Too early for food?

Eating breakfast early in the morning isn't for everyone, and trying to find something that will give you energy that is also healthy seems to be a problem. I've ran out of the house at half past six many mornings and haven't got up in time to make breakfast, and I usually end up buying something in my way (usually something unhealthy to snack on e.g. a chocolate bar or croissant).

I find that if I eat something in the morning, I will be more awake and fuelled for the day than if I don't. I will also tend to eat healthily throughout the day if I have a healthy breakfast. If I eat something naughty, I will be tempted to keep eating that way all day. So the best thing to do is to start your day with something healthy and full of energy giving foods to give you that nudge out of the front door that you need. Give yourself some extra time in the morning to eat breakfast too! Although you may be getting up early anyway, there's no harm in getting up just ten minutes earlier to make yourself some delicious morning goodness!

Here are a few ideas to get you going:

Fried Egg and Avocado:

I'd seen so many people posting pictures of this breakfast, that I had to try it out myself. Now I wasn't a big fan of avocado till now and it's also a great way of introducing green foods into your morning meals! Fried eggs give you a lot of energy in the mornings and they keep you fuller for longer, stopping you snacking before lunchtime. I'm also adamant about using free range eggs, and you will notice that the hens have been taken care of and feed properly by the colour of the egg yolks. They should be a bright, vivid orange. 

What you need to do:

Melt a knob of butter in a frying pan, crack two eggs into the pan and leave them to fry.  Don't keep trying to move them around! You're more likely to break the yolk and make a mess (cough-cough I may have done that before). When all the egg whites have turned white and the texture of the whites is not longer runny, place on a plate. Spoon out half an avocado and lay on top of the eggs. To finish, crack some black pepper and sea salt all over the avocado and eggs and serve. Delish!

Dairy-free Banana and Strawberry Smoothie:
I absolutely love smoothies and I always have done, especially the banana smoothie from McDonald's. Since becoming lactose intolerant, I thought I'd never get to drink smoothies ever again (bit dramatic I know), until I came across dairy-free alternatives. I've been using Almond Milk for over a month now and it's a brilliant, tasty alternative to milk. It also adds a sweet, nutty flavour to the smoothies which is great if you like that sort of thing. Banana gives it a thicker texture but also when eaten realises energy slowly throughout the day, making it great for busy mornings. The strawberries give it a sweet and tangy kick, and I love to top most of my smoothies with flaxseed, which is full of iron and is very beneficial to your health.
What you need to do:
Slice a banana and a handful of strawberries and place in a food blender. Pour in one cup of almond milk and blitz it all together until smooth. Pour into a glass then top with anything you like! You can sprinkle a spoon of flaxseed, cinnamon or raw cocoa nibs on top. Drink in or take away!

Organic Rice Puffs with Honey and Banana:

This breakfast is so good. The flavours you get from one bowl is incredible! It also looks pretty and, in a way 'professional' but if you're in a hurry you don't need to go all creative. I used Kallo Organic Rice Puffs which are very bland if you eat them on their own, but taste great with all these other accompaniments. I used Organic set honey which is gorgeously smooth and gives this breakfast a natural sweetness, which is also good for you. This meal is light in texture so adding the dried fruit (not too much though as they aren't as healthy as you think) and desiccated coconut gives it a crunch and bite.

What you need to do:

Pour the rice puffs into a bowl and pour over the almond milk. slice up a banana and place down one side of the bowl. Then drizzle a line of honey alongside the banana. Sprinkle a small handful of coconut down the middle, then add the dried fruit beside it. Sprinkle some cinnamon over the banana (optional). I like to have a hot cup of black tea to warm me up too. Enjoy!

I hope you enjoyed this blog and please try them out yourselves! They're simple, healthy and delicious to eat. Please feel free to comment below on how you've done or share your own versions of the recipes by linking a photo. Thank you and have a nice day! :D

Lunch time by the sea

Seafood is one of the most healthiest foods we can get (apart from vegetables) and it gives us lots of energy, and also Omega-3 which helps you brain and joint functions, guards against illness, therefore being a very important, good fat to eat.
This meal was incredibly yummy and if you love fish and green vegetables, you'll love this one.

