Sunshine Chia

Recipe courtesy of Psychologies Magazine and taken from Wholesome Bowls by Melissa Delport (Watkins Media)

‘Chia seeds are ancient seeds that date back to the Aztec era. They can be found at most health stores, or in the health section at your local supermarket. Add them to smoothies or sprinkle them over your oats. Chia is one of nature’s richest antioxidants. It can prevent premature skin aging and is also very high in fibre, which promotes digestive health’

Ingredients:
87.5g chia seeds
250ml almond milk
250ml coconut milk
1 tbsp plant-based protein powder
1 tsp honey
165g diced fresh mango
25g raw coconut flakes
Edible flowers (optional)

Method:

In a medium-sized saucepan over a medium heat, add the chia seeds and almond milk and cook for about 10 minutes. The chia seeds will soak up the liquid. Slowly add the coconut milk to the mixture when it starts to look dry.
Add the protein powder and honey and mix well. Once all the liquid has been added and the consistency is like porridge, remove from the heat.
Divide the chia seeds porridge between your bowls and decorate with mango and coconut flakes. If you find some edible flowers, use these to make the bowl beautiful; beautiful foods brings joy, and joyous food is good energy!

Green Banana Get up and Go Pancakes

Recipe courtesy of Psychologies Magazine and taken from Hungry Woman by nutritionist Pauline Cox.

Maximise your health, enhance your happiness, and re-balance your hormones with these wellness-boosting dishes.

These protein-packed, flourless pancakes can be made without the collagen, however, the extra hit of amino acids in the morning is ideal for muscle building and hunger control. When bananas are green, they have less sugar content …. you decide how green you want to go. Delicious hot or cold!

Makes 12 small pancakes

Ingredients:
1 greenish banana
2 eggs
1 tbsp collagen peptides (optional)
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
Coconut oil or ghee, for frying

To serve:
Natural yoghurt
Fresh berries
Chopped nuts
Seeds

Method:

Add the banana to a blender with the eggs, collagen (if using) and cinnamon, then combine to create a smooth batter.
Heat a small amount of coconut oil or ghee in a frying pan, and when the pan is hot, add 3-4 spoons of batter to create 3-4 mini pancakes. Cook for 2-4 minutes until golden in colour, before flipping over to cook on the other side.
Serve with natural yoghurt, fresh berries, chopped nuts and seeds, for extra goodness.

Baked Veggie Breakfast

Recipe taken from Balance Magazine, published by Diabetes.org

On the pulse – Pulses contain protein and fibre and, compared to other carb-containing foods, don’t give sharp rises to blood glucose levels. So if you have diabetes, there’s never ‘bean’ a better time to cook with them …

Serves: 2 Prep time: 10 mins Cook time: 25 mins

Per Serving 368g:

Carbs: 10.7g Cals: 259 Sugars: 4.0g Fat: 18.4g Sat Fat: 5.4g Salt: 0.25g
Protein: 9.9g Fibre: 5.5g

4 portions of fruit and veg

Ingredients:
4 x 1kcal spray
2 large Portobello mushrooms, stalks removed (80g each)
50g canned chickpeas, drained
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
200g bag washed baby spinach
2 tablespoon herby low-fat soft cheese
1 small beef tomato (130g)
1 tsp balsamic vinegar
1 small avocado (140g, prepared weight)

Method:

Preheat oven to 200C/gas 6. Spray the baking sheet and mushrooms with 1 kcal spray. Stand mushrooms in the middle. Toss the chickpeas in the paprika and scatter on the baking sheet. Cook for 5 mins.
Snip the corner of the bag of spinach and microwave on full for 2 mins. Shake and cook for a further 1 min until wilted. Leave to cool, then squeeze the spinach juices out of the snipped corner. Tip the spinach into a bowl and stir in the soft cheese. Season with black pepper.
Place a slice of tomato on top of each mushroom, drizzle with balsamic, then top with the spinach.
Slice the avocado, criss-cross over the spinach and lightly spray with oil
Cook for 12-15 mins until the avocado is softening. Divide between serving plates. Scatter the chickpeas over and serve with extra balsamic drizzle.

