Author Archives: teesnutrition

Flourless Chocolate Fudge Brownies

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I found this recipe on instagram during the week and was so excited to make them! However, one of the main ingredients in the original recipe was black beans which I failed to come across in Tesco yesterday so I compromised and bought a can of red kidney beans instead (my friend thought I was crazy!).

Today, just before going ahead with making these brownies, I stared at the can of red kidney beans because I wasn’t sure if I should chance it or not seeing as the recipe had black beans so I put the can back in the cupboard. A few minutes later I came back and decided to give it a go because how bad could they turn out right?

This recipe was very easy to make, literally threw everything in the food processor, not giving the measurements much attention as I was so afraid of how they would turn out. Once all the ingredients were processed, things started to look good.. Into the oven and about 20 minutes later I decided to take them out. After letting the brownies cool for a while, I cut them up into squares and had my first taste…

And GUESS WHAT?! They tasted GREAT! Extremely moist and melt-in-the-mouth delicious! I even tricked my sister into trying one (my toughest critic) and without telling her that there was red kidney beans in the recipe, she tried one and after a while I asked her what she thought and she was convinced they were just like normal brownies… *victory dance* 🙂

These brownies are really so healthy. They are a great source of plant protein, fibre, iron, potassium, magnesium, folate and antioxidants! They’re a great recipe for anyone that is gluten-free, dairy-free or vegan as the oats and chocolate can be adjusted to your needs.

I’m so excited about this recipe and so excited for you all to try it so here it is:

Ingredients

  • 1 15-oz can (Net weight 400g/Drained weight 240g) of black beans/ red-kidney beans (drained and rinsed very well)
  • 3 tbsp cocoa powder/herbalife chocolate formula 1
  • 1/2 cup oats
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1/3 cup agave syrup/honey/maple syrup
  • 1/4 cup coconut oil
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 200g of chocolate chips

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180°C.

2. Combine all the ingredients except for the chocolate chips in a food processor, and blend until completely smooth, so blend really well.

3. Stir in 3/4 of the chocolate chips, then pour into a greased 8×8 pan (I used grease proof paper for lining the pan).

4. Sprinkle the rest of the chocolate chips on top.

5. Cook the brownies in the oven for 20-25 minutes but keep an eye on them because temperatures of ovens differ.

6. Then let cool for at least 10 minutes before trying to cut them into squares.

7. Makes between 9-12 brownies.

These brownies were perfect warm after coming out of the oven so if you want them later on, heating them up slightly will probably enhance their taste.

Would make a great dessert warm served with some chocolate and toasted almond nobó ice-cream (Going to try this later!)

Also if anyone tries this recipe with the black beans before I do, I would love to know how they turn out 🙂

Enjoy 🙂

Tee x

Dark Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins

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I found this delicious recipe for these moist muffins on http://www.hungryhappens.com/recipes/breakfast/flourless-double-chocolate-banana-muffins.html – Hungry Happens is a fantastic blog for healthy home made recipes 🙂

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I doubled the original recipe because I found I didn’t have enough mixture – Below is the amount of ingredients I used and this mixture gave me 12 muffins and 4 cupcakes..

Ingredients

  • 4 ripe medium bananas, mashed
  • 2 eggs, beaten
  • 1/2 cup heaping almond butter
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/2 cup agave syrup
  • 1 cup rolled oats
  • 1/2 cup buckwheat flour/ground almonds
  • 3 tbsp cacao powder
  • 2 tsp baking soda
  • 1 cup dark chocolate chips/dairy free chocolate chips

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180°C.  Prepare your muffin tin.

2. Mix everything in a large bowl (except the chips) until just combined.  Fold the chips in last.  Fill your muffin cups to 3/4 way high.  Optional:  I used some extra chips for the tops as garnish.

