Author: Mum Scottish

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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.

Lesley Smith

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

Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 2 minutes
Cook Time 2 minutes
Total Time 4 minutes
Servings: 1
Course: Smoothie
Cuisine: Smoothie
Calories: 201
Ingredients Method

Ingredients
  

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

Method
 

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

  2. Blend until smooth.

  3. 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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Giveaway & Von Shef Digital Slow Cooker Review. Ends 16th Dec 15

Slow Cooker Von Shef 2
Image Courtesy of Von Shef

We received the Von Shef Digital Slow Cooker for review from Domu, the lifestyle brand of Designer Habitat.  My old 6.5 Litre slow cooker needed replacing, so the arrival of a new one was very welcome indeed.  There’s also the chance to win one for yourself further down the post.

I’ve written about Domu before, when I tried their Von Shef Frozen Dessert Maker.  Domu aim to provide great gadgets at lower prices than their competitors.

Digital Slow Cooker Review

The digital slow cooker was voted one of their Top Five Slow Cookers by Great British Food Magazine in September, and with the ability to use a timer on cooking, my absolute love of slow cookers has reached a whole new level of practical.

I’ve always wished I could switch my slow cooker off after a few hours simmering, so that I didn’t need to worry about overcooking anything, especially if I was in a hurry, and only had time to use the high cooking setting for a few hours.  As much as I like to time coming home for meals from slow cooking, I always worry about spoiled food if I’m late back and the slow cooker is still bubbling away on high.

This was very easy to operate.  Switch on and off with the button on the right, choose high, low or keep warm from the one on the right and use the scroll buttons to increase or decrease cooking time.

  • The huge 6.5 Litre capacity, can cater for up to 15-20 average servings, although in my family, we tend to fill it half to three quarters full.  With potatoes added as a complete meal in a pot, we’ve had 10 people eat from ours.  On a typical day, we have six people to feed, and just over half full does it for us as a meal, with a little leftover for hungry boys to eat later in the evening as a snack.
  • The lid is strong and made of toughened glass.
  • Although I haven’t used this feature yet, when cooking is finished, the timer should enter a keep warm mode until the machine is switched off.
  • Both the dish and lid are suitable for washing in the dishwasher.

Slow Cooker Steak 2Domu – New Slow Cooking Recipe Hub

As part of the Domu challenge, I developed a Cumin and Coriander Steak Casserole for their new Slow Cooker Recipe Hub.   If you want to see my recipe on there, you can find it here.

The recipes on the new hub, include ones for chicken, beef, the paleo diet, with curry, fish and vegetarian options.

There’s even a section for baked goodies.

The Bourbon Peach Galette seems like a good one to try, although I can’t quite figure out how it would fit in a slow cooker.

For that reason alone, I suspect I’ll have a try over the Xmas season.

The Giveaway

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The Rules

– Open to UK Mainland Entrants only.

– 1 Winner will receive 1 Digital Slow Cooker from Von Shef. There is no cash alternative.

– The prize will be sent direct from Von Shef.

– The Scottish Mum Blog is not responsible for your prize and cannot be held liable in any way for non delivery or non receipt at your end.

– Winners will be notified by DM on Twitter, or e-mail. If the giveaway is not claimed within 14 days, a new winner may be drawn.

– The winners will be chosen by Rafflecopter random generator.

– Scottish Mum Blog and Von Shef, reserve the right to amend, add or withdraw this giveaway at any time.

– Each entry method entitles you to one entry into the draw.

– The giveaway is not associated with any social media channels.

– The winner decision by Scottish Mum Blog is final.

– Closes 16th December 2015 at midnight.

 

Thank you to the Von Shef team at Domu.

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Have you heard of a cord blood bank? Should you donate blood?

I suppose you can say I was on alert after seeing BBC Doctors, where a nurse pretended to have placenta in a bag for cooking, when it was in fact chicken liver for pate.

It was only a couple of days later when I saw the headline…that simply said something like “Why do we use cord banking?’

