28Mar / 2016

Courgette, red onion and tomato omelette

Serves 1

3cm courgette cut into 1cm half moons

1/2 red onion cut into 5mm half moons

1 small/medium tomato chopped small

1 tbsp oil

2 eggs beaten with a pinch of salt and pepper

Heat the oil in a medium sized saucepan and turn down to medium-low
Preheat grill and boil the kettle
Fry the courgettes for 5 minutes on one side then turn them over
Add the onions and saute for another 5 minutes stirring so nothing catches
Add a splash of boiled water and turn up to medium high and stir until the water has evaporated
Add the tomato and stir fry for 1-2 minutes. Stop before it gets too mushy
Distribute the ingredients evenly around the pan. Add a little more salt.
Add the beaten egg to make the omelette and fry for 1 minute
Put under the grill for 2 – 3 minutes until light brown and fluffy

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16Mar / 2016

Moroccan Chicken with Pomegranate Salad

Serves 2 large portions or 3-4 small lunches

Salad

50g Quinoa

1 small handful mint

2 large handfuls parsley

6cm cucumber

4 tbsp pomegranate seeds

2 tbsp flaked almonds

1 lemon

1/2 red onion

4 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Chicken

2 tsp each of cumin, coriander and cinnamon

4cm ginger root

2 cloves of garlic

2 oranges (for zest)

2 birds eye chillis

4 tbsp full fat probiotic yoghurt

2 breasts of chicken

4 small good quality tomatoes

1/2 courgette

Salt and Pepper

1 tbsp olive oil

Boil the kettle, heat one hob and preheat the grill
Put the quinoa and 600ml water in a small saucepan on the hob, bring up to the boil and simmer for 23 minutes until the water is absorbed. In the last couple of minutes stir the quinoa to prevent burning. Leave enough time after it is done for it to cool a little.
In a bowl place the cumin, coriander and cinnamon with a pinch each of salt and pepper. Crush in the garlic. Grate in the ginger. Zest the oranges and finely chop the chills and add to the bowl. Finally, add the yoghurt and mix well.
Cut each chicken breast in half lengthways and then into 3-4cm chunks. Add to the yoghurt mix and stir to ensure everything is completely coated.
On a new chopping board, cut the courgette in half lengthways and into 1cm thick half moons. Quarter the tomatoes.
Skewer the ingredients in the following sequence, courgette, chicken, tomato, chicken ending at tomato on each skewer. If you run out of ingredients just ensure that 2 chicken pieces are not directly next to each other. Leave a gap if needs be.
Place under the grill for 8 minutes each side.
Meanwhile, continue with the salad. Finely chop the herbs and onion. Cut the cucumber into 1cm slices and each slice into small cubes.
Toast the almonds in a dry pan over the hob until very light brown.
Add all the ingredients to a bowl reserving some almonds for a topping.
Add the cooled quinoa, juice of the lemon and extra virgin olive oil.
Stir well and serve with the chicken. Sprinkle over the remaining almonds.

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14Mar / 2016

Fresh Fish Stock

When I went to the fishmongers for my mackerel, I said I’d like to keep the bones for stock. I only did half the recipe which was 1 mackerel and he chucked in the bones and head of a John Dory for free! I read somewhere you should really only use bones and head of white fish but this worked perfectly for the flavoursome Thai Style Fish Soup I created later.

Makes 1 litre of stock

270g fish bones and heads etc

1 leek

1 carrot

1 onion

Outer leaves of a fennel bulb

15 black peppercorns

Pinch of salt

Cut all the vegetables into chunks and add to the pan with the fish leftovers and 1 litre of boiling water, salt and peppercorns.
Bring to the boil and simmer for 1 hour. Boil uncovered for concentrated stock which is easier to store.
Note, you can freeze this until you use it if you wish. It will keep it really fresh.
Make up to 1 litre using boiling water when you’re ready to use it

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14Mar / 2016

Thai Style Fish Soup

I investigated my local oriental shop and was amazed at how cheap it was compared to supermarkets. For example, 99p for 4 lemongrass stalks, £2.50 for 250g of cashew nuts. It costs £4.50 for 300g in Sainsbury’s! It was called a wholesaler but you could buy in small quantities.

