Beetroot, courgette and miso spirals with a cheeky fried 🍳

On the rare occasions that I'm at home for lunch and not rushing from client to client I like to experiment with all the random things I find in my fridge (and pretend I'm on Ready Steady Cook).
This was me wanting a healthy salad that wasn't spinach yet again so I dusted off my spiraliser (I know, it's a bit 2016) and zoodle-ified some courgette and beetroot. Whipped up a quick miso dressing and none of my salads are complete without an egg on top - this one was fried in a bit of coconut oil. Sorted.

Ingredients:

1 medium raw beetroot, peeled with ends sliced off
1/2 large courgette
1 tsp miso paste
2 tbsp lime juice
pinch of fresh chilli (optional).
1/2 tsp honey or syrup
black pepper
One large egg
2 tsp coconut oil
Coriander, parsley or mint (big handful chopped)

Method:

Spiralize the beetroot and courgette. If you've not got a spiralizer you can use the mandolin slicer on a grater (watch your fingers) or just your grater.
To make the dressing, mix the miso with a little water, the lime juice, honey, 1 tsp melted coconut oil, chilli and pepper.
Fry the courgette in the remaining coconut oil. Assemble the veg with the herbs and dressing and top with your egg. Ta da!

Nutty high protein breakfast bars

I made these simple flapjack bars with a client yesterday - in fact a family who were wanting quick and easy breakfast options to grab pre-school. We wanted something high protein, high fibre to keep hungry tummies feeling full until lunchtime. The addition of tahini was inspired by the amazing Flavio at Charlton Manor School (primary school caterer of the year 2017!). 

Breakfast bars - makes 12 bars

100g Ready to eat stoned prunes

3 tbsp Butter or coconut oil

250g Porridge Oats

1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

50g chopped almonds

50g cacao nibs

50g chia seed or pumpkin seed

50g sunflower seeds

4 tbsp tahini

3 tbsp honey 

Instructions:

Chop prunes into small pieces.  Melt butter or coconut oil with the tahini and honey and then in a large bowl add the remaining ingredients and mix everything together well. 

Line a baking tray with greaseproof paper and press mixture into the tray with the back of a spoon. Refrigerate and chill for at least 2 hours - cut into squares or bars. 

Keep in an air tight container (will keep for around a week). 

Hearty Chicken and chipotle stew

Ingredients: Serves 4

3 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
500g skinless, boneless chicken thighs
1 carton of tomato passata (or tinned tomatoes)
1 onion, finely diced
1 red pepper, deseeded and diced
20g butter
1 tsp smoked chilli flakes
1/2 tsp dried thyme
250ml chicken stock (or I used a chicken and noodle cuppa soup!)
50g dried wholewheat pasta (I used penne)
50g frozen peas (optional)
Black pepper

Method:

Heat the butter in a large casserole dish over a medium heat, add the garlic and onion and saute until softened. Turn the heat up and add the chicken thighs, browning evenly. Add the remaining ingredients minus the peas and bring to the boil. Reduce to a simmer, cover and cook for around 30 minutes. Add the frozen peas 5 minutes before the end of the cooking time and leave the lid off for the final five minutes to thicken the sauce slightly.
Serve! If you're extra hungry add some green veg and crusty bread to serve. Or a dollop of creme fraiche and fresh herbs for an tasty touch.

Peanut butter lovers...this one's for you 🥜♥️

Peanut butter cookies (no added sugar)

I've said many times I'm not one of those accurate cheffy type recipe creators who weighs everything accurately - crazy me. This was another 'let's make it up as we go along' recipe. But it turned out pretty good. Don't be scared to experiment when it comes to cooking - what's the worst that can happen?
Stevia is a sugar alternative that is one of the better alternative sweeteners. It's a natural South American sweetener that is around 30-40 times sweeter than sugar gram for gram. Like all 'new' health products, the verdict is still out on the overall health benefits but there are no known side effects currently known unless eaten in excessive quantities. As it contains zero calories, it may be a healthy option for those trying to lose weight and diabetics. That said, this recipe would still be fairly low sugar if you switch for regular sugar.

Ingredients: Makes 16 small cookies

100g oats (I used M&S Scottish whole oats)
100g peanut butter (I used Whole earth crunchy but you could use anyone you like)
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 egg
splash of milk or milk alternative
4 tbsp stevia (or sugar)
1/2 tsp cinnamon (or more if your a big fan).

Cream the peanut butter and stevia (this means whip it up in a frenzy!). Then add the egg and keep the frenzy going. Next add the oats, baking powder and milk. If you want less 'flapjacky' cookies this is where you can put everything into a food processor so you get a smoother cookie. Otherwise mix well.
Lightly grease a baking sheet with coconut oil or butter and put drops of the cooking mixture onto the tray. Cook in a preheated oven at 180 degrees C for around 8-12 minutes (depending if you want flapjacky or crunchy!). Cool on a wire tray.

