Healthy No Grain Chocolatey Breakfast

I initially tried this with wheatgrass powder instead of the cacao powder. It was disgusting. It looked like dried pond scrapings. It tasted worse. So revolting was it, indeed, that I ate a bowl on two consecutive mornings and then decided to throw the rest away. I hate wasting food, but it really was vile! However, this altered recipe is very palatable.

Yes, it’s possible to combine healthy eating and chocolatey-ness and have it for breakfast! This takes just a few minutes to prepare but will last for many breakfasts. Although the initial ingredients are expensive, a little goes a very long way, so this does not become too uneconomical.

 

You will need:

150g chia seeds

150g raw buckwheat

50g banana chips, crushed

50g dried cranberries

50g pumpkin seeds

30g popped amaranth

20g gogi berries

15g dried apple pieces

1 tbsp raw cacao powder (or more, to taste)

 

1. Wash buckwheat and leave to dry on a clean tea towel or kitchen roll paper. If you do this last thing at night it will be dry by the morning.

2. In a bowl combine the chia seeds, banana chips, cranberries, pumpkin seeds, popped amaranth, gogi berries, apple, cacao and fully dry buckwheat.

3. Stir gently to combine.

4. When fully combined, place in an airtight container.

 

TO USE:

Place one tablespoonful in a bowl. Add around 150-200ml water or almond milk and leave to soak for at least 15 minutes (you can even leave it overnight) before eating.

 

TOP TIPS

Watch this YouTube video for how to pop amaranth (you can also buy it ready-popped):

https://m.youtube.com/?#/watch?v=sqbQDKxDyW4

 

 

 

 

Simple Salad

Takes 10 minutes to prepare.

You will need:

1 cucumber, cubed

250g cherry tomatoes, halved or quartered (or salad tomatoes, diced)

1 large carrot, peeled and grated

3 tbsp rapeseed oil

1 tbsp rice wine vinegar (or cider vinegar)

1/4 tsp Dijon, whole grain or French mustard

 

1. Combine the cucumber, tomatoes and carrot in a large bowl.
2. Whisk together the oil, vinegar and mustard.
3. Pour the dressing over the salad.
4. Mix well.

 

Serve with rice, jacket potatoes, quiche, etc.

 

VEGAN SULTANA SCONES

Sunday tea wouldn’t be the same without a freshly baked treat. These scones are light and fluffy as well as inexpensive. For a real treat serve with clotted cream and jam or freshly sliced strawberries. I don’t eat dairy and I can attest that these taste  l o v e l y  smeared with just jam or fruit spread.

You will need:

565g self-raising flour

1½ teaspoons cream of tartar

1 heaped teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

40g fair trade caster sugar (this recipe uses less sugar than standard scone recipes)

150g sultanas

150g margarine (I use vitalite)

450ml unsweetened almond milk

1. In a large bowl, mix together the flour, cream of tartar, bicarbonate of soda and sugar.

2. Using a teaspoon, dot the margarine around on top of the mix.

3. Using your fingertips, rub the margarine into the flour mix until it resembles breadcrumbs.

4. Add the sultanas.

5. Gradually add the almond milk and mix to form a sticky dough.

6. Either roll out on a floured surface and cut into rounds, or shape roughly into circles on baking tray. Makes about 12 large scones.

7. Bake for 22 minutes at 200°C. Best served while still warm.

Berry Boost Smoothie

Spinach, blackberries, raspberries and oats – four foods that are bursting with goodness and a great way to give you a delicious, low in sugar energy boost of a morning. I also give this smoothie the credit of preventing me from developing a full blown cold, unlike several other family members, and of helping increase my overall energy levels (I have health problems, so this is a big deal for me).

You will need:

1 handful frozen spinach or 3 handfuls fresh spinach

1 handful blackberries

1 handful raspberries

1 handful oats

1 litre of unsweetened non-dairy milk such as almond milk, rice milk or soya milk

1 dessertspoonful agave syrup/molasses/malt extract (optional)

1 teaspoon ground nutmeg (optional)

Method:

Whizz together in a powerful blender until smooth, then decant and enjoy! Serves five.

Savoury Vegetable Crumble

I love fruit crumbles. I try to make them with plain fruit nowadays, to lessen my family’s sugar consumption. I wanted to try a savoury crumble for a change. This is what I came up with. It is delicious served with chunks of home made wholemeal bread.

