Raspberry chia coconut porridge

This morning I found some frozen raspberries in my freezer. Yum I thought and perhaps I shall warm them up with yoghurt, for an indulgent post run & yoga morning workout. Then I remembered  I have a super busy day running around London for work and then finish my shift late today and thought perhaps no. I need some thing more. So I made this amazing new recipe I choose to share with you all. I call it the Raspberry Chia Porridge (no oats though), Its full of fibre and coconut to sustain you for many hours on the run. Delicious hot or cold! :)

Raspberry Chia Porridge

Ingredients

1/ 2 Cup frozen raspberries

1/2 Cup coconut milk (I used Eco Mill unsweetened)

1/3 Cup desiccated coconut

3 Tbs Chia seeds

Method

Gently defrost the raspberries in the coconut milk on low heat. Let absorb and simmer for 5 mins. Add the chia and coconut and let simmer for another 5 mins. Stirring occasionally. When all the milk is absorbed and the chia are swelling remove from heat and let sit for another 5 -10 mins. 

Serve with banana, or kiwi and a dash of coconut yoghurt or greek yoghurt. Add homemade granola for added crunch or flaked almonds and goji berries. 

Enjoy!

Clean Mango Salsa

Seeing as it is bbq season creeping up upon us here in Europe with the warmer weather finally arriving I thought I would share one of my favourite salsas. This is super simple, yet delicate and delicious. If you have something spicy then this is perfect to balance the spice out. I paired it with BBQ Cajun Spiced chicken thighs and homemade guacamole and steamed corn on the cob. Perfectly filling and nutritious!

Clean Mango Salsa

1 ripe mango

1 small red onion

5 springs curly parsley (or coriander)

3 large tomatoes, seeds removed

1 Tbs Sunflower Oil

1/2 Tbs Vinegar, Apple Cider

2 Pinches Himalayan Salt (High in Minerals and excellent to use!)

Method

Simply chop the mango, tomatoes, and red onion into small pieces. The finer the better. Make sure they are all roughly the same. Combine and add the oil, vinegar and salt. Chop the herbs and stir in gently. Let sit aside for roughly an hour and serve with choice of mains. 

This is fantastic with anything spicy. Specially spicy seared tuna! Yum!

Enjoy 

Clean Mango Salsa

Serving suggestion. Grilled Cajun Chicken, Steamed Corn with Himalayan Salt, Guacamole

Crazy good Almond salad

Imagine the most delicious tuna salad. Salivating? Now take away the tuna and replace it with Almonds. Huh? I know, sounds odd. But trust me when I tell you this is truly one of my new favourite things to eat. The next time I am throwing a dinner party I am serving this. So all my friends know already, this is your welcome nibble. Amisa does this gluten free crisp bread which is heavenly and served with the almond salad on top is just too darn good. 

Almond Salad / Spread

Ingredients

1 Cup Raw Almonds

2 Celery Sticks, Finely chopped

2 Shallots , Finely chopped

1 Small clove garlic, Finely chopped

4 Small Spring Onions, Finely chopped

4 Tbs Amisa Egg free Mayo

2 Tbs Organic Dijon Mustard

1 Tsp Himalayan Salt

Method

In a bowl soak the almonds in water overnight. Keep in the fridge. At least 3 hours. Let them plump. Rinse and drain well. Place in powerful blender and blast till flaked and looks almost like "tuna".  Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well. Add or reduce salt to taste. Alternatively you can add 1/2 granny smith apple finely chopped. 

Chill for 2 hours and serve. It keeps well for a week in the fridge but there is no way it will be there that long!! 

Enjoy (I know I did :)

Quinoa Granola!

I was thinking a few weeks back whilst I was making my roasted quinoa kale and garlic topping for salads, why not do a sweet version? Quinoa Granola. Genius. Then I googled it and realised I was way behind on my inventions and someone had beat me to it. Fine. I will not read or be influenced by any other recipes and make my own version. So tonight I cooked a cup of quinoa which made plenty for dinner and left half for the granola. So I let the remaining quinoa rest and cool in a bowl for an hour. Let me tell you, this turned out amazing. So good, and incredible as dessert, or if you fancy something sweet in the morning. In all honest I could eat it on its own as well. All the time. Everyday. 