It had me beat.  At first, I imagined some form of rope, or fibre, or perhaps even some airy, arty, cloyingly sweet name for something as simple as a blood sample from the doctor (what can I say).  I even wondered if it was something to do with some kind of blood for a speciality dish.  We Scots are used to black pudding which is made from ox blood, so although I don’t eat it, my interest was piqued.

Initially, it was a bit of a let down to find out that it’s simply storing blood from the placenta of a new born baby, within one minute of the baby being born, otherwise the blood congeals and is no good for future use.

Then I read further and discovered a whole new world of donation, that helps save lives, and I’d never heard of it.

Donations and Storage

The NHS has a cord blood storage bank.  Yes it does, strangely enough.   You can even register to donate on their website.  It seems a fairly simple thing to do.

Private v Private Storage of Cord Blood

Private

Knowing that there is a difference between public and private storage is very important.  The NHS blood bank is public, and operates in a different way.

In the private banks, donors store the cord blood of their babies, in the hope, that if someone in their family ever becomes sick with a disease that involves stem cells, and is treatable, there’s already a store of blood that can be used, and more importantly, one that is a match.

As with any private service, fees are usually charged yearly for storage after the original bank deposit.  The cord blood banking cost can run into thousands, so it’s not something to be taken lightly

Public

Our good old NHS Cord Blood Bank, collects from public hospitals and is free.  I can’t figure out just how many hospitals can use this service, but for those who are interested in donating, it would be worth calling their hotline to find out.

With a public donation, like any other blood donation, it’s given for the greater good of our fellow mankind.   The blood can be used for anyone who is a match for that tissue type and is not stored just for use by the donating family.   Although the donation is stored for ever more, if it has been given to someone else, then it turns out the child whose blood was donated needs it for themselves, there is no guarantee that it might still be available.  There would, however, still be the possibility for a further match in the public bank.

What Can Cord Blood Be Used For?

As well as cancer of the blood, it can be useful in cases of bone marrow problems, blood disorders, such as sickle cell anaemia, or where an immune system is not doing it’s job, or where waste products in the body are not properly being broken down.

Do We Really Need To Bank Cord Blood?

The possibility of our children needing a stem cell infusion of blood might be rare, but are people actually going for this, given that it is written about as painless and easy to do at the point of birth?

I didn’t give birth to my boys, and I’d no idea this whole thing even existed, but I suspect that if it was available when I was giving birth, I’d be sorely tempted, just for the possible benefit to some child somewhere that might actually need some cord blood in the future.

It’s not something that is ever going to be a consideration for me, but I thought it was worth sharing on my blog, as if even one person donates cord blood as a result of me raising a little awareness, some child somewhere might survive a miserable health condition in the future.

Find out more from the NHS Cord Blood Bank.

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Cheesy Meatball Muffins Recipe

This was much more successful than I ever could have imagined as far as the kids were concerned.  All you need is some mince and cheese, then pop them in the oven for a luxurious treat.  If you add in some more veg, I suspect these might be a good way to hide some nutritious veg if kids are happy meatball eaters.

This is very much suitable as a leftovers dish too.  Mushing up whatever you have would go well with this type of thing.  Just make sure it is thoroughly cooked before serving.

Meatball Muffins Sliced

Lesley Smith

Cheesy Meatball Muffins

Print Recipe
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Servings: 12
Course: Main
Cuisine: British
Ingredients Method

Ingredients
  

  • 500 g Mince
  • 100 g Onions Finely Chopped
  • Grated Cheese - Use whatever you have. I had about 300g Mozarella in the fridge so just divided it between the 12 muffin slots I had in my trays.

Method
 

  1. I used some cake release spray to line my muffin trays, but I suspect I didn't need to do that at all. Set your oven to around 160-180 Degrees, depending on which type of oven you have.

  2. Simply put some mince on the bottom of each muffin well, and then pop in the cheese, and cover up with another layer of mince, pressing down slightly.

  3. Bake in the oven until thoroughly cooked. Approximately around 20 minutes, but you all know your own ovens. I covered mine up with a layer of tin foil to prevent the tops from burning.

Meatball Muffins

 

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What to get the men in your life for Christmas…..

In collaboration with M and M Direct.

This is one of the most challenging things I face on a yearly basis.

