Tag Archives: healthy

Donal Skehan’s Raspberry Almond Muffins & Red Velvet Beetroot Chocolate Muffins

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Made both these recipes at the weekend for a fundraiser coffee morning. The original recipes are both from Donal Skehan’s cookbook ‘Fresh’ but I changed them around a bit using a few different ingredients 🙂

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Raspberry and Almond Muffins

Ingredients

150g coconut oil, melted

125g coconut sugar

2 large eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

150g buckwheat flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda

50g ground almonds

100ml almond milk

250g raspberries

Method

  1. Preheat the oven to 180°C and line a 12-hole muffin tin with paper cases.
  2. Beat the coconut oil and sugar together in a large bowl until combined. Add the eggs and continue whisking again until well combined. Stir through the vanilla extract.
  3. Sift in the flour, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda and then fold through. Fold in the ground almonds and almond milk. Finally, gently fold in the raspberries until evenly dispersed.
  4. Divide the mixture between the muffin cases, filling each one about two-thirds full. Bake for 20 minutes-25 minutes, or until golden brown and a thin metal skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean.
  5. Leave to cool slightly on a wire rack.

 

Red Velvet Beetroot Chocolate Muffins

Ingredients

100g dark chocolate, melted

200g cooked beetroot

110g coconut sugar

110g coconut oil, melted

2 large eggs

175g buckwheat flour

1 tsp baking powder

50ml almond milk

(For the chocolate frosting, if you want to be very good you can leave this out 😛 )

100g butter, room temperature

100g icing sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 tbsp boiling water

50g cacao powder

Method

  1. Preheat the oven to 180°C and line a 12-hole muffin tin with paper cases.
  2. Purée the cooked beetroot until smooth using a hand-held stick blender and then add in the melted chocolate.
  3. Beat the coconut oil and sugar together in a bowl, using a hand-held electric mixer. Whisk in the eggs until well combined. Mix in the flour, baking powder and milk and finally fold in the chocolate and beetroot mixture.
  4. Divide the muffin mixture between the paper cases, filling each about two-thirds full, and bake for 20-25 minutes until a thin metal skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Allow the muffins to cool.
  5. For the frosting; beat all the ingredients together until you have a thick paste. Once the muffins have cooled, spread the frosting on top of the muffins using a small palette knife.

Enjoy 🙂

Tee.X

Zucchini Carrot Oatmeal Muffin/Cupcakes

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Bit of late night baking last night trying out this new recipe! I had my first one this morning and they are really yummy!! A great way to get some veggies in without even knowing 🙂 I made them into cupcakes just because I had no muffin cases and got 15 cupcakes out of the mixture 😀

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Ingredients

1 cup porridge oats

2 cups buckwheat flour*

1 cup coconut sugar*

1 heaped tsp baking powder

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp salt

3 eggs

3/4 cup coconut oil

1 cup grated zucchini

1 cup grated carrot

1 cup raisins

*You can replace the buckwheat flour with whatever you like; oat flour, ground almonds, wholemeal spelt flour etc.

*If you don’t have coconut sugar handy, you could replace this with agave syrup, honey, maple syrup etc.

Method

  1. Preheat the oven to 175°C.
  2. Mix the dry ingredients together first in a large bowl.
  3. In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs and oil. Stir in the grated zucchini and carrots. Add to dry ingredients and stir until combined. Add in the raisins and spread them out in the mixture making sure they’re evenly distributed.
  4. Fill your muffin/cupcake cases about 3/4 way full and bake for approx. 20 minutes. They’re done when a knife inserted comes out clean.

Enjoy in the morning or as a snack throughout the day 🙂

Yummy in my tummy 😀

Tee. X

 

Chicken in Paper Baked with Peppers, Tomatoes, Herbs and Cheese

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Excuse the late blog but I was just flicking through all the recipes I have to pick out one to use in this week’s recipe of the week at my Shape Up Challenge and Nutrition Class when I found this recipe stashed away in my recipe book 🙂

About 2 years ago, I really started to experiment with healthy recipes and this was one of the first healthy recipes I tried out for a healthy dinner idea. I was in college at the time so it’s budget and time friendly 😀

I went through a phase of making this recipe constantly for my dinner so no wonder I had forgotten about it because I haven’t made it in so long now but I can’t wait to try it again soon because it really is delicious!!

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Photo credit is by the original recipe because I couldn’t get a good snap! Here’s the link to the original recipe – http://www.foodista.com/blog/2013/10/24/chicken-in-paper-baked-with-peppers-tomatoes-herbs-and-cheese

But in my own words.. here it is..