3 Ways to : power your pastries

Article from Lidl Easter brochure April 2021.

Add zing to spring brunches with these easy pastry twists, perfect for weekend feasting.

Crispy Bacon and Egg Slice

Makes : 6; Preparation time : 10 mins; Cook Time : 28 mins

Unroll a sheet of pastry (use puff for crispiness), cut into 6 even squares and arrange on a parchment lined baking tray. Stamp out the centre of each square with a 6.5cm ring cutter, replacing the circle back into the middle, and brush with beaten egg for colour.
Bake at 220 C / 200 C Fan / Gas Mark 7 for 10 minutes, then push the centres in a little and crack in 6 medium eggs for richness. Bake again, covered in foil, for 15 minutes.
Remove the golden pastries from the oven and garnish with a rasher of crispy bacon to bring smokiness.

Fruity Banoffee Bunnies

Makes : 12; Preparation time : 25 mins; Cook Time : 35 mins

Using 2 sheets puff pastry for crispiness, trim each into a 25cm square. Spread one with a generous layer of banoffee sauce for richness (leaving a border) and top with the other sheet. Seal along the border and slice into 12 even strips.
Preheat the oven to 180 C / 160 C Fan / Gas Mark 4. Fold the strips into a U-shape, then twist twice. Brush with beaten egg for colour and bake for 30-35 minutes.
Once cool, dot with banoffee sauce and garnish with banana for fruitiness and broken waffle for whiskers.

Crunchy Lucky Dip Croissants

Makes : 6; Preparation time : 20 mins; Cook Time : 5 mins

Slice open 6 croissants. Fill 2 with a generous layer of almond butter for richness. Melt 70g milk chocolate or drizzle over, topping with a handful of chopped pistachios and hazelnuts for crunch.
Fill another 2 croissants with strawberry jam, blueberries and raspberries for fruitiness. Top with 1 tbsp natural yogurt mixed with 70g melted white chocolate and decorate with flaked almonds.
Fill the last 2 croissants with chocolate orange spread for sweetness and zingy satsuma segments. Warm through and loosen extra spread to drizzle on top, garnishing with another segment.

Fruitful breakfast

Recipe courtesy of Psychologies Magazine (Spring 2021)

This refreshing, original acai bowl from ‘Plant Over Processed‘ by Andrea Hannemann is a great substitute for hot porridge as the days get warmer.

Serves : 2

Ingredients :
2 cups frozen blueberries
3 frozen ripe bananas
2 acai superfruit packs of 1 scoop acai powder
1 cup frozen mango chunks
1/2 cup plant milk

For the toppings
Sliced banana, granola, shredded coconut, goji berries or blueberries

Place all the ingredients except the toppings in a high-powdered blender.
Blend, starting on medium speed and gradually making your way up to high, for 1-2 minutes, stopping every 20 seconds to mix the ingredients and push them down with a smoothie stick.
Once you see the ‘swirl’, you will know it’s done. Pour your smoothie into your favourite bowl and add your choice of toppings.

Fig and Cinnamon Quinoa Porridge

Recipe courtesy of Psychologies Magazine (November 2016) and taken from “The Little Green Spoon” by Indy Power.

Serves : 2

Ingredients :
85g quinoa
125ml water
250ml unsweetened almond milk
3 ripe figs
1/2 tsp vanilla essence
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon, plus extra for sprinkling
1 tblsp maple syrup or honey

Step One : Quinoa porridge is perfect for when you want a filling hearty breakfast but don’t want to skip the protein.

Step Two : The combination of fresh figs and cinnamon is hard to beat, so make this while you can as the fig season is lamentably short. If it’s the wrong time of year, use mashed banana instead.

Step Three : Add the quinoa, water and half the nut milk to a medium-sized saucepan on a medium heat. Pop on the lid and let it cook for about 13 minutes, until most of the liquid has been absorbed and it’s nice and fluffy.