I made the fish stock in advance as I don’t like processed stock and usually contains yeast.

Serves 2 as a main, 4 as a starter

Base:

1 stalk of lemongrass bashed with a rolling pin

1 birds eye chilli, stalk removed

2cm root ginger peeled

1 clove garlic peeled

1/2 lime (juice from)

3 lime leaves

Coriander stalks from 1 handful of fresh coriander

Herby tops from the fennel bulb

Other ingredients

1 tbsp olive oil

2 spring onions

1 fennel bulb

2 pak choi

250g any white fish

1 litre fish stock

1/2 can coconut milk

1/2 lime

Salt and pepper

To serve

1 large handful of beansprouts chopped into thirds

1 large handful fresh coriander leaves chopped

100g chopped cashew nuts

Begin by heating the oil in a large saucepan
Then put all of the base ingredients into a chopper or blender and blitz until fine
Finely slice the spring onion. When the oil is hot, turn down to medium and saute the onion for 5 minutes
Slice the fennel in half lengthways and remove the core from each half. Finely slice and shred the fennel into bite sized strips.
Add to the onion and cook for another 2 minutes
Add the base and saute for 30 seconds longer
Then add the fish stock, coconut milk and juice from the other half of the lime.
Bring to the boil and season to taste
Whilst it is boiling chop the fish into bite sized chunks and thinly slice the pak choi from top to tail and once boiled, turn the soup down to a simmer.
Add the fish and pak choi for 4 minutes until the fish is cooked all the way through but still maintaining its shape.
Take off the heat and add chopped coriander, cashew nuts and beanspouts to serve.

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13Mar / 2016

Mackerel with Roasted Beetroot, Lambs Lettuce, Lentils and Horseradish Dipping Sauce

I managed to source some fresh horseradish from my local farmer’s market. So I relished (excused the pun!) the opportunity to make something with a horseradish flavour without mayonnaise or vinegar in it.

Serves 2

50 mins

4 raw beetroot

1 tbsp olive oil

Salt and Pepper

60g lentils

Sprig of thyme

4-5 parsley stalks

Fresh horseradish (4 tsp when finely grated)

4 tsp chopped parsley

3 tbsp full fat probiotic yoghurt

50g lambs lettuce

1 lemon

2 tsp extra virgin olive oil

4 fresh mackerel fillets (skin left on)

1 tbsp olive oil

Salt and Pepper

Preheat the oven to 180C
Chop the leafy tops off the beetroot and scrub away mud under the tap.
Chop off top and tail and slice away any rough edges. Cut into about 6 wedges per beetroot.
Place in a baking tray with a drizzle of olive oil. Toss with your hands so all the wedges are covered. Spinkle with salt and pepper. Place in the oven for 35-40 minutes until cooked through turning halfway through.
Boil the kettle
Put lentils in with thyme, parsley stalks and half a litre of hot water, bring to the boil and simmer for 25 – 30 minutes until the water is absorbed, the lentils are cooked through but not mushy.
Grate the horseradish, chop the parsley and add to the yoghurt for your dipping sauce.
Dress the lambs lettuce with the juice of half the lemon and extra virgin olive oil
8 minutes before everything is ready heat up a frying pan on the hob with 1 tbsp of olive oil.
After 3 minutes turn down to medium and add the mackerel one fillet at a time, skin side down, pushing down with a fish slice so it doesn’t curl up. Once all are added, squeeze over the juice of the other lemon half and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cook for 3 – 4 minutes until the top is almost all white then flip over and cook the other side for 1 minute.
Remove all from heat. Arrange the lambs lettuce on plates, sprinkle with lentils, add beetroot and fish. Drizzle over some dipping sauce but put the rest in a little bowl for dipping!
Delicious and healthy!