Ingredients (Serves 4)

  • 2 chicken fillets
  • 6 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil/ rapeseed oil/ coconut oil (better to cook with rapeseed or coconut oil because unlike olive oil these oils do not turn into a bad fat when heated up to high temperatures!)
  • 1 celery stalk, trimmed and chopped
  • 2 onions, peeled and coarsely chopped
  • 1 red bell pepper, cut into rings or slices
  • 1 green bell pepper, cut into rings or slices
  • 4 garlic cloves, minced
  • 2 tsp. dried organo
  • 250g feta cheese cut into cubes
  • salt & pepper to taste

Method

  1. Preheat the oven to 180°C.
  2. Cut the chicken fillets into large cubes and toss with oil, salt and pepper. Heat a nonstick skillet and brown the chicken lightly. Remove and set aside.
  3. Heat 2 tbsp oil and sauté the onions, celery, peppers and garlic until softened but not mushy. Remove.
  4. Divide the chicken and vegetables evenly into 4 portions. Place the chicken first on a piece of parchment paper about 12” square. Sprinkle with oregano and top with the vegetables and cheese. Season with salt and pepper. Bring two sides of the paper together and fold over in 3-4 pleats. Fold the sides in to create 4 small (yet not too tight!) packages.
  5. Place on a sheet pan and bake for 45 minutes.
  6. To serve, place each package on a plate and carefully open the top of each.

Enjoy 🙂

Tee. X

Quinoa, Turkey & Veggie Bowl

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Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup quinoa
  • chicken/veg stock cube
  • 250g ground turkey
  • 1tbsp rapeseed oil
  • 1/3 cup grated carrot
  • 1/3 cup sliced red pepper
  • 1 cup broccoli
  • black pepper
  • garlic powder

Method

  1. Place water, quinoa and stock cube in a saucepan. Bring to a boil. Cover and cook for 15 minutes.
  2. In a saucepan at medium heat, add the rapeseed oil and ground turkey, stir to separate the turkey while cooking. Cook for 5 minutes. Add the red pepper, carrots, broccoli, pepper and garlic powder. Cook for 3 minutes.
  3. Remove from heat, add the quinoa. Mix together.

Serve in a bowl and enjoy 🙂

Tee x

Quinoa Spinach Stuffed Tomatoes

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Ingredients

  • 6/8 medium ripe tomatoes
  • salt, to taste
  • 1/2 cup quinoa
  • chicken/veg stock cube
  • rapeseed oil
  • 2/3 handfuls of fresh spinach
  • 1 tsp chopped fresh parsley
  • ground pepper, to taste
  • parmesan/mozzarella/goats shredded cheese

Method

  1. Preheat oven to 190°C. Slice off the stem end of the tomatoes and hollow out the inside. Slice just a small section off of the bottom of the tomatoes just so that they will sit flat on your baking tray. Sprinkle a pinch of salt in the hollow portion of each tomato and place tomatoes, hollow side up on a baking tray. Set aside.
  2. Place water, stock cube and quinoa in a saucepan. Bring to a boil; lower to a simmer, cover, and cook for 15 minutes.
  3. Heat oil in a frying pan and add spinach. Season with pepper, and cook until wilted. Mix in the parsley.
  4. Remove from heat, add in the cooked quinoa and mix well.
  5. Evenly divide the filling among the tomatoes. Cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes.
  6. Remove foil, sprinkle tops with preferred choice of cheese and bake for an additional 5 minutes, or until cheese is melted.

Serve and enjoy 🙂

Tee x

Turkey Meatballs

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Ingredients

  • 2 tbsp rapeseed oil
  • 1 small zucchini, finely chopped
  • 1 red pepper, finely chopped
  • 1 yellow pepper, finely chopped
  • 3 large garlic cloves, minced
  • 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
  • 1.5 lbs ground chicken (or turkey)
  • 1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
  • 1 large egg
  • 1/2 cup breadcrumbs
  • 1/2 cup parmesan cheese

Method

  1. Heat the rapeseed oil on high in a large skillet. When oil gets hot, toss in the zucchini, peppers, garlic, red pepper flakes and pepper to taste. Cook for 5 minutes, transfer to a dish and allow to cool.
  2. In a large bowl, mix the ground chicken, cooled veggies, parsley, egg, breadcrumbs and cheese (Add some extra red pepper flakes if you like it spicy).
  3. Place some baking parchment/tin foil on a baking tray.
  4. Form your meatballs and place on the tray. If mixture is too sticky to handle, coat your hands with rapeseed oil.
  5. Lightly drizzle a large pan with rapeseed oil and cook the meatballs in batches – for about 5 minutes per side, on medium low heat. You can crack one open to make sure they are cooked through. You may also bake them at 200°C for 20 minutes.

Makes between 20-30 meatballs depending on the size you make them!

Serve with tomato sauce/spaggetti/quinoa/spinach/salad/sweet potato fries and sweet’n sour sauce goes well with them too 😀

Enjoy 🙂

Tee x

Skinny Honey Lemon Chicken

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Tastes just like sweet’n sour ❤ Yum!

