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). 

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.

Chickpea-free hummus!

So this recipe was one of those lucky mistakes that I often make when experimenting in the kitchen! I was trying to make a tahini dressing for an aubergine salad bowl but when I didn't add enough lemon juice and water I came up with this AMAZINGly creamy hummus-like dip. I honestly couldn't get enough of it. I fear I now may have it every day for the next two weeks until I OD.

It's so simple and quick to make and you can make a big batch and keep in the fridge for a few days (yeh right ;-)).

Creamy as anything

Ingredients: Serves 1-2

2 tbsp tahini (sesame seed puree)
Juice of 1/2 lemon
2 cloves of roast or marinated garlic (I used Cypressa chilli Sicilian style) - if using raw, use 1/2 clove
Splash of olive oil (I used the chilli oil from the jar of garlic)
1 tsp honey or maple syrup
Pinch of chilli flakes (optional!)
1 tbsp miso paste
Black pepper to taste
1/4 cup of hot water (more if you want to make it more of a salad dressing vs a dip)

Method:

Blitz everything in your food processor/blender until smooth!

Golden latte - for all your aches and pains!

Lots of you will have heard me raving about the benefits of turmeric recently - from reducing tooth ache, helping with joint inflammation and even helping with depression.
But aside from eating tons of curries, it can be tricky to get turmeric in your diet. So why not try this delicious alternative to your cappucino? As this drink doesn't contain caffeine, it's a perfect pre-bed calmer.

Ingredients:

1/2 inch fresh turmeric, peeled (or 1/2 tsp ground turmeric though the flavour won't be as mellow)
Pinch of black pepper (helps with the absorption of turmeric)
1 tsp coconut oil
200ml your favourite milk (I like almond or oat)
Sprinkle of cinnamon, nutmeg or any other spices you like
1 tsp honey or other sweetener

Method:

In a blender, blitz the turmeric, spices and milk until smooth. In a small pan, heat the coconut oil and add the milk mixture. Warm over a gentle heat and then serve with a tsp of honey or sweeten to taste.

Retreat recipes - vegan energy balls

There's no need to fork out on expensive healthy vegan snacks when you can whip some up in minutes. The best bit about these nutritious protein balls is that you can substitute any of the ingredients for whatever you find in your cupboard or supermarket (within reason of course). One of our attendees suggested adding rum to the cacao balls, not a bad shout!

We made ours using the amazing Vitamix  but you can use any high powered food processor or blender.

Most of these will keep in the fridge for around a week, or can be frozen.





Simple apricot coconut balls

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups of soft dried apricots (or if using the harder ones, soak in a little boiling water for around an hour before to plump up!)

½ cup desiccated coconut

An additional ¼ cup of desiccated coconut

Juice of 1/2 a lemon (optional)

Blend the apricots and 1/2 cup of coconut in a food processor, until they are combined and smooth in texture. You may need to add a little extra water.

Place the additional ¼ cup of coconut onto a tray or large plate.

Roll the apricot mixture into balls (about a heaped teaspoon per ball). Place the balls onto the tray where you put the additional coconut. Roll the balls until they’re all covered in coconut. Serve straight away or place the apricot balls into an air tight container and refrigerate.


Lime and matcha bites 

Ingredients

1 cup unsalted cashews

1/2 cup desiccated coconut

Juice and zest of 2 limes

2 tablespoons syrup (malt, honey, coconut)

2 tablespoons coconut oil, melted

1 teaspoon matcha green tea powder (optional)


Blend all of the ingredients in a food processor until smooth. Roll into small balls and place on aluminium foil on a baking sheet. Refrigerate until set and keep refrigerated until ready to eat. You can roll in extra desiccated coconut to finish.

Apple pie bites

Ingredients

1 cup pecans or walnuts

1 cup dried unsweetened apple rings (or 2 fresh apples, decored and quartered)

¾ cup pitted dates

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp nutmeg

pinch of himalayan salt

1/2 tsp ginger


If using fresh apple, blitz in the food processor and place between a few sheets of kitchen roll to absorb the excess moisture. Break the nuts down in a food processor. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix until a dough forms. Roll into balls. Refrigerate.

