Prawn thai red curry

This is speedy recipe that tastes so good! It’s perfect for those mid-week nights when you don’t have much time to cook or a healthy weekend alternative to a takeaway.

Prawns are a great source of protein, vitamin B12 and folate (B9) (energy and red blood cell production), antioxidant vitamin E (anti-inflammatory, heart protective), iodine (thyroid function/ metabolism), selenium and zinc for immune system support.

Ingredients

• 1 garlic clove, grated

• 1 thumb ginger, grated

• 1 x 400ml tin coconut milk

• 1 tbsp Thai red curry paste

• 150g sugar snap peas

• 150g raw king prawns

• 1 x 300g mixed stir fry vegetables

• Juice of ½ lime

• ½ red chilli, fine slices

• Handful of fresh coriander

• Serve with sticky rice, brown rice or noodles

Method

• Heat a glug of ground nut oil in a large skillet.

• Add the garlic and ginger, frying gently for a couple of minutes.

• Add the coconut milk and red curry paste and warm through.

• Next add the sugar snap peas and prawns cooking for 30 seconds before adding the bag of veggies.

• Cook for 1-2 minutes until the prawns are fully pink and cooked through.

• Spread the chilli and coriander evenly on top and serve with Thai sticky rice, brown rice or noodles.

Coconut & cacao squares

A healthy alternative to flapjack that will give you a nutritious energy boost!

ingredients

• 100g coconut oil

• 2 tbsp maple / honey

• 3 ripe bananas (300g peeled)

• 3 tbsp raw cacao

• 250g porridge oats

• 100g desiccated coconut

Method

• Preheat the oven to 180ºc. Line a 20 x 20cm tin with baking parchment.

• Melt the coconut and honey gently in a small saucepan.

• Mash the bananas in large bowl with a fork and add the rest of the ingredients.

• Pour in the coconut oil and honey, mixing well until all the ingredients are combined.

• Scrape the mix into the baking tray and press down firmly.

• Bake for 25 minutes. Leave to cool completely before slicing.

  Tip

• This recipe freezes well, so you can wrap some up in tin foil and save for later.

• You could add 1 tbsp more of maple and/or cacao if you want extra sweetness / chocolateyness.

• I made these squares for my daughter to take for her school snack as they’re nut-free. I wanted her to have something slightly more healthy than sugary cereal bars - it’s also quite hard to find them without nuts!

Coconut & walnut overnight oats

Overnight oats is still one of my go-to breakfasts; it takes minutes to prep in the evening and then you have a delish breakfast ready in the morning. You just need to add the toppings.

I’ve never been a fan of whole walnuts, but I really like them in a butter. They are actually incredibly good for you with the highest polyphenol (antioxidant) and Omega 3 content out of all nuts, helping to increase gut microbiota diversity and health, reduce inflammation and support your cardiovascular and immune systems. So I figured I should start liking them! They’re also really good with cheese, crackers and sliced apple too.

The other ingredient added here is kefir. It’s a cultured, fermented milk drink, which is a great source of calcium and rich in good probiotic bacteria for your gut. I’ve used Biotiful that you can find in Sainsburys.

The best toppings IMO are Greek yoghurt (also boosting good gut bacteria), fruit compote, toasted nuts and seeds plus extra nut butter, but you can have any combination you like.

Ingredients

Serves 4

• 80g oats

• 40g white chia seeds

• 40g raisins

• 25g desiccated coconut

• 10g flaxseed

• 1-2 tbsp nut butter

• 400ml nut milk or organic whole 

• 150ml kefir

Method

• Mix all the ingredients together in a medium sized tub with an air-tight lid.

• Serve with homemade compote

Tip

• If you can’t get hold of walnut butter, you can always use a different kind - almond or cashew are both really nice - and top with a few whole walnuts instead to get their benefit.

Tomato & coconut red lentils with roasted cumin cauliflower

I love lentils, they’re so satisfying and really versatile; they can be flavoured with lots of different spices and herbs, plus they’re a really cheap and tasty way to add more planted-based protein to your diet.