Step Four : Cut two figs in half, scoop out the flesh and mash with a fork. Stir into the quinoa with the vanilla, cinnamon and remaining milk, Slice the last fig.

Step Five : Let the quinoa simmer for a few minutes, until it has reached your desired consistency, then stir in the syrup or honey.

Step Six : Pour the porridge into bowls, top with fig slices and sprinkle on a little cinnamon to serve.

Chocolate-Orange Granola

Recipe courtesy of Psychologies Magazine (June 2018) and taken from The Food Medic for Life: Easy Recipes to Help You Live Well Every Day” by Hazel Wallace.

Serves : 6-8

Ingredients :
200g oats
60g mixed almonds and hazelnuts
30g pumpkin seeds
30g coconut chips
Zest of 1 orange
1 tsp salt
60ml maple syrup
1 tsp vanilla extract
80ml coconut oil, melted
1 tblsp cocoa powder

Step One : Preheat the oven to 160oC / 325oF / Gas Mark 3 and line a baking tray with baking parchment.

Step Two : Place the oats in a bowl and add the nuts, pumpkin seeds, coconut chips, orange zest and salt.

Step Three : Combine the remaining ingredients in a separate bowl, then pour into the oats mixture and stir well.

Step Four : Spread out the mixture on your prepared baking sheet and bake for 40 minutes, stirring gently every 10-15 minutes, or until the oats are a golden brown colour.

Step Five : Let the granola cool completely on the baking tray, before storing it in an airtight container for up to two weeks.

Orange and Grapefruit Bircher with Chilli

Recipe courtesy of Psychologies Magazine (March 2018)

The chilli adds a subtle kick to this bircher, from Annie Morris’s book, ‘Spoon: Simple and Nourishing Breakfast Bowls That Can be Enjoyed Any Time of Day’ (Hardie Grant, £15), while the dense oats balance out the taste.

Makes 2 bowls

Grapefruit Compote Ingredients:

2 grapefruit
1 tbsp honey
1 cm piece of fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped
Juice of ½ lemon

Bircher Ingredients:

150ml orange juice
125g oats
100ml natural yogurt

Topping Ingredients:

Toasted flaked almonds
Dusting of dried chilli flakes

Step One: To make the grapefruit compote, peel the grapefruit and discard any pith.

Step Two: Segment the grapefruit using a knife to get the juiciest part of the fruit, leaving behind any pith, and reserving the juices.

Step Three: Add to a pan with the juices and bring to the boil with the remaining ingredients. Simmer gently for about 20-30 minutes, then leave to cool.

Step Four: To make the Bircher, place all the ingredients in a mixing bowl and stir to combine.

Step Five: Cover and place in the fridge overnight.

Step Six: The next morning, divide the mixture into two bowls. Serve with the grapefruit compote and a sprinkling of toasted almond and dried chilli flakes.

Poached eggs, spinach and smoked salmon

A delicious breakfast for Christmas Day morning.

Ingredients:

300ml (9 ½ fl oz) crème fraiche
2 tsp cornflour
Yolks of three eggs
1 tbsp white wine vinegar
Juice ½ lemon
50g (1 ¾ oz) butter, diced
4 eggs
2 English muffins, halved
200g (6 ½ oz) spinach, steamed
4 slices smoked salmon

Serves: 2-4 Prep time: 20 mins Cook time: 5 mins

Cals per serving: 644 Fat: 54g

Step One: To make the sauce, whisk the crème fraiche, cornflour, egg yolks, white wine vinegar and lemon juice over a medium heat until simmering. Remove from the heat and whisk in the butter. Season to taste. Add extra lemon juice, if needed. Keep warm, whisking occasionally.

Step Two: Poach the eggs for 3 mins in simmering water. Toast and butter the muffins. Divide the steamed spinach between the muffins. Top with smoked salmon and an egg. Season and pour over the sauce.

Tip: The spinach can be cooked ahead of time and then reheated in a microwave, if desired. The eggs can also be poached ahead of time and set aside for 30 mins – reheat them in simmering water just before serving.

Recipe courtesy of Easy Living Magazine