My Post-Spin Pina-Kale-Ada Smoothie

Last Friday, I was lucky enough to join forces with the Popcycle team on their Sweaty Betty Live DJ Ride, providing all the post-workout goodies to all the sweaty ladies who absolutely killed it on the spin bike. 

And just in case you’re thinking it was a cool, laid back way to spend your Friday evening, it’s not. 

This high energy class is definitely not for the faint hearted. A 90-minute spin class of hill climbs, sprints and a few upper body weights (thrown in for good measure, just to ensure you’re unable to move the next day), all to live DJ Georga’s deep house, old school hip hop and EDM set. 

But was it an amazing way to spend a Friday night? Was it ever. Why go clubbing when you can get all hot and sweaty on a spin bike?

Check out the Popcycle website for more information on their spin classes and upcoming events if you live in the Kent area!

To refuel I created this delicious Pina-Kale-Ada smoothie. My favourite cocktail with a healthy twist. It’s full of hydrating coconut water to help replace all those lost electrolytes, sweetened all naturally with banana and pineapple, and packs a plant-based protein punch to help your muscles recover after that intense workout!

Ingredients:

Serves 1

1 Cup Frozen Pineapple Chunks

1/2 Ripe Banana

1 Packed Cup Chopped Kale

2 Teaspoons Hemp Protein Powder

1 Cup Coconut Water

2 Teaspoons Lime Juice

when life hands you pineapples...make pina-kale-ada's!

K

Banana, Honey & Granola Crunch Muffins

I’m pretty sure I only bake in a bid to try and bribe people into liking me. In fact, I frequently turn up to work with sweet goods to keep on my managers good side, and seeing as I haven’t been fired (yet), I’ll assume it works. Now nothing says “please don’t lock me in the stock room or force me to deal with the horrible customers that make me cry” quite like a big batch of these Banana, Honey & Granola Crunch muffins. And if I really want to get on her good side, I’ll give these to her with a cup of tea and my butter-wouldn’t-melt smile 

Ingredients

Makes 12 Muffins

2 Cups Ground Almonds

1/2 Cup Plain Gluten-Free Flour

1 1/2 Teaspoons Baking Powder

Pinch Of Sea Salt

2 Tablespoons Coconut Oil

2 Tablespoons Honey

1 Teaspoon Vanilla

3 Eggs

3 Ripe Bananas

1 Tablespoon Dairy-Free Milk

Topping: Granola And Banana Slices.

Method

Preheat your oven to 175 degrees celsius. Grease your muffin tin with coconut oil and leave to one side.

In a large bowl, combine your ground almonds, flour, baking powder and sea salt. 

In a separate bowl, cream together your coconut oil and honey with an electric whisk until pale. Add in your vanilla extract and your eggs and continue to whisk until combined.

Slowly add in your dry ingredients to your honey and coconut oil mix and stir in well.

Mash your 3 ripe bananas and fold into your wet mixture with your dairy-free milk.

Using a 1/4 cup measurement, or a large ice cream scoop, fill each well with your mixture until about 3/4 full. Top with a banana slice and a sprinkling of granola. 

Bake in your oven for about 15 - 20 minutes, or until golden brown. They should spring back when touched.

Leave to cool.

Serve with a hot cup of tea to seriously impress your manager.

K

Cacao And Coconut Christmas Morning Granola

Get your fat pants ready, it’s Christmas! 

The days are long, long gone where sleep felt like an impossible task on Christmas Eve. When I would wake every hour on the hour to reach my toes nervously towards the end of the bed, feeling for a stocking filled up with treats and gold chocolate coins. When my Brother and I would sneak down the stairs to catch a glimpse of presents under the tree, and impatiently tear open our chocolate selection boxes. Jumping onto our parents bed at ridiculous o'clock to beg to go downstairs and open all the presents. And although Christmas Mornings now start with a cheeky run with my Dad rather than wading though the sea of wrapping paper, one thing about Christmas never truly changes. Chocolate for breakfast, and the excitement of the feasting ahead. 

This Cacao and Coconut Granola, served with coconut yogurt, fresh berries and a drizzle of chocolate sauce, is such a delicious breakfast to start a day of indulgence. Full of whole ingredients with amazing properties for our bodies, homemade and sweetened naturally with a mixture of ground cinnamon and local runny honey, this stuff is so much better for us than the shop brought stuff. Not that you needed a reason on Christmas Morning to be quite so decadent…

Serves 6-8.

Ingredients

2 TBSP Coconut Oil

185g Mixed Nuts

35g Pumpkin Seeds

70g Raisins

35g Unsweetened Desiccated Coconut

1 TSP Cacao Powder

1 TSP Ground Cinnamon

2 TBSP Runny Honey

Method

1. Heat the coconut oil in a large frying pan over a medium heat. Add the nuts, raisins and seeds to the pan first and stir frequently for 10 minutes. Then add the desiccated coconut, cacao powder, cinnamon and honey and reduce heat to low, stirring consistently for a further 5 minutes. Transfer the granola from the pan into a large bowl to cool completely. 
2. Serve with your chosen plant-based milk, or yogurt and fresh berries if you like.

Put on some cheesy Christmas music, sip slowly on a freshly brewed coffee and enjoy your Christmas Morning…

K

(This recipe was adapted from the Julie Montagu’s Chocolate and Coconut Granola recipe in the Sainsbury’s December 2016 issue).

Feel Good Festive Turmeric Milk

I'm always the first to embrace evenings spent watching cheesy Christmas films on Christmas 24/7, curled up on the sofa in a big cosy blanket. Starbucks Red Cups and warm gingerbread lattes. And if I'm going to be 100% honest with you, my Michael Bublé Christmas album hasn't actually left my car for the past 3 years I've had it...