Here’s my take on a dal, made with coconut milk and tomatoes this time. I’ve added roasted cauliflower to bring another texture and flavour to the bowl, but if you want to simplify then the lentils are still great on their own with yoghurt.

Ingredients

Serves 6

Cauliflower

• 1 whole cauliflower, chopped into small florets

• 2 tbsp olive oil

• 1 tsp cumin

• 1 tsp sea salt

Onions

• 2 small onions, chopped

• 4 garlic cloves, grated

• A thumb fresh ginger, peeled & grated

• 1 tsp cumin seeds

• 1 tsp coriander seeds

• 1 tsp fennel seeds

• 1 tsp sea salt

Lentils

• 350g red lentils

• 500ml water

• 1 × 400 ml tin coconut milk

• 1 × 400g tin cherry tomatoes

• 1 tsp turmeric 

Method

• Pre-heat the oven to 200ºc.

• First prep the cauliflower: tip onto a large tray and gather up at one end.

• Mix the oil, cumin and salt in a small bowl and drizzle over the cauliflower, coating well. Now spread out the florets evenly with small gaps in between them. Set aside.

• Heat 1 tbsp cold pressed rapeseed oil in a large pan and then add the onions, cooking gently for 15 minutes on a low heat so they start to caramelise.

• Now put the cauliflower in the oven for 12 minutes, turn (one side should be browned before you do this) and put back in the oven for 5 minutes.

• While the onions and cauliflower are cooking, rinse the red lentils thoroughly with cold water - I usually do this by putting them into a saucepan adding cold water, swishing them around, then tipping out the majority of the water. Repeat until the water runs almost clear then drain throughly.

• Put the lentils in a large saucepan and add 500ml of cold water plus the coconut milk, cherry tomatoes and turmeric, simmer with the lid on for 10 minutes.

• Next add the ginger and garlic to the onions, cooking for 2-3 minutes, before adding the cumin, coriander and fennel seeds. Warm for a minute to release their flavours.

• Add the onion mix to the lentils, plus sea salt, stir well and cook for a further 10 minutes.

• Serve with Brown Basmati rice, natural yoghurt and fresh coriander leaves

Easter breakfast: chocolate strawberry & raspberry coconut cream on toast

Looking for something a little bit special to have on your toast this Easter weekend? Well, I’ve got a couple of ideas that you might want to try. Baker Street bakery asked me to create a family friendly recipe for you to enjoy over the holidays, so I’ve used their sliced brown and seeded topped with a classic combo: chocolate & strawberry, and one you might not have tried before: coconut cream & raspberry coulis! 

All the ingredients for these toast toppers are super quick to make and you can prep them a few days in advance if you want to. The coconut cream and raspberry couli are also really good on cereal or pancakes too if you have any left over!

Ingredients

Serves 4

• 8 slices of Baker Street toast (I used brown & seeded)

• Chocolate hazelnut spread (recipe here)

• 4-6 strawberries, sliced

• 250ml coconut cream (recipe below)

• 50g raspberry coulis (recipe below)

• 8-10 fresh raspberries

• Toasted coconut pieces, optional

  Method

• Prepare the chocolate sauce, coconut cream and raspberry coulis a day ahead if you can as they will all need to go in the fridge to cool down before serving.

• Make the toast, cut into quarter triangles and start loading with the toppings: a large swipe of chocolate spread and a couple of strawberry slices or a spoon of coconut cream, a drizzle of raspberry coulis and a sprinkle of coconut pieces if you have them. Toasted desiccated coconut would also work well too.

---

Coconut Cream

Ingredients

• 250ml coconut cream

• 1 tbsp icing sugar, sifted

• ¼ tsp vanilla essence

Method

• Pour the coconut cream into a mixing bowl and whisk on high for 15 minutes until thickened.

• Add the icing sugar and whisk thoroughly. Stir in the vanilla.

---

Raspberry Coulis

Ingredients

• 300g frozen raspberries

• 50g soft light soft brown sugar

Method

• Put the raspberries into a pan and warm gently for 10 minutes. Add the sugar and simmer for 5 minutes.

