Sweet & Sour Chicken

Sometimes even I need a little inspiration when it comes to cooking... You know where you're in that mood when you've NO idea what you want for dinner? The Facebook page is a great source of inspiration for me lately, and people are always asking me to come up with healthy ways of making their favourite dishes..

I haven't had Sweet & Sour Chicken in.... I've no idea how long... but it was probably around the time that I stopped poisoning my body with sugar. Didn't you realise that Sweet and Sour sauce is pretty much sugar? Now don't get me wrong... yeah sugar tastes good, but should you really be eating it for dinner? Definitely not... 

I've said a few times that there are no limitations to what you can eat when you choose to eat good food... a little creativity goes a long way... 

So traditional Sweet & Sour sauces use pineapple juice & a LOT of brown sugar to give it that recognisable sweet, caramel-like flavour... 

Pineapple juice contains a lot of sugar... and yes, I know it's natural sugar but it's sugar all the same & is going to cause a massive insulin spike.. Solution??? The obvious one would be to use honey instead of brown sugar & stick with the the pineapple... But.... I've a better idea... 

For the Sweet & Sour sauce:

• 3 tbsp organic tomato purée
• 1 tbsp wholegrain mustard 
• 3 tbsp unsweetened apple purée (peel & chop a cooking apple & microwave with 1 tbsp water until mush basically!) 
• 2 tbsp lemon juice (lime would work too)
• 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1/2 tsp sweet paprika
• sea salt 
• a little water to thin the sauce out 

Throw all the ingredients into a food processor & pulse until smooth and well combined. 

Set aside until needed. 

For the chicken:

Traditionally, the chicken is coated in corn starch to form a crispy coating when it's cooked... Not today it's not... 

I wanted the chicken to have a distinctive flavour, with a light crisp coating... 

• 1 tsp Keen Almond Butter (any brand is fine... but this is my favourite!)
• 1 tbsp coconut flour
• 1 tsp almond flour
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• water

Mix the first 4 ingredients together, then water a little at a time to thin out the batter.. it should be pretty thick to coat and stick to the chicken.

• 1 large chicken breast

Toss the diced chicken pieces in the almond batter until well coated. 

I love coconut oil... I really do, but sometimes I find the coconut flavour doesn't work in certain dishes... Bacon fat however.... 

• 1 piece of smoked streaky bacon
• 1 celery stalk/red onion (red onion would be great here because of its sweet flavour)
• 1 clove of garlic, chopped finely
• 1 tsp fresh ginger, grated

Start by cooking the bacon in a pan. Once the fat has softened a little, you'll have your fat for cooking everything else in... 

Add celery/onion, garlic and ginger and cook for 2/3 minutes until fragrant. 

Next add your chicken pieces over a pretty high heat. By sealing the outside quickly, the almond batter goes a little bit crispy. 

Lower the heat after 2 minutes & add any vegetables you fancy (I used broccoli, mushrooms & bell peppers).  

Finally stir in the sweet and sour sauce, and leave to simmer over a low heat for 10/15 minutes. This will allow everything to cook thoroughly & thicken the sauce... if you prefer a thin sauce, then just add a little water. 

Taste the sauce as you go along... you may prefer more of a sweet or sour flavour so you can play around with the ingredients as you cook. 

I served this with cauliflower rice, and I've gotta say... It was pretty delicious & got major thumbs up from my resident taste testers too :) 

Sweet Potato Pancakes

The word "diet" has all sorts of negative connotations for lots of people. It screams 'restrictive', 'deprivation' and 'hunger'.... 

This is why eating real food works so well.... NOTHING is off limits....there are always real food substitutes for common processed ingredients.. Obviously you've still to eat at a caloric deficit if you're aiming for fat loss, but once you're eating real, clean food it's pretty hard to overeat. Nobody ends up obese because they ate too many vegetables... 

So... it's almost Shrove Tuesday, which only means one thing in my book (and no... it's nothing to do with Lent!)... PANCAKES!!! 

These Sweet Potato Pancakes are light and fluffy like American Style Pancakes, without any of the nastiness... Who wouldn't want to eat amazing healthy food, that tastes like you're having a really bold treat?... Anyone??? Naah.. didn't think so! 

For the pancakes:

• 100g cooked & peeled sweet potato (you can pop it in the microwave for a couple of mins until cooked & softened)
• 2 eggs
• 50ml full fat milk (or coconut milk to make a DF version)
• 1 tbsp almond flour
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp nutmeg
• 1 tsp gluten free baking powder
• coconut oil

Yeah... that's right, there's no sugar or sweeteners! Excellent!!

Using a food processor or hand blender, blend  all the ingredients together until you have a smooth, frothy pancake batter. 

Melt a little coconut oil in a pan & place large spoonfuls of batter on the pan. 