Raw cacao coffee truffles

Ingredients

1 cup pitted Medjool dates (about 15 whole dates)

½ cup almonds or other nuts

¼ cup raw cacao powder (or unsweetened cocoa powder if you can’t find raw)

2 tablespoons ground coffee

1 tablespoon chia seeds or other seeds (optional)

Pinch of salt

1/2 tsp vanilla essence


Combine all the ingredients in a food processor. Pulse until the almonds are in very small pieces and the mixture holds together when squeezed. Using wet hands, form into twelve 1-inch balls.

Stop and reassess

What are you doing for yourself? 

It’s all too easy, particularly in the run up to Christmas to put ourselves at the back of the queue when it comes to priorities - the yoga classes go out of the window, the festive food and drinks flow, sleep is at times just an added bonus, and the stresses of managing a personal life, work life and holding everything together can at times feel too much. 

On top of this, when we’ve finally made it through the stress of Christmas and New Year we’re told we should be hitting the gym, cutting out carbs and making plans to take over the world in 2017. 

So let’s just stop for a minute. Stop and reassess.

When was the last time you had a day for you? A whole day dedicated just to you. Where you weren't thinking about your kids, or partner, or work, or friends, or where you weren’t thinking about fitting in that run before going to a nephew’s birthday party and then rushing round the shops before they closed? The chances are it’ll probably be a while ago. 

We’ve got the perfect way to start your year with some well deserved self-love. What does this mean? It means looking after you so that you can be the best possible version of yourself for 2017. Benefitting not just you, but everyone else around you.

I’ve teamed up with two amazing women, Lucy Faulks, life coach, meditation and mindfulness practitioner and founder of Technotox and Tanja Mrnhaus, leading stylist at IDCouture to put together a day you’ll leave feeling inspired, motivated and a whole lot healthier in body and mind! And we’re not only bringing this day to London, but also to Manchester. 

Reflect, Recharge, Redefine will be held on Saturday 28th January at the Greenhouse in Homerton. A day combining Pilates led by myself, confidence and styling workshops with Tanja, mindfulness meditation and personal goal setting for 2017 with Lucy, vegan cookery, healthy food and drinks provided by CPress all day and the chance to meet some other like minded people.

Reflect, Recentre, Recharge will be held on Sunday 8 January at Yoga Central in Manchester.
A day combining Pilates and a ‘food for mood’ workshop to ensure you’re eating the right foods to maintain optimum health and energy. Mindfulness meditation for stress reduction and a values and meaning workshop to set personal, meaningful goals for 2017, plus healthy food and drinks provided.  Sponsored by Northern Power Women. 

The details

Where? London - The Greenhouse, Homerton. 

Manchester - Manchester Yoga Central 

When? London - Saturday 28th January, 10am - 4.30pm

Manchester - Sunday 8th January 11-4.30pm

Tickets? Are limited so get yours here 

London https://redefine2017.eventbrite.co.uk

Manchester https://recentreandrecharge.eventbrite.co.uk

About the organisers:

Ruth Tongue

One of the Sport Stylist ambassadors, Ruth Tongue is an MSc qualified nutritionist and STOTT Pilates teacher and has been working in health and wellness for over 10 years. She works with athletes, footballers, children and businesses to improve diet and health. As a nutritionist and health expert, Ruth contributes to many national and international publications such as Top Sante magazine, Running Fitness magazine and Women’s Fitness, as well as regularly appearing as a nutrition and health expert for the BBC. Ruth teaches Pilates across London as well as running regular retreats and events in Mallorca, the South of France and most recently Mexico! 

www.ruthtongue.com ruth@ruthtongue.com 

Lucy Faulks

Lucy Faulks is CPCC life coach and member of the ICF, running coaching programmes for both businesses and private clients. She Founded Technotox - A Wellness Centre for the Mind in 2015 and runs workshops, courses and classes on emotional wellbeing and the building blocks of happiness. She is also a mindfulness practitioner and has written articles for Everyday Mindfulness and Mindspace. 

www.lucyfaulks.com | www.technotox.com 

Curried pumpkin and lentil soup

Ingredients:

1/2 pumpkin, roasted

100g cooked red lentils

1 onion, diced

1 celery stick, chopped

1/2 tbsp coconut oil

2 tbsp coconut milk

1 tbsp green thai curry paste

500ml vegetable stock

Method:

Cut a medium sized pumpkin, cut in half,  de-seed and cut into large slices. Roast in the oven at around 180 degrees C for around 30 minutes, or until tender and starting to caramelise. Remove from oven, cool and scoop flesh away from the skin. 

