Category: Nutritious

For the times when you realise you should probably eat something with some healthy stuff in it.
Halloumi and Parma Ham Salad with a Peach Coulis Dressing

Halloumi and Parma Ham Salad with a Peach Coulis Dressing

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I admit to writing this a little jet lagged and sleep-deprived as I’ve just got back from a trip to the Austrian Alps with my Mum. After a week of stunning snow and sun it’s a surprise to see that the weather here is just as gorgeous as it is over there! The sun is shining, the sky is the lushest blue and all I want to eat right now is lots of salads (weird right?). I’ve always been more of a comfort food kind of girl than a healthy one, but I’m now trying to fuse the two by making tasty salads. I’ve found that the best way to do this is to accessorise a base of leaves with any meats, cheeses and fruits that appeal, and hey presto – delicious healthy salads!

Recipe

Serves 2

Time: 10 minutes

Ingredients

  • 225g Halloumi
  • 3 Ripe peaches
  • 1 tbsp Olive oil
  • 1 tbsp Lemon juice
  • Salt and Pepper
  • A couple of handfuls of Bagged salad
  • 4 slices of Parma ham

Method

  1. Put a frying pan over a medium heat. Slice the halloumi into slices roughly 1cm wide. Place in the pan and fry for 30-60 seconds on each side until starting to go golden brown. Set to one side until needed.
  2. Cut the peaches in half and de-stone them. De-skin one of the peaches and put it into a small bowl. Use a hand blender to make it into a puree. Add the oil and lemon juice and pulse again to make a smooth dressing.
  3. To plate up scatter the salad leaves over two plates. Then slice the each peach into 8 and scatter the slices around the plate. Then arrange the halloumi and the parma ham around he plate. Finish with a drizzle of the peach dressing and serve!

Thanks for reading!

Emma x
Yogurt Granola Bowl

Yogurt Granola Bowl

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Whoever said ‘breakfast is the most important meal of the day’ is probably one of the most annoying people on this earth… and yet since getting to uni I do kinda see their point. I never used to eat breakfast, not sure if it’s because I didn’t have the time or I just didn’t feel hungry but I just wasn’t that kinda person. However one of the side effects of being catered in college is that we have to pay for breakfasts even if we don’t eat them so wahey I’ve become a breakfast person!

So now I’m back home and get super hungry at about 8:15 every morning I thought I’d branch out and explore some things to make for breakfast. I’ve also just recently discovered the wonder that is Greek yogurt and honey (check me out coming across all this really normal stuff for the first time!) and so hey presto – Add a couple of oaty bites and a fruit compote to a bowl of honey and yogurt and Bob’s your uncle!

Recipe

Serves 1

Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients

  • 3 tbsp Greek Yogurt
  • 1 Small banana
  • 100g Frozen berries
  • 1 tbsp Honey
  • ¼ tsp Cinnamon

For the Granola Chunks

  • 5 ml Vegetable oil
  • 5g Honey
  • 5g Brown sugar
  • Pinch of salt
  • 50g Porridge oats
  • 1 tbsp Extra flavourings if wanted (chopped nuts, dried fruit, chocolate chunks etc)

Method

  1. Begin by making the oat clusters. Pre-heat the oven to 180˚C and line a baking tray with baking paper.
  2. Add the oil, honey, sugar and salt to a bowl. Whisk to combine and then add the oats and any added flavourings. Stir again to combine.
  3. Spoon the granola onto the lined baking tray in clumps. Bake for 15-20 minutes until crisp. Leave to cool to one side until needed.
  4. Now make the compote. Put the frozen berries, honey and cinnamon into a small pan over a medium heat. Gently heat the mixture through until the berries are soft and juicy, then set aside to cool.
  5. When ready start assembling the bowl. Put a few tbsp of yogurt into one side of the bowl. Put a couple of granola clusters into another ¼ of the bowl and fill in the final section with the berry compote.
  6. Slice the banana and arrange the slices on top. Drizzle the bowl with a little honey and then sprinkle with any extra nuts and dried fruit you want!

Thanks for reading!

Emma x
Zoodles with Ricotta, Spinach and Pesto

Zoodles with Ricotta, Spinach and Pesto

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These past few weeks I’ve been comfort eating like crazy. It’s been one of those times where everything feels up in the air, I have no idea what I’m doing and every now and then I crash into a pile of Cadbury’s and cookies. I’ve never cared too much about my body image; I’m not the weight I’d like to be but in compete honesty I’ve got more to worry about than that! At the same time though I know that I’m getting to the point where I’m eating so much rubbish that it’s making me feel even more sluggish than usual. Therefore this holiday I’m going to do my best to go on a cleanse. More veg, less sugar. More salads, less cakes! Something I’ve found hard in the past when dieting is the conflict with running a food blog: I love making patisserie and I want to keep on baking, but it doesn’t do wonders for my waist line. Therefore I’m gonna start alternating between bakes and healthy things like this salad…

I’ve always wanted to try making zoodles – aka noodles made out of zucchini (or courgette if you’re English like me!) and so I thought this would be the perfect time to try them out. Traditionally they’re made with a spiralizer, but I don’t have one of those so I’ve experimented with a peeler and a knife and it’s worked fine! These are so much lighter than normal noodles and have they same kind of effect in a dish, so when put with some pesto and ricotta it makes a really light, fresh spring salad!

