Creamy almond and ginger chicken and vegetable soup

Hey there munkies!

It was Saturday night, and our monthly women's jam was tomorrow in Kilburn.
Brrrrrrr, I thought. I think I'll make a big batch of that creamy gingery chicken and vegetable soup again.. and bet it will warm my soul RIGHT UP after the jam!

This soup. This soup is so damn tasty. I love the simplicity of it too, and it's so hearty! It might not look very appetising.. but trust me, don't knock it until you've tried it! (..by the way, the sun shined gloriously aaaall day at the jam - haha! It wasn't cold at all, and we had such a great day too, lots of ladies, sunshine, fun and challenges. Yays!)

So, on to the soup:

INGREDIENTS (serves 3-4 people)

1 and 1/4 cups of almond milk
300g of chicken breast
1 and 1/2 tbsp of fresh ginger
1 medium onion
2 medium sweet potatoes
1/2 medium broccoli
1/4 medium cauliflower (or you can just use more broccoli)
100g of spinach
1 cube Kallo Organic Chicken stock cube
Salt, pepper, chili flakes to taste


INSTRUCTIONS

1. Heat the almond milk in a saucepan on a low heat.
2. Whilst the almond milk is heating, chop the ginger and onion.
3. When the almond milk is a little heated, crumble the Kallo stock cube in to the saucepan.
4. Add the ginger and onion, and salt, pepper and chili flakes to taste.
5. Keep the saucepan on a low heat whilst you chop and prepare your chicken and sweet potato (I chopped mine pretty small, it was no bigger than the size of a cherry..).
6. Add the chopped chicken and sweet potato to the saucepan.
7. Continue to cook on a low heat with a saucepan-cover for about 5-8 minutes whilst you chop up your broccoli and cauliflower.
8. After 5 minutes, add the broccoli and cauliflower.
9. Allow to simmer for a further 10-15 minutes, or until all the ingredients are cooked properly, and give the soup a stir now and again too.
10. When the ingredients are cooked, turn your saucepan off and add the spinach, and cover the pan again.
11. Set the pan aside for 5 more minutes to allow the spinach to steam.
12. Transfer the soups contents into a blender/food processor and blend until desired (I still kept some texture and chunkiness to my soup).
13. Allow to cool a tad, and serve!


Enjoy munkies!

SPECIAL ALERT: Sweet potato brownie tart

Afternoon there munkeys!

This recipe is a real yummy one - I think it might actually be my husband's favourite! It came about whilst making flapjacks - I waaas making flapjacks, but then decided to use it for a crust instead. Haha!

This chocolate tart is super simple, nutritious and really yummy and chocolatey! Mmmmmm.

It took about 30 minutes total to prepare and bake it I reckon.. and I've made it with less AND more dark chocolate than 50g before, and it's JUST as good everytime.

Here's how I did it:

INGREDIENTS

Crust
1 cup of gluten free oats
2/3 cup dessicated coconut
1 heaped tbsp peanut butter
3/4 medium mashed banana
3 soaked medjool dates
Pinch of salt

Filing
1 medium sized egg
1/2 tsp vanilla essence
Sprinkle of cinnamon
1 medium sweet potato mashed
2 tbsp cocoa powder
6 soaked medjool dates
50g 70%+ dark chocolate
1 tsp baking powder


INSTRUCTIONS

1. Chop, peel and steam sweet potato until soft enough to mash.
2. Preheat the oven to gas mark 6.
3. Soak dates in a bowl for about ten minutes or so.
4. Put oats and desiccated coconut in a separate bowl with a pinch of salt.
5. Mash the banana, dates and peanut butter together.
6. Bind the peanut butter and banana mixture and oats together with your hands.
7. Press the 'flapjack' mix into the chosen baking tray or silicone mould.
8. Place two squares of dark chocolate on the crust and place it in the oven for 2-3 minutes to melt the chocolate.
9. Take the back of a spoon and spread the chocolate around, now set the crust base aside.
10. Crack an egg in the food processor and blend until slightly frothy.
11. Add the vanilla essence, the rest of the dates, and the cooked sweet potato and blend until fairly smooth.
12. Add the cinnamon and cocoa powder, along with the dark chocolate - it will more or less melt because the sweet potato is still warm, blend until combined.
13. Add the baking powder and blend until combined.
14. Spoon the chocolate mixture on to the crust base, and place in the oven for 7-9 minutes - it should still be soft when you take it out, but it will set and harden in the fridge.
15. Allow to cool and enjoy.