I don’t know my own dad very well at all, and despite having to help him cope with his dementia, I still haven’t got to know him well.  On top of that, my own brother is one of those people who isn’t either vain, nor greedy, and even my husband doesn’t believe in the cheer of Christmas presents, so finding something that’s both suitable and functional, always ends up being difficult to do.

Here are some ideas for suitable presents to give the dad  / brother / husband / son in your life this year.

Personalised Items

We can personalise almost anything nowadays, and with a little time, there’s plenty opportunity to get something nicely done, and that includes chocolate.

cropped-Chocolat-Chocolat-Bars-2.jpg

For the man child portion of our family, I tend to go for new footie training boots, and sometimes get their initials embroidered on the side.  It costs £10 more, but the kids feel special.

For my husband, he might appreciate a bottle of personalised whisky, or crystal glass to drink it from.  He might also like golf tees, a new wallet, or an engraved pen.

Think of what the mean in your life do.  A friend of ours is cheese mad, and always has a selection of smelly cheese and crackers out when friends visit.   I just know that he’d appreciate a good quality cheeseboard with his name on it.

Practical Gifts

I’m not talking about a screwdriver set, nor a new tub of paint for the hall that needs decorating.  I mean something they’ll appreciate and is also something needed for the season.  Quilted Primaloft Insulated Jacket

A lovely padded jacket always seems a good idea at this time of year.

This gorgeous Timberland Mens Quilted Primaloft Insulated Jacket seems a good buy to me.  It’s been reduced to £54.99, which I think is a good price, and good quality jackets are pretty much a necessity up here in Aberdeen.  In winter it gets pretty chilly…..

men's timberland bootsOn the same practical lines, sensible boots are a good idea too, especially if you know the brand and sizes that fit.

How about some lovely Men’s Timberland Boots for cold and miserable weather.

I know these Cupsole Chukka Boots would go down a treat with my boys.

Novelty Gifts

If the men in your life are the type who have everything they need anyway, the temptation to buy socks, boxers, or cheap aftershave is very high indeed.  It’s easy to walk around the supermarket and throwing a couple of cheap toiletry sets into the trolley.

My husband has received some horrors of gifts, that sometimes get paraded our for a laugh, which is exactly what the giver intended to do.  One year, he even found himself with a roll up magnetic dart board and a Henry desktop vacuum.

There’s always room for a small gift that gives a giggle.

Handmade Goodies

We are quite a handmade type of family.  I make my own candles, and we often make jewellery items for other people to enjoy.

I used to give candles away as presents, but these days, for men, home made gifts are more likely to be some resin enamel cufflinks that I put into a nice box, or some melt and pour soap that I put into a lovely bag and wrap it up with colourful ribbons.

Pendants 2

 

 

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Review: Edge of Belgravia Black Diamond Knife Block and Precision Chef Knife Series

Edge of Belgravia 5

Being offered great knives is one of the many lovely things about writing a blog that also has so much food on it.  The new Black Diamond shaped knife block I received, was created by London designer, Christian Bird.  It’s a very modern and swish addition to any kitchen, and it just happens to be black, which is colour of my lovely worktop.

Edge of Belgravia 1

The Black Diamond Knife Block is pretty futuristic and quite quirky.  I think I love it just for that alone.

It’s designed to be easy to use, and the slots are big enough to take almost any set of knives that I own.  As long as knives are up to 4mm thick, they will fit.

I can see me putting this to good use as a hold all, since it holds up to 11 knives, and my current one only holds 5.  Knives are easy to pull out and glide into their slots.

I was also lucky enough to receive the Precision Chef Knife Series, which consists of:

  • Bread Knife 6″
  • Deba 5″, inspired by traditional Japanese “Deba”.  Perfect for salmon, tuna, sushi and even fruit and veg.
  • Chef’s 6″, my favourite.  A knife for all reasons is what I’d call it.  Very very sharp, and cuts incredibly cleanly.
  • Paring 4″, perfect precision cutting as my new paring knife.  I love it.

I have to say, that when I first saw the size of the paring knife, I felt a pang of disappointment, but it soon changed when I actually began to use it.

