Cherry Bomb Goat's Yoghurt Ice Creams

Every year it always feels like Summer and Christmas and all things happiness when cherries start to appear in the shops. The little, pretty red balls are such a refreshing dash of flavour and colour.

And nothing makes it feel quite like Summertime than beautiful ice cream.

This year my first new ice cream recipe for the Summery, Christmas season involved not just cherries but an ingredient that flavour wise matched them perfectly, a beautiful, creamy yoghurt I had not tried before CapriLac Goat Yoghurt.

This yoghurt is lovely and creamy and the natural flavour has just the right amount of tartness to make it a fantastic ingredient to work with. Goat yoghurt is said to be much better tolerated by a lot of people in regards to digestion as a healthy alternative that is easy to digest and can reduce tummy bloating (and all girls want that in the Summertime!).
It has the beneficial live and active cultures and the CapriLac brand is preservative free and naturally A2 and gluten free.
Found in Coles and Woolworths makes it readily available for families and it turned out to be popular with my kids too!

Cherry Bomb Goat Yoghurt Ice-creams

Ingredients
1 x 500 gm tub CapriLac Goat Yoghurt

1 & 1/2 cups cherries pitted. (Can use frozen too)

1/4 frozen cherries.

2 tablespoons raw honey
2 teaspoons organic vanilla paste
paddle pop sticks (food quality)

Method

• Divide the yoghurt in half.
• Prepare mold suitable for ice creams, (even plastic cups are fine)
• In a blender combine one half the yoghurt with the honey and vanilla. Blend well, set aside.
• Blend the other half the yoghurt with the cherries.
• In  the molds pour a layer of the dark yoghurt mixture and drop some frozen cherry pieces in.
• Top with the opposing coloured layer and keep going until the container is full.
• Use the pop stick to very gently swirl the two colours lightly together - only just!
• Freeze covered with cling wrap or a cover like 4Myearth until frozen.
• About 10 minutes in or when just starting to freeze add the pop sticks in, (they should stand up ok in the mixture by themselves).
• Run under warm water on the outside to loosen, remove and enjoy!

Notes

• To get a more jazzy and defined look freeze the separate colours one at a time and store the mixtures in the fridge. This will take some time but does look fantastic.
• You can add sweetener to taste for either layer as desired like raw honey, stevia, maple syrup, rice malt syrup.
• Try and add frozen cherry pieces in as well as they give a lovely texture contrast.

Toddler Tips

• Adjust to your child's preferred sweetness tastes. I find with little kids that the less sweeteners you use when young the less they need, give them a chance to taste sweet and tart foods with little added sweetener and then adjust from there as needed.

One of Bek's professional recipe creations. (c)2015RebeccaMugridge
Note: This was a sponsored post with Caprilac Yoghurt

Refreshing Recipes & Ideas for Staying Cool

Refreshing ideas for keeping cool

Make sure you take care of yourself in the heat!

• Bring some great leafy indoor plants inside your house, they not only remove toxins from the air, plants can reduce temperatures by as much as 5`c (stay tuned for a post on this next week!)
• Eat lots of fresh, tasty foods like (below) and salads, fresh fruit, cold quiche's, frozen fruit snacks, homemade icy poles.
• Drink lots of water and also refreshing drinks, iced herbal teas, freshly made juices, smoothies, (see the recipe for making your own healthy ice coffee too!) 
• Cool off with water, if you don't have a pool, take a family outing to a swim safe river, beach, lake or dam, visit your local swimming pool, even the kids paddling pool will do or a cool essential oil bath.
• Make your own face fresher with a spray bottle and cool water.
• Wet t-shirt's and put on wet for an instant cool!
• If your lucky enough not to be on water restrictions, on tank water, or in a dry spell where you live, have a water fight with the kids.
• Take a time out and do nothing for a little while when you get a chance, unplug, turn off the TV and just be in the quiet.
• Take deep breaths to help your body work at its best.
• Laugh - it will help take your mind off it!
   

Stawberry granitas

From the Maleny IGA Local Product Local Recipe - recipe card series

These can be made in different sizing, as one big batch, like sorbet, in individual cups, or even tiny in shot glasses or small cups, you can also substitute the strawberries for raspberries or even pineapple too or use thawed frozen strawberries/raspberries if fresh are unavailable.
You could also use it to make THIS recipe with the beautiful Colin James Sorbet which you can grab at the Maleny IGA.
Get the recipe to make it HERE

Woodford Fresh Salad with Preserved Lemon Dressing

From the Maleny IGA Local Product Local Recipe - recipe cards

This recipe is a favourite at our house and was a real hit at the Maleny Supa IGA taste testing in October, and hugely popular with the kids!
Get the recipe HERE

Refreshing and moorish healthy iced coffee

You love getting together with friends and chatting over coffee, but sometimes it seems a bit hot to enjoy it hot and bought iced coffee can be very high in fat and calories so make in your own delicious, guilt free iced coffee! Serve in decorative glasses for a fun drink with friends x
Get the recipe HERE