Jo's Quinoa Granola

Ingredients

1 1/2 Cup cooked quinoa

1 Handful pecans

2 Tsp Agave ( you can add more or less depending on how sweet you like it)

1/2 Desiccated Coconut

1/2 Tbs Cinnamon

(You can add other nuts / seeds / fruits that you think will go down a treat with this!)

Method

Pre heat your oven to 220 c. Chop the pecans finely. In a mixing bowl combine all the ingredients. On a large roasting tray spread out the quinoa mixture. Roast in the oven for roughly 20- 30 mins. Turn or shake frequently so all the quinoa gets a nice brown colour. 

Let cool and serve with greek yoghurt or if you feel like treating yourself with 3 Tbs Vanilla yoghurt. 

Enjoy! (I know I did!) 

Delicious served in a small pot with Organic Vanilla Yoghurt and a two teaspoons of the granola on top. 

Happy Hummus!

Good Morning! Happy Monday and hope you all have a great start to the week. This morning I woke up and started my Elimination Week. What is this? Well, after weeks of late nights, more than enough wine, and amazing food I decided to start eliminating certain foods from my diet this week. Which means, no meat. Only fish and vegetables. I would love to try a vegan week but I need a little more know - how to be able to pull it off and stay sane. 

As I was planning my meals, I plan two days at a time. (Sitting down planning an entire weeks worth of meals just seems uninspiring and tedious. Rather just take it as it comes and see what I feel like rather than for the sake of it.) I flicked through some old recipes and decided to try and make my all time favourite. Hummus. How I love my vitamix and the wonders it can blend to. However, I got carried away and pureed rather than blended. The taste is fantastic though so in the fridge for a few hours to set and it will be super for snacking on. Never again store bought. Super easy and will try a few alternatives soon! 

Happy Hummus

Ingredients

1 can of Chickpeas (I use Mister Organic) 

1 1/2 Tbs Tahini 

Juice from 1/2 Lemon

2 Small Garlic cloves

120 ml Water.

Method

Rinse the chickpeas and drain them. Rinse and drain till water runs clear. Place the chickpeas in a blender with the garlic cloves,  lemon juice, tahini and water. Switch on your blender and pulse. That way you get a lovely chunky consistency. If you like it creamier, blend for 15 seconds.

Place in a bowl and garnish with parsley. I like my hummus chilled so place it in the fridge for at least 4 hours. 

Enjoy! 

Incredible Flourless Wrap

I am completely and utterly smitten with anything that comes in a wrap. Don't ask me why, I just love it. However, I am not a huge fan of flour wraps and when this idea came across my cooking spot I had to try it! What would you say if I told you, wraps made with egg. Only eggs. No milk, no butter, no flour. Nada. Just plain and simple egg... Genius. Let me tell you it truly is, and very very tasty. Try these for a brunch, or perhaps for a lunch time snack. You get your protein and depending on what you fill it with hopefully some fibre as well. Honestly, you can even team them with fruit if you want an alternative pancake idea. Like I said, Genius. 

Dead Simple Egg Wraps

Use as many eggs as per person. I used 3 eggs for 2 people, but depending on the size of your pan and how big you want them aim for 1 1/2 egg per person. Beat the eggs till they are combined, no chunks of yolk and white. 

Heat up a non stick pan (this is important!) I added a teensy bit of coconut oil to the frying pan and then spooned over the egg mixture. Now. Listen carefully. Make sure the pan is hot. Add the egg and swirl it around so it covers the entire pan. Add more mixture should you need it. Using a spatula carefully lift the egg wrap from the pan once it looks ready and put it on a cutting board and fill it immediately with desired ingredient. For a brunch version I tried smoked salmon, parsley, lemon and spinach and for a lunch version I tried pesto, avocado, tomato and lambs lettuce. So good. 

Serve immediately. 

Enjoy!