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Ingredients

  • 1 chicken fillet
  • 2 tbsp soy sauce
  • salt & pepper
  • 1 tbsp rapeseed oil
  • 3/4 cup chicken stock
  • 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
  • 3 tbsp honey (more or less to taste)
  • 2 tbsp cornstarch
  • zest of 1 lemon
  • 1 tsp ground ginger
  • 1/2 cup quinoa
  • optional toppings: sesame seeds, thinly-sliced spring onions

Method

  1. Combine the chicken, soy sauce in a bowl. Stir together and refrigerate for at least 10 minutes, or up to 8 hours.
  2. For the quinoa, bring to a boil. Once boiling, bring to simmer for 15 mins.
  3. In a bowl, whisk together the honey lemon sauce ingredients together until well combined; chicken stock, lemon juice, honey, cornstarch, lemon zest and ground ginger.
  4. Heat oil in a large wok over medium-high heat. Add the chicken, season with salt, pepper. Saute for 5-7 mins or until it is cooked through. Transfer the chicken to a separate (clean) plate.
  5. Pour the honey lemon sauce marinade into the empty saucepan. Cook over medium-high heat for 2-3 minutes, or until the sauce reaches a low boil and thickens (It thickened quite fast for me).
  6. Add the chicken back into the pan and toss until it is evenly coated with the sauce. Remove from heat and serve the chicken with the quinoa. Top with your preferred toppings 🙂

Enjoy 😀

Tee x

Egg Fried .. Quinoa!

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I didn’t think you could get any better than egg fried rice but then I found this recipe 😀 It’s absolutely delicious!! Like your own healthy Chinese at home 🙂 This recipe serves 4 but you can just divide the recipe down to serve 1 or 2.

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Ingredients

  • 1 cup quinoa, rinsed
  • vegetable/chicken stock cube
  • 2 tbsp coconut oil
  • 4 medium carrots, diced
  • 2 medium shallots, thinly sliced
  • 4 spring onions, thinly sliced
  • sea salt
  • 4 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 tbsp ground ginger
  • 2 tbsp soy sauce
  • 2 eggs, beaten

Method

  1. Boil the quinoa in water and stock, once it comes to a boil, simmer for 15 mins.
  2. Meanwhile, heat the coconut oil in a large wok or nonstick skillet.
  3. Saute the carrots, shallots, spring onions until soft and beginning to brown.
  4. Season with salt. Add the garlic, ginger and stir fry for another 2 mins.
  5. Fold in the cooked quinoa and stir everything together.
  6. Stir in the soy sauce.
  7. Push the quinoa to the side of the pan to create a well. Pour the eggs into the well and cook, stirring gently, until nearly set.
  8. Toss the fried quinoa with the eggs.
  9. Transfer the quinoa to plate/bowls and serve.

Enjoy 😀

Tee x

Low Carb Zucchini Lasagne

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A healthy alternative to the traditional lasagne – Yum!

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Ingredients

  • 4 oz lean ground turkey breast
  • 1 zucchini
  • 1 tbsp rapeseed oil
  • 1 can of chopped tomatoes/jar of tomato sauce
  • 1 tbsp tomato puree
  • 1/2 chopped onion
  • salt, pepper, oregano to taste
  • 1/4 cup cottage cheese
  • 1 tbsp parmesan cheese
  • 1 egg white
  • 1/4 cup mozzarella/goats cheese

Method

  1. Start by slicing the zucchini into 1/8 thick slices, sprinkle lightly with salt, set aside to drain in colander.
  2. After a few minutes blot excess moisture with a paper towel.
  3. In a medium saucepan, heat the rapeseed oil and cook the onion until translucent.
  4. Add in the turkey and cook until turkey has browned slightly.
  5. Add in tomatoes, tomato puree, onion, salt, pepper and oregano. Stir and let simmer.
  6. Meanwhile in a bowl stir cottage cheese, parmesan and egg white until well combined.
  7. To assemble spread 1/2 the meat sauce into the bottom of a prepared dish.
  8. Next layer a few zucchini slices, cheese mixture, more zucchini slices, meat sauce and top with mozzarella or goats cheese.
  9. Bake at 190°C for 35-40 minutes.

Delicious 🙂 Serves between 2-4.

Serve with whatever you like, salad, sweet potato fries, spinach leaves etc.

Enjoy 😀

Tee x

Paprika-Baked Chickpeas

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These are SO good, it is hard to stop eating them!! These are the perfect healthy snack to keep you going mid-morning, mid-afternoon or even as a little nibble to have at midnight 🙂

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Ingredients

  • 1 tsp onion powder
  • 1 tbsp paprika
  • 2 large tins (400g each approx) of chickpeas

Method

  1. Preheat the oven to 180°C.
  2. Pour the drained chickpeas into a medium mixing bowl with the onion powder and paprika. Mix well.
  3. Spread the coated chickpeas onto a baking sheet. Bake for one hour, stirring occasionally, until crisp and brown. Cool to room temperature before eating. (Store leftovers in an airtight container.)

Delicious happens 🙂

Enjoy,

Tee x