Skinny Breakfast Sundaes

I'm really getting into this food blogging! Apart from the fact it means I have a record of my recipes (I used to be so bad at writing things down before I started doing this), one of the best things about food blogging is that I've discovered loads of food blogs I'd never come across before and got some great ideas from them.

Here are a few of my favourites.

http://antoniathecuisinequeen.blogspot.co.uk/  http://wannabequeenofcuisine.co.uk/ : First off a friend of mine. Antonia probably loves food as much as anyone I know and her passion really comes across in her blog. She's a weight watchers leader so theres a great mixture of healthy ideas and twists on indulgent treats. She has two websites at the moment. The second link includes a restaurant blog with her own reviews of some great Liverpool restaurants. Keep it up Ant, loving your work!

http://thevoguevegetarian.wordpress.com/ : Another friend from Liverpool. Some fab food photography and some gorgeous vegetarian food ideas. Love the blog Kirsty!

http://chocolatecoveredkatie.com/ I've posted a link to this one before but its still one of my favourites. All vegan and all about the desserts. I couldn't get enough of her chocolate chip blondies made with chickpeas. (Sounds weird I know but it really works!) She's given me so many ideas.

http://amybites.com/ Amy's blog description reads, "A little healthy, a little sweet, a lot delicious!" I couldn't agree more. She does like healthy alternatives and wholesome ingredients but some of the recipes in her 'Sunday Sweets' section are unapologetically naughty. Her latest post of Kahlua Brownies looks absolutely to die for!

http://www.girlmakesfood.com/ This blog is all about food, health and nutrition so its right up my street. There are some gorgeous vegetarian meal ideas and she uses some unusual healthy ingredients. I cant wait to try her Socca flatbreads. I recently made her banana nut granola. It was completely free from refined sugar and absolutely delicious. The sweetness came from the banana but as I have a really sweet tooth I added a generous squeeze of agave nectar.With milk, this granola tasted like crunchy nut clusters but with a fraction of the sugar. I also used this granola in this simple breakfast idea: My skinny breakfast sundaes! A light nutritious breakfast that tastes like a real treat. It would be great for a snack or a dessert as well.

Skinny Breakfast Sundaes:

Ingredients:

100mls fat free Greek yogurt

3 tablespoons homemade sugar free jam or fresh fruit.

3 tablespoons homemade granola (recipe above)

Directions,

Its easy, layer the fruit or jam, and yogurt,top with the crunchy granola and tuck in!

The jam was really easy to make, basically boil some strawberries or other berries with a generous squeeze of agave nectar and a little water just covering the bottom of the pan. Let this boil fairly fast for about 10 minutes until the fruit has started to break down and the liquid has reduced. Chill n the fridge until thickened to a jam-like consistency. It will keep in the fridge for about a week. The agave nectar makes it really sweet without the artificial taste of other sweeteners but keeps the GI low. In case you hadn't realised yet its one of my favourite ingredients and I seem to be putting it in everything at the moment. This tastes better than real jam, with half the calories and more of the real fruit goodness. SWEET!

Low fat Tiramisu

Last weekend I did a lot of cooking, a lot of eating and and no excercise so wasn't feeling too perky sitting at my desk on Monday morning. But what the hell! Sometimes you just need a weekend off right?

I love weekends like that and Sunday is usually my day for pottering about in the kitchen and experimenting. I posted on Facebook a week or so ago that I'd had a brainwave for a low fat tiramisu recipe. Its always been one of my favourite puds but the idea to try and healthify it came from one of Andy's work colleagues. He's been taking my cakes in to work. Partly to be nice (everyone likes the guy who brought cake!) but mainly so that the two of us don't it all ourselves. For me though its always nice to get feedback especially from people who don't know you. (Although they do work with my very nice but very grumpy boyfriend so they could just be being polite!)

