Category Archives: Recipes

Paleo Christmas dinner

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It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas….mainly in my lunchbox.

xmas dinner

Parsnip chips and sprouts are starting to make up a lot of my meals now the festive season is upon us and it is certainly helping me to get in to the festive spirit.

Christmas is stereotypically a time of gluttony and overindulgence. We always reach for that second mince pie, the cheeseboard after dinner or that extra glass of mulled wine.

I hold my hands up to this too, for Christmas becomes yet another occasion whereby we justify over eating as treating ourselves. I have been known to go Furious Pete on a chocolate orange before the main event then promptly open another one straight afterwards.

Christmas doesn’t have to mean gaining a few extra pounds though. Mince pies and mulled wine are fine in moderation but if you don’t want to overindulge this festive season then why not give this Paleo Christmas dinner a try.

It’s so hard to please everyone when making a Christmas dinner but for someone following a Paleo plan or wanting to watch what they eat this month then this dinner will hit the exact same spots that a “regular” Christmas dinner would. Dane and I were left in an absolute Christmas food coma after eating this and immediately gravitated towards the sofa to lie very still for a good 15 minutes.

The sprouts before...

The sprouts before…

The sprouts after...

The sprouts after…

We were incredibly excited to rustle up this Christmas dinner and in particular the sprouts which were bursting with flavour from the bacon lardons and sweetness of the raisins. The pine nuts complimented the crunch of the roasted sprouts and apple perfectly.

We had cauliflower mash, roasted parsnips and carrots, broccoli and of course turkey which was cooked to perfection, if I do say so myself. We even made our own cranberry sauce which was the only non-Paleo element of the dish and totally optional of course.

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You will need:
1 turkey crown/whole turkey
Parsnips, chopped in to chips
Carrots, chopped in to chips
Brussels sprouts
Garlic
Pine nuts
Raisins
Cranberries
Bacon lardons/bacon rashers
Cauliflower
1 cooking apple
Broccoli
Gravy granules
Orange juice
Brown sugar
Oil
Seasoning

To make:
– Start by preheating the oven to about 200 degrees and then pop the turkey in. We bought a medium sized joint which we added a bit of salt, pepper and basil to. It needed about 50 minutes in the oven but timings will differ depending on the size of the meat.
– Put the chopped parsnips and carrots on to a roasting tray and cover with mixed herbs and olive oil before roasting for about 30 minutes.
– For the sprouts:  chop them in half and put on a baking tray before adding roughly chopped garlic, cranberries and apple. Roast in the oven for about 25 minutes before frying off your pine nuts and bacon lardons, adding them to the sprouts along with the raisins and roasting for a further five minutes.
– To make the cauliflower mash boil the finely chopped cauliflower until well cooked and then mash after draining and add seasoning to taste.
– When the turkey is almost ready, boil the broccoli and make the gravy and then you’re good to go.

To make the cranberry sauce: (not Paleo)
This sauce is seriously simple and can be kept in the fridge for up to a week.
You will need:
-100g brown sugar
-100ml orange juice
250g cranberries
Start by adding the sugar and orange juice to a pan and then heat until boiling. Add the cranberries and simmer for about 8-10 minutes until they soften.
Once they have simmered for long enough, turn the heat down and the sauce will begin to thicken as it cools.

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That’s pretty much it, Paleo Christmas dinner is done.  It really is simple to make and no fancy utensils are needed it’s just about getting your timings right.
Let me know if you make it and how you get on.

Merry Christmas 🙂

 

 

 

Banana, pecan & choc chip loaf

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We all need a little treat from time to time and that’s a fact.

Despite being an advocate of clean eating I am aware that this can sometimes become an obsession rather than a lifestyle choice. When we find ourselves saying no to birthday cake in the office or a festive mince pie at a family bash it’s time that we took a step back and re-evaluated our eating attitudes.

My opinion is that balance is key and by not denying yourself treats you can still maintain a healthy body and a great figure whilst maintaining a healthy mind at the same time.

This is where my banana loaf recipe comes in. I am a massive fan of banana loaf and although you can make Paleo banana cake it was a real banana cake that I wanted. Another reason why I wanted to bake a “real” cake was because baking is not my strong point and I don’t like to be defeated. I was thrilled with how this one turned out and I will definitely be making another in the future.

