Pea soup with smoked salmon

serves 6

Ingredients:

- 450g split peas

- 2 litre water

- 4 bay leaves

- 400g celeriac

- 400g carrot

- 400g leek

- 200g onion

- smoked salmon

• 
  
• Method:

Put 2 litres of water in a big pan, add the split peas and bay leaves. Cook for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally. 

Cut the leek, carrot and celeriac and add them to the rest of the ingredients in the pan for 30 minutes. Blitz the soup until smooth and season.

To serve, add some slightly cooked smoked salmon and creme fraiche.

Banana chickpea cakes

serves 24 small cakes

Ingredients:

- 2 ripe bananas

- 160g rolled oats

- 1 can chickpeas, drained

- 2 tbsp peanut butter

- 1 tsp baking powder

- 2 tbsp rice malt syrup or honey

- 4 tbsp natvia 

- 100ml almond milk

- pinch of salt

- cinnamon and roasted flaked almonds (optional)

Method:

Preheat oven to 200C. Lay 24 paper cases out on a baking tray, you could use less cases if you want bigger cakes.

Put all the ingredients into a large bowl and blend until smooth. Put about 2 tablespoons of mixture into each case. Bake for about 20 minutes, make sure a toothpick comes out clean after inserting it into the centre of the cake. 

Leave the cakes to set and cool, as they come out the oven very moist.

Top off with some cinnamon and roasted flaked almonds.

Zesty pumpkin soup

serves 6-8

Ingredients:

- 900g butternut squash 

- 600g peeled carrots

- 4tbsp olive oil

- 2 red onions

- 2 garlic cloves (or a bulb of fresh garlic)

- 1 orange

- 95g hazle nuts

- 13g fresh chives

- 400ml coconut milk 

- 600ml vegetable bouillon

Method:

Heat the oven to 220C and cut the butternut squash lengthwise in half. Scoop the seeds out with a spoon. Cut the tops of the carrots and lay the butternut squash, carrots, unpeeled onions and garlic on a baking sheet. Cook for 45 minutes in the oven.

In the meantime peel the orange, remove the white layer and cut into pieces. Heat a little pan and roast the hazel nuts for about 3 minutes. Leave to cool. Finely chop the chives and crush the hazel nuts. Take the vegetables out of the oven and leave to cool.

Take the skin off the butternut squash, onions and garlic. Blend the vegetables together including the carrots and orange, with the coconut milk and then add the stock into a large pan. 

Serve with crushed hazel nuts and fresh chives.

Herby quinoa salad

serves 4

Ingredients:

- 300g quinoa

- 1 red onion, finely chopped

- 85g raisins 

- 100g feta cheese, crumbled

- 200g pomegranates seeds

- 85g toasted pine nuts or toasted flaked almonds

- small pack coriander, parsley and mint, roughly chopped

- 1 lemon, juice

Method:

Cook the quinoa following pack instructions. Drain well and put into a big bowl.

When the quinoa is just about cool stir in all of the remaining ingredients and season well.

Deliciously nutty granola

serves 4

Ingredients:

- 50g dried dates

- 100g rolled oats

- 2 tbsp rice malt syrup

- 85g mixed walnuts, almonds, cashews, pecans and hazle nuts

- 15g pumpkin seeds

- 3 tbsp olive oil

Method:

Preheat the oven to 160C/325F/gas mark 3.

Simmer the dates in 1cm boiling water until soft and blend until smooth. Stir in with the rest of the ingredients.

Turn the mixture out on to a baking tray and spread evenly. Bake for 15 minutes until golden, then reduce the oven temperature to 110C/225F/gas mark 1/4 and return to the oven for 30 minutes or until the mixture is crisp and dry.

 Leave to cool and store in an airtight container.

Serve with soy yoghurt, blueberries, raspberries, cocoa nibs, a drop of vanilla essence and cinnamon. 

Coconut and apple pancakes

serves about 6-8 small pancakes

Ingredients:

- 1 large grated apple

- ½ tsp ground cinnamon

- ¼ tsp ground ginger

- 20g desiccated coconut

- 50g rice flour

- 1 tbsp coconut oil

- 2 eggs

- rice malt syrup

- coconut chips

Method:

Mix the apple, cinnamon, ground ginger, desiccated coconut and 3 tbsp water. Put in a frying pan and leave on a medium heat for about 2 mins. 

Take off the heat and put into a bowl to cool. Once cool add the beaten eggs and rice flour to the apples and combine.

Heat the coconut oil in a frying pan and dollop a spoonful of mixture into the pan. Leave to brown on one side, this should take 1-2 minutes depending how hot the pan is. Then flip it over and brown the other side. Repeat until all the mixture is gone.

To serve add a dollop of yoghurt, drizzle with rice malt syrup, sprinkle with coconut chips and cinnamon.

