Tag: gluten free

Black Rice with Roasted Butternut, Spring Onion & Pumpkin Seeds

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Black rice

In parts of Asia, black rice was given the name ‘forbidden rice’, as it was reserved only for royalty due to its health benefits. It is very high in fibre and antioxidants and is a super anti-inflammatory.

Add to that some butternut squash which is also an anti-inflammatory (and because the contrast of colours look so great!) and some spring onion and pumpkin seeds for calcium, and we have a winning dish.

I bought this black rice ages ago and only got round to cooking it now and this dish is really delicious and so easy to make.

Ingredients

125g organic black rice
2 spring onions, chopped finely
1 butternut squash, chopped in small squares
Handful of pumpkin seeds
Extra virgin olive oil
Organic, natural maple syrup
Balsamic vinegar
Himalayan salt

Method

Preheat your oven to 180 degrees.

Put the rice in a saucepan and cover generously with boiling water and put on a high heat. Once the water starts bubbling, stir, turn the heat down to low and put the lid on. Keep an eye on it. It should take around half an hour to cook.

Peel the butternut squash and cut into small squares. Place on a baking tray and drizzle with olive oil and a bit of salt, mix well, and put it in the oven for half an hour.

Once the rice is ready, take it off the heat and put it in a bowl. Add the butternut, spring onion and pumpkin seeds.

Drizzle with a little balsamic vinegar, no more than a tablespoon, and drizzle with some maple syrup, then add a pinch of salt, stir, and serve. Can be eaten hot or cold.

Enjoy!

Love,
Lauren

Breakfast Parfait Extraordinaire

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Breakfast Parfait 1

Did somebody say breakfast parfait?? I haven’t done one of these for a while but I fancied pre-preparing some overnight oats and a chia pudding last night so threw together a parfait this morning with quinoa pops, almond butter and a top layer of blueberry banana acai ice cream and topped with the wonderfully vitamin K-rich mulberries.

Ingredients

Overnight oats layer:
Half a cup of gluten free organic rolled oats
1 1/2 cups almond milk
1/2 tsp organic pure maple syrup

Chia pudding layer:
Half a cup of chia seeds
1 1/2 cups almond milk
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp organic pure maple syrup

Ice cream layer:
1 banana, frozen
Handful blueberries
2 acai berry capsules, opened and emptied into the blender

Extras:
Almond butter
Quinoa pops
Mulberries

Method

The night before you want to eat this, make the overnight oats by mixing all the ingredients in a bowl, cover and leave in the fridge overnight. Do the same for the chia pudding.

In the morning, make the ice cream layer by putting the ice cream ingredients into a high speed blender to make ice cream.

Then just layer up all the ingredients and eat!

Enjoy!

Love,
Lauren

The Best (Healthy!) Lemon Drizzle Cake

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Lemon Drizzle Cake

Both of us love lemon drizzle cake. There’s nothing better than that sweet, moistness with a slight crisp to the coating – it’s a British staple! But the traditional recipes all require the usual unhealthy ingredients that we like to stay away from: flour, sugar, butter etc. So Raine and I put our heads together to come up with this healthy substitute and guys, we don’t mean to blow our own trumpet, but this cake is quite possibly even better than the traditional kind!

It’s totally gluten free, dairy free and refined sugar free, but it’s not vegan as we had to use eggs. Just make sure you get organic, free-range eggs and good quality ingredients all round.

I have to apologise for the slightly burnt edges – I’m waiting on a new oven! Anyway, please give this cake a go. It’s so easy to make and just to die for!

Ingredients

100g ground almonds
70g coconut palm sugar
2 organic, free-range eggs
100g vegan margarine (we thought coconut oil might make it a bit too oily. You can get a good quality, non-hydrogenated vegan margarine from your local health shop)
1 tsp baking powder
Zest of one lemon

For the coating:
2 tbsp raw cacao butter
Juice of one lemon

Method

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees and grease a loaf tin with a bit of coconut oil.

Put the ground almonds, coco palm sugar, eggs, margarine, baking powder and lemon zest in a large bowl and mix well.

Pour into the prepared cake tin and place in the oven for around 30-35 minutes until the edges start to come away slightly from the sides and the top is spongey.

Prepare the coating by melting the cacao butter on a very low heat in a saucepan. Once melted, turn off the hob, squeeze in the lemon juice and mix. Pour this over the cake while it is still warm and remove the cake from the tin once cooled.

Enjoy!

Love,
Lauren

Easy Chicken Rice Vegetable Dinner

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Easy Chicken Rice Veg Dish

Easy, throw-it-together dinners that don’t take too long. We’re all looking for more of these aren’t we? Who has time mid-week to stand in the kitchen for hours making a gourmet meal? Certainly not us! I saw a TV chef making something similar once so I decided to put my own healthy stance on it and create a new version for Two Kitchens.

Of course it goes without saying (because this is our entire ethos at Two Kitchens) that any meat used in our recipes must be organic, free-range from trusted sources. Everything we use in our recipes is organic, but it is especially important when it comes to meat as with vegetables, you ‘only’ have the worry of pesticides and insecticides, with non-organic meat, you have the grass the animals eat which will have the pesticides on it to begin with, then they are also injected with steroids, growth hormones and antibiotics, all of which we consume and absorb when we eat this meat.

