Tag: recipe

Recipes, Sweet Treats

Gluten Free Vegan Orange Cake

I made this at my recent November workshop and it was a big hit with everyone. It’s a great one to make for when you’re entertaining.

Enjoy it on its own or serve with some oat mylk cream or coconut yoghurt.

  • 2 ½ tablespoons chia seeds (place chia seeds into cup & add 6 tablespoons of water – set aside for at least 20mins until gel forms)
  • 3 tablespoons coconut oil
  • 1 ½ teaspoon apple cider vinegar
  • 2 teaspoon vanilla essence 
  • 7 teaspoon arrowroot
  • 180ml oat or nut milk of your choice 
  • 180ml maple syrup
  • 270g fine polenta
  • 300g ground almonds
  • Finely grated zest of 1 unwaxed lemon
  • Finely grated zest and juice of 1 unwaxed orange
  • Pinch of salt 

For Glaze

  • Finely grated zest and juice of 1 unwaxed orange
  • Finely grated zest of 1 unwaxed lemon
  • 4 tablespoon coconut sugar

In a large mixing bowl combine all the dry ingredients and mix well. 

Then add chia seed gel and all the remaining wet ingredients.

Mix and beat until all ingredients combined and tip into a well prepared 20cm cake tin (either oiled with coconut oil or lined with baking parchment)

Bake for 40-50 minutes in the oven 175 degree Celsius (fan) or at 195.

To make glaze:

Gently heat the orange juice and zest in a pan with coconut sugar until it dissolves.

Once cake is golden brown and knife comes out clean when poked in the middle, remove from oven and allow to cool for about 20 minutes in the tin.

Evenly drizzle syrup and zest over the cake. Remove from tin and serve.

Lunch, Recipes

Quick Lentil Soup

  • Red split lentils about 150g
  • Red Onion chopped
  • Tin of chopped organic tomato
  • Celery chopped x 2 sticks
  • Carrots chopped X 4
  • Stock
  • Extra virgin olive oil for drizzling.

Fry onions in a little oil
Add chopped carrots and celery, then tinned tomato, stock, and lentils.
Simmer for 20 minutes, adding more water as lentils soak up and depending on how thick you like your soups.
Blend and drizzle with extra virgin olive oil, cracked black pepper and a little salt.
Depending on taste I often sometimes add paprika and /or cumin to the soup.



Drinks, Recipes

Anti-Inflammatory Smoothie

With autumn setting in and the colder mornings, breakfast smoothies or juices may not be quite as appealing. Ideally, the best time to juice is during the spring and summer when the liver operates at a higher metabolic rate. Drinking juices in autumn and winter can overload the liver and hence exacerbate ‘damp’ symptoms such as asthma, eczema and yeast overgrowth.
If you still want to enjoy your juice or smoothie you can mitigate this by gently warming the juice and /or adding spices like cayenne pepper or ginger.

  • 5g fresh turmeric or 2 teaspoons dried powder
  • 10 g fresh ginger
  • A few twist black pepper
  • 1/3 fresh pineapple including core
  • Juice of 1 fresh lime
  • 2 dessertspoons of good quality extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 kaffir lime leaf (optional)
  • 200ml filtered water

Blend and enjoy!

Lunch, Recipes

One Pot Curry

Serves 4

  • 1 tbsp. olive oil or coconut oil
  • One onions – chopped
  • Two cloves garlic – crushed
  • Approx 4 cm of ginger – peeled & finely chopped
  • Chillies (optional – I tend not to use when making it for the kids)
  • 2 tbsp. Patak’s korma curry paste (be generous)
  • 1 tbsp. ground cumin
  • 1 tbsp. ground coriander
  • Four handfuls red lentils
  • Four handfuls quinoa
  • 1 stock cube (dissolved in about 500ml water)
  • 1 tin coconut milk
  • Suggested vegetables but do play around with selection: 2 sweet potatoes, 4 carrots, 2 sticks of celery, half a butternut squash, 1 courgette… etc. Peel and chop all the vegetables into small pieces.

Sweat onions on a low heat taking care not to brown in coconut or olive oil for around 10 minutes.
Add garlic, ginger and chillies (if using)and sweat for a further 5 mins. Add curry paste, ground spices and vegetables. Add lentils and quinoa. Stir well, ensuring everything is coated well with paste and spices.
Add some stock and simmer slowly, adding stock as the lentils and quinoa mop it up. After about 15 mins – add tin of coconut milk. Add more stock – it’s trial and error to get the consistency to suit you.
Simmer for about 20 – 30 mins.
Serve in bowls – sooo delicious!

Lunch, Recipes

Easy Quinoa

This is ideal for lunch or supper and it’s super easy and quick to make.

  • Quinoa
  • Spinach or kale
  • Bragg Liquid Aminos (this is a soy sauce alternative)
  • A protein of your choice – salmon fillet, chicken, beans, eggs … etc.

Add quinoa to boiling water and simmer for 15 – 20 mins.
Wash spinach or kale and sauté in a separate pot for a few minutes (until leaves reduce).
Drain the quinoa and add to pot with leaves and drizzle with liquid aminos to taste.
Either throw in a tin of rinsed and drained beans such as kidney or butter beans, or serve with cooked salmon fillet or protein of your choice.
This is also really nice with some avocado cut into cubes and thrown on top and some cracked black pepper.

Breakfast, Recipes

Filling Breakfast Pancakes

  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon chia seeds or I sometimes use the ground flax seeds.
  • 1 tablespoon maple syrup
  • 400ml almond milk
  • 300g spelt flour (I play around with this – If I have almond flour I do 60 : 40 – spelt: almond flour)
  • 50g porridge oats (optional)
  • 2 Eggs
  • 2 – 3 Bananas (optional)
  • Olive oil or butter for frying
  • Pinch sea salt flakes

Place all the pancake ingredients together in a blender and mix to form a smooth batter (I blend oats first to form a flour and then add other ingredients).
Fry in a little oil. I like them done American pancake style – mini and thick.
Stack and serve with a dollop of coconut yogurt (or full fat Greek) and a sprinkle of chopped pecans or some fried banana slices and drizzle of maple syrup.
Leftovers work well in lunch boxes or as an after-school snack.

Drinks, Recipes

Digestive Tea

  • 1 heaped teaspoon fennel seeds
  • 1 heaped teaspoon caraway seeds
  • 1 heaped teaspoon dried mint (or handful fresh mint leaves)

Mix the seeds and herbs together and infuse them in boiling water.
Allow to steep for 5 – 10 minutes (depending on how strong a taste you want), then strain and sip.

Dressing, Recipes

Salad Dressing

I never buy a salad dressing; I think it’s so quick and easy to make your own and it tastes so much better.
This dressing goes great with most salads.

  • 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon of mustard
  • 1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar
  • A dash of maple syrup
  • Cracked black pepper (optional)

Place all ingredients in a clean jar and shake.
Taste and tweak the ingredients to suit your palette.