Dil Se..: fruits

Showing posts with label fruits. Show all posts

Jun 28, 2011

Blueberry Lemonade

Picnics during the summer would be incomplete without some summery juices and lemonades. This is a no brainer recipe for lemonade with a few blueberries floating which provide just the right amount of tanginess and color to your ordinary lemonade. Also, your lemonade will have an antioxidant punch from the blueberries! This can be served during parties and during picnics and can be made in no time. They can also be made ahead and stored in a pitcher in a refrigerator. The blue color increases with time.

I found this idea to make blueberry lemonade when i was browsing for recipes to use up my berries. i made these using frozen berries. They taste great when made using fresh berries. The lemonade can also be made using different berries like raspberries, strawberries, cranberries etc.

Ingredients (serves 2)
Lemon juice, freshly squeezed - 3 tablespoons
Sugar - 3 tablespoons
Ice cold water - 2 glasses
Blueberries, fresh or frozen - 3 tablespoons or more

Directions

In a bowl, stir together the lemon juice, sugar and water until the sugar dissolves completely.
Add in the blueberries and with the back of a spoon, just press a few blueberries, so that the blue color dissolves into the water.
Adjust sweetness and pour into a glass with ice cubes and enjoy!

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM#6

Apr 18, 2011

Superfood Smoothie - A perfect quick breakfast!

No time for breakfast?

Even if you are rushed in the morning to get to work or school, you still got time to refuel yourselves and break your fast with this quick smoothie. Breakfast eaters think and perform better. if you are someone who does not have time for breakfast, or are just lazy to make a hearty breakfast, go for this smoothie. It has the heartiness of acai berry juice which is called a superfood, bananas, oatmeal, antioxidant rich berries and yogurt.

The recipe for this smoothie is very forgiving. I picked up the acai berry juice at Costco and found this recipe in the bottle. The juice can be replaced with any other fruit juices like orange juice, apple juice etc. Any type of berries - blueberries, strawberries, raspberries can be added. I just added low fat strawberry yogurt since that is what I had in hand. It can be substituted with any greek yogurt or just plain buttermilk.

It does not take more than two minutes to make this super healthy smoothie. Just add all ingredients in your blender. Give a few pulses, pour into a tall glass and enjoy!

Ingredients (Makes 2 servings)
Acai berry juice - 1 cup
Frozen berries - 1/2 cup
Banana - 1
Any yogurt variety - 1/2 cup
Flax seeds - 1 tablespoon
Quick cooking oats - 1 cup

Directions
Add all the above ingredients in the blender. If not using frozen berries, you could add a couple of ice cubes if you like your smoothie to be cold. Pulse for about 30 seconds. If you find the smoothie very thick, add a little water.

Pour into a glass and enjoy a hearty and filling breakfast!

Sending this chilled smoothie to Fun n Sun event

Mar 9, 2011

Tropical Fruit Salad / Fruit Chaat

It is seven days of salad here at my place! This is the fifth salad of the week! After looking at a lot of salads ranging from veggies, to pastas, to wholegrains, I wanted to make a fruit salad for today! I chanced upon this fruit salad and I liked the Indian touch to the salad.

I made this after lunch and it was a guilt-free treat! I like the addition of fresh mint which gives a whole new flavor to the fresh fruits. The fruit chaat and the kala namak render their all-indian touch! I made this with fruts available in my pantry and the fruits can be varied according to the availability by season.

Ingredients (for 1 serving)
Apple - 1/2
Banana - 1/2
Oranges - 1/2 ( I used one of these cuties)
Blueberries
Cranberries
Fresh lemon juice - 1/2 teaspoon (optional)
Kala namak/black salt/pink salt to taste
Fruit chaat masala - 1 pinch

Directions
Chop the fruits into bite sized pieces. Drizzle the lemon juice and mix well.
Sprinkle the kala namak and chaat powder as per your taste and garnish with fresh mint leaves.
Serve chilled!

