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 :) 

Lemon Salmon Salad...

I keep banging on about how simple and quick it is to eat well so I'm going to keep throwing meal ideas up here... I'm not a chef, nor a food photographer so don't expect wonders.. but you'll always get really healthy, tasty suggestions that aren't expensive or difficult to prepare... 

Salads are always great to prepare in a hurry, and I always try to vary them a little so I don't get bored....(I get bored easily!)

• 1 cooked salmon darne, roughly chopped
• 100g spinach
• 6 sun-dried tomatoes, finely diced
• 2 tbsp cottage cheese (full fat obviously..)
• 2 tbsp scallions, chopped
• 1/4 lemon 
• flaked almonds

Start by mixing cottage cheese with lemon juice and chopped scallions. 

Toss the remaining ingredients in the cottage cheese dressing. 

Serve immediately topped with a tablespoon of flaked almonds. 

Like I said... quick & easy... why overcomplicate it? It takes less than 5 minutes to throw this protein packed salad together, and it's so simple anyone could make it :)