Don't flip the pancake until there are little bubbles on the surface (this is how you know the underside is cooked). 

I served these pancakes with pecans, Greek Yoghurt & a little more random... some crispy bacon... hey bacon goes with everything!! 

The sweet potato makes them just sweet enough, with the spices making them super tasty...

Try them.... you won't regret it! You'll be thrilled that on pancake Tuesday, you'll be eating pancakes with the rest.... and you'll feel fantastic afterwards :) 

Chicken & Chorizo Risotto

It's no exaggeration to say around a dozen people have messaged me in the past week asking me for more recipes with chicken. There's a common theme it seems... a lot of us fall into the habit of eating the same thing every night until we get bored of it, and then we move on... Someone even said to me in the last couple of days "I'd rather skip dinner than have to eat chicken again".... and this is someone who trains really hard and loves their food. 

So what's the problem? Is it the chicken? Naaaah...we'd all get bored of steak if we ate it every single day for lunch & dinner.... Ok maybe I wouldn't get bored of steak, but you see where I'm going with this right?? 

Over the next while, I'm going to make a conscious effort to post lots of chicken recipes here... like I said before, I want to use GLBTK to inspire people to get cooking & show that real food tastes incredible & doesn't have to be bland to be healthy...

This risotto tastes so good, you'll barely even realise that it's made using cauliflower rice! 

• 1 chicken leg
• 100g cauliflower, pulsed in food processor to a rice-like consistency
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 50g chorizo, chopped
• 1 piece of streaky bacon, diced
• 2 stalks of celery, chopped
• 5 mushrooms, sliced
• 50g broccoli
• cumin 
• garlic powder

Start by seasoning the chicken with salt & pepper. Place in a heat proof dish in the oven at 170d. 

Prepare all the vegetables at once, as you'll add them quickly after each other. 

Add bacon, chorizo, garlic & celery to a wok, and cook quickly. 

Once the bacon is cooked, add the sliced mushrooms, broccoli & cauliflower rice. 

Add 100ml boiling water, 1 tsp cumin & 1 tsp garlic powder to the risotto. 

Allow to simmer over a medium heat for 15/20 minutes, until the liquid has been absorbed & the cauliflower rice is softened. 

At this stage, the chicken should be cooked through & the skin has browned. 

Serve the chicken on a bed of risotto. 

Coconut & Lime Chicken

I posted a photo of my dinner of Coconut & Lime Chicken with Sweet Potato Wedges on the Facebook  page last night, not because it was a gourmet masterpiece... but because it was super tasty, quick to put together, healthy & inexpensive... That's what this blog is all about... showing you that you don't need to be an incredible cook, have lots of kitchen gadgets or cash to eat well...

It cost me about €1.35 to make this.... that's far less than a frozen ready meal or pizza etc. It does not cost less to eat processed food. Oh... and just in case you were about to use the excuse that you don't have time... well you're wrong there too... only 25 minutes to make this....

Stop making excuses...

• 1 large chicken leg (you can use breast/drumsticks/wings for this) 
• 1/2 fresh lime, zest & juice
• 2 tbsp unsweetened dessicated coconut
• 1 tbsp almond flour (or 1 extra tbsp coconut)
• 1 egg beaten
• salt
• coriander

Preheat the oven to 170d (fan).

Start by pulling the skin off the chicken leg. (No fat isn't bad for you, but the skin really wouldn't add anything to this dish). 

Remove the zest of 1/2 a lime using the fine side of a grater. 

Mix coconut, almond flour & seasoning of choice together on a plate (or in a plastic freezer bag... this way you can just shake the chicken in the coating... no washing up!!)

Pierce the chicken a couple of times with a skewer/fork & squeeze the juice of 1/2 the lime over the top. 

Next dip the chicken into the beaten egg. 

Toss the chicken in coconut mixture. 

Place the coated chicken back in the egg & coat again in the remaining coconut. Repeating this step gives a thick crust that will go crispy in the oven. 

Place in a heat proof dish & bake for 15-20 minutes until cooked & crispy. 

I served this chicken with sweet potato wedges.... Read on for a great cheat method for making crispy wedges in a hurry... 

Cut the potato into wedges, place in the microwave for 3 minutes to soften them slightly (this just speeds up the cooking process). 

Toss in ground cinnamon, drizzle with melted coconut oil & bake alongside the chicken. They'll be wonderfully crispy & the cinnamon really compliments the sweet flavour of the sweet potato... 

See? It's not difficult to eat well. Oh and if you have kids... they will absolutely LOVE this! Let them eat it with their fingers... :) 

Flourless Orange Cake

I use everything as an excuse to cook lately...I always enjoyed it, but I'm really enjoying challenging myself to produce healthy, awesome tasting food...

