Blackberry & Apple Crumble

I reckon the crumble resembles me quite a lot. If we're comparing ourselves to desserts, that is.

I'd like to say I'm study, like a pound cake. Made of simple ingredients all in equal measures, reliable, and can be knocked about quite a bit and still taste great.

But no. Under my crispy surface, I'm all sweet and mushy and full of fruit. I'm a complex blend of cinnamon and spices, which in the wrong quantities can seem either overbearing or under powering. On the outside, I do this pretty great job at holding myself together, but if you go and take a big spoonful out of me, I'll just crumble everywhere. And don't think you can throw me about and I'll still look delicious, I won't. Take care of me, fly me first class, or I'll just be a soggy mess on the dinner table.

Anyway, now like many other berries, blackberries are little antioxidant powerhouses, which can provide many great benefits for the skin and body, potentially protecting against certain cancers, ageing and inflammation. They're also an excellent source of vitamins C, A, E and K when part of a balanced diet, and contain many minerals including potassium, magnesium, copper and manganese.

Not sure what most of that does to our bodies? Me neither. Basically just note they’re good for us and even more delicious at the moment because they’re in season in the UK. So the perfect excuse to bake a crumble.

Serves 4

Ingredients

For the filling:

4 Gala Apples

200g Blackberries

2 tsp Runny Honey

2 Cinnamon Sticks

2 Star Anise

For the crumble topping:

200g Porridge Oats

50g Rice/Spelt/Gluten Free Flour

2 tsp Olive Oil

4 tbsp Runny Honey

Ground Cinnamon

Serve with:

• Custard
• Ice Cream
• Yogurt

Method

Preheat your oven to 180 degrees celsius.

Peel, core and dice your apples. Add these to a large sauce pan with 160ml water, 100g blackberries, runny honey, cinnamon stick and star anise. Bring to the boil and simmer for about 10-15 minutes. 

In a large mixing bowl, combine your oats, flour, olive oil, runny honey and cinnamon together using your hands.

Take your apple mixture off the heat and spoon out any excess liquid. Pour the mixture into an oven proof dish and top with the rest of your blackberries. Cover with your crumble topping and put in the oven to bake for 20-25 minutes, or until golden brown.

Serve and enjoy.

And what dessert do you reckon you would be?

K

Sundried Tomato & Walnut Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms

I was one of those really deprived children that only got a roast dinner like once a year, at Christmas. I also never got that pony I asked for each year, or one of those little electric cars that I could sit and cruise about in. But one mustn't complain, at least I always got a new pair of underwear in my stocking to unwrap.

It hasn't got much better since on the roast dinner front. Or the pony, or the car, come to think of it. So when I do, on the very odd occasion, have something that slightly resembles one, I like to go in on it all guns blazing.

These mushrooms are loaded with lots of fresh and delicious flavours, and taste great drizzled with balsamic vinegar and served with a big salad. But I've got to say, they taste a whole lot better drowned in gravy, with roast potatoes and a mountain of steamed vegetables. The photos just wouldn't have been as aesthetically pleasing. 

So the choice is up to you, but for me, there's very little competition. Treat the veggie in your life to some damn good stuffed mushrooms to leave 'em feeling stuffed until their next roast dinner. 

Makes 4 Portobello Mushrooms

Ingredients

4 Portobello Mushrooms

Fresh Parsley Roughly Chopped

Spinach Roughly Chopped

1 Red Bell Pepper Finely Diced

1 Shallot Finely Diced

50g Sundried Tomatoes

30g Walnuts Chopped

Salt & Pepper To Taste

Method

Preheat your oven to 180 degrees celsius.

Remove the stems from your mushrooms and set to one side to add to your filling. Place the mushrooms stem side up on your baking tray and bake in the oven for about 10 minutes.

In a pan, dry fry your pepper, shallots, sundried tomatoes, walnuts, diced mushrooms stems, parsley and spinach with a little bit of salt & pepper to season. 

