3 Ingredient Super Green Pancakes

What amazing "spring" weather we're enjoying at the moment! We've been spending loads of time outdoors barbecuing and possibly consuming too much booze on the weekend, especially last weekend (and the less we mention about the karaoke singing on the village green the better I think!)

During the week I try and balance out the unhealthy weekends by eating plenty of fresh fruit, vegetables, eggs and lean meat, but I do often struggle finding something to eat for breakfast that doesn't involve bread, other than eggs, mushrooms and spinach, which can get a little boring after a few days. I also prefer to eat breakfast around 10, which isn't particularly convenient on the days that I have to be out of the house around 8.30. On these mornings my healthy breakfast usually goes out of the window and I end up grabbing a crumpet or bagel for convenience.

I've now discovered a healthier alternative that gives me some extra nutrients in the morning, in the form of these Super Green Pancakes, which are great for eating on the go. Made from Naturelo Raw Greens Whole Food Powder, in a wild berry flavour, these pancakes are simple to make with just two additional ingredients.

Naturelo sell a range of premium supplements, including multivitamins for adults, teens and children. Their whole food powder is free from GMO, Soy, Yeast, Egg, Dairy and Corn, making it suitable for vegans as well as those trying to avoid these ingredients. The powder can be mixed with water or juice as a drink, but I prefer adding a scoop to pancakes and eating them with berries.

To be completely honest, I was a little apprehensive the first time I tried the product as I'm not keen on the after taste you sometimes find with protein powders, but I am absolutely in love with these pancakes, with their sweet nutty taste. It's really not necessary to serve them with maple syrup as the natural sweetness is enough, but who doesn't love a little syrup on their pancakes in the morning!

3 Ingredient Super Green Pancakes - makes approx 8-10

1 scoop of Naturelo Raw Greens Whole Food Powder
75g chickpea flour
100ml almond milk
coconut oil for frying (optional)

• Whisk the ingredients together until smooth
• Heat a little oil in a non stick pan over a medium/high heat
• Add approz 1 tbsp batter to the preheated pan
• Fry for a few minutes until lightly browned 
• Flip over and fry on the other side until lightly browned
• Repeat until all the batter has been used

commissioned post for Naturelo

Vegetarian Sweet & Savoury Mince Clanger

Another week of Bake Off is over, and last week there was only one bake that I wanted to make, and it definitely wasn't the Cumberland Rum Nicky or the Victorian Savoy Cake, as I knew that the kids wouldn't touch the Rum Nicky, and I had neither the time or the inclination to make the Savoy cake.

I knew that if I got the fillings in a Clanger right the kids would love them, as they love my pies and pasties, and I wouldn't be left having to eat them all. As I had some vegetarian mince in the freezer, and a couple of jars of home made mincemeat from two years ago in the cupboard, I knew that this could be the winning combination I needed, as everyone in the family loves both savoury mince and mince pies.

Instead of making the Clangers with suet pastry, as they're traditionally made, I decided to opt for my usual favourite pastry, which always turns out well, and works perfectly in pasties.

Well, what can I say. They turned out better than expected, and barely lasted any time at all once the husband and kids walked through the door on Friday. I used the pastry scraps to make a few mince pies, and they were also inhaled.

The pastry was light and crispy, yet substantial enough to hold the filling, and the size was just right, and with just the right amount of filling. I love making pies and pasties, and am now thinking of other sweet and savoury combinations that would work, and be perfect in a lunchbox or to take on a picnic or day out.

A Day out at the Vegetarian Society Cookery School

Last week I had the pleasure of being invited by the Vegetarian Society to their Headquarters and cookery school in Greater Manchester. All I knew was that it was going to be a day of cooking up some Vegan dishes with a handful of fellow bloggers, so I didn't really know what to expect from the food that we were going to be preparing & eating. I do like meat free dishes and cook many of them for the family, often without them knowing (bread bolognaise for example!), but I do love a steak every now and then, and couldn't see myself living without cheese.

We weren't invited along to be converted to veganism though, and there was a good balance of both vegetarians and meat eaters. One of the reasons for our visit was to be introduced to the new Vegetarian Society Approved vegan trademark, which will be appearing on products from late summer, and will help the consumer when selecting vegan approved foods, without having to scan all the ingredients, safe in the knowledge that products are 100% vegan. 

These products are guaranteed to be free from: 

• animal-derived ingredients

• cross-contamination during production

• GMOs

• animal testing, either directly or via commissioned processes. 

The Vegetarian Society is a charity passionate about veggie food, and rather than pushing meat eaters, such as myself, into becoming vegetarians or vegans they aim to help people better understand the impact of their food choices, and support those who choose to follow a vegetarian or vegan diet, whether it be every day of the week, or just on a Meat Free Monday.

