The Kikicolada Smoothie Vegan & Gluten-free

Bonjour one and all!

It is Tasty Tuesday and that means recipe time!
Hot and hazy summer days are still here and I am on a 30-day liquid fast, that consists of special drinks, herbal tea’s steeped with fruits, freshly juiced juices, smoothies, and spring water.
Sadly, while trying to help a friend, I was re-exposed to toxic black mold by accident, for about 2 solid hours, back in June; and I have been paying for it ever since.
It means mold detox protocols, coping with health set backs, and a bit of a tough break but praying through it.
Won’t get into all that today, as I am here to post a scrumptious recipe which I am super psyched to share with you!
Turns out, I have a thing for pina coladas but as per usual, not a fan of alcohol, so I look for  healthier versions.
Unfortunately, so many I come across use coconut cream or coconut milk and I find it too rich and thick. There’s also major white sugar in most recipes that I cannot deal with, as it sets my autoimmune system into overdrive. I end up taking a sip or two and cannot finish it.
Such a sad, lonely, pina colada waste. Waaah waaah...
Good news though! Frustration and cravings seem to make for great creative companions, and in the end I chose to play in the kitchen and make my own version.
Yes, you can like pina coladas and getting caught in the rain Kiki!

                  I know, I found a pink coconut!

                    I do so love the rain, le sigh...

This recipe made me very happy indeed.
I got a great mild coconutty flavour that perfectly balanced with the pineapple. I used a small piece of avocado to give that richness one is used to in a colada, plus it gave some additional healthy fats.
I was thrilled to have come across some young coconuts whilst I was getting my food prep done, in order for this liquid fast fun!
Yes, it may seem odd but I do enjoy, and even look forward to the periods of fasting in my life. This time around I was really feeling the need to step back from eating and just get back to basics.

Here is the recipe, it made exactly one large mason jar with  a tablespoon or two leftover for taste testers in the local vicinity. There were none at my place so I got to enjoy it all! Mwuah hahahaha!

The Kikicolada

Ingredients:
1/4 Cup fresh young coconut meat
1 Cup fresh ripe pineapple
1/3 Cup fresh coconut water
1/3 Cup fresh pineapple juice
1/4 Cup spring water
1/4 Avocado ripe
1 small, ripe baby banana
1 Tbsp ground flax

Method:
-Blend all, serve over ice and enjoy immediately.

Side note: I used the juice from the pineapple that I bought that had already been cut, (I burned myself pretty badly recently and pre-cut is helping) there is always a good amount of that juice in the container and it tastes so good, do not waste it!

I hope you and yours really enjoy this recipe, it is a wonderful edition to those summer smoothies that brighten up any day.

Leave me your comments or questions down below, and if you try it, let me know how this recipe turned out for you.

Take care, be well, love freely...

Chef Kiki

Dairy-free Chai Tea Recipe & Paleo Waffle Adventures

Helloodles lovelies!

It is tasty Tuesday and I am excited about this blog post because this recipe is a new family favorite. A complete cup of comfort, super easy, only 4 ingredients-yup 4, and it is followed by waffles! If you only came for the chai tea recipe, head down below.
What could be better than freshly brewed chai tea and homemade waffles that are gluten-free and delectable?

So, I have a sad but true confession to make; I have not had a real, homemade, from scratch, waffle in at least 10 years!
I know...

Truth is I am more of a crepe woman, probably the French in me.

I also adore a good blueberry pancake, like, oh yeah!

Blueberry yum-yum, gimme some. Sorry Ludacris, I actually mean pancakes.

So, my mom got a special waffle iron that she has been wanting forever.

What I really liked about this is that it is double sided, so you can make 2 waffles at once, and you can remove the plates to clean them properly.
This is going to come in super handy during the holidays.
We're supposed to be doing a brunch in your pyjamas this Christmas, as I am still in mold recovery mode, and we want something very chill. Because of that I decided to check out how her waffle maker worked and at the same time test a paleo waffle recipe, that I found on this great blog.
The original post is here if you want to check into it more:
https://nurturemygut.com/best-gluten-free-waffles-paleo.html/

It turns out the waffle recipe was quite scrumptious and used ingredients I already had plenty of.
Was a tad concerned about the almond flour base as we had made crepes with an almond flour recipe found on Pinterest, and to be quite honest, it was just horrid. This waffle recipe really exceeded expectations and we freaking went to town on them.

I followed the instructions with regards to how much to put in the waffle maker, as it had been way too long since I made them, and it wasn't my recipe. Turns out the double waffle maker was much larger because it took two tries to figure out that it needed a full cup of batter per waffle. As such, the early waffle tries were a bit lacking but tasty misses, nonetheless. I could have put more in, when I saw it seemed a bit empty but I didn't know how much it would smoosh out and I really did not want to have to clean a mess.

This waffle maker didn't drip out and the waffles, although a bit lighter in colour, came out beautifully.

I smothered them in maple syrup and fresh blueberries. As you can see, nothing was leftover.

I remadw them a sexond time with more patience and cooking each for 5 minutes gave me that golden hue you waffle want!

We had a piping hot cup of chai tea as mom has been asking for it the last 2 weeks.
That tea has become oft requested, and it was perfect on a cool fall day.
I used my absolute favorite chai tea from Kibou the. I find it is the best chai tea I have ever had.
It is not expensive, about $7.50 Canadian for 50g, & it is whole leaf black tea with real spices that are perfectly balanced.

If you would like to try it, you can purchase some here:
https://kiboutea.com/produit/chai-cochin-masala-50g/

The recipe follows, enjoy!

DAIRY-FREE CHAI TEA

Ingredients:

4 Cups unsweetened oat milk or almond milk (oat milk is creamier)
2 Cups Boiling water
3-4 tsp Chai tea (I use 3 because I don't like it too strong)
3-4 Tbsp Real maple syrup (I use 3 because I like it less sweet)

Method:
-Begin to boil the water in a tea kettle.
-In a medium sized pot, large enough to hold all the liquids, bring milk of choice to a simmer.
-Place tea in a large tea ball and put into simmering milk. If you do not have a tea ball you can throw the tea straight in the pot with the simmering milk, you will just have to strain through a fine, mesh strainer at the end.
-Pour boiling water into milk and tea mix. Continue to heat for 3-4 minutes. Remove tea ball or strain, and and return to pot.
-Keep on low heat, add maple syrup to desired sweetness, stir.
-Turn off heat and serve immediately.

Makes 6 servings.

Let me know how this recipe turns out for you in the comments section below.

Take care, be well, love freely...
Chef Kiki