You will need:  (makes one big loaf)
100g soft butter (and a little for greasing)
140g caster sugar
140g plain flour
1 egg – beaten
2 tsp baking powder
1 tbsp Vanilla essence
4 ripe bananas
85g pecans
35g dark choc chips

To make:
– Preheat the oven to about 180 degrees and grease a loaf tin with a small amount of butter ready for the mixture.
– Begin by mixing together the sugar, butter and egg before slowly stirring in the flour and baking powder.
– Next, mash the bananas in a separate bowl before adding it to the main mixture along with the vanilla essence, pecans and chocolate chips before stirring well.
– Pour the mixture into the tin (it was at this point that more mixture went into my mouth rather than the actual tin, whoops!) and bake for about an hour. Test that the cake is ready by putting a knife or a skewer in and if it comes out clean then the cake is done.
– Leave to cool on a wire rack before slicing and then keep fresh in foil.

This is such a simple cake to make and other nuts or dried fruit can be added depending on what you fancy. Enjoy with a cup of tea as a post workout treat or just as a treat in general! 🙂

Burpee breakfast tarts

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I ❤ weekend breakfasts and these baked egg tarts are the perfect start to fuel a Sunday Funday.

burpee tart 4

The eggs are baked in a basket of bacon and mushrooms and after you’ve tried making them once why not add other ingredients like tomatoes, spinach or kale. If you’re vegetarian just switch the bacon for half a pepper to create the basket effect.

burpee tart 2 Burpee tart 3

I didn’t follow a recipe for these tarts and sadly I can’t take all of the credit for them as it was a joint creation between my boyfriend and I. They are a great low carb breakfast for someone who is following a Paleo plan and are high in protein thanks to the eggs. More calories are used to digest protein rather than fat and carbohydrates so these burpee tarts will keep you full until tea time.

If that’s not reason enough to give them a go then listen to this highly scientific (kind of!) piece of evidence.
Dane and I are currently doing the 100 burpees a day challenge in the run up to Christmas- yes, even including 100 burpees on Christmas day- which is how the name for this creation came about.  After eating these tarts Dane managed to bash out 100 burpees in an amazing 4mins 32 seconds after already completing 150 just a few minutes earlier!

I think the burpee breakfast tarts should take credit for that…

Proof of Dane's 100 burpees in 4:32 after completing 150 beforehand!

Proof of Dane’s 100 burpees in 4:32 after completing 150 beforehand!

You will need: (makes two tarts)
8 eggs (or 3 whole eggs per tart and one egg white)
Bacon rashers
Mushrooms
Seasoning
Butter to line tart dishes

To make:
– Grill the bacon and whilst that is cooking line the tart dishes with some butter.
– Once the bacon is cooked preheat the oven to about 180 degrees and then line the dishes with the bacon and finely chopped mushrooms. The idea here is to create a lining at the bottom of the tray so that the egg doesn’t leak through.
– Add some seasoning and then crack the eggs in to the tarts before putting in the oven to bake for about 15-20 minutes.
– We added a muffin to ours but they’re great on their own or with avocado or spinach.

Enjoy! 🙂

Mission complete : homemade energy bites

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With nothing but a weekend of eating and running ahead it was time to rustle up a new recipe.

I gave them the name Mission Balls due to the absolute mission my friend and I had making them – there was a lot of smoke coming from a borrowed blender at some point! Yet despite that slight mishap, these energy bites turned out well are are a great pre or post workout snack.

I am a snack monster and I am constantly on the lookout for new, healthy snacks that I can grab as I’m leaving the house and take to work ready to eat before training later that day or just to nibble on during the afternoon slump.

These bites fit that bill perfectly and are a much more economically friendly version than buying a bar every day or even a multi-pack box of cereal, energy or protein bars.

They are also ridiculously easy and quick to make and don’t take up much room in the fridge either. Another great thing about them is that you can customise them depending on what fruit/nuts you fancy.

