Almond Protein Shake

This shake is high in protein and ideal for after a session at the gym instead of a bought protein shake, which contains god knows what!

Place the following ingredients in a blender:

Serves 1

- 100ml of your choice of chilled, unsweetened, non-dairy milk (I uses almond milk)
- 75ml of natural yoghurt (I use 0% Total Greek yoghurt)
- 1/4 a pack of silken tofu (this isn't the tofu that you get in the chiller which is spongy in texture. It's found in the Asian section in the supermarket in the shelves in a cardboard/foil packet)
- a small handful of roasted almonds (roasting them isn't essential but it gives a great flavour)
- a few drops of vanilla extract (I used Ndali, as it is fair trade)

Blend all of the ingredients until smooth and place into a plastic beaker with a lid for after your workout

Berry, nut and chia seed smoothie

One of the key things I have been trying to follow is eating smaller portions more regularly and trying to keep my blood sugar on an even keel.
Although fruit is good for you, particularly berries, it does still contain sugar, in the form of fructose. Apparently eating protein at the same time reduces the impact of this on your blood sugar.
Place the following ingredients in a blender or a jug if you're using a hand blender
- a large handful of berries. I used strawberries, raspberries and blueberries
- about a tablespoon of roasted nuts (they don't have to be roasted but I find them so much tastier. I used mixed nuts)
- about half a tablespoon of chia seeds (these are optional but apparently very good for you. Read more here)
- 200ml of your choice of chilled, non dairy, unsweetened milk (I used oat milk)
Blend until smooth and serve. If its a hot day you can blend with ice. This is obviously easily doubled, trebled etc.
Enjoy!

Homemade Granola

I love granola with Total 0% Greek yoghurt but shop bought cereals and granola's are mainly filled with sugar.

It's so easy to make it yourself and you can make exactly the mixture you like plus you know what goes into it. Win, win!

You can also make it gluten free, just make sure the oats you buy are gluten free.

Start by putting 200g of rolled oats into a bowl, add a handful of chopped nuts (I used pecans and flaked almonds) and a smaller handful of chopped dried fruit (I used dates, apricots and cranberries), a dessert spoon full of coconut oil (this is optional, but is a good fat and can now be bought in most supermarkets), one egg, a teaspoon of cinnamon and a pinch of nutmeg. Mix well and place in a thin layer on a baking tray and bake at 180C for about 15-20 mins until it is golden. If you want it sweeter you can add agave syrup or honey, but this obviously makes it less healthy.

Allow to cool and store in a air tight container.

I like to serve it with Total 0% Greek yoghurt, which is lovely, thick and creamy and not acidic like some natural yoghurts.

Healthier Cooked Breakfast

Being British, a decent cooked breakfast is a welcome treat on a Sunday, but we all know they aren't always the best for you. So I made this lower fat and sugar version, which was a great substitute.

I poached the egg and grilled the tomatoes and bacon to avoid adding any additional fat and removed as much of the fat from the bacon as I could. I did fry the slice of black pudding but in minimal oil and then added the mushrooms. Rather than use ketchup, which is full of sugar I made some from scratch. I started by cooking chopped cherry tomatoes with a little beef stock cube, some freshly ground pepper, a squeeze of tomato puree and a splash of balsamic vinegar, yummy!