Prawns with Mango & Carrot Salad in lettuce cups and Pomodora's Ginger and Lime dressing

From the Maleny IGA Local Product Local Recipe - recipe cards

This is such a gorgeous combination of flavours that will make you a hit at your next BBQ, lunch or dinner party or why not treat the family to this gorgeous, healthy dinner?
It is  light so perfect for hot weather, you can also serve the salad by itself for vegetarians as it is gorgeous on its own too. The Pomodora's dressing is absolutely stunning and is available along with everything else you need from the Maleny Supa IGA
Get the recipe HERE

Watermelon basket fruit salad

From the Maleny Supa IGA Local Product Local Recipe - recipe card series

Such a gorgeous way to display and present a fresh fruit salad and get that real WOW factor from friends and family. A great one for the kids to take to school for a special occasion or their birthday Take to a dinner party or on a picnic.
You are also left with melon flesh from all the balling - great for a smoothie while you make it!
Get the recipe HERE

Haloumi Cheese Bread salad

from the Maleny Supa IGA Local Product Local Recipe - recipe cards

This is SO delicious, the cheese is absolutely stunning and makes this a hearty salad.
Get the recipe HERE

Homemade Coffee Icecream
From the Maleny IGA Local Product Local Recipe cards

This is such a yummy homemade ice cream, you can also follow the recipe and switch the coffee for chocolate using natural cocoa powder

Get the recipe HERE

My Pumpkin and Feta Quiche from the Healthy, Happy Mums cookbook

recipe - advanced preview!

Make this ahead of time and serve cold on a hot day, perfect for picnics, lunch boxes and entertaining
Get the recipe HERE

Funky Fruit Platters!

This is just one of many styles you can make, and you can be sure for an empty plate at the end!
Get the recipe HERE

And you just can't beat a fresh juice with ice!

Some of our current family favourite combinations include:
Beetroot, pink lady apples, carrot and fresh ginger
Green apples, lemon, baby spinach, kale, ginger and celery
Green apples, baby spinach, kale, orange, ginger and rock melon
Raspberries, rock melon, pink grapefruit, beetroot, watermelon and ginger
Green apples, blueberries, spinach, kale, watercress and ginger
Carrot, raspberries, beetroot, red cabbage, ginger and oranges
Carrot, ginger, lemon and beetroot
Straight tomato with a tiny dash of parsley
Carrot, Apple and Ginger

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All images (c) RebeccaMugridge

RECIPE - WOW carved watermelon fruit salad basket

Looking for something FUN, gorgeous and exciting to make?

Why not try a watermelon fruit salad basket?

Gorgeous and healthy!

This is perfect for entertaining, taking to your child's school for a healthy alternative to cake and cup cakes on their bday, and how wonderful to walk into a BBQ carrying one of these!

I have carved this into a basket after the way my great grandmother was so well known for doing, she always wired flowers around the handle and had it as a centerpiece you could also carve this into a shark or something equally exciting quite easily for kids birthday parties. Check pinterest for some ideas!

To make this watermelon basket you will need:

1 large seedless watermelon
1 rockmelon
1 honeydew melon
2 punnets blueberries
1 punnet strawberries
300g seedless grapes
1 melon baller tool
Syrup (optional)
1/2 cup fresh lime juice
1 cup caster sugar (or you could use stevia for a no added sugar alternative)
1/4 cup water
2 tablespoons Buderim Ginger Cordial, undiluted

Method:

• In a saucepan combine the sugar and lime juice, stirring over a medium heat until sugar is dissolved.
• Bring to the boil, stirring constantly and then stir for one minute, remove from the heat.
• Allow to cool for 2 minutes and add the ginger cordial, stir well and set aside to cool completely.
• Draw an outline with a pencil on the outside of the watermelon, for a basketdraw draw an eye shaped section on each side, to make a bowl with a handle.
• Cut out two shapes carefully and remove and place all red flesh from the now visable "handle".
• Hollow out the watermelon and place flesh in a bowl.
• Using the melon baller cut balls from the watermelon flesh, rockmelon and honey dew, set aside.
• Wash the strawberries, grapes, blueberries, drain.
• Mix all fruit together very carefuly.
• Fill the watermelon basket with the fruit.
• Decorate the handle of the basket with fesh flowers attched with some thin wire (optional).
• Pour the ginger and lime dressing into a decorative jug.
• Serve at the centre of the table and drizzle some of the dressing on as you serve each bowl of fruit salad.

Notes:

• Fruit can be varied according to personal preference and seasons.
• A very refreshing and colourful dish.
• Perfect for entertaining or taking to a party.
• Left over melon flesh from the balling is perfect for adding to delicious smoothies!

Toddler Tips:

• A wonderful recipe for getting children excited about fruit!
• Great for kids parties.
• Perfect sized fruit pieces for small mouths.

This recipe was blogged and produce for the Maleny Supa IGA Local Product Local Recipe Cards.

Recipe and photography (c)RebeccaMugridge2012