First up: Chocolate peanut butter soft serve. Chocolate and peanut butter go well together, and chocolate and banana go well together, and peanut butter and banana go well together. Ergo, chocolate peanut butter frozen banana soft serve is pretty amazing.
I made this with the PB Fit peanut butter powder I found last month, and added the chocolate component through dark chocolate chips and Choc Shot sugar-free chocolate syrup. I include a recipe at the end of this post, but if you throw frozen banana, peanut butter and chocolate together you can't really go wrong.
Second: Thai-style spiralised noodles. Those of you who follow Healthy Vegan Fridays may have seen Mary Ellen's spiral Thai slaw salad last week. I've made lots of spiralised veggie dishes but not one quite like hers, and was immediately drawn to give it a try. I followed Mary Ellen's recipe almost exactly but added vermicelli noodles to make the dish sufficient for a stand-alone dinner. It was delicious and well received by Mr Bite and my mother too. I highly recommend it!
Third: A Whole Foods picnic in Green Park. London can be rather unpleasant when hot, but its parks provide plenty of shady spots for escaping the heat. As I have a season rail ticket to London for my workday travel, I sometimes head in just to soak up the London atmosphere. Sitting under a tree with a Whole Foods lunch and a book is a particularly delightful way to spend an hour or two.
I bought one of my summer favourites - rice paper rolls with tofu and plenty of vegetables - as well as a raw tiramisu by the new-to-me brand Honey & Date. The dessert includes honey so is not fully vegan, although I was pleased to see that if you order products through the Honey & Date website they can customise them for you and use maple syrup instead. I enjoyed the tiramisu but it would have been a little better if eaten properly chilled (my fault for taking it to a park on a hot day).
So there we have it - three very different examples of summertime eating, but all ones I'd be happy to repeat in a hurry.
Chocolate peanut butter soft serve
An easy, vegan treat for 1 or 2
Food processor required
Author: Bite-sized thoughts
Ingredients
1-1/2 medium frozen bananas
1-1/2 tbsp PB Fit peanut butter powder (or peanut butter)
1 tbsp plain yoghurt (I used unsweetened soya-almond)
1 tbsp dark, dairy-free chocolate chips or pieces
1 tbsp chocolate syrup (I used Choc Shot; other vegan options are available or make your own with cocoa powder, liquid sweetener and almond milk as I did in this post)
Method
Combine the frozen banana, peanut butter powder and yoghurt in your food processor and process until the mixture is semi-smooth, scraping down the sides of the bowl occasionally. Add the chocolate chips and process briefly just to incorporate. Transfer to a serving bowl and drizzle with chocolate syrup to serve.
Ooh what I wouldn't give for a warm day to lay out in the park! We are freezing our butts off over here. I don't mind the cold to be honest, but a day of lying out in the grass sounds pretty appealing right now.
ReplyDeleteHopefully you have some snug activities lined up instead, and can go on to enjoy summer in due course :-)
DeleteI've heard London has had some very hot days. And you are so right - when it's hot in London there's just so few ways to escape the heat. I was shocked that there wasn't air-conditioning in the shops or on the public transport! But I guess it's really only hot on a few days of the year. Sitting in a park under the shade of a tree is a great way to go. I must look out for peanut butter powder - never heard of it! What a lovely dessert and so refreshing on a hot day xx
ReplyDeletePublic transport is particularly horrid! A lot of trains are air conditioned now, but unfortunately it's still hit and miss, so you can get caught out even if expecting a cool carriage. Like you say, though, it's not for many days of the year.
DeleteOmg!! The soft serve peanut butter I've-cream looks amazing!!!
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing
Julie
Gourmet Getaways
love the idea of adding vermicelli noodles to Mary Ellen's spiralised salad (which did admire on her blog) - pretty, healthy and substantial ticks all the boxes - and your picnic sounds just lovely
ReplyDeleteThanks Johanna :-)
DeleteThe soft serve sounds super delicious.
ReplyDelete"if you throw frozen banana, peanut butter and chocolate together you can't really go wrong."
Truth! chocolate & nut butter is probably my all time favourite combo ever. So good. I've been lazy lately and buying vegan ice cream from the store (they are smart and putting it on sale on really hot days!), but it's just so easy to make my own, I really should be doing this.
I've been eyeing up Mary Ellen's spoodles! I like how you added vermicelli to fill it out a bit =)
Ah picnic lunch in the park from Whole Foods with a good book. That sounds like a perfect afternoon to me.
I would take advantage of ice cream specials too, don't you worry :-) Homemade and store bought both have a place in summertime eating!
DeleteThe PB soft serve sounds delicious! Also love the look of your Thai noodle salad - Thai is a favourite cuisine of mine.
ReplyDeleteMine too :-)
Delete