Tag: Healthy
Frozen Smoothie Bowl

Frozen Smoothie Bowl

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There’s this new food trend (new in the sense I’ve only known about it for a couple of months, but it’s probably been around for centuries) called ‘smoothie bowls’. These are basically smoothies, often made with frozen fruit, then topped off with all kinds of healthy nuts, seeds and fruit to make them look really pretty. For a long time now I’ve been looking for ways to make my diet healthier as I’ve been living off my bakes and comfort food for way too long, so here’s the new nutritious side of my food.

These bowls are great because you can get all kinds of frozen fruit all year round and it’s way cheaper than fresh fruit so you can have vitamin-packed fruity bowls for breakfast whenever you want! Like with all smoothies this would also be a great way of using up leftover fruit, so if you’ve got it bung it in. This is also probably the simplest thing I’ve ever made on here, it’s literally two steps and two easy steps at that, so if you’re looking at it and thinking ooo that’s effort, trust me it’s easier than it looks!

Recipe

Serves 2

Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients

For the smoothie

  • 170g Frozen cherries
  • 130g Frozen raspberries
  • 50g Frozen blueberries
  • 3 tbsp Greek yoghurt
  • 1 tbsp Maple syrup (or honey)
  • 1 Banana, peeled

To top (all optional)

  • Handful of Cashew nuts
  • Handful of Ground almonds
  • Handful of Flaked almonds
  • 1 Banana, sliced
  • 50g Dark chocolate, chopped finely

Method

  1. Put all the ingredients for the smoothie into a blender or food processor and whizz together until smooth. You might need to let the fruit defrost a little first so it’ll actually crush up.
  2. Spoon the smoothie into two bowls. Top with the sliced banana, nuts and chocolate. Enjoy!

Thanks for reading!

Emma x
Canadian Salad

Canadian Salad

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Have you heard I went to Canada this summer? Yup, in case you didn’t already know, a few weeks ago I crossed the pond once more on a spontaneous summer get away. As my sister used to live out there she and I spent our three weeks staying with her friends, going to tones of insanely good BBQs, and generally soaking up the stunning landscape. There’s something so relaxing and creatively inspiring about the mountains and the rivers out there. I found myself sketching for the first time in years (ironic as I’ve been doing an art course the past year), voluntarily exercising, and actually stopping and thinking rather than just hurtling through life like I usually do when I’m at home.

I also found myself eating more creatively – partly because I was on a tight budget and also because I was doing a lot of cooking with my sister who’s a fitness fanatic and eats way more vegetables than I’m used to! Whilst I’ve called this Canadian salad I didn’t actually make it when I was over there because food was generally expensive and this has lots of components to it. The reason for the name is that I first came across a variation of this at restaurant up the side of a mountain in Lake Louise. I’ve never seen something like this before and it tasted amazing so I thought I’d make my own, e voila!

The reason I love this salad so much is that it’s relatively healthy but it’s also sweet enough to satisfy a sugar craving. The combo of the fruit, the spiced pecans and the cheese is one of those things that shouldn’t work but just does. If you’re not a sweet-toothed person I’d recommend coating the pecans in just the butter and cinnamon, and leaving out the sugar so that the only sweetness is coming from the natural sugars in the fruit. This also originally had daikon in it (I hadn’t heard of it either, apparently it’s a vegetable like a radish), but as I couldn’t find one in Aldi this one is daikon-less, but you could use radish if you want some peppery-ness in here.

Recipe

Serves 2

Time: 10 minutes

Ingredients

  • 50g Pecans
  • 1 tbsp Unsalted butter (or soya margarine)
  • 1 tsp Brown sugar
  • 1/4 tsp Ground cinnamon
  • 2 Handfuls of Baby spinach
  • Roughly 4 Strawberries
  • 1 Orange
  • 20g Dried cranberries
  • 20g Feta cheese
  • 1 tbsp Maple syrup
  • 20ml Balsamic vinegar