In the meantime cook lentils until tender according to instructions on packet. Drain. 

In a large saucepan, melt the coconut oil and add the onion, celery and curry paste. Sweat for around 5 minutes. Then add the rest of the ingredients and simmer over a low heat for around 20 minutes. Blend, add salt and pepper to taste and serve with fresh coriander. 

Pumpkin cheesecake

When I worked at an American company, every Thanksgiving a colleague of mine would bring in the most amazing pumpkin chiffon pie. But at our vegan supper club last night we wanted to try out a vegan version without all the refined sugar and raw eggs! I think we got pretty close and I'll definitely be making this again.
Super-holistic chef Nic treated us to another perfect meal - a gorgeous Beet Bourguignon with sweet potato and celeriac mash for our first course, followed by this delicious alternative to the typical sickly-sweet Pumpkin pie.

Ingredients:

Base:

2 cups of porridge oats
1 cup of walnuts
2 tbsp coconut oil
1 cup of dates (destoned), soaked in boiling water for a few minutes

Blitz together and press into a spring form cake tin. Freeze.

Topping:

One can of pumpkin puree
1 cup (around 125g) cashews, soaked in boiling water for an hour
1 1/2 tsp chai spice (or allspice)
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
2 tbsp coconut oil
3 tbsp maple syrup

Soak the cashews for an hour and then drain. In a high powered food processor blend the cashew with a little water and then add the pumpkin. Slowly add the syrup and the rest of the ingredients, blending together until you have a smooth consistency. Pour on the mix on top of the frozen base and freeze for around an hour. When ready to serve, leave to thaw for around 20 minutes and serve with a spoonful of coconut milk.

If you want a lighter crust that's more like a pie you could also try using a gluten-free flour and vegan margarine, or simply buy a ready made pie crust!

Peanut butternana ice cream

This is possibly THE easiest, yummiest, healthy vegan dessert recipe you can whip together in less than 5 minutes. 

My amazing chef friend Nic made this on our last retreat and it was a hit. Kids will love it too. 

I always keep some frozen bananas slices in tupperware in the freezer so that I can add them to smoothies or blitz with some coconut milk or almond milk for a simple pud. It may sound obvious but peel the bananas before freezing!

Ingredients:

1 banana frozen chopped up into pieces

2 tbsp coconut milk

1 -2 tbsp peanut butter (you could also use almond or cashew nut butter)

Method:

Using a food processor add the banana and peanut butter and 1 tbsp coconut milk. Blitz then add more coconut milk until just smooth but not too runny. Serve garnished with chocolate grated on top or dessicated coconut on top. 

Aubergine and lentil curry (quick I promise!)

Today was a lazy work from home pyjama Monday - that means I couldn't be bothered to leave the house and stock up the fridge. SO it was a case of Ready Steady Cook - what could I make with red lentils, onions, celery, aubergine, chopped tomatoes and a cupboard full of spices. It had to be curry. And this one took less than 45 minutes from start to finish and was super simple.


Ingredients: Enough for 4 servings

1 onion, chopped,
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 celery sticks, chopped
1 inch ginger, peeled and finely chopped or grated
1 aubergine, cut into chunks
2 cups red lentils
1 tin of chopped tomatoes
1 tbsp curry paste (I only had red thai curry paste in the fridge but any would work!)
1 tsp garam masala powder (or regular curry powder)
1 pinch of Himalayan rock salt
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp coconut sugar (or any other sugar or sweetener - honey or granulated sugar would be fine!)
1 tbsp coconut oil
Any other veg you want to add!

Method:

1. Rinse the lentils and cover with water in a saucepan. Bring to the boil, reduce heat and simmer for around 15-20 minutes until soft.
2. In the meantime, melt the coconut oil in a large saucepan and add the onion, celery, garlic and ginger. Saute for around 10 minutes over a low heat.
3. Then add the aubergine (if you've had time, salt these first to draw out some of the moisture and then rinse salt off before adding). Cook over low heat for around 5 - 7 minutes (adding a little water if starts to dry out).
4. Next stir in the curry paste, spices, salt and sugar. Cook for a few minutes and then add the tomatoes and cooked lentils. Stir well, cover and cook over a low heat for around 15-20 minutes.
5. Serve with fresh coriander and your choice of veg, rice, chapatti or alone with a dollop of natural yogurt - call me weird but I also like to add a poached egg to my curries!