Remove mushrooms from the oven and pour off any of the excess water that has gathered. Fill the mushrooms and bake in the oven for a further 10-15 minutes. 

Drown in gravy, and enjoy.

What's your favourite vegetarian roast dinner dish?

K

Healthy Snacks To Keep You Dancing All Night Long

Gym?

No.

I thought you said Gin.

And never was there a more accurate representation of what my weekend at Bestival is going to look like.

Now a great deal of the time I love choosing to eat whole, clean foods. I drink plenty of water, I get my 8 hours sleep a night and I exercise regularly. I do my best to be a healthy individual. But that doesn’t mean to say I don’t like to let my hair down from time to time, drown myself in glitter and indulge in a multitude of sins.

Yes, sometimes I choose to eat a bit of junk food if it’s what I’m really craving.

Party all night long instead of getting some shut eye.

And hey, if you’re passing me a glass of gin, who am I to throw it back in your face?

I’m trying to master that tricky balance in being healthy and letting myself have fun, but know that both are completely acceptable. 

So when you’re reading this, remember that these snacks are not an accurate representation of my weekend (in the slightest). These snacks represent a small proportion of what I will be eating. They are “ideal” choices to grab if I get hungry and keep me full of energy to dance all night long.  And I am the Snack Queen, so it would be an awful shame not to live up to my name. 

Hippeas Organic Chickpea Puffs are great alternatives to just picking up a bag of crisps.

These Nakd and Trek bars both contain 1-your-5-a-day and leave me feeling full and satisfied, as well as providing instant energy from the dates and protein from the nuts and soya crunchies. 

Apples and Bananas are both ideal fresh fruit choices as they don’t require refrigeration.

These Pip & Nut Sachets pair well with the Kallo Rice Cakes to make a quick snack full of healthy fats and carbohydrates. 

I ordered a massive box of these Of The Earth Superfoods Cereal Pots to take with me as you can make them with both cold and hot water for a speedy snack. Made exclusively with super foods such as spirulina, barley grass, green tea, maca and goji berries, they’re a great energy boosting way to start the day.

I’m also taking a pack of the Koko Coconut Milk Cartons to either make teas/coffees with, or to drink with a piece of fruit.

Alcohol! Because no great story ever started with a salad…

K

Chocolate Chai Banana Bread

If I could choose how to spend my perfect Sundays, I would be in great company, exploring picturesque neighbourhoods and sampling plenty of overindulgent foods. Of course the majority of my Sundays are spent rising at 6 to cram in a 10 mile run, catching up with work from the previous week ready for the next, and just trying to find a few spare minutes to shave my legs and collapse on a heap on the sofa. What remains in both my expectations and realities of a Sunday however, is plenty of tea and sweet treats to see me through.

This a perfect bake to use up all those sad, bruised looking bananas long forgotten in the dark corners of your kitchen. And as well as being gluten and dairy-free, this subtly sweet Chocolate Chai Banana Bread is refined sugar-free, and when kept in an airtight container will see you through the week as a delicious, healthy snack.

Ingredients

Dry

1/2 Cup Buckwheat Flour

1/2 Cup Ground Almonds

1 1/2 TSP Baking Powder

1/2 TSP Baking Soda

2 TSP Cinnamon

1 TSP Ginger

1/2 TSP Allspice

1/2 TSP Nutmeg

1 TSP Vanilla Extract

1/2 TSP Salt

Dark Chocolate Chopped

Wet

2 Large Eggs

1/4 Cup Melted Coconut Oil

1/4 Cup Milk or Milk Alternative

1 TSP Apple Cider Vinegar

3 Medium Ripe Bananas Mashed

Topping

1 Cup Pecans

1 TBSP Coconut Oil

1/4 TSP Cinnamon

Method

Preheat your oven to 180 degrees celcius or gas mark 6 and line a loaf tin.

In a large bowl, mix together all your dry ingredients and set to one side. 

On a chopping board, roughly mash your bananas with a fork leaving some larger chunks of banana. In another bowl, whisk together your eggs, coconut oil, milk and apple cider vinegar. Add in your mashed banana and mix together.