The day started with an introduction to the friendly and welcoming staff, including our tutor for the day, Alex, before being shown to our workplace for the day. It was hands on right from the start, with Alex getting us involved in making our own dishes. Before long the kitchen was a hive of activity, with plenty of chopping, kneading, rolling and blending going on, in between the chatting, laughing & taking photos.

OUR TUTOR, ALEX (photo credit : Vegetarian Society)

During the day we used many ingredients that most of us hadn't come across before, including braised tofu, ackee and breadfruit. I was seriously impressed with the vegan mayonnaise made from soya milk, and I'll definitely be making that one again

One of the other dishes that stood out for me was the Solomon Gundy, which is traditionally a fish based pate, but in this instance had been made with braised tofu. If you're a vegetarian or vegan that hasn't tried braised tofu then I insist you go and buy some. I can't really explain what it's like, and whilst it has an odd initial taste, the aftertaste is really quite nice, and in the pate it worked so well. 

I also really really loved the Spicy Chickpea Tagine with pan fried Harissa Aubergine, and the cashew crème in the Fruits of the Forest Sundaes was so creamy and you would never guess that it was a dairy free nut based alternative to cream once it was paired with the berries and crunchy oat topping. Tofu scramble was a bit of a revelation for me too, as tofu can be a bit of a 'meh' ingredient, but it worked really well in this protein packed breakfast dish. I'm not convinced about Vegan cheese though, so although I'm happy to continue with my semi vegetarian diet I'm not ready to go full on vegan and ditch the cheese just yet.

BUSY BUSY BUSY (photo credit : Vegetarian Society)

TOFU SCRAMBLE

SOLOMON GUNDY

CHICKPEA TAGINE WITH HARISSA AUBERGINE

VEGAN CHOCOLATE CAKE & FRUITS OF THE FOREST SUNDAES

If you want to see more of the fab dishes that we cooked up, you can find them on this post on Facebook.

If you're a fully fledged Vegan, or maybe considering adopting a more plant based diet, then you can register here for FREE TICKETS to the Just V show in London from 7th - 9th July.

Bubble & Squeak Cakes - Slimming World Friendly Recipe

After a big roast dinner on Sunday I was left with a few vegetables that I planned to eat with some leftover roast chicken & Slimming World friendly roasties the following day. By the time the dinner table had been cleared the pile of leftover roasties was no more - 2 growing boys had scoffed the lot! They never touched the leftover greens though, so at least there was something for my lunch on Monday, which I decided to make into delicious Bubble & Squeak Cakes, with some Smash that I keep in the cupboard for potato emergencies. I used to love a bit of Smash in my single days so I was over the moon when I heard that it was free on the SW plan, as long as you eat it as part of a meal and not scoff it at every opportunity!

I know that sprouts are not everyone's cup of tea, but that's the beauty of bubble & squeak, just throw in any leftover cooked veg that you have to hand. I used broccoli, carrots, sprouts & cabbage, and spiced it up with a few chilli flakes. 

Recipe for Bubble & Squeak Cakes by Helen Jessup on Scribd

I ate 3 of these for my lunch with balsamic baby plum tomatoes that I roasted at the same time as the bubble & squeak. I enjoyed the remaining 3 later with a little sweet chilli dipping sauce (1.5 syns for 1 tbsp).

Syn Free Red Pepper Quiche (Slimming World Friendly Recipe)

I mentioned last week how I've jumped aboard the Slimming World bandwagon, and so far it's going well. To avoid boredom and running the risk of falling off the wagon I'm trying to make sure my meals are as tasty and varied as possible, so now that I've got my head around syns and healthy extras I'm going to start sharing some of my recipes on here. 

For those readers that came here looking for sweet treats then fear not as I will still be sharing some naughtier recipes too - like the Freakshake I shared last week. 

For today though, it's all about the syn free quiche, which is perfect for lunch whether you're at home or on the go as it tastes just as delicious cold as it does warm. You can add whatever you like, and add as much or as little cheese as you allow yourself (it also works well with a thinly sliced Babybel on top).

Along with making and photographing the recipes, I've also been trying my hand at making short videos to share on Facebook to show followers how easy it is to make many of my recipes (I don't like making dishes that take a lot of effort and time!). The videos (and my editing skills) are a bit rough around the edges but I'm hoping my skills will improve over time, so bear with me.

Here is the video for this recipe, and you can find a video for a delicious Roasted Brussels Sprout & Butternut Squash Salad here.

