Raw vegan and gluten free chocolate tart (no bake)

After an amazing 5 weeks in Okinawa (check out my blog post here) I am trying to eat more ‘clean’ now as the rich food has made me start to feel sluggish. Whilst I love my veggies, I also love my desserts and that is the hardest for me when I am 'eating clean'. 

Healthy and desserts aren’t usually two words you see next to each other in a sentence but they certainly go together in this recipe for chocolate tart. Thanks to the cacao powder, this chocolate tart will give you a hit of antioxidants and they are also chock full of protein.

Banana, protein and oat pancakes

Pancakes for me are the epitome of a lazy Sunday. Whipping up a batch of pancakes for a long lazy start to the day. And there has to be maple syrup.

But they aren’t too great for the health conscious eaters and whilst the odd pancake binge isn’t going to do anyone any harm, it’s perhaps not a weekly staple.

Unless that is… they are these...

Made with oats and protein powder, rather than the usual flour and butter based pancakes. They are quite sweet but they work equally well with savoury and sweet toppings – my personal favourite are oodles of berries and natural yoghurt or the classic (lean) bacon, banana and a touch of maple syrup.

Pumpkin protein pancakes

Pancakes have become somewhat of a Sunday tradition for me and The Boy. Not just out-the-packet pre-made stuff, but delicious home made ones. Plus ones that are full of protein and not made with flour. 

The latest creation are pumpkin based protein pancakes. 

Banana and vanilla protein flapjacks

Healthy snacking is hard, especially when you are working in an office, where it is the norm for colleagues to bring in tasty and tempting treats. 

Whilst everyone is tucking into the biccies and pastries, sometimes you fruit slices and ryvita just doesn't seem to be fulfilling your snacking needs! 

Homemade flapjacks do make a great snack, and are so easy, so if you are looking for a great snack recipe, try these banana and vanilla protein flapjacks. 

Jamie Oliver's breakfast/brunch popover

If like me you had been watching Jamie Oliver’s latest “superfood” cooking show, you would have seen a tasty breakfast treat called “popovers”. I made these for Sunday brunch for The Boy and me. With the surprising ingredient of cottage cheese (which is one of his favourites) I knew this would go down a treat.

I added ham, red onion and tomatoes in to mine (and would have added spring onion if I had any), but you can add whatever veggies, cheese and meats you might have going spare – a great way actually to use left overs up! 

Creamy spinach and coconut soup

It is the perfect time of year to be settling down for lunch with a big bowl of steaming soup. Lucky for me, my lovely friend Charlie bought me a huge cookbook of soups for my birthday - the New Covent Garden Food soup cook book in fact. Which is bursting with 365 recipes, one for every day so you'll never be short. 

This spinach and coconut one is creamy and simple to make and totally delicious, and falls on 24th March in the cook book in case you were wondering. 

True to form, I have amended it slightly!

Oh She Glows tex-mex casserole (one pot wonder)

For my birthday, my lovely aunties got me the blogger 'Oh She Glows' cookbook (aka blogger Angela Liddon). It is a vegan cookbook, focusing on real, wholefood ingredients. Sounds right up my street. 

tex mex casserole heaven!

My latest attempt at the recipe is her “crowd pleasing tex-mex casserole” which I must admit I have slightly amended and also de-veganed! Sorry. I added left over chicken and added a little helping of grated cheese on top! But it tastes just as great meat-free!

Chia seed pots - a great on-the-go breakfast or pudding

We all know that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, so this is not a blog post lecturing about this. But even though we all know that, some of us don't manage it in the morning thanks to our on the go lifestyle. 

Trying to eat healthy on the go (especially breakfast) is always hard, but these chia seed pots are perfect!!! 

chia seed pots 

The great thing about these is that you can make them up the night before, pop them in the fridge and grab then and go in the morning. I even managed to eat one of these on a bus. No problem! Although I try my best to not eat at the desk, this is also perfect when you have too! 

A completely fuss-free but 100% healthy breakfast on the go...

No bake, raw, almond butter flapjack bites

I'm a serial grazer - I snack all throughout the day. Like a sheep. 

Whilst snacking keeps you topped up and going until your next meal, it is important to snack right! That means no to sugary biscuits. Instead, say yes to homemade snacks. Like these....

No bake, raw, almond butter flapjack bites :-) 

Apricot centred protein balls with a coconut crust

You might have seen already a few protein ball snack recipes on my blog (if not, check it out under the tag “snacks and savouries”). Protein snacks have become bit of a popular choice in the last few years although many of the shop bought ones can be misleading as they are not always as healthy as what you think thanks to the added sugars and other nasties. I much prefer to make my own. And the Boy much prefers eating them too.

These protein balls make a great post-workout snack, bursting with a sweet fruity centre and crunchy nutty coating, they are packed with Vitamin C.  Vitamin C helps you metabolise all the protein in the snack to help build muscle.

a zesty centre! 

This recipe has been adapted from Women’s Health magazine, although they also said to add 10g of baobab powder in with the recipe, but I couldn’t get my hands on any of that so skipped it.

Low carb, gluten free pizza (it’s a cauliflower crust)

I love pizza but let’s be honest it isn’t on the list of nutritious food is it?! I’ve been experimenting with making low carb pizza bases recently and I got to admit, some have been a disaster, such as my ‘soya flour’ base. But this recipe but this recipe from Nic’s Nutrition is tried, tested and an total success!

Don’t be put off by the main ingredient – yes it is a big fat cauliflower, but obnce you add all your toppings on to make your pizza, you’ll never notice it. It’s purely there to act as ‘breadcrumbs’.

healthy diet friendly pizza

Mixed berry, frozen, no bake cheesecake - no butter, biscuits or cream cheese!

I LOVE cheesecake. without a shadow of a doubt, it is by far my top choice of dessert. But whilst I love it, it’s not something I eat too often as its fatty and caloric thanks to the delicious buttery biscuit base and cream cheese filling.

However, last weekend I made an amazing frozen style cheesecake that requires NO butter, NO biscuits and NO cream cheese, yet still tasted utterly delicious!

Wheat free banana and cocoa nibs protein bars

Sometimes healthy eating can be a pain in the arse, especially when you are trying to eat well on the go. One answer I have for this is homemade flapjacks and protein bars.

Full of protein, these are an easy snack that you can make in bulk, freeze and eat on the go. These bars are slightly drier than the other flapjack recipes I have made so expect them to be like bars, not fluffy, floury cakes.

tasty afternoon snack 

Green power smoothie recipe

On Thursday morning I was treated to a green smoothie by my aunt Miriam which combined banana, apple, kale and lettuce leaves. Always willing to try most things at least the once, I was intrigued by this vegetable mix but wasn’t sure if it was going to be for my taste buds. Oh how wrong was I!

I am converted, I love a green smoothie!!!

So at the weekend, I took myself to the local market to stock up on delicious veggies to make some of my own green creations.  

Welcome to my kale, broccoli, banana, apple and pear smoothie!

enjoying my smoothie in my messy kitchen! 

So easy to and quick to make, this is delicious and bursting full of nutrients!!!

Kale is high in fibre, iron, vitamin K, vitamin C and calcium. Plus it is low in calories. Broccoli can help regulate blood pressure and boost your overall immune system health!