Soda Bread

BREAD

easy on tummy: yes

budget: medium to high

Preparation:10min  ›  Cook: 45 min 

This recipe is great if you don't want to spend ages making yeast bread or sourdough. Just chuck all ingredients to make a yummy bread and keep adding all your favourite seeds, nuts or dried fruit. 

Ingredients:

• 1 1/4 cups of almond/rice/soy milk
• 1tbsp of apple cider vinegar
• 2 cups whole wheat flour
• 2 cups unbleached white flour
• 2 carrots
• 1 tbsp sunflower oil
• 1 tsp flax seeds
• 1 tsp sunflower seeds
• 1 tsp sesame seeds
• 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt, iodised preferred
• water 

Method of preparation:

In a large bowl put the flour, salt, baking powder and soda. 

Make a well and pour the sunflower oil, vinegar and your chosen milk. Mix thoroughly with a spoon.

Add the carrots and seed and using your hands work the dough until it is homogenous. Make a loaf shape of your choice and cut a cross on the top. 

Place it on a baking tray in a preheated oven and bake for about 45 mins on 200 degrees.

Breadalicious

Pumpkin and Goat's Cheese Omelette

MAINS

Budget: small to medium 

Dairy-free, gluten-free, suitable for vegetarians

Preparation:10min  ›  Cook: 15-20mins 

My favourite brunch after a night out! Filling, nutritious and full of animal protein. 

Ingredients:

• 5 eggs
• rice milk
• 1 slice of pumpkin
• 50g hard goat's cheese (Odessa is quite good)
• 5-6 courgette rings
• a handful of spinach
• parsley
• rosemarry
• chopped chives
• 2 tsp coconut oil
• pinch of salt to taste
• black pepper

Method of preparation:

Slice the pumpkin into small pieces and gently fry in the coconut oil for 5-10 mins on low heat until soft. 

Meanwhile, beat the eggs with 2 swigs of rice milk, salt, pepper and your preferred chopped green herbs. Next, crumble the cheese in the mixture and stir. 

Put the pumpkin, the sliced courgettes and the spinach on a frying pan and pour the eggs over it. Cook on low heat for about 10 mins until the bottom is solid. Then transfer the pan in the oven grill and cook for up to 10 mins on 150 degrees until the top has a golden brown texture.  

ENJOY!

Courgette with Herb dressing

MAINS

Easy on tummy: very

Budget: small to medium 

Dairy-free, gluten-free, suitable for vegetarians

Preparation:10min  ›  Cook: unknown 

Here is a beautiful, fragrant dish that explodes with colour and texture!Credit goes to recipe creator and photographer Tom Glendinning!

Ingredients:

• 3 courgettes
• 1 large red onion
• 3 garlic cloves
• 150g almonds, slow roasted in the oven
• 6 tbsp olive oil
• 3 tbsp cider vinegar
• fresh bunch of parsley
• 2 tbsp fresh chopped oregano (dried as alternative)
• 2 tbsp fresh chopped chives
• fines grated rind of two lemons
• pinch of salt to taste
• black pepper
• brown/wild rice for side

Method of preparation:

Slice the courgettes to 1/2 cm thickness and fry them in olive oil on medium temperature. Three minutes on each side should be sufficient to get a toasted yet gooey texture.

Place the almonds in a tray and slowly roast them until they acquire a golden brown colour. Be careful not to burn them!

Finely chop the rest of the ingredients and place them in a bowl with the almonds. Add the vinegar, zest and rest of olive oil to create the dressing. Mix well.

To serve, prepare the rice and  cover with the courgettes and the herb dressing.

ENJOY! 

Honey and Walnut Porridge with Strawberries

BREAKFAST

Easy on tummy: excellent

Budget: small

Benefits: slow releasing energy, great for fibre, dairy free 

Preparation: 1min  ›  Cook: 3-4 mins 

This is great breakfast to have every morning. It is simple, cheap, delicious and great for your health. Porridge is quite heavy, especially when you add milk, so I have a smaller portion but add walnuts and a bit of honey. 

Ingredients:

• 60 g rolled porridge oats (note: don't buy instant oats, these are the leftover dust from real oats and don't have any nutritional value)
• 1 teaspoon of honey(1/2 tsp cinammon as alternative for sugar-free eaters)
• water
• strawberries or seasonal fruit on the side

Method of preparation:

1. Place the oats in a saucepan on the hob and cover with water about 1 cm over. Stir constantly to avoid burning or sticking. Alternatively,  place in a bowl and cover with water, put in microwave for about 2-3 minutes until cooked. Obviously this depends on microwave so time might vary. 
2. To sweeten, put 1 tablespoon of honey. Use cinnamon if you do not consume any sugars at all.
3. I recommend to eat your fruit before the porridge - fruits are more beneficial to eat on empty stomach.  