Check out the bloggers doing the Blogging Marathon, along with me..
30 Minutes Meals:Priya Mahadavan, Pavani,
Seven Days of Salad: lla
For Ongoing 7 Events: Priya Suresh, Suma Gandlur,Harini,
Kids Friendly: Vatsala, Jay,Kamalika
Seven Days of Rice: Veena,PriyaVaasu,Padma Rekha

Sending this to Spring Giveaway event

Feb 28, 2011

Cranberry Grapefruit Jam

I love making jams at home. You get to control the amount of sugar and also avoid the addition of "hard to pronounce" ingredients in it. I never knew making jams can be so easy! Our jams are always homemade and I make them with various seasonal fruits available. Some of our favorites include the Pomegranate jam, Plum Jam and Orange Marmalade giving a variety to our morning breakfasts!

I had a huge bag of cranberries lying around in my freezer since December. After making some crumbles and muffins with fresh cranberries, I had frozen the remaining pack. When clearing out my freezer, I knew I had to finish those cranberries before they start dying! I had some fresh grapefruits in hand and quick Google Search gave some jam results with grapefruit and cranberry! And hence this healthy jam was born!! Who can deny a breakfast with a jam packed with Vitamin C, fiber and antioxidants. The cranberry gives a nice color to the jam and it reminded me of the mixed fruit kissan jam back in India.

Ingredients
Recipe Source: My Recipes
Grapefruit - 3 medium sized
Water - 1 cup
Fresh or frozen cranberries - 2 cups
Sugar - 2 cups ( can be replaced with honey or agave nectar to make it more healthier)

Directions
Carefully peel the grapefruit and take separate the flesh from the grapefruit reserving any juice. If you would like to make a marmalade instead of a jam, you could also add about 3 tablespoons of the grapefruit rind.

Combine the grapefruit sections and water in a large saucepan and bring to a boil.

Reduce heat to medium, and simmer 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add cranberries, and cook 10 minutes.

Stir in sugar and cook for 30 more minutes or until slightly thickened, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and allow to cool 10 min.

Do not worry, if the jam does not have jelly consistency. Cranberry has pectin and will set in the next 24 hours when poured into a glass bottle and allowed to set.

Pour into jars or airtight containers. Allow to sit at room temperature for a few hours. Store in refrigerator for up to 3 weeks or in a freezer for upto 6 months.

Enjoy with toast!

Dec 9, 2010

Cranberry Blackberry Crumble

I was supposed to post this crumble two days back for the 'Sweet Punch' baking series, and here I am late again. Better late than never right? I had a hell lot of cranberries lying in my fridge waiting to be used in some dish. I also had some blackberries with which I usually make smoothies lying my freezer. I also used chocolate chips and walnuts in the topping. The original recipe actually called for pear, chocolate and walnuts, but I modified the ingredients and used cranberry, blackberry and walnuts. They made a delightful crumble. I never knew it was so so easy to make crumbles. They taste great with some vanilla bean ice cream!

Ingredients (makes crumble in 4 ramekins)

Cranberries - 1/2 cup
Blackberries - 1/2 cup
Light brown soft sugar - 3 tablespoons
Lemon juice - 2 spoons
Lemon zest - 1/2 teaspoon

For the crumble
All purpose flour - 1/2 cup
Light brown soft sugar - 1/2 cup
Butter at room temperature - 1/2 cup
Walnuts(toasted) - 1/2 cup chopped roughly

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease 4 ovenproof teacups or ramekins. In a medium bowl, mix together the cranberries,blackberries, brown sugar, lemon zest and juice. Divide the mixture between the teacups or ramekins, spooning over any juice.

To make the crumble, place the flour and butter in a medium bowl and, with your fingertips, rub together until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Stir in the sugar, walnuts and chocolate.

Spoon the crumble over the pears and press down lightly. Place the crumbles on a baking tray and bake for 30-35 minutes until golden and bubbling. Serve with a scoop of good vanilla ice-cream.

It is that simple! Thanks for choosing this recipe Divya. We really enjoyed it.

Jul 1, 2010

Show Me Your Smoothie Roundup

Here are cool, refreshing and colorful ideas to pep up your summer! Thanks to everyone for sending in your entries for Show Me Your Smoothie event. Hope you all enjoy these refreshing smoothies and juices during summer.