Some things just go together. Like peanut butter and banana. Avocado and toast. And apparently now ginger and lime. Because at the moment I'm throwing the combo into everything I can... curries, salads, rice...
This salad is so wholesome. It's warm and absolutely full of plant goodness. The lime and ginger just add an extra level to all the yummy veggies. It's so perfect for these cold days.
Ingredients: {serves 2-3}
1 small butternut squash or pumpkin peeled, deseeded and cut into cubes (approximately 2 heaped cups)
2 tbsp coconut oil
1 red pepper (capisium)
1 cup frozen peas
1 courgette
1 red onion
1 packet brown rice
1 lime
1 tbsp grated fresh ginger
2 large handfuls of spinach
Method:
Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees.
After peeling, deseeding and slicing the butternut squash place onto a baking tray, drizzle with oil, season and pop into the oven.
Meanwhile cut the onion, pepper and courgette into small slices.
Approximately 40 minutes into cooking the butternut squash (it should be soft and slightly browning), place a tbsp of coconut oil in a large frying pan on a medium heat.
Add the red onion and ginger to the oil and fry lightly for 5 minutes.
Next add the courgette, peas and pepper, and fry for a further 5 minutes until soft.
Add the rice, juice of the lime, 1/4 cup of water and cook until the rice is soft (approximately a further 5 minutes).
Finally turn off the heat, and add the spinach. Stir into mix gently for about a minute to wilt.
Serve up as a main or along side some salad! Enjoy!
Thursday, 3 March 2016
Sunday, 7 February 2016
Raw PB & Chocolate Smothered Cookies
I’m currently going through an obsession with peanut butter.
I mean I’ve always loved it, but recently I’ve been having it with everything.
Nut butter on toast? Yes. With porridge? Of course. In creamy soups and
smoothies. With coyo. With veggie sticks… you get the picture. So I decided to
combine my newest fad with the other obsession in my life: raw desserts.
Because… well… duh.
This recipe came about after seeing a photo of some peanut
butter smothered cookie-looking-things on Instagram and immediately wanting (boarding
on needing) them in my life. I’m still not really sure what they actually were
so I created what I imagined them to be.
These cookies are super simple and quick to make. The ‘dough’
has a sweet caramel flavour and the toppings are to die for. You can shake
these up as much as you want; add some dark chocolate chips or cacao nibs and top
with cashew butter or almond butter if you’re not the biggest fan of PB.
Ingredients: {makes 8-10}
Cookies:
1 cup oats
1 cup desiccated coconut
4 medjool dates (stones removed)
1 tbsp maple syrup
2 tbsp cashew butter
3 tbsp water
Toppings:
2 tbsp peanut butter
2 tsp coconut oil
----------------
2 tbsp cacao butter (grated)
1 tbsp cacao pwder
1 tsp vanilla
2 tbsp maple syrup
1 tbsp coconut milk
Method:
Begin by making the cookie dough. Blend the oats and coconut
until fine flour forms.
Place remaining cookie ingredients into a blender and blend
until combined. This may take a few minutes but keep blending!
Once they mixture has formed a sticky dough remove from the
blender and form into cookies. Set to the side.
To create the toppings place the PB and coconut oil in a
small pan and melt slowly. Once smooth and more liquid-y consistency dollop
into each cookie.
Next place cacaco butter into a clean small pan on a low
heat. Melt slowly. The add the maple syrup, coconut milk, cacao and vanilla.
Whisk to combine.
Drizzle a tablespoon of the chocolate on top of each cookie.
Top with any other desired topping, then pop into the
freezer to set.
Tuesday, 19 January 2016
Revolution
I spend a lot of time online. I wish I didn’t – but honestly,
it’s one of my biggest flaws. My phone is always in my hand, or at least within
eyesight. It’s the first thing I check in the morning and more often than not
the last thing I look at before I go to sleep at night. I’d like to say that
that’s because I’m constantly on my phone talking to my many, many friends –
but as amazing as my favourite people are – that would be a lie. Those hours
(yes, probably hours) I spend on my phone each day are actually spent
scrolling, usually through Instagram, and comparing, one of two things: food or
other girls’ bodies. It’s a time when I tear myself apart; why don’t I look
like her? Why am I not her? It’s a time I use to hurt myself. Because maybe if
I beat myself up enough I’ll put my ass into gear and start eating less and working
harder. Maybe.
