Sweet Deceits Raw Caramel Slice

I’ve spoken previously about my intense love affair with chocolate. 

How that instant pleasure seems to overwhelm and derail me, leaving me seeking more and more to keep that thrill alive. And then later, when that delight and sugar rush has worn off, how dejected I feel, realising that the bar wasn’t even that great. Yeah. Chocolate is that boy that never called you back.

But I never really could give up going after the bad guys (or er, chocolate), so I set out to find my safe highs in this post. 

Sweet Deceits is a company that makes these incredibly delicious dessert kits, exclusively using natural and real ingredients. That means no funny business. No hidden nasties. No excuses. In fact the only ingredients in the kit are Dates, Almonds, Coconut Oil, Gluten Free Oats, Raw Cacao Powder and Natural Fruit Extracts (apple, grape and carob). Suitable for gluten free and vegan diets. Just pure unadulterated fun. 

I picked up the Raw Caramel Slice Kit from The Protein Pick And Mix store locally to me, but they are widely available across the internet and health food shops. And at only £7.99, they make a cheaper date. 

Not only are they easy to make, as the quantities are all labelled and measured out already for you, they're deceivingly good for you and they’re even easier to eat an entire batch of.

So if you have a bit of a thing for the bad guys, I’ll tell you straight: the chocolate brownie is always going to look a whole lot better than it tastes, I promise. Unless of course it’s a Sweet Deceits brownie. So you know where to get your next safe chocolate high.

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

Food Diary Friday

7:00 AM: I start everyday with a vitamin C supplement to help me absorb iron more effectively, an Optibac Everyday Probiotics to help with digestion and gut health, and a big glass of water (not pictured).

8:00 AM: Breakfast was loaded with healthy fats and omega-3s and all round bloody delicious. I wilted spinach with thyme and black pepper in coconut oil, served with quinoa and a runny yolk fried egg fresh from the chickens in the garden. Thank you ladies.

12:30 PM: Lunch out with my Mum and Grandma was a Pepper, Tomato and Red Lentil soup, with a seeded bread roll and a sweet honey oolong tea.

4:00 PM: A snack was definitely needed to power me through my workout, so I made a creamy almond butter and soya yogurt dip to have with apple slices, and one of these Twinings Gingerbread green tea's along side it. My house officially smelt of Christmas and it was glorious.

8:00 PM: Dinner was my absolute favourite dish of aubergine slices roasted with chilli, pepper and salt, spinach wilted with garlic and black beans, and tamari infused rice. I finished the night with a pack of Strawberries & Cream Nakd Nibbles which I ate far too quickly to picture.

What does your food diary look like?

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?

Spicy King Prawn Arrabbiata

Spicy King Prawn Arrabbiata

I recently just learnt that arrabbiata literally translates from Italian to English as "angry". I get that, because I do believe if this sauce could speak, it would be screaming the whole house down with "you totally stole my favourite shoes!!" Even though my mouth is on fireee, I can't help but go in for another spoonful. It's certainly not a push around, it's got a real kick. 

This spicy arrabbiata is a favourite in our household. Not only are king prawns a great source of lean protein and omega-3 essential fatty acids, as well as providing us with a great dose of selenium, vitamin B12 and calcium, the whole meal can be whipped together in the time it takes to boil your pasta. It's a sauce full of fresh ingredients and is both cheap and convenient.

Serves 4

Ingredients

3 teaspoons dried oregano

3 teaspoons dried thyme

2 teaspoons dried chilli flakes 

4 garlic cloves crushed

1 tablespoons olive oil

400g cherry tomatoes quartered

400g tinned chopped tomatoes

4 tablespoons tomato puree

Juice of 1 lemon

Salt and pepper to season.

Responsibly source king prawns

300g brown rice pasta (if gluten-free) 

Method

Begin by cooking your pasta according to the package instructions. We use brown rice pasta in my house to accommodate for my Brother who has a bit of a gluten sensitivity, but feel free to use wholewheat pasta or whatever you have in your cupboards.

Now in a large saucepan heat the olive oil, and cook your garlic, chilli flakes and herbs for 2-3 minutes. You can use this time to prep other ingredients, and quarter your cherry tomatoes.

Add to the pan the cherry tomatoes, tinned chopped tomatoes and tomato puree. Cook for about 5 minutes before seasoning the sauce with lemon juice, salt and pepper.

Stir through your king prawns and allow to cook until the prawns are warm right through.

Drain your spaghetti. 

Serve. 

And enjoy.

K

Food For Friends, Brighton

With darker nights approaching, I get this horrible sense of the Summer running away from me. I'm left in a sheer panic, realising I haven't done half the stuff I planned to when I watched the long break spread out in front of me. It turns out it's August, and between work, my days are diminishing. So with the sun finally shining again, Mum and I had spent the morning doing a spot of shopping down the Lanes in Brighton, to make the most of the fleeting Summer (or at least the very British version of it).

I have a list the length of my forearm of the most rave about places to grab food or eat in the city, but I suggested we sat down for lunch at Food For Friends, a vegetarian restaurant I had spent many a blogpost drooling over. We took advantage of the weather and their perfect people watching location and sat outside. Now with a great reputation for their flavoursome, home cooked food, with a menu that caters for a whole host of special dietary requirements (but don't be fooled - many a meat-eater has raved about this restaurant), our expectations were: 11/10.

And I can't say we were left disappointed. The food was delicious and the generous portions sizes were spot on. The staff were lovely and couldn't have been more helpful. 

Now Mum's a bit of a self-confessed haloumi addict, she's also not willing to much about it, and after catching a glimpse of their haloumi and portobello burger her decision was final. It came stacked in a brioche bun on top of fresh tomato, baby gem lettuce, gerkins and a red onion marmalade, served with triple cooked chips and a honey mustard mayo.

I went for one of their - many -  vegan options, the tahini marinated roast aubergine, stuffed with a delicious smoky chipotle pepper and tomato ragout, served with pan-fried saffron potatoes and courgette drizzled with a sweet pekmez dressing.

And even though we had all but demolished our food, we ordered two espresso shots with their homemade dark chocolate truffles to share, because we just couldn't resist. Now oh my goodness, these were the best things ever. So rich, but not too sickly, and they melted in your mouth like a lindt ball would, but I swear they tasted 10x better. I suggested that they start selling these immediately as it's sent me on a vegan chocolate truffle quest.

I also picked up this "I am SKINNY GREEN" juice from another Brighton health haunt, 42 Juice, to fuel my spin workout later in the day. 

And here's hoping I can fit in a few more days as lovely as this before the Summer is over.

K