health

Easy, Affordable, Healthy Protein Smoothie

Lifestyle

Hello! As my first post back after 5 months, I wanted something nice and easy to write about so I thought I’d share a recipe for my favourtie protein shake that I’ve been making a lot of mornings to accompany my breakfast. I’ve been using different quantities and ingredients to try to get the perfect consistency, and this is the final result. It’s a banana, chocolate and peanut butter shake. It is lush and very guilt free (not completely). There are a few changes you can make to fit your dietary requirements if you’d prefer.

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Recipe

1 Banana. It doesn’t matter if they’re a bit bruised and brown, as it doesn’t taste any different.

1 tbsp Whole Nut Smooth Peanut Butter – 96% peanuts. It’s important to use a peanut butter with a high percentage of peanuts, so there is minimum amount of palm oil and other added fats. This one I get from Aldi after discovering it when I did my Aldi health food haul. Smooth is the best to stop the blender having to work over time to get all the peanut lumps out. I love it, it’s so affordable compared to brands you get in Holland and Barrett. If you wanted to switch to a different nut butter, almond butter works really nicely too.

1tsp Rice Protein Powder. I like to switch between the rice protein powder and the pea protein powder. They are a more natural source of protein compared to using whey or some other brands. They are packed with 80% natural protein. They’re also vegan friendly.

1tsp Cacoa Powder. I prefer to use cacoa powder to regular cocoa/hot chocolate powder as it contains a lot less sugar. Cacoa powder is all natural and is a great source of iron, potassium, copper and magnesium. This packet is super affordable, again from Aldi, at less than £3 a bag.

350ml Semi Skimmed Milk. Now, I like to use regular semi skimmed milk as for me it creates a delicious smooth, creamy texture that you just can’t get with other milks. However if you were going for a lower fat version, almond or soy milk would be a nice substitute.

Drizzle of Honey.

Put all the ingredents together in a blender. Blend until smooth. It will make about 3/4 of a pint, so could definitely be spilt between 2 people. But I’m greedy and have it all!

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I hope you found this helpful and mouth watering – try it out! It’s addictive!

Thanks!

Aldi Health Food Haul + Review

Lifestyle

Hello! Bit of a different post for you today. I was recently in Aldi (as I am quite a lot because they have the best bargains) and saw they had a little section for health foods like a whole bunch powders and bars. So I thought I would haul a whole lot of them plus some extras goodies and review them to see if they are any good. As in my opinion buying health foods like these can be so expensive and it really puts you off getting any. So if these are any kind of substitute for the big brands then it’s a win in my eyes. I have always been one for a bargain, so I am so excited to try all of these out and tell you what they are like! Everything I bought came to around £30 which considering the massive quantity I think is an absolute steal. Let’s get into it.

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I’m going to start with the powders that I got. There is a choice of 7 different powders all claiming they do different things. They are from a brand called Funktional Foods, which I’ve never seen before, so I assume it is one of Aldi’s own brands. The packaging is really sleek and professional with an easy to seal zip pouch. I was most intrigued by the protein powders, as I’ve wanted to try a protein power for ages and use it in shakes as part of my gym routine but haven’t found one that I liked. These seem natural and at only £2.50 a bag they seem so reasonable. They are 2 protein powders, the ‘Rice Protein Powder’ and the ‘Pea Protein Powder’, both claimed to be derived from the particular foods. These ones I’ve been adding into shakes or a little bit into my oats on a morning, and they are great!! They don’t have a very strong scent which I like, so it doesn’t really change the flavour. So far I’m really enjoying these, particularly after the gym, I’ll add both the powders to a banana, peanut butter, milk, and honey blend – delicious.

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The other powder I am really liking is the ‘Cacao Powder’, this was nothing new for me, as I’d seen this everywhere but it was always so expensive, so when I saw they had a pouch at Aldi for £1.99 I had to try it. The first time I used it, I put way too much in, about 2 heaped teaspoons, and it was so so bitter!! But once I got the measurements right, it was so lovely in porridge on a morning. You get a little chocolate flavour but without it being packed with sugar. This one is must keep on my shopping list as it’s so versatile, I really want to try it in baking too! I think it would be a great substitute.

