Tag: recipe

Halloumi & Cherry Tomato with Pomegranate Molasses

We’d like to wish you all a Happy New Year and share with you our first recipe of the year! 

Halloumi & Cherry Tomato with Pomegranate Molasses

Not only is it easier to make than expected, but it would make an impressive DIY gift in a cute jar with a label, and can be used for many applications beyond just a salad!  (makes enough for an appetizer for 4)

Ingredients for the salad

1 hour (including making the molasses)

  • One vine of cherry tomatoes (approx. 16 cherry tomatoes)
  • Eight slices of halloumi
  • One handful of basil leaves
  • Two tablespoons olive oil
  • Two tablespoons of zaatar
  • A pinch of salt

Ingredients for the pomegranate molasses

  • 1/12 – 2 cups of pomegranates from the Fruitful Day Box
  • ¼ cup of coconut sugar
  • 3 tbsp lemon juice

METHOD for the molasses

1. Put the pomegranate seeds through a juicer to extract the juice. Alternatively, (if you don’t have a juicer) you can blend the seeds and then pour through a strainer.

2. Place pomegranate juice, lemon juice and coconut sugar in a medium saucepan on medium heat. Bring to a simmer and then turn down to a very gentle simmer.

4. Let the juice simmer very slowly for up to an hour. It should reduce down by at least half. Once it begins to become more viscous, stop simmering. Bear in mind it will thicken once cooled, so don’t over reduce as it will be too sticky.

METHOD for the salad

1.Preheat oven to 180 degrees C.

2. Slice the halloumi into 8 slices about ½ a cm thick and 8cm long. Marinate them in 1 tablespoon zaatar, one tablespoon olive oil and salt.

3. Place the tomatoes (still attached to the vines) on a baking tray. Mix one tablespoon olive oil, one tablespoon zaatar and salt and pour over the tomatoes. Bake for 10 – 15 minutes.

4. While tomatoes are baking, put a skillet on medium heat.

5. Place the halloumi slices on the skillet and cook for several minutes on each side.

6. Assemble the halloumi and tomatoes on the plate. Add the basil. If necessary sprinkle with more salt, zaatar and olive oil.

7. Using a spoon, garnish the whole dish with the syrupy pomegranate molasses.

8. Enjoy!

Watermelon Fruit Roll-Ups

We can’t believe it’s October already! Halloween is around the corner and that means A LOT of unhealthy snacks. But…we’ve got a recipe up our sleeve that will fulfil your kid’s sweet tooth like no other.

Our Watermelon Fruit Roll-Ups are an easy homemade snack. The first five ingredients in most popular store-bought fruit roll-ups are corn syrup, dried corn syrup, sugar, pear puree concentrate and palm oil.  In our case, we’ve ditched all the nasties and replaced it only with real fruit, coconut oil, and honey.

Why avoid corn syrup and palm oil?

  • Corn syrup is even more harmful than ordinary table sugar because of its high fructose content.
  • Palm oil is also a highly processed oil and is unhealthy for both us and the environment.

What about coconut oil? Is it good for you?

Coconut oil is often classified as a “superfood” because of its many benefits including:

  • Coconut oil is high in healthy saturated fats. These fats can boost fat burning and provide your body and brain with quick energy.
  • Coconut oil contains natural saturated fats that increase the good HDL cholesterol in your body.
  • Good for blood sugar and diabetes.
  • Aids in liver health.

So with just 4 simple ingredients, you’ll have the perfect healthy treat for your Halloween festivities! Happy trick or treating.

 

A delicious fruity treat

 

45 minutes prep + Up to 8 hours in the oven

INGREDIENTS

– 12 cups cubed and de-seeded watermelon

– juice of 1 lime

– 1 ½ tbsp honey

– 1 tsp coconut oil

METHOD

1. Preheat oven on the lowest temperature your oven will go with the fan setting on.

2. Chop and de-seed 12 cups worth of watermelon.

3. Blend watermelon until pureed.

4. Place a cheesecloth over a sieve and slowly pour the watermelon puree through both. You may have to stop halfway to stir gently with a spatula.

5. Keep stirring the watermelon puree until most of the water is drained and you’re left with a viscous watermelon mixture.

6. Line a sheet tray with baking paper and grease lightly with coconut oil.

7. Pour the watermelon mixture onto the sheet tray and spread with a spatula until it’s evenly spread and about 5mm thick.

8. Place in the oven and bake for up to 8 hours or until it’s dried and easy to peel off the baking paper.

9. Cut into strips with a pizza cutter or scissors and then roll up with a strip of baking paper.

Extra Tips

This recipe is fairly easy to make as it only involves blending, straining and then a long wait while it’s in the oven! However, de-seeding the watermelon takes some time so using fruit like strawberry or raspberry might be quicker. You can even put berries straight in the blender without worrying about the seeds.

