huge that we made chocolate covered cookies for a very long period - not complaining, really) like it was yesterday, though I was probably not older than 13!

When a parcel filled with various flavours of Lindt Excellence Chocolate Bars (I bet you all have already spotted their extremely delicious dark chocolate line, right?!) knocked at my door last week, all I could think of were those shortbread cookies I used to eat from Easter to summertime when I was younger. I couldn't resist and made a slightly more creative version, and quite a summer-y one too, inspired by the blueberry chocolate that was loudly calling my name ever since.

These cookies went down a treat and in less than 24h they were all gone. That's how good they were! I've used the classical english breakfast tea that I love if paired with lemon, which is such a good fresh fit for the blueberry flavour of the chocolate - but you can really experiment with different flavours of chocolate and tea with these!

Ingredients for 12 cookies
150g white flour ; 80g white sugar ; 2 egg yolks ; juice of 1 lemon ; 90ml seed oil ; 1 English Breakfast tea bag ; 100g Lindt Excellence Dark Blueberry Intense ; 3 tsp butter.

1 :: Preheat the oven to 170°C. In a food processor blend together flour, sugar, egg yolks and seed oil until nicely combined.

2 :: Squeeze one big lemon (taking care of eliminate the seeds if necessary) and add the juice to the other ingredients while still blending. Cut open the tea bag and add the content to the other ingredients too. Blend well.

3 :: The ingredients should start to come together into a nice dough by this time. If yours is too dry, add a tiny bit of seed oil and blend well. Use your hands to shape a ball of dough and leave it rest of a couple of minutes.

4 :: Place the dough between two foils of parchment paper, then roll it out with a rolling pin until 1cm thick. Avoid to make it too thin or your cookies will be too dry when baked, also try to make them all the same thickness or some will cook more than others.

5 :: Remove the top foil of parchment paper and use a cookie cutter to cut your cookies out of your dough. Place the cookies onto a baking tin lined with parchment paper (it's not important to place them far apart from the other, as they won't spread out). You'll might need to roll the dough out a few times to cut more cookies out of it!

6 :: Bake the cookies for 15 minutes - do not overcook. They must be crunchy but also almost buttery soft, so you don't want to go for more than 15 minutes for them.

7 :: It's important at this stage that you remove your cookies from the oven and let them chill for 30/40 minutes until they've completely cooled down. Then you can go on and melt the chocolate in the microwaves together with 3 tbsp of butter. Make sure you don't burn it and give it a stir or two in the middle of the process until you are left with a very liquid mixture.

8 :: Dip the cookies into the melted chocolate to cover half of them with it. Use a spoon to help you add sprinkles of almond and blueberry from the chocolate mixture. Place the cookies onto parchment paper and let them cool down for a couple of minutes before putting the tin in the fridge for an hour or two.

9 :: Store the cookies in the fridge (especially now that it's starting to be warmer, they will melt if not in the fridge) and enjoy the fresh and fruity combination of flavours with your afternoon tea or just by themselves!

{ Enjoy! }

This is quite of a different recipe, but I love it and hope you'll like it as well! Let me know if you give it a try! x

Chai Ice Cubes!

Am I the only one that gets extremely excited about the weather being this warm, enough to start drinking iced lattes again? I have been experimenting with different latte flavours, and even if coffee will always be my favourite, for a healthier alternative I've been drinking iced chai lattes quite often recently. It was at the beginning of spring that I saw somewhere online a genius video of coffee ice cubes being used in iced latte, and since then I was impatiently waiting for the warmer season to give it a try!

Coffee works well as much as chai. I just have to make some chai tea once a week or so, pour it in ice moulds and freeze it, to always have them at my fingertips when I crave an iced latte. When you pour your room temperature milk over a handful of chai ice cubes, the latters slowly melt down and blend with the milk showing a lovely dissolving effect in the meanwhile - that might or might not be my actual favourite part!

This way you'll have a delicious iced latte (of whatever flavour you like) ready in less than 5 minutes having the ice cubes always ready and done!

Anyone else excited for iced latte season? x

Two ingredients 5Mins crepe recipe!

