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Party Cocktails – Perfect for Xmas

Before I start, I’ll just say I did not receive any reward for posting this. When it’s coming up to Christmas time, lots of us often look for inspiration and something different from the regular Martini, Manhattan, Mojito or many more of the oldies.

I’d received a press release from Aloha 65, and learned that it was created by a British barman, at his Florida beach bar, and created to lure in surfers looking to wind down after riding the waves. It started off as homemade gifts, but became a crowd pleaser, a unique sundowner to put a smile on the faces of tired paddleboarders. Some quick facts below and a couple of recipes shared by Aloha 65.

Vegan Friendly

What’s in it?

Beautifully and naturally crafted, Aloha 65 is vegan and made only from fresh ingredients and has no added colourants. It’s an all-natural, 27% ABV spirit drink made from just six botanicals including pineapple, ginger, and a kick of scotch bonnet chilli.    Aloha 65’s ‘Sun on a Beach’ hot sauce is made from the same ingredients (minus the alcohol, of course), and their spicy pineapple ‘detonators’ use just two of Spirit of Aloha 65’s main ingredients, pineapple and chilli, and well… boom!

The Alohan spirit

‘Aloha’ isn’t just a friendly greeting, it’s a way of life.  It puts a smile on your face.  Alohans, as we like to call them, live each moment to the full and always bring their A-Game, but with respect for others and their environment.  Aloha 65 is a proud supporter of Ocean Generation.

Recipes

Aloha 65 Holiday Cocktail

Aloha 65
Originally sent to me as a Halloween Cocktail, the styling and imagery just bring Christmas to my mind, so I'm sharing it as a Christmas Recipe.
Course Beverage
Servings 1 Person

Ingredients
  

  • 50 ml Aloha 65
  • Tomato Juice
  • Half Lemon (Juice Only)
  • Worcestershire Sauce
  • Aloha Hot Sauce
  • Stick Celery
  • 1 Pinch Celery Salt
  • 1 Pinch Black Pepper
  • Ice
  • Lemon and Celery to Garnish

Instructions
 

  • Fill a glass with ice.
  • Add Aloha 65.
  • Add Lemon Juice and a few dashes of Worcestershire sauce.
  • Top up with tomato juice.
  • Stir using a celery stick.
  • Season with celery, salt, pepper and a dash or Aloha Hot Sauce

Festive Punch (Serves 10)

Aloha 65
Liven up any party this festive season with this unusual punch.
Course Beverage
Servings 10 people

Ingredients
  

  • 500 ml Aloha 65
  • 500 ml Brandy
  • 1.5 litres Apple Juice
  • 100 ml Orange Juice
  • 2-3 Cinnamon Sticks
  • 1 Apple (Sliced)
  • 1 Orange (Sliced)

Instructions
 

  • Fill a jug with ice.
  • Combine the Aloha and brandy with the apple juice in the jug.
  • Add cinnamon sticks and a slice of apple and orange.

Available to buy at aloha65.com and on Amazon

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Nutribullet Recipe: Raw Cacao, Strawberry, Blueberry & Fig Recipe

Cacao Berry Blast

I’ve always wanted to get some blueberries into me, but I have never been able to stomach the taste.  To me, they taste like plastic.

They’re low in fat, but have plenty fibre, to help stop us being hungry all morning.  This is a great morning recipe for me.  It also helps with consuming natural vitamin C, which I’m not that great at doing.  I like oranges, but due to the carb count and high sugar, as a diabetic, I tend to shy away from them a lot.  Berries are my friends, so I really wanted to add blueberries to my diet somehow.  Diabetics need to watch their eyes, and given that Vitamin C is said to help prevent glaucoma, it’s not one that I want to do without on a regular basis.

The raw cacao in this, for me, was an acquired taste.  Don’t get me wrong, I love milk chocolate, but adding chocolate powder to fruit was a new experience for me.  I was on my fourth or fifth smoothie before I managed to get a taste for this.  I wouldn’t put it in every smoothie, but the mood enhancing properties certainly draw me to it.

