Porridge for gold!

Firstly, we would like to say congratulations to Laura Trott on winning her gold medal! Well done, you've done us proud!
When asked what her secret was she said "I've been living of porridge". So we have decided to give you are Golden Oaty recipe containing porridge oats, so that you to can win gold (in the kitchen maybe)

Golden Oaty Crumble:

Ingredients:
3 eating apples
2 Bramley apples
350g of blackberries, you can use frozen if they are not in season!
100g of Demerara sugar
1 pot of cane sugar porridge
175g of plain flour
140g of soft brown sugar
185g of butter

What you do:

1. Before you do anything, preheat the oven to 170 degrees.

2. Core and quarter the apples, then put half of them into an oven dish and sprinkle with half of the Demerara sugar. Ad d the blackberries to the dish and cover with the remaining apples.  Put the rest of the Demerara sugar onto the apples. 

3. For the crumble topping,  pour the flour into a bowl and stir in the sugar and the porridge oats. Cut the butter into small squares and add them to the mixture. Rub it all together with your fingertips until the mixture has the texture of breadcrumbs. Lay the crumble mixture on on top of the fruit.

4.  place your dish into the oven and leave for around about 40 minutes, you will know when its ready its it will be a lovely golden brown colour.

Im sure this will go down a treat, you could even add some ice-cream or custard!

A few ideas to keep you occupied...

We are in for another week of glorious weather, and we have come up with a few penny saving ideas....

1. With the Commonwealth Games fast approaching, why not take advantage of this. You and your friends could form your own "teams"or even with your children. The only things you really need is space and room to perform these activities, and of course a medal for the wining team! If you are feeling really adventurous you could make your own tally board, and let your competitive side come through.... who knows.... you may be the next athletic representing Wales or England... it could be a possibility!

2. Let your creative side flow... here at Hopper HQ every time we go on a adventure we always make sure that we have our camera in hand to take advantage of every selfie opportunity. Take a trip down to your local sculpture park and get creative... this is the best way to take the pictures. Don't worry about looking daft or silly, everyone has jumped onto the selfie bandwagon... I'm sure you have secretly!

3. Let your kitchen goddess flow, even if you are a man. There is no excuse, put your apron on and get your grasshopper oats out. This recipe will blow your mind.... and I'm sure you have these hiding in the back of your cupboards!!

Its flapjack time!!!!

All you need is:
250g of Grasshopper cane sugar oats
125g of Butter
125g of Brown suagr
3 tsps of golden syrup

You could even add a few cheeky chocolate pieces if you have a sweet tooth.

The method:

1. Place all of the ingredients into a food processor and pulse them until they are fully mixed, but make sure you don't over mix them as the oats will lose there texture and become a mushy mess.

2. Lightly grease a medium sized baking tray with butter, and then place all of the mixture into the tray.

3. Use the back of a spoon to press the mixture evenly into the corners, then section them up to how you would like... big pieces or little its your choice. Personally, the bigger the better!!

4. Finally place your yummy flapjacks into a pre-heated oven at 180 and bake until golden brown. This is usually between 15 to 20 minutes.

So..... there you go 3 easy cost effect ideas that can fill your weekend or even your week!!

Hello Heat Wave......

Have you seen the weather forecast for this weekend, it's going to be hot... hot... with a slice chance of it being hot!
We think it's going to be perfect weather for sitting in the garden with a pot of Tomato and Basil soup in one hand and chunky piece of bread in the other, with your feet in the kids paddling pool. Why? Just because you can, and the sun is the best excuse there is.

Schools out for summer!

So the end of term is fast coming, for some lucky people it is already here!
Do you have any plans during your time off?
Why don't you take advantage of this glorious weather and take a picnic down to your local National Trust park, but don't forget to pack your hopper pots.
You could even recycle your empty hopper pots and do some gardening, they are the perfect pots to grow different herbs in!

Just check out our website for all our tasty and healthy products.

Fan Friday

So it fan Friday and we have received some great pictures this week from different hoppers out and about with there Hopper Pots.

Here is our favourite picture from this week, taken by Olivia Whitworth on her lunch break.

Keep sending in all you great snaps from this week, and you might see your picture posted on The Grassy Daily! 

A summer smoothie even the sun would worship

With all this summer weather, we thought we'd share with you one of our delicious smoothie recipes!  Sound tempting? It does to us at Hopper HQ!

Ingredients -

• 1/2 of the pot of porridge with cane sugar 
• 1/2 cup plain low-fat yogurt
• 1 banana, cut into thirds
• 1/2 cup of fat-free milk
• 2 teaspoons of honey
• 1/4 teaspoon of ground cinnamon 
Directions - 

It's so quick and easy you will not believe your eyes, put all of the ingredients into your blender all at once and blend until smooth. This recipe is best severed immediately! 

This recipe is so healthy you won't even feel guilty if you were to freeze it to make a tasty frozen treat! 

Don't wait around, the sun never does. So hop onto our website you grab the most important ingredient! 

Did you know... (4)

So, Summer is coming... and we are all probably on a crazy rampage to shift the extra weight! Well look no further as our porridge can help!!

Even though the warmer weather is here and Summer is approaching, don't let it stop you from tucking into a delicious pot of porridge. The oats we use are all natural, which makes them 100% natural so they are the perfect breakfast solution, especially when on the move.

Surfs Up!

Photograph by Fred Pompermayer

Although the sunshine may have disappeared, Summer is definitely on its way which means we can hit the beaches and surf!

If you're a huge surfing fan then Hawaii is the place to be. Here we see local surfer Yuri Soledade riding a massive 40-foot wave at Peahi on Maui's North Shore! This area is known for some of the biggest and most powerful waves according to Yuri, definitely a surfers dream location!

If these waves seem a bit daunting, (they do to us!), maybe stay local instead and hit the waves in Cornwall! :-)

The countdown to summer is on!

The countdown to summer is on... and before we know it we will all be jetting off on our holidays! It's an exciting thought, until you realise you're running out of time to get your body beach ready. 

Exercise and diet are essential... regular workouts will help you not only lose weight but tone up, where eating healthier/dieting will help you drop the pounds. 

Regular exercise is key. Not all of this has to be done in the gym, you can do it in the comfort of your own home with a fitness DVD, or if the weather is fine a jog in the local park will also work! Get yourself into the outdoors... exercising the park will get you out into the fresh air, plus it's free.

Eating the right foods can be a tough one. We all like to indulge in chocolates or biscuits, but it's always the case of "just one more" - let's be honest, it's never just the one. Cutting back your calories is a great way to lose weight, simply restrict your calorie intake and choose healthier foods that are filling... our Hopper Pots do just that! They are small in calories but big in taste and flavour. So, instead of going to the local sandwich shop, have a delicious pot of our soup instead! 

What are you waiting for... the countdown has begun! 

Fruity Smoothie

What is it that they say about the simple things in life being the best?

Our gorgeous fruity smoothie with a hint of coconut - a healthy, quick & filling breakfast option fill of fibre!

Ingredients:
A pot of Coconut & Date porridge
250ml skimmed milk
1 banana
10 frozen or fresh strawberries
1/2 teaspoon of honey

Method:
Blend all ingredients until it has reached desired thickness (if too thick, add water/milk).

Best served cold.

Perfect for summer!