There's something purely enjoyable about waking up bright and early and cooking my own breakfast from scratch at the first lights of a day. It has something to do with the mood for sure, but I've always been a believer that a good start of the day (usually a good ol' breakfast) is the elixir of a positive mood throughout the whole day. But all in all, I came to the conclusion that it's the actual act of putting a dish together that I truly enjoy even more than eating it. Take away that to me, half the fun is gone.

I realize most of days are not Sundays and not everyone is lucky enough to have enough time to make breakfast from scratch every morning, but if you're like me, if you think cooking something is what can make for a good start of the day even when everything else is grey, then I have something for you! I don't even remember how I went from my usual pancakes breakfast to an impromptu self-taught no eggs crepe recipe, yet it seemed a good change to me for a bit of a different spring breakfast to which is so easy to add fresh fruits and different flavours!

These crepes are as quick to cook as this recipe is to read, I can assure you! A minute or two to put the ingredients together and then just the time to cook - approx 5 minutes and they're good to be served. And they also require almost nothing to come together if not a 1:2 ratio of flour and milk (or even water if you want to go completely vegan!). They might be as light as a feather but they have really nothing to envy to the classical egg crepes we're all a fan of. I challenge you to try the recipe if you don't believe me!

Serves 2 | Ingredients
100g white flour* ; 200ml skimmed milk (or water) ; 1 tsp sugar and/or 1 tsp salt - optional.

* Feel free to use the flour you most like. Gluten free flour works just fine. For whole wheat flours, I'd add a 20-50ml of milk (or water) for a smooth not too thick consistency.


1 :: Measure out the flour in a small bowl, then add salt and sugar if wanted and pour the milk over, a quarter of it at a time, while using a whisk to nicely incorporate all the ingredients together without lumps.

2 :: Heat up a crepe pan over a medium heat.

3 :: Pour 1/4 of the crepe batter on the pan when it's nice and warm, help yourself with a spoon and circular motions to expand the batter and create a big thin crepe. Cook on one side until you're able to lift it with a spatula, then turn it over the other side and cook for another minute.

The first crepe is always a bit tricky. If you find it particularly challenging, 1/8 of a teaspoon of coconut oil melted on the crepe pan is everything you need!

4 :: Repeat with the rest of the batter and your crepes will be ready to be served with Nutella, fresh fruits (Nutella + strawberries is my favourite combo!), lemon, jam or whatever topping you'd like!

{ Enjoy! }

Let me know if you try this recipe and what you think! I hope you'll be able to have a fresh and delicious homemade breakfast a bit more often than usual, even on weekdays! x

Springtime in Milan + Bagels & Cupcakes

I seem to always complain about if it's too cold or too hot! These pictures are dated back to last month, when the sun was warmer for the first time this year and we went for a one day trip to Milan with only one thin layer on (a thin flowy dress for me actually!) and nothing else! I've been wanting to share these pictures as well as a pair of places where we love to eat when up and about in Milan since a month now, but other contents seemed to always come first and these pictures got lost in the archive of forgotten post drafts; today though, it's a very sad rainy grey day, and I'm typing from a couch with way too many layers and blankets on than it's supposed to at the end of April, and I can't deny I'm one that get so conditioned from the weather - this is how I found myself thinking back of that time when we were in Milan and it was that hot that I'd wished I didn't decide to wear tights that morning...

We're finding ourselves wandering around Milan a bit more often than usual lately, for a reason or another, but that day we went only to explore and discover new places, but especially new food! I've written down a long list of pretty coffee places, bakeries, restaurants that we need to visit and test before the end of the year, and placed it in my handbag, so that everytime we find ourselves around one, we know where to go and eat!

First stop that day was The Bagel Factory, a place we haven't stop visiting ever since and that I can't not highly recommend! They have a tiny shop located in Piazza XXIV Maggio, not far from a nice walk towards the Duomo, and offer the biggest selection of fresh ingredients to compose your own perfect bagel beside from a few suggested ingredients combinations that all sounds amazingly tasty. That day we went for smoked Norwegian salmon, avocado and mayo in a delicious sesame bagel, and that's still probably my favourite pick, even though their poached eggs and classic or eggplant hummus are something delicious to add and pair with a vast amount of ingredients!

May I suggest also to try their freshly squeezed orange juice, it's something divine! Next on my list are their brownies and huge cookies, as well as that layered granola and berries yogurt glass they have, sounds delicious!

