Strawberry shortcake parfaits

A super simple dessert...that you won't want to wait until the weekend to try!

This is also perfect for summer berries, though I am a little sad that the evenings are already getting shorter and it feels as though summer is already on it's way out. But it's ok because with a dessert like this you'll be able to hang onto that summer feeling for a little longer yet!

I found some Coyo coconut yoghurt in my local supermarket and was so excited to try it out. You could use any thick vegan yoghurt, or try this easy cheats version. You could also use other summer berries, though for me the word 'shortcake' is synonymous with strawberries so at least a few strawberries had to feature here! The shortcake layer is actually one of my favourite creations to date. You've previously seen it used here, but you could also use it as pie crust too I reckon (next on my list to try!). It is so easy and quick to crisp up too. 

Seriously, what are you waiting for!

Before I go... tell me, what is your favourite go-to summer dessert?

Recipe: Strawberry shortcake parfait

Serves 2

Ingredients

• 1 carton pain coyo (or ½ cup thick vegan yogurt)

• 1 cup sliced strawberries (or a mix of summer berries)

Crumble:

• 1/2 cup fine almond flour (not ground almonds)

• 2 tbs agave syrup (or syrup of choice)

• 1 tbs coconut oil

• pinch salt

Method

To make the crumble, mix all ingredients together with you fingers until you have small ‘globs’. Spread on a baking sheet and grill the shortcake pieces for just a few minutes on a medium heat to lightly toast them- watch closely as they will quickly burn once they begin to crisp.

Place the shortcake pieces in the bottom of the serving bowls/glasses and top with berries, finishing with a layer of coconut (or other) yoghurt. Decorate with a few extra berries.

Mmmm... stick your spoon right to the bottom and get messy! The best way to eat summer parfaits!

Toasted crumble goodness hot off the grill!

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Ridiculously healthy - 3 ingredient - pinktastic ice cream!

Please tell me the title grabbed your attention...?

I had to come up with something suitable fitting for this concoction. Simplicity at it's finest.

I made this recipe on Saturday in the midst of having a rather overwhelming and floopy weekend...and this turned the whole thing around for me. Yep this in indeed a game changer! I posted a sneak preview on my Instagram and one comment received was doubtful of the beetroot.... wooah no...most definitely not! This is some seriously good pink stuff ;-)

Even though the main ingredient in this ice cream is banana, the combo of beet and raspberry is pretty powerful and gives a lovely sweetly sharp hint, and so the result is not an immediately obvious banana flavour. My dad couldn't even guess what was in it at all when I presented him with a bowlful for dessert on Sunday evening... he started reeling off ingredients such a white beans... ha ha, he knows me too well! :-)

This will probably be my last pre-Valentines pink post. I'm not even a lovey duvey kind of girl. I think I've simply liked making pink things. I hope you do too!

However you happen to be celebrating On Friday...if indeed at all, I hope you enjoy your Valentines Day. For all those singletons out there, how about a booking a massage or a bubbly bath with oils and a face mask. I've been trying to find time for a bit of self-love as I know I don't prioritise 'me' time nearly as much as I should. 

Recipe: Banana beet and raspberry ice cream (no ice cream maker needed!)

Serves 3-4 (or two if you are ice cream obsessed!)

Ingredients:

• 3 bananas- chunked and pre-frozen

• 1 cup frozen raspberries

• 1 cooked beetroot (i bought them pre-packed)

• 1 tsp vanilla extra (or other flavouring) optional

• few drops stevia (optional for a touch extra sweetness)

Method:

Blend all ingredients together until smooth- but don't over blend as the ice-cream consistency will begin to soften. I added most of the raspberries into the blend, then added at the last few for decoration.

You can serve this immediately as a soft serve or spread into a tub and freeze for a few hours to serve with a scoop. Because this ice-cream uses a banana base, there is no need for an ice cream maker and the ice cream won't form icy crystals as some ice creams can tend to. Winner!

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Raspberry chia pudding... for a little Valentines love!

The celebration of love is once again nearly upon us!

So I have a few pink foodie recipes to throw your way over the next few just in case you are into all that kind of thing ;-)

Since beginning my health coaching course with Institute of Integrative Nutrition, I have realised the importance of self-love and self-care much more so than I ever gave credit for before. So maybe this year I will be my own Valentine... Ok, yeah that does sound a bit sad really doesn't it. ha ha. 

That said, and joking apart, it is so important to look after yourself, and by that I mean to nourish your soul... with kind words, kind foods and supportive relationships. 