But then. I’m still not her. A week, a month, 10 years later,
I’m still not her. All this time restricting my diet, doing that extra exercise
in my room, and I’m still here – hating this body. But I cannot find or give
myself the grace to stop; because I’m not worth loving. Because wouldn’t it be
weak? Wouldn’t it be the easy thing to give in? We are so constantly bombarded
with articles, blogs, books… ‘this is
how to lose fat’, ‘a new diet for a better
you’, lose weight, lose fat, lose you. Because you, yes you, surely aren’t enough yet.
But there has to be more. I don’t want to accept feeling
like this anymore. I want to feel me again.
Because how can you love a body that is a product of hate?
Carved, hacked, picked apart. Maybe it scares you to love. Because surely to
love means to accept. The realisation that you are not valued on the definition
of your abs or the number of ribs you can count. That doesn’t work. You know it
will never work.
How about instead we, you, start focusing on being happy: insanely
happy; on setting alight and glowing from your very soul. I think maybe it’s
time to stop acting so small. Your body, it’s all yours and that in itself is pretty amazing, is enough. I refuse to
care anymore about what others may or may not think about it. I love it because
it’s mine. I love it because it
allows me to live out the dreams I’m creating. I’ve got this. And so have you.
Friday, 30 October 2015
Chocolate Zucchini Oats
I know courgette for breakfast seems a little weird. The
looks I get from my family as I’m grating a courgette into my oats on a morning
do indeed confirm that you might all be feeling a little sceptical about the
success of this bowl, but I just need you to trust me on this one.
Adding a courgette into your porridge adds a light volume
(and who doesn’t love big breakfast
bowls?!) and fluffiness to your ‘brownie batter’ oats. It also means you get a
nice dose of greens into your breakfast without even being able to taste it!
My favourite way to serve this is with a dollop of chocolate
peanut butter (recipe coming soon!) and a sprinkle of chocolatey buckwheat
clusters.
Ingredients {serves 1}:
1 medium sized courgette
1 cup almond milk
1/3 cup oats
1 tbsp cacao powder
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp maple syrup
Method:
Begin by heating the milk with the vanilla extract in a
sauce pan on a medium heat.
As the milk warms up, cut both ends off the courgette and discard
then grate finely, and add the cacao powder to the oats and combine.
Once the milk begins to steam add the courgette and the
cacao-oat mixture to the pan, along with the tsp of maple syrup.
Stir the mixture until it has combined.
Friday, 23 October 2015
Banana and Raspberry Loaf
I’ve been thinking about making this for a while. I have had
an image in my head of the perfect chunky banana bread with raspberry’s running
through it but I never got round to experimenting. If I’m honest the main thing
that put me off was a lack of confidence with my baking skills. I consider myself
more of an expert with raw desserts, which only require blending and fridging
(if that’s a thing), but give me an oven and I have no idea what I’m doing.
What if the banana bread I created didn’t match up to the idea I had in my
head?
Today I finally plucked up the courage to try (daring stuff,
I know…). Rather than turning to my blender, as I usually do on a weekend, I switched
on my oven.
And now, on this cold day, with a delicious and warm slice
of banana bread sat in front of me, I am so glad I did.
Ingredients:
2 cups of oats (ground into a flour by blending)
½ cup desiccated coconut
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp cinnamon
2 tbsp ground flax seeds
2 large overripe bananas
¼ cup almond butter
3 tbsp maple syrup (or syrup of choice, rice, honey etc…)
3 tbsp almond milk (or dairy free alternative such as soy,
rice…)
1 tsp vanilla extract
A handful of fresh raspberries
Method:
Begin by lining a medium sized loaf tin with greaseproof
paper and preheating the oven to 140 degrees.
Put the flaxseeds into a cup and cover with ¼ cup of water
and set aside.
Ground the oats into a flour by whizzing in your blender (if
not done so already) and then combine with the desiccated coconut, baking
powder and cinnamon in a large bowl.
Mash the bananas and place into a separate bowl along with the
almond butter, maple syrup, vanilla and almond milk; mix well.
By this point the flax seeds and water should combined to
form a thick liquid. Whisk this with a fork into the banana mixture.
Pour this wet mixture into the dry; folding it in until a
thick batter-like mix has formed.
Place the raspberries into the mixture and carefully fold
in.
Finally pour into the lined loaf tin and pop into the oven.
Bake for 35-40 minutes (it’s done when you can prick the banana bread with a
thin skewer and it comes out clean).
Allow to cool for at least 15 minutes in the tin before
removing and slicing!