Begin to fold in the wet mixture to the dry ingredients until only just combined.

Transfer the bread mixture to your loaf tin. Sprinkle on your pecans and drizzle with the remaining coconut oil and put in the oven to bake for 45 minutes, or until a skewer comes out of the bread clean. If you find your pecans are beginning to burn on top, cover with foil and resume baking. 

So slather up a slice with jam and peanut butter and thank me later.

K

Apple, Golden Kiwi & Honey Porridge

Recently I’ve become obsessed with golden kiwifruit. I’m not sure if a golden kiwi is anymore nutritious than a good old green one, but we all know I’m a sucker for a unusual fruit. And regardless, kiwi’s are an incredibly rich source of vitamin C and vitamin E, both of which are essential for healthy skin, hair, teeth and bones, as well as potassium, folate and dietary fibre. In fact, the fruit packs more nutrients per ounce than many of the other fruits we consume, including oranges and bananas. Mixed with the grated apple and honey, this is a deliciously sweet, unrefined breakfast bowl with a real nutritional punch. 

Spoons at the ready.

Serves 2

100g Porridge Oats

500ml Water

130ml Coconut Milk

10g Honey

1 Apple (grated)

2 Golden Kiwifruits (sliced)

To Serve

• Pip & Nut Coconut Almond Butter

Combine your porridge oats and water in a saucepan over a high heat and bring to the boil.

Reduce the heat to a simmer and add your coconut milk, honey and grated apple. Continue to cook for a further 2 - 3 minutes or until it’s reached your desired consistency, stirring occasionally. You may want to add a little more liquid at this point. 

Divide between your breakfast bowls and top with golden kiwifruit and nut butter of your choice.

Enjoy.

What are your recent foodie obsessions?

K

Salt & Balsamic Vinegar Roasted Chickpeas & Other Healthy Travel Snack Ideas

The last time I got on a plane empty-handed, I went a little crazy on those tiny tubes of Pringles from the refreshment trolley. I’ll leave the rest to your imagination, but it’s safe to say I always like to keep some nutritious supplies on my persons. Here’s my picks for some sweet and savoury healthy travel snacks:

Powerful Antioxidant Blueberry & Dark Chocolate Snack Pot. 

Houmous Snack Pot & Veggie Sticks. 

The Perfect Crisp Alternatives: Kallo Sundried Tomato & Herbs Mini Corn & Rice Cakes and EatReal Chilli & Lemon Lentil Chips.

Nakd Banana Crunch Bar.

Munchy Seeds Choccy Ginger.

Salt & Balsamic Vinegar Roasted Chickpeas

If you’re a sucker for the salted peanuts with your G&T when the trolley comes round, lose the overly processed nuts (not the drink) and try this recipe for these crunchy Salt & Vinegar Roasted Chickpeas.

• 1 can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed thoroughly
• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 tsp salt
• ground black pepper
• 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar

Preheat the oven to Gas Mark 6/200 Degrees Celsius and line a baking tray.

Place the drained and rinsed chickpeas onto a clean tea towel (or kitchen paper) and pat dry. Transfer the chickpeas onto the baking tray and drizzle with your extra virgin olive oil and season with salt and black pepper.

Roast the chickpeas for about 15 minutes, then toss chickpeas with a wooden spoon and continue to roast for another 10 minutes until golden brown and crispy.

Drizzle the chickpeas with your balsamic vinegar and toss. Allow to cool before eating.

Store in an airtight container for 1 - 2 days. 

Remember that a balanced diet is something that needs to be sustainable for yourself. It is about creating healthy habits and not placing restrictions on ourselves - sometimes choosing to eat vegetable sticks over crisps, but still allowing ourselves treats when we really want them. So these are just some of my favourite healthy choices for snacks when travelling, but at the end of the day, I'm going on holiday so I probably still will treat myself to a few Pringles (perhaps I may just not go quite so crazy) alongside my blueberries. 

