I’ve been experimenting a lot recently with trying to find healthy cake and biscuit options, I have probably most of the healthy cookbooks you can buy but as my approach to cooking is more take inspiration from recipes and then experiment with what I have in the cupboard I haven’t been very successful on the baking front! My raw chocolate gluten free cookies which won’t appear here when my husband tried them (as they looked yummy) he spat them out, they did taste like bitter chocolate sawdust!

Anyway back to the here and now and what I personally think is a success story (as does hubby as he didn’t spit them out, and Kate whose just had one with a cup of green tea)! First off I have a load of oranges and clementines leftover in the fruit bowl so I googled healthy orange cake to find some inspiration and came across this young food writer Donal Skehan and his Juicer muffins. I didn’t have all the ingredients plus was feeling a bit lazy so have switched things up a bit! Hope you like them!

Ingredients:

125g self raising flour

75g whole meal spelt flour

200g jumbo oats

2 tbsp mixed seeds

1 tbsp of Linwoods milled flaxseeds, almond, Brazil nuts, walnuts & Q10

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp Himalayan salt

2 tbsp pomegranate molasses

4 medjool dates (stones removed)

250ml unsweetened almond milk

2 eggs

1 whole large orange

1 banana

3 heaped tsp of hard coconut butter

chocolate glaze:

1 tbsp raw cocoa powder

2 tbsp hard coconut butter

2 tbsp honey

1 tbsp maple syrup

Method:

1. Pre-heat oven to 175c and line a 12 hole muffin tin with paper cases (this mixture made enough for 14)

2. Mix all the dry ingredients together in a large bowl.

3. Take your large orange cut into quarters and put in a blender (I use a nutri bullet which makes easy work of skins and blends after 30 seconds into a pulp – I was going to grate the peel first then peel and use only the orange segments but felt lazy so didn’t bother). Add all the other wet ingredients and blitz (this amount of ingredients did take me over the max line of the nutri bullet but no overflowing disasters occurred).

4. Pour wet ingredients into dry and mix all together (I just did this with my mixer then finished off with a spoon.

5. Put into muffin cases and cook for 20-25mins (I left for 25 and think could have come out earlier).

6. Whilst cooking make the glaze, melt coconut butter/oil in a saucepan and add honey, maple syrup and cocoa powder. Allow both muffins and glaze to cool a bit before putting on muffins!

I was craving pancakes one Sunday morning (no idea why as I was never a regular pancake eater, but wanted a healthy version)

Ingredients:

100g buckwheat flour

200ml coconut water

2 mashed banana

1 heaped tsp baking powder

coconut oil/butter for cooking

Method:

Basically add all ingredients together and mix until all blended together, this will be quite a thick batter consistency. Makes about 4 medium pancakes. I use a small heavy frying pan and cook one at a time, so heat your oil, add 1/4 of the mixture, when bubbles start to appear on surface you know ready to turn over. If you want to keep them warm whilst cooking rest just pop them into a warm oven.

I serve with maple syrup and blueberries but whatever is your thing!

I’m trying to up my daily fruit and veg so have started getting a veg box weekly and I find it’s useful to make a batch of soup to have for lunches so these veg are very interchangeable depending what’s in your box or to use up leftovers but I always have as a base onion and garlic and good quality veg stock.

ingredients:

drizzle of olive oil

1 large onion

3 cloves of garlic (I’m a big garlic lover and very good for you but adapt accordingly, my husband did say to me one day was I expecting vampires!)

1/2 Kabocha squash (any squash would work)

2 broccoli stalks/stems (I try not to waste anything so I keep broccoli stalks for soups)

2000ml of water

Veg stock (appropriate amount for liquid I use Marigold organic vegan powder stock it’s fab!)

green leafy veg – bag of either Kale, rocket or medium cabbage

himalayan salt (gives flavour but also good for you) and pepper – to taste

Method:

I’m not a precise cook so not a good baker but just love putting stuff together and tasting as I go and adapting.  Fry off onion and garlic in drizzle of oil, you’ll need a pretty large saucepan (I used a big casserole dish) and I gently cook it off on a very low heat. I let this cook whilst I’m sorting /chopping the other ingredients, if onions do start to burn put lid on so they gently steam. Then add squash ( this is seriously tough to chop so need sharp knife to use to peel it as well and chop into large chunks, even though very hard actually doesn’t take too long to cook), broccoli stalks, water and stock powder. Simmer for around 10 mins then add your chopped leafy veg as this doesn’t need long to cook and your seasoning, when all cooked I use a hand blender to blitz!

This is quite a thin soup if you want it thicker you can either add potatoes to thicken or red lentils, you do this after onions are done and lentils need 30mins to cook.

Another option for a health boost and flavour is to add some turmeric, if so I add after onions have softened and fry off a bit but add black pepper at this stage too as I’ve been told turmeric is beneficial only in combination with black pepper!

I have actually managed to get whole family to eat vegetables this way even my 10 and 5 year old boys (without the turmeric) and my eldest is one of the fussiest eaters on the planet!

Enjoy x

I made this up today and it is … a hit! Even with the kids. Here’s the recipe:

• Put a big knob of butter (about 75g) into casserole
• Melt Butter over medium heat on hob
• Add red onion – finely chopped
• Add pressed garlic (couple of cloves)
• Add a good few celery sticks – chopped up small
• Mix about and enjoy the aromas
• Take a good chunk of feta cheese (a third of a standard size squarish pack), and cut into cubes
• Mix about again
• Add about a litre of (ideally homemade) chicken stock
• Add a bit more boiled water from the kettle
• Season to taste
• Simmer for 20 mins
• Leave to cool a bit
• Mulch with hand whizzer

Yum!! You could garnish with small whirl of cream and bit of flat parsley if you are feeling a bit fancy …