I am especially loving serving a slice slightly warmed up
with a big dollop of coconut yogurt and a drizzle of maple syrup!
Wednesday, 21 October 2015
Carrot Cake Oats
Carrot cake oats; the first porridge variation away from plain
oats I tried. Admittedly quite a daring one to go for… I could have chosen
maple syrup and fruit, but no, no, not me, I like to go all out.
I think the main reason I love this is because it is so warm
and comforting. It tastes amazing and, on these cold mornings (North Yorkshire,
England, I’m looking at you) you know it’s throwing loads of nourishment at
your body when it needs it most.
This is a revision of recipe that I originally posted on the
blog. The original ‘carrot cake oats’ incorporated a mashed banana into the mix
as well, but truth be told (although a great variation) I rarely make it like
that. I prefer it like this; the cinnamon comes through more and I think it
works better with toppings this way. However both recipes are delicious and
either way I definitely recommend giving this a try.
Ingredients: {serves 1}
1 cup dairy free milk (I love brown rice milk but oat,
almond etc will work great too)
1/3 cup oats
1 carrot grated finely (around 1 cup)
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla extract
Toppings (optional but advised!
At the moment I’m going through a coconut yogurt/ maple syrup phase, but I also
love a sprinkle of granola, chopped dates and peanut butter)
Method:
Begin by heating the milk and vanilla extract in a medium
sized saucepan on a mid-heat
As this heats, grate the carrot and combine with the oats
with the cinnamon in a small bowl.
Once the milk has started to steam turn down the heat and
add the oat-carrot mixture.
Cook for around 5 minutes, until the oats have absorbed the
milk and the mix is hot and beautifully gooey (add a splash of water if you
need a little more liquid whilst it cooks).
Pour into a bowl and top with toppings of choice!
Sunday, 18 October 2015
Triple Chocolate Cheesecake
I think my love for all things chocolate might have
something to do with not being allowed to eat it for so long. At about 4 years
of age I was diagnosed (are you diagnosed
with these things?) with allergies to both milk and soy. Back then I thought it
was the end of the world, and whilst my sisters ate chocolate I munched my way
through packets of extra strong mints.
That is probably why this triple chocolate cheesecake is arguably
my favourite creation ever: it feels SO decadent. And yet despite this, it’s so
full of goodness. The base contains buckwheat groats (actually a seed despite
what its name suggests), which is a complete protein and a good source of fibre
and b vitamins. The gooey centre uses dates, which are full of iron and
essential minerals, and also cashews, a good source of protein, copper and
zinc. And then there’s the topping and the main ingredient: chocolate. Chocolate
is high in antioxidants, iron, magnesium, vitamin c, zinc… and a great natural
mood enhancer – all the more reason to keep on eating it!
Ingredients:
Base:
½ cup raw buckwheat groats
¾ cup oats
1 heaped tbsp cacao
¼ cup maple syrup
¼ cup cashew butter
1 tsp vanilla extract
Centre:
1 cup dates
¼ cup cashews
1 tbsp cacao
1 tbsp coconut oil (melted)
¼ cup water
1 tsp vanilla extract
Topping:
½ cup dark chocolate chunks
½ cup coconut milk
Method:
Begin by lining a small cake tin with either cling film or
grease-proof paper.
To create the base, combine the buckwheat, oats and cacao in
a large bowl.
In a smaller bowl
whisk the syrup, cashew butter and vanilla until smooth.
Pour into the dry ingredients and mix with a fork until everything
is coated.
Press into the bottom of the tin. (A great way to do this is
either with a slightly wet spoon or hands).
Put to one side.
To create the centre, simply place all the ingredients into
a blender and blitz. This will take some time but eventually it will become a
smooth paste. You may need to stop the blender occasionally to scrap down the
sides or to add a splash more water. The mix should be thick and creamy.
Once smooth pour on top of the base. Even out and then pop
into the freezer to set.
Finally create the top layer. Place the chocolate in a glass
or stainless steel bowl over a small saucepan over boiling water. Once the
chocolate has melted add in the coconut milk and stir well until smooth.
Take the cheesecake out of the freezer and pour the
chocolate on top. Spreading out evenly to create the final layer.
Pop back in the freezer for at least 4 hours to set.
I like to store the cheesecake in slices in a Tupperware in
the freezer, as it will keep for a couple of weeks (not that you will be able
to resist eating the whole thing that long). Just move the cheesecake into the
fridge for about an hour before serving so it can defrost slightly.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)