Steak, mashed potatoes, and chips!…kind of…except it was all vegetables! Mwahahaha!

“steak”, “mashed potatoes”, and chips 🙂

So tonight I decided to make the husband happy…and healthy 😉 I’m a very sneaky wife mwahahah! All vegetables tonight!

Instead of steak I marinated portobello mushrooms in Worcestershire sauce all day and then grilled them.

For the mashed potatoes I took frozen cauliflower and microwaved it for 7 minutes (til thawed) drained te water and put it in my food processor with some italian herbs! Voila! Faux mashed potatoes that would fool any child or husband (but I think some cheese would be a really good tasty add in if you’re feeding kiddos).

Instead if classic frozen chips I chopped up a sweet potato, steamed them for 25 minutes along with the broccoli (and 6 eggs for lunches this week). Then I sautéed them in some leftover Worcestershire sauce in a nonstick pan with no extra oil to crispy them up.

Yummy yummy! I think I could feed this to my little 10 year old brother and even he would like it. Massive thumbs up from the hubby tonight 🙂

Healthiest pizza in the world and lunch for tomorrow too!

Yummy tasty cauliflower pizza!

Ingredients for my pizza base

So I have fallen in love with frozen califlour. Not it as itself but the many things you can do with it! As a rice substitute in stir fry, potato substitute in a roast dinner or a pizza base! So last night I made pizza for me and Andy and at the same time made up my lunch for the next day 🙂

Preheat your oven to 350F. I started out with about a head of califlour. Put it in a bowl and microwave it to defrost. Then I sieved some of the water out and put it into my food processor to blend it to a purée. I then put it in a bowl with:1tbsp garlic crushed
1 tbsp ground flax
2 tbsp italian seasoning
2 eggs
1/2 cup shredded low fat mozzarella cheese

All my topping ingredients! Gotta love those colors!

I mixed everything together and pressed it onto two cookie sheets (or pizza trays if you’re fancy like that, lol) and cook for about 12 minutes. While that’s cooking you can chop up your toppings. I’m quite a veggie lover so I made one withbasil, tomatoes, an mozzarella. And another with roast veggies. I also make my own sauce with tomato purée, italian seasoning, basil, and garlic powder.

Pizza bases baked off and sauce ready to spread!

Take your bases out and top them! Yay, fun 🙂 put them back in the oven for another 12 minutes (or so). While they were cooking. I used the rest of the toppings for my lunch the next day. Just a light sauté and then put into a box with a tin of tomatoes and some kidney beans. I babysit on Tuesdays so it’s a meal I can just microwave at the house and keep myself healthy while making the kids ham and cheese sandwiches 😉

Tomorrows lunch ready to go!

So there you go! Dinner and lunch in 30 minutes 🙂 our house smells of pizza the entire night!!! 🙂

Pizzas completed!

Prepare yourself: this will not simulate pizza “dough”. It’s a whole different experience, you will have to use a spatula to put the pieces into your plate and you might have to use a fork :p BUT when you think about how unprocessed, gluten free, natural, low calorie, and healthy this version is then you’re sure to go back for seconds 😉

Love you all, hope you enjoy pizza night 🙂

Dessert! :)

Yummy dessert about to be assembled 🙂

Sautéing the apples

So tonight I was wanting a sweet dessert after dinner so I decided to make my version of warm apple crumble 🙂

1 apple chopped
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon honey
2 tablespoons musli
4 walnuts chopped
1/4 cup milk

Toss everything into a pan and sautéed until the apples are soft. Put milk in a bowl and microwave for 30 seconds. Ta Da!

Nice warm comforting dessert. Totally healthy, totally clean, and totally yummy 🙂

My yummy homemade apple crumble 🙂

Zuchinni pasta! Gluten free, dairy free AND VEGETARIAN?! p.s. it tastes good too!

The beginnings of my “noodles” had to get some tunes on in the kitchen first 😉

Bolognese ingredients (missing a few tho!)

