Serves 2
Ingredients:
300 ml Kefir 200 ml coconut water
Papaya peeled and deseeded large handful of kale
2 tbsp chia seeds
Method:
Put all ingredients in to a blender and blitz.
Author Archives: Jo's food bites
Ginger sponge pudding (GF) filled with Greek yoghurt mixed with chopped stem ginger
Serves 4/6
Microwave 2-3 mins on full power 4/6 individual large ramekins e.g. Prestige /souffle dishes
Ingredients:
For the pudding:
100 g gluten-free self-raising flour 100 g butter
100 g light muscovado sugar 3 eggs (2 if not using gf flour
3 tsp ground ginger
For the filling:
6-10 tbsp Greek yoghurt 4 pieces of stem ginger coarsely chopped
Method:
Put all the ingredients in to a bowl and mix well until smooth. Divide equally between the ramekins. Put in the microwave for 2 mins – test with skewer. Cooked when skewer comes out clean.
Mix Greek yoghurt with the chopped stem ginger. Scoop the centre of the pudding out and fill with yoghurt mixture and pop ‘lid’ back on. Serve whilst puddings still hot.
Smoked mackerel and rice noodles
Serves 3 Preheat oven to 180c / gas mark 4
Ingredients:
1/2 butternut squash deseeded and chopped in to small chunks
plum / cherry tomatoes
3 smoked mackerel fillets torn into large pieces
300 g rice noodles
rocket
tamari (soy sauce if non gf)
Olive oil
Method:
Put butternut squash on a baking tray and drizzle with olive oil. Roast in oven for about 30 mins until cooked and edges crisping.
Put a drizzle of olive oil in a frying pan and, once hot, add the rice noodles. Stir for a minute. Add the tomatoes and fry for a further minute. Drizzle with tamari. Add the fish and heat through. Finally add the roasted squash, stir and serve on a bed of rocket.
Hake, mangetout and cauliflower cheese bake
Oven to tableware dish from Prestige
Such an easy dish to prepare:
Serves 3 Pre heat oven to 180C Gas mark 4
Ingredients
For the cheese sauce:
350 ml Full / semi skimmed milk 80 g Cheddar / Double Gloucester cheese – grated
20 g Butter 30 g gluten-free plain flour
1 tsp English mustard
For the remainder of the dish:
1 cauliflower cut in to 3 chunks 1 skinned fillet of hake 1 handful of mangetout
15 g grated cheese
Method:
Place the hake fillet within a tin foil parcel and bake in the centre of the oven for 10 mins.
Put the cauliflower in a pan of boiling water and cook until for 8- 10 mins.(alternatively steam e.g Prestige pressure cooker 5-8 mins) and boil /steam the mangetout for 3 mins.
For the cheese sauce:
Melt the butter in a saucepan.
Stir in the flour
Gradually add the milk – stirring continuously.
Simmer gently and add the mustard and then the grated cheese, stirring until all melted and thoroughly combined.
Simply assemble all the ingredients in an oven proof dish, top with grated cheese and put in the oven to heat through thoroughly.
Wild keta salmon on courgetti, chickpeas and pine nuts
Serves 2
Ingredients:
2 salmon fillets
2 courgettes – spiralised 1/4 cup pine nuts
1 cup of chick peas (tinned) 1 tsp ground ginger
Tamari to flavour – 1 tbsp olive oil for cooking
Method:
Bake the salmon fillets in the oven in a tin foil parcel for 10-15 minutes – no additional flavours / oil added.
Whilst it is cooking, heat the oil in a frying pan. Add the chick peas, pine nuts and ginger and cook for 1 minute. Add the courgetti and cook for a further minute. Add tamari – heat through and serve.
Banana and walnut muffins (gf)
Preheat oven to 180c / gas 4
12 muffin tray – good quality non- stick ( I used Prestige – didn’t need to grease)
Ingredients:
120 g gluten-free self-raising flour 120 g butter
120 g light muscovado sugar 3 eggs (2 if not using gf flour)
2 ripe bananas – mashed 1/2 cup of walnut halves (12 to put on top before cooking)
Method:
Put all the ingredients ( except bananas / walnuts) for the muffins in to a bowl
and mix well until smooth. Add mashed bananas and walnuts and gently fold in to the mixture.
Spoon the mixture in to prepared tin and place half a walnut on the top of each.
Bake for about 15 mins – until skewer is clean.
Leave to cool before removing.
Make 12 – only 11 made it to the plate…muffin thief entered the kitchen!!
Chia seed gluten free pancakes
Serves 2
Ingredients:
100 g Gluten free plain flour 1 egg
1/2 pint whole milk 2 tbsp chia seeds
Pinch of salt
Method:
Make a well in centre of flour, add salt, chia seeds and egg and mix. Gradually add milk to make batter.
Make pancakes in usual way. I have assembled with full fat natural yoghurt, fresh raspberries, sliced banana and blueberries.
Gooseberry and orange drizzle cake (Gf)
Preheat oven to 180c / gas 4
Prepare a 18cm round tin
Ingredients:
120 g gluten-free self-raising flour
120 g butter
120 g light muscovado sugar
3 eggs (2 if not using gf flour)
Rind of 1 orange
1 cup of cooked gooseberries – I baked them in the oven – no sugar added
Topping – juice of the orange and 60 g sugar
Method:
Put all the ingredients ( except gooseberries) for the cake in to a bowl
and mix well until smooth.Add gooseberries and gently fold in to the mixture.
Turn mixture in to prepared tin.
Bake for about 35 mins – until skewer is clean.
Whilst the cake is still hot spoon the orang/sugar mixture all over the top of the cake.
Once cool, remove from the tin.
Power of the mind
This week has been a hard one for me…I have really struggled with both sleeping and staying positive. What I have found interesting, now I can reflect back, is the speed at which both these factors impacted on my dietary desires and motivations.
I have been virtually sugar-free for months now yet this week the craving for sugar was really strong – I succumbed to cake a couple of times and even though it tasted hideously sweet, I persevered! It would have been so easy to fall back in to old habits – shockingly easy in fact – the addictive power of sugar is so scary. With a supreme conscious effort I have had a good talking to myself and ignored the voice of sugar whispering to me.
Once upon a time I would have chastised myself for this ‘slip’…but instead I am celebrating my strength and the overwhelming desire to be healthy.
Blackcurrant ‘nice cream’ (gluten and dairy free)
2 ingredients: blackcurrants and ripe bananas
Last years crop of blackcurrants are still in the freezer and my blackcurrant bushes are laden with ripening fruit. So operation empty the freezer is taking place!
This dish is a great way to use up the pitiful looking bananas that look at the bottom of the fruitbowl – turning brown.
Method:
Put some frozen blackcurrants in to a blender (needs strong blades) / or food processor.I rinse the blackcurrants to remove any excess ice.
Add 1 or 2 bananas (some people add frozen bananas at this point – I prefer to mix everything and the pop in the freezer for a couple of hours ahead of serving)
Pulse until blackcurrants are broken down – I use the ‘ice setting’ on my blender
Then I switch the settings to ‘desert’ and blend until all the banana is incorporated.
I then spoon it into a plastic container and pop it in the freezer.
Jo's food bites. 