Category Archives: Breakfast

Easy Lemon Curd – dairy and egg free (vegan)

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I’ve been on a bit of a lemon obsession lately so decided I would have a go at making some homemade lemon curd. The curd you buy in the shops is full of refined sugars, dairy and eggs so this is a much healthier option. It was super easy to make too!

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This is divine mixed with some natural soya yoghurt, or of course it will make the perfect filling for a lemon meringue pie (recipe here)!

You will need:

1 1/4 cups of Lemon juice (I used 6 very large lemons)

Zest of half of the lemons used (freeze the rest of the zest for use later)

1/2 cup of Cold water

1 3/4 cups unrefined raw Sugar (adjust to taste)

5 tbsp Cornflour (corn starch)

2 tbsp non-dairy margarine

6 tbsp Almond milk (you could also use soya or coconut milk)

Juice and zest your lemons. You only need the zest from half of the lemons but it’s worth zesting them all and keeping the remaining zest in the freezer to use in other recipes later.

Place the lemon juice and water in a cold saucepan. Add the cornstarch and whisk to dissolve. Add the sugar and turn on the heat. Continue to whisk as you bring the mixture to a boil slowly. Once boiling allow it to boil gently for one minute without stirring.

Add the rest of the ingredients, whisking the whole time, and cook for 3 minutes.  Have a little taste – if it’s not sweet enough for you then stir in some more sugar. Remove from the heat, pour into a bowl or jars and allow to cool. Place in the fridge once cooled. Then enjoy – right off the spoon! 🙂

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Malt loaf muffins! Dairy and Gluten free!

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After seeing a post of some delicious looking malt loaf muffins my friend Vicky made I decided I simply had to have a go at gluten and dairy-freeing them! I love the spicy richness of malt loaf so was sure these would be divine. These also super easy to make and make a great grab and go brekkie if you’re on the run. Thank you for the inspiration Vicky! 🙂

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You will need:

1 2/3 cups gluten-free Oat bran (if you don’t need to go gluten free then go with wheat bran)

1 cup and 4 tsp Coconut sugar (or other raw, unrefined sugar)

2 tsp Rice malt syrup (or Agave)

2 cups Raisins and currants

2 tsp ground Cinnamon

2 tsp Allspice

1/8 tsp ground Cloves

1/8 tsp ground Nutmeg

pinch of Himalayan rock salt

2 cups of Almond or other non-dairy milk

2 cups of Gluten free flour (or Spelt flour)

2 tsp Baking powder

This mixture will make approx 12 medium sized muffins and 6 mini ones.

Pop all the ingredients apart from the flour and baking powder in to a large bowl and mix well. Allow to soak for a couple of hours so the bran absorbs the milk and forms a wet mush!

Preheat the oven to 180 C.

Mix the flour and baking powder together really well and then add to the wet ingredients. Combine thoroughly and then pop in to muffin cases, sprinkle some coconut sugar over the top and bake for 20 – 25 mins, or until a skewer comes out clean.

These are delicious straight out the oven while still warm or will keep for a few days in an airtight container. You can also freeze them to eat later.

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Persimmon Spiced Muffins

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I have to confess that until a few weeks ago I’d never even heard of a persimmon fruit, let alone eaten one or cooked with it! I do like a challenge though and these little fruits are very popular at this time of year in the States so I thought I’d experiment.

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The fruit itself is like a cross between and apple and a pear, and it’s lovely eaten on it’s own, or chopped and served in a salad. It’s also lovely to cook with. This recipe is for some yummy, healthy muffins which would make a perfect afternoon snack or even something you could grab for a brekkie on the go!

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Before you start the first thing you need to do is make some oat flour. Simply take 4 cups of porridge oats (make sure they are gluten-free oats), pop them in a processor or blender and process until they form a flour. You will need 2 cups of actual flour for the recipe so you will have some extra to use later 🙂

You will need:

2 cups Oat flour

1/2 tsp Bicarbonate of soda

1/2 tsp Baking powder

1 cup Persimmon flesh

3 tbsp Apple puree (recipe here)

1/2 cup Coconut oil (melted)

1 cup Coconut sugar

1 tbsp Chia seeds

1 cup of Raisins

1/2 tsp Vanilla extract

1/2 tsp ground Cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground Cloves

1/2 tsp ground Nutmeg

1/2 tsp sea salt

Makes approx 12 – 14 muffins

Preheat the oven to 180 C and line a muffin tray with paper liners (or just grease the tray).

Put the oat flour in to a mixing bowl, add the bicarbonate of soda and baking powder and mix well and leave to one side.

Put all the other ingredients apart from the raisins in to a food processor and blend for a few minutes until well combined.

Add the wet mixture to the dry and stir gently. Finally fold in the raisins.

Take approximately 2 tbsps of mixture and add to each cake liner. Sprinkle with coconut sugar and pop in the oven for 20 – 25 minutes or until the tops have browned and a skewer comes out clean. These are very moist muffins so they will seem quite loose.

These are divine whilst still warm from the oven! or allow to cool and enjoy later 🙂

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Apple, Date and Coconut Granola – sugar-free!