About to toss the zucchini “noodles” into the boiling water

I made this the other day, took photos of it for my mom, shared it on Instagram last second and immediately got tons of people asking me how I made this, what recipe I used, if it was hard, and did it taste nice. So I thought I should probably toss it up onto the blog 😉
First off, it’s not hard. It is so simple and even less time consuming than making normal pasta. Secondly, it is so yummy. The “pasta” stays in thick noodles that you can twirl around your fork and while having a slight green tint to them are so similar to real pasta noodles you could probably even make kids (maybe even the occasional husband!) eat it if you didn’t tell them what it was made from 😛

So to start this “wonder dish” you start by making a bolognaize sauce. This link is the one I used and it’s incredible! (I threw a few mushrooms) Then while that’s cooking I peel the skin off the zuchinni and then peel the zucchini lengthwise so that I end up with a core that is the seeds. You don’t want seeds in your pasta because that will make it fall apart. Then you just boil it for a minute until it’s soft and then toss it to dry(ish)! It was awesome awesome Awesome 🙂
btw, Don’t try to “wring dry” the pasta in a towel because that will make it squish and that is no good.

Mmm, zucchini Bolognese pasta 🙂

Crepes!!!

So this morning I really wanted pancakes again! But…yesterday I had banana pancakes so I didn’t really want a repeat-breakfast. So I decided to make some yummy berry crepes 😉 I got this recipe from Blogilates  which is one of my favorite go-to blogs for healthy recipes especially those extra-yummy meals that are usually calorie and fat-packed and Cassey Ho from Blogilates “healthafies” these. So that’s what she has done with crepes. This is such an easy yummy recipe that I have made many times before. Gets a big thumbs up from Andy too! I didn’t  have any berries so I just filled them with banana! I also topped them with some non-fat greek yogurt and honey. These crepes are so good for you and will fill you up for your whole day 🙂 What a treat!

1 egg (or two egg whites!)
1 tsp Cinnamon
1 Banana
1/3 Cup Oats
1/4 Cup milk
strawberries, blueberries, or bananas to fill 🙂
Greek Yogurt to top
Honey to drizzle

Put your dry ingredients into a blender or food processor and blend until a flour.
Add in the banana, egg, and milk and blend til a thin batter.
Put into a pan and flip when the underside is golden brown 🙂
Roll with yummies inside and top with yogurt and honey!
MAJOR YUM!

 

 

Easy peasy Mexican eggs!…Cooking with a sprained ankle :(

Mexican Eggs!

Start with sautéing corn and peppers with fajita seasoning

So this week I sprained my ankle which has meant lots of sitting around on my butt with my leg elevated and wrapped in ice packs…not fun…and very boring..so I’ve had to make my meals exciting! And they also had to be easy because standing on one leg in the kitchen does not last very long 😉

Add in some kidney beans and salsa

So I started out with some tinned corn (so easy) and frozen peppers(no chopping!) and some fajita seasoning. I sautéed them for a bit til they got a bit crispy. I added in 1/2 tin kidney beans and 1 tablespoon salsa. I added a few chili flakes for an extra kick. I let that all warm up together then popped it in a plate. I used the same pan to fry an egg and then put that ontop of the beans. Iadded a dollop of Greek yogurt(instead of sour cream) and some salsa. I also got a piece of 100% rye toast to dip in the egg yolk 🙂

Mexican beans ready for the eggs!

This was such an amazing lunch. Full of my favourite things and absolutely so easy and delicious!

For dinner I made something equally as healthy, easy and tasty. Frozen stir fry mix, frozen green beans and a frozen fillet of haddock. Toss it all in a pan and stir! This was incredible. Veggies and fish are basically the best meal you can make. And within 10 minutes!

Fish Stir Fry straight out of the freezer! Healthy and easy 🙂

Stewin it! I have made the best soup in the world!

So working a few long shifts means the slow cooker comes out. I have one vegetarian-modified stew and another incredible amazing soup

The first one is a beef vegetable stew:
1 lb boneless beef chuck roast cut into small pieces OR 1 eggplant cut into bite sized pieces for a vegetarian option.
3 carrots chopped
2 potatoes chopped
1 onion chopped
1 bay leaf
1/2 tsp dried thyme
2 cans chopped tomatoes
1/2 cup frozen peas
1 cup water
Chuck it all in the slow cooker and tree you go! So yummy and easy 🙂

Now….drum roll please for the soup I the month! This smelled unbelievable while it was cooking. I was just astounded at how yummy it smelled I can’t even put words to it!