Anyway last week, one of Andy's colleagues who left some particulary positive comments on my blog, asked him if I'd ever made a low fat tiramisu. I hadn't every really thought about it if I'm honest. I tend to think that desserts like tiramisu are there to be indulgent and so if your going to worry about calories you probably shouldn't be eating them. My philospohy isn't usually to cut down on calories, as much as it is to get something positive for your body from everything you eat and cut back on the negatives without compromising on the overall enjoyment of what your eating.

However I like a challenge so I scoured the internet for low fat tiramisu recipes to see what was already about. As I suspected they all used things like, low fat soft cheese, creme fraiche, and greek yogurt in some cases! Surely that would just taste sour, like a low-fat- not-as-good-as-a-real-dessert version of a tiramisu! Whats the point! If your going to have something that tastes like a 'healthy dessert' why not just have some fresh fruit and greek yogurt?

Theres no getting around it in my book! A real tiramisu is made with mascarpone and ther should be no compromising there. However when I found a lighter mascarpone cheese from tesco with 30% less fat, my brain suddenly came accross the answer of how to make a lower fat, great tasting tiramisu that doesn't taste like your on a diet but that doesn't require a 10 mile run then next day to burn off a small piece.

You can go on the 10 mile run if you want to though and you will be a better runner than me at the moment if you do!

So here it is:

LOW FAT TIRAMISU

Ingredients:

250g tub Tesco lighter mascarpone cheese

250g tub quark

2 individual pots of Alpro Soya creamy vanilla dessert

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

24 sponge finger biscuits

300mls freshly brewed espresso

25-50mls brandy (to taste)

1 tablespoon dark agave nectar

1 tablespoon cocoa powder.

Directions:

Whip the mascarpone, quark, soya desserts and vanilla extract until you get a smooth thick consistancy. Leave in the fridge.

Mix the espresso, brandy and agave in a shllow dish. take half of the sponge fingers and soak each biscuit in the coffee mixture for a few seconds then place them into the bottom of a medium sized serving dish to cover the bottom of the dish.

Take the mascarpone mixture and carefully spread half of the mixture in a layer on top of the soaked biscuits.

Repeat the two layers again and and finish by sifting the cocoa powder gently over the top.

This recipe makes 6 generous servings but you could easily get 8 out of it. It weighs in at 282 calories per 1/6th of the recipe and 6.5g saturated fat. Compare this with a Pizza express serving which has 539 calories/ slice. (These calorie calculations came from myfitnesspal.)

I think its a winner and I swear you couldn't tell it was low fat. The mascarpone made it super creamy and luxurious while the quark and soya desserts bulked out the mascarpone without adding excess saturated fat. The soya dessert did contain sugar but that was the only sugar added. It gave the mixture a lovely vanilla sweetness which cut through the quark stopping it from tasting to cheesy. It also cut down on the amount of dairy in the recipe which is great as I sometimes find really creamy dairy desserts can be difficult to digest.

All in all I was so pleased with it I took it outside and posed for a loving portait with it.... before we got stuck in and it didn't look so pretty.

Really proud of this one and can't wait to make it again! Perfect with a glass of red wine! Enjoy!

xxx

Courgette, roasted red pepper and basil risotto (under 600 calories!)

Last night, for the first time in ages I spent Saturday night in on my own. Andy was out and I couldn't recruit anyone to come and keep me company so there I was home alone. I wasn't looking forward to the prospect but then I decided to use the opportunity of a night by myself to indulge in the things that Andy doesn't like, namely X-Factor and risotto!

First things first lets talk about X-Factor! I didn't watch any of it last year. Andy really doesn't like it and we only had one TV. I could have put my foot down and watched it anyway but then I would have had to put up with the complaining. It didn't seem worth it.

Well sorry Andy but I watched it last night and I'm hooked! OK so I know its super staged and cheesy but its so much fun and I get quite emotional watching it. (nothing to do with the whole bottle of wine I drank of course!) It was the Liverpool auditions last night which was special to me because I lived there for 5 years. I don't think you will find people more passionate than scousers and they didn't disappoint. My favorite by far was Christopher Maloney, the older guy who came to the auditions with his lovely Nan and was massively nervous. I actually cried when he sang because he was so good. I cant help it, I'm an emotional wreck with these things and a sucker for a good sob story. Anyway my Saturday nights are sorted for the next few months now!