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Why waste your money on nasty, sugar-filled shop-bought granola when you can make your own! This is divine and uses only fruit sugars so there’s no added sugar of any type at all!

If you are a cinnamon fan I highly recommend adding a generous few teaspoons in to this mix as well! Nom nom nom! 🙂

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2 cups Spelt porridge oats (or normal oats if you prefer)

1 cup Almonds

1/2 cup Pumpkin seeds

1/2 cup Sunflower seeds

1/4 cup Chia seeds

1/4 cup Flax seeds (Linseed)

1/2 cup Desiccated coconut

1/2 cup dried Fruit (I used a mix of different raisins)

1 cup chopped Dates

1 cup Apple purée (recipe here)

Preheat the oven to 200 C

Add all the ingredients except the apple purée to a large bowl and mix well together. Add the apple purée and make sure everything is well coated. Then transfer to a large roasting dish and pop in the oven.

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Check after 10 minutes and turn. Keep checking after that every 5 minutes and ensure it isn’t burning. The apple purée makes this quite moist so you need to let it roast for as long as possible. Once the oats and nuts have browned turn the oven off and leave the granola in there while the oven cools to further dry it out. Make sure it is completely dry before you remove (if not just roast a bit longer!).

Store in an airtight container and it will last for weeks (unless you’re like me in which case it will last days as you won’t be able to stop eating it! 🙂 )

Then enjoy with some soya yoghurt and compote for brekkie! 🙂

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Pumpkin Breakfast Muffin Loaf – Gluten and Dairy Free

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This little beauty really packs a punch – it’s strong on the spices and will satisfy you for the day ahead. It is quite a dense little loaf and is more like a tea-loaf than a muffin and it’s lovely smothered in the pumpkin butter (recipe here)

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You will need:

1 cups Rice flour (or gluten-free flour of choice!)

1 1/2 tsp Baking powder

1/2 tsp Himalayan rock salt

2/3 cups Coconut sugar

2 tsp ground Cinnamon

1/2 tsp Ground ginger

1/4 tsp ground Cloves

1 tsp Vanilla extract

2 tbsp ground Flax (linseed)

4 tbsp Water

1 cup Pumpkin purée

1 ripe Banana

1/4 cup Coconut oil

2 tbsp Maple syrup

For the topping:

4 tbsp Rice flour

2 tbsp Coconut oil

1 tsp ground Cinnamon

2 tsp Raw pumpkin seeds

Mix together the flax seed and water in a small bowl. Whisk it with a fork and then pop in the fridge for 15 mins or so.

Preheat the oven to 200 C.

Add all the ingredients in to a large bowl (except the topping ingredients). Mix well together and then add the flax seed mix. Depending how ripe your banana is you may find the batter is a bit too thick so add some warm water until it forms a thick but spoonable batter.

Add the batter to muffin trays or mini loaf tins.

Combine the topping ingredients in another bowl and then sprinkle on the top of each loaf. Press the topping into the batter a little bit.

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Bake for 15 – 20 mins, or until a skewer comes out clean. Allow to cool and then eat!

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Quinoa and chia porridge

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As the weather starts to turn and the mornings get darker I start to crave a warm, filling breakfast and this porridge definitely hits the spot. You can add whatever you like to it but I’ve made a few suggestions here – stewed pear, peach and almond porridge, caramelised banana and nectarine porridge, apple compote and blueberries, and nectarine and blackberry compote. You may notice a theme with my toppings!

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For the porridge you will need:

1/3 cup Quinoa flakes
2 tbsp Chia seeds
1/2 – 1 cup Almond (or other non-dairy milk)
I tbsp Cashew butter (or other nut butter)

Put the quinoa, chia and milk in a small saucepan on a medium heat. Start with half a cup of milk and add more as the milk is absorbed. If you like your porridge more liquid then add more milk. Keep stirring until the milk is absorbed and the porridge is tender. It will only take a few minutes. Stir the cashew butter in about half way through. Pop in a bowl and add your topping of choice.

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Stewed pear and peach with almonds:

Take one conference pear and slice into small pieces. I like the skin so I leave it on but peel if you prefer. Pop in a small pan with a couple of tablespoons of water and 1/4 tsp cinnamon. If you want it sweeter you can add a small amount of unrefined sugar or a tsp of agave or rice syrup. Simmer for a few minutes until the pear is soft but retains it’s shape. Add to the top of the porridge. Dice a ripe peach and add together with a handful of blueberries. Toast a handful of flaked almonds in a dry frying pan and sprinkle over the top!

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Caramelised banana and nectarine:

Slice a ripe banana into thin pieces and place in a frying pan with a tbsp of rice syrup, agave or maple syrup. Sprinkle with 1/2 tsp cinnamon and heat on a medium – high heat until the bananas are soft and starting to go brown at the edges. Turn once during the cooking.

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Add to your porridge and then thinly slice a nectarine and add that too. Sprinkle with some fresh blueberries and toasted almond flakes.

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Apple compote and blueberries:

Make some simple apple compote – recipe here. And add to the porridge, with blueberries and toasted almonds.

