Onion Soup

This soup is a vegan take on a traditional French onion soup. The secret ingredient here is the Marmite, which not only adds flavour, but also B12 vitamins which can be difficult for vegetarians and vegans to get. It isn't over powering though, so don't let it put you off! It takes a while to prepare, but is definitely worth the wait- serve with some French bread and you've got a perfect balanced lunch!

Ingredients

(Serves 4-6)

5 white onions, peeled, halved and thinly sliced

1 tbsp olive oil

1 tsp Marmite (to taste depending how strong you like it!)

1 litre of vegetable stock

freshly ground black pepper to taste 

chopped parsley to garnish

Method

1. Gently fry the onions in the olive oil over a low heat, for 20-30 minutes until soft and slightly caramelized

2. Add vegetable stock and Marmite, stir together and simmer gently for a further 20 minutes

3. Serve with black pepper, parsley and optional grated cheese!

Apple, Cinnamon and Raisin Porridge

This definitely doesn't count as a recipe but it is so good it had to be shared. It has one apple, a handful of raisins, a teaspoon of cinnamon and a teaspoon of almond butter, along with oats and almond milk. I cooked the oats with half the apple and half the raisins and the cinnamon for about four minutes, cooked the other half of the apple separately for about three minutes so it softened, then topped the oats with the apple and rest of the raisins, a teaspoon of almond butter and a sprinkle of cinnamon. It's the perfect start to the day, full of nutrients to keep you full and energised all morning!

Gluten Free Alternative Replace oats with gluten free oats

Quinoa Burrito Bowl

This dish is super easy, delicious and nutritious. It is inspired by a Mexican style burrito but much healthier, using only whole plant based foods. I use quinoa as an alternative to rice or cous cous as it is higher in protein, and also has a bit more bite to it, but feel free to substitute the quinoa with a different grain. This dish is completely store cupboard (minus the avocado!) as you could use frozen peppers and dried chili rather than the fresh ingredients, which makes this perfect when you're running low on fresh food. The 'guacamole' is just a mashed avocado, so you're getting all the healthy fats and no additives as you would with a store bought version. It is also completely vegan, but for a vegetarian version you could top with a little cheese, and meat eaters could add some chicken to the sauce mixture, though with the kidney beans you really don't need it.

Ingredients

(Serves 2)

2 red onions
2 peppers
1 tin chopped tomatoes
1 tin kidney beans
1 fresh red chili
1 tsp Fajita seasoning
150g quinoa
1 avocado
bunch of chives for topping

Method

1. Slice the onions and the peppers into strips, and chop the chili, and fry in a pan with a little olive oil until they start to soften
2. Add the chopped tomatoes and kidney beans to the pan and simmer over a low heat for 10-15 minutes
3. Whilst the sauce is cooking, add the quinoa to a separate pan with water and simmer for about 15 minutes
4. With the sauce and quinoa cooking, prepare the avocado but mashing it in a bowl with a dash of olive oil
5. Drain the quinoa and take the sauce of the heat, and serve. Top each serving with the avocado and some chopped chives for a little extra flavour, and tuck in!

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

Smashed Avocado Mint Toast

This is so simple I don't think it really counts as a recipe, but it is delicious and nutritious so it has a place on my blog. Avocado toast is one of my go-to meals, and the toasted mozzarella makes this feel like winter comfort food, whilst still being light and healthy. The avocado mixture is prepared using olive oil, chopped cherry tomatoes, a spritz of lemon juice and chopped mint with the avocado. The mixture is then spread on the toast, topped with a little mozzarella, and grilled until the cheese melts.

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

Carrot, Orange and Ginger Soup

This soup is full of nutrients, perfect for boosting your immune system mid winter. The orange and ginger flavour really comes through, so it adds a little extra to a carrot soup, as well as adding extra vitamins, anti inflammatory properties and aiding digestion.

Ingredients

(Makes 4 servings)

3 carrots, diced

1/2 litre of vegetable stock (I use 2 tsp of Bouillon in 500ml of water)

1 onion, finely chopped

1-2 tsp grated fresh ginger root

juice of 1 orange

Method

1. Bring the vegetable stock to the boil in a large saucepan, and add the carrots and onion. Simmer for 20 minutes until soft

2. Blitz the ingredients in a food processor or using a stick blender, depending how smooth you like your soup. This wasn't blitzed for long, so it retained some texture.

3. Stir in the ginger and orange juice, and simmer for a further 5 minutes. Season to taste and serve!

Maple and Pecan Granola

This recipe is adapted from Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's granola recipe, which me and my mum made for some homemade Christmas presents. It is full of goodness, with fibre, slow release carbohydrates, healthy fats, protein and immune system boosting properties. Homemade granola is so much better compared to store bought options, and it's perfect served with yogurt, fruit or cold milk for breakfast.