Tomato soup with a kick

Whenever I'm ill or feeling in need of a hug in a mug (oh god, did I actually just write that? yes i did) Heinz or Campbells Tomato soup is the only thing that does it for me. But feeling virtuous today I decided to make my own tomato and lentil soup. Obviously with added chilli as I am a chilli addict.
Really easy to make and can be frozen or kept in the fridge for a few days.

Ingredients:

1 tbsp olive oil

1 onion, roughly chopped

2 celery sticks, roughly chopped

1 carrot, peeled and roughly chopped

1 garlic clove, finely chopped

1 tsp ground cumin

½ tsp ground coriander

150g split red lentils

1.2 litres reduced salt vegetable stock

400g can plum tomatoes 

2 tsp tomato purée

1 tsp dried chilli (less if you don't like the hit)

Any dried herbs you'd like to add (I used something called 'Grandma's salt' from Tiger of all places!)

Method:

Heat the oil in a saucepan. Add the onion and cook over a low heat for 7–8 minutes, stirring occasionally, until beginning to soften. Stir in the celery and carrot and cook for 3 minutes, stirring frequently. Add the garlic, cumin, chilli and coriander and cook for a further minute, stirring constantly.

Add the lentils, stock, tomatoes with their juice and tomato purée . Bring to the boil, reduce the heat, then half-cover the pan with a lid and simmer for 25–30 minutes until the lentils and vegetables are soft. Blend using a stick blender and serve!

I am beautiful cookies

Ingredients

1/2 cup coconut oil

1 egg

1/4 cup coconut flour

1/4 cup spelt flour

1 tsp vanilla essence

2 tbsp vanilla protein powder (optional)

1 tbsp lucuma powder

1/4 cup honey, coconut sugar or sugar of choice

1/4 cup desiccated coconut

2 tbsp I Am Beautiful superfood blend (you could also use raw cacao or superfood powder of choice)

1 tbsp raw cacao nibs (optional)

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 cup almond milk (or milk of choice)

Method

Beat the coconut oil, egg and sugar. Then add the rest of the ingredients, adding as much or little of milk as needed. You want the mixture to be sticky but not runny. 

Grease a large baking sheet with coconut oil and drop cookie dough onto sheet. Bake in a pre-heated oven at 180 degrees C (350 F) for around 12 minutes - until edges are golden brown. 

About

I Am Beautiful Powder is a blend of 13 beautifying superfoods - it contains pea protein, rosehip, lucuma, camu camu, goji berry, acai, beetroot, green leaf stevia, matcha, moringa, sea buckthorn, schizandra and shilajit. It’s 100% vegan and contains just 34 calories per serving. It makes a great addition to smoothies, porridge, juices, or is perfect for baking! Get yours here www.naomis.kitchen

The truth about soy

In a nutshell (if you can't be bothered to read the whole thing!)

• Soya isn’t as healthy as we thought. If you’re going to have soy products choose fermented soy (miso, natto or tempeh)
• Don’t give soy products to kids and limit your own intake. 
• Avoid soy if you have thyroid issues, breast cancer or oestrogen related conditions (endometriosis, breast cancer or family history of). 

A few years ago I would always order soya milk in my cappucinos, cut out dairy pretty much altogether and even ate those soya ‘yogurts’. The reason was that a. I’d heard that dairy caused spots b. I knew that my stomach had always been a little bit sensitive to too much creamy food and c. Well, Soy was generally much healthier right? Maybe not..

The more I learnt about soy products, the more alarm bells started ringing. In particular when I starting researching and found out that soya products are not recommended for young boys due to the effect that it has on female hormones and also the potential link between too much soy and certain oestrogen linked illnesses. 

Without going into the extensive research (that would be a whole thesis), here are my thoughts on why soy/soya isn't the healthiest choice:

1. Many soya products we consume are genetically modified 
2. Most soya products contain things called ‘anti-nutrients’ that prevent absorption of iron, zinc, calcium and magnesium
3. Too much soya may affect the function of the thyroid, potentially leading to thyroid issues
4. Soya contains phytoestrogens - things which mimic the female hormone oestrogen. Although phytoestrogens have the potential to decrease risk of breast cancer, it’s unsure whether they could also increase risk of breast cancer and may even affect development of sex characteristics in boys and girls (hence why it’s not a good idea to use a soy based formula or give soya products to kids!)
5. Soya products are typically highly processed (a standard soya milk contains Filtered Water, Whole Soybeans, Cane Sugar or other sugar/sweetener, Sea Salt, Carrageenan, Natural Flavor, Calcium Carbonate, Vitamin A Palmitate, Vitamin D2, Riboflavin (B2), Vitamin B12. Compare this to the ingredients list of organic cow’s milk - milk. 
6. Soya milk and other products tend to contain added sugar (a standard soya yogurt has around 3 teaspoons of sugar).