Boring stuff aside, this is delicious!

Ingredients

2 chicken breasts cut into strips
Coconut oil for frying
Pinch salt and pepper (I used Himalayan salt)
1 tbsp organic honey
2 large onions, chopped
1 red pepper
3 cloves garlic
200g mushrooms, sliced
1/4 tsp mild chilli powder
1 tbsp curry power
1 tsp turmeric
1 mug brown rice
1 mug frozen peas
4 tbsp soy sauce
1 egg for each person dining

Method

Firstly, make the rice and boil the peas (separately but at the same time). Once ready, mix the two together and leave to cool.

Fry the chicken in coconut oil. Coat with honey, salt and pepper. Set aside.

Fry the onions, garlic, pepper and mushrooms then add chilli powder, curry powder and turmeric.

Once ready add the rice (must be cooled) and mix, then add the chicken and mix it all through. If the rice isn’t cool first it will go stodgy.

If you like it, fry an egg and when you dish the food onto a plate, put the egg on top.

Enjoy!

Love,
Lauren

Tropical Baobab Smoothie

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Tropical Baobab Smoothie

I’m really trying to make the most out of the summer fruits before they disappear until next summer! I can’t get enough of them and really miss them during the winter months. As our main food belief is based on chemical free, organic food, we only eat what’s in season. If you eat strawberries in February, the likelihood is they’ve come from a country far away and have had to be packed full of preservatives to keep them fresh until they arrive in the UK so as I said, trying to get my fix while I can.

My iron levels have dropped as I approach the end of my pregnancy so I have increased my intake of Baobab to help increase my iron and boost my immune system. This smoothie is seriously delicious…

Ingredients

200ml almond milk
2 ice cubes
6 strawberries
Large handful blueberries
Quarter pineapple
1 tsp baobab
1 tsp ground flax seeds

Method

Simply put all the ingredients in the blender and blend until smooth.

Enjoy!

Love,
Lauren

Healthy Honey Cake

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Honey Cake

This is a healthy take on my mum’s original Rosh Hashana (Jewish New Year) honey cake and it really is just as delicious as the original.

When I ran this blog with Raine, she added a gorgeous touch by adding rose water and cardamoms. I’ve left it as optional in the ingredients so you can decide if you want to use it or not.

Shanah Tova to all my Jewish followers – may you have a sweet AND healthy year!

 

Ingredients

225g clear runny honey
2 large eggs
110g coconut palm sugar
3 tbsp coconut oil
1 tbsp applesauce (optional, for added moistness)
250g ground almonds
½ tsp ground ginger
½ tsp cinnamon
½ tsp nutmeg
½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
2 tsp baking powder
150ml warm water
2 tsp rose water (optional)
1/2 tsp ground cardamoms (optional, if using rose water)

Method:

Preheat oven to 160 degrees.

Grease and line a 25cm square cake tin.

Warm the honey in a thick-based saucepan until it thins.

Beat together the eggs and sugar until thick and creamy and stir in the oil and honey (and applesauce if using).

Mix together the ground almonds, baking powder, ginger, cinnamon and nutmeg.

Dissolve the bicarbonate of soda in the warm water.

Fold the dry ingredients and water alternately into the beaten mixture.

Pour into the prepared cake tin and bake in centre of oven for about 1 ¼ hours but check after 45 mins as all ovens will bake this differently. It will be treacle-like.

Leave the cake in the tin for 10 mins then turn out onto a wire rack to cool. The cake can be served plain or brushed with honey and sprinkled with flaked almonds.

Happy new year!

Lauren

Carrot & Coriander Soup

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cc1

Autumn is now upon us in London, and I’m feeling the drop in temperature instantly. I tend to make heaps of soups during the winter months. They are great for lunch as they fill you up but are super nutritious also, if you use the right ingredients. Carrots are a great source of fibre and are also high in vitamins C & K, and once again, here I am trying to increase my vitamin K levels in the lead up to my birth. They are also a good natural source of iron and folate, important not just during pregnancy.

Ingredients

Drizzle of coconut oil
About 8 large carrots
2 potatoes
1 onion
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tbsp organic vegetable stock in 1.5 Litres boiling water
Salt & Pepper
Large handful fresh coriander

Method

Peel and chop all the veg then heat the oil in a large saucepan. Once hot, add the onion and cook for a minute, then add the potato, cook for a further minute, stirring a lot. Finally add the carrots, followed by the ground coriander, then add your stock and mix well.

Add a little pepper, wait until it just starts to boil then turn down, put the lid on and leave it to simmer for about half an hour.

Once all the veg is soft, either use a handheld blender if you have one, or put it all in a food processor, along with the fresh coriander, and blend. Taste to see if it needs any salt and as add required.

Enjoy!