K

Weekly Dinner Plan #4

I’m a nosy person by nature, and a lover of all things food, so it’s no surprise I’m always intrigued to know what other people eat. For anyone who eagerly questions colleagues every morning “so what did you have for dinner last night?” like it’s some hot gossip, this ones for you. Here’s what this weeks Dinner plan looks like:

Monday Smoked tofu and peanut stir-fry.

Tuesday Salmon parcels with spring vegetables.

Wednesday Prawn and cashew nut salad.

Thursday Almond lemon cod.

Friday Sweet potato wedges with garlic beans and spinach.

Saturday Ten-minute tomato sauce served with brown rice pasta.

Sunday Mushroom & cauliflower vegan shepherds pie.

• The first few meals this week are recipes I’ve been eager to try out from ‘The Louise Parker Method Lean For Life’. I like that Parker’s idea emphasises eating a diet rich in whole foods, and creating a sustainable lifestyle incorporating achievable exercise to get you looking lean, rather than the diet you ditch 4 weeks in. 
• Half Marathon training has officially started, which means between 3 - 4 runs per week, including a long distance run every Sunday morning. It’s important to incorporate plenty of carbs for energy and protein to aid in recovery to my diet. Saturday night is the ten-minute tomato sauce with black beans served with brown rice pasta to fuel me through Sunday morning. 
• Sunday is always a comfort meal type of night. I don’t actually eat meat, so I plan on making a vegan shepherds pie with mushrooms and a cauliflower mash topping instead of the traditional way. 

What does your weekly dinner plan look like?

K

Comforting Cinnamon Butter Bean Stew

Painting my nails and re-watching old episodes of 90210 are extremely tedious jobs that aren’t going to just do it themselves, you know. Some times, I just don’t have the time to slave away making a big fancy dinner when there are far more important things to do. 

This cinnamon butter bean stew is a perfect, comforting, throw-it-all-together mid-week meal that gives you more time to do all those things you keep putting off - a Jo Malone candlelit bubble bath, oh the horror, don’t make me do it.  

Make a big batch to freeze for even quicker, healthy mid-week meals! 

Serves 4

Ingredients

2 Cups Vegetable Stock

400g Courgettes (Chopped)

2 Red Onions (Chopped)

400g Broccoli & Cauliflower Florets

2 Cans Butter Beans

4 Tsp Ground Cinnamon

200g Brown Basmati Rice

Place all ingredients into a saucepan, bring to the boil and then reduce to a simmer whilst you steam the rice.

Serve and enjoy!

More time for all that “important” stuff… 

K

Weekly Dinner Plan #3

I’m a nosy person by nature, and a lover of all things food, so it’s no surprise I’m always intrigued to know what other people eat. For anyone who eagerly questions colleagues every morning “so what did you have for dinner last night?” like it’s some hot gossip, this ones for you. Here’s what this weeks Dinner plan looks like:

Monday Butter bean stew served with brown basmati rice.

Tuesday Steamed salmon fillet flaked over spinach salad with new potatoes.

Wednesday Lentil bolognese served with brown rice penne pasta and steamed broccoli florets.

Thursday Mackerel With Roasted Asparagus.

Friday Chickpea curry with brown basmati rice.

Saturday Away. 

Sunday Away.

• I freeze a lot of leftovers so I know I always have something quick and healthy to grab out of the freezer in a rush. Last week I made a lentil bolognese that I plan to reuse on Wednesday, and this week I’m making a butter bean stew to serve with brown basmati rice that should come in handy the following week.
• I spoke last week about how I’ve been trying to reincorporate more variety of foods back into my diet, and currently I’ve loved everything I’ve been trying. As a child I hated fish with a burning passion, and now they seem to be my favourite meals of the week. This week I’m going to be roasting a mackerel fillet to serve with roasted asparagus and whatever vegetables need using up in our fridge. When choosing fish, I opt to buying the slightly more expensive line-caught options to ensure the sustainability of the species and the nutrition content - M&S is usually my go to for salmon and cod. 
• Now it always seems that I’m never in for dinner on a Saturday and Sunday, so thats why I always try to be good during the week and enjoy eating out on the weekend. We’re actually going away for the weekend, so I planned to have a chickpea curry ready to take with me for Friday evening when we arrive - it’s a good ‘through everything you have in the cupboard together’ meal - but who knows what I’ll eat the other days. 

