Healthy Chocolate Pudding....Banana and Avocado-Free!

One of the first things that got me interested in eating a more balanced way and especially in the "clean-eating" trend, was the "healthy" desserts. I have the biggest sweet tooth, so any desserts with without butter and refined sugars sounded fantastic to me. 

I tried a couple here and there, avocado cookies and pudding and they turned out great they really did! So delicious, and you really can't taste the avocado.

But sometimes, it's fun to play around. See this below?

Yes, yes. It's not the prettiest brown splodge in the world...*poo emoji* I was planning on making ice cream with it, but I couldn't be bothered to wait for it to freeze because it tasted DELICIOUS. You'll just have to take my word for it and try it yourself.

The other major plus with this recipe? It contains no avocado and no banana, which is important in my life as I have a boyfriend who isn't the biggest fan of bananas (I'm never going to be able to make healthy banana ice cream).

The recipe is still vegan, gluten, dairy and refined sugar free.

So then WHAT THE HELL IS IN THIS?! I hear you cry!

Find out below......

Healthy Hummus with a Twist

I just created my best hummus recipe and so I obvs had to immediately share it.

Hummus has always been a staple for me. I always have tahini and lemons at home, so when I can't be bothered to cook at night and I'm so hungry I just grab a can of chickpeas, some carrots and cucumbers and rye bread and make a huge bowl. It takes 2 minutes and it's a great healthy alternative to a takeaway or snacking.

As you can see, mine is slightly green. This is the twist! The secret is....spinach. I wanted to add more greens to my hummus so I threw in a couple of spinach leaves and it made the hummus that much better.

The Best Healthy 3 Ingredient Pancakes!

I have seen so many 2 or 3-ingredient pancake recipes around. They seem too good to be true, pictures of fluffy pancakes, using only banana and egg. I decided to do my research and test them out for myself and see just how they turned out.

I think I created a recipe that's even better than most I've seen. They are protein packed, gluten free, dairy free and refined sugar free! They have the simplest addition to the recipe that I've never seen online! Even my banana-hating boyfriend loved these pancakes. I think that says something.

Restaurant Review: Paradise Garage

Clearly railway arches are the new place to be if you’re a restaurant. Robin Gill’s third restaurant sits under the railway arches of Bethnal Green, sat along next to gorgeous restaurant by Sager & Wilde, Mission. 

He is the chef who created and owns the well-renowned restaurants in London, The Dairy and The Manor.

Already completely enchanted by The Manor and The Dairy, I knew this would be good, but how could he possibly surprise me and surpass himself with this new venture?

Carrot, Sweet Potato and Turmeric Soup

The days are getting shorter, the nights longer and it is generally colder and more miserable all round. Winter is coming. 

It is tempting during this period to indulge a little more than normal, to comfort and to feel better. Salads in Winter are a huge no, but in the long run indulgent and heavy meals won't make you feel better either.

The best thing to do in Winter is to make soup. Tons and tons of soup. Soups are like hugs in a bowl: warm and comforing, just what you need on a cold night. And you can fill them with so much goodness, it's like a superfood cocktail.

Aside from the fact they are so healthy for you, another major bonus is that they are ridiculously cheap and easy to make and you can make huge batches in one go and keep them for the rest of the week.

So, what make this soup a superfood cocktail?

Restaurant Review: Oldroyd

It was the day of the London Tube Strikes. I had a booking at Oldroyd at 7pm.  I had four options:

Option 1: Forget about the booking. But there was no way I was letting this one go. I was more excited to visit this restaurant than other in the past few months.

Option 2: Take a bike. I would have taken this option (even though I am scared stiff of riding on London roads - and haven't ridden a bike in 10 years) but I had two heavy bags with me, one bag on each handle? I would be never be able to balance myself.

Otion 3: Take a taxi. The last time there was a tube strike, the usual 30 minute journey took an hour in a taxi. I am not one to be late!!

Option 4: Walk. I walked 55 minutes from Soho to Islington with two heavy bags. All in the name of food eh? Definitely deserved the dinner after that.

Restaurant Review: Taberno Do Mercardo, Spitalfields

I'm going to lay my cards on the table right now. I am such a fan of Nuno Mendes. I loved Corner Room and I loved Chiltern Firehouse, so I was always going to look favourably on Taberno do Mercardo.

Portugese food intrigues me, I've never had it before and didn't know what to expect.

Taberno is probably the furthest you could get away from Firehouse, which I'm sure was a very conscious decision. The restaurant decor is very simple: whitewashed, wooden tables and spindly chairs. It's all about the food here.

Courgetti Puttanesca: Healthy Comfort Food

I haven't eaten pasta at home in a long time. I've been making a lot of brown rice and quinoa salads lately, which are great, but I've been craving that comforting feeling that only a big bowl of delicious pasta and ragu can give.

I decided to switch things up and make it super low carb and healthy instead, by making courgetti! Or spaghetti made out of courgette.

And it was honestly delicious, even the boyfriend didn't miss pasta. It was warming, delicious but didn't leave me bloated or heavy. Just what I was after!!

Recipe after the jump!

Ottolenghi's Shakshuka

If you haven't already guessed from my instagram, brunch is my favourite meal of the day. There are a myriad of reasons why it's the best meal. It's at the perfect, not really sure when, time of day, it contains eggs and can be made healthy or unhealthy with the addition of bacon/cheese or avocado, depending on how you feel, and it is fairly difficult to get wrong.