If it were "acceptable" I would totally just have Christmas all year round. But apparently, along with eating Marmite out the jar with a spoon, it's just not. Isn't "acceptable" such a boring approach to life? 

I like to warm up my winter with this Feel Good Festive Turmeric Milk. Turmeric is an amazing spice, not only to colour your curries, but as an incredible source of antioxidants and it’s highly anti-inflammatory properties for the skin, body and mind. It contains an active ingredient called curcumin, which has proven in studies to be able to boost our levels of the brain neurotransmitters serotonin and dopamine, the feel good chemicals that help us to feel happy and calm. So not only is this drink a delightfully festive indulgence, it also helps us to feel a little brighter and less stressed during the darker winter months.

Serves 1

1 Cup Coconut Milk

1/2 Tablespoon Honey

1 Teaspoon Ground Turmeric

1 Teaspoon Ground Cinnamon

1/2 Teaspoon Ground Ginger

Pinch Of Black Pepper

1. Put all ingredients in a pan and bring to the boil. Reduce heat to a simmer for about 10 minutes, whisking to ensure all ingredients are combined.

2. Pour in to a mug and stir through with a cinnamon stick.

Enjoy

K

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

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

The Best Smoky Baked Eggs

This is my go-to recipe for refuelling after a long run, or just as a nice brunch on a slow Sunday morning. It's slightly smoky, slightly spicy, and the yolks are perfect every time. They only take a few minutes to prep and 15 minutes in the oven. Serve alongside fresh crusty bread for yolk dipping and make yourself some grown-up Dippy Eggs & Soldiers.  

Eggs are high in protein and contain all the essential amino acids that our body needs, so I always opt for them as a post-workout food. I like to pair them with a carbohydrate source like the tomatoes and wholegrain bread so we can restore our glycogen levels as well as feeding our muscles.

(I make these eggs several times a week and the yolks come out looking fantastic. Of course just not on the day I go to photograph them. Real life).

Serves 2

Ingredients

4 large free range eggs

400g tinned chopped tomatoes

100g spinach

Chilli

Paprika 

Salt and black pepper

Preheat your oven to 200 Degress Celcius/180 Degrees Fan/Gas Mark 6.

Wilt the spinach with boiling water. Squeeze to drain excess water and line it on the bottom of your oven-proof dish.

In a bowl, season your chopped tomatoes with chilli, paprika, salt and black pepper to taste. Pour it over the spinach.

Create four wells in your tomatoes, spaced evenly apart. Crack your eggs into these wells.

Bake in the oven for 12 - 15 minutes, depending on how you like your yolks. 

Serve with crusty bread and butter. 

Dip to your hearts content and enjoy.

K

How do you like your eggs in the morning?

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

Beauty Boosting: Anti-inflammatory Raspberry & Coconut Chia Seed Pudding

Sally can’t comprehend my stress. She doesn’t get how I can easily freak out and lose all will to continue, or how I can bottle everything up and allow a violent explosion. She just doesn’t get stressed out like I do. We all react to things differently, which makes stress hard to understand and sympathise with. But when Sally suggests that I simply ‘stress less’, it makes me want to LOL in her face. 

Whilst I breakdown, feeling totally out-of-control (often) over minor things, Sally could stand there watching her house burn down without even a glitch in her calm exterior. So no Sally, I can’t simply ‘stress less’ because that’s just not how I deal with things (and clearly flailing about like a headless chicken is far too much fun).

Now these bouts of stress can appear uninvited and really out-stay their welcome. And those lucky Sally’s of the world may just never understand, but to all those who suffer, it can be a real problem that makes everyday life hard to deal with - it can affect our relationships, our jobs/education and most importantly our health.

Stress sends our hormones flying all about the place. This in-balance can lead to increased anxiety, weight gain/loss, little to no motivation, fatigue, digestive issues amongst many other problems. And for me, wherever the root of my stress may lie, it always blossoms into something that makes my stress so much more stressful: spots. 

Unfortunately, there’s not a lot we can do to prevent this, as often stress in unavoidable (and we can’t just ‘stress less’), but by eating foods rich with anti-oxidants, anti-inflammatories and essential fatty acids, we can help to support and sooth our skin whilst attempting to calm our stress.

This Raspberry & Coconut Chia Seed Pudding is packed full of Omega 3 fatty acids that are essential for our bodies. An omega deficiency can lead to depression, anxiety and fatigue. Chia seeds are packed full of omega 3 fatty acids that help to balance out our hormones. Raspberries and chia seeds both contain a lot of antioxidants which combat inflammation and b-vitamins that fight stress. The copper and magnesium found within the coconut support healthy collagen production, keeping our connective tissues strong and also the potassium provides the skin with loads of hydration.

This recipe is anti-inflammatory, stress-busting and mood-lifting. 

Serves 1

Ingredients:

8g Desiccated Coconut 

20g Chia Seeds

40ml Almond Milk

60ml Coconut Water

1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract (optional)

30g Raspberries, crushed.

1. In a bowl combine the desiccated coconut and chia seeds with the almond milk, coconut water and vanilla extract.
2. Cover and leave in the fridge to set (preferably overnight).
3. In the morning, top with the crushed raspberries.

Tip: Add heart-healthy chopped walnuts or antioxidant rich cacao nibs when serving. Alternatively add sliced banana to make this a great pre-workout snack/meal! 

When I’m stressed, I love to exercise and have long warm baths. What do you do in times of stress?

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