So along with my emotional reality TV fix, I made myself something else that Andy wouldn't like but that's always been one of my favorite things to eat- risotto!.

I sometimes order it in a restaurant but not often as it is really carb-heavy and restaurants usually finish it with lots of butter, cream and cheese so they can be really stodgy and fattening. Also because of the high fat content in some risottos, you often get a relatively small potion. I don't do small portions and I wanted a big bowl of silky risotto, with loads of flavour and minimal fat. The perfect comfort food dish for one! It comes in at around 550 calories which may sound like a lot but actually for a complete meal its not bad, also it makes a MASSIVE portion so most people would probably be able to scale it down (or even serve 2 with it) to suit smaller appetites. It does have cheese in it but only 20g and you really don't need any more than that as hard Italian cheese like parmesan or pecorino have such a strong flavour.

Here's how I did it:

Ingredients:

75g Arborio rice

100 ml white wine

600ml chicken/vegetable stock

1 Medium sized courgette

1 Red pepper

1/2 Onion

20g Pecorino or any had Italian cheese

1 Large clove of garlic

2 Teaspoons olive oil

Handful fresh basil

Directions:

Preheat the oven to around 180 degrees C. Chop the red pepper into 1cm pieces and roast in 1 teaspoon of olive oil for 15 minutes.

While the peppers are roasting, fry the onion, garlic and courgette in a saucepan with 1 teaspoon of olive oil for about 3-4 minutes until the volume is reduced and the veg is translucent. 

Add the rice and cook for a further 2 minutes making sure the rice is all fully coated.

Add the wine and simmer until all the liquid has been absorbed. Then add the stock a bit at a time, adding more when the liquid has been absorbed and stirring occasionally to stop it sticking to the pan. It should take around 20 minutes until all the stock is absorbed and the rice is cooked but still firm.

Add the roasted peppers at the last minute, stir in the grated pecorino and chopped basil and season to taste.

I saved some of the pecorino and basil to sprinkle over the top to make it look pretty!

I treated myself to a bottle of white wine to go with it. It was on rollback at Asda so I got it for a fiver when it should have been about £7.As I've said before I don't know much about wine especially white wine but I loved it. It was dry but really fruity and light. I finished the whole bottle by myself!

The perfect Saturday night in by myself. Wine, risotto and my choice in TV. I wouldn't want to do it every week but as a one off it was actually really nice.

Today I'm going to go to the gym and then reward my hard work with a low fat tiramisu! See you soon! xxx

Easy chocolate cake thats good for you!!

No its not too good to be true!

I really have made a yummy, soft, light and really chocolatey cake thats not just 'not too bad for you', but actively good!!!

And the best thing is that people who aren't health food fans wont suspect a thing! It tastes totally indulgent!

OK I'm not saying its calorie free, or that you should eat the whole thing or anything, but if you taste it you wouldn't believe that it was made with whole wheat flour, no sugar and no butter!

To top it off its really simple to make!

What are you waiting for?!?!?

I iced this fatboy cake with lower fat peanut butter frosting which does have sugar in it (although not as much as traditional buttercream and a LOT less saturated fat!). If you wanted a completely sugar free version you could finish it with fresh cream and raspberries or cherries which would make a gorgeous summer dessert. My version has some sugar but about 60% less than a traditional sponge cake with buttercream, not to mention around 60% less saturated fat as well and an extra protein hit from the peanut butter! (I'm just guessing the percentages based on the percentages of fat differences in butter and low fat spread so may not be 100% acurate but they should be about right.)

I've just had a slice after a particularly hard gym session and it ticks all the right boxes,

• complex carbs
• protein
• low sugar
• delish!

Note: The key to making it sugar free was that I used one of my favourite ingredients, agave nectar, for sweetness. Both honey and agarve are both good natural sweetners however Agave Nectar is low in GI and doesn't make the insulin levels spike which can cause fatigue and cravings for more sugar soon after you've eaten. Its also lower in calories than sugar or even honey. You can get it in most health food shops and even in some supermarkets now. Its awsome on greek yogurt or porridge for breakfast.