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The next ones are the ones I was the most unsure about, either I wasn’t sure what it was or wasn’t convinced I would be able to use it and that it would taste nice. So let’s start with the ‘Spirulina Powder’. I had seen my boyfriends Mum use this when making cereal but I wasn’t 100% what it was, so I wanted to try it. Spirulina is a well known type of blue/green natural “algae” that can be found in oceans and lakes (apparently). It’s high in protein and a good source of antioxidants, B-vitamins and other nutrients. Sounds great right!? A part from the fact that it absolutely stinks off fish!! I know it’s understandable as it comes for the ocean, but for me it really puts me off as I don’t want the smell to come through. But I really wanted the benefits of this powder, so I found the best way to use it is to use a tiny amount, about half a teaspoon, in a fruit/veggie smoothie. The next one I didn’t really know anything about is ‘Maca Powder’, when I first saw it, I thought it was ‘Macha’ but I read it wrong (classic) so I was completely clueless on how to use this. But apparently ‘Maca Root Powder’ is considered one of the world’s natural “superfoods”. It’s great for balancing hormones, energy, mood, the immune system, sexual health and more!! (I’ve honestly learnt so much by doing this haul!) This powder doesn’t really have a scent, which I like, and is a light beige colour. Again I’ve been adding it into my protein shakes with the protein powders. And on my oats with the ‘Cacao’ powder. I think this one is another must have on my shopping list.

Only 2 left then I’ll be onto the bars I bought! The last two are more green powders, the ‘Wheatgrass’ and ‘Green Superblend powder’. The ‘Green Superblend Powder’ is a mix of wheatgrass, pea protein, barely grass, spinach, ginger and spirulina. So basically it’s an all in one kind of powder, which I love as I don’t have to try to balance which powders/nurtients I’m trying to add into my diet, I can just chuck this in and know I’m getting plenty of goodness. This has a bright green colour, and quite a veggie smell but not too strong. I’ve been blending this with the Aldi ‘Four Seasons Invigorate smoothie mix’ for the perfect green smoothie! To be honest I’ve not tried the ‘Wheatgrass’ powder as much as the others, but it’s supposed to be packed with iron so is great for tiredness and fatigue. These powders are all £2.49.

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Next I’m going to talk about the bars I bought. In the same section of Aldi where all the powders were, they had a bunch of different bars. I didn’t buy them all as some of them I knew I wouldn’t be a fan off, but I definitely bought plenty to review. One of the brands I came across here was the ‘The Foodie Market’, I’ve only ever seen this brand in Aldi so again I assume it is one of their own brands. Two of the bars I got from this range are the ‘Peanut and Choc Chip Cacao Brownie bars’ and ‘Almond and Raisin Cacao Brownie Bars’. Which both sounded delicious!! I’ve been grabbing these on a morning, or after the gym as a little treat on the way home, and they are so yummy!! I know they probably aren’t as natural and healthy as they want you to think, but for me it still has plenty of goodness in it so I don’t see the harm. The ‘Peanut and Choc chip’ is definitely my favourite. The next bars are more down the all natural, nothing else added route.

First ones I saw were the ‘Paleo Macadamia and Coconut Bars’. They are made from 5 all natural ingredients and are gluten free. Named for the ‘Paleo Diet’ that is apparently one of the healthiest ways you can eat. I’m not saying this is what I’m doing but I thought it would be interesting to try these bars. They are actually really really nice. They remind me off the ‘Nakd’ Bars, so these would be a great substitute as they are better value for money. One of the last boxes of bars I picked up was another one from ‘The Foodie Market’, the raw ‘Pecan Pie’ natural fruit and nut bars. I was excited for these as I absolutely love pecan pie, so if these were any kind of a healthy substitute then I was on board!! They were so good- these were definitely one of my favourites too, I really like nuts and fruit together so it is the perfect combination.

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I hate to end this section of food bars on a bitter note but I also picked up a few individual bars called ‘Hike’ bars, which are Aldi’s copy of the very popular ‘Trek’ bars that are vegan, gluten and dairy free. I love the Trek bars, they are so delicious you can’t even believe that they have goodness in them. So when I saw Aldi had tried to copy I was sooooooo buzzing. But oh boy, was I let down. They tasted so bad, I couldn’t finish it, I don’t know why it was so bad, as I like the ingredients, but I just couldn’t eat it. Don’t buy them. Yuk. Stick to the Trek bars.

The last few things I bought are more just little goodies, or just your basic healthy essentials. I got ‘The Foodie Market’, wholenut smooth peanut butter, I love peanut butter and I love having the 100% nut stuff over the sugar packed stuff, this was so inexpensive from Aldi so I had to get it. I also bought these flavoured instant coffee granules. Super random and not healthy but I thought they looked super cute and would be a great way to jazz up your morning coffee. I got both flavours, the hazelnut and chocolate. They both smell super sweet, and to get the best combo I would recommend you mix these with your regular coffee, as the actual coffee isn’t great but the flavours are yummy!

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Right….I think that is the longest post I’ve ever written, I did buy so much!! Thank you so much for reading! If you made it this far, well done and tweet me with a little food emoji to let me know you made it- it’ll be our little code!

Let me know if you buy any of the products I talked about, I’d love to know what you think! Aldi is the best, and has some great bargains so it’s always worth trying it out!