Banana pancakes

August 19, 2016February 28, 2017Leave a comment

Banana Pancakes

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PBJ pancakes (topping by @gracefitUK)

To the average human, pancakes are a treat to be enjoyed every now and again, maybe on pancake day, or as a decadent breakfast. But to us fit-freaks, a humongous pancake stack is a perfectly acceptable form of breakfast food – not to mention it looks pretty as anything, and sharing a pancake stack is a great way of making friends…. Which is why I have no friends 😉 #allforme

They key to getting a good pancake stack is to use a super non-stick pan and a lid. Using a lid allows the top of the pancake to cook, so you don’t end up with a burned pancake bottom and raw top, before trying to flip it over.

The pancake itself is only the start – the toppings are at least as important! As I someone told me on instagram this morning, anyone whose toppings don’t make up 90% of his or her breakfast is doing it wrong.

Here I outline the basic banana pancake recipe and some topping options – all guilt free of course!

Ingredients (serves 1):

1 large ripe banana (or 2 small ones)
2 eggs
1 scoop protein of choice (optional)
2 tbsp oats
Baking powder (optional – adds fluffiness)
Oil spray or coconut oil

Method:

Mash/blend the banana
Crack the egg into a jug, add the mashed banana and oats to it and mix.
Add the protein powder and baking powder, if using. Mix well.
Heat some low calorie oil spray/small about of coconut oil in a pan
Once the oil is hot, pour a small amount of the mixture into the pan (depending on the size of the pan, you may be able to do multiple, as they should be quite small)
Put the lid on the pan and wait until the underside is properly cooked (it should be golden brown – use a spatula to take a peek to make sure)
Once the bottom is cooked, carefully flip the pancakes using a spatula – some mixture may spill, but don’t worry!
The second side will take less time than the first, so don’t let it burn!
As each pancake comes off the pan, pace it on a plate and stack, stack, stack!
(Sometimes, if the topping takes a while to make, I put these in a warm oven to keep them hot)

Toppings:

Walden farms pancake syrup
Chopped nuts and dark chocolate
PBJ – Pb2 peanut butter powder mixed with water, with frozen berries mixed with agave and hot water to make a jam
Berries
Cinnamon

PBJ pancake stack and PBPopcorn in the background

Banana pancakes topped with Walden Farms pancake syrup

High protein salmon and prawn linguine

August 6, 2016August 30, 20161 Comment

This delicious dinner has macros to suit everyone on all but the most carb-restricted of diets, and is delicious enough to serve to anyone, even those who aren’t into healthy food (everyone has those family members and friends!).

This meal has approximately 870 calories, 69g carbs, 33g fat and 82g protein per person. This is including the skin of the salmon , which is filled with good oils (but feel free to remove it is you’re not a fan), 1 salmon per person, Explore Cuisine lentil spaghetti and a drizzle of chilli oil at the end.

Ingredients (serves 2):

½ head of broccoli
2 shallots, or ½ white onion, finely chopped
150g spaghetti (I use lentil Explore Cuisine spaghetti as it is higher in protein)
140g low fat yogurt
200g prawns
1-2 salmon fillets
1-2 cloves garlic
1 egg
Drizzle of chilli infused olive oil

Method:

Steam the salmon and prawns until cooked through (times may differ from frozen so check the packet!)
At the same time, fill a pan with salted water and bring to the boil. Add the pasta and cook for the recommended time
Steam the broccoli until soft
Fry the garlic and shallots/onion in some 1kcal spray and add the broccoli to the pan once cooked
Turn off the heat and add the yogurt. Mix together.
Flake the salmon and add it and the prawns to the sauce
Drain the pasta once done and then return it to the saucepan
Add the sauce to the pasta and crack an egg on top
Mix the egg with the pasta – it will cook on the residual heat from the sauce and pasta (if you are worried it won’t cook, you can turn on the heat for a short amount of time to cook it some more).
Serve up and top with chilli infused oil and salt and pepper to taste.

Enjoy!! I know I did.

Energy bites!

August 4, 2016August 17, 20162 Comments

Energy bites are one of the simplest and most useful snacks to keep in your fridge or freezer. When frozen they keep for months and are perfect for a quick snack or energy boost on the go. There is an easy base to all energy bites, to which you can add different flavours and coverings depending on how you feel.