Ingredients 

350g oats (I used a mixture of jumbo oats and normal oats)

150g broken pecans

75g pumpkin seeds

75g sunflower seeds

50g linseeds

50ml coconut oil

50ml water

2 tsp vanilla extract 

150ml maple syrup

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 150 degrees. Gently heat the coconut oil until it is liquid, and combine with the water, vanilla and maple syrup

2. In a separate bowl combine the dry ingredients

3. Pour the maple syrup mixture over the dry ingredients and mix thoroughly, so that all of the dry ingredients are coated

4. Line two baking trays with baking paper and spread out the mixture over the trays. Place the trays in the hot oven and bake for 50 minutes, turning the mixture every 10-15 minutes

5. Remove from the oven and let the mixture cool completely, then store in an airtight container or decant into jars for delicious homemade gifts!

Gluten Free Alternative Replace oats wit gluten free oats

Cleansing and Healing Green Soup

This soup is inspired by a Persian recipe, from a friend of a friend who is Iranian. The recipe is a variation of a soup from Persia, made by the pilgrims when they were sick to help them heal. The quantity of the herbs makes this soup very fragrant, with the lentils offering a boost of protein and the spinach adding iron. It might not actually cure your illness, but it is delicious and full of goodness to support your body.

Ingredients

(Makes 4 servings)

1 litre of veg stock (I used 4 tsp of Bouillon in 1 litre of water)

2 onions

1 tin of brown lentils

1 leek

1 bunch of coriander, roughly chopped

1 bunch of dill, roughly chopped

a packet of baby spinach

Method

1. Prepare 1 litre of veg stock following instructions on the packet, and bring to the boil in a large saucepan. Whilst the stock is boiling chop the onions and leek, and add to the boiling stock. Let it simmer for forty minutes

2. Drain the lentils and add to the pan, with the coriander, dill and baby spinach. Simmer for a further five minutes

3. Serve with a squeeze of lime and enjoy!

Berry, Greek Yogurt and Honey Smoothie

This isn't really a recipe, but it is such a good smoothie combination it had to be shared. I used a handful of frozen berries, 1/2 cup of Greek yogurt, a teaspoon of honey, topped it up with almond milk and just blended it up- delicious!

Dairy Free Alternative Replace yogurt with coconut yogurt for a similar creamy consistency

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

Roasted Red Pepper and Feta Pasta

This recipe was the result of craving pasta and having run out of chopped tomatoes, so I was looking for alternative to my go-to tomato pasta sauce. This is a completely clean from scratch recipe, no processed ingredients (minus the pasta!) and takes 15 minutes of prep time (45 minutes if you add in roasting time!), as you can prepare the sauce whilst the pasta is cooking. I use whole wheat pasta as I prefer the taste and it is higher in fibre, but you could substitute for white pasta. You could also substitute the feta for pine nuts for a vegan option or chicken for a meat eaters option!

Ingredients

(Serves 2)

150g whole wheat pasta (I used fusilli)
2 large red peppers
2 red onions
1 tbsp olive oil
1 clove of garlic (or 2 if you want it extra garlicy!)
a handful of basil
60g feta cheese (I use the lighter one) cubed
40g brocolli chopped into florets


Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees. While the oven is heating, roughly chop the peppers, garlic and onions and chuck into a baking dish. Add the olive oil and toss the vegetables in the oil, then roast in the oven for about 30 minutes, stirring the veg half way
2. After the veg has been in the oven for about 30 mins you can start cooking the pasta- follow instructions on the packet
3. While the pasta is cooking, take the veg out the oven and add the vegetables plus the olive oil and a few leaves of basil to food processor and blend until smooth
4. About 6 minutes before the pasta is done, add the brocolli florets into the pasta so it can finish cooking together
5. When the pasta is done, drain the pasta and brocolli and place it back into the pan. Add the sauce and the feta cubes and stir it all in
6. Serve with a few leaves of basil on top and enjoy!

Dairy Free Alternative Replace the feta cheese with pine nuts
Gluten Free Alternative Replace wholewheat pasta with gluten free pasta

Cherry and Acai Berry Recovery Smoothie

My post workout smoothie!

This is a blend of frozen cherries, 2 scoops of acai powder, a banana and a spoonful of Greek yogurt, topped up with almond milk.

The cherries contain antioxidants and anti inflammatory properties, and acai berries can boost energy levels, contain antioxidants and support the immune system. The Greek yogurt and almond milk contain protein, which makes this smoothie great for recovery after exercise.

Dairy Free Alternative Replace the Greek yogurt with coconut yogurt for the same creamy texture