Super Healthy No-Grain Granola

I'm not even sure I should be calling this granola... I wouldn't go near traditional granola.. Grains & sugar are a no-go area for me... You did know that commercially produced granola is generally toasted in vegetable oil & sugar right? You're basically having a big bowl of sugar for breakfast, and by 10am you're hungry & lacking energy again... sound familiar? Yeah that'll be all the sugar causing a massive insulin spike, and an even worse crash shortly after... 

Honestly, when you look at the contents of some "healthy" granola in the supermarket, you may actually be better off eating Coco Pops! 

Being open to trying new things is really important when you decide to eliminate certain foods from your diet. It's really exciting experimenting and discovering new flavours in the kitchen. One of the main questions people have when I tell them I don't eat grains is "What do you eat for breakfast?".... 

I've stopped thinking of meals in terms of breakfast, lunch and dinner.... I just consider them as meals and eat whatever I fancy. There's nothing wrong with steak for breakfast... it's the marketing execs in the food industry who have convinced us that cereal is the only breakfast food we should be eating... 

A lot of people have said recently that they really miss a bowl of cereal now and again... so  I've come up with an alternative that is actually really really healthy...

Grain & refined sugar free granola really shouldn't work, but this does! 

• 50g almond flour
• 50g walnuts
• 50g flaked almonds
• 30g hazelnuts
• 50g dessicated coconut
• 50g milled flax seed
• 50g sunflower seeds
• 50g pumpkin seeks
• 25g poppy seeds
• 25g coconut flakes
• 4 dried figs, finely chopped
• 2 tbsp coconut oil melted
• 1 tsp raw organic honey
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 150d. 

Add all the dry ingredients to food processor & pulse for about 30 seconds. You want to grind up the nuts and seeds so you have some finely ground & some coarse pieces. 

Next, melt the coconut oil with the honey & vanilla. 

Add the the dry ingredients and mix well until everything is evenly coated. 

Spread mixture onto a baking tray & bake for approx 35 minutes until everything is toasted. Toss the mixture mid way through to prevent burning. 

Turn off the oven and allow to cool in the warm oven. This allows the mixture to dry out further & crisp up without over cooking. 

Once cool, toss the granola up & break up any large clusters (or leave the large chunks alone... they're pretty delicious too)

You can store this in an airtight container for around 2 weeks. 

Now... I never usually look at calorie content of foods, mainly because I just adopt a common sense approach to eating these days, but I just know someone is going to ask about the calorie content & nutritional value. Obviously there are a lot of nuts in this mixture which are pretty high in calories... BUT... firstly, all the ingredients have excellent nutritional benefits... healthy fats including MCTs from the coconut oil, anti-inflammatory & metabolism boosting properties as well as being 100% natural.... who wouldn't want to eat that? 

I'm not recommending that you chow down on a massive bowl of this with milk like traditional granola... what I am suggesting is that it's a great way to kill off cravings for sugar laced cereal & if you add healthy ingredients like fresh berries & Greek yoghurt, you're having a super healthy & tasty breakfast!**

**50g of this granola with 100g of Greek yogurt & 50g blueberries comes in at around 430kcal. 

Cinnamon & Apple Cake

I always try to use seasonal fruit & vegetables in my cooking... Cook what's in season and you'll never have to go far for your ingredients. We're so lucky to have access to amazing quality fresh food in Ireland, I always try to keep my ingredients as local as possible. 

I grew up in the country, and we had a fantastic orchard that provided us with the most delicious apples in the autumn. Seriously, they were the juiciest, sweetest apples you could find...For that reason, I always associate baking with apples with autumn time...Everything from apple tarts to crumbles to cakes.. 

You'll have noticed that the weather has been pretty horrendous over the past while, so you'd be forgiven for thinking we were still in the throes of winter... If you're in need of something a little special & comforting, look no further than this Cinnamon & Apple Cake... It's sweet and spicy and so unbelievably moist & tasty... 

For the cake:

• 5 eggs
• 4 tbsp raw organic honey
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 50g coconut oil, melted
• 50g walnut oil
• 250g almond flour
• 75g unsweetened dessicated coconut
• 2 medium cooking apples, peeled & grated coarsely
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp ginger
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 50g walnuts, roughly chopped

Grease & line a 9" round cake tin with parchment paper. Preheat oven to 160d. 

Start by adding eggs, vanilla, and honey to a large bowl and whisking until tripled in volume.

In a separate bowl, add all the remaining ingredients. Mix well until combined. 

Next, add the whisked egg mixture to the remaining ingredients gradually, folding gently after each addition to retain the air in the cake... 