You will need: (makes about 14 energy bites depending on how big you make them)

125g dried apricots
100g raisins
100g cashew nuts
125g dates
25g raw cacao powder
4 heaped tablespoons of honey
3 heaped tablespoons of Meridian smooth peanut butter


IMG_5433

Method:
I found the best way to make these energy bites is to put the mixture into the blender a little bit at a time.
So basically – and this shows just how simple they are to make – put a portion of all of the ingredients into the blender and whizz around until they are well combined.
If the mixture is looking a little dry add more honey or peanut butter.
Keep blending the mixture until it is all combined and then tip out of the blender and into a bowl or on to a plate.
Now you can get your hands involved and form the bites in to whatever shape you desire. I went for balls but bars work just as well. Form them in to the desired shape and then sprinkle them with a bit of cacao powder and pop into the fridge to set and voila, homemade energy bites.

 

Peanut & almond butter cups

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Staring at gooey peanut butter, threatening to spill over the top of a newly opened jar must be what true love feels like.

I love peanut butter and these no bake treats are perfect for combining that love with one of my other true loves, chocolate.
But these treats are sugar free and are made with completely natural ingredients.

I was kindly sent some Meridian Foods crunchy almond butter and smooth peanut butter to sample. Meridian Foods peanut butter has long been my favourite PB brand; not only because it tastes amazing but also because it has nothing added to it.
I hadn’t tried the almond butter before so this gave me the perfect chance to experiment  and I couldn’t wait.

PB jars

Recipe makes 8-10 cups
You will need:
75g Meridian crunchy almond butter
75g Meridian smooth peanut butter
1 heaped tablespoon of honey
50g shredded coconut
25g sultanas

For the chocolate:
75g coconut oil
75g cacao powder
2 tablespoons honey
1 tsp vanilla extract

Method:

Mix the almond butter, peanut butter, honey, coconut and sultanas until well combined.
Put a tablespoon full of the mixture in to cake cases before flattening down with the reverse side of the spoon to create an even finish.
Set these aside whilst you make the chocolate. To make the chocolate, melt the coconut oil in the microwave and then add the cacao powder, honey and vanilla extract and mix well.
Top the peanut and almond butter mixture with the melted chocolate and then pop in to the freezer for about 20 minutes until they are set.
Once they are set, they should be kept in the freezer to keep firm.  And there you have it, a simple and super quick way to rustle up some treats.

You can use just almond butter if you’d prefer or just peanut butter rather than combining them both and you can change the dried fruit depending on what you feel like. The almond butter was so tasty and the slightly nutty texture meant that these bites had a bit of a crunch to them as well – perfect!

 peanut butter and choc cups

Paleo chocolate chip cookies

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cookies

Following a paleo plan doesn’t mean that you’re forbidden to eat treats and the things you love. In fact for me it has meant still eating those treats, but discovering new ingredients and getting my domestic goddess on in the kitchen to turn them in to clean treats.

The biggest bonus by far though is the fact that you can eat these cookies without that awful guilty training-down-the-drain feeling afterwards that so many of us fall victim to when we decide to treat ourselves.

My Instagram feed is full of fitness posts and for AGES now I have been on the hunt for cacao powder to make some of the treats I have seen posted on there. I stumbled across this organic bag in my local health food store near where I work (I’m in there most days so I’m not sure why I hadn’t spotted it until now).

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I decided to make cookies – although I use the term cookies very loosely as they turned out to be more like chocolate chip balls then cookies.
You will need:
– 300g almond butter (I use Meridian because those guys are just amazing in my opinion)
– 25g coconut oil
– 1 egg (whisked)
-200g cacao powder
-1 tsp baking powder
– 25g shredded unsweetened coconut (this is optional but good if you like your cookies with a bit of a crunch)
-1 tsp raw honey
– 200g dark chocolate chips (I used dairy free 80% dark choc chips – the higher the percentage the better)

What to do:
– Firstly, preheat the oven to 180 degrees and line a baking tray with greaseproof paper.
– Next heat the coconut oil and honey in the microwave for about 30 seconds until they have melted together.
– Add the almond butter, coconut oil, honey and whisked egg in to a bowl and stir together until thoroughly combined.
– I used my hands for this next stage as it’s just easier for combining the ingredients. Add the baking powder, cacao and coconut gradually until it is all combined. The dough should be pretty thick at this point which is how we want it.
– Finally mix in the chocolate chips.
– Using a tablespoon heap the cookie dough on to the tray and flatten down each one with the back of a spoon. Don’t worry if they don’t look like the stereotypical cookie shapes though because if you flatten them too much they may become fragile and fall apart (I’m speaking from past experience here.)
– Bake in the oven for 15 minutes and then take out to cool. As tempting as it may be to tuck in to one whilst they’re still warm try and leave them until they have really cooled down as they will still be fragile.

