Black forest Cake Dessert Thickie and my daily diet
I have an amazing recipe for you today. This easy black forest cake smoothie is my favourite green thickie of all time. Once you taste it I’m sure it will make a regular appearance in your diet.
A lot of people have been asking me recently what I eat every day so I thought I’d list a sample of my daily diet:
Breakfast
A Green Thickie of course and a couple of slices of left over fruit that my baby leaves.
Lunch
In the winter I have a big bowl of vegetable soup with some greens such as spinach added in once it’s in the bowl (to preserve the nutrients) and some rice cakes with some homemade hummus.
In the summer I have a large salad with whatever else is in the fridge piled on top of it. I might have some leftovers from the previous evening’s dinner, or some chopped vegetables or tofu. I also love to put fruit in my salad.
Dinner
I have just been given a slow cooker which is brilliant for getting dinner on the table at exactly the right time. It doesn’t necessarily save me that much time as I still have to measure all the ingredients for the recipe. But it does guarantee that I put the dinner on when I have the most time which is in the morning, and I can forget about it then. Usually I’m feeding my baby or popping out for a quick walk to ensure she gets some fresh air in the hour before dinner needs to be served. The slow cooker also fills the house with a lovely smell of cooking.
So I have been cooking from a new book called Quick and Easy Vegan Slow Cooking by Carla Kelly. I have made or will make a variety of stews, chillies, curries, pasta and rice dishes amongst other things. She also provides recipes for quick sides to go with the main dishes which is exactly what you need when you don’t have much time.
Snacks
I snack less and less especially with a baby to look after, but my snacks will generally be in the evening. I might have some kale chips, green smoothies, vegan healthy ice cream, raw snack balls, healthy chai smoothies or just some rice cakes and hummus. Occassionally I’ll make a raw chocolate pudding but I try and limit my cocoa as any caffeine really doesn’t agree with me these days.
I would really like to cut out my evening snacks altogether as I know they are mostly for a treat, not really for hunger and it’s better for your body to have a good long break from food between your evening meal and breakfast (when you Break-Fast) but I’m not quite at that stage yet. I’ve gone a few evenings without a meal over the last few months though so I’m making progress.
What kinds of foods do you eat on your diet? Please comment below.
This Easy Black Forest Cake Dessert Thickie is hands down the most gorgeous recipe I’ve ever tasted. It’s my favourite recipe of all time, my husband also agreed it was his firm favourite and my baby showed me by downing it in one go that she also agreed. If you only try one dessert thickie, try this one! Luxurious, dark and mysterious, this black forest treat is a clear winner.
I used raw ground vanilla
This Easy Black Forest Cake Smoothie is by far my favourite smoothie of all time. It's sweet and substantial and will dissolve your cake cravings.
Ingredients
- • 2 Cups dairy free milk
- • 1 Cup mangoes
- • 2 Cups Black Forest Fruits: Frozen cherries, grapes, blackberries, blackcurrants. (You can use fresh if you like but it might be harder to find the ingredients and pit all the cherries) If you can’t find this combination, use whatever dark berries you can find.
- • 1 Cup Oats (use raw oat groats if following a raw food diet or soak your oats for 30 minutes with a cup of the water if you don’t have a powerful blender)
- • ½ Cup Raisins
- • 1 Teaspoon vanilla (I use raw ground vanilla as the taste is beautiful)
- • ¼ Cup Pecans
- • ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
Instructions
- Blend the ingredients in the order listed.
- Blend the ingredients a few at a time so that your blender can cope with the work, unless you’ve got a high powered blender, then you might be able to add them all in at once.
- If it gets too thick, add more water as necessary.
- If your blender has made the smoothie too warm, you can either cool it down in the fridge or freezer, or add some ice cubes or frozen fruit to it (You may need to add more water as this will thicken it further).
Notes
Serving size: 20 oz Calories: 551 Fat: 15g Saturated fat: 1g Unsaturated fat: 14g Carbohydrates: 101g Sugar: 56g Fiber: 13g Protein: 10g Cholesterol: 0g
This recipe has been added to Penniless Parenting. I have also added this recipe to the Seasonal Recipe roundup.
Your comments put a smile on my face. Many thanks and blessings to you.
I have shared this with I have shared this on the following blog hops, Wellness Weekends and Healthy Vegan Fridays.
This post has been shared with these Fabulous blog hops.
Green Thickies also co-hosts a blog hop, Healthy Vegan Fridays so join us on Friday to find fabulous health related articles and healthy recipes..