Red Pepper Quiche by Helen Jessup on Scribd

Onion & Thyme Risotto

A few weeks ago I harvested all of my allotment onions. I then dried them out in the garage and strung them up like a pro (with the aid of a You Tube tutorial), and have been using them as and when I need them. I still need to get around to making some onion chutney before they run out, but in the meantime I made a delicious onion risotto for lunch the other day - a deliciously cheap & cheerful meal.

Onion & Thyme Risotto - serves 2/3

2 tbsp olive oil (I used Truffle oil from Pomora)

4 onions, chopped

2 cloves of garlic, crushed

200g Aborio rice

600ml vegetable stock

handful fresh thyme leaves

salt & pepper

parmesan

• heat the oil in a pan & add the onions and garlic
• fry for around 3-4 minutes on med/high heat and then turn down, place the lid on & cook for a further 15-20 minutes until the onions are completely soft
• stir in the rice
• add enough stock to cover the rice and stir well
• add half of the thyme
• continue to add stock whenever the last addition has been absorbed and the rice is cooked through - towards the end of cooking time I like to turn the heat off, place the lid on and leave for 10 minutes to absorb any remaining stock without any risk of burning or sticking
• add the remaining thyme and salt & pepper to taste
• serve with grated parmesan over, and a sprig of thyme

Roasted Vegetable Cous Cous

I remember way back when I first discovered cous cous I experienced some pretty disastrous attempts at cooking it, which resulted in a bowl of unappetising stodge. My fail safe way of cooking it now is by volume - whatever volume you have of cous cous then just use double the volume of water, and leave it covered over to do it's thing - it's that easy. I then add whatever I want to give it flavour. 

For a really healthy and filling lunch I add lots of vegetables to the cous cous, either raw salad vegetables or roasted veg. This roasted vegetable cous cous is by far one of my favourite ways of eating it, and I vary it depending on the vegetables I have in.

Roasted Vegetable Cous Cous - serves 1/2

1/3 cup cous cous
2/3 cup boiling water
1/2 red pepper
1/2 green pepper
red onion
1 courgette
tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1/2 tsp garlic granules (or clove of fresh garlic, crushed)
fresh mint leaves
juice of one lime
salt & pepper to taste

• Add the cous cous to a bowl and pour on the boiling water
• Give it a quick stir and then cover over and leave
• Chop the vegetables into similar sized pieces and toss in the olive oil, balsamic and garlic granules
• Roast in the oven for approx half an hour, or in the Actifry for 10-15 minutes, until tender
• Toss into the cous cous with torn up mint leaves and lime juice
• Season to taste with salt & pepper and a little more olive oil

I love olive oil and we get through a lot of it as I use it in most dishes that I cook. Recently I was made aware of Pomora - a service that allows you to adopt an olive tree, either for yourself or give it as a gift. 

You receive an adoption certificate, information about your tree, updates from the farmer throughout the year, plus quarterly olive oil deliveries from your very own tree! All this for £29 per quarter (inc delivery).

The olio nuovo (the youngest, freshest oil bottled directly after harvest) tastes pretty delicious too!

I was provided with a pack of Pomoro Olio Nuovo free of charge

Sausage & Vegetable Bake

Weekdays can be pretty hectic and I often get home from the school run and haven't even had a thought about what I will cook for dinner. I'm a fan of one pot meals, and as the husband usually does the washing up he's a fan of them too!

This one pot meal can be started on the hob and then thrown into the oven to finish off whilst I get on with other things, like the never ending pile of washing, or writing up the next blog post.

Sausage & Vegetable Bake - serves 4/5

1 tbsp olive oil

750g sausages, cut into bite size pieces

1 red onion, sliced

1 clove garlic, crushed

1 green pepper, chopped

1 red pepper, chopped

750g potatoes, diced

200ml vegetable stock

• Heat the olive oil in an ovenproof lidded pan
• Add the sausages and fry for 5 minutes until starting to brown
• Add the onion, garlic, peppers and potato
• Fry over a low heat for 10 minutes
• Add the stock and mix well
• Place the lid on and bake in a preheated 160C oven for around 45 minutes

For this dish I used a selection of Secret Sausages, which are vegetarian sausages made from fresh garden vegetables. They are 90% less fat, 50% fewer calories & 35% less salt than normal sausages - and 3 of them make one of your 5 a day!

For the month of November Secret Sausages will be supporting Movember, so don your tache and start cooking...

I was sent a selection of sausages free of charge

Malted Rocky Road Slices

My three kids love Shreddies, or should I say Malted Wheaties, the supermarket own brand version. They get through around three boxes per week and eat them for breakfast as well as an after school snack. I tip the cereal into plastic containers otherwise we end up with loads of half empty boxes in the pantry, but after a couple of weeks there's always lots of crumbs at the bottom which nobody wants to eat.