This recipe makes 25-30 balls

Cacao-sesame energy bites

Base:

200g prunes
300g dates
150g oats/oat flour
2 scoops protein of choice (I use hemp)
50g almond flour/ground almonds

Flavours:

Coconut and maca

+ 1 tsp coconut oil
+ 2 tsp maca
+ 2 tbsp desiccated coconut, plus extra for covering

Choco-caramel

+ 1 tbsp cacao/coco powder
+ 2 tsp lucuma powder
+ 1 tbsp cacao nibs, plus extra for covering

Matcha pistachio

+ 2 tsp culinary grade matcha powder
+ 1 tbsp desiccated coconut
+ 1 tbsp chopped pistachios, plus extra for covering

Matcha pistachio energy bites

Cacao-tahini

+ 2 heaped tsp tahini
+ 1 tsp vanilla extract
+ 1 tbsp cacao/coco powder
+ sesame seeds for covering

Cacao – sesame energy bites

Blend all the base ingredients in a food processor (don’t try to use a blender unless you want everything to be smoked!).
Pour into a mixing bowl.
Add the extra ingredients to the bowl and mix using a strong spoon (this is a good arm workout).
On a chopping board, pour on the covering (e.g. pistachio/sesame seeds/desiccated coconut/cacao nibs).
With your fingers, tear off small walnut-sized chunks of the mix and roll it in the covering to make a ball (you may find this easiest with wet hands).

Ta da! Eat up and let me know what you think! 🙂

No-bake, no-wait cheesecake

August 2, 2016August 17, 2016Leave a comment

This recipe is special. The title is also a bit of a lie, but if you’ve ever tried to make vegan cheesecake, you’ll know that it’s a lengthy process that means you actually have to wait for your food. I am very, very bad at this, so I set out to make a healthy gluten, dairy and refined sugar free cheesecake. Simple.

This cake has three layers – the carby ‘biscuit’ base, the creamy cashew centre and the light and sweet goji topping.

The cashews need to soak to become the ‘cream-cheese’ in the centre, but unlike most recipes, here they only need to soak for 30 minutes, rather than overnight, which cuts down the waiting time significantly, which can only be a good thing 🙂 During this time you could read a little, stalk people on instagram or even make some nut-butter. So really it’s not time wasted.

This recipe can be altered to change the flavour. My favourite alternative is blackberry (see bottom photo) – it’s a gorgeous purple colour and has a rich summery taste. To do this, omit the banana and goji berries, and use 150g blackberries (or a fruit of your choice) instead.

Ingredients:

3 nakd bars (I use cashew cookie) OR 50g almonds, 50g oats
150g dates
200g cashews (quick soaked in boiling water)
Almond/coconut/oat milk
50g goji berries (soaked)
1 banana
Vanilla flavouring (I use Walden farms near zero coffee creamer, but vanilla essence or even vanilla protein powder works well. I would recommend Strippd vanilla pea/hemp protein powder)

Method:

Remember to soak the cashew nuts and goji berries (separately) in boiling water. Set timer to 30 minutes. Then you can start on the base.
Start by lining a round shallow cake tin with baking parchment
Base – Blend together the 3 nakd bars/almonds and oats with 50g dates until the mixture is crumbly. It should resemble crumble mixture.
Pour this into the cake tin and pack down (the base of a glass works well – separate base and glass with clingfilm if it sticks).
Put in freezer.
Biscuit base

1st layer – once the 30 minutes are up, drain the cashews.
Place 120g soaked cashews, 75g dates and the vanilla flavouring/protein powder into the blender. Blend.
Add milk as necessary – at the end of the blending process the consistency should be of hummus (yum).
Spoon this out over the biscuit base. If it isn’t runny enough it’ll ruin the base, so make sure to add enough milk to the mixture!
Stick this back in the freezer as you make the last layer

Creamy cashew 1st layer

2nd layer – blend together the remaining cashews (80g), dates (25g), the banana and soaked and drained goji berries until smooth.
Spoon this last layer over the other 2 layers.
Sprinkle on extra goji berries as optional decoration.
Stick back in the freezer for at least 1h

Goji berry topping

This keeps best in the freezer, and becomes a little runny when left out for too long, as it heats up. Whilst it tastes good frozen, for a smoother, creamier texture, take it out of the freezer for at least 30 minutes before eating from frozen.

All done! You can do this the night before you want to eat it, or the morning of a dinner party. It tastes fantastic with fresh fruit and/or sorbet and is a great dessert to impress! Or just eat by yourself. Whatever works for you. 😉