The best type of blender to make Green Thickies is a Vitamix and you will get beautifully smooth Green Thickies, but you can use whatever type of blender you have or can afford. This blender
is reasonably priced and will easily make green thickies along with lots of other delicious food.
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Hi, I'm Katherine, thanks for stopping by. I healed myself of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and lost 56 pounds. I now have loads of energy for my baby girl and enjoy walks on the beach with my family. I am passionate about helping you improve your health and reach your ideal weight. I invented Green Thickies to provide a complete meal drink for busy people who care about their health.
What a wonderful wholesome treat! It was interesting to read about your daily diet. Mine varies depending on what I am doing, and where we are (we travel a lot) but I always try to make healthy choices.
Hi April. Thank you so much for visiting. Yes this smoothie has such an amazing flavour, I couldn’t get enough of it. My diet suits me well at home but when I’m travelling it goes out of the window so usually end up feeling ill. On my last holiday I continued drinking my Green Thickies and felt amazing the whole holiday which is a first for me. It takes a lot more effort to be healthy while travelling but I think it’s worth it if you feel better and enjoy it more.
I’ve had this smoothie with a few different combinations of frozen fruit, and it’s pretty much my favourite smoothie ever: I virtually never repeat smoothie recipes as there are so many, but I’ve had this one three times in two weeks :D
Please could you tell me more about the raw ground vanilla? I’ve been scraping a vanilla pod, but I know that’s not the same, right? Thanks!
That’s funny as I also made this smoothie for my Dad who was visiting yesterday. I added some spinach to it and you couldn’t taste it or see it. It’s still my favourite smoothie too. I’m the same, I hardly ever repeat the same recipe as I’m always creating new ones. Thanks so much for letting me know how much you liked it. I’ll have to try it with other frozen fruit combos too as I can’t always get the forest fruits. I’ve added a link to some great raw ground vanilla in the recipe. What country do you live in? Scraping a vanilla pod would probably give you the same kind of flavour as ground vanilla but might get more expensive, but it depends where you live, some people can get hold of reasonably priced vanilla pods, but I can’t here in Scotland so I buy the ground vanilla which is actually quicker to use.
What a coincidence! I’ll have to try spinach in it too now :) I’ve mostly had it with frozen cherries and blackberries, but last time I had it with frozen cherries, purple grapes and raspberries and it was just as great. I get the fruit fresh then freeze it myself for that true custom factor :D
I live in Manchester in England; the only reason I have some nice big fat vanilla pods is because my brother went to Goa and brought some back for me! Normally I would just stick with vanilla extract as it’s cheaper, but I do notice a big difference in flavour (as in the pods are better! :D ). Thank you for adding the link, but it just takes me to three products: two different types of flavoured coffee, and a recipe book :( There are sponsored links on the page though, like vanillamart.co.uk, so still thank you :P
That’s great you buy the fruit fresh and then freeze it. It’s a good way to stop your fruit going off and it also makes your smoothie lovely and cold too.
You live in Manchester? I lived in Manchester for about 10 years before I moved up to Scotland. Yes pure vanilla is much nicer.
Most of my readers are based in the US so I sent an American link, which is why I was asking where you were based. But I actually buy mine from a UK website here: http://www.vivapure.co.uk/raw-foods/ingredients/pure-ground-vanilla-powder.html It seems expensive but you get a lot so it lasts for ages.
No way! I live in Moston, North Manchester, which although is actually classed as a slum (my college tutor told me when I was worried about getting my student loan/fees – she said they’ll take one look at my postcode and give me the full amount! O.o) is a nice enough area IMO! :D It’s only a ten minute bus ride from the city centre too :) What did you think about Manchester?
Another blogger I love, Laura from KeepingHealthyGettingStylish.com, orders quite a few things from vivapure, including a raw cacao granola that I’ve had my eye on. Time to put in an order, I think! Thank you! :)
Wow! Yes I remember Moston. I had friends there and used to go to a church in Failsworth nearby. A lot of Manchester is similar so you get used to it when you live there. I started in Didsbury after uni, moved to Ashton-Under-Lyne then Dukinfield then out to Glossop which was beautiful. I loved Manchester when I first moved as I was out all the time but after a while I wanted to settle down and the quiet life and it didn’t suit me anymore so we moved out to the countryside. Lots happening there though. Do you like it? I love Vivapure, they have some great products. Thank you for letting me know about Laura’s blog. I just had a quick look and it looks right up my street as she eats vegan and raw and focuses on health. I’ll have to start following it. Thanks for letting me know.