My own paring knife is years old and has seen better days.  It’s also a much much smaller blade, and I now know, that my old one is completely blunt in comparison to the sheer sharp edges of these knives.  Made of stainless steel, they have a non-stick coating, which is a revelation for me.  I’ve never actually had knives like these before.

The design of the knives is also unusual, and is bold, with easy grip and large enough handles for me to feel comfortable that they won’t slip.    The handle design even won a piece of the D&AD product design award, in competition with the Apple iPad2.

Edge of Belgravia Purple Cabbage
Image Courtesy of Edge of Belgravia

Knife Safety

Always be aware that with knives, we all have a duty of care, especially towards our children in busy kitchens.  These are excellent knives, but keep them well away from inquisitive fingers.   Other warnings are:

  • Keep them away from heat.
  • Use only for preparing food.  (not for opening parcels)

Edge of Belgravia 6

Care of These Knives

  • Always wash and dry after use.
  • Sharpen knives regularly to retain the crisp and clean sharp blade slicing.

Thanks to Edge of Belgravia for sending the knife block and knife set to review.

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Review: BISSELL POWERGLIDE CORDLESS VACUUM CLEANER

I have a live giveaway running for one of these Bissell Powerglide Cordless Vacuum Cleaners.  It ends on the 30th November 2015, so get your skates on if you want to enter.

Bissell Vacuum

It’s a new vacuum for Bissell, and they’re really excited by the new launch.  Bissell sent me one to review and it’s been put to the test on my floors regularly.  We badly needed a new one, as for the last wee while, we’ve been sharing my mother’s one, as I’d never got round to actually finding one for us.

The cordless ability is what drew me to this, and why I agreed to carry it and also run a giveaway.

Here’s what I think of it.

Putting It Together

The man was home, so he put it together, but if he hadn’t been, I’d have had no problem getting this ready for use.  Compared to some other vacuums I’ve slotted together, the assembly was relatively simply.  It literally was just slot the handle into the extension piece, then slot it into the base unit.   After that, just pop the hose into the connector and click it into place.

Bissell Powerglide 2

Attaching the lift off portion to the base is quick and easy.  The battery is even easier.  It’s just a slot into place until it clicks.  It does need a firm push, but feels sturdy and secure.

ChargingBissell Powerglide Battery

The battery comes out of the vacuum for charging, and slots into it’s own charger, which can take up to 2 hours for a full charge.  The run time is 45 minutes per change, which seems to last us a fair time.

Vacuuming Floors

On the left side, the on and off button is on it’s own.  On the other side, the brush bar has its own button, which is on and off.  In front of the brush bar button, there’s another, which determines the power used, ie high  or low.

For hard floors, it’s recommended to turn off the brush bar.  I mostly used my vacuum on the high power setting at all times, which worked out great for us, but on our laminate floors, I only needed the low power for it to work perfectly well.

Bissell Powerglide Battery Compartment and Brushes

On our carpets, it did the job I needed it to do.  The swivel head means that it’s easy to move around furniture and get under the radiators without having an aching hand by trying to manoeuvre it.  I did find the suction quite powerful on carpets, which was a surprise for a cordless vacuum.

Stairs/ Lift Off

The lift off is easy to do.  Press the bottom half of the release button at the back and the top portion separates from the brush bar.  Flick the dial at the side from vacuum to lift off and pull the hose from the top, then just vacuum away.  On wooden stairs, it’s perfect.  I’d have liked a bit more oompf when using the lift off for carpeted stairs, but it did the job with a little extra time.  I’m not complaining. Bissell Powerglide Lift Off

Where it did a grand job was overhead cleaning.  The carry piece is light enough for me to lift the wand high enough to zap cobwebs from the ceiling in our garage.  There isn’t a close enough socket for regular cleaners, and that has a tendency to get overlooked.

Emptying

It’s a one button release from the vacuum, then, although it isn’t totally handsfree, it’s close enough.  A little catch releases the dirt container lid, and the dirt falls into a bin below.   I did open the top to see how easy it would be to clean, and it scored plenty of points with me here.  The filter is wash and re-useable but since our machine is new, I’ve not tried this to see how long it takes to dry.