3. Bake for 25 minutes.  (If making mini muffins/cupcakes, bake for 12-15 minutes.)

…delicious happens

Side Notes:

  1. If you are on a gluten free diet, make sure the oats you’re using are certified gluten free.
  2. The almond butter may be substituted for any smooth nut butter, i.e. peanut butter, cashew butter or sunflower seed butter.
  3. You can use any liquid sweetener; honey, maple syrup, agave syrup.

Enjoy 🙂

Tee x

Sweet Potato-Broccoli Soup

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Found this recipe for the Warming Autumn Sweet Potato-Broccoli Soup on http://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-11248/warming-autumn-sweet-potato-broccoli-soup.html and had to try it out! It’s so delicious and perfect for a cold rainy day like today 🙂

Soup

Ingredients

  • 1 tbsp coconut oil
  • 1 onion, diced
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 1 large sweet potato, peeled and roughly chopped
  • 5 cups chicken/vegetable stock
  • 1 head broccoli, thinly sliced
  • 2 tbsp lemon juice
  • 1 tsp turmeric
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • sea salt and black pepper, to taste
  • 1 cup coconut milk
  • 1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted, for serving
  • olive oil, for serving

Method

1. Melt the coconut oil in a large pot on medium heat, then add the onion and garlic. Cook, stirring often, until translucent, about 5 minutes.

2. Add the sweet potato and stock and simmer, covered, stirring occasionally, until sweet potato is almost tender, about 20 minutes.

3. Add the broccoli, and cook until just tender, about 5 minutes.

4. Add the soup, lemon juice, turmeric and cinnamon to a high-speed blender and process on high until silky smooth. If the soup is too thick, add the coconut milk to thin it out.

5. Return the soup to the heat and warm gently. Add sea salt and black pepper, to taste. Adjust seasonings if need be.

6. Serve with a drizzle of olive oil and toasted pine nuts as a garnish.

Perfect with some oat bread at the side as well.

Enjoy 🙂

Tee x

Quinoa Almond Pancakes

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I found this great recipe for Quinoa Almond Pancakes on this website ~ http://jeanetteshealthyliving.com/2014/02/quinoa-almond-pancakes.html ~ They’re so good, you have to try them! They taste just as good as normal pancakes, may be a bit messy to make but that just makes it more fun 🙂

Quinoa-Almond-Pancakes

Ingredients

  • 1 cup cooked white quinoa (4.7 ounces)
  • 1 cup almond flour (almond meal or ground almonds should do the job)
  • 4 tablespoons coconut oil
  • 2 eggs
  • 1/2-1 cup almond milk, depending on consistency desired
  • 4 teaspoons baking powder
  • 2 tablespoons agave syrup
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt

Method

Place all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. Lightly grease skillet with coconut oil and pour batter into skillet (~ 1/4 cup for each pancake). Cook until browned on bottom; carefully flip and cook other side until browned.

Enjoy 🙂

Tee x

Chicken, Parmesan & Herb Sweet Potato Burgers

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Ingredients

  • 2 cups pre-cooked mashed sweet potato
  • 500g ground chicken fillets
  • 1 red onion
  • 1 tbsp minced garlic
  • 1/3 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
  • 1/4 cup egg whites
  • 1 tbsp EACH of finely chopped FRESH parsley, oregano and basil leaves
  • salt to season
  • 1 tbsp vegetable stock powder
  • rapeseed oil for pan frying

Method

1. Combine mashed sweet potato, chicken, onion, garlic, parmesan cheese, egg whites, herbs, salt and stock powder. Mix well with a fork until combined. Form into patties.

2. Pan fry with rapeseed oil over low-medium heat on a good quality non stick pan/griddle.

3. Fry until burgers are golden and cooked through.

*Lovely served with a bit of relish at the side.

