Month: May 2016

Avo lime bircher

Having tried the Honestly Healthy avocado bircher a few weeks ago I’ve been trying other combinations.  Avocado and lime is a natural pairing and having the sharpness of lime with the avocado and coconut gives a great sharp sparkle to breakfast.  The mix of chia seeds, quinoa flakes and oats provides a slightly less carb heavy bircher mix.

This is a touch of Mexican summer nights on a breakfast plate.

Avo lime bircher (serves one)

Avo and lime bircher

  • 1 tbs chia seeds
  • 1 tbs quinoa flakes
  • 2 tbs oats
  • 200ml coconut milk
  • 1 baby avocado (or half a large one)
  • Juice of 1/2 lime
  • Zest of 1 lime

Mix everything together and leave to soak overnight.  Sprinkle some desiccated coconut or coconut flakes on top before eating and a few extra slithers of lime zest.

 

Ricotta Berry Toast

A very simple breakfast today and surprisingly filling. Just some toast, warm berries and ricotta.  You could use any berries but I think the way blueberries and raspberries go squishy brings a lovely almost jam like texture – without the sugar.

Ricotta Berry Toast (serves one)

Ricotta toast

  • 1 teaspoon coconut oil
  • 150g mixed berries
  • 1 teaspoon of desiccated coconut
  • 1 teaspoon of flaked almonds (toasted ones are great)
  • A good dollop of ricotta (at least a tablespoon)
  • Maple syrup to drizzle over at the end
  • Toast of choice (I only needed one slice – a big one!)

Heat the coconut oil in a small pan, add the berries and gently fry for a couple of minutes.  Then add the desiccated coconut and almonds and continue cooking until the berries go squishy – (shaking the pan frequently to stop them burning at all).

Spread the toast with a generous amount of ricotta ( I used at least a tablespoon for one piece). Then pour over the berry mix. Drizzle with maple syrup and serve.

Tofu Rhubarb Stack with Ginger Syrup

Tofu ginger 2I’ve started using silken tofu in various puddings – it’s great for a vegan cheesecake – and so wanted to try and incorporate some breakfast recipes with it.  It’s rhubarb season in our household with my allotment rhubarb in full harvest and I thought that rhubarb would combine really nicely with the tofu – with a few added extras to add sweetness and flavour.

The texture of silken tofu is quite runny and for this dish I wanted a more solid texture to go with the stewed rhubarb otherwise it would all be a bit too sloppy.  The addition of the roasted oats soaks up some of this moisture and makes the resulting tofu texture more like a thick bircher.

The ginger syrup brings it all together – don’t miss it out!  It’s quite strong, so you don’t need a lot of it, but it adds a fabulous sweet spice to the dish.

There is a bit of pre prep – but once that’s done the night before, it’s ready waiting for you to just add it all together in the morning.

Tofu Rhubarb Stack with Ginger Syrup – the layers

(the tofu and syrup is enough for two portions)

The Tofu layer

  • 300g packet of silken tofu (I used Clearspring)
  • 50g Oats
  • 2 teaspoons of coconut oil

Melt the coconut oil, add the oats and roast in the oven for around 10 minutes – shaking half way through.  Leave to cool.  You can also toast the oats on the hob in a frying pan – just keep shaking it to stop the oats burning.

Mix the tofu in a food processor to get it nice and creamy – it only takes a few seconds. Put the tofu into a bowl and mix through the roasted oats.  Put in the fridge overnight to allow the oats to soak up some of the tofu moisture.

The Ginger Syrup

  • 50g fresh ginger – roughly chopped into cubes (keep the skin on)
  • 20g brown sugar (I used coconut palm sugar but any will do)
  • 100ml water

Put everything into a small pan and bring to the boil – then simmer for around 10 minutes until the liquid has reduced and it looks more syrup than water.  Pour it through a sieve – this is your syrup. You can make this a day or two ahead as it keeps in the fridge for a few days.

Keep the strained ginger for use in iced teas – I popped mine in the freezer.

Rhubarb

I tend to stew a load of rhubarb at once and always have some ready in the fridge.  For one portion I would estimate around 200g rhubarb would be about right.

I do mine on the hob, chop the rhubarb into chunks, add a splash of water and some brown sugar and then simmer for around 10 mins – keep an eye on it and add a dash more water if it looks like sticking.  You don’t need much water.  Leave to cool or have it hot if you prefer – I prefer mine cold with this dish, I think it works better.

I try not to add too much sugar so as a guide I use roughly 1 teaspoon of sugar per 100g of rhubarb but I know many people who prefer a bit more sugar.

The Breakfast!

Tofu gingerIn the morning – just assemble your layers and drizzle the syrup over the top.

I added some extra blueberries to serve.