Recipe

Serves 2

Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients

  • 2 Courgette/zucchini
  • A squeeze of Lemon juice
  • ½ tbsp Olive oil
  • A Handful of Baby spinach
  • 4 tsp Ricotta
  • 4 tsp Green pesto
  • ¼ tsp Paprika (optional)

Method

  1. Take a medium pan, fill it with water and place it over a medium heat. Leave covered with a lid to bring to the boil.
  2. Meanwhile take a peeler and peel even strips out of the courgette. Layer these strips up in piles about 1cm tall and cut thin strips out of them using a sharp knife.
  3. Place the zoodles into the boiling water and take the pan off the heat. Leave them to sit for 1 minute (more if you want them to be softer). Then drain the zoodles and leave them to dry on some kitchen towels.
  4. Put the zoodles into a bowl and add the lemon juice and oil. Then tear up the spinach into small pieces and add them to the mix. Carefully toss everything together.
  5. Portion out the zoodle mix between the plates, then scatter the ricotta over the top. Finish with a few spoonfuls of pesto and a sprinkle of paprika. Enjoy!

Thanks for reading!

Emma x
Vegetable Korma (Vegan)

Vegetable Korma (Vegan)

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It’s over! 2 terms of hard-core Made in Dagenham drama came to an end last night in spectacular fashion and so now I’m heading back to the land of normality and degree stuff. There’s always a bit of a withdrawal after finishing a big show and so I’m trying to find lots of other things to keep me occupied (namely other shows, more art and a lot more baking!)

I’m not a very spicy gal, but I do love a good korma. There’s something charmingly subtle about the creamy blend of aromas flooding out of a dish like this. They flow out into the kitchen and like a culinary alarm clock let you know that wonders are soon to be coming out of the pan (I confess to being a little sleep deprived at the time of writing – I apologise). I normally go for a chicken korma, but since vegaunary I’ve found a strange fondness for vegetable curries like this one, and so now it’s my new fave!

Recipe

Serves 8

Time: 1 hour

Ingredients

  • 1 Small butternut squash
  • 2 tbsp Sunflower oil
  • 1 Medium sized potato
  • 1 Small cauliflower
  • 1 Corgette
  • 1 Red pepper
  • 1 Large onion
  • 1 thumbsize piece of Root ginger
  • 4 Garlic cloves, crushed
  • 100g Chopped tomatoes
  • 1 tbsp Tomato paste
  • 1 tbsp Curry powder
  • 1 tbsp Garam masala
  • 5 tsp Ground cumin
  • 5 tsp Ground coriander
  • 5 tsp Ground turmeric
  • 1 tsp Salt
  • ½ tsp Ground cloves
  • ½ tsp Chilli flakes
  • 400ml Coconut milk
  • ½ cup Cashews
  • 2 tbsp Lemon juice
  • 1 tbsp Brown sugar

Method

  1. Pre-heat the oven to 180˚C. Cut the squash in half and then place on a baking tray, cut side face up. Brush with a little of the oil and then put in the oven for about 30 minutes until soft.
  2. Now prep the other veg. Peel the potato and cut it into chunks. Then take the leaves off the cauliflower and break it up into florets.
  3. Bring a large pan of water up to the boil and add the potato and cauliflower chunks. Simmer for 10-15 minutes until soft but not mushy. Drain and then leave to one side until needed.
  4. Take the ends off the courgette and pepper. Take the seeds out of the pepper and then cut it into small strips. Halve and then quarter the courgette lengthways and then cut into chunks.
  5. Put the oil into a large pan and place over a medium heat. Add the pepper and courgette and fry for 5-10 minutes until the courgette is starting to go translucent and soft. Tip into a bowl and leave until needed.
  6. Next start making the sauce. Peel the onion and then finely dice it. Add it to the pan you cooked the pepper in and fry for a few minutes until starting to caramelise.
  7. Meanwhile peel the ginger and garlic. Then grate the ginger and crush the garlic and add it to the onions. Fry for another 2-3 minutes.
  8. Add the chopped tomatoes, tomato paste and spices to the mix and simmer for a couple of minutes until starting to reduced. Then add the coconut milk, lemon juice and cashews and leave to simmer for another 5 minutes until the cashews have softened.
  9. Take a hand blender and blend the sauce until smooth. Then add the brown sugar, salt and pepper to season, and the vegetables. Stir to combine and then serve with rice and naan bread!

Thanks for reading!

Emma x
Mediterranean Veggie Wrap

Mediterranean Veggie Wrap

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I’m officially half way through the term and therefore half way through the year!! I have no idea where that’s gone, all I know is that it’s crazy hectic and I’m having the time of my life. At the moment I’m gearing myself up for a 12 hour get-in in the theatre where I’m working on a play right now. It’s going to be a long week of very little work, very little sleep, but lots of incredible theatre stuff – so quick, wholesome dinners are what  I need to focus on making otherwise I will 100% live off snacks. These wraps are so easy to throw together, can easily be taken to rehearsals/lectures etc and are much cheaper to make yourself than to buy from a sandwich shop!

Recipe

Serves 1

Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients

  • 100g Halloumi
  • A few strips of Aubergine
  • 1/4 Red pepper
  • 1 Brown tortilla wrap
  • 1-2 tbsp Hummus

Method

  1. Put a large frying pan on a medium heat. Slice the halloumi into 1cm wide strips and then fry them in the pan for 2-4 minutes on each side until golden brown and crispy. Take the halloumi out of the pan and set to one side.
  2. Then take a peeler and make thin strips of the aubergine. Dry-fry the strips in the pan for 5-8 minutes, until softened and starting to brown. Leave to one side for later.
  3. Slice the red pepper into strips, then you’re ready to assemble!
  4. Put the wrap on a plate and spread the hummus evenly over it. Arrange the aubergine, halloumi and the red pepper on top (I find doing this in a line makes it easier to roll up!). Roll the wrap up and then serve!

Thanks for reading!

Emma x