Cacao Berry Blast Smoothie, Raw Cacao, Strawberry, Blueberry & Fig Recipe

Lesley Smith
Prep Time 2 minutes
Cook Time 2 minutes
Total Time 4 minutes
Course Smoothie
Cuisine Smoothie
Servings 1
Calories 201 kcal

Ingredients
  

  • 100 g Strawberries
  • 100 g Blueberries
  • 10 g Raw Cacao Powder
  • 1 Fig
  • 200 ml Unsweetened Almond Milk

Instructions
 

  • Toss all the ingredients into your blender or Nutribullet. It uses a 24oz container with my machine.

  • Blend until smooth.

  • Enjoy. If you leave this standing, it may become very thick and require eating with a spoon. It is, however, very tasty.

 

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Nutribullet Recipe: Carrot and Blackberry Smoothie

Nutribullet Blackberry and Carrot 8002

Wickedly sumptuous, I added a little xylitol to combat the bitter taste of the blackberries we picked from the plot.  I did wonder if the carrots were over the top, but they mixed well.

Nutribullet Recipe: Carrot and Blackberry Smoothie

Lesley Smith
Prep Time 1 minute
Cook Time 2 minutes
Total Time 3 minutes
Course Smoothie
Cuisine Nutribullet
Servings 1

Ingredients
  

  • 100 g Blackberries
  • 50 g Shredded Carrot
  • 50 g Strawberries tops still on
  • 1 Teaspoon Xylitol or sweetener
  • 400 ml Unsweetened Almond Milk - I think you know by now this is my favourite smoothie milk.

Instructions
 

  • Pop the ingredients into the cup.

  • Add the milk and blast for a minute, let the machine rest for a minute, then blast again for another minute.

  • Serve and enjoy.

 

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How to make unsweetened pecan milk.

Ok, I have to admit being a little ott about unsweetened almond milk.  I seem to use it for almost everything that needs milk, including smoothies, soups and much more.  The fact that it’s so low-calorie is what does it for me, but I wanted to try making some nut milks, to see how they do.

I’ve made soy milk in the past, and after finding almond milk, I’ve given up eating soy in any form at all.  I tend to make my smoothies with frozen fruit and veg, so mine are more like slushie consistency, but more creamy with milk.

Pecan Milk

I had a box of pecan nuts which needed eating, so I thought that would be as good a place to start as any.

I also didn’t have the patience to soak the nuts overnight on my first attempt, so I just went on whizzing mine up, although if you have a low watt blender, overnight soaking would be a better idea, as the nuts will leave far more gruel when it’s strained.  Milk from soaked pecans is definitely creamier.

I’ve taken an average of 1 litre of water to add to 2% pecan nut concentrate, as that’s what my favourite brand seems to say.

For this, I’m assuming 1ml = approx 1g, and 100g of my pecan halves being roughly 720 calories per 100g. That means, to keep the calorie content low, I need to use no more than 13 calories per 100g, which means I only have 130 calories to work with for a whole litre.

With 130 calories divided by 7.2 calories per gram, that leaves me with 18g of pecans that I can add to each litre of water.  That really does not sound like much, and I had little hope of the water turning white at first, but it does happen rather quickly.

Recipe: How to make unsweetened pecan milk.

Lesley Smith
Prep Time 2 minutes
Cook Time 2 minutes
Total Time 4 minutes
Servings 500 ml

Ingredients
  

  • 9 g Pecan Nuts
  • 500 ml Water
  • 2 Teaspoons Xylitol or substitute other sweetener

Instructions
 

  • Soak the pecans overnight if you can, then discard the soaking water for a smoother milk. If you're in a hurry, just add the pecans and water to your blender (I use Nutribullet). I blend for one minute, then rest for a minute, then blend for another minute again.

  • Strain the milk through a muslin square or similar, to remove the very fine grains. You don't have to do this, but I prefer the smoother texture.

  • Chill and enjoy. This doesn't keep for too long, so use it within a day or two.

  • If you like your milk thicker, just add more pecans at the next try. I wanted to keep mine low in the calorie department, but most people seem to make one third pecans to two thirds water.

 

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Nutribullet / Blender Recipe: Mango, Blueberry, Strawberry and Pecan Half Smoothie

 

Mango 4 Smoothie

The mangos make this a lovely and sweet recipe.  It’s more than enough to fill me up for breakfast and often just as a snack if I’m peckish late in the evening.  This is one of my all time favourites.

