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.

Raw vegan cacao tart

Ingredients:

For the base

200g almonds

5 medjool dates (destoned)

150ml coconut oil (melted)

50g dessicated coconut

For the topping

250g unsalted cashew nuts

1/2 cup raw cacao powder

1 tsp vanilla essence

1/4 cup agave syrup

150ml coconut oil

50ml water

Method:

Soak the cashews in a bowl of water for an hour. You can use them unsoaked but it gives a much smoother texture if you can soak them first. 

In the meantime make the base. Blitz the almonds in a high powered food processor and then add the dates, coconut oil and dessicated coconut. Blend until well combined. 

Press into a non-stick springform cake tin and put in the freezer while you make the topping. 

When the cashews have finished soaking, drain and rinse and then put in your food processor with the rest of the topping ingredients. Blitz until really smooth. NB if you're still left with a grainy texture you can finish off in a Nutri Bullet or Nutri Ninja to get a really creamy consistency. 

Pour the mixture over the base and put in the fridge to cool for at least an hour or until ready to serve.

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. 

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. 

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!

Christmas gifts for chocoholics

These really simple decadent chocolate bites are perfect for that foodie friend who will turn their nose up at a Cadburys variety box!

Ingredients:

150g almonds, roast for 5-10 minutes until golden and then chop (you can use any nuts you like)
150g dried fruit (I used raisins and dried mango - random but all I had in the cupboards! But it tasted great and just goes to show any dried fruit will do).
2 tbsp raw cacao powder
100g spelt flour (you can use any flour you like)
80g brown rice syrup - again you could use honey, agave or syrup - if using honey or syrup you might need a little less as it's already pretty sweet.
2 tbsp coconut oil (or you could use butter), melted
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground mixed spice
4 tbsp water
pinch of salt


Method:

Once the almonds have roasted, leave to cool and then mix with the dried fruit and rest of the dry ingredients. In a bain marie (bowl over boiling water), melt the coconut oil and pour in the syrup, stirring well. When combined, pour into the fruit and nut mix, adding water if needed until thoroughly mixed. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil or baking paper. Pour the mixture onto the tray, pressing down with a spoon until well compressed. Bake for around 30 minutes at 150 degrees C. Remove from oven, leave to cool and then cut into small squares.
Keep refrigerated and then enjoy!