Burger towers!

I know lots of people are making an effort this January to eat good food, but it's really hard to know what to eat... A lot of you will fall into the trap of eating salads for lunch & chicken with steamed veg for dinner... it doesn't have to be like that. This is why I post up even the most simple meal ideas... if you're like me, it's far easier to adhere to a plan if there's a little variety & sometimes we all need a little inspiration..

Did you know burgers aren't unhealthy? Burgers have a bad rep because of their association with fast food... BUT you can have healthy & fast food at home... Stay away from the commercially manufactured burgers that are full of mystery meat & fillers.. They're unbelievable when you make them yourself :) 

Burgers:

• 175g lean minced beef 
• 1 red chilli finely diced (remove the seeds if you're a pussy!)
• 1/2 onion, finely chopped
• 1 tbsp tomato puree
• smoked paprika
• sea salt

No you don't need breadcrumbs or an egg to bind burgers before you ask! 

Mix all the ingredients in a bowl until well combined & divide into two burgers (or just make one giant burger). 

For the burger towers:

• 2 bacon medallions
• 1/2 bell pepper, left in large chunks
• large portabello mushrooms
• 60g mozzarella 
• beef tomato, sliced
• tomato sauce (1 tbsp tomato puree, 1 tsp balsamic vinegar, chilli flakes & sea salt) 

Prep everything before you start to cook.

I use my George Foreman to cook burgers because it's super quick, but you can grill them if you like. 

Simple instructions... add the burgers to the grill first (they take the longest to cook!), next add bacon, and finally the veg for about 2 minutes. 

Just before you take burgers off the heat, add the mozzarella & grill for 30 seconds to melt. 

You won't miss the burger bun I promise!! 

Build burger towers (cos we're all 5 year olds!) and serve with a spinach or kale salad.. 

*Drools*

Small changes lead to big results...

Everywhere you turn for the month of January, you'll be faced with people enthusiastically working on their New Years Resolutions... everyone is running, joining gyms, banishing junk food from their house and planning a healthier 2014... Until pay day comes around in a few weeks, and then they've forgotten the pain of the NYE hangover, and feel like treating themselves because they've been soooooo good for the past 3 weeks...

A friend of mine posted a great comment on Facebook recently... 

“People are so worried about what they eat between Christmas and the New Year, but they really should be worried about what they eat between the New Year and Christmas”

This is 100% true! A healthy lifestyle does not mean eating clean for the first 3 weeks of the year, and going crazy the rest of the time.. It's supposed to be sustainable and should not feel like the worst & most difficult task you've ever undertaken. 

If you're starting from scratch, and your body is used to being full of sugar then you will find it pretty tough going for the first while... sugar cravings are hard to ignore, but by taking it one day at a time, you'll find it gets an awful lot easier. 

It's really hard to change your habits all at once... that's why most people give up on their New Years Resolutions so soon after making them. It's much better to take small steps towards your long term goal... 

Here's some little things that you can add in to your daily routine, before you know it, they'll be normal habits and you'll be well on your way to a healthier 2014... 

• Aim to drink at least 2 litres of water a day. Buy a 1 litre sports bottle & keep it with you. This makes it easy to keep track, and you can keep hydrated during the day. 
• Take the stairs...always. 
• Walk or cycle where possible. 
• If you have to drive, park in the furthest corner of the car park.. 
• Replace your afternoon bar of chocolate with some nuts or a boiled egg.
• If you work in an office, get up every 90 minutes and go for a walk... walk up and down the stairs if you have to! If anyone questions where you're going.... say your IBS is troubling you!! 
• Prepare your lunch the night before.... it's very easy to stay in bed in the morning rather than getting up 5 mins earlier to make your lunch. Don't risk ending up with a chicken fillet roll for lunch!
• Don't eat for the sake of it... you don't have to have a slice of Mary/John's birthday cake! 
• Keep non perishable foods like a tin of tuna in your desk to deal with hunger pangs instead of going to the vending machine.
• If you're watching tv in the evening, stand & do the ironing at the same time... super productive AND standing increases energy expenditure! 
• Instead of struggling to carry all the shopping from the car... make two trips... 
• Go for a ten minute walk at lunch time.
• Find an activity you enjoy... running, walking the dog, dancing, strength training... whatever it is, make sure you enjoy it. That's all that matters... it's more sustainable if it makes you happy. 

I'm sure I've forgotten lots of really obvious ones... The point is, that by adding in little changes to your lifestyle one at a time, after a while they're just normal parts of your routine and you'll be far healthier... 

Turkey meatza..

The weather this evening was pretty miserable so I wasn't in the mood to go out. It's pretty unlike me to just want to chill out in front of the tv for a few hours... so since a movie was on the cards, why not have pizza to go with it..