Anyway, back to the cake!

Want to know how I made it??

Thought so... here it is:

Ingredients:

100g self raising flour

150g whole wheat self raising flour

4 tablespoons cocoa powder

2 eggs

half teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon bicarbinate of soda

150mls sunflower oil

100 mls semi skimmed milk

200mls dark Agave Nectar

Directions:

Grease and line 2 sandwich tins and preheat the oven to 150 degrees C.

Weigh the flour, salt, bicarb and sift the cocoa powder into a mixing bowl and mix well.

In a seperate bowl whisk the eggs, then add the milk, oil and agave and whisk until combined. Pour the wet mixture into the dry, combine and then whisk with and electic whisk for a few minutes.

The mixture will be quite sloppy. Pour it into the two tins and then bake for 25-30 minutes until a skewer comes out clean. Leave to cool in the tins.

To make the lower fat peanut butter frosting:

Ingredients:

150g lurpak lightest spread

2 heaped dessert spoons of peanut butter.

100g icing sugar

Directions:

Whisk all the ingredients, taste and add more sugar if you like it sweeter and then chill in the fridge for an hour.

Once the cake is completely cooled, ice with the frosting in the middle and on the top. I finished mine with a little grated dark chocolate.

You can get 10 genorous slices out of the cake or upto 14 slimline pieces. the calorie counter I usually use didnt list Agave Nectar so I couldnt work out the exact calories but an educated guess I think the cake alone works aout at around 230 cals/slice, moving upto 300 with the frosting. Compare that to a similar sized slice of chocolate fudge cake and you would usually be looking at around 450 Cals. Then add in all the extra goodness thats packed into this cake and its a no brainer, my cake wins hands down!

I'm really proud of this cake because it came out loads better than I expected and the texture was really light, soft and moist!

I posted a picture of it on facebook last night and my friend Jo has requested I make her one for her birthday next month. I'm going to see her on Friday (cant wait to catch up) so have promised to bring some of this one over with me if any survives that long that is!!! 

Peace (of cake) out! xxx

Warning! Highly addictive substance! My mums famous marsbar crispie cakes!

Kate Moss once famously said that "Nothing tastes as good as being skinny feels."

Well Kate obviously hasn't tried these! They are seriously dangerous!

Now usually I'm all for trying to give recipes a healthy twist, replace a bit of the fat or refined sugar or simply add some extra fibre or protein but with these bad boys, there is no redemption.

My mum used to make these foolproof treats for birthday parties and special occasions when we were kids. I have no idea where she got the original recipe from but i know she didn't make it up so I can't claim the credit for it even on her behalf. I have actually pimped the recipe a little from the way mum used to make it by adding a layer of chocolate topping making it even richer and naughtier. The opposite of what i usually do but what the hell!

I have made these for lots of my friends for birthdays, parties or just if they need a little cheering up and they always go down a storm. They are so easy to make as well and I have been requested by Anna Dunstan and Claire Williams to share this recipe so even though its absolutely not in any way healthy so not really in keeping with this blog, here it is. I reckon it tastes so good that its pure happiness in every piece so thats bound to be good for you anyway. Enjoy ladies!

Ingredients:

4 mars bars
4oz salted butter
400g rice crispies
100g milk chocolate

Directions:

Grease and line a 20cm square dish or cake tin with baking paper.
Chop each of the mars bars into 5 or 6 pieces and dice the butter nto smal chunks. Melt the butter and marsbars together in a pan mixing until smooth and combined.

Measure rice crispies into a large mixing bowl and pour over the mars bar mixture. Combine everything s that the rice crispies are evenly coated and press into the lined tray.

Melt the chocolate over a bowl of boiled water and then spread evenly over the crispie cake.

Leave in the fridge to set for at least an hour then take ut of the fridge for 20 minutes before cutting into squares. Best to store at room temp or in the friedge but take out and leave to warm up a little before eating.