• Pass the raspberry sauce through a sieve to get rid of the seeds using a silicone spatula to squeeze it through. It will take a while to get all the sauce through the sieve, so just keep going until you have mostly seeds left and no more juice is coming through.

Cherry & coconut smoothie

Changing things up this morning with a cherry smoothie. Loved this kinda tropical combination! Dreaming of sunny skies….

Ingredients

Serves 1

• 150g frozen dark cherries

• 3 tbsp coconut yoghurt

• 200ml coconut milk drink

• ½ tbsp maple or honey, optional

Method

• Blitz

Tip

• Use frozen fruit if you can as it’s cheaper and means your drink will be chilled without adding ice.

• Switch coconut yoghurt for plain or cherry.

Coconut & berry overnight oats

I often end up making these just before I go to bed, as I forget earlier in the evening, but they’re so quick to make it’s not really much hassle. They’re a great alternative to porridge in the summer especially, but I like them all year round.

Scroll down for the mixed berry compote recipe that you can also use with lots of different breakfasts and desserts (links below).

Ingredients

Serves 2

• 120g oats

• 400ml coconut milk drink

• 1 tbsp chia seeds

• 2 tbsp desiccated coconut

• 2 tbsp maple syrup

• 20g sultanas

Method

• Get a medium sized tub, add the ingredients and mix well. Leave in the fridge overnight.

• Give the mix a good stir before serving.

Tip

• I put my bowl in the microwave for 1 minute on 360 power to take the cold edge off the oats before eating. I prefer them at room temperature in the winter, but in the summer I will eat them straight from the fridge (not literally).

Mixed berry compote

ingredients

Makes approx 300ml

• 450-500g frozen mixed berries

• 70-80g soft brown sugar

method

• Tip the frozen fruit into a large saucepan with 70g sugar and allow to warm on a medium heat. Once all the fruit has defrosted, simmer for 10 minutes.

• Use a potato masher to break up any whole berries, add a little more sugar if needed and leave to cool.

• Or if you prefer to remove the seeds and make a coulis, pass though a sieve whilst warm, pushing with a silicone spatula.

• It will take quite a bit of effort to get all the pulp separated, but keep going until you only have seeds in the sieve. Or as long as you can be bothered, but you’ll be surprised at how much you can get out even when it looks like mostly seeds!

Tip

• Recipes that work well with compote: granola, overnight oats, pancakes, muesli

Pumpkin soup with chilli & ginger

It wouldn’t be Halloween without the obligatory pumpkin soup post would it?! Like Lockdown without banana bread...
My recipe this year took a slightly unexpected, but interesting, turn with the addition of coconut milk, chilli, lime and my latest discovery: dark roast peanut butter (linked in the ingredients). If you’ve never tried it you need to, it’s umami heaven! So good on toast too.
I’d originally planned to make more of a classic pumpkin soup with white wine and cream, but I went in a different direction and ended up using more Thai style flavours, which makes sense of the peanuts, right? They bring a deep savoury back note rather than being an obvious addition, I don’t think many people would be able to guess they were there, but they add a lovely subtle umami richness.
There’s also fresh ginger, a little chilli heat and a zing of lime - a bright note to counteract the sweetness of the roasted vegetables - essential in most dishes imo.

This recipe is for a big pan of soup so halve it if you prefer, but I always like to make extra for the freezer.

Ingredients

Makes 2.8l or 8 servings

• 1 medium sized pumpkin

• 1 squash, chopped weight approx 800g ex seeds

• 2 large onions, diced

• 30g fresh ginger, grated

• 1 tsp dried chilli flakes

• 1 stock cube

• 1l water

• 400ml coco milk

• 1 tbsp dark roast peanut butter

• 2.5 tsp sea salt

• Handful of toasted pumpkin seeds

Method

• Preheat the oven to 180ºc.