Crunchy Quinoa Topping

I was given this tip from a very good friend of mine, Tracy. We were having a lovely dinner at Otto (Gluten free pizza in London) in November and she mentioned this is a great alternative to croutons and if you like something crunchy in your salad or soup. So I let the idea settle in, and just before Christmas I tried it and it was amazing! This little batch has lasted me a month and it still is good to go. Fantastic way to jazz up your salad and increase the nutritional value! I tossed together whatever I had lying around, so feel free to use your imagination. 

Enjoy!

Crunchy Quinoa Topping

Ingredients

1 Cup Cooked Quinoa

Handful of Kale Leaves

Handful Pine nuts

1 Crushed Garlic Clove

Salt

Chili powder

Pepper

Method

Deadly simple as all you do is mix the ingredients together in a bowl and then line a roasting tray with baking parchment and roast in the oven till it becomes crispy. I had my oven on 250 C and roasted it for roughly 15 mins. But my oven is old and the temperature is sometimes not completely accurate. So stick to your own guidelines! Let cool and then place in an airtight container. 

Simply sprinkle on salads or in soups when you want to add a little crunch to your food. 

Glorious Poached Salmon Salad!

This glorious salmon salad will even have the non fish eaters begging for more. Its that good! This is amazing in the fridge and added to sandwiches, salads, crackers... Just about anything. Its good for 5 days in the fridge. I made it dairy free but you can use regular ingredients if you are not fussed. Naturally it is gluten free as well. 

Glorious Salmon Salad

Ingredients

2 fillets poached salmon (just add salmon to simmering water and cover for 5  mins) 

2 Tbs Egg free mayonaise (I use Amisa)

1/2 Chopped red onion

1 Stalk Celery finely chopped

Handful Dill (fresh)

Salt & Pepper to taste.

Method

Simply combine all the ingredients in a bowl. The salmon should flake gently and mush it together with a fork. Add ingredients depending on taste. Don't over salt! Just one or two shakes of pink himalayan works wonders. 

Refrigerate for a few hours. The longer it sits the better it tastes! Mmmm. This is great on crackers or crisp bread, as a snack or as a canapé for a pre dinner snack. 

Enjoy!

Goats cheese chilli spread (so good!)

I am pretty tired of all the processed foods available and how simple it could be to make your own... So I did, and now its your turn to try it! As I am obsessed with goats cheese and chilli, I thought why not combine it? 

So this was the result, and omg... its good. So good.

The Wonder Spread

Ingredients

125 g soft goat cheese

1/2 Red onion

1/2 green chilli

1 Tsp Red Wine Vinegar ( or if you want strictly gluten free Apple Cider Vinegar )

Pinch of Salt and Pepper

If you finely chop all the ingredients you can just combine them in a bowl but I am super lazy and practically married to my Vitamix so I threw everything in there and whizzed it around for a few mins and viola! 

Place in a jar and chill for at least 1 hour. Then enjoy this incredible spread on toast, crackers, vegetables. Anything you can imagine. The chilli is great for your metabolism and the goat cheese is usually better tolerated than normal cheese and is milder for your stomach. 

Homemade Crisp Bread

This is a recipe I have slightly modified from a relative. Feel free to do the same by adding spices, vegetables, fruits, nuts... you name it. Get creative with it!

Homemade Crisp Bread

Ingredients

3/4 Cup Corn Flour

1 Cup Boiling Water

1/2 Cup Sunflower Seeds

1/2 Cup Linseed

1/2 Cup Pumpkin Seeds

1 Tbs Rapseed Oil

Add various other spices, e.g chilli powder, curry, oregano, rosemary, cumin, cinnamon, raisin, cranberries, apricots, paprika, you name it! 

Preheat the oven to 150 C and line a tray with baking paper. Mix the dry ingredients first then add the water and last add the oil. Also add your spices and extras here. Smooth the mixture out on the baking paper and use a spatula to press down. You choose how thick or thin you want it. I like mine really thin and crispy. 

Place in the oven for 60 mins and shorter if you make it thin. Just keep an eye on it.

I am not a salt lover, and I think the natural ingredients already give it a salty taste plus you can put goats cheese on it and then I don't think you need the salt. Some people however, crave salt (try to stop!) and you can sprinkle some sea salt on it just before you put the tray in the oven. 

Enjoy!

Mixing the dry ingredients

After adding the wet ingredients

The finished product!