I have yet to find anyone who doesn't love these little bites of naughtiness!

Just dont even think about the calories in this one!

Andy's favorite Banana & date loaf with cinnamon crumble topping

OK I think I've got a bit of an obsession with overripe bananas at the moment.


My boyfriend thinks I'm very picky because I refuse to eat a banana when it goes slightly brown and spotty. Truth be told I like them still slightly green best. Wierd I know but dont hold it against me... the over ripe bananas in our house cerainly don't go to waste. I actually love the sweetness of overripe bananas when cooked. They go in cakes, cookies, smoothies, ice creams (cant wait to try that out when I get an ice cream maker- but may have to hope for one for Christmas if I've been good!) and of course my weekend breakfast of choice, porridge.


I recently made a batch of these banana, peanut butter, chocolate chip cookies. They were delicious and as usual me and my partner-in-baked-goods-crime, Andy ate far too many of them.


Then a couple of weeks ago I had a few such overripe specimens knocking around at the end of the week so used them to make a simple banana cake recipe I found at allrecipes. click here to try it. It was excellent and as usual when I bake cake, it didnt last very long. Like the cookies though it wasn't particularly healthy and was full of refined sugar and empty calories, so I started thinking about how I could give this recipe a healthy makeover by substituting some of the ingredients but hopefully none of the flavour.

I think I have achieved this. My boyfriend is my official banana cake tester and has now tried about 5 different variations of the cake and loves it! After several (all pretty nice i have to say) attempts I think I have come up with the best of both worlds. A delicious luxuriously moist and sweet cake that is healthy too! I have substituted the sugar for dates so that it is all natural sugar and none refined (apart from 1 teaspoon in the crumble topping but this is optional and the cake is still really good without it!).  I have also subbed some of the flour for wholemeal self raising flour. This combined with the dates adds tones of fiber making it full of slow release energy. At first I used all wholewheat flour but the cake turned out slightly too dense so to lighten it up again I added in some plain self-raising flour.

I toyed with the idea of using oil or peanut butter for fat instead of the butter but in the end I opted against it. I want this to taste like a deliciously more-ish teatime treat not a 'healthy snack'. Instead of substituting i have scaled back on the butter slightly and added more milk. This way it keeps its luxurious buttery taste and its still a bit lighter.

Unfortunaely the first time I made it I attempted to take it out of the tin too soon, nearly dropped it, and as I saved it ended up punching the cake in the middle so it was pretty squished but still tasted good. Even though we still ate it (of course!!!) I do recommend not punching your cake when it comes out of the oven!

Here goes...

Ingredients:

For the cake:

200g chopped dates
100g whole wheat self raising flour
100g plain self raising flour
100g butter
80mls milk
1tspn baking powder
1 tspn vanilla extract
pinch salt
2 large very ripe bananas
1 egg

For the crumble topping:

1 tablespoon wholewheat flour
pinch salt
1 teaspoon brown sugar
generous pinch of cinnamon
1 tspn butter

Directions:

Grease and line a standard loaf tin and preheat the oven to 160 degrees C.

Add the butter and 150g of the dates to a small pan and melt together. Once butter is melted simmer mixture on a very low heat for about 5 minutes while you measure the other ingredients then set aside to cool slightly.
In a separate bowl, mix together the 2 flours, salt, baking powder and the rest of the chopped dates.
Blend the bananas, milk and egg and vanilla extract.The easiest way to do it is with an electric hand blender. Add this mixture to the cooled dates and butter and mix well.
Add the wet mixture to the dry and mix quickly. Don't over mix it or you will end up with a tough chewy cake.
Pour into the lined tin and bake for a total of 50 minutes.
While the cake is starting to bake make the crumble topping by rubbing the butter into the dry ingredients. Add the crumble to the cake after 30 mins and then continue to bake for a further 20.