Flourless cakes are amazing... they're quite dense & moist, and are usually made of chocolate. I'd be thinking about making an orange version for quite a while so since yesterday was dull & dark out, what better way to cheer people up than with a Flourless Orange Cake with Chocolate Ganache...

Don't be fooled by the name 'flourless'.... it's only flourless since it lacks wheat flour, it still contains almond flour so if you've a problem with nuts, this cake isn't for you...

For the cake:

• 2 large oranges
• 6 eggs
• 5 tbsp raw organic honey
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 275g almond flour
• 2 tsp gluten free baking powder

Start by placing the oranges into a large saucepan. Cover with water & bring to the boil. Once boiling, reduce heat and allow to simmer for 2 hours. 

Once you have boiled the oranges, drain the water and allow them to cool. I chopped them into chunks as they'll cook a lot faster than the whole oranges. 

Preheat oven to 170d (fan). Line a 9 inch cake tin with greaseproof paper. 

When the oranges are fully cooled, using a stick blender/food processor, purée the oranges until smooth & set aside. 

In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs, vanilla & honey together until pale & frothy. 

Next fold in the cooled orange purée slowly. 

Finally add the almond flour & baking powder. Stir gently until just combined. 

Pour the mixture into prepared tin & bake in preheated oven for 1 hour. (Almond flour can burn quite easily as it cooks so if you find the top of the cake is browning too quickly, place a sheet of tin foil over the top of the cake to protect it.) 

You can check to make sure the cake is baked by sliding a skewer into the centre.... if it comes out with no cake batter on it, then it's ready. If not, place it back in the oven for another couple of minutes... different ovens vary so just use 1 hour as a guide :) 

Allow the cake to cool & firm up in the tin for 5 minutes. You can then remove it and allow to cool on a wire rack.

This cake is fabulous as it is... but there's very little that can't be improved by adding a little chocolate! If you're in a rush, you can simply dust the top of the cake with cocoa powder... or you can finish it off with some chocolate ganache.... 

• 2 tbsp coconut oil
• 3 tbsp cocoa powder
• 1 tsp raw organic honey
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Melt together in the microwave... short bursts at a time (15 seconds)... and stir in between. You're just looking for a smooth glossy chocolate sauce kind of consistency. 

The ganache will set slightly when it cools on the cake. 

Pour over the cake & allow it to drizzle down the sides.....

 

"Bounty" Bars..

I stopped to think for a for seconds before typing the title to this post... Bounty bars isn't quite accurate... I'd never ever make a Bounty... they're not actual food...

Here's the ingredients list from a Bounty you'll buy in the shop:

Sugar, Desiccated Coconut, Glucose Syrup, Cocoa Butter, Cocoa Mass, Skimmed Milk Powder, Emulsifiers, ( Soya Lecithin, E471 Lactose), Milk Fat, Whey Powder, Humectant, ( Glycerol Salt), Natural Vanilla Extract

It's not horrendous, relative to what could be in them...BUT I'm pretty strong minded. I don't eat refined sugars, grains or anything processed... It's important to make a decision and be prepared to stand up for what you believe in. For that reason... you're not going to find recipes containing any of these type of ingredients on GLBTK.

Instead, I bring you "Bounty" Bars.... they're nothing like the real thing... they're so much BETTER...

• 200g dessicated coconut
• 1 can full fat coconut milk (just use the thick coconut cream from the top half of the tin... reserve the rest for my next recipe!) 
• 2 tbsp extra virgin coconut oil
• 1 tbsp raw organic honey
• 1 tbsp organic vanilla extract

Start by lining a 9 inch square baking tin with greaseproof baking paper. 

Add all the ingredients to a saucepan.

Over a medium heat, melt all the ingredients together. Stir constantly as you don't want to toast/burn the coconut.

Once you have a thick mixture, spoon into prepared tin & smooth into corners. 

Place in the fridge/aside at room temperature to set for around 2 hours. 

When the bars are firm, cut into slices. You can eat them as they are & they're be amazing......but I'm a perfectionist so had to go one step further....

CHOCOLATE!!!! 

Right so... you have a choice... you can make my Paleo Chocolate which is ideal for sticking to your Paleo/clean lifestyle... OR you could just use dark chocolate (remember, the higher the cocoa solids, the lower the sugar content)... I know there's some sugar BUT dark chocolate really isn't the worst thing you could be eating so I'll let you away with it... I do accept that making your own chocolate is a little time consuming & tedious for a lot of people... 

Whatever you decide here is ok with me....

• 150g chocolate of your choice

Coat, drizzle or dip one end of the bars in your melted chocolate... it's entirely up to you.... either way, they'll taste amazing...

Leave to set on greaseproof paper, or eat straight away and get absolutely covered in melted chocolate.... Not that I've done this :)