Cranberry, Orange and Almond Energy Balls

I have been planning these energy balls for a while, I love cranberry and orange as a flavour combination, and these do not disappoint. The oats add some bite, and the almond flavour is subtle but comes together perfectly with the fruit. Cranberries contain antioxidants and are good for urinary health, the orange provides vitamins and the almonds are full of minerals. I love these pre or post exercise, to help with energy or recovery, but they also make a nice snack or as a little dessert if you fancy something sweet after a meal.

Ingredients

(Makes about 10)

80g dried cranberries

80g oats

40g golden raisins

1tbsp almond butter

40g ground almonds

1 orange

Method

1. Put the oats in a food processor and blitz. You want the oats to retain some of their shape to add bite to the balls, so don't over blitz here, the aim is just to break them up a little

2. Take the rind of the orange and add to the food processor, along with the cranberries, raisins, almond butter and 20g ground almonds. 

3. Juice the orange and add 1tbsp of the juice to the mixture, and blend it all together until it combines into a thick dough consistency

4. Divide the mixture into 10-12 pieces and roll into balls. Roll the balls in the remainder of the ground almonds to give them a coating of the almonds, and place on a plate

5. Refrigerate for 2 hours, then store in a container in the fridge for up to about 5 days for a quick and easy snack!

Gluten Free Alternative Replace oats with gluten free oars

Apple and Cinnamon Oat Cookies

Oats are my absolute favourite, I love the texture, taste and their nutritional profile is great. The apple and agave nectar in these cookies add the sweetness so no need for refined sugar, and the coconut oil is a healthier replacement for the butter or margarine in traditional cookies. Apple and cinnamon are a match made in heaven, the combination is so delicious! These are perfect for lunch boxes and go down a treat with a cup of tea mid afternoon, or could even be an on-the-go breakfast.

Ingredients

(Makes 10-12)

100g oats

90g rice flour

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

2 tbsp melted coconut oil

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 cup agave nectar

2 apples, finely diced

Method

1. In one bowl, whisk together the egg, coconut oil, vanilla and agave nectar

2. Stir in the oats, rice flour, cinnamon, baking powder and apple

3. Cover the bowl, and refrigerate for 30 minutes

4. Preheat the oven to 170 degrees, and line a baking tray with baking paper

5. Shape the mixture into cookies and place on baking tray, you should get about 10-12 out of this mixture. Place the tray in the oven and bake for 13-15 minutes

6. Remove the tray from the oven and transfer the cookies onto a cooling rack. When cool store in an airtight container and eat within 5 days, if they last that long!

Gluten Free Alternative Replace oats with gluten free oats

Chocolate Energy Balls

Having such an active job I end up having lots of my meals/snacks on-the-go, and although store bought options like Nakd bars really don't have anything nasty in, I like to make my own alternatives when I have time. These energy balls pack a hit of fibre and carbohydrates, and also satisfy any sweet or chocolatey cravings, so make a perfect pre/post workout or a late evening sweet snack. The wheat biscuits are the unusual ingredient here, but they add fibre, slow release carbohydrates and a bit of crunch, so go with it!

Ingredients

(Makes 15)

125g dates soaked for 30 mins in 50ml of hot water
50g raisins
50g peanut butter
2 wheat biscuits (Weetabix)
1 tbsp raw cacao powder (and a little extra for rolling)

Method

1. Drain the dates and add to the food processor with the raisins and peanut butter. Blitz until combined
2. Add in the wheat biscuits and raw cacao, and blitz until all the ingredients are combined and you have a thick dough consistency
3. Pour a little cacao into a small bowl for rolling. Taking pieces of the mixture, roll into balls and roll in the cacao powder to give a chocolatey coating, then place on a plate. The mixture should make about 15 balls
4. When all the balls are prepared on the plate, place the plate in the fridge and refrigerate for 1 hour. After an hour they will be ready to eat, but store them in the fridge until you need your energy boost!

Gluten Free Alternative Replace wheat biscuits with 50g gluten free cereal

High Fibre Blueberry Breakfast Muffins

I made this recipe as I was looking for some new breakfast ideas and for some homemade refined sugar free alternatives to store bought cereal and protein bars. I wanted a high fibre content with slow release carbohydrates so they would be sustaining and energising, and most importantly I wanted them to be refined sugar free. These use buckwheat flour and oats rather than refined white flour, and a combination of banana and maple syrup to sweeten them. They work out at around 130 calories per muffin, and they taste so amazing, they really are a great swap for sugary coffee shop muffin or supermarket cereal bar.