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Nectarine and blackberry compote:

Use some homemade compote – recipe here. Add blueberries and almonds and serve with a dollop of soya yoghurt.

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Blackberry Chia Jam

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I have spent a few lovely hours for the past couple of weekends foraging for wild blackberries in the local parks near me. I’ve had the pleasure of thinking up ways to use them (some of which will follow!), but the first and (in my humble opinion) most exciting thing I did was make up a lovely batch of chia jam! This recipe is also up on Colette’s Fitness Kitchen 🙂

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This stuff is lovely, it’s easy to make and totally raw so doesn’t require any cooking or setting or anything difficult. It will last for about a week in the fridge but could also be frozen too. The beauty of this is not only is it delicious but it is a great way to boost your omega-3 and fibre intake 🙂

You will need:

1 1/2 cups Blackberries (or any soft fruit)

3 Tbsp Chia seeds

1/4 – 1/2 cup Water

1 – 2 Tbsp Maple syrup (or other liquid sweetener) – if required (personally I like my blackberries tart so didn’t add any!)

Place the blackberries or other fruit in a bowl and mash with a fork until smooshed up but not completely liquid. If you need sweetener then add it to taste and then add the chia seeds and mix well. Depending how juicy your fruit is you may need to add more or less water but start with half a cup and add more if required. The chia seeds take time to soak up the water, so once you have added it allow it to stand for 30 mins to an hour before seeing if you need to add more. If the chia seeds are still crunchy add more (unless you like them crunchy, in which case don’t!). The longer you can leave the jam the better – ideally overnight, but at least for an hour or so. Enjoy it spread on toast, dolloped on top of yoghurt or just eaten straight off the spoon!

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Experiment with different fruits depending on what is in season. Raspberries also work well and I was lucky enough to pick up some discounted, very ripe nectarines in the market which made a delicious change.

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For we all like Figgy Jam……. Fig and Ginger Jam!

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This is so easy and so delicious! I’ve been trying to add a bit more ginger in to my diet lately as it’s so good for your stomach and helps with the digestion of other nutrients. It’s also a fab anti-inflammatory so is brilliant for muscle and joint aches. Apparently it has aphrodisiac properties as well!!!

Figs are also brilliant for you – they’re full of fibre and are a great source of potassium and calcium and they taste yummy! 🙂 So this jam is perfect! It’s really easy to make and tastes divine.

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You will need (makes one small jar):

250g fresh, ripe Figs

2 tbsp Maple syrup (or your liquid sweetener of choice – agave, honey, rice syrup etc)

1.5 tbsp Lemon juice

zest of 1/2 Lemon

3/4 tsp ground Ginger

1/4 tsp ground Cinnamon

Cut the figs in to quarters (or smaller if they are very large) and pop in a saucepan. Add the other ingredients and then bring to a simmer over a medium heat, stirring all the time.

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Don’t let the mixture boil but keep it simmering for about 30 – 40 minutes or until the fig has started to break down and it takes on a jammy consistency! Taste (carefully – it will be hot!) and adjust the sweetner if required.

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Take a clean glass jar and rinse with warm soapy water (or pop through the dishwasher). Dry it well and then place it in to the oven at about 180 C for approx 20 minutes. Remove carefully and then add the jam to the jars while they are both still hot. Pop a lid on and once cool place in the fridge. This should keep for a few weeks at least.

Enjoy your jam spread on some yummy rye toast with a nice cup of tea 🙂

Scrummy Cinnamon Quinoa Porridge Recipe – Comfort brekkie :)

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I fancied something a bit different for brekkie this morning as I’ve been slightly overdosing on the homemade granola lately! I’ve had a real hankering for quinoa too so I thought I’d sort out both issues in one fell swoop and make some yummy quinoa porridge. It’s very simple and very delicious! If you don’t like cinnamon just leave it out 🙂

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1/2 cup Quinoa

1 cup coconut/almond/soya milk (I used coconut milk today because I happened to have it!)

1/2 tsp coconut oil (not essential but adds a nice smoothness)

1 tbsp nut butter (again, not essential but adds flavour and smoothness) – I used almond butter today

1 tso Cinnamon

Toppings of your choice (I used nuts, dried fruit, coconut and apple compote)

Drizzle of date syrup / sweet freedom if desired

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Put the quinoa and milk into a saucepan and bring to the boil. Add in the cinnamon and put a lid on it and simmer gently for 10 – 15 minutes (until the quinoa has absorbed the liquid and is tender – add more milk if necessary). Half way through stir in the coconut oil and nut butter. Once the quinoa is tender spoon into a bowl. This amount will do one large portion or two small ones. It keeps in the fridge for a few days so you can save some if you want ( I confess, I ate it all!).

Add your desired toppings. I added a dollop of apple compote, toasted almonds and pistachios, dessicated coconut and some dried mixed berries (goji, blueberry, cranberry and golden raisins). Finally add a drizzle of date syrup if you like. Then enjoy! 🙂 This will definitely set you up for the day! Healthy and filling and absolutely scrummy 🙂

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