 

You will need:

900g mixed vegetables, fresh or frozen, such as broccoli, carrot, cauliflower, peas, etc.

1 onion, chopped

2 teaspoons olive oil

2 heaped dessertspoons of flour (soya flour works well)

300ml soya milk

1 teaspoon dried mixed herbs

1 teaspoon garlic granules

black pepper, to taste

 

For the topping:

120g wholemeal flour

25g margarine

50g smoked soya cheese, grated

75g mixed seeds (I use a blend of pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds and sunflower seeds)

 

1. Steam all the vegetables until they are cooked, or boil in a large pan with just enough water to cover.

2. Drain the vegetables but do not discard the water.

3. Heat the oil in a pan and add the onion. Cook over a gentle heat until the onion softens and glistens, then add the garlic.

4. To the onion and garlic add the two heaped spoonfuls of flour. Stir gently until the flour and onion have combined.

5. Add 30ml of the milk and stir until it forms a smooth paste.

6. Add the rest of the milk and 150ml of the vegetable water.

7. Turn the heat up and bring to the boil, stirring continuously.

8. Keep stirring for another minute or so, until the mixture has thickened into a sauce.

9. Add the herbs and seasoning.

10. Put the drained vegetables into a casserole dish (or other oven-proof dish).

11. Pour the sauce over the vegetables.

12. Now make the crumble topping. First, place the flour into a bowl.

13. Add the margarine and rub it into the flour using your fingertips. Continue until it the mixture resembles breadcrumbs (this will take a few minutes).

14. To the crumble mix add the smoked soya cheese and seeds. Stir with a wooden spoon until combined.

15. Spoon the crumble mixture over the top of the vegetables and smooth it out.

16. Bake in a pre-heated oven at 200°C  for 20 minutes, et voila! Enjoy.

 

TOP TIPS

If you’re baffled by the idea of rubbing margarine into flour, check out this youtube video. Gordon Ramsay does the crumble topping at about 2 minutes in, and although he seems to do it lightning fast, he demonstrates the technique required to make the crumble topping (of course, if you’re doing the savoury crumble above, you leave out the sugar, and instead of the muesli you add the soya cheese and seeds).

 

 

I have to say I love the combination of fresh apples with skins intact (I always leave the skins on apples) and dried cranberries. I might just have to try this dish for myself!

LOW FAT LOW SUGAR BREAD PUDDING: A HEALTHIER VERSION OF THE STALE BREAD SAVER

You will need:

Stale bread, approx. 500-600g

3 generous dessertspoons (30-40ml) molasses/black treacle

25g suet

2 heaped teaspoons ground mixed spice

200g mixed dried fruit

1 dessert apple, grated

Approx. 600 to 900ml unsweetened soya or almond milk (or water)

 

1. Tear bread into bite sized pieces and put in a large bowl.
2. Pour milk over and press bread down with a potato masher until the bread starts to absorb the liquid.
3. Cover and leave to stand for 15 minutes.
4. Using a large colander held over another large bowl, drain the milk or water off the bread. Use the milk/water for something else. I just drink it!
5. Press the bread with the potato masher again to squeeze the moisture out.
6. Add the molasses, suet, apple, dried fruit and spice and stir to combine.
7. Place into two small, greased roasting tins and spread out using the back of a metal spoon.
8. Dot the top of the mixture with 30g butter or margarine.
9. Cover with tin foil to stop the top of the mixture from burning.
10. Bake in a preheated oven at 100°Celsius (80°C fan oven) for three to four hours, until firm.
11. This will not set hard like a traditional bread pudding. Instead it has more of the texture of bread and butter pudding, but what’s not to like!
12. Serve with custard, cream or ice cream.
13. Store in the fridge and eat within three days, or freeze and eat within three months.

Green Banana Smoothie

Yet another tasty, nutritious and filling alternative for breakfast.

 

1 small banana

Handful porridge oats

Handful of frozen spinach

4 tablespoons home made plain yoghurt

200ml unsweetened non-dairy milk

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

 

1. Place in the blender and whizz together.

 

TOP TIPS

To clean the blender, rinse out with water, then add a drop of washing up liquid and a few hundred millilitres of water. Put the jug back on the blender base with the lid and pulse on and off for thirty seconds. This should get rid of most of the gunk, which is hard to wash off by conventional means.

