First Attempt at Protein Balls

Warning; I am going to be saying 'balls' a lot in this post, so please refrain from giggling, I am being serious people.

I've been trying to get back to the gym recently, and I've been seeing recipes for protein balls everywhere, so I decided to give one a go. I found a really simple recipe which I tweaked slightly, and luckily I had all of the ingredients. They turned out pretty good

Each ball has just over 8 grams of protein in it, which makes them perfect for eating on the go just before or after a work out.

This recipe below should make 8 protein balls.

Ingredients;

4 tablespoons natural peanut butter

2 scoops (50g) vanilla protein powder

4 tablespoons coconut milk

Sesame seeds

50g dark chocolate

Method;

Mix the peanut butter, protein powder, coconut milk and sesame seeds in a bowl. Once mixed it should form a dough like consistency. I rolled mine out into a snake shape so that I could split the mixture evenly up into 8, then I rolled them into small balls.

Heat the chocolate in a pyrex dish over a pan of boiling water. Once melted dip each of your protein balls in and coat with the chocolate. Place on a plate and pop in the fridge until cool. Et voila! They are done! 

It was such an easy recipe, I'll definitely be using this as a base to try out lots of different variations! Have you got a good recipe for protein balls you'd like to share?

Laura xXx

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Overnight Oats Breakfast Recipe - Apple, Raisins and Cinnamon

Today I want to introduce you to my new best friend, overnight oats!

This is now officially my favorite breakfast. If you haven't heard of overnight oats, they are basically  porridge without the hassle of cooking the oats. Oh, and it's cold instead of hot!  

You make up your oaty/porridge dry mixture and then soak them in milk (or a lacto-free version of milk. I use coconut milk), then you leave them overnight in the fridge. When you wake up in the morning your oats will be fully soaked and ready gobble down!

There are tons of recipes you can experiment with, but I am hooked on my first creation. Its an absolutely delicious apple crumble inspired recipe! If that sounds good to you, read on to find out the ingredients;

1 cup porridge oats
1 cup coconut milk
1/3 cup raisins
A small hand-full of goji berries
A squeeze of agave nectar
1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon
3 tablespoons of apple sauce

The secret ingredient is the apple sauce. I made a massive batch of this a little while ago. It was really simple, I just stewed down some apples in boiling water and then strained and mashed them.  I put some of this in the freezer, so now I just take out as much as I need to defrost a few hours before I make my overnight oats. If you don't have any to hand you can substitute a little bit of the milk for apple juice which gives it a bit of an apple tang.

I really like the way that soaking them makes the raisins and goji berries so soft. Usually I find goji berries a little bitter, but you barely notice them in the mixture for this recipe!

Do you make overnight oats at all? If you do what are your favorite recipes?

Laura xXx

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Healthy Ice Cream Recipe - Mint Choc Chip

For my birthday my parents bought me an ice cream maker! Yay! Then I found out I was intolerant to lactose. Boo!

I do love regular ice cream, especially Ben and Jerry's mint choc chip when I'm at the cinema! But I have always been interested in finding healthier alternatives. The base for this recipe is coconut milk rather than cream. So it makes it much healthier and also ideal for lactose intolerant people like me.

The Ingredients

3 frozen bananas
1 tin of coconut milk (chilled)
1 teaspoon of peppermint extract
1 avocado
Cocoa nibs (or a few chocolate chips for those of you that can or want to have milk)
Agave nectar or honey to taste

The Process

Mix all ingredients other than the cocoa nibs/chocolate chips together in a blender.  Stir them in at the end.  Then pop into your ice cream maker and follow the instructions for your machine. Mine took about 20 minutes. It is probably best to eat it straight away, as this will have the best texture. But I put mine in the freezer to save for later. You just need to give it a little while to defrost before you want to eat it.

If you don't have an ice cream maker you can still make this. You just need to use the old, 'stir it every hour' technique, and then keep putting it back in the freezer. Or you could use lolly moulds and make Ice lollies instead!

The Verdict

I think that this is one of those tastes that grows on you. I was a bit disappointed when I first tried it, but the more I ate the more I liked it.  Lets be honest, it is never going to taste the same as Ben and Jerry's.  Once you get that comparison out of your head it tastes pretty good.

I think I will be trying out some other flavours of healthy ice cream before making this one again, but I will definitely be bearing it in mind, and I am sure it will be making a re-appearance!

Laura xXx

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A Healthy Breakfast

I've discovered a delicious and nutritious new breakfast, so I thought I would share with you all. Basically it is raspberries and vanilla yoghurt with honey, along with a special mixture I concocted myself!

Instead of having cereal, which is full of bad sugars, I decided to make a naturally sweet treat.  In a blender I mixed a handful of dried medjool dates (pips removed), cashew nuts, sesame seeds, sunflower seeds, dried goji berries, honey and a little bit of peanut butter. I pulsed until it was all well blended. Then I placed the mixture in a tin and flattened out, then left in the fridge to cool. 

