Tag: organic

Multi-Seed Gluten-Free Crackers

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Crackers 1

I have to thank Lisa Roukin from My Relationship with Food for this recipe. I saw it on her website and just had to make them! I’ve adapted it from hers slightly.

I’m eating six small meals a day now instead of three larger ones so healthy crackers are the best choice for at least one of those meals! I ate this along with some homemade hummus and Moroccan matbucha but you can have with anything you like. They are so much easier to make than they look and are just super yummy and nutritious.

Crackers 3Crackers 4

Ingredients

70g ground almonds
2 tbsp buckwheat flour
20g pumpkin seeds
20g sunflower seeds
20g flaked almonds
25g flaxseed, sunflower & pumpkin (linwoods)
15ml coconut oil,
60ml cold purified water
Pinch Himalayan or Oryx Desert salt

Topping
1 handful flaxseed, sunflower & pumpkin (linwoods)
1 handful pumpkin seeds
1 handful sesame seeds

Method

Pre-heat the oven to 300°F, gas mark 2, 150°C (130°C fan-assisted).

In a food processor add all the dry ingredients and salt and pulse a couple of times, then add the coconut oil and water, blend until slightly sticky texture (do not over process) leave a little texture for crunch.

Have two sheets of parchment paper, collect the dough from the food processor, shape into a square in the center of one sheet of the parchment paper, flatten slightly. Cover with the second sheet of parchment paper and roll to 1/4 inch (or less thick). Using a sharp chefs knife, trim off the edges and even into a square. Make the squares by cutting into equal strips (4 x 3).  Press the toppings into each square (I divided 1 handful of each topping on 4 squares).

Bake in the pre-heated oven for 25 minutes, remove from the oven leave to cool on the tray for 5 minutes then transfer to a cooling rack.

Crackers 2

Enjoy!

Love,
Lauren

Favourite Summer Salad

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Sweet pot salad 1

This is my ultimate go-to summer salad. It’s so easy and quick to make and works so well as a yummy, filling, nutritious meal to eat out in the garden on a warm evening. You can omit the halloumi if you are vegan, and you don’t have to stick to this recipe, you can add any vegetables you like.

Ingredients

3 sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped in bite sizes
1 block of organic High Weald halloumi, sliced
About 6 romaine lettuce leaves, chopped
10 cherry tomatoes, sliced in 4
1 red pepper, chopped
2 mini cucumbers, chopped
2 spring onions, chopped
Handful of olives of your choice
Small tin of artichoke hearts
Extra virgin olive oil
Himalayan or Oryx desert salt

Sweet pot salad 2

Method

Preheat oven to 180 degrees while you peel and chop the sweet potatoes. Put them on a baking tray covering with baking paper, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Mix them around the tray until they are all covered in the oil then place in the oven for around 30 minutes.

Prepare the rest of your veg and add to a bowl then drizzle with a little olive oil, salt and pepper (you can add lemon here if you like it) and mix well.

Place the halloumi under the grill or on the BBQ (we love it on the BBQ) and grill until nicely charred.

Remove the potatoes from the oven and place on top of the salad, then remove the halloumi from the grill or BBQ and place on top. Serve immediately.

Enjoy!

Love,
Lauren

Vegan White Chocolate Cookies

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White choc cookies 1

Pregnancy cravings have struck! I am craving cookies and biscuits like never before, especially in the afternoon. I’ve given in and had a few ‘naughty’ Belgian chocolate covered biscuits because I don’t agree with depriving yourself to the point of being miserable. I’d say that my healthy lifestyle makes up for 80% of the time, and the other 20% is when I eat out or at other people’s houses or fancy a treat. I don’t want to be the person who goes out for dinner and can’t have anything on the menu. Since cleansing myself and getting into remission, I no longer have any intolerances so my body accepts everything, I just don’t agree with eating all that unhealthy stuff all the time. But every now and then, if I fancy a biscuit, I have it! That being said, the cravings have got a bit mad so I had to make some healthy ones to keep at home and these really do satisfy the craving 🙂

Ingredients

1 can chickpeas, rinsed then patted dry
2 tbsp organic natural peanut butter (I use Meridian)
3 tbsp almond milk
1 tbsp coconut oil
3 tbsp maple
1 tbsp sized chunk of cacao butter
3 tbsp buckwheat flour
1 tbsp coconut palm sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda (not essential, but I find it gives the outer layer of the cookie a crunchier texture)
Pinch of Himalayan or Oryx salt (I used Oryx desert salt)
Generous handful of vegan white chocolate chips (or any chocolate chips of your choice)

Method

Preheat oven to 180 (gas mark 6) and line a baking tray with baking paper and grease it slightly with coconut oil.

