I’m not normally a fan of challenges involving food, because they’re normally of the “eat a whole cow in 10 minutes and get it free” variety, but I took part in this one because it was a little different!
Indigo Herbs are a small family run company based in Glastonbury, and they wanted to send me a bag of goodies to use and have me come up with delicious recipes with them.
I was so excited when the package arrived! It contained Hemp Protein Powder, Raw Banana Powder, Spirulina Powder, Maca Powder, Wheatgrass powder, Hulled Hemp seeds and Cordyceps CS-4 as well as a handy shaker to mix it all up in.
It had originally been suggested that I could make delicious smoothies, and that’s what I did with a lot of the ingredients. The Banana Power adds a slightly sweeter taste to smoothies, and counts towards your 5 a day, Hemp Protein Power ups the protein content and Maca Powder gives a nice malty taste. Wheatgrass powder is one of those things I use in small amounts for it’s excellent health benefits, but the taste is very strong for me and even burying it with lots of other things in a smoothie can be a bit much! I do use it though because it’s packed with vitamins, minerals, anti-oxidants, chlorophyll, amino-acids, fatty acids and live enzymes all of which make me feel super healthy.
So first up, I tried one of my favourite morning Smoothie recipes with added benefits from the herbal powders.
200 ml Unsweetened Almond Milk
20g Hemp Protein Powder
10g Maca Powder
10g Baobab powder
1 dsp of sugar free nut butter
Banana
Spinach
Strawberries
Trust me, this looks way prettier before I whizz it up into a muddy mess, but it’s a great protein rich breakfast full of vitamins and minerals and giving at least 2 of your 5 a day.
But I had better plans for all those exciting ingredients than just smoothies!
I love energy balls for taking to Roller Derby practice with me and protein balls and bars for eating on the go after runs, so I decided to make some of my own using the ingredients, so today, I give you my very own recipe:
Peanut Hemp and Spirulina Balls
Makes 11 balls each ball 100 calories 5g Protein 5g Carbs
30g Hulled Hemp Seeds
10g Spirulina Powder
20g Hemp Protein Powder
3 lg Dsp of Sugar free nut butter
30g Chopped Dates
Tsp Cocoa Powder
Dsp Raw Banana Powder
Splash Unsweetened Almond Milk
Dessicated Coconut
Basically you mix up all the ingredients except the coconut, adding a splash of almond milk a little at a time until it’s a good consistency to roll into balls. Take a large teaspoon, roll into a ball and then roll in dessicated coconut.
If I made these again I might use more dates, but this was all I had left in the cupboard at the time, and they came out nice! The Banana Powder is just for sweetness really, so might not be necessary with some more dates. The best thing about using Spirulina is it comes out bright green, so these balls look amazing!
I keep these in the freezer and take a couple out as I leave for Roller Derby practice. They’re defrosted in my bag to eat by the time I finish.
Last up is another recipe I’ve made a lot since this package was delivered. Sometimes with the garlic filling, and sometimes without. With, it’s a healthy take on a chicken kiev, without, it’s a healthy take on breaded fried chicken. Either way, it’s delicious! This recipe is for the garlic version, just leave out the stuffing to make it otherwise! It’s full of protein and good fats, which makes it ideal for after a workout.
Healthy Chicken Kiev
Approx 300 calories 45g Protein 15g fat
Serves 2
2 x Chicken Breasts
2 large tsp of soft goats cheese (worked out about 40g)
1 garlic clove, crushed
2 x dsp Hulled Hemp Seeds
2 x dsp Flaxseed
Mix the goats cheese and crushed garlic clove together. Cut a slit in the side of each chicken breast and stuff with garlic cheese.
Mix the Hulled Hemp Seeds and Flax Seeds together on a plate (I used Linwoods mixed Flaxseed, Sunlower and Pumpkin seeds) season with salt and pepper, you can also add herbs and spice like chilli powder to taste.
Roll the chicken breasts in the mixture until they are coated, if you have problems with it sticking you can brush with a little egg, but it worked fine for me.
Bake the chicken in a pre heated oven, approx 200 degrees, for about 20-25 minutes until cooked.
I had mine with baked sweet potato and asparagus Yum
The only thing I haven’t yet used from the package is the Cordyceps CS-4. I’m not sure what to do with it, so let me know if you’ve tried it!
You can get all the ingredients for these recipes from Indigo Herbs.