PIAZZA XXIV MAGGIO 1/8

We spent our afternoon enjoying the sun, walking towards the Duomo with all the calm that a chilled spring day deserves, and spotting other places that immediately made on top of our food-to-try list (we tried I Love Vegetarian's smoothies only a pair of weeks later and we are in love! You can't beat their banana, strawberries and papaya smoothie, it's super delicious and refreshing!). We walked that much without even realizing if not for our feet that started aching (especially mine!) and for the fact that at a certain point I felt my foot touching the ground only to discover later that my shoes broke and I needed to buy a new pair - I can't even count the times I've bought random pair of shoes just because mine broke in the middle of a busy city! Anyone else?

We walked to China Town (and believe it or not, it was my first time there) and after spotting a few too many cute things, we got back with a huge bag full of the craziest food (like grape and peach oreo, seaweed pretzels and green tea snacks) with the only purpose to try something different!

Lastly we stopped by That's Bakery for a cupcake or two just before heading home. Again this is a place we visited a few times again as their cupcakes are just perfection! The place itself is a little American bakery, with shabby chic homeware and cute little tables even outside and a lot of options in their menu, like american cakes, cookies, brownies, and obviously their delicious cupcakes which were our first choice after hearing so much about them. Even though it was only the end of March, the day was so lovely that we couldn't say no to eating outside and went for a red velvet cupcakes with cream cheese frosting, chocolate and nutella cupcake (my fave!) and decided to try their cappuccino (which is delicious, for the record). We got lost in chats while sipping and eating and by the time we realized, the sun was setting and the air getting chillier.

VIA VIGEVANO 41

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Here's to more sunny days spent up and about exploring new places out there, especially if they involve food! Plus I can't wait to share a few more places I've already discovered that offer pretty amazing food! x

I'M WEARING ::
Dress - Forever21 ; Bag - ASOS ; Shoes - H&M

#IKEAtemporary

I guess you'll be tired by now to hear me rave about IKEA that much, or maybe not, maybe you're fans of the Swedish best invention ever too? When I hear people saying they never visited IKEA because there's not a store near them, I feel such a lucky girl to be able to go and wander between the biggest amount of inexpensive beautiful designed homeware whenever I like. I seem to always come home with something new to add to my too crowded shelves, but I'm never really sorry about it!

Ever wondered how an IKEA store would look like in a big city? This year's best news to me has been opening an email saying IKEA was going to open a temporary store in the middle of Milan, a place where to celebrate food, homeware, furniture, kitchens and future, whose themes go hand in hand with Expo. And what better theme than food, I'd add?! You know how enthusiastic I am about all things food - my favourite place in the house must be the kitchen and cooking and baking my favourite ways to spend my free time, not to mention I'm discovering a certain curiosity towards foods I don't already know these past years, and there's no better thing to me than trying something new to my mouth. So #IKEAtemporary was totally calling my name since I read they were opening on April 10th.

Even though we were able to be between the 100 invited to their Swedish breakfast on their opening day, everything seemed to be against us that day and we weren't on time for that, but surely we didn't give up and found our way to their new temporary store for lunch and a visit!

#IKEAtemporary is exactly what a food enthusiast dream store would look like: you're welcomed by a wooden structure where all kind of vegetables were sown and little plants of tomatoes and pepperoni are growing strong in the middle of a classic urban Milan street, and when you walk under the arch that introduce you to the store, tables with lanterns on and blankets on the chairs to warm you up while you're enjoying your food, and wooden boxes filled with their FRÖER range and everything you need to grow up your own kitchen garden, are the things that you'll be introduced to. You can immediately see where they're trying to go with it, it's a celebration of food in every of its form, they want to encourage to start growing your own food, be curious about what you eat, wonder, bake, make.

It's a place where to shop all things kitchenware - a paradise for my eyes! You'll find IKEA's kitchen range all lined up in one store, and only that! You can shop IKEA food and see how different types of kitchens were designed and put together for different types of families or people.

We obviously ventured ourselves towards the food, the one you can actually eat and not only watch. The #IKEAtemporary restaurant is introducing some new entries in IKEA's food, introducing us to their new veggie balls (and you won't believe how happy I am now, after hearing so much about their meatballs but being vegetarian and not able to eat them!), their new veggie and Swedish cheese pizzas and a lot more food! We matched our veggie balls with roasted potatoes (which were the best thing ever!) and tried all their fruit flavoured waters - it was such a dreamy lunch I can't really recommend enough if you're in the area and are craving something different!

