Month: December 2015

Brazil nut and almond crumble cookies

Published by

Well they are not really cookies or a crumble but I couldn’t think of a better description for them. But what they are is totally delicious, sweet, crunchy, soft and filling. As you can probably tell by looking at my blog, I am forever on the hunt for a healthy snack which tastes like a really naughty snack and this one completes that brief! The joys of these little snacks are that they are gluten free, sugar free and dairy free. Similar in many ways to the energy balls but these come out a little sweeter and gooey. The flavouring also reminds me of a biscuity base of a tart or a crumble topping. I am going to cut up some apples and stew them a little with some lemon juice and maple syrup then crumble this on top. It would be a wonderful gluten and dairy free pudding. I am very lucky as I don’t seem to be intolerant to any foods but eating snacks like this are 100% more natural and better for me than any …

Homemade chocolate spoons

Published by

I have always wanted to make my own chocolate from scratch and hadn’t realised how easy it was. I know we can all go out and buy a chocolate bar but I wanted sugar and dairy free chocolate and to have the pride that I made it! I am making chocolate spoons for a tea party, a christmas one where I have a few people coming along who can not eat dairy so mince pies and homemade sausage rolls are a no go for them. I  will also make coconut snowballs which are dairy and sugar free (similar to the bounty bars in an earlier post but just roll the mixture into ball shapes not bars). First of all you need to get your hands on some raw cocoa butter. You will see in the above image what it looks like. This is different to coconut oil as it comes from the cocoa bean not coconut! The melted cocoa butter is mixed with raw cacao powder and a sweetener (in this case maple syrup) to make lovely dark …

Chicken Laksa

Published by

It may be the lead up to Christmas but that doesn’t mean that the only food you can eat is mince pies with brandy butter or turkey and stuffing sandwiches. Keep being adventurous in the kitchen and keep a few recipes like this up your sleeve. Your dinner party guests would be thrilled to be given something light and gently spiced for dinner rather than the hefty carb loaded food that we all insist on eating this time of year. Don’t you find that you never quite feel hungry most of December? I’m basically exhausted and longing for the eating to stop, but can’t quite say no to all the delicious canapés being handed round, and have slightly given up trying to be good. Frankly no one wants a salad in December! So here are my ‘salads’ of the curry world that are low in fat, full of flavour, textures and bring a satisfying warmth to your supper.   Ingredients:  (ok this looks like a long list, but you will notice in all my food I end up …

Burmese cauliflower curry

Published by

It was a cold dark night and I just felt a little fed up of eating soup and wanted something chunky with a bit of heat to clear my cold which didn’t want to go. This was just the recipe, adapted from a few different recipes I have tried over the past year and it isn’t realise Burmese or Indian or Thai, but I like the combination. The Cauliflower is wonderfully comforting with the chick peas and spinach giving a lot of textures, makes you realise how easy it is to have three vegetables in just one sitting and no meat. The chick peas give us the protein to fill up even a hungry boy, while the spinach is packed full of iron and cauliflower full of vitamin C. All in all this is a flu fighting recipe perfect for any one! Ingredients: 1 cauliflower cut into florets 2 teaspoons curry powder ½ teaspoon salt ½ teaspoon ground turmeric 1 tsp garam masala drizzles of olive oil 1 teaspoon chilli powder/ or cayenne 2 teaspoons sweet paprika …

No packed lunch for Monday

Published by

You have been away for the weekend, got home late Sunday night and slumped on the sofa while you waited for the doorbell to ring with your takeaway.. At this stage you didn’t even consider that by 11am  Monday morning you would also be completely STARVING, craving a big baked potato covered in baked beans and melted cheese for your lunch. Not to mention the fact that once you have eaten your HUGE baked potato, you feel stuffed, sluggish and didn’t actually enjoy it that much anyway. So here is my little tip to stop you reaching out for that baked potato come Monday lunch time and a few other time saving healthy tips. First of all, always have eggs in the house, that means when you get home late any night, especially a Sunday, you can have a quick plate of scrambled eggs and that will be a light but protein packed dinner just before bed. If you don’t feel full enough, have a handful of nuts and dried fruit which will feel like pudding or a teaspoon …