Enjoy munkeys! :)

Banana protein pancakes with dark chocolate chips and peanut caramel

I'm back. I'm back. I'm back!

Hey there munkies! I've missed you, I really have. I've been cooking, baking and experimenting lots over the last year but not blogging, and I'm sorrrrry. But as you read, I'm back, and I'm here to stay. I'm also a married woman now.. hehe. It's all pretty magical. Shhhh.

It's Saturday, and Saturdays are made for lazy mornings, long walks and protein pancakes in this house (we are no longer using our Saturday's for squatting at home in our power rack, because we now have this wonderful facility in East London to throw iron around in instead: http://parkourgenerations.com/chainstore/facilities/). By the way, since I last blogged my love for lifting iron has increased! - and I've become a weightlifting rookie in the last year, haha!

Anyway, here's how it went down..

INGREDIENTS:

For the pancake batter
2 medium eggs
1 large banana (brown spots on that banana please! 3/4 of the banana will go in the mixture and the other quarter will be distributed in between the layers)
3/4 scoop (20g) vanilla or any flavour whey
2 tbsp almond flour
2 tbsp coconut flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
A sprinkle of cinnamon

For the filling
2 Medjool dates
2 tbsp boiling water
1 tbsp peanut butter
2 tbsp Almond milk

Some ghee or coconut oil for frying

Optional decoration:
1/2 a handful of 70%+ dark chocolate chips, or cacao nibs and sunflower seeds sprinkled on top. I used all three! ;)

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Soak the dates in boiling water for at least 10 minutes.
2. When the dates are soaked enough take them out and transfer to a bowl (DON'T THROW AWAY THE WATER JUST YET!)
3. Mash the dates, the almond milk and 2 tablespoons of the water they were soaking in with a fork.
4. Add 1 tablespoon of peanut butter & mix until all is combined, and set the 'peanut caramel' aside.
5. Crack the eggs in to the food processor and blend until slightly frothy.
6. Add the 3/4 of the banana (chopped!) to the food processor and blend.
7. Add the almond flour, coconut flour and whey, and blend until fairly smooth - small lumps are fine.
8. Add the baking powder to the mixture and blend.
9. Put the pan on a VERY low heat, and when it's heated, add just under a level teaspoon of ghee or coconut oil or desired oil.
10. When the oil has melted move it around the pan to distribute the liquid evenly, allow the pan to get a little hotter before adding the pancake mixture.
11. Pour 3-4 tablespoons of pancake mixture into the pan and spread it around.
12. Leave to cook until bubbles form on the surface, then carefully flip the pancake (it shouldn't fall apart).
13. Leave to cook for a further 20-30 seconds then transfer to a plate to cool.
14. Rinse and repeat steps 9-14.

(I layered each pancake with a tablespoon of 'peanut caramel', some sliced banana and a few chocolate chips, then sprinkled chocolate chips, cacao nibs, sunflower seeds and cinnamon on top of the last layer. Yum.)

Enjoy munkies! :)

Sausage, bacon and spinach frittataaaaa

Morning munkeys!

I made this last night, for today's and tomorrow's breakfast - although you can OF COURSE it eat it whenever the hell you want! ;) It's basically some of my favourite breakfast foods in one dish.. and I really wanted to keep it simple and quick to make - so this time I didn't cook any of the ingredients beforehand. As usual, there aren't really any rules with this dish - take your favourite foods and throw 'em together.. that is literally how I eat nearly everyday.. bacon? Goood. Apple? Goood. Spinach? Goood - as Joey would say :P

Hope you like it! Here's how I made it:

INGREDIENTS:

1 medium sized white onion
3 medium sized sausages (I used chorizo sausages, but you can use any)
100-150g chopped bacon
3-4 large handfuls of spinach
6 medium sized eggs
Salt to season

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Line the baking tray with baking paper - NOT foil as it will stick.
2. Preheat the oven to gas mark 5.
3. Chop your onion, sausage, bacon and spinach and place on baking tray (I love using scissors to chop my spinach, and also meat - super handy and effective :P).
4. Whisk the eggs and add salt and whatever other seasoning you would like.
5. Pour the whisked eggs over the ingredients and place in the oven for 20-25 minutes.
6. Allow to cool and et voila!

Enjoy munkeys! :)

Peanut-butter-banana-oat-chocolate-chip-balls!