What does your weekly dinner plan look like?

K

Weekly Dinner Plan #2

I’m a nosy person by nature, and a lover of all things food, so it’s no surprise I’m always intrigued to know what other people eat. For anyone who eagerly questions colleagues every morning “so what did you have for dinner last night?” like it’s some hot gossip, this ones for you. Here’s what this weeks Dinner plan looks like:

Monday Steamed salmon fillet with roasted asparagus spears, steamed spinach and grilled tomato.

Tuesday Tofu, pepper and cherry tomato skewers with a big side salad.

Wednesday Lentil bolognese served with brown rice penne pasta and steamed broccoli florets.

Thursday Cod fillet dressed in lemon juice served with steamed broccoli florets, butternut squash and roasted red pepper.

Friday Sweet potato fries with homemade chickpea veggie burgers and kale.

Saturday Out for dinner.

Sunday Out for dinner.

• Since about March, I’ve slowly been adding different varieties of fish back into my diet. This week we decided to go for cod fillets dressed in lemon juice with a colourful selection of roasted vegetables. I’ll probably make a big batch of these roasted vegetables and use them in a wrap with houmous for lunch the next day.
• Even though my Mum insists she hates lentils, her favourite dinner is a lentil bolognese sauce, which tastes oddly like beef bolognese. Unfortunately lentils don’t agree with my system too well, so we only have them once/twice a week. 
• Friday night is usually always chip night in our house. To get an extra portion of my 5-a-day in, I like to cut sweet potatoes into fries and season with cinnamon and paprika. If we’re running short of time, we’ll probably pick some up some pre-made veggie burgers rather than make our own out of chickpeas.

What does your weekly dinner plan look like?

K

Almond Butter Blueberry Cookies

Now I wanted to start this post tastefully. I'm currently "surfing the crimson wave". Some might say, "birthing a blood diamond". Or I'm attending "arts and craft week at Pantry Camp", if you get what I mean.

Yes, I totally googled: polite things to call your period. 

Too much information, I know. But the point was that this week I’ve been craving sweets, cakes and biscuits like crazy, and this is where these Almond Butter Blueberry Cookies come in.

Not only are they free-from dairy, eggs and gluten, but they are also free from refined sugars. I try and avoid processed sugars around this time of the month because my skin is usually already suffering with the unbalanced hormones and I don’t want to make it any worse. These cookies are sweetened naturally with maple syrup and vanilla extract, but still smell and taste delicious warm out of the oven to keep my cravings at bay.

 

Makes 20 Cookies

Ingredients

150g Oats

100g Buckwheat Flour

1 TSP Bicarbonate Of Soda

90ml Olive Oil

90g Tahini

250g Almond Butter

120ml Maple Syrup

75g Blueberries

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees celcius/Gas Mark 4 and line and grease a large baking tray.

In a blender or food processor, blend the oats down into a fine powder and then stir together with the buckwheat flour and bicarbonate of soda in a large bowl.

Over a low heat, melt the olive oil, tahini, almond butter and maple syrup and stir until  smooth and combined.

Pour the warm liquid mixture over the dry ingredients, along with the blueberries, and fold until all the ingredients are combined.

Roll the cookie dough into 20 golf-sized balls and flatten down with the palm of your hand on the baking tray.

Bake in the oven for 10-12 minutes (don’t overcook them or they will become dry). The cookies will still be a little soft, but they will start to firm up as they cool down. After a couple minutes transfer to a wire rack to cool completely - or just eat the whole batch before then!

If you too are “riding the cotton pony” so to speak, make a big batch of these and put your feet up with a cup of tea. 