I can’t believe you know Moston and Failsworth! I’m fairly familiar with Ashton too, as I have close friends who live there and work in Dukinfield! My brother lived in Didsbury for a while too! It’s definitely a handy place for all kinds of things though, like universities, anything happening in the city centre, football matches etc :)
While I don’t mind living here, it’s definitely too ‘urban’ to suit a quiet life – my friend comes from Barra and that’s basically my idea of heaven, so you can obviously see where I’m coming from :P
Laura’s blog is pretty much my favourite in terms of how to live a healthy lifestyle in lots of different ways, and how to deal with what that brings to your every day life. I find it very similar to yours, especially with the amount of green smoothies on both! :D
Yes, Barra looks stunning. Inverness is beautiful where I live too, but it’s always so grey lately. I think that’s the whole of the UK though at the moment. I love finding blogs that have a similar outlook to me and have been hunting for them for a while so thanks for pointing me in her direction.
Definitely grey everywhere: thunder and lightning has been forecast for this area tomorrow! I’d love to visit Inverness no matter what the weather though :)
I’m glad I could introduce you to a new blog, I believe in sharing the blog love :)
Yes it is a lovely place. Give me a shout if you’re ever up this way.
Thank you, I will :)
Yum! This looks divine!
Thank you. It’s honestly one I make all the time. I think it’s my favourite winter smoothie as it’s so satisfying and filling. I can’t get enough of it.
Lovely smoothie recipe! Who wouldn’t want to eat some healthy black forest cake?
Thanks for sharing it on HVF my dear!
Thank you Gabby. I know, it really is one of the most delicious smoothies I’ve ever had. I add greens to mine and the colour doesn’t change. It’s a keeper!
You must feel so healthy and good eating like this all the time! looks fantastic as usual, thanks for linking up at Meatless Monday!!!!
Yes it does feel good and I do feel amazingly healthy most of the time. I am tired a lot as my baby doesn’t sleep well but my diet helps me to cope just fine with sleep deprivation most of the time. If I was eating junk as well as not getting enough sleep I’d be tearing my hair out by now. She’s my motivation for continuing to eat this way! Thank you for your lovely comment. Katherine
you just made my day posting this! Should I use vanilla extract or a couple vanilla beans though? not sure the ratio to your ground vanilla
thanks for linking on Foodie Friday!
Aww, so glad you liked it. I would just use a teaspoon of vanilla extract and if you can’t taste it add a bit more. I’ve not tried making smoothies with vanilla beans before. Have you?
I have tossed a vanilla bean in a smoothie before. Not much though. I’ve just never heard of ground vanilla before. I’ve seen the beans (use them a lot), extract and paste.
The black forest smoothie would be a fun way to start the day with your kids for breakfast; or, a good after school snack. Thanks for sharing this.
Wow, thank you so much for linking up to Bouquet of Talent linky party! I am so glad to find your awesome blog. This smoothie looks delicious, and I can’t wait to check out more of your posts. :)
I am so loving this, and I love your blog!Love smoothies esp ones that are good for you! Thanks for linking up at Heavenly Treats Sunday!
That looks SOOO good. I have never thought to add oats to smoothies. Sometimes I add eggs (if I get them pastured I am fine with raw eggs) to make them more filling. Do you need a pretty powerful blender to blend all those raisins and nuts?
Thanks for linking up to Healthy 2Day Wednesday, hope to see you there Wednesday.
Oh, my daughter’s first name is Natalia, I have never met someone with that name even as their middle name.
Oh wow, no I’ve never heard of anyone having that name either. Natalia is actually a confirmation name and I chose it myself! I still love that name now and if I didn’t have that name myself I would have called my baby that too.
Hi Debra. Wow you add eggs to your smoothies! That’s something that never would have crossed my mind either. It’s funny finding out everyone’s unusual smoothie ingredients! I do have a powerful blender which makes them very smooth but you can use pretty much any blender to blend the ingredients. It helps if you soak ingredients overnight to help soften them though. Thank you I’d love to pop back to Healthy 2Day Wednesday.
This looks awesome! I have tweeted and pinned your entry to our Gluten Free Fridays board on Pinterest! :) Thanks for linking up at our Gluten Free Fridays recipe party! See you next Friday! Cindy from vegetarianmamma.com
Thank you so much for sharing this post. Much appreciated!
This looks scrumptious! I can’t wait to try the recipe. Thanks so much for linking up last week to Creative Thursday. Can’t wait to see what you have for this week’s party! Have a great week.
Michelle