Hey there munkeys! Hope you're all having a lovely start to 2014 :) I'm super psyched for this year!!!

Here's a really simple and quick recipe with some of my favourite foods.. do you like bananas? Do you like peanut butter? Oats? Chocolate? Then you'll love this ;) and it only takes 10-15 minutes total to prepare and cook! There are many different variations you can do with these too - roll them in crushed nuts, seeds or desiccated coconut etc. The options for what can cover  and fill them with are endless really :)

Here's how easy-peasy it is:

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup of oats (I went with gluten free)
1 scoop of whey (approx 20g, any flavour - you can also omit the whey, I have before and they're still damn good!)
1 banana (the more brown spots the better!)
2 heaped tbsp peanut butter or any other nut butter
1/4 cup dark chocolate chips (I used 70%)

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Pour the oats in a bowl with the whey and mix.
2. Mash the banana and peanut butter in a separate bowl.
3. Preheat the oven to gas mark 6.
4. Add the peanut butter and banana mix to the oats.
5. Use your hands to combine the oats and whey, with the peanut butter and banana (fyi - it will be suuuper sticky, sorry!)
6. When the mixture is combined, stir in the chocolate chips with a spoon.
7. Dampen your hands with some water and roll the mixture into balls. (having damp hands, makes the rolling smoother)
8. Place the balls on a baking paper lined baking tray or silicone baking tray and put in the oven for 5 minutes.
9. Allow to cool. (By the way, they taste even better the next day..)

Enjoy munkeys! :)

Protein brownies: A sweet potato & beetroot addition

Hello munkeys!

Everyone loves brownies, so I thought I'd make them - pluuuuus, they're super easy to make. If you haven't baked with beetroot before.. you should! It creates a great texture, is very dense and rich, and you can't even taste the beetroot at all. Crazy. Here's how it went down in the kitchen: (btw, this is a fairly huge batch, so shooooould last you the whole week.. :P)

INGREDIENTS

3 medium sweet potatoes

2 small cooked beetroots
150g 70+% dark chocolate
3 tbsp cocoa
4 tbsp coconut flour
1 scoop chocolate nut whey protein powder (or any other flavour)
1 tsp baking powder
3 medium sized eggs
10 small dates soaked

2 tbsp coconut oil/ghee/grassfed butter

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Peel & chop up the sweet potato in to small chunks & steam them until mash-able.

2. Chop up the beetroot too & add it to the steamer.

3. Boil the kettle & soak the dates.

4. Preheat the oven to gas mark 4.

5. Melt the chocolate with the coconut oil/ghee/butter & set aside.

6. Crack the eggs into the food processor & blend until slightly frothy.

7. Add the sweet potato & beetroot & blend until fairly smooth & combined (small lumps are fine).

8. Add the coconut flour, whey & cocoa to the mixture & blend.

9. Chop up the soaked dates & add them to the mixture, as well as the melted chocolate, blend until all is combined.

10. Add the baking powder, blend & spoon out on to baking tray.

11. Bake in the oven for 18-21 minutes (you want them to be firm on the outside but still soft 7 gooy on the inside).

12. Set aside to cool.

Enjoy munkeys! :)

(Sorry for the lack of pictures: I totally forgot - just another excuse to make some more! Hehee)

Banana, peanut butter & coconut milk protein smoothie

Morning munkeys! This is one of my faaaavourite smoothies, it's very rich & super filling, so this serving is for two. When my bananas start to brown, I usually bake with them or if I've already done a crap load of baking, I'll peel, chop & put them in a plastic sandwich bag to throw in the freezer - frozen bananas make awesome smoothies! Yum. 

Although banana & peanut butter compliment each other well - you could also use any other nut butter & it would be just as good! Also, if full fat coconut milk is too rich for you, feel free to replace it with any other milk alternative too. So, here you go munkeys:

INGREDIENTS (Serves 2)

2 frozen bananas

1/2 can full fat coconut milk

2 tbsp peanut butter

1&1/2 or 2 scoops whey protein powder (any flavour, but vanilla is my favourite with this smoothie)

Sprinkle of cinnamon 

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Take bananas out of freezer & bag, & place in food processor along with the coconut milk, & blend until fairly smooth (mattering on the quality of your processor, you may have to keep separating the chunks of frozen banana now and again).

2. Add the peanut butter & blend.

3. Add the whey & cinnamon & blend until combined.

4. Serve & enjoy!

Enjoy munkeys! :)