Raspberries: Nom

Raspberries - little cancer-fighting nuggets of awesomeness. A perfect treat for a warm summers afternoon. 

What You'll Need:

Per Person

1/2 cup raspberries (fresh or frozen)

1 cup Greek yoghurt

A good drizzle of honey or agave nectar

To up the anti: Flaxseed to sprinkle on top (about 1 tablespoon), a handful of mixed nuts/seeds, more fruit!

The How-To:

1. Pop Greek yoghurt in a bowl

2. Gently mix through the raspberries

3. Drizzle with honey/agave nectar

4. Nom. 

Banana Breakfast Pod

The perfect grab-and-go breakfast for those who simply do not have time in the mornings (aka- everyone).

Make this the night before in approximately 1.7 minutes flat, pop in the fridge overnight and let time do the rest!

Contains one of your five a day, oats for  slow-release energy, chia and flax seed for fibre and omega-3, and Greek yoghurt and sunflower seeds for protein to keep you full - at least until your mid-morning snack (don't pretend like you don't have one).

What You'll Need:

- half a banana, the riper (and therefore squidgier) the better

- 1 tablespoon oats

- 1/2 tablespoon chia seeds

- 1/2 tablespoon flaxseed

- 2 tablespoons low-fat Greek yoghurt

- sprinkling of pumpkin seeds

- squeeze of honey

- cinnamon

- 1/2 cup water

- a little Tupperware pot to build it in. (Make sure has a well fitted lid! Greek yoghurt spillage in work bag: sub-optimal)

The How-To:

1. Mash the banana in the pot with a fork. 

2. Pop the chia and flax seeds on top.

3. Add water into the pot and stir well.

4. Add the oats, cinnamon and Greek yoghurt, stirring well again to ensure everything is mixed thoroughly. 

4. Top with sunflower seeds and honey. 

5. Fridge overnight. 

6. Don't forget to grab on the way out the door in the morning!

Tzatziki: Easier to Make than Spell

The perfect refreshing dip for a picnic or backyard barbeque on a summers day, tzatziki a breeze to make and goes with just about anything!

(To make one bowlful, as pictured)

You'll Need:

1/2 cucumber

1 cup low-fat Greek yoghurt (see my post about Greek yoghurt for more info)

2 cloves garlic

Sprinkling of mint - fresh if possible (I had none handy so use dried and seemed to work ok!)

A wedge of lemon

The How-To:

1. Grate the cucumber (the whole thing, skin and all)

2. Put the grated cucumber into a sieve and sprinkle little salt over. Set aside.

3. Finely chop the garlic (I recommend using the flat side of the knife to really really squash the garlic, unless you don't mind chunks!), and mix with the yoghurt and mint (finely chopped if using fresh).

4. Squeeze as much water out of the cucumber as possible through the sieve, then mix into the yoghurt

6. Finally, squeeze the fresh lemon over and stir through, and a sprinkle of salt and pepper if desired. 

Perfect with cut up carrots, apple, cucumber slices, peppers, celery, pita bread or even as a sauce over lamb, this dip is a low-fat, high-protein treat that will keep you going through all those games of backyard cricket. 

Dip in. 

Food of the Month: Greek Yoghurt

Low fat Greek yoghurt. 

I cannot get enough of this stuff. By itself nothing to particularly write home about, but combined with a dash of honey (or agave nectar for those following low-GI diets) and a little handful of fresh or frozen berries, and you've got yourself a little dollop of heaven. 

Here's the skinny-

Per 100g:

68kcal

3.5g fat (2.3g saturated)

5.1g carbohydrate (3.4g sugar)

4g Protein

That looks pretty good to me! If you can buy the 0% fat version ('total' is a good brand) then so much the better, but it can be a bit on the pricey side. I buy this stuff in my local shop by the kilo for less than £2.

A high protein, low-sugar, low-fat dessert? Amazing. 

What else can you use it for? See my recipe for banana and cinnamon muffins (it makes them oh so moist), atop of banana pancakes (been having a lot of bananas this month...), with cereal, in fruit or green smoothies, or simply as is with a whizzle of honey as mentioned above. 

Move over ice cream - we're going Greek.