Make that loving start right now....with breakfast, dessert, or anything in between. Self love doesn't come better than a chia pudding!

Recipe: Raspberry chia pudding

Serves 1-2 (depending on size of dish/ramekin)

Ingredients:

• 1/2 heaped cup raspberries (I used frozen)

• 1/4 cup non dairy milk*

• 2-3 tbs chia seeds (depending on desired thickness)

• 1/2 tsp vanilla bean powder or extract (optional)

• a few drops of pure stevia or 1 tsp syrup for a little boost of sweetness as desired.

Topping: dairy free yoghurt of choice with a pinch of vanilla extract and optional sweetener. Note: I added 1 heaped tsp fine coconut flour to my soy yoghurt to give it extra thickness a bit more like frosting. You could also make a thick cashew cream topping. Add raspberries (or red berries of choice) to decorate.

*or sub 1 tbs cashew butter blended with 1/4 cup beet (or red juice) for extra 'redness'

Method:

Blend all base ingredients together lightly and carefully spoon/pour into the bowl you will use to serve.

Chill for and hour or so to allow the chia seeds to thicken the pudding. Just before serving prepare the topping as desired and spoon over the pudding. Decorate with berries and serve chilled.

I used 2 tbs chia seeds but next time would use 3 tbs for a little extra thickness.

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Pumpkin apple baked oatmeal pudding

Hello...back again with recipes, sorry i've been slow to post recently. I have soooo many recipes i want to share but struggling for time to actually get them out on to the blog and into the world. For those you don't already follow me on Instagram... please come and find me as I usually post my recipes and experiments on my feed straight after creation so you wont have to wait so long to be inspired!! 

On to todays post. I warn you now, you may well have a load of pumpkin recipes fly you way in the next few weeks since they were selling off the Halloween pumpkins off for 10p in my local supermarket… I literally couldn't resist and bought three! I now have a freezer full of pumpkin purée so I'd better get experimenting!  

I figured the carving pumpkins probably aren't as refined in flavour as the squashes and pumpkins specifically grown the culinary purposes however its still pumpkin after all, and when puréed and added into sweet and savoury dishes it does the job just perfectly.

So first up and little single (or double serving) spiced apple and pumpkin oatbake. Super yummy. I made a small version as i wasn't sure how it would turn out but i needn't have worried and i can't wait to make this bressert again!

Totally healthy, lightly sweet, with warming spices... perfect served piping hot for those cold chilly mornings. I enjoyed this after a green smoothie first thing and then had this as a treat late morning! I was so excited it was as yummy as it looked when i came out of the oven. This is a dense and gooey pudding-style baked oatmeal, almost undercooked in the centre just the way I like it! It was perfectly sweet enough for me but you can easily adapt to taste. You could also double up the recipe to serve more if you wish.

Recipe: Pumpkin apple baked oatmeal

Serves 1-2

Ingredients: 

• 1/3 cup pumpkin puree
• ¼ cup finely chopped dates or date paste*
• approx ¼ cup apple juice
• ¼ tsp pure stevia (or to taste)
• ½ cup oats
• 1 tsp mixed spice
• ½ tsp cinnamon
• ½ tsp baking powder
• pinch salt
• 1 apple- half grated and half chopped (add last)

Method:  

Mix wet ingredients together and then add the dry and mix well. Chop/grate the apple and add the grated portion to the mix. Add a little extra apple juice if the mixture seems to thick (it wants to loo quite thick and chunky).

Spoon into a small (approx 12cm) pie dish and press the chopped apple chunks into the top. Sprinkle with extra cinnamon (or sweetener) if desired.

Bake at 180C for approx 20 mins until golden, the centre will still be quite soft and pudding like. Serve into a bowl (or two) or allow to cool slightly and eat straight from the dish (recommended). Since there is no oil in the mixture may have a tendency to stick to the dish. ( I ate from the dish anyway)

*you could use 3tbs of unrefined sugar such as coconut sugar or rapadura instead of the dates.

Exciting recipe for the Virtual Vegan Potluck Party to come your way on Saturday....keep a look out, I promise you wont be disappointed with my offering!

Banana bread breakfast 'cupcake​'

This is a very last minute post.... by that I mean, the idea for this banana bread breakfast cupcake came to me whilst I was walking back from my gym class and within 10 minutes of getting home I had made this little gem and was happily sitting down to a yummy post gym brunch munch. 