3 14oz cans veggie stock
1 can tomato purée
1 can white beans
1/2 cup uncooked rice
1/2 cup chopped onions
1 tsp dried basil
2 garlic cloves chopped
8 cups spinach or kale
Toss everything except the greens into the slow cooker for the day. About 30-60 minutes before you’re ready to eat toss the greens in.
THIS SOUP IS INCREDIBLE! So filling and warm and delicious. One of my favourite soups I have ever had. You have to try it 🙂

Snack time!!! Peanut butter dip <3

This afternoon I really really wanted peanut butter!!! I use all natural peanut butter with no added sugar or oil that is DELICIOUS! But it is so calorie dense that you can’t really have very much of it and I wanted a treat that was filling and a bit more to feast on 😉

So I grabbed my non-fat Greek Yogurt and made a blend 🙂

1/2 cup non-fat Greek Yogurt
1 tablespoon peanut butter
1 teaspoon honey
Large dash of cinnamon 😉

I paired it with a sliced apple. Yum!!!

Greek yogurt is amazing for you! It’s an awesome source of low fat protein. There have been numerous studies saying that regularly eating low fat dairy daily. It is also such a good alternative to sour cream, dips, and salad dressings.

Peanut butter gives you healthy fats and oils and protein. It is so good for you but easy to go a bit overboard and have too much too quickly so watch out!

Cinnamon is so good for you. It raises your metabolism and keeps hunger at bay. It also contains healthy antioxidants which makes your body say THANK YOU!

apples!!!! my favorite! Apples and bananas rule my fruit bowl. Apples have a low GI which means it keeps your body feel full for longer plus they are crunchy and sweet which is a major win for me 🙂

An easy throw-together meal! Honey roasted Swede :)

Yesterday I had no clue what to make and had a bit of a time constraint due to a “running-date” with a friend of mine 🙂

So I walked around the shop looking for veggies that looked yummy. I came across a giant Swede only costing £.75!!! Not having any idea what it was or how to cook it, I decided I was gonna make it into dinner!

So I found a recipe on BBC Good Food for Honey Roasted Swedewith chili and coriander. I thought it could use some bulking up so I added chickpeas to the mix. But if you’re a meat- fan this would probably go great with pork! I chopped it up, threw it in a roasting pan and let it cook while I was on my run (andy was babysitting it while I was out). It was ready by the time I was back. Really tasty, really good for you, plenty filling but I accidentally didn’t de-seed the chili and it was VERY SPICY! Andy didn’t mind a bit though 🙂 for added protein (and to cool the spice a bit) we served it with chive&onion cottage cheese. I also put some sprouts with it cuz they were on offer, lol. Tasty! Had leftovers for dinner tonight 🙂

recipe
1/2 swede peeled and chopped
Drizzle olive oil
Drizzle honey
Chili de-seeded and shopped
Small bunch of coriander
Cumin
Pop everything in a pan, roast for 45-50 minutes at 200C 🙂

If you add the chickpeas (£.33) cottage cheese(£.60) and chili/coriander (previous meal leftovers-FREE!)into the price then this whole meal cost £1.68 for two portions and the lasted us two meals!

DUMPLING MONKEY!

Dinner date with my man!

Pork steamed buns!!!

Some days you just need to break the cycle and go out for a massive lovely filling meal. My go-to resturant is the Dumpling Monkey. It is a wee hole in the wall that you probably wouldn’t notice except that it is bright orange 😉 It  serves the most incredible Chinese food! Proper Chinese food too! Like, exactly like the food I ate when in China to adopt my sister. Big bowls of noodles, dumplings, and steamed buns! They have Chinese TV playing in the background, only offer chopsticks for eating, and have photos from Beijing hanging on the walls. Feel just like back in Asia. The owners are a married couple, the wife from New York and the husband from China and so lovely.

The food is absolutely incredible. The steamed buns are full of tasty pork or veggies and so yummy yummy. Not only this but it is not expensive either! A bowl of noodles is 5 pounds, 10 dumplings is only 4.50 and the steamed buns are 1 pound each! So for two people to have a massive tasty meal isn’t going to break the bank 🙂

Pot stickers (dumplings)

So there is my favorite restaurant ever! LOVE IT! You have to make a stop by if you’re ever at the bottom of Byers road!

Pot stickers and sauces