High protein Paleo 'focaccia'

Ok, so this has more of a texture of a corncake but it tastes great dipped in a little olive oil and balsamic, or warm with some butter spread on top, yum!

Ingredients:

1 cup coconut flour (I used Biona)
4 eggs
100ml water (or more if it's looking a little dry)
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1/2 tsp of salt (I used chilli salt)
2 tsp dried rosemary
1 tsp fresh thyme
1/2 tsp chilli flakes
1/2 cup coconut oil, melted
2 tbsp rice protein powder (optional addition!)

Method:

Blend all ingredients in a food processor (easy!). Pour into a bread tin (greased with coconut oil). Bake in oven at around 180 degrees C for around 45 minutes. If the top starts to burn, cover with foil and continue to cook.

My Sunday hanging out with Martina - Aloha!

Last Sunday I was lucky enough to be invited by Maui Jim sunglasses to the Wimbledon Club for a day of tennis, cream tea and sunglasses - how could I refuse?!

On arrival the weather was looking a bit dodgy but luckily we were provided with tea, sandwiches, and a whole host of cakes before having to head out onto the courts - I'm pretty sure this is how Roger prepares for most of his big games. I made sure I wasn't snapped devouring the red velvet cake, us nutritionists have a rep to protect!

So carb-loaded and raring to go (I managed to resist the pre-match Pimms), we headed down onto the courts where the pocket rocket that is Martina Hingis was waiting to whip us into tip top tennis shape.   What a power house she is - you can see why despite being half the size of Serena and Venus she's just won two doubles titles at Wimbledon this year having come out of retirement for the second time!

Showing Martina how it's done!

We then sweated it out on the courts for a couple of hours - no wonder tennis players have such amazing legs, it really is quite a workout! By which time we'd earned some well deserved Pimms and more cake, strawberries and cream (Sundays are nutritionist's days off ;-) )

We were then treated to our choice of the gorgeous Maui Jim sunglasses (could this day get any better?!)

Oh yes it could, Hawaiian dancing anyone?

 A fantastic day all round and I've genuinely not taken off my Maui Jim's since - love them! http://www.mauijim.com If you're not familiar with them.

Thanks to everyone at Maui Jim and the Wimbledon club - and well done Martina for doing the double this weekend! (I knew my coaching tips would pay off).

Veggie Garam Masala 'Scotch' eggs

Ingredients: Makes 5

6 eggs (one for binding the ingredients)
1 can of cooked green lentils (I used Biona)
1 onion, finely diced
2 garlic cloves, finely diced or crushed
coconut oil
2 tsp garam masala
1 tsp dried chilli or chilli flakes
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
pinch of salt
black pepper
1/2 cup polenta (coarse cornmeal)
1/2 cup flour (I used spelt but you can use any flour you like)
1 courgette, grated





Method:
Heat about a tsp of coconut oil in a frying pan and lightly saute the onion and garlic - adding the spices and stirring after a few minutes. Add the grated courgette and saute for three more minutes.
Remove from the heat and leave to cool. In the meantime boil your eggs - no longer than 5 minutes is needed. Then set aside in cool water.
Next in a large food processor blitz the courgette and onion mixture, with the lentils (drained) and one egg. Stir in the polenta and flour.
Lay some cling film over a clean surface and using a wooden spoon dollop one 6th of the mixture in the centre. Flatten slightly and place a peeled egg in the centre. Using the clingfilm, roll the lentil mixture over the egg and shape with the cling film still in place into a ball shaped. Using floured hands dip the egg into a bowl of polenta and coat. Place on a greased baking sheet.
Repeat with the rest of the eggs.
Bake in the oven at 180 degrees C turning halfway. If you like a little extra bite, you can shallow fry the in coconut oil for a few minutes when you take them out of the oven to make them nice and crispy and brown!
Serve with mango chutney and yogurt and mint.

Chocolate avocado mousse (yep, avocado)

Raw chocolate mousse – serves 4
Ingredients:
1 large avocado
1 banana
1 tablespoon coconut oil
3 tablespoons raw cacao powder
2 tablespoons honey, agave nectar or maple syrup or 4 medjool dates
1/8 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 tsp chilli flakes or chilli powder (optional)

Blitz all the ingredients in food processor or blender adding a little water or nut milk if too thick. Chill in fridge for 30 minutes. Serve and enjoy!

Peanutty soba stir-fry

INGREDIENTS (Serves 2)

1 tablespoon crunchy peanut butter

2 tablespoons reduced-salt soy sauce

1 tablespoon fish sauce (nam pla)

1 tbsp miso paste

2 garlic cloves, finely diced or grated/crushed

1 inch fresh ginger, peeled and grated

300g stir-fry vegetables (any veg you like)

1 onion

1 handful fresh basil or coriander

1 teaspoon chilli powder or fresh chilli

1 teaspoon of coconut oil

100g soba (buckwheat) noodles

Method:

Mix the peanut butter, chilli, 100ml of boiling water, soy sauce, fish sauce, miso and chilli in a bowl to make the satay sauce. Heat the oil in a wok or large frying pan and add the ginger, garlic and onion to soften. Add the rest of the vegetables and stir-fry over a high heat for 3-4 minutes. In the meantime, cook the buckwheat noodles until tender, drain and add to the pan. Sprinkle with the basil or coriander and serve. (You could also add chicken, king prawns or tofu).  

Sweet potato gooey brownies

These brownies are vegan and gluten-free yet are still as gooey as proper brownies should be!

Ingredients:
Dry ingredients
3 tbsp coconut flour
30g ground almond
3 tbsp shredded coconut (you could also use chopped walnuts or pecans)
1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
2 tbsp raw cacao powder
2 tbsp raw cacao nibs (or dark chocolate, chopped into small pieces)
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla essence
1 large sweet potato (peeled)
3 heaped tbsp coconut oil
3 tbsp honey or brown rice syrup/malt syrup
100ml coconut/almond/rice milk

Method:

Steam or bake the sweet potato until tender. Melt the coconut oil and blend the sweet potato, coconut oil, honey and vanilla essence in food processor until smooth.
In a separate bowl mix the dry ingredients together and slowly add the wet mixture, stirring in the milk slowly.

Grease a baking tray with coconut oil and spoon the mixture into the tray, smoothing over with a knife.

Bake in the middle of a pre-heated oven at 180 degrees C for around 25 minutes.

Leave to cool and then cut into squares. For an even more decadent treat, serve with a dollop of whipped coconut cream.

Spinach and sweetcorn quinoa breakfast muffins

These delicious muffins are a great breakfast on the go, or a healthier alternative to a sweet afternoon cupcake! You could experiment with any other flavours - feta cheese, dried or fresh herbs, peppers or sun dried tomatoes.

Ingredients: Makes about 18

200g Spelt flour (you could use any other flour)

120g Quinoa flakes

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

1 egg

80ml olive oil

250ml almond milk (or any other type of milk)

100g fresh spinach, finely chopped

150g sweetcorn kernels

1 tsp wholegrain mustard

2 tbsp nutritional yeast

1 tsp dried chilli flakes

1 tsp cracked black pepper

Pinch of salt

Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees C. 

Combine all of the dry ingredients and then stir in the spinach, sweetcorn. In a glass jar, combine the egg, olive oil and milk, whisking with a fork until well combined. Stir the liquid into the dry ingredients using a fork until combined well.

Spoon the mixture into cupcake cases (it makes around 14 large or 20 small). Place in the centre of the oven and bake for 20 minutes, until golden brown. Cool and serve, or serve warm. 

Nutritional info per muffin:
179 calories
6g fat
5g protein
1g sugar