I enjoyed mine warmed up with some blueberries and a banana. Happy paleo baking 🙂

 

Guilt free banana, blueberry & peanut butter bread

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I can promise you that the title is not a trick; this really is a guilt free treat.

Thanks to the ‘caveman’ paleo plan there is such a thing as sin free cake. The paleo plan focuses on eating what our hunter-gatherer ancestors would have eaten, steering clear of processed foods. This twist on a classic banana bread is full of completely healthy and wholesome ingredients and provides a healthy sweet treat for breakfast, dessert or an afternoon snack.

I’ll admit that the peanut butter isn’t paelo but I couldn’t resist; the slightly salty & crunchy texture against the sweet moist bread proves an ideal combination.

The recipe is adapted from a pumpkin bread recipe on www.paleoplan.com, which is a great site if you’re a follower of the paleo plan, or even if you want to try new recipes using some alternative ingredients. If you fancy knocking this up from what you’ve got in your cupboard though, simply switch the flour used here for regular plain flour. One of the great things about banana bread is that you can add whatever you want, so if not blueberries why not try walnuts and dates or pumpkin seeds and cranberries.

Ingredients:
– ½ cup almond flour
– 1 tbsp cinnamon
-1/4tsp ground ginger
– ½ tsp baking powder
– 2 heaped tbsp peanut butter (organic Meridian smooth is the BEST)
– 2 large eggs
– 3 ripe mashed bananas
– 3tbsp coconut oil
– 1tbsp vanilla extract (natural)
– 1 cup blueberries

Method:
– Preheat the oven to about 180 and line a baking tin with a little bit of the coconut oil.
– Mix the cinnamon, ginger and baking powder in to a bowl. In a separate bowl add the peanut butter, eggs, coconut oil, and vanilla, mashed bananas, blueberries and flour until well combined.
– Add the dry ingredients to the peanut butter mixture and mix well.
– Pour the mixture in to the lined tin and bake for about 40-50 minutes. Allow to cool before slicing. Topping with more peanut butter afterwards is optional but highly recommended.

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Trying out tapas in York

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So as you’ve probably guessed from reading this blog, I love running and eating. If I’m not running or eating you can guarantee that I’m thinking about it.

Living in York I am lucky enough to be spoilt with an abundance of nice restaurants to choose from which makes choosing a new weekend haunt possibly one of the best problems to have.

On Friday night my friend and I were torn between either Thai or tapas for dinner. After several pre drinner drinks tapas came out triumphant and we headed to Ambiente Tapas on Goodramgate. We hadn’t booked and the waitress told us that there might be a table for us in the bar area if we came back in about half an hour.

Even though our bellies were rumbling the food smelled so delicious and the decor was warm and inviting that we decided to head for another drink before going back later. Luckily when we returned there was a table free for us in the window and we were seated at a long wooden bench. It didn’t offer a roomy space like a table in the restaurant but it was big enough and added to the whole dining experience.

After drooling over the menu we decided on bread and oils to start and almond stuffed dates wrapped in Parma ham. I’m a huge fan of dates but I’ve never had them wrapped in ham so decided to try them on the recommendation of my friend. He wasn’t wrong, they were incredible and the almond in the middle made for a nice surprise.

For our main we chose six dishes:

The Calamares fritos – calamares rings deep fried in Estrella beer batter with aioli
Chorizo y patatas – caramelised chorizo and roast potatoes
Gambas con crema de manchego – Grilled prawns with a spiced Manchego Mojo sauce
Alboronia – A warm spicy salad of quince, pumpkin and aubergine
Queso de cabra y hinojo – Soft, mild goats cheese lightly battered and drizzled with honey, served with braised fennel and beetroot crisps.
The classic patatas bravas

 

Our six main dishes at Ambiente Tapas, York.