 

 

 

 

 

Buck hazelnut bowl

My usual milks are almond or coconut but I fancied trying some different nut milks so have been using hazelnut milk.  The idea for this bowl came from eating a Cadbury’s fruit and nut bar – that lovely mix of raisons, hazelnuts and chocolate. The banana adds more creaminess and the dates give a tiny hint of caramel.

You could really be decadent and replace the cacao nibs with some milk chocolate chips or small buttons – but for now I’m sticking to the slightly healthier option.

The texture is like a thick smoothie with added crunchy bits – best eaten with a small spoon to savour each mouthful!

Buck hazelnut bowl (serves one)

Buck fruit and nut

  • 50g buckwheat – soaked in water overnight and then rinsed
  • 100ml hazelnut milk
  • 1 banana
  • 3 dates (I used Deglet nour which are a little smaller than medjool – so if you use medjool you probably only need 1 or 2)
  • Cacao nibs
  • Raisons
  • Hazelnuts

Blend the buckwheat, banana, dates and hazelnut milk.  Put the mixture into a bowl or glass and stir through some cacao nibs, raisons and whole hazelnuts. Then put a few more on the top to decorate.  I used a very generous sprinkle of cacao nibs, around 25g raisons and about 10 hazelnuts.

Coco Beet Smoothie

I love the deep purple beetroot colour of this smoothie, it’s a great hydrating healthy smoothie with a bit of zing. I drank this after a short morning run and felt quite virtuous until at least lunchtime.

I used frozen pear which helps to cool the drink as well – I think beetroot smoothies taste better when very cold.  If you use fresh then add a couple of ice cubes to chill it down.

Coco Beet Smoothie (serves one)

Beet smoothie 2

  • 250ml Coconut water
  • Raw fresh beetroot – peeled. Approx. 80g
  • Handful of spinach
  • 1 pear (frozen slices or fresh)
  • Fresh ginger – about 1cm square

Blend it all together.

Avocado Bircher

I came across this recipe from Honestly Healthy and had never thought about adding avocado to oats.  I made this last night and really enjoyed it this morning. The avocado adds a lovely smooth texture to the oats.  The original recipe uses pomegranate seeds at the end before serving – I didn’t have any so substituted some dried cranberries and goji seeds instead.  Definitely a great way to have avocado for breakfast.

See the original recipe here

Avocado bircherAvocado Bircher (serves two generous portions)

  • 150g oats
  • 1 avocado
  • juice of half a lemon
  • 350ml almond milk (or other milk)
  • 1 apple grated
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1 tablespoon sesame seeds

Topping

  • Any seeds or fruit – pomegranate, dried cranberries, goji berries – something with a slightly sharp taste is a nice complement to the dish

Method

  • Chop the avocado into smallish chunks – squeeze the lemon juice over the top.
  • Put the oats in a bowl and add the milk, cinnamon, sesame seeds, apple and avocado.
  • Mix and leave to soak overnight.
  • Top with your choice of seeds and fruit.

 

Beetroot & red berry granola

Further adventures with beetroot and a lazy bank holiday morning produced this wonderfully colourful granola. It has lovely hints of cardamom and ginger and with no added sugar I can pretend it’s super healthy.  It’s certainly lovely with coconut yoghurt. As usual I’ve been snacking on this all day. Granola is not just for brekkie.Beet granola jar

Beetroot & red berry granola

Makes a medium kilner jar’s worth.

  • 200g rolled oats
  • 50g Pumpkin seeds
  • 50g linseeds
  • 2 teaspoons ground cardamom
  • 1 large raw beetroot – peeled – around 160g – chopped into chunks
  • 1cm cube of fresh ginger
  • 50g coconut oil (before melting – so it’s still solid when you weigh it)
  • 2 tablespoons walnut oil (or other oil of choice)
  • 1 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 50g dried cranberries
  • 50g goji berries

First make the beetroot coating.  Melt the coconut oil gently in a pan – I find it confusing when a recipe states coconut oil as I never know if that means melted or solid – so I’ve started weighing my solid coconut oil to be clear.

Then put the beetroot, fresh ginger, melted coconut oil and walnut oil in a blender. The texture will look like a very thick smoothie – see the photo below – pre mixing in.

In a large bowl mix together the oats, pumpkin seeds, linseeds and cardamom.Beet granola mix Add the beetroot mix and mix in well – making sure everything is well coated.

Rub some butter on a baking sheet and spread the mix onto the sheet. Bake for 10minutes at 180c/350f/Gas 4

Take it out and shake it up – then add the cranberries, goji berries and ground ginger. Mix it all up again and put back in the oven for another 10 minutes.  Leave it to cool then tuck in.

Beet granola oven done