• Peel and chop the squash into wedges; place on a large tray with 1.5 tbsp rapeseed or olive oil, sprinkle with sea salt and mix well to coat. Place in the oven for 15 minutes, turn and repeat; the squash should be browned on at least a couple of sides. Remove from the oven and set aside.

• Chop the pumpkin in half, you might want to cut off the stalk at the top first though. Then put on a large roasting tray, covering the cut sides loosely with foil and place in the oven for approx 1 hour. Test by sticking a knife in at this stage and see if it is soft all the way through, if not put back in the oven for 30 minutes and repeat if necessary. Set aside to cool a little while you chop the onions.

• Heat 1 tbsp rapeseed or olive oil in a large pan and add the onions, cooking for about 15-20 mins on low.

• Once the pumpkin has cooled enough to touch it, cut out and throw away the seeds, then scrape the flesh out of the skin and put in a bowl. Keep the water that has been released from the pumpkin while cooking as this will go into the soup to add extra flavour.

• Once the onions are softened add the ginger, mix well and warm for 1 minute. Then add the squash, pumpkin and pumpkin water, chilli, crumbled stock cube, 1l of water, peanut butter and coconut milk; simmer for 15- 20 minutes.

• Blitz with a stick blender; you may need to add 100-200ml of water to get the right consistency, just do it gradually and then add the sea salt one tsp at a time. The quantity of extra water needed and salt will vary slightly depending on the size and how watery your pumpkin was.

• Serve with sourdough and a sprinkle of toasted pumpkin seeds.

Tip

• Cook the squash or pumpkin on the previous day to save time when making the soup as they take awhile too cook and use a lot of oven space.

• If it’s not pumpkin season then just use another butternut squash instead.

Super seed coconut protein balls

In the interests of healthy snacking I decided to make these today. I’ve noted how you can switch the ingredients to work with what you have in the cupboard so hopefully you can make your own version. Mine were a mix mash of lots of things as you’ll see!

Ingredients

Makes 24 falafel sized balls

• 400g dates

• 50g sunflower seeds

• 50g pumpkin seeds

• 100g desiccated coconut

• 4 tbsp cacao (or coco powder)

• 2 tbsp coconut oil

• 2 tbsp peanut butter (or any nut butter, smooth or crunchy)

Method

• Spread the desiccated coconut on a plate or tray.

• Use a mini ice cream scoop to measure out and shape the balls by pressing them into the coconut.

• A tablespoon will also work fine if you don’t have a scoop.
  

Desert Island Disco smoothie

This is a lovely tropical blend that’s great for breakfast or a mid-morning boost! I always try to use frozen fruit for smoothies as it means you don’t have to add ice.

Ingredients

Serves 1

• 70g mango

• 40g banana

• 1 tbsp oats

• 200ml coconut drink (my favourite is Rude Health)

Method

• Add to the blender and blitz well

Blueberry, coconut & maca smoothie

I love this smoothie. Super quick and easy to prepare too, but I appreciate not everyone has raw maca powder in their cupboard, but it’s pretty easy to find these days, even Aldi stocks it! You could always leave it out though, the smoothie would still taste great.

Maca is an ancient Peruvian root crop from the radish family, which has a malty, slightly caramel-like taste. It's a great supplement to add to your smoothies or porridge as it won't change the original flavour too much. Maca is well worth having in stock as it's high in antioxidants, nutrients such as Vitamins B1 & 2, calcium and iron, and energy-boosting compounds called macamides and macaenes. It is called Peruvian 'ginseng' as it is said to improve energy levels and help to restore hormone imbalances.

Ingredients

Serves 1

• ½ frozen banana

• 1 handful frozen blueberries

• 250ml coconut milk drink

• 1 tsp maca powder

Method

• Just put the ingredients in a blender and blitz!

Tip

• I keep a stock of frozen fruit in my freezer for smoothies as it's so much better than adding ice, which waters the flavour down. When I find bananas in the fruit bowl that are going a bit too brown, I peel them and add to my freezer bag.

• The coconut milk drink I prefer is made by Rude Health - it doesn't contain any additives or thickeners, unlike other brands, just coconut milk, rice and water.