I bet you'll have understood by now I'm extremely enthusiastic about it all! I can't really wait to see their SINNERLIG range in stores this summer after spotting a preview of it there, and to go back to #IKEAtemporary and try and explore more food!

#IKEAtemporary will be opened for 5 months until September 30th, and I can't suggest giving it a visit enough if you're as enthusiastic about food as I am and are around Milan this year!

* don't forget to enter my blog's first birthday giveaway! *

Two ways to use up your Easter chocolate

Best thing about Easter? All the chocolate you're left with the days (and sometimes even months) after. Between chocolate eggs and the huge amount of chocolate bunnies Lindt spoilt me with this year I have a feeling that, for the first time in my entire life, finishing up my chocolate will be quite a hard work. Not sure anyone else is in my same position (as I've never thought using up my chocolate to be the problem) but when chocolate is around, I have two go-to recipes to finish it up, both very chocolate-y and indulgent and which are perfect ways to make use of your Easter eggs in a little different way than snacking on them when you're hungry or craving sweetness (which is an incredibly decent way of making use of them btw).

On a different note, does using healthy-ish ingredients make a cookie full of chocolate-y gooeyness healthy? Surely it does, right?

Double Chocolate Gooey Cookies.

Makes 6 | Ingredients:
100ml seed oil
1 egg
90g coconut sugar
25g cocoa powder
100g white flour
40g whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking powder
A lot of Easter chocolate (I used one of my Lindt Dark Gold Bunnies and some milk chocolate eggs)

1 :: Preheat the oven to 200°C.

2 :: In a stand mixer, blend the seed oil with the coconut sugar until well incorporated. Then add the egg and whisk well again.

3 :: Stir together all the dry ingredients in a large bowl, then start to gradually add them to the wet ingredients while the stand mixer is slowly whisking and blending them together. At the end you'll be left with a very thick cookie dough (if it's not thick enough to form a solid ball, then add some flour).

4 :: Chop the dark chocolate in little cubes and add them to the cookie dough and stir it with a wooden spoon to help the dark chocolate go everywhere in the dough.

5 :: Line a baking tin with parchment paper, then start shaping medium balls out of your cookie dough. You should get 6 cookies out of these doses. Place the cookies on the baking tin far apart from each others and flat the balls out a bit with the palm of your hand.

6 :: Chop the milk chocolate (I cutted my chocolate eggs in halves) and place some cubes in the middle of each cookie, pushing them down a bit to create a melted heart.

7 :: Bake in the oven for no longer than 10/12 minutes. Then remove from the oven and let them cool down almost completely (10/15 minutes) so that they can set but still be deliciously gooey. Serve warm-ish for a mealted heart!

White chocolate morning pancakes.
Original recipe from Minimalist Baker - adapted and edited by me.

Serves 2 | Ingredients:
1/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cup white flour
2 tbsp coconut sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup almond or soy milk
1 tsp coconut oil
100g white chocolate (I used my Lindt white chocolate bunny!)

Coconut oil to pan-fry
Strawberries to serve

1 :: In a medium bowl stir together the flours, coconut sugar and baking powder, then add the milk and stir well.

2 :: Chop 50g of white chocolate in a little microwave-safe bowl, add a teaspoon of coconut oil and melt them into the microwave for a couple of minutes until creamy.

3 :: Add the melted white chocolate to the pancake mixture and stir well, then chop the rest of the chocolate into tiny cubes and add them to the mixture.

4 :: Melt 1/2 tsp of coconut oil in a small pan onto a low heat. Place two tablespoons of pancake mixture in the middle of the pan and pan-fry your pancake on both sides.

5 :: Serve with your favourite syrup on top or some chopped fresh strawberries to taste!

{ Enjoy! }

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Both of these recipes are super indulgent and delicious, but to balance out the fact I did put way too much chocolate in them, I tried to use as many healthy ingredients as possible for the rest of them, so hopefully they won't hurt too much on your diets!

Did you spend a lovely Easter weekend? Any chocolate-y recipes I should totally try? As usual let me know if you give this recipe a try! x