Yotam Ottolenghi will probably go down as the man who mainstreamed shakshuka in the UK. By including it in his incredibly popular recipe books, and then on his menu at his restaruants and delis in London, he made it extremely accessible for anyone to try this exotic sounding dish; the shakshuka. Factor in our ever growing fondness for brunch and middle eastern foods, this dish of baked eggs and spices was always going to be a big hit. That and the fact it's delicious, of course!

I decided to make a little version the other day. The original recipe calls for 8 eggs, I think two for two people is enough.

It's pretty simple, one-pan meal. You just need to prepare all the food and spices, throw it in the pan and let it simmer and cook. 

My favourite kind of cooking: one that I don't have to worry about, with very little washing.

The Manor, Clapham.

The end of December. That weird time of limbo between Christmas and NYE. I was working, not much else was happening, as we were all busy getting over Christmas and preparing for New Year. The Manor, sister restaurant to the Dairy opened at the beginning of December (if I remember correctly) and from the minute it opened, everyone was going crazy about it. And if the Dairy is anything to go by, I had no doubt the praise was well deserved.

Being bored around this time, I decided as this is the time for feasting and over indulgence, why not try booking a table. Unbelievably that night The Manor had tables free (may have changed now!). I booked without hesitation!! And trecked it down to Clapham.

We had a little amuse to start of of a cracker with nori.

A. Wong, Victoria.

There's Chinese food and then there's Chinese food. At A.Wong in Victoria, they are recreating Chinese food in fine dining, small plates form.

We were sat up at the bar, watching the good, the bad and the ugly unfurl at the heart of the kitchen.

Casamia, Bristol

We went for a weekend trip to Bristol a little while ago, a short trip for a little recharge. We probably didn't research as well as we should have to do some of the cultural, arty things Bristol has to offer, but what we did research (obvs) was what restaurants to go to!!

One that I've heard much about is the one-star Casamia.

Chez Elles, Shoreditch

On a recent wander down Brick Lane in search of lunch, we found a cute French restaurant called Chez Elles, ran by three gorgeous girls.

The place has a feel of a neighbourhood bistro, instead of being on the busy, bustling Brick Lane.

We started with gorgeous garlic snails.

And a ham hock terrine.

Moules et frites!

Bavetter steak.

Along with the best chocolate moulleux I've ever had. So gooey and rich. Just delicious. Along with a scoop of homemade pistachio ice cream.

Not entirely groundbreaking, but for that cake alone I will be back.

A Weekend in Paris, Part Trois

Saturday was a very very long day. After seeing Dirty Dicks (a bar, people!) in Pigalle, we just walked around the areas and explored for a bit, taking in all the beauty of street corner here and a building there.

A Weekend in Paris, Part Deux

So we woke up far too early for breakfast that was scheduled in at 9am. I kid you not, we had an itinerary of sites to see so I could see as much of Paris as possible.

After breakfast at Claus (not the best, but the cakes were lovely) we headed straight off to the Louvre.

A Weekend in Paris, Part One.

I've never been to Paris before.

I know I know it's like 2 hours away (quicker to get to than where I went to uni in York), but I've just never made it over there. And it's like always been my dream to go. The romance, the beauty the chic women, the pastries and patisserie!! The Louvre, the Eiffel Tower and the Arc de Triomphe! Oh and stripes and moustaches of course. I wanted to see it all.

Finally, a few weekends ago, I ended up going. I was praying I didn't get that Paris Syndrome that Japanese tourists get when they go to Paris because they're so disappointed that it's not like the movies. I had however heard about, and prepared myself for shit-covered pavements and rude waiters.

Arriving Friday evening after work, I was swiftly whisked away for dinner at a gorgeous little wine bar/restaurant called O Divin! Found after hours spent perusing blogs about Parisienne restaurants (the reputation in London is that the food there isn't great) I decided on this one from the great Paris restaurant blog, The Paris Kitchen.

We sat outside in a little courtyard on a very balmy evening and ordered the 6 course set menu (which changes weekly) along with a delicious wine pairing.

So, I can't remember what this is (or most of the dishes, we didn't have a written menu) but what I do know is that the first two dishes were interesting and ok, but not outstanding. However what followed was the best food we had in Paris!!

Fera by Simon Rogan, Claridge's

I was completely spoiled on my birthday. What started out as a picnic in Hyde park on a gorgeously sunny day turned into a surprise birthday dinner at a restaurant I've wanted to go to since it opened - Fera.

Everything felt so special - the walk in the main entrance of Claridge's, being greeted by top-hatted and tailed doormen, and being guided by the manager through to Fera. 

The dim entrance only served to make the room of the restaurant all the more impressive.

Sushi Tetsu

It starts like this.

Midnight Duck and Waffle Feast

There's a reason it stays open 24 hours and it's time we made the most of it.

The night of my birthday party, after all the celebrations, my boy and I headed for a midnight feast in Duck and Waffle - his first time too!

We started with lobster foie gras creme brûlée - possibly my favourite dish ever from D&W.

Octopus, potato, capers and balsamic.

City Social - The Highest Restaurant in Jason Atherton's Empire

Jason Atherton is pretty much everywhere right now. Opening up many restaurants in the past two years all over the world, not just London, with a few gaining Michelin Stars, he is the man of the moment. So his latest opening in Tower 42, one of the skyscrapers in East London was very anticipated.

You enter in a lift, but unfortunately unlike Duck and Waffle, there is no view.

The dining room is gorgeous. Huge lacquered woods, sexy reflective low ceilings, giant ghurkin-facing booths, and floor to ceiling glass offer the most incredible views.