Ingredients

(Makes 12)

100g oats

50g buckwheat flour

2 bananas (the riper the better)

3 eggs

1tsp cinnamon

1tsp baking powder

1tbsp maple syrup

15g chia seeds

15g pumpkin seeds

15g sunflower seeds

120g blueberries (I used frozen blueberries)

For the topping:

1tbsp coconut oil

1tsp maple syrup

1tbsp oats

2tsp sunflower seeds

2tsp pumpkin seeds

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees and line a muffin tray with 12 muffin cases. In a food processor, combine the oats, buckwheat flour, baking powder and cinnamon, and blitz until the ingredients are combined and the oats are finely milled

2. Place the flour mixture in a bowl with the rest of the dry ingredients and put to one side. In the food processor combine the banana, eggs and maple syrup, and blitz until the ingredients are fully mixed

3. Stir the egg mixture into the bowl of dry ingredients

4. Gently fold in the blueberries, be careful not to over stir here as you want the blueberries to keep their form!

5. In a separate bowl you can prepare the topping- gently heat the coconut oil and maple syrup until the oil is liquid, and stir in the oats and seeds so they all have a coating of the syrup/oil mixture

6. Spoon the muffin mixture into the cake cases, evenly among the 12 cases. Add a teaspoon of the topping onto each muffin, and place the cakes into the oven

7. Bake for 20 minutes (give or take a couple of minutes depending on the oven- you can check if they are done by sticking a fork into the muffin, if it comes out clean they are done!) and remove from the oven. Place on a cooling rack and when cool store in an airtight container. Enjoy in the morning for a sustaining on-the-go breakfast or throughout the day for a fibre rich boost of energy!

Gluten Free Alternative Replace buckwheat flour with brown rice flour and oats with gluten free oats

Healthy Chocolate Orange Flapjacks

I love making flapjacks, there are so many healthier alternatives for making them. This isn't my healthiest recipe, but these taste incredible and they have a lot of goodness in them too! They are higher in sugar and fat then I would normally use, which makes them great for an occasional treat, and you can feel good knowing you're still getting fibre, healthy fats and vitamins and minerals from these too

Ingredients

(Makes 10)

100g coconut oil
90g black treacle
15g muscovado sugar
25g agave nectar
240g oats
50g chopped pecans
20g cocoa nibs
grated rind of one orange
optional desiccated coconut to decorate!

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees
2. Gently heat the coconut oil, treacle, sugar and agave nectar in a pan over a low heat
3. When the ingredients have melted and combined, mix the remaining ingredients into the pan and give it a good stir
4. Spread the mixture into a baking tray (I used 8 inch by 8 inch but it depends how deep you want your flapjacks), sprinkle with desiccated coconut if you want to, and bake for 18-20 minutes
5. Remove from the oven and leave on a cooling rack
6. When cool, using a sharp knife cut the mixture into bitesize pieces. I made these into 10 flapjacks, which works out at around 250 kcals a flapjack, but feel free to adjust how many you want!

Gluten Free Alternative Replace oats with gluten free oats

Avocado Chocolate Cookies

These little cookies are perfect, the avocado gives the cookie texture and the oats add a bit of bite, and the raw cacao gives them that chocolatey flavour  without all the added fat and sugar in chocolate. Avocado is a great source of healthy fats which aids in heart health, and the oats contain fibre and slow release carbohydrates, providing energy so the body is less likely to experience cravings for sugary and fatty foods. Raw cacao is rich in antioxidants, and contains heart healthy fat oleic acid, as well as essential minerals and vitamins. They aren't the perfect replacement for real chocolate cookies, but you can have them a lot more often, they are doing a load of good for your heart, and they are still delicious!

Ingredients

1 ripe avocado
1 egg
40g raw cacao powder
50g oats
2 tbsp xylitol (or a little more if you prefer it sweeter)

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees and line a baking tray with baking paper
2. Blitz the oats in a blender/food processor for about 30 seconds, so that they are finely blended with a flour like consistency
3. Add the cacao, the avocado and the xylitol to the blender and blend again to combine the ingredients. Have a taste and add extra xylitol if you want it a little sweeter!
3. Add the egg to the mix, and blend again to make your cookie dough
4. Dot the mixture out on the baking tray in small balls, it should be enough mixture for about eight cookies
5. Bake for 8-12 minutes until they are firm, then take out the oven and leave on a cooling rack, or enjoy hot straight from the oven!

Gluten Free Alternative Replace oats with gluten free oats