Carbs in the mangos are high, but for this recipe, I forgive them, considering they taste amazing and it’s carbs from fruit and not from processed food.

Miss out the nuts to drop the calorie count enormously, but this is a great meal replacement for me.

Nutribullet/Blender Recipe: Mango, Blueberry, Strawberry and Pecan Half Smoothie

Lesley Smith
Prep Time 2 minutes
Cook Time 1 minute
Total Time 3 minutes
Course Smoothie
Cuisine Drinks
Servings 1 -2
Calories 253 kcal

Ingredients
  

  • 100 g Fresh or Frozen Mango Peeled and Chopped.
  • 100 g Strawberries Peeled and Chopped.
  • 12 g Blueberries
  • 25 g Pecan Halves
  • 350 ml Unsweetened Almond Milk although you could substitute other milks.

Instructions
 

  • Pop the berries, and the rest of the fruit into the Nutribullet cup.

  • Add the milk and blast for a minute, let the machine rest for a minute, then blast again for another minute.

  • Serve and enjoy.

 

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Nutribullet Recipe: Frozen Summer Berries Smoothie

I absolutely love this smoothie.  It’s simple, there’s always some frozen berries in the freezer and it’s simply a case of zapping them in the machine whenever I want a good nutritious breakfast, or even just a snack.

Nutribullet Recipe: Frozen Summer Berries Smoothie

Lesley Smith
4 from 1 vote
Prep Time 1 minute
Cook Time 2 minutes
Total Time 3 minutes
Course Smoothie
Cuisine Smoothie
Servings 1

Ingredients
  

  • 150 g Frozen Berries.
  • For this version my berries were raspberries, blackberries, blackcurrants and redcurrants.
  • 450 ml Unsweetened Almond Milk although you could substitute other milks.

Instructions
 

  • Pop the berries, still frozen into the Nutribullet cup.

  • Add the milk and blast for a minute, let the machine rest for a minute, then blast again for another minute.

  • Serve and enjoy.

 

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Nutribullet Recipe: Basic Strawberry and Raspberry Smoothie

Strawberry and Raspberry Smoothie

Nutribullet Recipe: Basic Strawberry and Raspberry Smoothie

Lesley Smith
Prep Time 1 minute
Cook Time 1 minute
Total Time 2 minutes
Course Nutribullet Recipe
Servings 1 -2

Ingredients
  

  • 100 g Strawberries
  • 100 g Raspberries
  • Ice Up to Maximum Mark
  • Top Up With Water
  • Optional - Add Sweetener

Instructions
 

  • Take the green off the strawberry and pop all the ingredients into the nutribullet or high speed blender.

  • Whizz until ingredients are smooth.

  • Enjoy.

 

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Custard Apple and Dragon Fruit Milkshake Recipe

I’d not tried custard apples before and thought it would be interesting to make something with them.  I was a little unprepared for how it actually needed to be prepared, but the taste was very custard/banana cross like.    Custard Apples need to sit until they become soft to the touch.  In most other fruit, the same effect would have me reaching to throw the fruit in the bin.   Don’t put them in the fridge as they don’t do well if they are too chilled.

The fruit seems squidgy and slimy as you remove the seeds and does look rather unappetising like that.  Don’t worry though, as putting it into milkshake makes for a perfect consistency.

Custard Apple

Dragon Fruit is one of my favourite fruits, so it was an easy choice to try adding that to a new shake style drink.

Dragon Fruit 2

Out of 5 of us, only littlest was not keen, so it was a success.  Littlest was put off by the seeds from the dragon fruit, though I suspect the milkshake would have been slightly more tart without it.  Some children might prefer a little syrup added to the milkshake to make it sweeter, but for us, it was fine simply with fruit and milk blended.

Custard Apple and Dragon Fruit Shake

Lesley S Smith
Prep Time 10 minutes
Total Time 10 minutes
Course Beverage
Servings 6

Ingredients
  

  • 4 Custard Apples
  • 2 Dragon Fruit
  • 3/4 Litre Cold Milk

Instructions
 

  • Peel and take out the seeds of the custard apples.
  • Peel and chop the dragon fruit.
  • Put the fruit into a blender with enough milk to make up to approximately 1.20 - 1.50 litres in your blender and blend until smooth.
  • Keep your milkshake in the fridge. We prefer to put ours in the freezer for half an hour before we drink it as the kids prefer the slightly thicker consistency.

