This time last year..................

In July of last year , I was enjoying a week away from the drudgery of daily life in the south of Spain. I can remember thinking at the time, that I couldn't feel hotter that I did in the sweltering Andalusian conditions.
Skip forward twelve months and I am speaking to you from the garden of my Warwickshire home, and the usual verdant green of my pleasant English country garden has been replaced by Savannah browns of a sweltering summertime that has been brutal for my manicured lawns.

  Not a drop of water has fallen from the sky during the whole month of July, and the temperatures have rivalled the South of Spain, where I spent that glorious week.

I don't have any time booked off work now until the end of August for a week in Scotland.

With that in mind, I've been doing a little research because some of my friends have been complaining that they cant kick the chocolate ice cream habits in this hot and sweaty weather. I must say that I always enjoy frozen water melon. Its like a calippo that's good for you, but if you really need to indulge your inner-chocolate fan, these smoothie recipes will satiate your urges.

We all know it is acceptable to have a treat every now and then. Ice cream cake at a birthday party? Not a problem. Sure that’s okay too.

“Once in a while” is not the issue.

The Problem is when you want chocolate to be more than a "sometimes" food. You want it to be in your life regularly. This is totally normal. Why? Because you are human and I find it hard to believe any human can live without chocolate longer than a couple days.

It'd be like living like a Neanderthal!

Here are a couple of goodies that will make you feel like a million dollars

Choccy Peanut Butter Green Smoothie

Ingredients

• ½ of an avocado
• ½ of a frozen banana
• 1 cup baby spinach
• ¼ cup peanut butter powder
• 2 tablespoons cocoa powder
• 1 cup Oat Milk or Soya Milk
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 tablespoon chia seeds
• 1 cup ice
• water, if needed for consistency

Instructions

1. Place all ingredients into a high speed blender and blend. Add water if needed for consistency.

Choccy-Mint Smoothie

Ingredients

• ½ teaspoon peppermint extract
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ½ of an avocado
• ½ of a banana
• 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 tablespoon chia seeds
• 1 cup Soya milk or oat milk
• 1 cup baby spinach
• 2 cups ice
• water, if needed for consistency

Instructions

1. Place all the ingredients into a high speed blender and blend on high. Add water, if needed, for consistency.

By the way, if you add more ice, it'll be cooler

Here's a picture of a summery bee that I took.