I've already posted a similar recipe for pizza with a chicken base, but I'm always looking for ways to improve recipes so I can't resist experimenting. I had some leftover turkey mince, so decided to throw together a meat feast pizza :) 

• 1lb lean turkey mince
• fresh parsley
• sea salt

Preheat oven to 180d (fan). 

Simply mix mince & chosen spices together until combined. 

On a large piece of greaseproof paper, flatten mixture into a large circle about 1cm thick. (Using wet hands helps prevent the meat sticking to your fingers). 

Bake for 10 minutes until cooked through. Remove base from greaseproof paper & place on a pizza tray (this helps give a crispy, firmer base similar to that of a traditional dough base)

Add whatever toppings you have to hand.. since I'm leaning towards a ketogenic style diet at the moment, I definitely wasn't shy about adding lots of meat & cheese! 

I love this meatza & since it's so quick to throw together, why would you even consider calling for a take away.. 

I'm always saying this, but the more I make food that tastes this good, I genuinely wonder why anyone would choose processed options over homemade clean food...

Crepes (Grain free)

Sometimes I'm disorganised.... sometimes I find myself with very little food in the house & it throws my plans into disarray, I'm hungry and want something NOW...This is the reason why you shouldn't keep bad food in the house. If you find yourself hungry, you'll more than likely reach for that *insert poor quality food of choice here*. 

Instead of having bad food in the house, I always have emergency supplies for when I don't make it to the shops and still need to eat well. Choose foods that you can store without worrying they'll go off in a matter of days...My emergency supply always includes tinned fish, nuts, frozen berries and eggs. These are all perfect snacks and are 100% better than the alternative snacks you had in mind! 

Last night, I found myself running low on basically everything & had no meat defrosted so had to be creative to make sure I had a decent meal with lots of protein... so I made dessert! 

Low carb crepes for dinner..... Remember, eating clean doesn't need to be restrictive, you can eat whatever you want, once you're a little inventive :) 

Crepes:

• 3 eggs 
• 2 tsp Keen Almond Butter 
• 1 tbsp coconut flour (or sub with 2 tbsp almond flour)
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Filling:

• 50g raspberries
• 25g flaked almonds
• 100g Fage Greek Yogurt 

Whisk all the ingredients for the crepes together until well combined. 

Melt a little coconut oil in a large pan. 

Once hot, pour in the crepe mixture and cook until slightly bubbling on top. 

Add your filling, fold over & serve! Simple :) 

It's really easy to eat good food. Keep eggs in the fridge at all times, and you'll never need to eat badly! 

Berry Crumble Cake...

I know what you're thinking... she's so unbelievably selfless spending all this time baking to help us get through Christmas with some healthy treats... you're right! I am! But... thankfully since you'd never tell the difference between these recipes and their sugar-laden alternatives, I'm never short of people I can off-load food on!

The kettle is always being boiled over the festive period... people dropping in unannounced and it's nice to be able to offer them something home baked with their tea. The problem arises when you offer them Christmas cake or Mince Pies, but you don't eat one! They're going to think you're trying to poison them...

Oh wait... sugar actually is poison, so since you're a nice person and you'd like your friends & family to live long and healthy lives, make this sugar & grain free Berry Crumble Cake... :)

For the cake:

• 4 eggs, separated
• 2 tbsp raw organic honey
• 1 tsp baking soda
• zest of 1 large orange
• 45g coconut oil, melted
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 85g almond flour

For the crumble:

• 50g almond flour
• 40g flaked almonds
• 1 tbsp Keen almond butter

75g frozen berries

Preheat oven to 160d (fan). Line a 9 inch round tin with greaseproof paper. 

To make the crumble topping:

Add all the ingredients to a bowl and rub together with your fingers to combine. 

Set aside until needed.

To make the cake

Start by separating the eggs. To the egg whites, add 1 tbsp of honey. 

In the other bowl, whisk yolks, 1 tbsp honey, baking soda, zest, oil & vanilla until well mixed.

Whisk egg whites until they form stiff glossy peaks. 

Next add in 1/3 of the egg whites. Once you have fully incorporated the egg whites, you can add 1/3 of the almond flour. Repeat until everything has been added. Remember to fold in the egg whites & almond flour slowly to avoid knocking out all the air. 

To assemble:

Pour the cake mixture into the prepared tin and spread evenly. 

Top with frozen berries (press them gently into the cake mixture). I used blackberries & raspberries. 

Finally sprinkle the crumble topping on the cake. Don't worry that not all the fruit is covered... this makes it look really nice when the cake is baked. 

Bake for 25-30 minutes. Check on the cake after 20 minutes, if it seems like it's browning too much then place a sheet of tin foil over the cake and continue to bake until a skewer comes out clean. 

