by Siobhan | Jul 11, 2017 | Dinner, Grainfree, Lunch, vegan
This quick meal is not only tasty and cheap to make but uber healthy too thanks to the 6 different fruit/veg meaning it’s packed full of plant based goodness. There’s way too much to mention in detail so I’m just going to quickly summarise the main benefits below:
*Easily sourced cheap ingredients
*Lots of fibre = filling
*Protein from the lentils and peas
*Cruciferous veg from the cauliflower
*vit A and C from the mango
*Filled with plant based antioxidant goodness
Quick, cheap AND healthy, you have no excuse not to try this!
An optional but added bonus is the turmeric at the end which can help with digestion and is highly anti inflammatory especially as its absorption is greatly increased by the addition of black pepper.
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by Siobhan | Jul 6, 2017 | Breakfast, Desserts, Grainfree, Lunch, Popular
Didn’t think there could be a healthy, tasty, low sugar AND low carb donut? Well think again because I created one!
I was so careful with this recipe to strike the right balance between using low carb coconut flour (which I’ve found in Tesco before) but also making sure that it was really moist too, I finally nailed the recipe and I’m super proud of it!
PLUS, as I used lemon zest and juicy blueberries for flavour it means it’s also refined sugar free, but as always feel free to adjust it to your desired sweetness/tastes, you can use vanilla extract, some liquid stevia if you have it or a drizzle of honey if you like, it’s entirely up to you.
A note on coconut flour
I have been able to get a 500g bag of fat reduced coconut flour in Tesco for £3 on offer or £3.75 normal price, now although it’s more expensive than other flours one thing to remember is that this fat reduced version is VERY absorbent meaning you need far less for recipes, usually 1/3 of normal flour. For example, this recipe only needed 35g, for my sweet squash loaf I only needed 40g, therefore a 500g although more expensive will last you a long time. Furthermore, if you’re looking for high fibre, low carb baking options then this is definitely an ingredient you should consider.
Tiana is another brand that’s fat reduced and is available in Holland and Barrett.
Benefits
As this recipe is high in fibre and good fats, low carb and low sugar it also means it’s quite a good option/treat for anyone with diabetes as I often hear from one of my friends that their diabetic siblings don’t really have much choice of treats that aren’t filled with lots of different artificial sweeteners/weird ingredients.
These donuts are made with real food, nourishing ingredients so you can even have them for breakfast and not feel guilty, seriously I’ve done this, it makes your early starts much better, try it and thank me later, hehe.
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by Siobhan | Jun 27, 2017 | Dinner, Grainfree, Lunch, vegan
Even if you’re kale-phobic chances are that you’ll like this salad due to the delicious, juicy pomegranate seeds which give a lovely pop but also lend loads of flavour to the kale base, plus the creamy tahini (sesame seed paste) lime dressing on the kale also covers the flavour meaning this is one dish that even the kale haters won’t have to force down!
If you’re not a lover of tahini either then you can sub it for almond butter.
To bulk out the rest of the salad I used leftover cucumber, sweet red pepper and flaked almonds but you can use whatever salad/veg you have in your fridge.
Nourishing nutritional benefits
Due to the mix of kale, tahini and almonds this salad is also a good source of plant based calcium for those who are dairy intolerant/vegan. See here for more info on plant based calcium.
Annnnnd the kale is also a good source of Vitamin K1 which is great for bones so it’s a double wammy in terms of bone benefits which is great for anyone who may be on a dairy free/vegan diet and finally the pomegranate seeds are an excellent source of antioxidants, so your body will love you for eating this one!
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by Siobhan | Jun 20, 2017 | Desserts, Grainfree, snack, vegan
This recipe is really simple, I promise. Plus, you can get the ingredients at pretty much any shop and can use whatever fresh fruit you can get your hands on/needs to be used up.
Another major bonus is that it doesn’t require any cooking and if you don’t mind a slightly crumbly base then it can be eaten straight away, woo hoo!
It would also be a great thing to bring to a party/bbq as it’s gluten free and if using a non dairy based thick yogurt then it’s suitable for those with dairy allergies too, plus by using lots of different coloured fruit it can look really pretty so is bound to impress!
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by Siobhan | Jun 12, 2017 | Advice, Breakfast, Grainfree, snack, vegan
So it comes to that time of year again when everyone is trying to get that bikini body for their holidays. I still see lots of people, especially women, reaching for all sorts of expensive potions and processed shakes to achieve this, but let’s keep in mind that these are short term fixes (if they even work at all!) and usually involve some sort of laxative effect….fun.
So why not try a real food, nutritious way of starting your day combined with a good exercise plan for the time leading up to your holidays and actually properly care for and nourish your body this year? Go on, your body deserves it.
I designed this smoothie based on foods that have beneficial effects on metabolism and exercise performance (see below for more details) meaning it’s great to have first thing in the morning and best combined with some exercise. Don’t forget to fill the rest of your day with wholesome nutritious meals as well, try my avocado pesto, green omelette, chilli Pb stirfry or rainbow summer squash salad.
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