Ok so this cake isn't particularly low in calories but lets be honest, cakes that are low in cals usually taste like they are! Has anyone really had a decent sized slice of cake under 150 cals that actually tasted delicious?? If so I want to hear about it but I'm pretty skeptical. Cake is meant to be nice its not meant to be low in calories. However if like me you want to make room in a balanced diet for nice things like cake then wouldn't you rather feel like it was doing you some good as well as being yummy? Surely thats a double whammy! I'm not saying I don't enjoy sugary cakes and biscuits sometimes this cake is perfect as it really doesn't compromise on flavor and isn't full of empty calories.

|Absolute perfection with a cup of tea! xx

Healthy home made 'breakfast friendly' hobnob style biscuits

I'm a firm believer that breakfast is really important. I rarely miss it but usually have something at my desk when I get to work because if I eat before leaving the house I find I'm hungry again by about 10am. This means that for my breakfasts in the week I need to have something quick and convenient as there is no toaster or cooking equipment at work. With that in mind my choices are limited. I sometimes have cereal like fruit & fiber or Dorset cereals but as I've mentioned before I'm not great at portion control. I reckon lots of people are the same because the 30-40g recommended serving of cereals is actually not that much. Before you know it you could be doubling the amount of calories it states for 1 serving on the box and not even realize it.

Ready made so called 'breakfast' products like cereal bars, muffins or breakfast biscuits are actually really high in sugar. Now I do think a bit of sugar is OK in the morning especially if you have worked out but these processed snacks always leave me with a sickly sweet taste in the mouth and set me up with sugar cravings for the rest of the day. I must confess I do actually really enjoy a few biscuits with my coffee for breakfast and I have been known to eat 4 or 5 hobnobs to set me up for the day. Hobnobs are actually made with wholewheat flour and oats so have a decent amount of fiber and at 72 cals each, 5 biscuits actually makes for a decent sized breakfast BUT they are made with a high percentage of corn syrup which gives them that super sweet golden syrup flavor and immediately makes you crave more.

I decided to try and make my own version of this crunchy oaty biscuit that would be much less sweet and therefore suitable for the first meal of the day. For sweetness I used honey which is a natural source of sugar so much better for us that sickly uber-refined corn syrup and also gives them a really nice delicate flavor. They are packed full of fiber so they should keep me full for at least a good chunk of the morning and the fat I used is olive oil which is low in saturates. In short they are about as breakfast friendly as any biscuit is likely to get although there is no protein so I would recommend adding another element alongside the biscuits for a really balanced breakfast. Perhaps a yogurt, some cottage cheese or peanut butter.

They are also a great afternoon/ pre-gym snack with dark chocolate on top. If you use good quality dark chocolate and spread it sparingly it only alters the nutrition content slightly.

Here's what I did:

Ingredients:

180g wholewheat pastry flour
60g oats
60g olive oil
60g honey
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
pinch of salt.
Optional: 60g dark chocolate

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 160 degrees C and line a flat baking tray with baking paper.

Mix flour, oats, salt and baking powder in one bowl and in another whisk the oil, honey and vanilla extract together with a fork until combined. Pour the oil mixture into the dry ingredients and mix into a dough with hands. Carefully make small balls about the size of a 2p coin and place onto the baking sheet. One by one flatten the balls on the sheet into flat, round biscuit shapes about 2-3mm thick. The biscuits will hold the same shape once cooked so get them exactly how you want them now. Bake in batches of 12 for about 7-8 minutes until just starting to brown at the edges.

Once cool you can add the chocolate topping if you want by melting the chocolate over a bowl of hot water and then spreading a thin layer on each biscuit and setting in the fridge for 20 minutes.

Nutritionally the plain biscuits have 63 calories compared with 72 for a bought hobnob and tonnes less sugar and additives.

The chocolate variety have 70 calories compared with 95 for a dark chocolate Mcvities hobnob. (Calories calculated at spark people.)

I'm not saying they taste exactly the same. They are much less sweet so don't expect an exact replica but I think they are much nicer and a really convenient brekkie delicious with coffee.  Not to mention the satisfaction of actually making something yourself!

Enjoy! xx