 

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Mango, Orange, Pineapple, Apple & Passion Fruit Smoothie

So refreshing and even tempts my little one to drink some goodness in a glass.  He likes it to come out a bit like how Costco smoothies do, and I think McDonalds do a fruit smoothie with mango and one with strawberry and banana that seems to be getting more popular with kids nowadays.

Mango, Orange & Pineable Smoothie 4

Orange, Mango, Pineapple and Passion Fruit Smootie

Lesley Smith
Prep Time 5 minutes
Total Time 5 minutes
Course Smoothies
Servings 4

Ingredients
  

  • 3 Oranges
  • 2 Mango
  • 4 Passion Fruits
  • 500 g Pineapple
  • 500 g Crushed ice

Instructions
 

  • Peel and chop the fruit roughy.
  • Put all the fruit and crushed ice into a blender until smooth.
  • Add some ice into a glass and pour the smootie on top to keep it extra cold.

 

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Fair Trade Banana Milkshake Recipe with added Marshmallow, Maltesers and Strawberries

Littlest came home with the instructions to make a fair trade recipe and have it typed up, cooked at home and to take a photograph to school of them making the said item.  Needless to say I had one night warning, so it was off to the local Co-op to see what they had in stock.

In the end, it boiled down to chocolate, coffee or bananas, so we skipped the coffee and went for strawberries, bananas and maltesers.

Fair Trade Banana Milkshake

Lesley Smith
Prep Time 15 minutes
Total Time 15 minutes
Course Appetizer, Shake, Smoothie
Servings 6 - 8

Ingredients
  

  • 4 Bananas Fair Trade
  • 25 g Brown Sugar Fair Trade
  • Maltesers Fair Trade
  • Milk To make up to 1.5 Litres in Blender
  • Mini Marshmallows
  • 500 g Strawberries

Instructions
 

  • Get all your ingredients together and get a knife and chopping board ready.
  • Peel and chop up your bananas.
  • Add the bananas to the blender and then top up with milk until it reaches the 1.5 litre mark.
  • Crumble in the sugar.
  • Blend for 3 minutes using a hand blender or a machine.
  • Pour into glasses and add in a couple of maltesers and the marshmallows on top.
  • Wash the strawberries and cut in the centre at the bottom to let them hang over the end of the glass to decorate.

 

 

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Fresh Limeade Recipe

Crisp and refreshing.

Fresh Limeade Recipe

Lesley S Smith
Prep Time 2 minutes
Cook Time 3 minutes
Total Time 5 minutes
Course Beverage
Servings 4

Ingredients
  

  • 2.5 Fresh Limes Quartered
  • 0.5 Fresh Lime Slicing
  • 1 l Water
  • 250 ml Crushed Ice
  • 250 g Sugar or equivalent sweetner (I used Stevia alternative sweetner)

Instructions
 

  • Wash the skin of the limes for the lime juice. We're adding everything to the blender, so don't worry about peeling. Cut the limes into quarters and take out any seeds.
  • Put the limes, water and crushed ice into the blender. Blend for at least a couple of minutes. Taste the liquid and if it's too tart for you, add in sugar or sweetener to taste - up to 250g of sugar and equivalents of sweeteners.
  • Strain the lime juice mix to get a lovely coloured lime juice.
  • Optionally, use a soda charger, or a sodastream to give your lime juice a little fizz and turn it into limeade.

 

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Strawberry, Peach & Pear Smoothie

We can  make this all fresh, or all tinned, or a mixture of both.  The boys wanted some fruity smoothie and I didn’t have enough of any one thing to made a dedicated smoothie, so we experimented with the left over strawberries that we had, and a tub of peaches and pears in juice from the cupboard.

Smoothies are really easy peasy and gets some fruit into our bodies.

Ingredients

  • Just under half the blender of crushed ice.
  • Strawberries – I used a 400g tub
  • Tub or tins of peaches and pears – 400g, including the juice.
Method
  1. Add all ingredients to blender.
  2. Stir to mix ice and fruit
  3. Switch on blender and let run for a few minutes.  Stir a little if the ice stops crunching up.
  4. Serve immediately.