Method

  1. Begin with the candied pecans. Put the pecans, butter, sugar and cinnamon in a small pan and leave the butter to melt. Stir the contents a little so that the pecans are covered in the butter/sugar mixture and then leave to bubble up for 3-5 minutes. Take off the heat and set aside for later.
  2. Scatter the spinach across two plates, or one large serving dish if you’re making a salad to share.
  3. Hull and halve the strawberries and scatter them over the salad. Then halve the orange and cut one of the halves into 6 wedges. Cut the skin and any pith off the segments and then arrange them over the salad.
  4. Next scatter the dried cranberries, feta cheese and candied pecans over the plate.
  5. To make the dressing put the maple syrup, 1 tbsp orange juice (you can get this from the other half of the orange) and vinegar into a small bowl or jug. Mix together and then drizzle over the salad. Serve!

Thanks for reading!

Emma x

 
Asparagus, New Potato and Serrano Ham Salad

Asparagus, New Potato and Serrano Ham Salad

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To counter all the insanely indulgent patisserie and sweet bakes that I’ve been making the past few weeks, I thought it was about time for a salad. Especially when it’s this hot all the time, no one really wants to be eating anything warm and so salads are kinda my go-to thing. This salad can be served either hot or cold, so it’s a good one to have up your sleeve for all seasons.

I think the key to a good salad is to have a mixture of cheese/meat, green veg and then something more carb-based. In this summery salad the saltiness of the ham and the halloumi works beautifully with the earthiness of the asparagus and the broad beans. If you haven’t had halloumi before, it’s this gorgeous cheese which is cooked to give a slightly crisp outside with a softer inside that squeaks as you eat it. It’s pretty salty, but in a salad like this it’s incredible! Because of the serano ham and asparagus this can be a bit of a pricey lunch to make, so if you’re working to a budget you can get the same effect by using normal ham and cooked courgette strips.

Recipe

Serves 2

Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients

  • 6 New Potatoes
  • 8 Spears of Asparagus
  • A handful of Broad beans
  • 1 tbsp Olive oil
  • 1 Block of Halloumi (about 225g)
  • A handful of Salad Leaves
  • 3 Pieces of Serrano ham
  • Black pepper to season

Method

  1. Put on a pan of water to boil. Then add the new potatoes and leave to boil for 10 minutes, until soft.
  2. Chop off the woody ends of the asparagus, about a thumbs length but this will vary depending on what kind you buy. Scoop the potatoes out of the water and then replace them with the asparagus, leaving them to boil for 5-8 minutes, until tender. Add the broad beans a few minutes before they asparagus is cooked to allow through to cook through.
  3. In another pan pop the oil and put over a medium heat. Slice the halloumi into pieces the thickness of a £1 coin. Then fry the halloumi for 2-3 minutes on each side so it goes golden brown.
  4. When ready start plating the salad. Scatter some of the salad leaves over the plate. Then cut the potatoes into wedges and scatter them around the plate. Then pop on the halloumi, asparagus and scatter over the broad beans. Finish with twirls of the Serrano ham, a drizzle of olive oil and a sprinkle of black pepper!

Thanks for reading!

Emma x
Mediterranean Lunch Bowl

Mediterranean Lunch Bowl

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There’s this big vegan food trend at the moment in the food-sphere which is big bowls full of bits and bobs, making up a delish lunch. I think the key idea is that they create a balanced, interesting, healthy bowl of goodness which will also fill you up. As I’ve got really into Mediterranean cooking recently I thought I’d do a bowl full of med veg and bites! As with most things, all the items in here are easily mixed and matched, so anything you like/don’t like you can substitute in/out. In this one I’ve got some spicy couscous, aromatic roast aubergine, crispy kale, and hummus, all served with pita bread and salad to mix with everything. Portion wise this does make a hearty lunch for one, but you could always add in some more salad and it’d easily do a good lunch for two.

