The Unexpected Bite: Avocado & Quinoa Vanilla Protein Shake

 

Scrumptious Avocado Silk Shake

Looking for a meal replacement that actually feels like a meal? This shake combines the silky richness of avocado and full cream milk with the surprising bite of cooked quinoa. It’s high-protein, nutrient-dense, and perfect for when you're tired of pure liquid smoothies.

I have been living the gluten-free cane sugar free life for 10 over years. The only sugar I consume comes from carbs like rice-based noodles, buckwheat based noodles, rice and corn-based pasta. Now that I've got a Vanilla protein milkshake powder, some times I get bored of drinking it with just water or milk so I like to mix things up a little.

It also helps me to finish up some avocado left overs from last night's dinner 😄

Ingredients (for a standard single serve blender, about 600ml):

• 1/2 Cup Oat Milk (for maximum creaminess)

• 1/2 Ripe Avocado, diced

• 1 - 2 Scoops of Vanilla Protein Powder (or any protein powder you have)

• 1/2 Cup Cooked Quinoa (chilled)

• 5 - 7 Ice Cubes (can be replaced with water if you don't have ice on hand)

• Optional: A dash of vanilla extract or a drizzle of honey would help if your protein powder has no flavour of its own. 

This recipe is suitable for vegans. If all you have is full cream, low-fat milk, almond milk or even soy-milk, just use whatever milk you have that suits your dietary needs. I guarantee it will still be really creamy and yummeh! (Of course, coconut milk tops the list!)

Ice cubes are not for everyone! I don't favour ice-cubes in the wee mornings when I feel cold, so I would just use room temperature water to "help" my blender along. Not everyone has a Vitamix!

If your protein powder is not flavoured, I recommend including the optional sweetener/flavour to enhance your shake. Some people have a sweet tooth, so using the vanilla enhances the sweetener.

Sometimes, I end up with unflavoured protein powders, so this is how I enhance my shakes when I run out of Vanilla protein powders. Personally, I use Herbalife's protein shakes as I found them tasty and they usually cover all the nutrients I need in a meal.

Instructions:

1. The Base: Place the avocado, protein powder, milk, and ice in a blender. Blend on high until completely smooth and velvety.

2. The Bite: Pour the mixture into a tall glass.

3. The Finish: Add the cooked quinoa. Use a long spoon to fold it in gently.  (If you added this into the tall glass before pouring the mixture, it will just get mixed up, that's all).

Pro Tip: Don't blend the quinoa! Keeping it whole gives the shake a satisfying texture similar to bubble tea or a smoothie bowl.

Nutritional Highlight:

By using full cream milk and quinoa, this shake delivers roughly 38g of protein  (Depending on your brand of protein powder) and a great boost of calcium and healthy fats to keep you fueled for hours.

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Sliced Fish Soup with Kway Teow

If you live in the North of Singapore, drop by and give Top 73+1 Handmade Fishball Noodles a visit. This is a place where the fish balls cannot disappoint you. They are gorgeously huge and freshly hand made with a recipe that has been passed down from generation to generation.  They don't just look awesome, they will bounce in your mouth when you bite it! The fishballs are definitely "doi doi" for me!

The way he have prepared the seasoning with fried caramelized garlic and shallots is simply awesome You won't be able to taste anything similar anywhere else!

It is a very clean but tasty dish. I often order the fish soup and didn't even have to order drinks after drinking the soup because it is not laced with MSG.

While it's signature dish are fishballs, the sliced fish soup here is very satisfying too.

This is Batang Fish, a Malay name. If you're not into this fish, just ask them for a different one as they do have another fish for fish soup. It might be slightly more pricey too.

I like this freshwater fish due to the texture and taste, and mainly because I prefer leaner flesh or meat whether it's fish, beef or any other meat. If you are someone who looks for fresh, clean food that is not cooked with plenty of MSG, this is an ideal place to try.

The soup is served piping hot, just the way I love it! There's a lot of fried garlic and shallots in the soup (and garlic is my favourite)!! And you can ask for more veggies or additional fish. The fish is fresh and lightly marinated, and the soup is boiled only when you order the dish. Everything in this soup is fresh and healthy.

I like to custom order my kueh teow (Flat rice noodles) to be cooked separately so that I can get more soup in the sliced fish bowl because the soup is just so satisfying. You won't feel thirsty like if you've eaten foods with too much MSG (Monosodium glutamate). You can ask for less oil and it will not affect the taste of the kueh teow, I promise! I do tend to order it with added spice and vinegar. How do you order that? Just say "jia la, jia chu" which literally means add spice, add vinegar respectively. I prefer my food to have a slightly stronger taste when there is a soup accompaniment. You can choose to have yellow noodles, mee kia (thin yellow noodles) or mee pok (flat yellow noodles) too.