Ingredients:
Fillet of Cod ( from sustainable fisheries)
Parma ham
Handful of cooked prawns
Broccoli
Spinage
Spring onions
Couple garlic cloves
Juice of half a lemon
Tbsp dill
Butter

Method:
1. Put a saucepan of shallowwater on the stove, put in a steamer and then add the broccoli. Steam the broccoli for 10 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, wrap the cod in Parma ham and fry in a nonstick frying pan in butter.
3. Chop up a few sticks of spring onion and garlic cloves, then add to the frying pan with the prawns. Squeeze in juice of half a lemon and then the dill and stir together, frying the cod on each side to get an even cook. Add some more butter to the pan if the butter and lemon juice reduces to much. Quickly stir in some spinage for a few seconds then turn off the heat.
4. When the broccoli is steamed, place on a plate, along with the cooked cod, prawns and spring onions and spinage. Don't forget the juices! Season with salt and pepper and slice a bit of butter to melt over the broccoli. Lunch is served!

This is a dish that will give you energy to last till dinner time, and warms you up a treat. So its perfect for those cold, dreary days where you need a little comfort food.
So, another dish is served and I can't wait to start another.  Please leave a comment below and if you want to try it out, please feel free to tell me about your end results. Have a nice day!

Smoothies!

There are so many different smoothies that you can make, the possibilities are endless! I find that these are perfect for those days where you haven't got long enough to make something, and they're really good at waking you up and refreshing your body.

When I hear the word smoothie I think of fruit and milk, but there are smoothies you can make that contain vegetables too (although I haven't warmed to them quiet yet). As I'm dairy free, I once tried making a banana smoothie without any milk. It was way too think to drink it wouldn't even pour out of the glass! Then I came across these products: lactose free milk and coconut water. They work a treat and the taste is just as great.

Here are a few smoothie combinations I've came up with:
> Banana, blueberry, cinnamon and lactose free milk.
> Strawberry, raspberry and red current.
> Banana, strawberry, dedicated coconut, mango, cinnamon and lactose free milk (see picture).
> Spinage, avocado, cucumber, banana, mint leaves, ground flaxseed and coconut water.

There's loads more smoothie combinations,  and you might be wondering why I haven't put the amounts of each ingredient you need to make them; the thing is you can put as much or less in as you like, there are no rules! But if your using banana I'd suggest blending it up with some milk or coconut water to thin it out a little.
Spices and herbs are great natural sources of flavour, and complete any meal nicely when mixed in; for example, you would always put mint and lamb together. So try using them as much as possible as they are also very good for you! You can use cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg,  anything.

So have a go and if it's a hot day you can always pop in a few ice cubes!

Please tell me what you think and feel free to share any smoothie recipes that you come up with in the comments below! Have a nice day! :)

That's Nuts!

This is a very simple loaf to make and very yummy! My mom bought a Paleo recipe magazine, which was a one off from Tesco, and we've been going through the recipes for almost seven weeks. I chose to make this loaf tonight for my family and grandparents; loafs are perfect for large parties! I was surprised at how dead easy this was to create and I made my own little adjustments to the recipe. 

Ingredients:

3 bananas

3 eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

2oz butter

11oz ground almonds

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

4oz pecan nuts

2 handfuls pumpkin seeds

80% Dark chocolate

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C, grease and line a loaf tin with greaseproof paper.

2. Place the bananas, eggs, vanilla extract and butter in a food processor and blend well until pureed. 

3. Add the ground almonds, salt and bicarbonate of soda to the bowl and mix well with a wooden spoon. Stir in the pecans and pumpkin seeds.

4. Spoon the mixture into the loaf tin and bake for 50-60 minutes until browned, or when a knife inserted comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack.

5. Simmer a saucepan of water on the hob, place a glass bowl over the saucepan, break the chocolate into the bowl and melt it gently. When melted spoon over the loaf and leave to cool.

6. Put extra thick double cream, coconut oil and vanilla extract into a blender and blend until combined.

7. Slice the loaf and spoon the coconut cream on top. Bon appetite! 

Tell me what you think in the comments and why not try it out yourself? It's super simple and delicious to eat. Laters! :)

It's lunch time!

Lunch time is an important meal of the day. Whatever you eat has got to give you sufficient energy up till dinner time, which can be difficult as we can easily get the munchies in between.