Thats it really! Its all ready for you to scrape some out and pop alongside your yoghurt and fruit. It will probably last in the  fridge for a couple of weeks.

The great thing about it is that it will turn out differently every time, and you can use whatever you have in your cupboard to make it. Rececntly I made another one using dried figs and lemon zest, but you could also use raisins, dried apricots or prunes, or anything else you fancy!

Laura xXx

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Cinnamon and Nutmeg Toasted Butternut Squash Seeds

I am not a fan of waste.  I like to make sure I use as much as possible when cooking, and I get very sad when I find that something has gone past its best before I had a chance to use it.

It wasn't until fairly recently that I discoverd that you could cook up and eat the seeds of a butternut squash. The other day I was cooking a butternut squash and caramelised onion soup, and I decided I would give it a go.

First I washed the seeds thoroughly to get rid of the slimy bits. Then I coated them in olive oil.  Next I sprinkled them (quite heavily) with cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, and a little bit of caster sugar. Then I popped them in the oven for about 10 minutes until they seemed crispy. They were actually quite yummy and full of that autumn flavour!

I sprinkled some of them on top of my soup, but they are delicious as a snack on their own

Below is a picture of my soup, it is definitely not Maser Chef worthy to look at, but it tasted fantastic! If you are interested, here is how I made it;

Ingredients
1 Butternut squash, cubed
1 large red onion, sliced
1 litre of Vegetable stock
Knob of butter
1 tsp of Sugar
Garlic
Olive Oil
Sour Cream
Bacon
Peas

Process
Chop up the butternut squash into cubes, coat with olive oil and pop in the oven until they are nicely browned.  Meanwhile, fry the onions in the butter over a low heat and keep stirring and add the sugar.  I cooked mine for a really long time so that they were nice and caramelised.

When that is all cooked combine in a saucepan with the stock, and whizz until smooth with a  hand blender. Pop in your frozen peas and cook for a few more minutes.  Serve with a dollop of soured cream and some frazzled streaky bacon.

Laura xXx

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DIY Chocolate Protein Bar Recipe

Since we moved into the new house we have joined the local gym. I am being very good and have been going regularly 3 times a week. I've really noticed it making a difference, and it has been helpful having one on one sessions with a trainer.

The usual routine is to go at about 11am and then be back in time for a nice lunch full of protein, which  is usually an omelette. Or if not we will sometimes have a protein shake to help repair our muscles.  But, I know that you should really have protein BEFORE you work out too, which I have not been so good at. I normally only have a smoothie for breakfast as I don't get particularly hungry until later, but this can sometimes leave me slightly less energetic than I otherwise would be.

The other day I was speaking with my friend about protein bars and which ones were good. Then she suggested that I could make my own! I thought this was a brilliant idea as Chris has tons of protein powder that I could use as a base. So, the next day I set to work trying out some recipes.

First of all I tried out a sort of protein cake recipe which If found here. The main ingredients in this were chocolate protein powder, oat flour and apple sauce (which I made myself simply by stewing some apples with a dash of water for about 30 minutes.)

It was a little bit of a strange consistency and taste, not quite like anything I had had before. Having said that it was definitely edible and it was one of those things that the more you eat the more you like it! I did have a bit of an issue with it sticking to the cake tin though, which resulted in lots of half portions being served. Whoops!

Next I decided I wanted to make more of a brownie rather than a cake. I found a recipe here that looked really good. The main ingredients in this were black beans and protein powder, lots of protein there! It also had the addition of chocolate chips, which I was really not adversed to!

I have to say this was absolutely delicious! I think it was helped along a lot by the chocolate chips, and I know that they are not particularly healthy, but it is totally worth it. Plus, the rest of the brownie is all goodness, so why not tray yourself a little? Plus, they say dark chocolate is good for you in small amounts! It is really yummy after being heated up too!

I will definitely be making this again! I will probably try to find some tinned black turtle beans though,  rather than the dried ones I had, as that will save me a lot of time and hassle!

What food do you eat to stock up your protein levels before and after exercise?

Laura xXx

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My favourite healthy green smoothie

You may remember my little series of healthy smoothie posts that I did a little while back. Well, I have now perfected my favourite healthy smoothie, and I wanted to share it with you today! Here are the quantities of each ingredient that I use;

Ingredients

2 large handfulls Spinach

1 handfull Watercress

1 tin of Pineapple (432g)

A thin slice of chopped Ginger Root

Lemon - Juice of one segment.

Just a sprinkling of Turmeric

For a more filling smoothie add...

1 Banana

Half an Avocado

These all go in the blender together, and I blend until smooth. 