Pour mixture into the prepared cake tin and bake for 50-55 minutes. If after 30 minutes or so you notice the cake is browning a little too much, you can cover the tin loosely with a sheet of tin foil to prevent burning. Almond flour has a tendency to burn a lot easier & faster than traditional wheat flours because of its fat content. 

Once the cake is cooked, leave to rest in the tin for 5 minutes before removing and allowing to cool on a wire rack... 

This cake is absolutely gorgeous served warm, straight from the oven... you could serve with a little Greek yoghurt and it would be amazing... 

Or... you could allow it to cool & finish off with this simple Cinnamon Cream Cheese icing... 

For the icing:

• 200g cream cheese (I use mascarpone since it's one of the least processed of the cream cheeses)
• 1 tbsp unsalted butter
• 1 tsp raw honey
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon

Beat well until just combined & smooth. 

Spread a generous layer of icing over the top of the cake & decorate with some chopped walnuts. 

This cake is amazing using pears & pecan nuts too...

Remember, if you make any of my recipes let me know & take pics! I LOVE seeing them... and I'll give you a shout out on Facebook!! You'll be #famous!! :) 

Chocolate Cheesecake Pancakes....

It seems like every Tuesday has turned into Pancake Tuesday in my house! I'm not a fan of the word "obsession", but I have an obsession with pancakes lately. Every time I go into the supermarket, there they are... smelling amazing and trying to tempt me. They even have mini pancakes to sample... so it's not even a big one... a small one can't hurt right??.... Realistically, probably not... but I'm super stubborn & grains really make me feel horrible so I'd prefer to make them at home.. 

When I make food like this, it's a meal not a snack... so I think about it in such a way when I'm deciding on ingredients.... the key things it needs.... lots of protein & fats and it has to taste YUM! The empty calories you'll take in from eating junk food don't serve to help your nutrition and health goals.... when I eat, I make sure the calories come from quality foods. 

For the pancakes:

• 2 eggs
• 50g full fat cottage cheese
• 1 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 tbsp almond flour
• 1/2 tsp gluten free baking powder
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Using a hand blender, mix all the ingredients together until frothy & well combined. 

Melt a little coconut oil on a pan and allow the pan to heat up.

Pour large spoonfuls of batter onto the pan. 

Once tiny bubbles appear on the surface of the pancakes, they are ready to turn. 

These pancakes are really tasty. They're light and chocolatey all at the same time... and the protein 'fluff' ice cream makes them extra tasty! 

Just in case you thought I'd completely succumbed to temptation... I didn't buy caramel sauce in the supermarket! I added 2 tsp of Keen Almond butter to 1 tsp of coconut milk & brought to a boil in a saucepan.... lower heat, stir constantly and watch it thicken into a really tasty sauce! :) 

Buffalo Chicken Strips...

There are actually no words to describe how good this chicken is... Make it & you'll see!!

These chicken strips are so full of flavour, you'll hardly believe they're good for you... Make extra & you have the nicest lunch to take to work...I'll just be surprised if you make it to lunch time without eating them!

For the spice mix:

• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/4 tsp onion powder
• 1 tsp paprika (smoky)
• 1 tsp paprika (sweet)
• 1/2 tsp chilli powder
• 1/2 tsp tumeric

Mix all the spices together in a bowl. Simple right?

For the chicken:

• chicken breast, pounded with a rolling pin to 1/2 inch thickness & cut in strips
• 1 tbsp almond flour
• 1 egg, beaten
• coconut oil

Toss the diced chicken in 1/2 the spice mix until well coated. 

Mix the remaining spices with the almond flour. 

Coat chicken pieces in beaten egg. 

Toss in almond flour mix until evenly coated. 

Place in a heat proof dish, drizzle with a little melted coconut oil & bake for 15 minutes (since we've pounded the chicken into thin strips it cooks really quickly). 

For the glaze:

• 4 tbsp Franks Original Hot Sauce (Not the one for wings... it has added sugar!)
• 1 tsp butter

In a large pan, melt the butter with the hot sauce. 

Add cooked chicken, toss until well combined and cook for 2/3 minutes.

Serve with lettuce/side salad/sweet potato chips... But one thing you HAVE to do... Crumble some Blue Cheese over the top! It really adds to it. 

I used about 30g Boyne Valley Blue cheese. If you haven't tried it... DO! It's Ireland's only raw milk blue cheese made from goat's milk and it's incredible!! 

Cheesy Chicken & Sweet Potato Cakes

A huge number of people have asked me recently for suggestions for healthy chicken recipes.... it seems we all get stuck in a rut of eating the same thing all the time...

So... over the next while, I'm going to make an effort to post recipes for simple & delicious chicken dishes like this Cheesy Chicken & Sweet Potato Cakes...