Put the chickpeas, peanut butter, almond milk and coconut oil in a food processor and blend until smooth.

Then add the maple, cacao butter, buckwheat flour, coco sugar, baking powder, bicarb and salt and process again until smooth and sticky.

Transfer the mixture to a bowl and add the chocolate chips and mix in.

Take cookie sized balls of the mixture in your hand, roll then press down to a cookie shape on the prepared baking tray. Dampen your hands slightly if it is too sticky. Repeat until mixture is finished.

Put in the oven for 12-15 minutes or until you see they are very slightly golden but do not over bake. They will continue to harden once they come out the oven. Transfer baking sheet that they are on, onto a cooling tray or wire rack until fully cooled.

Served best with a cold glass of almond milk!

Enjoy!

Love,
Lauren

Double Chocolate Cookies

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Double Chocolate Cookies

It’s tough being pregnant and health-conscious! But what time could be more important than now to watch what I eat? The growth and health of my baby is solely dependent on me – that’s a lot of pressure! So I need to make sure I’m consuming only the healthiest, most nutritious organic produce but that’s not always easy; as we know, everything healthy takes preparation. I must admit, I have succumbed to the odd store-bought chocolate biscuit over the last few weeks as the serious chocolate cravings hit, but I try to make a batch of something sweet yet healthy once a week or once a fortnight so I have stuff on hand.

Today we looked after our 18 month old niece (good practice!) and while she had her afternoon nap I whipped up these bad boys, adapting from a recipe by Wholesome Patisserie. Not only did they 100% fully satisfy my craving (and I’m not lying, they really did – even more so than the store-bought processed stuff!) but my niece loved them too and we got to have them warm out the oven when she woke up. That’s what I call Sunday afternoon bliss! I hope you like them as much as we all did 🙂

Ingredients

Wet Ingredients:
1 heaped tbsp ground flax seeds
1/4 cup coconut oil
1/4 cup almond butter
1 and quarter cups coconut palm sugar
1 tsp vanilla bean paste

Dry Ingredients:
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1/4 tsp Himalayan or Oryx salt
3 heaped tbsp raw cacao powder
1 1/2 cups buckwheat flour
2 tsp almond milk
Half cup dairy free (or your choice of) chocolate chips

Method

Preheat oven to 180 and line 2 baking trays with parchment paper.

In a large mixing bowl, mix together the ground flax and 3 tbsp filtered water and set aside for 2-3 minutes or until it has thickened up. Then whisk the flax egg one final time.

Now add the wet ingredients to the same bowl with the flax egg; solid coconut oil, almond butter, brown sugar, coconut sugar and vanilla. Beat the mixture until smooth and well combined.

Add in the baking soda, baking powder, salt and cacao, beat the mixture well. You may have to knead a bit with your hands to get it fully incorporated, then beat or knead in the buckwheat flour with the almond milk until smooth and well combined.

Now mix in the chocolate chips.

Take a small piece in your hands and roll into a ball then flatten into a cookie shape and place on prepared baking tray. Make sure to leave enough room between each cookie as they will rise.

Put them in the oven for 12-15 minutes then remove them and leave to cool on a cooling rack for 5 minutes. After that you can either eat them warm or wait until fully cooled before storing them in an airtight container.

Enjoy the decadence!

Love,
Lauren

Turnip, Apple & Sweet Potato Salad

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Turnip Salad

I’ve been getting some interesting fruits and vegetables through in my weekly Abel & Cole organic fruit and veg box now that the summer season is approaching. I truly believe in eating only what is in season, therefore it has no preservatives and can be totally organic so I’m getting excited now that strawberries, blueberries and rhubarbs are coming in! Turnips came in this week’s box and I thought right, it’s getting too warm to make a soup so I’ll make a salad and here is the end result… You don’t need a spiralizer but it will make life easier with this sort of salad and makes it look much nicer too! They’re really not expensive and can be picked up on Amazon for around £25.

