Tag: Coconut

Coco beet overnight oats

As the weather turns autumnal this is the perfect earthy overnight oats breakfast.  Beetroot is in season and I am currently harvesting a big bunch each week on the allotment.  I’ve tried a few different breakfast dishes with beetroot and I love it.  This has become a favourite because it’s so quick and looks such a lovely shade of red!

I find it’s best if you process the beetroot in a food processor – peel and chop and then process until it looks like couscous (a few seconds).  You can also finely grate it for this dish if you don’t have a food processor.

Coco beet overnight oats (serves one)

Beet coco oats

  • 50g raw beetroot – either processed in a food processor or finely grated
  • 1 tablespoon desiccated coconut
  • 40g oats
  • 1/2 teaspoon cardamom
  • 20g sultanas
  • 1 tablespoon hemp seeds
  • 50g flaked coconut
  • 150ml coconut milk

Layer up the beetroot, coconut, oats, cardamom, sultanas and seeds.  Then add the coconut milk and leave overnight in the fridge.

You can play around with your seeds and dried fruit – personally I love the taste of sultanas with this dish, but dried cranberries, raisins or goji berries would work well.  The hemp seeds give a nice subtle crunch, or you can use pumpkin or sunflower seeds.  Pistachio nuts also go very well with beetroot.  Just layer up as you fancy.  The key ingredients are the beetroot and coconut – the mix of earthiness and sweetness is perfect.

 

 

Pineapple Tahini & Coconut Chia Delight

Tahini, coconut and pineapple are a perfect combo. I use tahini a lot for overnight breakfast oats and chia puddings – it really isn’t just for hummus! Frying and coating the pineapple with sesame seeds and coconut mixes all those lovely exotic flavours and it provides the accompanying chia pudding with a bit of texture.

This is a great breakfast for these mixed summer days, when you want something sunny but could do with a bit of warmth too, because let’s face it, August isn’t quite the sunshine month so far.

Pineapple tahini & coconut chia delight (serves one)

  • 100ml coconut milk
  • 1 tablespoon tahini
  • 1 tablespoon chia seeds
  • 120g pineapple – cut into chunks
  • 1 tablespoon sesame seeds
  • 1 tablespoon desiccated coconut
  • 1/2 teaspoon coconut oil

Blend the coconut milk with the tahini and stir through the chia seeds.  Leave for 1/2 hour or overnight.

Melt the coconut oil in a frying pan and fry the pineapple chunks for a couple of minutes.  Then add the sesame seeds and desiccated coconut and toss with the pineapple to coat the pieces.  Continue to fry for a couple more minutes.  Serve on top of the chia pudding.pineapple tahini chia

Ginger, Mango & Coconut Overnight Oats

Fresh, summery with a bit of zing – the perfect spring into summer overnight oats.  I love mixing mango with ginger and coconut – the GMC combo, one of the perfect combos for summer. Try and save some mango for the decoration – just because it makes the whole dish look pretty and vibrant.  A great breakfast to refuel after a morning run or walkies (my dog loves coconut flakes, so some of my extra flakes ‘accidently’ fall on the floor during preparation.)

GMC Overnight Oats

mango ginger coconut overnight oats

  • 150ml coconut milk
  • 40g porridge oats
  • 1/2 mango diced (plus a bit extra sliced to serve)
  • 1 tablespoon coconut flakes
  • 2 tablespoons desiccated coconut
  • A generous grating of ginger (a good 1cm piece or more if you’re a ginger fan)

Mix it all together and put in the fridge.  Lovely with some sliced mango and an extra sprinkle of coconut on top

Creamy coconut porridge

I will admit I’m usually very disappointed with hotel breakfasts so on a recent trip when I ordered porridge  I didn’t have high hopes. But what arrived was the most delicious creamiest porridge I’ve ever had.  I checked with the chef and the star (and only) ingredients were oats, cream and full fat milk.   For me that’s far to decadent to repeat too often so I’ve been playing around with a slightly healthier version using coconut cream and coconut milk. If you like coconut and you like porridge – you are going to love this.

Creamy Coconut Porridge (one portion)

creamy-coconut-porridge

  • 200ml coconut milk
  • 50ml coconut cream
  • 50g oats
  • 1 tablespoon desiccated coconut (plus extra to top)

Put the oats into a pan and add the coconut milk – bring to the boil, then turn down to a simmer and add the coconut cream.  Simmer for 3-4 minutes. Add a splash more milk if it starts to stick.  Just before serving mix in the desiccated coconut.  Serve with some more coconut sprinkled on top.