You can also save the pancakes as a sweet treat, eating them cold or reheat them.

Walnut and sage pesto

Ingredients:

- 2 walnut halves

- 1 tbsp pine nuts

- 1 small garlic clove, crushed

- 12 large fresh sage leaves

- 15g fresh parsley leaves

- 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

- 1 tbsp fresh breadcrumbs

- 2 tbsp finely grated vegetarian Parmesan

Method:

Blend the nuts, garlic, sage and parsley into a food processor and blend until smooth. Transfer into a bowl and stir in the oil, 3 tablespoons hot water, breadcrumbs and Parmesan.

Lovely in roasted vegetable soup or pesto pasta.

Roasted vegetable soup

Ingredients:

- 750g butternut squash, parsnips and carrot

- 1 onion, cut into 

-  2 tbsp coconut oil

Method:

Preheat the oven to 200C, fan 180C or gas 6.
Cut the vegetables in 2 cm chunks and spread them on a roasting tray with 2 tbsp of coconut oil. Season and toss well. Roast the vegetables for 45 minutes. 

Put the vegetables from the oven in a large pan. Add 1,5 liters cold water and simmer. Cover and cook for 20 minutes. 

Leave the soup to cool slightly and whizz with a food processor or handheld blender. Return to the pan and reheat gently. Season and add some delicious walnut and sage pesto to serve.

This roasted vegetable soup is amazing with some walnut and sage pesto, which will be on my blog.

Sugar- and gluten free banana cake

serves about 12 pieces

Ingredients:

- 125g gluten free self raising flour

- ½ tsp baking powder

-2 tsp ground cinnamon

- 75g sultanas

- 50g butter, melted

- 2 tsp vanilla essence

- 1 egg

- 1 tbsp milk

- 3 ripe bananas, mashed

Method:

Preheat the oven to 180C, 160C fan or gas mark 4. Grease and line a 450g loaf tin with baking paper. Weigh the flour, baking powder, cinnamon and sultanas into a bowl and mix with a wooden spoon. Then weigh and melt the butter and put it into a separate bowl. Add the vanilla essence, egg, milk and mashed bananas and whisk until combined.

Pour the banana mixture into the dry flour mixture and combine thoroughly with a wooden spoon. Then pour the cake mixture into the prepared tin and bake for 30 - 40 mins. Make sure that when you insert a skewer in the middle of the cake it comes out clean. Remove from the oven and allow to cool.

Easy hummus

makes 250ml

Ingrediens:

- 400g chickpeas, drained

- juice ½ lemon

- 1 garlic clove

- 2 tbsp herb infused olive oil

- 2 tbsp thahini paste

Method:

Put all the ingredients together in a blender and whizz until smooth. Serve with a drizzle of olive oil.

Super salad

serves 6

Ingredients:

- 250g broccoli

- 1 large avocado

- ½ pomegranate

- handful of sunflower and pumpkin seeds

- 100g spinach

- handful of fresh coriander

- 200g cooked quinoa 

For the dressing:

- juice of one lemon

- juice of one orange

- 1 tbsp white wine vinegar

- 2 tbsp gluten-free mustard

- 2 tbsp extra-virgin rapeseed oil

Method:

Cook the quinoa, drain and leave to cool. Bring a saucepan of water to the boil and add the broccoli for about 4 mins. 

Drain the broccoli and put it in a large bowl. Add the spinach, coriander, quinoa, avocado, pomegranate and seeds.

Whisk all the dressing ingredients together and pour a generous amount over the salad. The leftover dressing can be kept if not used.

Salmon courgetti

serves 2

Ingredients:

- 2 pieces of salmon fillet

- 1 courgette

- juice from ½ a lemon

- 2 tbsp soy sauce

- handful of runner beans 

- 1 tbsp coconut oil

- seasoning

Method:

Heat the coconut oil in a pan, season the salmon with lemon juice, soy sauce and seasoning. Then fry the salmon for 4 mins each side until golden and the flesh flakes easily. Leave to rest on a plate while you prepare the beans and courgetti.

Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil and cook the beans for 4-5 mins. Use a spiralizer or julienne peeler to make the spaghetti from the courgettes. This is the courgetti. Add the courgetti to the pan of cooked beans and then drain immediately. By doing this you are blanching the cougetti in the bean water.

Serve the salmon on top of the beans and courgetti.

Coconut, mango and banana shake

Had a heavy weekend and fancy something nutritious and filling, without having to eat a load of food? Try this shake.

Ingredients:

- 200ml coconut milk

- 150ml yoghurt

- 1/4 mango
- some ice (5-10 cubes)

Optional:

- 1tbsp Chia seeds

- 1tbsp Maca powder

Method:

Put all the ingredients into a blender and mix until smooth.