Dinner, Soup

The wonderful world of winter

Loads of the time I find myself dreaming of the sunshine. Because who doesn’t? I was sitting on the bus going to work a couple of days ago, I had been to 6am bootcamp that morning already – I know, some would say MAD, I prefer to say awesome, or adventurous or that it is part of my social calendar (kind of is), but during one particular exercise involving us lying on the ground doing ab exercises, my lovely friend and most excellent workout partner commented that we could still see the stars. We were effectively working out in the middle of the night … well it felt like that at approximately 6:20am in the middle of winter and it was surprisingly refreshing. Then an hour later (impressed at my quick turn morning around? I am) I was on the bus to work and happened to look up from exploring other people’s fabulous lives through the eyes of instagram (I do love instagram) to see the most amazing yellow glow of the sun coming up over the city splashing across the early morning blue sky and it reminded me of how much I like cold, crisp mornings that involve jackets, gloves and beanies, and how I should look less at my phone and more at the world – mental note to self.

Anyway! Less ramble more foodie such things that winter encourages – Soup! Glorious soup!

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Baking, Chocolate, Treats

J’aime le chocolat

I like love chocolate. It is one of the world’s greatest pleasures. A few years ago I lived in Paris and I distinctly remember eating some of the most incredible chocolate from chocolatiers and deciding that I would never again eat processed, commercial chocolate, I would only treat myself to the ‘real’ stuff, that love and time had gone into. Well that resolution lasted all of a few months I think but over the past year I have made a conscious effort to buy less highly processed chocolate, and make more of my own. I know, make your own!! That’s what I thought, and no it’s not by melting chocolate buttons and remoulding them. I’m no saint, every now and then I fall into a packet of m&ms or a bar of Whittakers (yum) – who doesn’t?!– but on the whole, I try to make my own raw chocolate. It’s delicious, ‘real’ and lacks the processed, sugarfied nature of a lot of store bought stuff.

The recipe below is an adaptation from one off the Whole Pantry app – which actually no longer exists. You can make raw chocolate out of cacao butter as well, but I use coconut oil as I think it’s just as good and is a wee bit cheaper.

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Beverages & milks

Green juice, dream juice

If someone had of told me 10 years ago that I would enjoy drinking blended salad in a glass, I would have screwed my face up and disagreed. The phenomenon of green juice that has hit the world with its health and hydration benefits is something to be in awe of.

My version of juice actually is more that of ‘everything blended’ as opposed to juicing and discarding pulp etc. This is partly due to not having a juicer but also I figure I’m able to reap the benefits of the entire fruit/vegetable by just blitzing the whole thing into smithereens.  Continue reading “Green juice, dream juice”

Beverages & milks

Nut milk glory

A base for a bunch of recipes involves nut milk – for me, the process of making nut milk has become one of my favourite things and I never thought I would ever say that I ‘make’ milk from nuts – what the?!

An important process of making nut milk – which I actually avoided for a long time out of sheer laziness – is the activation process. It is key. Without realising nuts used to give my digestive system a bit of a run for its money and since paying attention to people in the health-know out there and activating the nuts I use before turning them into milk – or using them for anything now – I have noticed a HUGE difference in my digestion. I probably look like a mad woman taking a pot of soaked and therefore slightly soggy cashews and almonds to work – fair call – but so worth it.

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Breakfast

And the green blog begins …

I think it’s apt to start this blog journey with my favourite breakfast recipe at the moment. Breakfast is my all-time favourite meal of the day, I think it always has been. Back in the day when I ate gluten and processed this-and-that I would have gladly eaten breakfast three times a day, in fact, during an extremely money-strapped phase living in Paris there was a time when I did eat breakfast three times a day. Oats, in various forms. I can’t say I had a balanced diet but it was pretty yum. My love of oats continues and reminds me daily of my Grandad who has eaten porridge religiously throughout his entire life; food for the heart and soul.

So my latest and greatest breakfast concoction is simple and one that I have become obsessed with as of late – Chia pudding. Yes, pudding for breakfast, need I say more?

This is my fav concoction but you can throw in anything you fancy really, nuts, seeds, oats, fruit etc, make it suit your taste buds.

Chia pudding

1/2c coconut milk – bought is fine, but if you make your own it will be deliciously naturally sweet and the real deal. You can use whatever type of milk you like – I tend to sway towards almond or coconut milk but if you can handle diary (lucky you) then go for it!

1½ – 2 tablespoons of chia seeds

1 tablespoon of cacao nibs (approximately)

½ teaspoon of coconut sugar (if you feel the need)

Throw it all together and give it a mix then pop it into the fridge for it to do it’s ‘thang’ overnight. Top with blueberries (if your penny savvy like myself I buy frozen berries and leave some out overnight to defrost), pumpkin seeds and a dollop of almond butter.

Packed with great fats and protein, it’s a bit of a treat to start the day, and we all need that.

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