Classic Cous Cous salad with tomato and cucumber

MAINS

Following my previous moroccan tabouleh recipe, I would like to add this simple and classic cous cous salad. The principle of preparation is the same - you let the grains absorb the juices of the vegetables and for best results you can leave it overnight in the fridge.

Easy on tummy: extremely

Budget: small

Ingredients:

• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 large red onion or 3 shallots
• 200g cous cous
• 1 pomegranate
• 1 cup of chopped parsley
• 2 lemons, squeezed
• 1 cucumber
• 1 kg fresh tomatoes
• 1/2 tsp black ground pepper

Method of preparation:

Measure and place the cous cous in a large bowl. Juice the lemons and pour it over. Chop all of the tomatoes and cucumbers to the finest pieces you can - this will allow for more juice to be absorbed by the cous cous. Do the same with the parsley and cover the cous cous. Very finely chop your onions and add those to the mix too. 

After this, add the salt, pepper and olive oil and using a spoon start mixing the chopped ingredients into the cous cous, trying to press well. Leave for an hour. Then stir with a spoon, cover and leave in the fridge overnight.

You will have perfect consistency cous cous on the next morning!

Mint and Pomegranate Cous Cous with Houmous and Fresh Salad

MAINS

Moroccan cuisine is wonderfully subtle and rich. It creates unexpectedly beautiful combinations of spices and flavours. This recipe looks at using cous cous or as a main ingredient - but you can use bulgur wheat or giant cous cous to your preference. 

Easy on tummy: extremely

Budget: small

Ingredients:

• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 large red onion or 3 shallots
• 200g cous cous
• 1 pomegranate
• 1 cup of chopped parsley
• 3/4 cup of chopped fresh mint
• 1 lemon, squeezed
• 1/2 tsp black ground pepper

Method of preparation:

Measure and place the cous cous in a large bowl. Juice the lemon and pour it over. Chop all of the parsley and mint to very fine pieces and cover the cous cous. Then peel the pomegranate and add all of the seeds in the bowl, where trying to catch all of the juice over the cous cous. Very finely chop your onions and add those to the mix too. 

After this, add the salt, pepper and olive oil and using a spoon start mixing the chopped ingredients into the cous cous, trying to press well. We want to achieve the right consistency of water, so the cous cous uses all of the ingredients' juices first before we add any water. Keep mixing and pressing and slowly add a little bit of water. 

Be patient and observe how it swells, trying to taste and only add water a small amount at a time. When you think the cous cous is ready, it should be not too crunchy and not too soggy, which is what normally happens if you misjudge the quantity of liquid. 

Humous:

• 1 tin of cooked chickpeas
• 1 clove of garlic
• 1 tbsp of tahini paste
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp black pepper 
• 1 lemon, squeezed
• 3 tbsp of olive oil

Mix all of these in a bowl and use a hand blender for about a minute until homogenous. After this you can add extra spices to your flavour.

Fresh salad:

• 1 carrot
• 100g cherry tomatoes 
• 1/2 cucumber
• 1 little gem or similar lettuce

Grate the carrot and cucumber. Finely chop the tomatoes and the gem. Mix all of these in a bowl.

Delicious!

Roasted Pepper and Caramelised Onion Puff Tart

MAIN

Easy on tummy: great

Budget: small to medium

Yeast-free, Suitable for vegetarians

Preparation:10min  ›  Cook: 20 min 

Every time I wish I could order a pizza (and get annoyed that my allergies won't allow me!) I think about this tart and swiftly put it together for ten minutes. This is an absolute winner for quick food and could also be nice for work lunch!

Ingredients:

• a rolled sheet of puff pastry - this could be home made, although I prefer it from the shop to save me time.
• 2 medium tomatoes
• 1 red pepper
• 1 courgette, medium
• 50g goats cheese (soft spreadable or normal)
• 1 small red onion
• Caramelised Red Onion Chutney
• a bunch of fresh rosemary

Method of preparation:

Preheat the oven to 180 C. Roll out the puff pastry on a tray. Chop the red pepper in thin strips and with a few drops of olive oil, roast on a hot frying pan. The pepper will start sizzling in a few minutes and should release its fragrance. When softened and slightly grilled on the sides, take off the heat. 



Slice the tomatoes in very thin slices and cover the pastry. Chop the red onion in thin half-rings and the courgette in thin slices like the tomatoes. Layer on the pastry. Add a good amount of red onion chutney in the gaps. Then add the softened pepper, small cubes of goats cheese and the finely chopped rosemary.

Place in the oven and bake at 180-200 C for about 15-20 mins until the puff pastry has risen on the sides and the vegetables are slightly browned. 

Delizioso!

Note: You can add extra onion chutney and fresh rosemary after you take it out as they would have dried slightly in the oven. I personally like to add a bit of extra soft goats cheese on top!