Category: Health

Are you trying to eat healthier?

Are you having more salads but fed up eating always the same vegetables?

Salads don’t have to be boring! This quinoa sweet potato salad recipe offers a healthy and delicious meal. It is full of vitamins and minerals for a healthy immune system. It is easily prepared in 15 minutes and cooked in 45 minutes. As a result, it is ideal to prepare this quinoa sweet potato salad for lunch time during work.

Ingredients

• 2 large sweet potatoes, diced
• Rosemary or thyme
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 3 Kg chickpeas
• 100g walnuts
• 2 tablespoons maple syrups
• 200g quinoa
• Kale

Method

• Preheat the oven at 220 degrees Celsius
• Roast the sweet potatoes on a large sheet pan with the olive oil and herbs for 20 minutes.
• Add the chickpeas to the sheet pan and mix. Cook for another 20 minutes.
• Add the walnuts and maple syrup and cook for another 5 minutes
• Serve the mixture with cooked quinoa and kale.

I hope you enjoy this quinoa sweet potato salad recipe as much as I do. I would love to hear your opinion on this recipe below. So feel free to leave a comment I will be happy to answer any queries you might have. In addition, if you would like more recipes like this I encourage you to order our recipe book.

As strawberries are back in season and, as a result much cheaper in price I decided to post another recipe with strawberries. Last year I’ve posted a healthy recipe of homemade lemonade with fresh, tasty strawberries and had shared some nutritional tips.

This strawberry and blueberry trifle has a layer of sponge, a layer of whipped cream cheese and a layer of fresh strawberries and blueberries.  What more could you ask for? Additionally, it’s fairly straightforward to make and it takes about 27 minutes.

Ingredients:

Lemon syrup

• 60 g granulate white sugar
• 30 ml freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 30 ml water

Layers

• 600 g sponge cake
• 200 g cream cheese
• 80g granulated white sugar
• 200g whipping cream
• 3 cups fresh strawberries, chopped
• 3 cups blueberries

Method

• In a small saucepan, add the sugar, lemon juice and water. Stir the mixture and boil over medium heat.
• Slice the sponge cake into 8 cm thick. Brush each side of the cake with the lemon syrup.
• Mix the cream cheese with the sugar until it becomes fluffy. Continue by adding the whipped cream and mix until smooth.
• Put the pieces of sponge cake in the bottom of the bowl and add half the cream. Spread to all sides of the bowl and add half the strawberries and blueberries on top of the cream.
• Repeat the step above and refrigerate for about an hour. Serve.

This easy, delicious recipe of strawberry and blueberry trifle is ideal as a dessert for your family and friends. This recipe is also ideal as it is a means of introducing fruit in your child’s diet. I encourage you to check out other recipes from our blog for easy, healthy and delicious recipes. In addition, if you want to change your eating habits or want more recipe ideas I recommend you to order our recipe book ‘Everyday Cooking – a helping hand’. In this recipe book you will have more than 50 delicious recipes to cook for all your family and friends, all year long.

Avocado is a fruit, many refer to it as a large berry fruit with a single seed. Although it is a fruit it has a different composition as it is high in fats rather than in carbohydrates. It is also a rich source of vitamin B and K. It is also rich in antioxidants known as phytosterols and carotenoids. Avocado can be eaten raw or cooked with meals.

Due to its high nutritional content it is ideal to be taken as a snack during the day. As a result of this, I choose to share this avocado dip recipe which can be taken as a snack with some crackers. In addition, this recipe can also be use as a sauce with meals as an alternative of other types of sauces/ dips for example mayonnaise.

Ingredients:

• 1 avocado, mashed
• 150g plain Greek yogurt
• 1 small lemon squeezed
• ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
• Pinch of salt

Method:

• Mix all the ingredients together and blend until smooth

This avocado dip recipe takes only 5 minutes to prepare it and serve. I encourage you to check out our recipe blog for easy, healthy and delicious recipes. Please, feel free to write any comments below. I will be happy to answer all your comments and queries.

This recipe of tofu burgers is high in various vitamins, minerals and anti-oxidants. Tofu is a low calorie, high protein dairy alternative. It is produced by a coagulating soya milk to form curds, a process similar to how dairy cheese is produced. It has a spongy texture so the herbs and spices are absorbed well to give a palate taste. In fact, these easy and healthy tofu burgers get plenty of flavour from the onions, garlic and different herbs such as mint and basil. In addition, this recipe also offers a spicy taste by using some chili sauce. This recipe is suitable for normal, vegetarian and vegan diets. In addition, it is also suitable for children who suffer from lactose intolerance or fussy eating. 