Love,
Lauren

Cauliflower Pizza Base

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Cauliflower Pizza 1

We already have a couple of pizza base recipes on the blog, but I came up with a new one recently and it’s definitely my favourite. I use a combination of cauliflower and zucchini with psyllium husks so it is gluten- and grain-free. The mixture comes out a very vivid lime green, which is fun for kids – you can tell them it’s a Shrek pizza 🙂

Ingredients

For the tomato sauce:
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic
1 tin organic tomatoes
3 – 4 dates, pips removed
1/2 tsp dried origanum
1/2 tsp Oryx Desert Salt

For the base:
330g cauliflower
330g zucchini (you could just use 660g cauliflower if you prefer)
1 tsp Oryx Desert Salt
30ml nutritional yeast
2 eggs
125ml psyllium husks

Method

To make the sauce, sauté the onion in some olive oil until it starts to caramelise. Add the garlic and fry for a few more minutes. Add the tinned tomato, dates, and origanum. Simmer over a low heat for 30 – 40 minutes. Add the salt and blend until smooth. The key to a good tomato sauce is balancing the acidity of the tomato with sweetness. So if it doesn’t taste quite right, try adding another date.

For the base, steam the cauliflower and zucchini until tender. Blend with the eggs, salt and nutritional yeast until completely smooth. Then add the psyllium husks and blend to combine. The mixture will be quite thick and gloopy.

Cauliflower Pizza 2

Line a large baking tray (about 30cm x 40cm) with baking paper and then spread the mixture out onto the paper, as thinly and evenly as you can. The easiest is to use the back of a metal spoon, as this sticks to the mixture, helping you to pull and stretch it into a thin base (plastic doesn’t work as well.)

Cauliflower Pizza 3

Spread the tomato sauce over the base and then add your toppings. Here I’ve used a combination of organic cheddar and pecorino, but you could use nut cheese if you wanted to make it dairy-free. I topped it with olives, sun-dried tomatoes and chilli, and added fresh basil after it came out the oven.

Bake at 200 C for 30 – 40 minutes. The base will puff up while baking, but will shrink down again once removed from the oven.

Health & happiness!

Love,
Raine

Chocolate Mousse

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chocolate mousse

This sugar- and dairy-free dessert is so simple and quick to make, and guaranteed to impress. By using raw chocolate and only a small amount of honey you get a mousse which is rich in flavour and not overly sweet, but even kids love it.
You could use organic store-bought almond or coconut milk, but I much prefer the flavour of homemade. You can make coconut milk by blending 160g fresh mature coconut flesh with 350ml hot water and then straining it through a nut milk bag or muslin cloth (this will make 420ml of milk.) Check out the link below to see how to make almond milk.

Ingredients (serves 6)

420ml coconut or almond milk
150g raw chocolate (I use Gayleen’s Decadence Baking Slab, available at The Organic Emporium)
30ml raw honey
45ml organic virgin coconut oil
1/4 tsp Oryx Desert Salt
1/2 tsp vanilla powder or 1 tsp vanilla extract
3 egg yolks
1 whole egg

Method

If you’ve made the coconut milk yourself it should still be hot. If not, warm the milk in a saucepan until just below boiling point. Pour it into a high-speed blender, along with the chocolate, honey, coconut oil, salt and vanilla. Blend until the chocolate is melted and is well combined. With the blender running, pour the eggs into the blender through the hole in the lid. Continue to blend for another 2 minutes. At this point there should be steam coming off the mixture, thanks to having heated the milk, as well as the friction from the blender heating it further. Therefore the eggs will be cooked.

(If you’re not satisfied that the temperature is high enough to have cooked the eggs you can pour the mousse into a saucepan and cook it over very gentle heat, stirring continuously and never allowing it to boil. You need to be careful when using this method that you do not overcook the egg, thereby scrambling it. To check if it’s ready dip a spoon into the mixture and then wipe your figure down the back of the spoon. The mixture should not run down the line you have created when held horizontally.)

Pour the mousse into a pretty serving dish, or into individual bowls (I used champagne glasses.) Allow to cool to room temperature, then cover with clingfilm and refrigerate until set, preferably overnight. If you’re in a hurry you could place it in the freezer for a couple of hours and then transfer to the fridge. To serve, place halved strawberries on top of the set mousse.

Health & happiness!

Love,
Raine

Overnight Oats with Mulberries

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Overnight Oats Mulberries

It’s Vitamin K central round my house! As you have probably gathered from my recent posts, I am upping my natural intake of vitamin K in the last eight weeks of pregnancy to prevent having to give my baby the injection after birth. Mulberries are the highest natural source of Vitamin K so I’m stocking up! And what better way to have mulberries than in their natural form, to sweeten up my overnight oats. This was a really delicious breakfast bowl, I’m stuffed! And so satisfied.

Ingredients

1 cup gluten free, organic, rolled oats
2 cups almond milk
1 tbsp almond butter
1 tsp maple syrup (optional)

Toppings:
Handful of dried white mulberries
1 banana, chopped
A sprinkle of desiccated coconut

Method

Simply put the ingredients (excluding the toppings) in a bowl, mix well, cover, and leave in the fridge overnight. You don’t need to add the maple syrup, just depends how sweet you like it.

When you’re ready to eat it, add the toppings. Simples!

Enjoy,

Love,
Lauren