Best Feature

It’s a bit of a no brainer isn’t it?  Being cordless, there is no tangling, no picking up and moving of cords wrapped round fingers, or behind a shoulder, or unplugging and replugging to do another room.  The carpet in our extension is getting done more often because it’s simply walk through with the vacuum and get it done.

Likewise with the stairs.  I really dislike juggling cords and having to change plugs several times, and it doesn’t help that the socket at the top of our stairs no longer works, so I have to use an extension lead from a bedroom.

I’ve used the vacuum for a few days now, and I’ve found it much more helpful than I ever imagined. Instead of always bending down with a brush and shovel, it’s simply a case of grabbing the Bissell and clearing crumbs and mess from the floors, especially the kitchen, where breadcrumbs seem to find their way into everything.

Ou cordless vacuum cleaner has already had lots of use, and I can’t see that changing any time soon.

Bissell Powerglide 2

Bissell provided the Powerglide Cordless Vacuum Cleaner for review. Opinions are my own.

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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.

Lesley Smith

Nutribullet Recipe: Carrot and Blackberry Smoothie

Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 1 minute
Cook Time 2 minutes
Total Time 3 minutes
Servings: 1
Course: Smoothie
Cuisine: Nutribullet
Ingredients Method

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.

Method
 

  1. Pop the ingredients into the cup.

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

  3. Serve and enjoy.

 

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Halloween Is Coming

This often fills my heart with dread.  Standing out in the freezing cold for ages, while little cherubs run amok through the streets, knocking on doors and telling jokes to get sweeties.

My middle boy is now a teen.  He’s the same height as me, and takes a size 8 shoe already.  He STILL wants to go door to door, asking why the chicken crossed the road, and the house owners look at him with staring eyes, as the answer is always ‘to eat his supper.’

Our kids call it Trick or Treating nowadays.  Americanism has taken over, in more than just Halloween, but the kids love dressing up, so who am I to spoil their fun.

Halloween

This year, his disability is embarrassing him, and to be honest, at times, the rest of the family too.  Our embarrassment is for him, as we’re used to his antics and inappropriate comments and funny hand actions, and sometimes, just sometimes, the unbelieving looks from strangers get through, and he understands he’s made a big faux pas.

We try to head it off by only visiting houses where people know him, but with the pumpkin outside the house rule, he can take off to join the tots at the home of someone I don’t know.  All I can do is raise my eyebrows and try to send a telepathic signal to the disbelieving recipient of the chicken dinner joke, that makes them laugh, despite knowing it’s not even a joke, let alone a funny one.

Half a decade of trying to get him to change his joke has come to nothing.  This year, I’m not even going to try.

The best bit about Halloween, is when it’s over….  We can retreat back inside our front door, while he dumps his bag of sweets on the lounge floor and tries to count them out.

Recapping some of the Halloween, here’s Devils Food Cake Recipe from a couple of years ago too.

Enjoy your spooky evening.

Happy Halloween

Devils Food Cake Halloween Nigella 570
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Imperfect, but tasty and quick scones.

I’ve never been one for great and fancy dishes, unless there’s a good reason, so most of what I make, is quickly thrown together, and my scones are no different.

My mother has taken a liking to scones this week, and she fancied one today.  The local cafe was shut, so it was out with the KMix and on with the flour and butter.  These literally take five minutes or so, to get from the ingredients to the baking stage, so they’re also perfect for if you get visitors, and you’re caught on the hop.

I get nine imperfect but tasty scones from this mix.  How many can you get?  I think I’ll be making this recipe more and more as time goes on.  It’s actually much tastier than bread and can be used instead of bread, almost everywhere.

DSC_0658

I do sometimes wonder what a scone would taste like in the place of a dumpling when I make a stew.  One day, I must find out.  I don’t think scones should be reserved for jam and cream.  Serving one with soup would be fabulous too.

I’ve often fancied trying ones with self raising flour, rather than the traditional plain flour I’ve been used to, and I used less flour than I would use normally, with the hope that the scones would turn out light and fluffy.