Enjoy 🙂

Tee x

Sun Dried Tomato & Vegetable Pasta Dish

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Ingredients

  • whole-wheat/brown/gluten-free pasta (however much you want)!
  • 1/2 jar of sun dried tomatoes
  • 4 cloves of garlic
  • 1/2 pound broccoli florets
  • 4/5 mushrooms, chopped
  • 1/4 cup pine nuts
  • 1/4 cup fresh parmesan, shaved

Method

1. Bring a large pot of water to the boil. Once boiling, add pasta and cook for approximately 10 minutes or until al dente.

2. As the pasta cooks, add 2 tbsp of sun dried tomato oil (from the jar) and the garlic to a wide pan over medium heat. Once they begin to sizzle, add the mushrooms and broccoli. Toss to coat and cook for 4-6 minutes.

3. Once the pasta is done, drain and add directly to the pan with the vegetables. Add the pine nuts, tossing to coat and cook for another 2 minutes.

4. Remove from heat and mix in the cheese.

*I like to mix around with my pasta from time to time. Balance is good so sometimes for a change I have some gluten free pasta instead of the brown/whole-wheat pastas. The gluten free pasta I usually buy are the types made from brown rice or millet. And I can usually find those in supermarkets such as Tesco or else in any of my local health food stores.

Enjoy 🙂

Tee x

Banana Oat Chocolate Chip Cookies

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Ingredients

  • 2 ripe bananas
  • 1/2 cup rolled oats
  • 1/4 cup dark chocolate chips
  • 1 1/2 tbsp oat flour (blend up some oats in order to make the oat flour)
  • 1 tsp baking powder

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180°C.

2. Mash the banana in a bowl. Add the rest of the remaining ingredients into the mashed banana and mix.

3. Allow to sit for 15-18 minutes so that the mixture thickens up.

4. Form into golf ball sized balls (I just used a heaped tsp) – do not flatten and place onto a nonstick baking sheet/pan.

5. Bake for 15 minutes.

*I was able to make 7 cookies from this recipe but you can double the recipe again if you’d like to make more.

*I also used wholegrain spelt four for this recipe as I didn’t have enough oats so you can use whatever flour you want, works with anything.

Enjoy 🙂

Tee x

Chocolate Chip Chickpea & Cashew Butter Cookies

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Ingredients

  • 1 can (15oz) of chick peas, drained and rinsed
  • 1/4 cup raw cashew butter
  • 1/4 cup agave syrup
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1 egg white
  • pinch of salt
  • 1/2 cup chocolate chips

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180°C.

2. Combine all ingredients except chocolate chips in a food processor until just smooth. Do not over-process! Add chocolate chips and mix well with spoon.

3. Scoop dough in heaping tablespoons onto lightly greased cookie sheet and bake for 10-12 minutes until golden/brown.

4. Let them cool for 5-10 minutes.

Enjoy,

Tee x

Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Banana Bread

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Ingredients

  • 150g plain flour
  • 1 cup (80g) rolled oats
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp sea salt
  • 1/2 cup (170g) maple syrup
  • 1/2 cup (105g) coconut oil/butter, melted & cooled
  • 200g greek yoghurt
  • 1/2 cup (125g) smooth/crunchy peanut butter, room temp.
  • 1 egg, beaten
  • 3 small/2 large ripe bananas, mashed
  • 100g chocolate chips

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180°C.

2. Line a loaf pan with parchment paper.

3. In a large bowl, combine the first 4 ingredients.  Set aside.

4. In a medium bowl, combine the syrup, coconut oil/butter, yoghurt, peanut butter and egg. Add the wet mixture to the dry and then fold in the mashed bananas. Pour the batter into your loaf pan and sprinkle the chocolate chips on top (you can also mix the chocolate chips through the mixture instead of sprinkling on top).

5. Bake for approx 60 minutes.  Allow to cool slightly before slicing.  Store leftovers in an airtight container.

*I love this when it is just out of the oven or else the day after I like to heat it up in the microwave so it’s warm and the chocolate chips are just about melting .. Yummaay!

Enjoy,

Tee. X