Tag Archives: Healthy eating

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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Peanut butter, fruit & nut balls

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I confess – I’m not the most organised person in the world, but when it comes to meals I plan them down to the last mouthful. Sunday evening consists of planning the following weeks meals, factoring in training sessions and of course starting that all important meal prep.

Main meals are usually the easiest to plan and with Sunday night meal prep, lunches are easy as well. I find that snacks are my downfall though. Once the afternoon slump hits I’m ready for a boost and I’ve been looking for a way to switch up my snack options.

This is when I decided to get creative. For those who don’t know me, I love peanut butter – on apples, in cookies and more often than not I am guilty of eating it straight out of the tub.
Instead of grabbing a couple of spoonfuls pre-gym, I thought why not incorporate my love of it in with my afternoon snack to give myself a healthy protein hit to keep me going all afternoon.
With that in mind, I created these peanut butter fruit and nut balls.

You will need:
– 1 cup sugar free coconut shavings
– 1 cup flaked almonds
– 2/3 cup sultanas
– ½ cup chopped dried apricots (or any other dried fruit you fancy, I just happened to have apricots)
-Sprinkling of cinnamon
-couple of heaped tablespoons of smooth peanut butter (organic preferably, I love Meridian smooth!) – You can also use chunky if you want a different texture although I found that smooth enables it to set better.

What to do:

-Combine the coconut, almonds, sultanas and apricots into a bowl and blend with a hand blender – this isn’t the easiest of tasks but it doesn’t take long and it helps the mixture to combine.
– Add the cinnamon and then start to add in the peanut butter a spoonful at a time. Add enough so that the mixture is sticking together but not too much that there is more peanut butter than mixture!
– Tip the mixture on to some Clingfilm and flatten out before putting in the freezer for about 20 minutes.
– Once set,  mould the mixture in to balls, sprinkle with an extra bit of coconut if desired and keep in the fridge.

And there you have it – a healthy, high protein and tasty snack for the rest of the week! Now there’s no excuse for me to eat peanut butter straight from the tub – well, at least for the next week anyway.

Peanut butter, fruit and nut balls - my latest creation!

Peanut butter, fruit and nut balls – my latest creation!

Healthy peanut butter cookies

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Yes, you did read that title correctly – these flourless peanut butter and choc chip cookies really are a guilt free treat.

These cookies are soft, gooey and packed full of energy – not to mention so tasty they may well become your new go-to treat.

I am a massive peanut butter addict and I’ve wanted to try cooking some guilt free treats with smooth peanut butter for ages and this seemed like the perfect recipe.

Not only that, but these cookies are gluten free as well.

You will need:
-8oz smooth organic peanut butter (preferably organic)
-3oz of organic natural honey (you can add more or less depending on how much of a sweet tooth you have)
-1 egg (flax egg if you like)
-1/2tsp baking powder
-pinch salt
-dairy free choc chips

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To make:
These really are so easy to make which is yet another reason to love them.
-Mix the peanut butter, honey, baking powder and egg in a bowl.
-Stir in the choc chips then put cookie sized dollops on to a baking tray lined with grease proof paper.

Place in the oven at gas mark 4 for about 12 mins/until the cookies start to turn brown.

The cookies may still look gooey but as soon as they start to brown take them out and leave them to cool. They will firm up but still retain that amazing soft gooey texture inside.

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My new favourite dish: Teriyaki salmon

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It’s official, teriyaki salmon is my new favourite dish.

I love salmon and probably eat it twice a week but usually it’s just marinated in sweet chilli sauce so I decided to try something new and different to make this evenings dinner that little bit more exciting.

Both salty and sweet, it really was delicious and I was also very surprised at how quick and easy it was to make such a tasty meal.

I will definitely be adding this one to my meal plans.

Here’s the recipe I followed:

You will need:

-Salmon fillet
-1 small piece of fresh ginger, sliced
– 2 garlic cloves finely chopped
– 3tbsp soy sauce
– 2tbsp maple syrup
-salt and pepper to season
-Slash of olive oil
– Dash of rice wine

 

How to do it:

-Add the garlic, ginger, syrup olive oil, rice wine and soy sauce in to a bowl and mix. Season the salmon fillet and then cover it with the marinade.

-Leave the salmon to marinade for at least thirty minutes to allow it to soak up all of those strong flavours. Leaving it for a couple of hours is better but if you don’t have that much time, half an hour is fine.

-Heat a frying pan and add a dash of oil before placing the salmon, skin side down, in to the pan. Fry on each side for about three to four minutes until the salmon is thoroughly cooked. Keep adding more sauce to the pan if it looks as though it is drying out.

-When cooked use the rest of the teriyaki sauce left in the pan as a dressing.

 

I served mine with parsnip chips and stir-fry vegetables. I think it would work really well with savoury brown rice as well.

 

Delicious!

Meat free Monday

Posted in Nutrition, Uncategorized by

Every Monday morning when I get in to work my Twitter feed is scattered with #meatfreeMonday Tweets.
Intrigued, I decided to check it out.

As a devoted meat eater I personally think I would struggle to be vegetarian but this initiative, of going meat free for one day a week, seemed like it could be doable and with added health benefits I decided to give it a go.

Not only that, but the campaign is dedicated to helping the planet by reducing carbon emissions of meat production.

I’ve often heard that too much red meat is bad for you yet too little can leave your iron stores depleted meaning you are left feeling tired with little energy. It’s a tough balancing act but according to Oxford University’s department of public health eating meat a maximum of three times a week could prevent an astounding 31,000 people dying from heart disease.

Added incentives to join Meat Free Monday include the cost. By skipping your daily meat one day a week you could save some pennies as meat free alternatives are noticeably cheaper – an ideal time to save money with the festive season ahead.
And of course there are the animals to consider as well.

With all that in mind, I checked out the McCartney’s website and my meat free Monday began.

My meals today were far from inventive but were more quick and easy due to being back at work after a week off and a training session to cram in – but I’m looking forward to trying out some new and exciting recipes, many of which can be found on the website, next week.

So today, I had:
Breakfast: Porridge with blueberries
Morning snack: banana and raisins
Lunch: Cottage cheese salad
Afternoon snack: carrot sticks and rice pudding
Dinner: Spinach, mushroom and tomato omelette with vegetables

The recipe I’m going to be trying next week is Deep Dark Black Bean Soup. Check it out here and I’ll post how I got on with making it next week.

Have you tried meat free Monday? Have you felt any health/bank balance benefits? Comment below and let me know 🙂