Foods you might not realise are high in soy:

Meal replacement drinks and protein powders (not going to name and shame but check the labels). 

Burger meat and buns

Breadcrumbs, cereals and crackers and breaded foods

Infant formulas and follow on formulas

Deli meats

Baking products

Nutrition supplements (vitamins)

The good news is that there is an exception to the rule:

Fermented soy products like tempeh, miso and natto are the only ways I’d recommend eating soy (tofu is out too!). This traditional fermentation process helps to make the soya more digestible and also deactivates some of the anti-nutrients.

What are the best milk alternatives?  

This will be a whole other blog but my preference would be 
1. Organic cow, goat or sheep milk 
2. Good quality almond milk (check the ingredients and % of almonds actually used - many have as little as 2% almonds and contain all sorts of added sugar, salt and weird stuff!) Making your own is really easy - blog coming soon on how to! 
3. Hemp milk (again check ingredients) 
4. Coconut milk (check doesn't have tons of added sugar) 
5. Rice or oat milk (tend to be lower in protein and higher in carbs and often sugar though). 


Veggie alternatives to soy:

Lots of vegetarians and vegans eat soy as a protein source - instead, go for beans, legumes like chickpeas and peas, lentils, nuts and seeds, quinoa, buckwheat or organic eggs and dairy (if you’re not vegan). 

Berry-coco cheesecake — probiotic, raw, vegan, check.

This weekend I hung out with my fab friend and amazing pro chef Nicola Orr and we got stuck into some recipe planning and testing for my upcoming retreat in Mallorca!  

We’re both big fans of cakes with more to offer than a sugar hit so we tried a probiotic, raw, vegan blueberry cheesecake. And trust me - it tastes better than it sounds!

Why raw? 

While I wouldn’t recommend a fully raw diet, eating plenty of raw foods means you’ll benefit from eating whole, unprocessed foods which have the maximum nutrients in tact. Cooking and other processing techniques often destroys many vitamins and minerals that - vitamin C found in blueberries for example is destroyed by heat. 

Why probiotic? 

Probiotics are the lovely friendly bacteria that help to keep all of your body’s functions in check. These bacteria help to fight the ‘bad’ bacteria in the body (particularly in the gut), reduce inflammation, and they’ve even been shown to boost happiness and mental health and help you to stay a healthy weight!

Probiotics are found in foods in natural yogurt and kefir, tempeh and miso and fermented pickles like kimchi. This cake uses a probiotic capsule which is then left overnight with the cashew nuts to ferment - so not only are you benefiting from probiotic bacteria, but the fermentation also starts to break down the nuts so they're easier to digest! 

So how did we do it? (Recipe adapted from oosha.co.uk) Serves 12

For the filling:

250g cashew nuts

1 tsp probiotic powder (or 2 capsules)

water to blend

150g xylitol or coconut sugar

25ml lemon juice

50g cacao butter

50g coconut oil

1 serving of blueberry jam (see section below)

• Soak 250g cashew nuts in water for a couple of hours. 
• Blend with 1 tsp of probiotic powder (or if you have capsules, 2 capsules) and a little water. I used a strong food processor but you could also use a Nutri Buller/Ninja. 
• Keep blending until smooth - stirring the edges when needed. This takes longer than you think!
• Transfer to a bowl and cover with clingfilm (pressing film right down on cashew mix) and keep in a warm place overnight.

To make the crust:

150g mixed nuts

150g desiccated coconut


75g coconut sugar

2 tbsp lucuma (optional but gives it added sweetness and an extra anti-oxidant boost!)

1 tsp vanilla essence or powder (optional)

25g cacao butter, melted

15g coconut oil, melted

60ml water

Press down into tin

In your high powered food processor or blender, blitz the nuts but keep a bit of chunk. In a large bowl stir in the coconut and then add the lucuma, vanilla, melted cacao butter and coconut oil. Adding enough water to make mixture sticky but still crumble-like. Using your hands mix it all well. 