This is a great recipe that takes very little time to put together & leftovers would be fantastic at lunch time for both children & adults....

For the chicken:

• 1 large chicken breast
• 1 tbsp mixed seeds
• 1 tbsp grated mozzarella
• 1 tbsp almond flour
• salt & pepper
• 1 egg, beaten (divide into 2 bowls)
• 1  tbsp full fat cream cheese

Preheat the oven to 170d (fan). 

Start by mixing seeds, mozzarella, almond flour & seasoning together & spread evenly on a plate. 

Coat the chicken in cream cheese. 

Dip the cheese covered chicken in your seed mixture. 

Next place the coated chicken into the beaten egg. 

Shake off any excess egg and roll the chicken in remaining seed mixture until well coated. (Following all those steps will guarantee that the chicken will remain moist, but with a crunchy coating). 

For the sweet potato cakes:

• 1 small sweet potato
• 1/2 egg (leftover from above)
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1 tsp almond flour
• pinch of sea salt

Grate the sweet potato. (You should probably peel it first... I didn't cos I'm lazy. It makes no real difference to taste or texture, but for some reason I feel like I should) 

Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl until well combined. 

Next, using your hands, form small potato cakes. Press the mixture tightly together to ensure it holds firm during cooking. 

Once you have formed your potato cakes, place in a heat proof dish, drizzle with a little coconut oil & bake for approx 20 minutes alongside the chicken. 

The sweet potato cakes are cooked when they are golden brown & firm to touch. 

Tea Cakes

I LOVE a challenge...I'm always looking for suggestions for recipes to add to the page. I want the recipes to be the type of food you want to eat...

It's not about being fancy or complex... It's about getting the message out that it's not expensive or time consuming to eat healthy food...

So a friend requested healthy Tea Cakes... you know the ones from when you were little... biscuit base, mallow & coated in chocolate... YUM! But full of sugar so not something I'm going to indulge in any time soon...

I love these challenges....wondering if I can actually recreate them in a healthy way & for them to actually taste good... I'm pretty sure I can't express how thrilled I was with how these turned out... they tasted INCREDIBLE!! 

There are a few steps involved, so be prepared to spend an afternoon making these... it's well worth it though! 

For the biscuit base:

• 80g coconut oil, melted
• 25g raw honey
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 egg
• 220g almond flour
• 1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 160d (fan). 

Simple as always... throw everything into a bowl, mix until well combined & holding together as a stiff dough.

Since you'll be rolling out the dough, it'll be easier to work with if you leave it to chill in the fridge for at least an hour. This allows the coconut oil to solidify & gives a firm dough which rolls out without sticking or cracking.

Once the dough has chilled, roll out to about 1/2 cm thickness between two sheets of parchment paper.

Using a round cookie cutter, cut out circles of dough & place on a non stick baking tray.

Bake for approx 10 mins.. until cookies are firm and pale brown.

Set aside to cool on a wire rack.


For the marshmallow filling:

• 2 egg whites
• 1 tbsp honey
• 1/2 tsp cream of tartar
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• pinch of salt

Heat oven to 120d (fan). 

Place all the ingredients into a heat proof bowl set above a pan of gently simmering water. 

Whisk constantly (and I mean constantly or you'll end up with scrambled egg whites)....

It will take approx 8 minutes to end up with stiff, glossy opaque peaks. At this stage, you might want to taste the filling... I don't like things really sweet so you may want to add more sweetener, though these got the seal of approval from a lot of taste testers so I think you'll be ok with 1 tbsp...

Once the filling is ready, place heaped tablespoons onto the biscuits. I'd usually pipe the filling to make it look pretty, but a tablespoon works fine. 

When all the biscuits are ready, you need to place them back on a baking tray & into the oven for 10 minutes. This will help stabilise the filling & give it a firm structure. Note the really low temperature so you shouldn't expect them to come out of the oven browned..just slightly more firm.

For the chocolate covering:

I'm going to recommend using really dark chocolate for this... mainly because it solidifies better than homemade Paleo chocolate. 

Just make sure it's got a super high cocoa solid content... like 85%+ is ok in my book.. 

• 150g dark chocolate, melted

Simply melted the chocolate, and dip each of the tea cakes into the chocolate to coat. 

Allow to set on a sheet of parchment paper. 

I was seriously thrilled when I made these... they turned out better than I expected & the tasted pretty awesome too... 

Give them a go & let me know how you get on... send me pics on the Facebook page :)

If there's anything you'd like to see recreated in a healthy way, let me know... I'm always looking for suggestions! 

Oh... and in case I didn't mention it, lots of people said they were nicer than the original... RESULT!!!