Ingredients:

• 1 block tofu
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 – 2 tablespoons chili sauce
• 2 tablespoons fresh mint
• 2 tablespoons fresh basil
• 2 tablespoons parsley
• 1 tablespoon garlic
• 2 tablespoons onions
• 5 tablespoons flour
• Pinch of salt

Burger toppings:

• Buns
• Carrots
• Cucumber
• Lettuce
• Chili sauce
• 1 tablespoon olive oil

Method:

• Put a heavy pan on the tofu to press out the water content for about 20 minutes.
• In a bowl, mash the tofu using a fork until it becomes crumbly.
• Add all the other burger ingredients in the bowl and mix.
• Separate the mixture into 4 round burgers, using your hands.
• Preheat the oven at 180 degrees Celsius.
• Put 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a pan and fry the burgers to get a nice, brown colour on the outside.
• Transfer the burgers into the oven and bake for 20 minutes.
• Serve on a toasted bun with chili sauce, lettuce, carrots and cucumbers.

I enjoy this delicious recipe and therefore I invite you to try this healthy recipe, low calorie recipe that your entire family would love. I would love to hear from you what you think about this recipe. Leave your comments below 🙂

Do you need some healthy snack ideas?

Do you need practical home-made food which is not time consuming?

This healthy green tahini dip recipe is a perfect combination to obtain your daily intake of Omega-3 fatty acids and Vitamin B. Unfortunately, Omega 3 is not abundant in our daily diets despite it’s beneficial nutritional impact on our health. It is also high in fibre for a healthy digestive system and anti-oxidants known as lignans for prevention of diseases. This green tahini dip added with three to four crackers is ideal as a healthy snack during the day. It takes only about 5 minutes of your time to prepare and it does not involve any cooking.

Ingredients:

• 100 ml olive oil
• 100 ml water
• 30g tahini
• Parsley
• 1 clove garlic
• Half lemon, squeezed
• Pinch of salt

Method:

• Mix all the ingredients together and blend until smooth.

NB: If the sauce is too runny you can add a little more of tahini

I encourage you to check out our recipe blog for easy, healthy and delicious recipes. In addition, if you want to change your eating habits or want more healthy, low in calorie recipe ideas I recommend you to order our recipe book ‘Everyday Cooking – a helping hand’. In this recipe book you will have more than 50 delicious recipes to cook for all your family, friends and your loved ones.

Do you find it difficulty to cook twice a day for lunch and dinner?

Do you end up buying take away food for convenience?

Do you feel guilty after having a take away, especially if the reason being is that you don’t feel like cooking?

Frequently, lots of my clients feel that it is too much to cook twice a day. Honestly, I feel the same way too even though I love cooking. In addition, I notice that if they buy a take away they feel they’ve ruined their healthy eating habits. With this I have to strongly disagree. The reason being is that it depends on the frequency and the portion size eaten. In order to try to help out ease the stress of cooking twice a day I thought of something convenient which can be yummy, practical and still low in calories. In this blog I share a healthy recipe of mini chicken pies.

These mini chicken pies are prepared in about 25 minutes and takes about 50 minutes to cook. You will be able to make 4 portions from this recipe. Thehe other extra portions can be frozen and used for that day when you don’t feel like not cooking anything for lunch or dinner.

Ingredients:

• Puff pastry
• 2 teaspoons unsalted butter
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 tablespoons flour
• 400 ml milk
• 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 280g chopped chicken breast
• 100 g chopped carrots
• 150g potatoes
• Chopped fresh basil
• Black pepper
• Pinch of salt
• 1 egg white

Method:

• Preheat the oven at 200 degrees Celsius.
• Put the carrots, potatoes and 1 tablespoon olive oil in a bowl and mix. Add a pinch of salt and pepper.
• Spread the vegetable mixture on a baking sheet and put in the oven.
• After 20 – 30 minutes remove from the oven and let the mixture cool.
• Increase the oven temperature to 220 degrees Celsius.
• Roll out the puff pastry to 1 cm thick. Cut the pastry a little bit bigger than the dish into 4 pieces. Keep the pastry ready and refrigerated until it is time to use.
• In a saucepan, melt the butter and 1 tablespoon olive oil over moderate heat. Add the flour and whisk constantly for 1 minute. Add the milk while whisking and simmer the mixture for about 5 minutes until it thickened.
• Add the lemon juice, chicken, vegetables and basil and stir.
• Put the mixture into 4 dishes and top the dishes with the pastry. Press against the outside edge to seal.
• Brush the pastry with the egg white.
• Bake the pies in the oven for another 15 – 20 minutes until the pastry is golden brown. Serve.

This method will also help you to save your time from cooking the same dish and money spend on take away food. I suggest that you use that extra time and money to treat yourself, as you truly deserve. Let me know if you agree with me in the comments below 🙂