Another thing to note is that if you have a dehydrator at home, it’s better to use that so your oven is not on for so long. It’s also safer to just leave on and go out for the day – the process is so slow and there’s little concern for overcooking. An hour either side won’t make much difference!

Watermelon Fries with a Sweet Yoghurt Dip

It’s been a few weeks since we posted our last recipe and we apologise! With the kids being back at school, and people are back from their summer holidays… let’s just say we’ve been a little busy. 

On that note, we wanted to give you some ideas to start the school year off on a healthy and happy note.

Finger Fruit, the perfect little bowl of goodness for back to school lunches or simply as a delicious snack. These watermelon fries are all we can think about and we highly recommend them, especially with the sweet and zesty dip! Oh…did we mention that it’s super easy to make?

Without further ado, we wish you a fruitful start to the new school year and hope you enjoy our latest recipe!

 

INGREDIENTS 

Half a watermelon is essential (haha/wink)

Plain yoghurt

1 lime

A spoonful of honey (or as much as you want)

 

Makes1 serving 

 

Cut watermelon into long fry size wedges (2cm wide) 

Mix ½ cup yoghurt with a spoon of honey, ½ a lime and lime zest. 

You can also add vanilla or cinnamon for more flavour. If you have a picky eater, you can simply add honey to yoghurt.

 

And…enjoy!

Granola & Apple Compote Jars

It’s been a while since we posted a recipe on our blog, but we’re back!  This time with a delicious home made granola recipe, which is much better than any store bought granola that often contains added sugar, palm oil and non-gluten free grains. Once the granola is pre-prepared, it is very quick breakfast you can put in a jar and take with you to work or as a post-workout snack.  In our jars, we’ve paired the homemade granola with apple compote and yoghurt, but you can get creative with just about any fruit! This time of year pears are some of our favorites, for instance.

We have some more exciting recipes coming up in the next weeks so keep checking back!

Granola & Apple Compote Jars 

1 hour

INGREDIENTS for the apple compote

  • 4 apples from the Fruitful Day Box
  • 2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1 tbsp coconut oil

INGREDIENTS for the granola 

  • ½ cup fresh shredded coconut OR dried desiccated
  • ½ cup oats
  • ½ cup walnuts from the Fruitful Day Box
  • ½ cup hazelnuts from the Fruitful Day Box
  • ½ cup peanuts from the Fruitful Day Box
  • ½ cup pumpkin seeds from the Fruitful Day Box  ½ cup sunflower seeds from the Fruitful Day Box
  • 4 tbsp honey OR maple syrup
  • 4 tbsp coconut oil
  • 1 tbsp cinnamon
  • 1/8 tsp nutmeg
  • 1 tsp ginger powder
  • ½ cup cranberries from the Fruitful Day Box
  • ½ cup raisins from the Fruitful Day Box

METHOD for the apple compote

  1. Preheat over to 180 degrees C.
  2. Peel apples and chop into quarters.
  3. Place on a baking tray, sprinkle with cinnamon and coconut oil and mix around with your hands.
  4. Bake for 30 – 40 minutes until soft.
  5. Remove from the oven. You can either eat the apples as they are or put in a food processor for a more compote like consistency. Alternatively, you can cut them into smaller pieces at the beginning before roasting for a chunky compote.
  6. To serve, layer the granola, compote and yoghurt into a jar in any order.

Apricot & Orange Granola Bar

7 days, 7 recipes!

It’s the middle of the summer and we totally get how difficult it is to be stuck inside for most if not ALL of the day. However, it’s the perfect time of year to practice your cooking skills so for the next 7 days we’re going to share a recipe every day with you that is both HEALTHY and DELICIOUS.

First up is a homemade granola bar!  Most supermarket granola bars contain sugar, corn syrup, wheat or canola oil and by making it yourself you know exactly what is going inside. These apricot and orange granola bars are perfect to take to work or if your kids don’t have nut allergies, they can be a great afternoon snack before anyone gets hangry.

As an aside, we have just discovered the most delicious apricots from Uzbekistan. You have to try them out! Available in our discovery box here.

Happy snacking.