K

Weekly Dinner Plan #1

I’m a nosy person by nature, and a lover of all things food, so it’s no surprise I’m always intrigued to know what other people eat. For anyone who eagerly questions colleagues every morning “so what did you have for dinner last night?” like it’s some hot gossip, this ones for you. Here’s what this weeks Dinner plan looks like:

Monday Steamed salmon flaked over a bed of sliced new potatoes, spinach and broccoli florets. Served with a honey and mustard dressing.

Tuesday Quick pasta arrabiata served with brown rice spaghetti (from Deliciously Ella Everyday Cookbook).

Wednesday Tortilla pizza base using the leftover arrabiata sauce, topped with roasted courgette, peppers, red onion and mushrooms. 

Thursday Steamed salmon fillet served with brown basmati rice, pak choi and fine beans, drizzled with a homemade sweet and spicy chilli tamari sauce.

Friday Out for dinner.

Saturday Quick black bean and spinach tomato pasta sauce served with brown rice spaghetti.

Sunday Either leftovers or whatever we fancy.

• I like to make sure we’re having a portion of oily fish, like salmon, at least twice a week. The omegas found within salmon are essential fatty acids that are so important for our brain and nerve function, as well as helping to lower the risk of heart disease and supporting our skin. Our favourite dish at the moment is simple steamed salmon (we do ours in foil boats in the oven for around 10-15 minutes) drizzled with a homemade sweet chilli tamari soy sauce and served with rice and greens.
• On Tuesday we're celebrating my Brother’s birthday and I wasn’t getting in from work until late, so we opted to make a quick arrabbiata with brown rice spaghetti. I use the leftover arrabbiata sauce to top my tortilla-base pizza the next day with roasted vegetables, or you can freeze the leftover sauce for even quicker mid-week meals.
• Sunday mornings usually call for a run with my Dad, so we like to make another quick tomato pasta sauce we can leave in a slow-cooker for dinner Saturday night. It’s full of black beans for plant-based protein and served with brown rice spaghetti which are great carbs for energy reserves.

What does you weekly dinner plan look like?

K

Banana, Maple & Toasted Almond Porridge

I, of all people, don’t need an excuse to dig into a warm bowl of porridge (I think my Instagram feed says it all). Super thick, sweet and creamy oats are the stuff my dreams are made of. So when the weather is wintery and cold outside, you can bet your last penny I’m at the breakfast table with a warm bowl of it and a cup of tea.

The toppings are endless, but my ultimate favourite is this Banana, Maple & Toasted Almond porridge. The warm banana is incredibly sweet, the toasted almonds and poppy seeds pack a real nutritional punch, and the maple syrup makes this healthy breakfast feel like a dessert.

Now I could sit here all day preaching the power of the porridge, but the most important thing about eating oats for breakfast is that they’re full of soluble fibre (beta-glucan) and are a low GI food. This means that they won’t spike your blood sugar levels, like some sugary breakfast cereals, to keep you satisfied and less likely to crave the sweet stuff for the rest of the day.

Pre-workout. Post-workout. Lazy mornings. Busy mornings. It’s the only way to fuel my day. 

Serves 2

Ingredients

80g Oats

1 Cup Milk/Nut Mylk/Dairy Alternative

1 Cup Water

1 Banana Chopped

20g Chopped/Flaked Almonds

2 Tablespoons Maple Syrup

1 Tsp Poppy Seeds

Method

In a pan over a high heat, bring to the boil the oats, milk and water, then lower to a gentle simmer stirring occasionally. 

Whilst the porridge is cooking, toast the almonds in a pan over a medium-high heat until golden brown. This usually takes 3 - 4 minutes.

Stir through the poppy seeds, maple syrup and half the chopped banana. Cook until is reaches your desired consistency. If you prefer runnier porridge, slowly add more water.

Serve in a bowl, topping your porridge with the rest of your banana, toasted almonds and a drizzle of maple syrup.

Enjoy

K