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04Mar / 2016

Savoury Peanut Fro Yo

I am a sugar addict so I cannot eat anything too sweet or else I will crave sugar again. But I’m experimenting with some savoury alternatives to ice cream for fun!

Food Blog 001

Serves 1

2 tbsp full fat probiotic yoghurt

1 tbsp natural crunchy peanut butter (I use whole earth as it has no sugar or nasties)

Mix in a freezable contain and freeze for at least 24 hours
15 minutes before serving take out of the freezer to thaw a little
After 15 minutes mix so that it takes on a creamy consistency and then serve with sliced fruit

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04Mar / 2016

Sweet Potato Dauphinoise

Serves 2 as a side dish

1 sweet potato

1/4 red onion

2 tbsp creme fraiche

40g pumpkin seeds

Salt and Pepper

Preheat the oven to 190C
Wash the sweet potato and keeping the skin on, cut into 5mm thick rounds
Cut the onion in half and chop half of one half into 5mm half moons
Place the onion and sweet potato in a mixing bowl with the creme fraiche, salt and pepper. Mix until everything is covered.
Arrange the drenched sweet potato and onion in a small baking dish (I used an oval dish about 20cm x 12cm) and pour on any remaining mixture.
Blitz the pumpkin seeds in a small chopper but keep it roughly chopped and not too smooth. Top the dauphinoise with the blitzed pumpkin seeds.
Bake in the oven for 45 minutes. Keep an eye on it, if the pumpkin seeds are getting too brown move to a lower shelf.

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25Feb / 2016

Edamame v Eggs

Non processed, portable protein

50g of Edamame is about equivalent to a boiled egg so a good breakfast substitute for those on the go.

	50g Edamame	Medium Boiled Egg
Energy	76.5 KCal	72 KCal
Protein	7.0g	7.1g
Sodium	–	75mg
Fibre	3.0g	–
Carbohydrates	2.4g	–
Of which sugars	1.0g	–
Price per serving at Tesco	£0.17	£0.15

Sources: Tesco.com, My Fitness Pal, Tesco Soya Bean packet. Price based on pack of 6 medium free range eggs and 600g frozen soya beans. Tesco sells what it calls Edamame which is exactly the same as what they call frozen soya beans except they are still in their pods so you get less beans in the weight and you get 500g instead of 600g for £2.00. Prices as at 4th March 2016.

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22Feb / 2016

Guacamole

Good fat, goes with sweet potato wedges, chia crackers, tex mex and mexican food. So easy, you can’t go wrong.

1 avocado

1 birds eye chilli

1 handful of the leaf half of fresh coriander

1 tbsp full fat probiotic yoghurt (sour cream or creme fraiche can also be used)

1/2 lime

Large pinch of salt and pepper

Peel and avocado and discard the stone
Add with the yoghurt/cream, chilli, coriander, salt, pepper and the juice of the lime into a chopper/blender
Blend until chunky/smooth, however you wish

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22Feb / 2016

Chia and Carrot Crackers

Sometimes you need something a little chewy that’s not caramel and chia does this for you. It’s also really healthy – loads of vitamins and minerals as well as protein and fibre. The butter gives it a hint of a biscuit-like taste.

Makes 5 crackers – scale up to make more

1/2 cup chia seeds

1/2 large carrot or 1 small carrot, peeled and grated

10g butter

Preheat the oven to 150C
Add 1/2 cup of water to the chia seeds and carrot in a microwaveable bowl
Microwave for 2 minutes
Meanwhile liberally grease a baking tin with the butter as the chia gets very sticky
After heating the chia mix, stir and leave to cool for a couple of minutes
Then take a fifth of the mix and squeeze into a ball, passing from hand to hand
Squash down into a rough round cracker shape onto the baking tray. Press down so it’s as thin as you can get it without breaking. The thinner it is, the crispier the edges. Don’t worry about getting it perfectly round.
Repeat until all the mixture is used up. You should have about 5 crackers.
Bake for 15 minutes turning halfway through.
Serve alone or with a dip such as guacamole.

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