When baked, allow to cool in the tin for 5 minutes & then either serve warm, or remove from the tin & leave to cool completely on a wire rack. 

This is a really nice cake. It's light and fruity but the crumble topping makes it extra special... Obviously there are a lot of nuts in this cake, so like all the cake/cookie recipes I post here, they're for treats only... I'd far prefer to treat myself to a piece of cake that contains no grains, sugar or dairy rather than a heavy slice of traditional fruit cake...

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Orange Chocolate Mousse..

I've never really understood why we eat Christmas pudding (the heaviest dessert in the world) after what is generally the biggest dinner of the year... Wouldn't it be nice to actually feel good after your Christmas dinner this year with the added bonus of knowing that your dessert hasn't set your progress back?

Instead of feeling like a Christmas pudding this year, why not try something different? Here's a great recipe for Orange Chocolate Mousse which just happens to be dairy & refined sugar free AND it tastes just like a Terry's chocolate orange bar :)

• 1 can full fat coconut milk (refrigerated overnight to help it solidify & separate from the water) 
• 2 tsp Keen almond butter*
• 1 tsp coconut oil (melted)
• zest of 1 large orange
• 3 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
• 4 egg whites
• 1 tbsp raw organic honey

Start by scooping out all the solidified coconut milk from the top of the can (you don't need the water, but it would be great added to a smoothie)

Add the almond butter, melted coconut oil, orange zest & cocoa powder to the coconut milk. Whisk all the ingredients together until they start to thicken (an electric whisk will be better for this but you can use a hand whisk if you're patient!) 

In a separate heatproof bowl set over simmering water, whisk the egg whites & honey together until you have stiff & glossy opaque peaks. You need to whisk this mixture constantly or you'll end up with scrambled eggs! 

Remove from the heat. 

Begin adding the egg whites to the coconut milk mixture, 1/3 at time. Adding the egg whites slowly makes it easier to incorporate fully & prevents over mixing which will leave you with a heavy mousse. 

Once you have full mixed in the egg whites, you can spoon into serving dishes. Garnish with flaked almonds. 

You can serve this straight away, or allow it to chill overnight. 

*I always use Keen almond butter because it's nice to support Irish businesses, I'm too lazy to make my own & a lot of the other popular brands have salt or palm oil added... I've no problem with the salt, but it doesn't usually work in sweet recipes..

Christmas fruit & nut...

Christmas fruit and nut eh? Describes me perfectly!! I adore Christmas... the build up, the music, the movies, socialising with friends, the atmosphere & the smell of Christmas...

You know the smell of Christmas right? My house smells like that right now...

The only part of Christmas that's tough going is the food.. I admit I look at certain Christmas foods and think... "just one won't hurt".. BUT then I think about what's in the mince pie and how damaging it could potentially be to my health, and wonder is it worth it.... Thankfully, I recognise it's not..

If you're following me on Facebook, then you'll have seen my post about how unhealthy store bought fruit and nut mixes can be. You need to read the ingredient list, and make sure you know exactly what you're buying. Dried fruits are often preserved using sulphur dioxide, sugar & vegetable oil with nuts being salted & roasted in palm oil...It'd be a terrible pity to stall your progress just because you didn't realise what you're eating...

So... in keeping with this week's theme of healthy snacks, I've come up with a Christmassy themed fruit & nut mix with no added sugar or oils.. snacks like these will help keep you on track & prevent you feeling like you're missing out on anything...

• 100g nuts (I used almonds & walnuts) 
• 1 egg white
• 1 tsp organic vanilla extract
• 1 tsp freshly ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp ginger
• 1 tsp nutmeg
• dried cranberries (make your own.. I'll tell you how below)
• 30g raw flaked coconut

Preheat oven to 150d. 

Meanwhile whisk egg white and vanilla until foamy. Toss nuts in the egg mixture. 

Using a draining spoon, drain the excess egg white from the nuts. 

Add spices to a freezer bag and add the nuts. Shake until coated. 

Place on baking tray and bake for 10 minutes until crispy and golden.

Allow to cool, add dried cranberries, coconut flakes and any seeds you like...

Dried cranberries

Ok so we're not buying dried cranberries in the shop anymore. They're full of nasty ingredients, and it turns out that they don't taste as good as the ones you can make at home.. 

• 100g fresh cranberries... (see isn't that a natural ingredient list?) 
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Start by boiling the cranberries in water for 10 minutes, until they have all popped open. 

Remove from the heat & drain the water using a colander. Pat dry with some kitchen paper to remove the excess moisture. 

Spread cranberries on a baking tray, and place in the oven for 30 mins at 150d. 

Toss occasionally to ensure they're drying out evenly.