As I don't like to see food go to waste I decided to put the crumbs to good use, and make some Rocky Road, with some vegetarian marshmallows that I had recently been sent.

Malted Rocky Road Slices

450g Milk chocolate (or Chocolate cake covering as it's cheaper & sets quicker)

175g crushed Malted Wheaties (Shreddies)

150g Marshmallows

• Line an 8" square tin with baking paper
• Melt 300g of the chocolate on short bursts in the microwave
• Stir in the Malted Wheaties and marshmallows
• Tip into the tin and press down
• Refrigerate until set
• Melt the remaining chocolate and spread over the rocky road & place back in the fridge until set
• Cut into bars & enjoy!

The kids absolutely loved these, even more than regular rocky road made with biscuits as they weren't as sweet (that surprised me coming from children!)

These marshmallows by Freedom Mallows are completely vegetarian, and instead of using gelatin they use biogum as a binding agent. I was interested to see what my children thought of them and whether they thought they differed from regular marshmallows - the verdict was that they tasted just as good, if not better, than regular marshmallows.

I was sent the Freedom Mallows free of charge

Minted Two Pea Burgers

My kids surprised me last week when I asked them if they preferred beef burgers or Mums homemade veggie burgers, and they said veggie burgers. I wasn't as surprised by Hanna as she loves salads and vegetables but teenage Sam does like his meat and I really thought that he would prefer beef burgers. I must say that it did please me, not only because veggie burgers are healthier but they are also cheaper - these cost under £1 for 8 burgers.

Minted Two Pea Burgers - makes 8

400g Chickpeas

200g Frozen peas, steamed & drained

1 tsp dried rosemary

2 tbsp Mint sauce

Olive oil for frying

• Place the peas & chickpeas into a bowl & mash with a potato masher
• Stir in the rosemary and mint sauce & mix well
• Divide the mixture into eight and form into patties & set aside
• Heat a little oil in a frying pan and fry the burgers for a few minutes on each side

Serve on a toasted English muffin/bread roll with lettuce and yoghurt, cucumber & mint dip

52 Cook Books : Red Bean & Mushroom Burgers

It's time for the 52 Cook Books Challenge again and this time I asked Jack to pick me a book from the cookbook cupboard in his bedroom. I was hopeful for another baking book but was slightly disappointed by his very unseasonal choice of 50 Best Ever Barbecues by Christine France.

Apart from lots of lovely marinated barbecued meat there are also a few desserts and veggie dishes, including the one that I chose, Red Bean & Mushroom Burgers. As Hanna pointed out when she saw the finished burgers, they are quite green looking, but if you cast that aside and taste with your mouth and not your eyes then you will discover that these are lovely tasting burgers and everyone loved them.

I'm not sure that I would ever risk cooking them on a bbq though as they are quite fragile, but using a griddle pan was perfect.

Red Bean & Mushroom Burgers - makes 4

tbsp Olive oil

half a red onion, finely chopped

1 garlic clove, finely chopped

1tsp cumin powder

1 tsp coriander powder

1/2 tsp turmeric

115g mushrooms, finely chopped

400g can of red kidney beans

fresh coriander (or coriander paste)

a little flour

• Heat the oil in a frying pan and add the onion and garlic
• Fry for a couple of minutes until softened
• Add the spices and fry for another minute before adding the mushrooms
• Fry until the mushrooms are softened and dry
• Remove from heat
• Mash the kidney beans with a fork and add to the pan with the coriander & mix well
• Form into burgers, using a little flour on your hands to stop them sticking
• Spray or brush with a little more oil and cook on a hot griddle pan for a few minutes each side

Home Made Healthy Pot Noodle

Last week I started exercising and eating healthy(ish). I often struggle at lunchtimes with knowing what to eat that doesn't involve too much prep, and just grab a few crispbreads, which don't tend to be very filling. I decided to get organised and chop some veggies ready for lunches for a few days, as well as precooking some noodles and chick peas.

I had seen a Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall show a few days previously where he had made his own pot noodles. I wondered if I could do something similar that could be prepared in advance and eaten at home or at work, but healthy at the same time.

I had some sachets of Miso soup in the cupboard, which to be honest, I'm not very keen on just on it's own but they came in handy for my pot noodle.

Firstly I took a little of each of my vegetables, chick peas and noodles and added them to a travel mug.

   

I then squeezed the sachet of Miso on the top and poured boiling water onto it, and stirred. Hey presto, a pot noodle in an instant!

If your veggies and noodles have come straight from the fridge you might want to warm them up a little in the microwave but I found that room temperature ingredients produced a noodle soup that was just right.