You really don’t need to add anything else – but if you must pistachios are a great match.

creamy-coconut-porridge-and-nuts

 

 

Beetroot and Coconut Bircher

The beetroot season is in full swing and with our summer continuing I still prefer my oats to be cold.  This is a lovely rich bircher in both taste and colour.  The recipe makes enough for around 3 portions.  Do play around with the additions of nuts and extras, but the beetroot, coconut water and maple syrup with the oats are the core essentials of this dish.

beet-and-coconut-bircher

Beetroot & Coconut Bircher

  • 2ooml coconut water
  • 100g raw beetroot (about one medium beetroot)
  • 100g oats
  • 2 tablespoons maple syrup
  • 2 tablespoons shredded coconut
  • 50g Hazelnuts – slightly bashed
  • 50g sultanas
  • 2 tablespoons cacao nibs

Blend the beetroot and coconut water in a blender and put the mixture into a bowl.  Add the oats and maple syrup and mix in.  Add the other ingredients and leave in the fridge overnight.

 

Coco Lemon Yoghurt Bircher

I usually use milk or fruit juice for my bircher but after tasting one recently made just using yoghurt, I’ve been experimenting.  This combination of lemon with coconut is lovely, sharpness meets sweetness and I love the freshness these flavours bring to breakfast.

Coco lemon yoghurt bircher (serves one)

lemon yoghurt bircher

  • 1 pot of coconut yoghurt (170g)
  • Juice and zest of half a lemon (you could add a bit more if you want a sharper taste – I often add another squeeze and some extra zest on top)
  • 15g goji berries
  • 20g oats
  • 1 tablespoon coconut flakes
  • 1 tablespoon pumpkin seeds

Mix everything together and leave overnight or for at least an hour (I dare you to resist trying a few mouthfuls before you leave it!).

 

Minty green banana smoothie

I love mint and am growing a few different varieties at the moment.  This year I’m growing a banana mint which really does have a hint of minty bananas!  So with the sun making a rare appearance this morning I felt the need for a light summer smoothie and of course it has to have mint.  I’ve used banana mint but any mint will do.

Banana mint melon

Minty green banana smoothie (serves one)

  • 100g fresh melon (I used cantaloupe)
  • 1/2 banana or one small one
  • 250ml coconut water
  • large bunch of mint – I used about 15 leaves of banana mint – if using normal garden mint then probably 10 leaves as the banana mint has smaller leaves.
  • 2 blocks of frozen spinach (or a handful of fresh)

Blend it all together.

 

Carrot Maple Chia Bowl

A wet summer Monday morning calls for something good and I made this last night so I could wake up, walk the dog and come back to a delicious brekkie to start the day. I’ve had a week off training and so today is back to training day and to eating a little better (in theory but it is only Monday).  At least I’m starting off with some veg and protein which has the added benefit of tasting a little like carrot cake.

Carrot Maple Chia BowlCarrot maple bowl

  • 1 carrot – very finely grated (about 50g)
  • 20g sultanas or raisons
  • 2 teaspoons of desiccated coconut
  • 2 tablespoons chia seeds
  • 1 tablespoon maple syrup
  • 1 tablespoon pumpkin seeds
  • 150ml coconut milk

Mix all the above together and leave to soak overnight (or for at least a couple of hours).

I like to add some coconut shavings and yoghurt to eat.

carrot maple bowl2

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.

Tropical Chia Zinger Bowl

This is a serious hit of the tropics with added vitamin C. The mix of pineapple, ginger, kiwi and coconut puts the zing in. If you’re struggling to wake up in the morning, this will seriously wake up your taste buds.  I’ve been using coconut yoghurt a lot lately as a change from my usual natural yoghurt and it really enhances the whole taste of this dish.

There is some previous night preparation to make the pineapple and chia mix.

Tropical chia zinger bowl  (this pineapple chia mix is enough for 2 portions)

Tropical chia zinger

  • 200g fresh pineapple, peeled and chopped into big chunks
  • Zest and juice of 1 lime
  • Thumb sized piece of fresh ginger (I used mine from frozen)
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
  • A few mint leaves
  • 3 tablespoons chia seeds

Put all of the above apart from the chia seeds into a food processor and mix to a puree. Put the puree into a bowl and mix in the chia seeds. Cover and put in the fridge overnight.

To serve (per single portion)

  • 1 kiwi fruit – diced
  • 1 teaspoon desiccated coconut
  • A sprinkle of shredded coconut

Mix together and top the pineapple chia mix with this.

Then add some coconut yoghurt on top with a few  more bits of shredded coconut.

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I managed to get up early this morning to walk the dog on the beach – lovely to see the sunshine so early and it prolonged the mood being able to eat this afterwards.