Category: Recipes

Recipes November 20, 2017January 15, 2018

Pumpkin Spice Latte

I love Autumn, there’s something about all the changes around this time of year that really warm my heart. The beautiful colours of orange and red leaves against the golden sunshine and clear blue skies (when it isn’t raining in the UK), the faint smell of burning wood in the air, putting on a warm cozy cardigan, the taste of a delicious syrupy-sweet Starbucks Pumpkin Latte with the kick of 15 teaspoons of sugar….

Ok, that last part isn’t true. Not the 15 teaspoons of sugar, but the part where I actually drink one. True they are delicious, but they hold zero nutrition once they contain that amount of sugar. And do they actually contain any pumpkin at all?!

So, I make my own very nutritious and very delicious Pumpkin Latte with real, organic pureed pumpkin and fresh, warming spices. Oh, and no sugar.

I puree pumpkin by cutting it into large pieces and steaming it because it’s quicker and it retains moisture. I then scrape the pumpkin out of the skin and puree it with a hand blender.

I have an espresso machine with a steamer which is perfect for this, but you don’t need one; heating the ingredients in a pan and adding coffee at the end works just as well. I use coconut milk as it adds healthy fat but I’ve found almond milk works just as well. Rude Health seems to have the most naturally sweet taste. If this needs extra sweetness, choose maple syrup or honey.

Makes one large serving.

1 heaped tablespoon pureed pumpkin

200ml milk

½ tsp vanilla extract

½ tsp Cinnamon

½ tsp Nutmeg

¼ tsp Allspice

Double shot espresso or strong coffee

Steam or heat the milk together with the pumpkin. Add coffee, vanilla and spices. Stir well and enjoy.

Baby Oat and Raisin Bars

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I call these Baby Oat and Raisin bars because they are an excellent and nutritious snack for baby, are great as finger food and are so easy to make, containing just five ingredients. But since my boy is so fussy at the moment, he wouldn’t even try them so my husband and I ended up scoffing the whole lot for breakfast. They are perfect with a cup of morning Joe and are a great on-the-go breakfast option.

I have made these with gluten free oats, buckwheat flakes and quinoa flakes, the latter of which really didn’t work, they fell apart easily and tasted a little odd. I find the oats very chewy so good for grown-ups, whereas the buckwheat is a little softer and less grainy so may be easier to chew for those without a full set of teeth. This recipe makes about 10 finger-sized bars.

200g Gluten Free Oats / Buckwheat Flakes

80g Raisins

100ml Organic Apple Juice

4 tbsp Coconut Oil (melted)

2 tbsp Honey *

1tsp Cinnamon (optional)

*For babies over one year old

Mix ingredients in a large bowl then transfer to an oiled baking tray and cook on 200 degrees C for 15 minutes, or until golden on top. Cool and slice into squares or bars for serving or storing.

Breakfast, Recipes June 29, 2016November 3, 2017

Easy Banana Bran Breakfast Muffins

These easy Banana Bran Muffins are a great on-the-go breakfast option, a sweet healthy snack when you really want to resist cake, or a great way to get your kids to eat more fruit while tempting them with something “cake-like.” Even better, get your kids to help you make them.

I made these because I’d been craving a hearty bran muffin for weeks but no matter where I looked, I couldn’t find any that weren’t full of processed sugar. Sainsbury’s Blueberry Muffins really don’t compete with the goodness you can get from these. When in doubt, always make your own. And I follow that rule from food and drinks to cosmetics. Plus it’s much more fun!

These muffins take less than 30 minutes to make and are filled with antioxidant goodness from the dried dates or raisins, omega 3’s in the walnuts & pumpkin seeds, prebiotic goodness from the fresh bananas, fibre from the oat bran, protein and choline from the eggs and wonderful fatty acids from the coconut oil.

I make these dairy-free and with gluten-free flour. Because I add oat bran they’re technically not gluten-free, unless you can find a gluten-free oat bran, but they’re so adaptable you can amend the ingredients to suit your needs.

You can use any dried fruit or nuts you like but remember the fruit needs to be natural, dried, organic if possible and unsweetened, to maximise the antioxidants and limit unnecessary processed sugar. The fruit and banana make them sweet enough, trust me.

Ingredients – Makes about 12 muffins

200g gluten free flour

100g oat bran

5og chopped walnuts

80g chopped dried dates or raisins

40g pumpkin seeds or sunflower seeds

2 tsp baking powder

2 mashed bananas

3 eggs

80ml coconut oil

160ml coconut milk

Method

Mix dry ingredients, nuts and fruit.

Whisk eggs and slowly add oil while continuing to stir. (May need to melt coconut oil until it turns to liquid, but not warm).

Mix eggs & oil with dry ingredients, then add banana. Leave the coconut milk until last so you can control that it doesn’t get too sloppy. Mixture needs to be sticky and moist, but not wet and sloppy.

Bake at 17oC for 20 mins or until a knife inserted comes out clean.

Enjoy warm with a little butter or almond butter and a hot cup of energising green tea, or crumbled on top of yoghurt.