Now I want to tell you a little bit about why I put each of these ingredients into my smoothie;

Spinach - I don't eat a huge amount of leafy greens, and I'm not a huge fan of spinach in a meal, but I know they are good for me and what to get them into my diet regularly. I find that when you put it in a smoothie mixed with the right ingredients you barely even notice it is there!

Watercress - I was watching a TV program a little while ago and they were investigating studies that watercress has cancer preventing properties. Sounds good to me! As watercress goes off quite quickly, we will often freeze a bag as an emergency supply.

Pineapple (tinned or fresh) - Pineapple is the best ingredient for overpowering the flavours of the spinach and watercress, plus it is really refreshing. If I have run out of pineapple, I will sometimes use pineapple juice instead. It's not quite as filling but is just as good for you.

Ginger - This has been used since ancient times for its medical properties, and I also like the zingy flavour it adds!

Lemon - Again this is good for overpowering the peppery watercress, but the other day whilst watching 'How not to grow old', I also saw that it has anti ageing properties!

Turmeric - This is a relatively new discovery, again made whilst watching 'How not to grow old'. They said that as well as lemons, turmeric is great for its anti ageing properties.  I'm not going to lie, this is the one ingredient that can make the smoothie taste a little strange, like you have just dropped a bit of your curry in it by accident. BUT, supposedly it is really good for you, so I have been just adding a small sprinkling.

I drink this smoothie practically every day, and since I have been I have noticed my skin has really improved! I also feel more energetic and generally healthy! I usually have it first thing in the morning, sometimes I will also have breakfast later, and sometimes I will add banana and/or half an avocado to it to it to make it a bit more filling. You might also want to add a little bit of water if the smoothie looks too thick for you.

If you are dying to try out this recipe, but find yourself blenderless, fear not! I am running a competition to win a fantastic Kenwood Blender at the moment! So don't miss your chance!

What is your healthy smoothie preference?

Laura xXx

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Tri-This; Quinoa

Quinoa is supposed to be pretty much the perfect food. It is super high in protein, low in sugar, and gluten free! It is actually a seed not a grain, did you know that? Quinoa has recently become one of my favourite ingredients. So here are a few experiments I have tried with it that turned out well!

1. Quinoa Crusted Turkey Burgers

This is an adaptation of a recipe I posted about here. But instead of using breadcrumbs to coat the turkey burger, I used Quinoa!  It crisped up really well and is obviously a fantastic healthy substitute for breadcrumbs. I actually added curry powder to the turkey mixture this time, which turned out great! I also put in a little bit less garlic.

Ingredients;

Burger
400g Lean Turkey Mince
1 Clove of Garlic
1 or 2 tsp Ground Cumin (or/and curry powder)
Chopped coriander

Crust
Cooked Quinoa
Pepper and Salt to taste
2 eggs
Olive oil

For the full recipe check out this post, substituting breadcrumbs for quinoa, obviously!

2. Quinoa Flap Jacks

I've seen a few recipes about which use quinoa as an ingredient in a sweet dish, so I thought I would give it a go myself! My idea was to make little snack bars, but I think actually they taste better served with yoghurt, so these are perfect for a breakfast treat! Full of goodness and no naughty ingredients at all!

Ingredients;
1/2 cup uncooked quinoa
1 cup oats
2 mashed bananas
1/4 cup coconut oil
1 cup raspberries
sesame seeds
Ground flax seed
Agave nectar to taste

Rinse and cook your quinoa, then put to one side. Mash the bananas and mix with the coconut oil, oats, sesame seeds, ground flax seed and quinoa. Add agave nectar to taste. Add the raspberries last and mix in carefully. Put the mixture in a flat baking tray. It would probably be a good idea to line the baking tray with baking paper, but I didn't think of this at the time! I cooked this in the aga for about 30 minutes, but just keep checking on it until it is brown on top, but not burnt!

3. Quinoa Salad

I like to make all sorts of quinoa salads, it really just depends what is in my cupboards! My favourite is probably salmon with peas, sweetcorn and avocado. This one is really tasty too!

Ingredients;
Quinoa
Broccoli
Onion (Diced)
Chorizo Sausage
Butter

Rinse and boil up your quinoa. Meanwhile fry up some diced onions, small chunks of chorizo sausage, and broccoli with a little butter. Rinse your quinoa then chuck it in the pan with everything else for a minute or two. Finished!

Are you a fan of quinoa? 

Laura xXx

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Healthy Pina Colada Ice lollies

I've got a bit of an obsession with pineapple and coconut at the moment, and I have been making delicious ice lollies with the simplest recipe.

Ingredients;

1 tin sliced pineapple in juice - 425g

1 sachet of coconut milk - 200ml

Simply pop it all in a blender then pour into icelolly moulds. I have been drinking any leftovers as a yummy pina colada flavoured smoothie just by adding a little water. Simple huh!? And healthy too!