Apricot & Orange Granola Bar 

(makes one square tray of 20cm x 20cm)  

Healthy Granola Bars: Apricot & Orange

45 minutes

INGREDIENTS for the crust 

  • 100g walnuts from the Fruitful Day Box
  • 120g gluten free oats
  • 100g apricots from the Fruitful Day Box
  • 50g pumpkin/sunflower seeds from the Fruitful Day Box
  • ¼ tsp salt
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • ¼ tsp nutmeg
  • Zest of one orange from the Fruitful Day Box
  • 90g peanut butter
  • 50g honey
  • 30g cacao butter/coconut oil/grass fed butter

METHOD 

Healthy Granola Bars: Apricot & Orange

  1. Preheat oven to 160°C
  2. Roughly chop walnuts
  3. Finely chop apricots
  4. Add all dry ingredients to a bowl; walnuts, oats, apricots, seeds, spices and salt.
  5. Add wet ingredients; orange zest, peanut butter, honey and oil.
  6. Combine until this mixture forms a dough.
  7. Press mixture down into a lined baking tray and bake at 160°C for 20 – 30 minutes or until browned.
  8. Remove from oven and allow to cool.

                                                           

Immunity March: Banana Pancakes

Between Happiness Day, Mother’s Day, and end of term, it’s been another busy week here at Fruitful Day HQ! We’re looking forward to spending some extra time with the kids over the next couple of weeks and if we’re perfectly honest getting some extra hours of sleep too. These down periods are hugely important to building our immunity as we give our bodies a change to rest and recharge.

Our banana pancake recipe today is the perfect breakfast for after you’ve gotten your 7-8 hours of sleep!. It is simple, healthy and fun to make with the kids.

Generally speaking pancakes aren’t thought to be a ‘healthy’ breakfast, but by substituting a few key ingredients they are actually good for you without comprising on taste. In this recipe, both flour and milk have been substituted, which are inflammatory and the opposite of immune boosting. In addition, these pancakes include bananas, which are full of nutrients help to support the immune function like iron, zinc, Vitamin A, Vitamin B6, Vitamin C and selenium.

Enjoy your holidays and remember PREVENTION is the key to not getting sick so rest up, eat well, stay hydrated and take time to do things that make you HAPPY.

Banana Pancakes (makes 15 palm sized pancakes)

45 – 50 minutes (If you have a larger pan and can cook several at once it will be faster)  

INGREDIENTS

Immunity March: Banana Pancakes

  • 3 bananas
  • 4 eggs
  • 3 tbsp peanut butter
  • ¾ cup oats
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 2 tbsp cinnamon

 METHOD

Immunity March: Banana Pancakes

  1. Put two non stick pans on medium heat.
  2. Blend all ingredients into a batter.
  3. Add 1 tsp ghee into each pan and pour batter until it spreads out into a palm sized shape in the pan. Note – these pancakes will not hold together like regular flour pancakes so if you make them too big they will break up.
  4. Flip pancake once cooked and cook on the other side.
  5. Continue until all the batter is used.
  6. Serve with yoghurt, coconut cream, fruit, honey, maple, cacao nibs or any topping of choice.

 

 

 

Immunity March: Fish Tacos with Pineapple Slaw

What a week last week! We finally launched delivery to Abu Dhabi and were honored to be a supporting partner for the 5th annual WOMEN ACHIEVE Symposium hosted by the AmCham Abu Dhabi.  You can read more about the event here. One of the distinguished speakers, Honorable Barbara A. Leaf, US Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates, was such a pleasure to listen to. She spoke about how her key to living a happy life was being confident, curious, and authentic. As a women-led business, we’re not always the best at being confident, but she  simply said “fake it until you feel it”, “fake it until you believe it”, and “fake it until you make it”. We left the event inspired about what we can achieve in Abu Dhabi and just a little bit more confident that we will make it!

Now you’re probably wondering what does all of this have to do with a fish taco recipe… well we had someone tell us last week they loved the look of our recipes, but weren’t sure they could actually make them! We always select our recipes based on seasonal fruits, nuts, and dried fruits available in our boxes and add ingredients that help you to take care of yourself and your health. This month it’s about boosting your immunity, which is why we’ve selected a pineapple recipe, a single serving of which contains 130% of your daily Vitamin C.

This week we encourage you to pick just one recipe from our blog and “fake it until you make it”, we promise your health will thank you!