All of the dishes were packed full of flavour and even the classic patatas bravas contained more flavour and taste than expected.
My favourite was the goat cheese which melted in the mouth and the honey added a surprisingly pleasant sweet taste to it. It was unlike anything I’d ever tasted before. The calamares was also the best I had ever tasted and the restaurants own beer batter really gave it the edge. My friend fell in love with the chorizo dish, so simple yet exceptionally cooked.

All in all our bill came to just under £50, with wine and beer as well which I think was reasonable considering the amount we had eaten. We couldn’t resist eyeing up the dessert menu which offered some tasty treats but it would’ve been a case of eyes bigger than the belly if we had said yes.

The atmosphere in the bar was great too and had a real buzz about it. When I ventured to the toilets, which are through the restaurant, I was surprised to find that I was actually pleased to have been seated at the bar. The atmosphere in the restaurant seemed a little quieter than the bar area and somehow you didn’t quite get the buzz on offer in the bar. All in all a great evening and I will definitely be heading back to Ambiente next time I fancy tapas.

Forget the Sunday roast

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After getting home at 4am following a night of dancing, my friend Liana and I decided that we were going to get smoked salmon for lunch the next day, or later that day should I say.
But after a slightly longer than planned lie in (I think all that dancing had worn me out) and a lengthy gym session it was time for dinner rather than lunch – and we were in charge of cooking for the whole family!

Chicken is pretty central to our diets so dinner was of course centred around that.

So here is our take on a classic Sunday dinner: Mediterranean chicken

You will need:
As many chicken breast as you like (we had five)
One can chopped tomatoes
One jar passata
Aubergine
Courgette
Garlic
Onion
Olives
Sundried tomatoes
Peppers
Capers
Sunflower seeds (toasted under the grill for a few mins)
Pumpkin seeds (toasted under the grill for a few mins)
Fresh basil

Whilst the chicken is baking in the oven, prep the veg for roasting.
Leave out the capers, olives, sundried tomatoes and nuts. Add the veg to a roasting tin before adding the chopped tomatoes, passata and some cracked black pepper.
Once the vegetables are cooked, chop the chicken and stir in before adding the olives, sundried tomatoes, toasted pumpkin and sunflower seeds and fresh basil.

Another simple yet extremely tasty meal that sticks to the clean eating plan. For those who want to add something exta, throw in some sweet potato to the roasted vegetables.

Homemade Mediterranean chicken

Homemade Mediterranean chicken

#cleantreats

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You can go right ahead and file this one under #cleantreats.

Finding a sweet treat to satisfy that after dinner craving when you’re an avid follower of a clean eating plan can be a daily battle.
But treating yourself after dinner needn’t be such a struggle anymore. Whilst having an active weekend with my best friend and fellow clean eater, (dancing until it was too painful to walk in our heels and trying out fun new exercises at the gym), we discovered the perfect sweet treat – minus the sugar, chocolate and all of the other bad things we tend to avoid.

Protein pancakes.

All you need is two eggs (one whole egg and one egg white) and three scoops of protein powder. We tried vanilla and chocolate but they would work with any.
Add a little bit of coconut oil to a pan after creating your pancake “batter” – add some water to the mix if it is too glooopy – and pour a small amount in to the pan. Basically, you make them the same way as any other pancakes!
It genuinely is that simple (although it did take us a few tries to perfect them but by the fifth pancake we had definitely mastered it.
Check it out…

Chocolate protein pancake with stewed plums and frozen berries.

Chocolate protein pancake with stewed plums and frozen berries.

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Chocolate protein pancake - it was tastier than it looks, promise!

Chocolate protein pancake – it was tastier than it looks, promise!

We topped ours with stewed plums (courtesy of Liana’s fantastic mum Anne) and frozen fruit. Not only did they satisfy our sweet tooth but we got our protein hit too, an ideal combination.

The rest of the weekend was as usual centred around food and exercise so I thought I’d share some of the other creations we made. Check them out on the next post.