Line a springform tin with clingfilm and then press the mixture down until really compact and then put in the freezer to harden while you finish the filling. 

To make the blueberry jam:

Stir jam regularly

250g frozen blueberries

juice of 1 and a half lemon

zest of one and a half lemons

25g xylitol or coconut sugar

In a heavy based saucepan, add all of the ingredients and heat over a medium heat for around 30 minutes, stirring regularly to avoid burning. You want most of the liquid to evaporate so you end up with a thick jam-like texture. Leave to cool.

For the filling:

Blend cashew with jam

Put your fermented cashew mix in the blender and add the blueberry jam. Blend well. Then pour in your melted cacao butter, coconut oil and lemon juice. Keep blending until you have a really smooth texture (you don't want a grainy cheesecake). Taste and add a little more lemon or zest if needed (we added more as it was quite sweet). 

Pour into tin

Pour the filling onto the crust and then freeze for around 4 hours. When ready to serve, decorate with a little coconut and fresh blackberries or blueberries. 

Enjoy x 

Is 'clean-eating' all that's wrong with our attitude to food?

Many of you will have seen the BBC One doc last night 'Clean Eating's Dirty Secrets' and as a nutritionist with a qualification not bought off the internet ;-) I thought I'd share my thoughts on the #cleaneating phenomenon.

Eating Clean has taken over from veganism, raw food and Paleo in the 'buzz diets' of 2016 and you only have to take a look at Instagram to see how many people have jumped on the clean bandwagon. But what does eating clean actually mean?

There's no one set definition but clean eaters generally avoid the following:

• refined sugar 
• wheat
• dairy
• gluten
• alcohol
• caffeine
• any processed foods

The hardcore clean eaters will also not eat any animal products, grains and certain types of higher sugar fruit or vegetables. Others will eat animal products providing they're organic, grass-fed or free-range.

So in essence, many of the concepts of 'clean eating' are pretty sensible - eat whole foods, avoid processed foods, and don't drink too much caffeine or alcohol. All good so far.

What isn't so good (in my opinion) is the use of the word 'clean'. This implies that any food not on the 'ok list' is somehow dirty, sinful, unpure, bad, naughty and should come laden with guilt. With so many pressures already on us, do we really need to be feeling bad because we had a glass of wine after work or a slice of white non-spelt real toast for breakfast with actual bacon and actual ketchup?
And on the flip side should we feel any purer, better, more worthy than others because we had a green smoothie for breakfast rather than a croissant?

Unfortunately I do agree with the BBC doc that the extreme clean eaters are suffering from a new kind of eating disorder and due to the sheer number of followers it now seems that these obsessive habits have been normalised. So while I'm not saying that following the general principles of 'clean eating' is harmful, to stick to them so rigidly that you feel guilty if you don't, to miss out on a social life because it doesn't fit with your food plan,  to harm your long term health for short term gains and to miss eating the foods you actually love, definitely isn't good for your health or happiness.

While I may be guilty of posting #proteinbites #greenjuice  on #instafood from time to time I would always hope that my message of happiness over denial and balance and moderation over strict rules is the one that shines through.

I'd love if we could ban the phrase 'clean eating' and let's get back to focusing on enjoying the foods in a way that we know that will make us feel good now and in the future - whether that's chocolate or cauliflower rice!

I'd love to know your thoughts on this too - feel free to comment below.

Lime and ginger raw 'cheesecake'

Ingredients:

Topping

4 ripe avocadoes

8 limes

2 tbsp honey or brown rice syrup

4 tbsp coconut oil, melted

Base 

4 cups of whole oats (could use buckwheat or quinoa flakes if you're avoiding gluten)

4 tbsp coconut oil, melted

12 dates, pitted (if using medjool dates 8 is enough)

1in fresh ginger peeled and sliced

In a powerful food processor first blend the oats and ginger until almost flour like. Melt the coconut oil gently in a pan or microwave and add to the oats with the dates. Add a little warm water and blend until the mixture becomes sticky. 

Spoon the mixture into a lightly greased cheesecake tin and press down until tightly packed. Refridgerate. Wash your food processor and add the avocado flesh, juice of 8 limes and zest of two. Then add the honey and melted coconut oil. Blend well until smooth. Add more honey or lime to taste. Pour onto base and refrigerate for a couple of hours or until ready to eat.