Breakfast Smoothie

I have been experimenting with healthy alternatives to manufactured breakfast cereals and toast. Oats are a great breakfast food because they help to keep your blood sugar on an even keel so you don’t feel hungry mid-morning, but there are only so many ways you can make muesli or porridge, so I decided to experiment with my trusty blender. Here’s what I came up with:

 

Handful of frozen spinach

Handful of blueberries*

4 tablespoons homemade plain soya yoghurt

250ml unsweetened non-dairy milk of choice

1 teaspoon local honey** (optional)

Handful of porridge oats

 

1. Put all ingredients in blender and whizz until there are no lumps and the smoothie is -er – smooth.

2. Enjoy!

 

TOP TIPS

*Substitute blueberries with any seasonal local fruit for a more eco-friendly alternative. I used Spanish blueberries, so at least they hadn’t travelled thousands of miles, but local fruit would have been better from an environmental viewpoint.

**Our local honey tastes of flowers and is wonderful. It is expensive so we use it sparingly, but this breakfast seemed a good enough reason to use it!

COCK-A-STRONE SOUP WITH GARLIC BREAD

This is not cock-a-leekie, nor is it minestrone, but it has elements of both. It is not too thick for a summer supper, but is chunky enough to be filling in winter. Serve with warm, crusty garlic bread. 

 

You will need:

3 leeks, washed and chopped into bitesize pieces (1-2 cm)

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

4 carrots, chopped into chunks

1 tablespoon tomato puree

1 tin baked beans

2 teaspoons Herbes de Provençe*

125ml white wine**

2 stock cubes***

1 tablespoon cornflour

black pepper

1 teaspoon garlic granules

1 packet of instant noodles (see below)

Water

Packet noodle, not pot noodle.

 

For the garlic bread:

One baguette

1 teaspoon garlic granules

1 teaspoon dried parsley

50g butter or margarine****

 

1. Place the vegetable oil in a large saucepan with the leeks and cook over a medium heat until soft. Do not allow to brown.

2. Add the carrots, tomato puree, baked beans, Herbes de Provençe, white wine and garlic granules.

3. Without opening the packet, crunch the noodles with your hands until broken into small pieces. Open the packet, remove the flavouring sachet and discard.

4. Add the stock cubes.

5. In a teacup, mix the cornflour with a little water. Add to the saucepan and stir.

6. Add enough water to cover all the vegetables by 3 or 4cm. Stir well.

7. Bring to the boil, then simmer over a low heat for 30 minutes.

8. Add the crushed noodles.

9. Meanwhile, in a small bowl mix together the margarine, dried parsley and garlic granules using a fork.

10. Cut slices into the baguette using a bread knife but don’t cut all the way through, leave about ¼ uncut.

11. Scoop a teaspoon of garlic ‘butter’ into each gap using two teaspoons.

12. Place in the oven at 180ºC for five minutes to allow the garlic ‘butter’ to melt and the bread to warm through.

13. Serve the soup with the garlic bread and enjoy!

 

TOP TIPS

*If you don’t have Herbes de Provençe, or you are on a very tight budget, use generic dried mixed herbs.

**If you don’t have white wine, you can substitute apple juice, white grape juice, or even water.

***You can use chicken stock cubes or vegetable stock cubes. You could even use one stock cube along with the contents of the favouring sachet from the noodles.

**** As we have two family members who are dairy free, I use a vegetable margarine called vitalite. It has more flavour than other vegetable margarines, although I do use a cheaper version for baking.

Sugar Free Oaty Treats

Easy peasy and a great alternative to flapjacks or other sugary snacks. The kids will love them!

 

Ingredients:

3 medium, ripe fair trade bananas

298g tin mandarins in juice, drained

400g oats

1 tablespoon fair trade cocoa

100g sugar free chocolate drops (or sultanas)

Ta daa! I’ve finally figured out how to upload photographs.

1. Whizz the bananas and drained mandarins in a blender.

2. Put into a large bowl.

3. Into the banana and mandarin mixture stir the cocoa, oats and chocolate drops.

4. Place onto a baking tray lined with a silicon liner or greaseproof paper.

5. Bake in the middle of a pre-heated oven for 40 minutes at 170ºC.

6. Allow to cool. Store in the fridge for up to 3 days.