5 Fruity Snacks

If you are struggling to get your 5 a day then check these simple top 5 fruit snacks from Keelings:

1. Apple and Cinnamon Oat Breakfast

Starting your morning with a healthy, nutritious breakfast can set you up for the entire day. Make sure you acknowledge this meal’s importance by snacking on something that is not only tasty, but healthy also. This apple and cinnamon oat breakfast should do the trick, believe us, your taste-buds and body will thank you.

Ingredients:

• 90g of gluten-free oats
• 700ml of water
• 1 eating apple, chopped
• 3 tablespoons of coconut sugar
• 1 tablespoon of coconut oil
• 1/2 teaspoon of sea salt

Method:

1. Combine the oats, water, apple, coconut sugar, coconut oil, and salt in the crock of a slow cooker. Cover and cook on low for 2 1/2 – 3 1/2 hours, until the oats are tender.
2. Serve as is or with some cinnamon, coconut sugar, walnuts or a drizzle of honey.

2. Keelings Blueberry Smoothie

Ensuring you keep to your 5-a-day plan can be a chore at times. The reality of a hectic schedule often means our fruit intake can suffer. However, fitting recipes like this Keelings blueberry smoothie into your diet plan could help balance things out. It can be enjoyed as a breakfast or lunch accompaniment and can be consumed on the go, so you can enjoy all the Keelings goodness whenever & wherever you please.

Ingredients:

• 100g of fresh Keelings Blueberries
• 235ml of plain yoghurt
• 180ml of low-fat milk
• 2 tablespoons of white sugar
• ½ a teaspoon of vanilla extract
• 1/8 teaspoon of nutmeg

Method:

1. Blend the blueberries, yoghurt, milk, sugar, vanilla and nutmeg in a blender and food processor until frothy.
2. Serve & enjoy. Simple!

3.Baked pear and chicken salad

Bored of the ham & cheese monotony? Can’t stomach the daily trek to the deli-counter? Want to make lunch a meal worth looking forward to? If you answered yes to any of these, then you may be interested in trying out this recipe for Keelings baked pear and chicken salad. Healthy, delicious and oh so easy to make. You’ll be looking forward to lunch again!

Ingredients:

• 3 Keelings pears, quartered, cored, stems intact
• 600g chicken breast fillets
• 1 litre chicken stock
• 120ml cup maple syrup
• 70g walnuts
• 80g baby rocket
• 1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 50g Parmesan, shaved

Method:

1. Place chicken in a large saucepan. Cover with chicken stock. Bring to the boil over medium heat. Reduce heat to low. Cover. Simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from heat. Stand for 15 minutes. Remove from saucepan. Cool. Thinly slice.
   2. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 200 degrees Celsius. Place pears on a baking paper-lined tray. Drizzle with maple syrup. Bake for 35 minutes or until pears are caramelised and tender, adding walnuts to tray halfway through cooking time.
   3. Arrange rocket in a large serving dish. Top with onion, pears, walnuts and chicken.
   4. Whisk oil and vinegar together. Drizzle over the salad. Scatter with parmesan and leftover pan juices from the pears. Season with salt and pepper. Serve

4.Banana Bread

We all know that feeling, you’re craving a sweet treat with your tea, but you’re also trying to stick to your new diet, & besides, it is not dessert time. The only option so, is to repress temptation, right? Wrong! This banana bread may be understated, but it is irresistibly delicious and won’t upset your health regime.

Ingredients:

• 2 very ripe bananas, mashed
• 140g butter, softened, plus extra for the tin
• 140g caster sugar
• 2 large eggs, beaten
• 140g self-raising flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder

1. Heat oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Butter a 2lb loaf tin and line the base and sides with baking parchment.
2. Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, then slowly add the eggs with a little flour. Fold in the remaining flour, baking powder and bananas.
3. Pour mixture into the tin and bake for about 30 minutes until a skewer comes out clean. Cool in the tin for 10 minutes, then remove to a wire rack.

 

5. Keelings strawberry sorbet

Ah sorbet, the meal between the meal, that little bit of extra indulgence placed between the courses, the treat amongst the feast. I mean, who doesn’t enjoy a good sorbet? But, when was the last time you prepared your own? Start a deliciously new pallet-cleansing regime with this Keelings strawberry sorbet.

Ingredients:

• 1 punnet of Keelings Strawberries.
• 500ml of water
• 60ml of honey

Method:

1. Place the Keelings strawberries, water and honey in a food processor and blend until smooth.
2. Pour the mixture into an ice-cream maker and process according to instructions.

Keelings is a family owned Irish company. Our family’s expertise in growing dates back to 1926 when we established our farm and in the 1930s, we began growing fruits and salads and supplying them to the local Dublin markets. With such a long history of growing, we like to think we know a thing or two about fruit and we look forward to sharing our knowledge, passion and love for healthy produce and recipes with you and your family.