I have a high respect for this chef because his ingredients are fresh, whether fish or vegetables and his branch at 914 Upper Thomson Road S 787114 also serves tzu char. He has another branch at 30 Raffles Avenue, #01-09/12 which opens Sun-Thurs: 10.30am-10.30pm; Fri & Sat: 10.30am-11.30pm.

My hubby loves to order the dumpling soup to accompany his minced meat noodle (chicken meat is used here). He also enjoys the soup here as he loves garlic! That is a rather big combination and is only recommended if you're a big eater.

If you're done trying this, you can go for other boiled foods as they also sell very nice Prawn Noodles. Take note to order more soup if you're the sipping type as you may not be able to add soup after you're done. You have a variation of kueh teow, thick yellow noodles, Mee kia, Mee pok or bee hoon (rice vermicelli) which tastes equally mouth-watering.

If you're not into boiled foods, they also do tze char (fried foods) from 7:30am to 9pm and serve a wicked Curry Fish Head. Check out their menu when you're there!

Boiled Chickpeas (Thermal Pot)

How do you cook your chickpeas? Most people boil, slow cook and roast chickpeas. 

In Singapore and Malaysia it's very normal to see vendors steam the chickpeas (kacang putih in Malay) which does two things:

• Keep it warm for customers' consumption
• Will not cause it to overcook
• As steam cooks from bottom to top, there's no need to stir the chickpeas to ensure that they cook evenly. 

The vendors will simply make a cone out of clean paper and pour a scoop of kacang putih into the cone :D and that's my favourite snack to go!

There are a few recipes for the different marinades to add for the different flavours. After that, they will be tasty enough to eat whole and worthy of popping into the mouth.

I will be cooking with my thermal pot so I don't have to watch it on the stove for 2 hours. I'll also save on gas (nothing is cheap in Singapore)! 



Whenever there is more than 1 hour of cooking required, I will use this method. It is surprisingly useful if you only have one stove (as most of us do!) then it will free up the stove for us to prepare other foods.

My dried chickpeas only come in one size, apparently, according to my supermarket sales person. So I will be using this size for most of my recipes.

330g / 11.6oz Dried Chickpeas
4 teaspoons of sea salt
2 teaspoons of grounded turmeric (optional) or according to taste
3 pieces of washed pandan leaves (optional)
2.5 - 3 litres / 2.1 - 3.2 quarts of water to boil


Preparation the day before:

1. Rinse the chickpeas in a colander/strainer
2. Soak the chickpeas overnight using a wide container or a pot with a wide base
3. Be generous with the water as the peas will double in size. I used 2 litres / 2 quarts of water for this amount of chickpeas.
4. Do not cover with a lid. If you must cover it, use a cloth instead.
5. Next day, it should have doubled in size. Pour away this water that was used for soaking.

Cooking steps:

1. Boil the chickpeas in 3 litres of water for 15 minutes in a thermal pot. Check to see if you need to skim the top. At the same time, add salt. If you like turmeric flavour, you can add that now. I normally add pandan leaves at this stage.
2. Continue boiling for another 10 minutes (totalling 25 minutes of boiling time). 
3. At the peak of this boiling process, transfer it to the thermal pot quickly, while it's bubbling boiling hot. 
4. Leave it covered in there for 1.5 - 2 hours. 

Easy right?

If you have any alternative flavourings for chickpeas to be consumed whole (not as a hummus) do feel free to comment or share below.

Lentil Dip

Lentil Dip

Ingredients

• 1 Tbsp coconut oil
• 1/2 onion, peeled and chopped
• 1 stalk celery, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 large carrot, peeled and chopped
• 1 large tomato, diced
• 1 cup dry lentil beans
• 2 cups beef broth
• 1 Tbsp Cayenne pepper
• ½ tsp black pepper (add more to taste)
• Pinch Cayenne pepper
• Fresh oregano for topping

Directions

1. Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat, and add the onions, celery and garlic. Cook until onions are translucent.
2. Add the broth and bring to a boil. Add the lentils and cook for 40 minutes, then add the carrots, tomatoes and peppers.
3. Cook for another 20 minutes, or until lentils are tender.
4. Let the lentils cool, then blend in a Magic Bullet blender using the small cup.
5. Top the warm dip with fresh cilantro just before serving.

Makes 2 cups

This recipe was an adaptation from MagicBulletblog.com to suit my allergy needs. I meant for this to be my Tortilla Dip because it turns out I can eat Tortilla! Very happy to be able to find snack that I can actually eat off the shelves! I can still take salsa every four days, but no more than that!