Fish Tacos with Pineapple Slaw (serves 2)

40 – 50 minutes (not including marination time)

Immunity March: Fish Tacos with Pineapple Slaw

INGREDIENTS

  • 6 soft shell corn tacos

For the slaw

  • One handful thinly sliced red cabbage
  • One diced tomato
  • Pineapple from the Fruitful Day Box
  • One sliced red onion
  • Juice 1 lime
  • One handful chopped coriander
  • Salt & pepper

For the fish

  • Two fillets of white fish (sea bass, sea bream, tilapia)
  • 1 tsp chilli powder
  • 1 tsp cumin powder
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • 1 tsp onion powder
  • 1 tsp paprika
  • 3 tbsp lime juice
  • 3 tbsp olive oil

For the avocado pure 

  • One Avocado
  • Juice of 3 limes
  • 1 tsp cumin
  • Pinch of salt 

For the garnish

  • One thinly sliced radish
  • One handful coriander leaves
  • Sour cream

METHOD

Immunity March: Fish Tacos with Pineapple Slaw

For the slaw

  1. Combine thinly sliced cabbage, diced cucumber, lime juice, coriander, salt and pepper in a bowl.
  2. Grill pineapple and red onion on a griddle until scorched and softened. (Option to omit this step but it adds flavour and also makes the onion less strong).
  3. Once cooled, add pineapple and onion to the rest of the slaw mixture.

For the fish  

  1. Combine all spices, oil and lime juice and then rub over the fish fillets. Marinate for 30 – 60 minutes.
  2. Heat a pan on medium heat, add 1 tbsp ghee and cook the fish. It should take 3 – 5 minutes per side to be nicely browned.
  3. Remove from the pan and break into pieces for each taco.

For the avocado puree

  1. Blend avocado with lime juice, cumin and salt until smooth.

To assemble

  1. Layer the fish and slaw onto a taco shell.
  2. Garnish with the radish, coriander leaves and sour cream.
  3. Add avocado puree.

Immunity March: Gooseberry & Mango Crumble

We hope everyone is having a good week. It’s been hectic on our side as we have something special to announce this Thursday that we’ve been working hard on! When you’re busy running around, it’s often easy to forget to take care of yourself, but it’s so important to make sure you don’t get run down and sick. Eating the right foods can help you build up your IMMUNITY, which is our focus for the month of March.

Today’s recipe is a gooseberry and mango crumble, which we have selected this month because of the immunity boosting qualities of gooseberries. Gooseberries actually have more Vitamin C than lemons, which helps to boost your immunity and clear your skin. In addition, they are full of Vitamin A, which is known to improve eyesight and of course immunity too. They are also known for their anti-oxidant qualities, which are unique compared to other berries because of their yellow-orange color.

If you’ve never had a gooseberry and wondering what to expect, think about Sour Patch Kids, but the healthy version of course! We’re so excited about this recipe, we may bake one on Thursday to celebrate our announcement!

Gooseberry & Mango Crumble (makes one 25cm shallow crumble)  

30 – 40 minutes

INGREDIENTS

Immunity March: Gooseberry & Mango Crumble

 For the fruit mixture

  • 1 mango (approx. 560g) from the Fruitful Day Box
  • 100g gooseberries from the Fruitful Day Box
  • 20g coconut sugar
  • Juice 1 lime
  • 1 tsp cinnamon

 For the crumble  

  •  50g gluten free flour
  • 100g almond flour
  • 40g coconut flour
  • 80g roughly chopped almonds
  • 30g coconut sugar
  • 125g grass fed butter
  • 2 tsp cinnamon
  • 2tsp ginger powder
  • Pinch of salt

METHOD

Immunity March: Gooseberry & Mango Crumble

  1. Preheat oven to 160 degrees C.
  2. Cube the mango, cut the tops off the gooseberries and cut them in half.
  3. Place fruits in a bowl along with the coconut sugar, lime, salt and cinnamon. Mix well and then scoop into the baking dish.
  4. Bake the fruit mixture on it’s own for 10 minutes. This ensures a very caramelised flavour.
  5. While the fruit is baking, mix all flours together in a bowl along with the chopped almonds, coconut sugar, cinnamon, ginger and salt.
  6. Cube the butter and then rub it into the flour and spice mixture. The mixture should begin to be crumbly, however, you don’t want the crumbs to be too small as they will burn in the oven.
  7. Remove the fruit mixture from the oven and sprinkle the crumble mixture over it evenly.
  8. Return to the oven and bake for 10 – 12 minutes or until browned on top.
  9. Serve with yoghurt or cream.

Immunity March: Mint Cacao Bliss Balls

March is here and people are getting colds left, right, and center! For the body’s natural defenses to work smoothly and make sure you’re not next to get sick, your immune system has to be working properly. Choosing foods rich in the right vitamins and nutrients will help keep your immune system strong and you healthy!

Throughout the month of March we will feature easy to make recipes, which are aimed at boosting your IMMUNITY. As always, we’d love to hear from you about what types of recipes you’d like to see next!