Because I have a lot of days at college where the lessons run over dinner time (that's half six or seven for me) I need to pack my body full of food containing a good source of protein and good fats to keep me standing.

So I did a bit of experimenting and improvising with the ingredients I had available at the time, and created this really yummy lunchtime meal. It filled me nicely and I wasn't hungry all afternoon,  and by the time I got home at half past eight, I was ready to eat something light. So if you're looking for a dish that will keep you going till late hours, try out this recipe!

Ingredients:
2 medium eggs
3 mushrooms
large hand full of ready cooked crayfish
spring onion
oregano
Lemon juice of half a lemon
salt and pepper
Butter
Spinage
1 beetroot

Method:
1. Melt some butter in a pan and fry the mushrooms and spring onion until they're soft and have soaked up the butter.
2. Add the crayfish and lemon juice to the pan and mix the ingredients together, frying the crayfish for a minute or so.
3. Crack two eggs into a bowl and beat, then pour over the mushrooms, spring onion and crayfish. Add some more butter if it starts to stick to the pan! Season with salt and pepper and fry in the pan for a couple of minutes, then flip it over and cook for a further two to three minutes until the egg has cooked through.
4. Wash some spinage and drain, place on a plate with the sliced beetroot.
5. Serve the omelette on top of the spinage and beetroot and enjoy!

I really hope you like this recipe and please comment on what you think, have a nice day! :)

Scrumptious Snacks!

In the paleo diet there is no 

wheat, gluten, sugar or dairy (you can have dairy if you want too but I choose not to) which means a lot of the things that we eat in our everyday western diet gets chucked out the window. Bread, cereals, cake, biscuits, croissants, pasta, pastries,  and even some not so obvious products like sauces and spreads.

But that also means that I don't get any treats, right? That's what I thought until I began to research recipes online and came across a website called Bravo for Paleo. It is run by 20 year old pre-med student Monica Bravo from the US, and she posts all things paleo and has stacks of healthy recipes! I found these blueberry muffins and tried them out and they are officially one of my favorite snacks. 

I adjusted the recipe a little by swapping the maple syrup for raw honey, and I also experimented with 90% dark chocolate. You can add anything you like to the muffins (as long as it's healthy of course! ) such as blackberries, banana, nuts and seeds, and you could even serve it with a little double cream if you fancy making a dessert out of them. 

Please let me now what you think of them and also check out the Bravo for Paleo website and check out all the other tasty recipes!

Here's the link to the recipe:

http://bravoforpaleo.com/2013/08/29/paleo-blueberry-muffin-recipe/

Breakfast Time!

Good morning everyone, it's not the sunniest start to the day and a little cold so I thought of making myself a breakfast that is hot and delicious, but if course paleo!

I made a little stack of banana pancakes, sandwiched with cashew nut butter and topped with strawberries. I loved these so much and they were perfect for fueling me for my college day. It's great because although you might think you're eating something that looks unhealthy, it's actually perfectly healthy and super delicious to eat!

The Recipe:
Half a banana
1 medium egg
Cinnamon
Topping:
Cashew nut butter
Strawberries

1. Blitz the banana and egg together into a liquid, and add a good shake of cinnamon and blend again.
2. Melt some butter in a pan and pour a little mixture into the pan. Don't try to flip it over if the underside isn't cooked! When it's fried for around 30 seconds or browned underneath, flip it over and brown off the other side.
3. Put it on a plate and smoother with cashew nut butter. Repeat step 2 and layer each pancake between the cashew nut butter. Spread some on top and top with strawberries. Bon appetite!

And that's it! It's so simple you could make them with your eyes closed - although that wouldn't be such a good idea if you want to avoid burnt pancakes ;) You can do lots of different types of pancakes and experiment with many healthy and yummy ingtedients. You could try melting some raw honey and pouring it over the stack, over even top them with blueberries and pour over some double cream. Cream tastes amazing with them but as I've had to ditch dairy due to it causing my face to come out with breakouts, I have to find other ways of creating these pancakes scrumptious.

So, breakfast is over, I'm nicely full and am ready to start my day.
If you want to try them please comment and tell me how it goes, have a great day! X