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.

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?

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!

Pear, Spinach and Avocado Smoothie

I'm making it a mission to find the best tasting green smoothies out there, with enough vegetables that still make them super healthy. My previous "Ultimate Green Smoothie" went down a treat, but I think I might have an even better one here! 

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 Ultimate Tasty Green Smoothie!

I've finally cracked it. 

I've made a green smoothie that is actually delicious - and still healthy! 

I call it the ultimate, tasty, green smoothie!

Recipe after the jump!

Healthy Chocolate Pudding

This recipe was taken from a lovely blog, With Style and Grace.

Look at this lovely, rich chocolate pudding.

So tempting....so delicious....so rich....so.. healthy?!

My mum tried it (the Queen of baking) and even she couldn't tell what was in it. She thought it was a normal chocolate pudding made with cream and eggs.

What would you say if I told you it had a secret ingredient...that it really wasn't that rich at all.

Wanna know what makes this so healthy??

Inside is.....


AVOCADO!!!!


Yes seriously!

This seriously chocolatey chocolate pudding is made using avocado!!

And it's so simple to make. Chuck everything into a food processor and you are good to go.

For 2 people.....

Take 2 medium avocadoes. Scoop out the inside and chuck em in the food processor.

5 tbsps of cocoa powder.

Then add 3 tbsps of honey (or 6 medjool dates....but I can't be bothered with pitting them. If you make it with dates let me know how it is!)

 2-4 tbsps of coconut milk (I used half fat)

1/2 tsp of vanilla extract

1 tsp of orange zest

Then whizz it all up till smooth.

Looks good, right?

And serve with fruit, salt, or an extra drizzle of honey on top.

Tah-dah!

My Amazing Mushroom Risotto

People in my closest circle know that mushroom risotto is my signature dish. Not gonna lie, it is pretty epic. And the best thing is, it's so simple and easy to make. It might take a while to cook, but the execution is so simple!

A lot of people think making a risotto is difficult. I'm not quite sure why this is. A misconception perhaps, maybe one too many rubbish risottos in half-decent Italian restaurants.

To make my epic mushroom risotto for two people, you will need:

100g chestnut mushrooms

100g exotic or wild mushrooms (some supermarkets sell these in packs, if they're loose look for chanterelles, morels fresh porcini (cep) or portobello)

500g vegetable stock in boiling water

75ml white wine

150g arborio rice

1 medium onion, sliced

1 clove garlic, crushed

parmesan or creme fraiche to serve

knob of butter

olive oil

Firstly, wipe all mushrooms with a damp kitchen towel and slice. 
Then in a large sauce pan, heat the butter and oil over a medium heat and cook the onion until soft. Add the crushed garlic and cook for about one more minute. Then add the washed and sliced mushrooms.

Once cooked, add the rice and cook for about a minute or two until it looks translucent. THIS PART IS IMPORTANT!! It helps the rice to soak up the liquid better.

Then add the wine and stir the rice frequently. 

When that has been soaked up by the rice, add one ladle of stock to the pan and stir until it has been absorbed. Then continue this process adding only a ladle at a time once it has been absorbed. Make sure you stay by the pan and stir all the time. Stirring helps the rice to soak up all the liquid, so your risotto will be nice and soft at the end. This will take time, about 30 to 40 minutes. You should notice at the end the rice becoming bulkier and it becoming more difficult to stir.

Keep stirring....

...and stirring...

Until the rice has become much thicker and softer

There should still be some liquid left in the pan, it should not be completely dry.

Have a little taste of your rice. It should be nice and soft. If not, add a little more water and stir till the rice has no bite left to it. 

Season to taste, spoon it into bowls and sprinkle some parmesan shavings on top or when in the pan, stir a spoonful of creme fraiche through.

And voila. The best risotto you will ever eat!!

Chilli Chocolate Cake

I just made this chilli chocolate cake and I had to share the finished product.

Recipe here: Chilli, chocolate, salt and tequila cake.

It tastes divine! Really smooth and moist with a nice punch of chilli at the end of a mouthful. I served mine with raspberries, but you can add more tequila at the end. I wasn't ready to get my family that drunk, however.

I didn't take any photos of the process, because honestly it didn't look right and I thought it was going to be a disaster. Once the eggs were added to the bowl it became a strange almost caramel-like texture, so quite viscous and nothing like a normal cakey texture, which in turn means the baked cake is very gooey, almost seemingly raw - however not a bad thing for me!! I am one to lick a bowl clean.

I did have to give it more time in the oven than the recipe suggests, 10 minutes more in fact, and usually my oven is pretty accurate with recipe times.

I'm going to make Mary Berry's chilli chocolate cake soon, which uses tabasco instead of dried chilli flakes, and compare texture and flavour.