Matcha, cranberry, sea-salt bark (posh choccy gifts)

'Tis the season to be jolly and eat fancy chocs so here's a really easy 'recipe'. I say that in inverted commas because it's more a case of melting some chocolate and doing some fancy swirling and then decorating. BUT it means you can create your bark in any flavour you like and make it look really pretty. It's such a lovely gift and means you can also get creative with your wrapping.

I made these in less than 30 minutes and it certainly beats Thorntons of Hotel Chocolat for Secret Santa gifts.

Ingredients:

200g bar of dark choc
85g bar of white choc
1 tsp matcha green tea powder
40g dried cranberries
50g flaked coconut
Pinch of sea salt

Method:

Using two bain-marie (a saucepan of simmering water with a heat-proof bowl inside), melt the white chocolate in one bowl and the dark chocolate in another. When melted, add the matcha tea powder to the white chocolate and stir well (I used a mini whisk to avoid any powdery clumps). Lay a sheet of greaseproof paper on a large chopping board or baking tray (that will fit in your fridge) and pour the dark chocolate into a thinnish layer (if you want to make the bark more chunky then keep it around 0.5cm thick). Then pour the white (now green) chocolate on top and using a tooth pick or sharp knife make pretty swirls. Sprinkle the cranberries, coconut and sea salt on top and then refrigerate for an hour or so until hard.
When set, break up into shards or squares. Wrap in clear gift wrap and decorate with anything seasonal!

You can use any type of chocolate and any flavours. Next up for me is orange zest and crystallised ginger, and then maybe a peanut butter white choc swirl!

A day in the life on a Pilates retreat!

This year will be the fifth year that I'll be returning to the beautiful island of Mallorca to run my Pilates and nutrition retreats. Each time I come back I fall in love a little more with the island. As a teenager I’d had family holidays to the Balearics but it wasn’t until I returned for my first retreat to Deia with Bloom Retreats that I truly appreciated how special a place it really is. 

Deia, now famous for being the location for filming of the Night Manager is a stunning artists’ village, a world away from hectic city life. Everyone notices this special, tranquility almost immediately. 

What does a typical day involve? 

8.30am

Wake up and have a cuppa and a snack (yes we serve real tea and real coffee - I'm a big advocate of balance and enjoyment so there are no strict rules on what you can and can’t have on our retreats!). 

8.45am

Make our way to our beautiful Pilates spot outside by the pool or in the holistic garden. The temperature is usually perfect at this time in the morning and we do our Pilates class listening to the sounds of cockerels, donkeys and cicadas. 

The first Pilates class of the day is a chance to energise, stretch and get ready for the day - whether that is a day of lounging by the pool or a day hiking in the nearby mountain range. Either way, you take it at your own pace. 

10am 

After class we’ve all worked up an appetite so we go straight to brunch, which has been prepared by the amazing Monika.  This typically consists of local fruit, goats cheese, avocado, grilled tomatoes, my homemade granola and a selection of local breads. 

11am 

There are optional activities during the day - one of my favourites being a walk over the mountains to a gorgeous port called Soller. We stop for fresh orange juice on the way at a stunning rest point and once we get to Soller we have a picnic on the beach (or some people prefer to choose some local tapas). 

3pm 

In the afternoon those who want to can hire paddle boards in the sheltered bay of Soller - it’s the perfect place to try paddle boarding for those who haven't before.

Once we get home at around 6 everyone is usually pretty exhausted so we have a gentle stretch and relax before another delicious dinner cooked by our incredible professional holistic chef Nicola (www.nourishbynicola.com) 

Ruth’s retreats in Deia runs will be from the 18th - 24th May (6 nights) and the 1st - 7th October (6 nights).  Prices start at £875 for a shared room. For more information please visit www.ruthtongue.com or email ruth@ruthtongue.com

Pumpkin pie smoothie bowl

As you can see from previous blog posts I'm a little obsessed with pumpkin pie - I think it's the mix of the spicy, creamy and sweet that gets all my taste buds tingling.

Now obviously we can't have pumpkin pie for breakfast (well, not every day anyway) so as I had some Libby's pumpkin cans in my cupboard I thought I'd experiment with a pumpkin pie smoothie bowl. And it was so good. And quick. It's definitely going to be the bridge between my summer smoothies and wintery porridge bowls.

Ingredients:

100g tinned pumpkin (1/4 of a can)
300ml almond milk (or any other milk of choice)
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
sprinkling of ground ginger
a drop of vanilla essence
1 tbsp chia seeds (this makes it nice and thick and more smoothie bowl than smoothie)
1/4 scoop of chocolate protein powder (I just used this for the sweetener but you could use 1/2 tsp of stevia or add more protein powder for a bigger protein boost)
Cacao nibs and dessicated coconut to sprinkle on top

Blitz all the ingredients in a nutri-bullet or high powered blender for around 30 seconds.