Recipe

Serves 1

Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 Aubergine
  • 2 tbsp Olive oil
  • 1/2 tsp Zaartar spice blend
  • 30g Couscous
  • 1/2 tsp Rasel Hanout spice blend
  • A handful of curly kale
  • 1/2 tsp sugar
  • A large pinch of salt
  • 1 Pita bread (or other flatbread)
  • 1/2 Red pepper
  • 2cm Cucumber
  • 3 Cherry tomatoes
  • A handful of salad leaves
  • 5g Feta cheese
  • 2 tbsp Hummus
  • A pinch of Smoked paprika

Method

  1. Pre-heat the oven to 180˚C.
  2. Slice the ends off the aubergine, then halve it and chop it into slices.
  3. Put the aubergine into a roasting tin, drizzle over 1 tbsp of the oil, sprinkle with the zaatar spices and season with a little salt. Then roast in the oven for 20-25 minutes until soft.
  4. Meanwhile prep the couscous. Put the couscous into a bowl with the rasel hanout spices and pour over boiling water according to the packet’s instructions. Leave to soak and then break up with a fork, season with salt, and set to one side.
  5. Now prep the kale. Put the kale into a roasting tin. Drizzle over the 1 tbsp of the oil, then sprinkle over the salt and sugar.
  6. Mix everything together and then put the kale into the oven to cook for 10-15 minutes until crispy. The kale will go from crisp to burnt really quickly so keep a close eye on it.
  7. Put the flatbread onto a tray and put it into the oven to warm up.
  8. Whilst waiting for everything to cook/warm up, prep the salad.
  9. Begin by de-seeding the pepper and then chop it into strips. Then halve and quarter the cucumber lengthways before chopping it into chunks. Then chop the tomatoes into quarters.
  10. Put the salad leaves, tomatoes, cucumber and feta into a bowl and mix together.
  11. Take the bread out of the oven and use kitchen scissors to chop it up into strips.
  12. When everything’s ready start to plate. Begin by spooning the couscous onto the bowl/plate in a mound. Then work clockwise round the bowl, piling up the salad leaves, bread strips, kale, aubergine and then the red pepper strips. Finish off with a dollop of the hummus in the centre and then sprinkle a little paprika over the hummus to add some extra heat. Serve and enjoy!

Thanks for reading!

Emma x
Smoothies

Smoothies

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Oki so, it’s officially summer which means that it’s definitely peak smoothie time. I’ve just started a new job so I’m a bit short on time at the moment, so refreshing, quick treats like these are perfect for now. Unlike a lot of shop-bought smoothies these ones are free of added sugars and colourings, and what goes in them can be totally controlled. The thing I really love about smoothies is how easy it is to mix and match in them. Dietary requirements? No problem, just use soya milk or fruit juice instead of milk. Wanna to boost your iron intake? Just add a handful of spinach. Have some fruit you need to use up? Just chuck it in!

I’ve got three combos here that I like, but you can of course substitute and experiement to your hearts content, so these can be seen as more guidelines! They’re all super quick and easy to make, if you have a bit more time you can try sieving the finished smoothie to get a really smooth result.

Berry Bonanza

 Recipe

Makes 1 Large glass

Time: 5 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 Medium banana
  • A handful of strawberries
  • 200ml Milk
  • A handful of blueberries, plus extra to garnish

Method

  1. Peel and roughly slice the banana, and then hull and halve the strawberries.
  2. Pop all the ingredients into a blender and whiz it all together until the mixture is smooth.
  3. Pour the smoothie into a glass. Garnish with the left over blueberries.

 

Pretty-in-pink smoothie

Recipe

Makes 1 Large glass

Time: 5 minutes

Ingredients

  • 2 Large peaches
  • A handful of strawberries
  • 200ml Grapefruit juice
  • Mint to garnish

Method

  1. De-stone and roughly chop the peaches and then hull and halve the strawberries.
  2. Pop everything but the mint in to a blender and whizz up until smooth.
  3. Pour the smoothie into a glass and garnish with the mint.

Sunset smoothie

Recipes

Makes 1 Large glass

Time: 5 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 Banana
  • ½ Mango
  • 1 Peach
  • 200ml Apple juice

Method

  1. Peel and roughly slice the banana and mango. Then de-stone and roughly chop the peach.
  2. Put everything into a blender and whiz together until smooth.
  3. Pour the smoothie into a glass and serve!

Thanks for reading!

Emma x