A basic reminder that scones need to be handled very little, as the more mixing and turning there is, the heavier they tend to turn out.

These were more popular than my usual plain flour scones, so I might just stick to this in future, and try some different variations around it.   Ok, the tops weren’t perfect, but the scones did look good in their own sweet way.

Lesley Smith

Imperfect, but tasty and quick scones.

2 from 1 vote
Print Recipe
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 20 minutes
Servings: 9
Ingredients Method

Ingredients
  

  • 350 g Self Raising Flour
  • 60 g Caster Sugar
  • 85 g Butter Cubed
  • 180 g Milk
  • 1 Teaspoon Vanilla Essence
  • 1 Egg
  • Cream and Jam to serve.
  • 1 tsp Baking Powder

Method
 

  1. Put your oven on, at around 200 Degrees for a Fan Assisted oven, or 220 with no fan.

  2. Throw your flour, caster sugar, baking powder & cubed butter into a mixer and set it on very low or fold, until it resembles breadcrumbs. If you don't have a mixer, just use your fingers to break the butter up and mix it with the dry ingredients.

  3. Add the milk & vanilla essence, straight to the dry ingredients, then fold it in. The mix will seem sticky, but don't worry about it.

  4. Put some self raising flour onto a board, chopping board, or table, and take the dough out of the mixer, form a loose ball, and gently roll it around on the flour, until the dough is no longer sticky.

  5. All I did next, was to separate the mix into nine evenish pieces and form a ball shape, then slightly flatten it, before placing it onto a baking tray that I lined with baking paper and sprinkled with some more flour.

  6. Use a fork to beat the egg, then use your fingers or a brush to coat the tops of the scones. Then, simply bake in the oven for 10 minutes.

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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.

Lesley Smith

Recipe: How to make unsweetened pecan milk.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 2 minutes
Cook Time 2 minutes
Total Time 4 minutes
Servings: 500 ml
Ingredients Method

Ingredients
  

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

Method
 

  1. 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.

  2. 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.

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

  4. 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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Win a Bissell Powerglide Cordless Vacuum Cleaner – Ends 30th Nov 2015

You might not know it yet, but Bissell have launched a new vacuum cleaner, and I have one to giveaway to a lucky reader. There is one on the way to me too, so I’ll post a review once I’ve had a chance to get my hands on it, and start cleaning away.

Bissell Vacuum

With an RRP of £249.99, this is a lovely giveaway for this time of year.

full-1The brand new PowerGlide Cordless Vacuum Cleaner, retails at a whopping £249.99, so this is a very nice giveaway indeed.

I’ll tell you a little about it.  Newly available for sale from the Bissell website directly, it is part of a new revolution in cordless cleaning.  With a super powerful vacuum, it houses a Lithium Ion battery with 45 minutes of full power run time.

It’s also said to be nice and light for carrying around.  I’m actually looking forward to being able to do stairs without lumping around cables, and stopping halfway though to move the cable to a different plug.

The other helpful things are:

Lift Off® Canister

Gives portable cleaning to access all hard to reach areas with ease.

Swivel Steering

For easy cleaning and navigation.

So, what do you have to do, to be in with the chance of winning a BRAND NEW Bissell PowerGlide® Cordless Vacuum Cleaner?

Bissell Powerglide Cordless Vacuum

Bissell

The Giveaway

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The Rules

– Open to UK Mainland Entrants only.

– 1 Winner will receive 1 Bissell Powerglide Cordless Vacuum.

– The prize will be sent direct from Bissell Marketing Team.

– The Scottish Mum Blog is not responsible for your prize and cannot be held liable in any way for non delivery or non receipt at your end.

– Winners will be notified by DM on Twitter, or e-mail. If the giveaway is not claimed within 14 days, a new winner may be drawn.

– The winners will be chosen by Rafflecopter random generator.

– Scottish Mum Blog and Bissell, reserve the right to amend, add or withdraw this giveaway at any time.

– Each entry method entitles you to one entry into the draw.

– The giveaway is not associated with any social media channels.

– The winning decision by Scottish Mum Blog is final.

– Closes 30th November 2015 at midnight.