I also tried a little experiment. I wanted to see which was better, tinned pineapple and packet coconut milk, or fresh pineapple and coconut. The fresh version turned out to be a bit of a disaster. Looks harmless enough right...

Well, it was pretty inedible. For starters it was nearly impossible to get the coconut open. Once I did, I realised there wasn't a lot of water in the coconut, so I decided I would try to blend in some of the coconut flesh. Big mistake! Perhaps if you had a super duper blender this would work better, but I was left with lots of little chunks of coconut, which was not a nice texture. Especially in the drink version, not good!

Packet coconut wins hands down, although I am tempted to try packet coconut with fresh pineapple, that could be a winning combination!

Have you got your ice lolly recipes out yet?

Laura xXx

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Grape Expectations - Grape Covered Chocolate Truffles

These might look like chocolate eggs, but in actual fact they are chocolate covered grapes! You know me, I like a healthy snack, and although the coatings of these might not be all that great for you, the centre certainly is!

I had a bit of a brainwave when I heard about people freezing grapes and eating them as icy snacks. I tried them and they were great! So I thought I would try to devise a recipe that turned them into mini chocolate ice lollys (without the stick). I had grape expectations for this experiment (grape, hah, see what I did there!?)

In actual fact I think these were much nicer when they had just been refrigerated rather than frozen. To get the best flavour you have to chew them quite quickly, rather than suck them. As you can imagine this is pretty difficult when they are frozen!

I started off the experiment by sending Chris to the shops to get me a bunch of grapes, and a packet of dark chocolate. Whilst that was being taken care of, I raided the cupboards to see what I had that would work as a coating.

I re-emerged with the following ingredients

• Hundreds and Thousands
• Sesame Seeds (my healthy option)
• Cocoa Powder
• Vanilla Sugar
• Cinnamon

The hundreds and thousands and the sesame seeds were ready to roll, but I mixed the cocoa powder, cinnamon and vanilla sugar together. I'm not quite sure how much I used of each, it was mostly cocoa powder, a bit less sugar, and then a fair sprinkling of cinnamon. 

Then I found some little dishes to put each topping in. A small deep bowl is preferable to a large shallow one. I also got out a large piece of baking foil to lay my finished grapes on.

Next I got on with melting my chocolate. The usual way of boiling a pan of water and sitting a pyrex dish on top, I popped in my broken chocolate and stirred until completely melted.

Now for the fun bit! I took my washed grapes, one by one, dipped them completely in the melted chocolate, then put them straight into my coating dish. I used a spoon to pour the coating onto the top. Then I rolled it around a bit until I was sure it was covered. You want the toppings to completely cover the chocolate, otherwise the melted chocolate will just stick to the bottom of the dish and make a mess. The cocoa powder one was easiest, I just had to shake the dish and the grape would roll around on its own.

I found it best to leave them in the dish to set for a moment, so I had a little production line going on where I would do one in each coat then remove it when I got back to the first one again. At this point I carefully removed the coated grape from the dish and placed it on my tin foil, and popped them in the fridge to cool for a little while.

I have to admit, these were a bit strange to get used to, but after I'd had a few ... yum! Chris and I devoured all of these during one episode of Game Of Thrones.

My favourites were the hundreds and thousands, weirdly they tasted a lot like a toffee apple! I loved the cinnamon kick in the cocoa ones, but you definitely had to chew them, if you sucked it you would just end up with a mouth full of powder. And the sesame seed ones are great too, they will be a perfect healthy treat. They say dark chocolate is good for you right!?

Ok, they were a little bit fiddley to make, but well worth it!

I think these would be really fun at a party. I would like to see peoples expressions as they eat them and  don't get what they are expecting! A good way to trick children into eating fruit also, no?  Although I never understand children who don't like fruit, particularly grapes, I loved them as a child!

I'm trying to think of some more topping ideas now. Can you think of any that would be good?

Laura xXx

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Healthy Banana Pancakes

Over the last few days Chris and I have been hearing a lot about banana pancakes. That is, pancakes with banana actually in the batter rather than banana with the pancakes.  So we decided to try our own version! The great thing about these pancakes is, they have no flour in them! So Chris can eat them too (he is wheat intolerant) and it is healthier all around! The even better thing about these pancakes is, they taste great!

Ingredients

• 3 small bananas
• 4 eggs
• Ground Flaxseed (optional)
• Maple Syrup

These couldn't be easier to make. Just mash up your bananas, then in a separate bowl whisk your eggs. Mix them both together and then add any other ingredients you fancy. We decided to put some ground flaxseed in but you might like to try cinnamon, raisins or perhaps some other fruit.

When you are making the batter it feels like you are just making scrambled eggs with banana's in. But once it is cooking they look just like normal pancakes. They really are yummy and I think we will be making these pretty often now!

Laura xXx

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