Tag: healthy snacks

Quinoa and dates energy balls

On By bumblebee3londonIn Awesome Recipes, Everything!!!Leave a comment

Quinoa is one of those amazing food that is gluten-free, high in protein and is also one of the few plant foods that contain all nine essential amino acids. I normally cook a pot and use it as salad base.

Photo: quinoa with sugarsnap peas and garlic roasted courgettes in a light balsamic dressing.

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But last week, I decided to make energy balls with my red quinoa.

Ingredients:

1 cup cooked quinoa (cook according to packet instructions)
1 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup sliced almonds and 1/2 cup sunflower seeds
5 teaspoons honey
10 pitted dates
¼ cup almond butter
1 tablespoon virgin coconut oil
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon grated nutmeg
⅛ teaspoon sea salt
A handful of raisins
1 tablespoon chia seeds

Method:

Heat the oven to 350°. Mix together the quinoa, oats and sunflower seeds with the honey, coating them evenly. Pour into a baking tray lined with parchment paper and bake until brown and crunchy (around 20 minutes), stirring once or twice so that they brown all over.  Cool.

Toast the almonds.

Combine the dates, almond butter, coconut oil, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt in a blender and blend until smooth. Pour into a large bowl. Add the almonds, chia seeds, and toasted quinoa and oats. Mix well with your hands and shape into balls (this recipe makes about 24).

Store in an airtight container for up to one week.

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Note: they are also tasty as granola.

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Healthy alternative to instant noodles

On By bumblebee3londonIn Awesome Recipes, Everything!!!2 Comments

I can be quite draconian and dictatorial when it comes to food for my family, and though we lived in Asia for several years, I never allowed my children to eat the ubiquitous instant noodles.  I even banned my Indonesian helpers from eating them, simply because they are so bad for you.

But we live in a world where convenience and speed are king. However, you don’t have to resort to chemical-laden fast food if you invest a little time into preparation whenever you have the time to spare.

(1) Always keep some stock handy in the freezer. Simply boil down chicken carcass (from roast diners!) or stock bones (available cheaply from your friendly butcher or fishmonger) with any surplus vegetables you have lying around.  Just be sure to include a bay leaf, peppercorns, onion, garlic and tomatoes.  The rest is up to you! Over the years, I have chucked weird things into my stockpot, such as apple core (with the pips removed), left over salad leaves, the hard part of broccoli and other greens I happen to have lying around.

(2) To make this Asian noodles, boil up the stock with a small piece of ginger.

(3) Cook spaghetti separately until soft.

(4) Add spaghetti to the piping hot soup. Garnish with chopped spring onions and red chillies, and season with salt, pepper, Braggs and sesame oil (optional).

Note: If you are making this with fish stock, boil for longer with more ginger.

Superfood Snack – Kale Scratchings

On By bumblebee3londonIn Awesome Recipes, Everything!!!Leave a comment

kale

At this time of the year, kale (Brassica oleracea Acephala Group) is plentiful and cheap in England. Until the end of the Middle Ages, kale was one of the most common green vegetables in all of Europe. It is a relative of the wild cabbage, and my Welsh mother said it is used to feed cattle.  But it is also a superfood – only 3 tablespoons of this dark green leafy veg make up one fifth of your 5-a-day requirement.

Here’s my simple and quick recipe to get children and adults munching kale:

INGREDIENTS:
1 bag kale
5 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoon Braggs Liquid Aminos
Chili flakes
Sea salt

Preheat the oven to 100 deg. You want the oven to be on lowest possible heat to slow-roast the kale, so that it gets crispy and loses none of its nutrients.

Combine the olive oil, Braggs, chilli flakes and sea salt. Pour it into the bag containing the kale and give it a good shake. When the kale is evenly coated, pour onto a baking tray. Slow-roast for an hour, or until it’s crispy.

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