PEAR AND FENNEL SOUP

 2 large fennel bulbs, trimmed                  1 tbs olive oil 
2 sliced onions                                       4 pears, cored & chopped 
 2 chopped garlic cloves                          
 2 pints vegetable bouillon stock *           

*I always use the reduced salt version by marigold (purple pot)

 Heat oil in a large pan and sauté onion & garlic.  Add fennel and a little stock and cook for a further couple of minutes. Add remaining ingredients and simmer gently for about 40 mins.  Blend adding as much of the cooking stock as required to your desired consistency.  Garnish with a little grated lime zest if required.  

Go For Coconut

Health in a shell

Once shunned as bad for you, coconut oil  now has pride of place in almost every  health food shop.

So what are the benefits? 

1. Because it's remains stable at high temperatures it is great for stir frying adding a subtle flavour to both sweet and savoury dishes.

2 The fatty acids that make up coconut oil are known as MCTs or medium chain triglycerides.  These help speed up your metabolism so can actually help you lose weight if used in moderation.

3 The lauric acid in coconut oil can give the immune system a boost by helping to ward off viruses and bacteria.

4. A great source as an instant energy boost as the body treats it almost as a simple carbohydrate sending it to your liver to be used as instant energy rather than being stored as fat.  Unlike the carbohydrate though, there is no insulin spike in the bloodstream meaning you won't be hungry again in a short while.

5. Heart health .  Although it is a saturated fat, like many others such as butter that have been demonised, Coconut oil is actually beneficial for your heart. It contains about 50% lauric acid, which helps in actively preventing various heart problems like high cholesterol levels and high blood pressure. Coconut oil does not lead to increase in LDL levels, and it can therefore reduce the incidence of injury and damage to arteries .

6.  Skin  & hair care.  Coconut oil is a great moisturiser, massage oil and hair conditioner. 


Check out this green smoothie, the coconut taste makes it really easy to get in those greens!  I sometimes add coconut oil to mine if I'm not using avocado.

Coco Loco

Large handful of spinach

Large chunk of cucumber

1 x apple

Small piece of broccoli stem

unsweetened Coconut/almond milk

1/2 avocado

1 Tbsp dessicated coconut

Whizz in the nutri bullet and enjoy :-)

                                                     

The Morning Glory

Lovely fresh tasting meal in a glass, perfect start to the day, especially with the egg for extra protein!

Large handful kale                             1/2 avocado

Large handful spinach                        unsweetened almond milk

1/2 lime                                                 1 tbsp linseeds/flax/chia

1 stick celery                                        2 apples

chunk of cucumber

Whizz up together ( I used a nutri bullet) and add extra liquid according to taste.

This was enough for two servings,  Enjoy:-)

Thanks to Lisa for this lovely recipe.  I often make it as a midweek dinner when the children have clubs on as I can pop it in the slow cooker in the morning and forget about dinner until we are ready to eat.  If I have time  I  seal the meat and cook off onions etc first but have also just put the whole lot in the slow cooker when pushed for time, tastes just as good.

 I usually substitute the red wine for stock made with a Bovril cube and it tastes just fine,  it’s always a full house of clean plates!

CINNAMON LAMB CASSEROLE (serves 6)

      2 tbsp plain/gluten free flour                              1tbs ground cinnamon

      1 Kg lean boneless lamb, cubed                        55g raisins         

      2 large onions, sliced                                          1 bay leaf

      2 cloves garlic, crushed

      400g tin chopped tomatoes

      300ml  red wine/ /stock

      2tbsp red wine vinegar

                                                                         

·        Preheat slow cooker if necessary

·        Coat lamb in flour and season with black pepper

·        Heat oil in a pan and add onions and garlic and cook slowly until softened. 

         Increase heat and add lamb.  Cook for about 5 minutes until browned evenly

·        Stir in wine/stock, vinegar and tomatoes and bring to the boil.  Transfer to the slow cooker, stir in raisins, cinnamon and bay leaf and season with black pepper.  Cover and cook on low for approx. 8 hours until the lamb is tender.

·        Discard bay leaf and serve with basmati rice/couscous and steamed green vegetables.

CHEEKY CHICKEN CURRY

CHEEKY CHICKEN CURRY


                                                                                                       
1 ½ lbs diced chicken
1 onion, peeled & finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 carrot chopped into batons                                                               1 inch grated root ginger
1 tbsp medium curry powder
1 tsp each of ground cinnamon, coriander, cumin & paprika
½ teaspoon crushed cardamom seeds
¼ tsp turmeric
400g can chop tomatoes
½ pint vegetable bouillon stock
2 large handfuls baby leaf spinach
Chopped coriander to serve


Cook off onion until soft and then add garlic, ginger & spices and stir fry for a further
couple of minutes.
Add the chicken; allow sealing for 2 or 3 minutes and then adding tomatoes and stock.
Bring to the boil, cover and reduce heat, simmering for about 30 minutes until the
chicken is cooked through. Add spinach about a couple of minutes before serving,
garnished with chopped coriander.

Simple Fish Pie

                     

 SIMPLE FISH PIE 

  

390g pack Tesco’s fish pie mix 

1/4 pint SS milk                            juice and zest of ½ lemon                Approx 75ml ½ fat crème fraiche

2 chopped hard boiled eggs

1 teaspoon fennel seeds  

4 oz frozen peas

Topping

1 Cauliflower, broken into florets and lightly steamed

1 oz grated hard strong cheese

Tomatoes to garnish

Mix all ingredients apart from topping and pop into an ovenproof dish.  Mash cauliflower and mix in cheese and then spoon over fish mixture.  Garnish with sliced tomatoes, a sprinkling of black pepper and cook for about 30 minutes at 200C/400F/Gas 6.

Halloween special Recipe, Brains, Blood and Bogies!

                                 

                                                                                           

The Boys absolutely loved this, hope it gets the same response next week when it's known as just plain old meatballs!

  Herby Meatballs with Smokey Tomato Sauce
Serves 4 - Ingredients
• 500g minced beef
• ½ onion
• ½ cup fresh basil
• ½ cup fresh parsley
• 1 cup spinach
• 3 medium eggs
• ½ cup wholemeal bread crumbs
• 1 tbsp dried oregano
• 3 cloves garlic
• freshly ground black pepper to taste
Smokey tomato sauce
• 1 large onion, finely chopped
• 2 tsp coconut oil
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 garlic clove, peeled and finely chopped
• 1 tsp paprika
• 2x 400g cans of chopped tomatoes

 Method
1. Preheat your oven to 180C or Gas Mark 4.
2. Blend onion, herbs, garlic and spinach in a food blender.
3. Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and mix well with your hands.
4. Season the mixture to taste with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.
5. Make small balls the size of golf balls and place them apart on a baking tray, then place them in the preheated oven to cook for about 30 minutes or until browned.
To make the sauce:
1. Place the onion in a heavy bottomed pan with the coconut oil and season with salt and pepper. Cover with a lid and fry gently over a low heat until soft and sweet.
2. Add the garlic, paprika and chilli flakes and fry for a further 30 seconds, stirring constantly.
3. Add the tomatoes and bring to a simmer. Simmer the sauce for 20 minutes. Liquidise until smooth. Pass the sauce through a sieve, back into the pan. Taste and add seasoning as necessary.