A week of clean eating

I love food. Having a food blog is probably a good indication that I enjoy food and cooking, but I really, really do. I'm obsessed. I don't finish a meal before planning the next one (and the one after!). I spend huge swathes of time thinking about flavours and combinations and what I'm going to cook next.
I also concentrate on eating the best I can, in terms of time, and money. I aim not to eat processed food and would prefer to buy cheaper cuts to have better quality meat. I've always thought this way to a certain extent, but more recently have been reading more about healthy eating philosophies such as James Duigan's @cleanandlean and @metaboliceffect. Basically, they advocate eating unprocessed foods, especially protein/healthy fats/vegetables and cutting out sugar, alcohol etc.
This is in stark contrast to a lot of traditional 'diet' advice, which focuses on low calorie and low fat rather than food which is good for you. I honestly don't know how the supermarkets and food companies get away with marketing products which are full of chemicals and sweeteners as 'health' ranges.
So I thought I'd share some of what I'd been eating this week. I like to eat little and often do tend to have 3 meals and 3 snacks a day. Recipes to follow!
Breakfasts included:
- Summer Porridge
- A healthy cooked breakfast with sugar free homemade ketchup
- homemade, sugar free, granola with Total Greek yoghurt. I always buy Total Greek yoghurt. Yes it's pricey in comparison to the supermarkets Greek style yoghurt but it's much thicker and creamier (even the 0% fat one) and it doesn't have the same acidic taste that some natural yogurts do
- cooked porridge with cinnamon and nutmeg
- boiled eggs with asparagus wrapped in Parma ham as the soldiers
Snacks included:
- a handful of berries and a handful of raw nuts
- oat cakes with sugar free hazelnut butter (it's so much nicer than peanut butter and tastes very similar to nutella)
- homemade hummus and crudités (I use this recipe as I like the chunky texture but have recently read a Silvena Rowe recipe for a smooth hummus I'll try it soon and post the results)
- berry, nut and chia seed smoothie
- my almond protein shake for after the gym
- a green goddess (or monster!) smoothie - I promise it tastes amazing. A little bit like a non alcoholic mojito, it's such a dark green colour because I added spirulina powder, but you can't taste it once it's whizzed up
- cooked chicken or salmon with cucumber or tomatoes
- Total Greek yoghurt with berries and seeds
Lunches included:

- Chicken and Barley Soup
- quinoa salad
- chicken salad
- roasted vegetable salad
- chunky chicken and vegetable soup
Dinners included:
- Diana Henry's Roast Chicken, with quinoa wheat and feta stuffing and lebanese beans
- Tessa Kiros' Lamb Tava
- Tessa Kiros' Lemon and Oregano Chicken
- Chicken cataccioa and minted courgettes
- Steak with peppers and onions


Hopefully this will give you some healthy, clean eating ideas.

Summer Porridge

After posts full of cake and chocolate yesterday, I though it was time for something healthier.

This is one of my favourite summer breakfasts and I often have some variation on it. It's so quick and easy, the only hard part is remembering to put the oats to soak the night before!

Start the night before, by putting the oats in a bowl. I use about 40g per person. Pour on your choice of milk until it comes just above the level of the oats. I tend to use oat milk to cut down on the dairy I eat, a good apple juice also works well. Cover the bowl and put it in the fridge overnight.

In the morning coarsely grate half an apple per person and stir into the oats. Top with your choice of fruits, I used a mixture of cherries, raspberries, blueberries and strawberries. It's also good to add some dried cranberries or chopped dried apricots. Sprinkle with a few chopped nuts and drizzle on some good honey, if desired. My favourite is Greek honey which is dark and has an almost caramel like flavour.

Enjoy!

First Birthday Chocolates

I was recently contacted by the PR company of a boutique chocolate club. I only like to give reviews of products I would potentially buy and chocolate is definitely one of them! Plus as it is my blog's first birthday I thought it would make a good present!

The Cocoa Boutique is a chocolate club who send you handmade chocolates through the post. I love the idea of receiving a surprise, handpicked selection of chocolates.

The chocolate are made by various people, including master chocolatiers.

The box and packaging was beautiful...







As were the chocolates...




I tries really hard to savour the chocolates, but after one sitting there aren't many left. They were too good! My favourite was made by Barry Colenso and was a Cocoa Dusted Dark Chocolate Salted Caramel. The balance of sweet and salt was just perfect.

Personally I wasn't keen on the ones with alcohol in but I'm sure some people would love them.

I think this would make a great, unusual gift for a chocolate loving friend.