Our first recipe of the month are mint cacao bliss balls! To understand why we would select a chocolate recipe as our first recipe, it is important to first understand the difference between cacao and cocoa. Although both start from the same place (the beans from the cacao tree’s seed pods), the process they undergo means they have very different benefits to offer. Cacao, which is very minimally processed at low temperatures, is full of nutrients like magnesium, iron, potassium, calcium, zinc, copper, and manganese. Some of the known health benefits are protecting your heart, lowering your insulin, as well as other antioxidant effects, which protect your cells from damage. Cocoa, on the other hand, is heated to much higher temperatures where sugars and other sweeteners are usually added. The heating process means that some of the more powerful antioxidant effects and health benefits are lost as compared to cacao*.

When you make your food from scratch, you can decide what ingredients you’re feeding your body! So while these mint cacao bliss balls might look like naughty treats, the ingredients have been very carefully selected to boost your immunity and fill you up with the good stuff. Wishing you all a very healthy, happy March!

Mint Cacao Bliss Balls (makes approx. 30 balls)
Immunity March: Mint Cacao Bliss Balls

30 – 45 minutes (including time to roll the balls)  

INGREDIENTS

  • 1 cup cashews from the Fruitful Day Box
  • ½ cup desiccated coconut
  • ½ cup cacao powder
  • pinch salt
  • drop of mint extract
  • 1 cup dates
  • 2 tbsp coconut oil
  • 2 tbsp peanut butter

METHOD

Immunity March: Mint Cacao Bliss Balls

  1. Roast cashews for 10 minutes on a baking tray at 180 degrees C for 10 minutes or until browned. (This step isn’t necessary, however, roasting the nuts does improve the flavour).
  2. Combine all dry ingredients; cashews, coconut, cacao powder and salt in a food processor and pulse until evenly chopped.
  3. Add wet ingredients; dates, coconut oil, peanut butter and mint extract and process until a dough forms.
  4. Remove from the food processor and roll into balls. Store in the fridge.

 

 

*Source: https://blog.paleohacks.com/cacao-vs-cocoa/

Energy February: Upside-Down Orange Cake

If you’ve been following our blog this month, you’ll know we’ve been focusing on foods that can help you boost your energy levels. Choosing your ingredients carefully is the difference between the right kind of sugar, carbohydrates, and fats, which boost your energy levels and the wrong kind, which will leave you feeling tired and hungry a short time later.

Our last recipe of the month is an upside-down orange cake. Many people love to eat cake mid morning or mid afternoon as an energy boost when they are hitting a low. However, traditional cake made with flour and sugar is high glycemic which means it will spike your blood sugar levels quickly and sharply, however, make you feel tired and hungry later in the day. This cake made with almond flour and maple, is much lower on the glycemic index and will be sure to satisfy your sweet tooth without playing havoc with your blood sugar levels and appetite. 

If you’ve received blood oranges in your box this week, we recommend swapping out the oranges for blood oranges in the recipe for a stunning finish!

Upside-down Orange Cake (one 20cm cake)

INGREDEINTS

  • 3 tbsp coconut sugar
  • 3 tbsp grass fed butter 
  • 1/3 cup (65g) ghee/butter
  • 1 ¾ cups (175g) almond flour
  • ¼ cup (30g) arrowroot flour or any gluten free flour blend
  • ¼ tsp salt
  • 3 eggs
  • ½ cup (120ml) maple syrup/honey
  • 2 tsp vanilla powder/extract
  • 1 tsp lemon juice
  • ½ tsp baking soda
  • 2 Oranges from the fruitful day box

METHOD

Upside-down Orange Cake (one 20cm cake)

  1. Preheat oven to 165 degrees C. Grease or line a cake tin and set aside.
  2. Zest the oranges and then slice into 1cm slices. Cut the peel off each slice leaving a slither of the pith to hold the orange together.
  3. Heat the coconut sugar and butter in a pan on low heat until the sugar is melted. Pour this mixture into the bottom of the prepared cake tin and spread evenly.
  4. Arrange the orange slices over the butter and sugar mixture.
  5. In one bowl mix the almond flour, arrowroot, salt and baking soda.
  6. Separate the egg whites from the yolks and in another bowl mix the yolks, maple syrup, melted ghee, vanilla, lemon juice and orange zest.
  7. Beat the egg whites with a hand mixer or kitchen aid until they form soft peaks.
  8. Mix the egg yolk mixture into the flour mixture and then fold in the egg whites.
  9. Pour this cake mixture over the oranges in the cake tin.
  10. Bake for 30 – 40 minutes or until a skewer inserted comes out clean. Check the cake after 8 – 10 minutes and cover if it has began to brown. As soon as you see browning you need to cover for the remainder of the cooking time.