Ingredients

3 turnips
4 carrots
2 sweet potatoes
2 apples (any will do, I just used what arrived in my shopping box)
A good handful of sundried tomatoes, chopped into quarters
A handful of dill, finely chopped
Croutons of choice (you can find gluten free ones)
2 Mozzarella balls, sliced (optional. Omit if you want this salad vegan)
Drizzle of apple cider vinegar
Drizzle of olive oil
Juice of 1 lemon
Himalayan salt & black pepper to taste

Method

Start by peeling the sweet potatoes, dicing them into 5mm pieces, then place on an oven tray, drizzle with olive oil and put in the oven on 180 degrees (gas mark 6) for 20 minutes.

While this is cooking, peel the turnips, carrots and apples, then put each one through the spiralizer and add to a big salad bowl then add your dill.

Add the apple cider vinegar, lemon, olive oil, salt and pepper, mix well, then end by adding the sweet potatoes, croutons and mozzarella (if you add these before the dressing they will go soggy).

Mix well and serve straight away with your choice of crackers and homemade hummus.

Enjoy!

Love,
Lauren

Banana Crunch Smoothie Bowl

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Banana Smoothie Bowl

Breakfasts don’t need to be just cereal or toast! I love making up new smoothie ideas for a yummy, filling and nutritious breakfast. Check out our other smoothie bowls on our breakfast page.

Ingredients

1 and a half frozen bananas (slice and freeze the day before)
1 tbsp almond butter
2 medjool dates
Splash of almond milk
Tsp chia seeds
Homemade granola or organic store bought
Some puffed brown rice

Method

Put all the ingredients except the granola and puffed rice into the blender and blend until smooth.

Pour into a bowl and top with the granola and and puffed rice (or puffed quinoa) and enjoy!

Love,
Lauren

Garlicky Citrus Carrot Salad

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Carrot Salad

A great accompaniment to any meal, or as a meze starter…

Ingredients

3 carrots, grated
Handful sultanas
Half a clove of garlic, crushed
Juice of one orange
Drizzle of olive oil
Himalayan salt & black pepper

Method

Grate your carrots into a bowl, then crush your garlic into it. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well, then serve.

Enjoy!

Love,
Lauren

Lauren’s Favourite Avocado Salad

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Avocado Salad

Avocados are one of my favourite foods. They’re so rich in fibre and mono-unsaturated fatty acids that keep the heart healthy and you can do so much with them… I have them on their own, cut in half with a little bit of balsamic vinegar and scoop it out with a spoon, or spread on Biona gluten free bread with some lime juice and salt or in a salad like this…

Ingredients

2 ripe organic avocados
1 hard-boiled egg
2 spring onions
Juice of one lemon
Drizzle of olive oil
Himalayan salt & black pepper to taste

Method

Make sure you pre boil your egg so it’s ready. Get a medium sized bowl as it’s quite messy so you don’t want to prepare this in the same bowl that you will be serving it from and mash your egg into really small pieces with a fork.

Then add the avocado and mash that too, followed by the rest of the ingredients until it’s all mashed in together. Serve with other salads or with a bread or cracker of your choice.

Enjoy!

Love,
Lauren

Tahini / Tchina (depending on where you’re from!)

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Tehini

Sorry for the strange title… in the west, this is called Tahini (the paste itself is called that) but in the Middle East, where this originated, it’s called Tchina. Whatever it’s called, it’s yummy, easy to make and is one of the best sources of calcium out there. So if you read our article about why to stay away from milk and you are wondering where to get your calcium, tahini is one of the best places to find it.

Ingredients

3 tbsp tahini paste
Quarter cup purified water
5 tbsp lemon juice
Half tsp Himalayan salt
Half tsp garlic salt
Quarter tsb paprika
Drizzle extra virgin olive oil

Method

Spoon the tahini paste into a medium size bowl (it gets quite messy so you want to make it in a separate bowl to the one you’ll be serving it in), then add the water and mix really well. You will see it go from a weird texture to smooth quite quickly and it will become much more pale. If it still seems quite thick (it should be relatively runny) then add some more water; gauge it for yourself. Then add the rest of the ingredients and mix well.

Taste to see if it needs more of anything and add to your taste. Transfer to a smaller bowl.

Great with other dips and salads (have a look on both those pages on our website for more ideas) and with bread or crackers.

Enjoy!

Love,
Lauren