Within the hour the photos had been edited, text written (erm...as I speak) and here we go. Why the rush?  Well apparently it's National Cupcake Week, and whilst usually these foodie 'events' totally pass me by I actually became aware of this a couple of days ago and the idea popped into my cake for a twist on the 'cupcake' format itself, I love banana bread and it's always a crowd pleaser, so why not make a single serve banana bread cupcake!  I've managed to sneak this in before the week was out- winner!! It's still a cup cake of sorts ok...maybe just not in quite the usual sense.

This is a perfect two-minute breakfast treat and I used a collection of very healthy breakfasty ingredients.... oats, seeds, banana, berries, fruit juice.... everything you might have for breakfast, just smooshed up in a mug (cup)!

It's sugar free if you use stevia as I haven't even used any of my beloved dates in this creation! Plus if you use gluten free oat flour it's gluten feee (other GF flours may also work here). You could add extra spices or different fruits to add your own twist. I also dolloped a blob of soy yogurt and a tiny blob of sugar free jam on top to make it more like dessert. Cheeky! 

So there you have it... a moist, dense and cakey banana bread breakfast cupcake with toppings! 

For all my other single serve recipes...you'll find them here! 

This is also a classic 'Bressert' recipe... Bressert? A cross between breakfast and dessert. It's my favourite combo and I have a whole heap of bressert recipes here too!

Enjoy :-)   P.s tag me if you make it- i'd love to see!

Recipe: Banana Bread Breakfast Cupcake

Ingredients: 

• 1 small banana- mashed

• 3 tbs oat flour

• 3 tbs LSA (ground linseed, sunflower seed, almond) you could just sub ground almonds here.

• 1/2 tsp baking powder

• 1/4 tsp baking soda

• 3 tbs fruit juice of choice

• 4 drops pure stevia liquid (or 1-2 tsp syrup of choice to taste)

• handful of berries- for topping

• optional: spices, yoghurt, drizzle, toppings...

Method: 

Mash the banana in a small bowl and add all remaining ingredients to it. Mix well to form a smooth thick batter and spoon into a microwaveable cup or mug. Lightly press the berries into the top last.

Microwave on high for 1 minute, the top should be firm to touch but it should be soft, moist and cakey at the bottom. Add extra toppings if desired and serve directly in the cup. 

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Valentines hot chocolate cream cups

I love this recipe!

It worked perfectly, maybe even more perfectly than I had hoped when I dreamed it up in my mind... the gooey banana and thick creamy chocolate sauce make for the perfect Valentines breakfast decadence....or simply any breakfast decadence or dessert. Yes indeed this is another 'breakfast does dessert’ recipe.

Oh, and did I mention that it only take 5 minutes?

I originally tried this recipe without warming the sauce, more in keeping with this original recipe that inspired this creation and has proved immensely popular on the blog. It was ok this way, kind of like a chocolatey custard but a little bit thin and not indulgent enough for my liking (although you could always increase the nut butter/reduce water if necessary). So then in the second testing I fully assembled the cups and then warmed them! Amazing, the banana at the bottom of the cup cooks and goes all gooey and the nut butter and banana in the sauce thicken like a rich creamy mousse. It’s hard to explain....so instead I won’t keep trying to. Instead you should just go and make it!  

You could use a mild nut butter like almond or cashew for a subtle creaminess or go all out with peanut butter for a choco-peanutty-banana hit! Alternatively if you aren't a fan of banana, you could maybe use avocado or increase the nut butter content to achieve the same thickness- note I have not tried it this way!

P.S I loved the pretty white flowers in the photos. I ran round my house trying to find something pink or red that was feminine and Valentines-y, but nothing came to hand...then I remembered i'd bought some flowers last weekend.... not pink, but elegantly romantic- the perfect prop :-)  Now if i just had my very own romantic to present me with the flowers.....hmmmm?

Recipe: Hot chocolate cream cups

Makes 2 cupcake sized cups

Ingredients- cups

• 1/3 cup oats

• 1 heaped tbs cocoa powder

• 2 tsp ground flax

• Vanilla extract to taste (approx. ½ tsp each)

• 1 tbs agave

• 2-3 tbs vegan yoghurt

Ingredients - Filling:

• 1 medium banana mashed (slice and reserve ¼ of the banana)

• 1 tbs nut butter (I used almond)

• 1 tbs cocoa

• 2 tbs water

• A few mini dark chocolate drops

Method

Mix and mash all the 'cup' ingredients together well to form a thick sticky ball of dough. Divide into two equal pieces and press firmly into two cupcake ‘cups’ (I used silicone cups).

Cook on full powder in the microwave for 1 min or bake at 180C in the oven for approx. 10 minutes until just cooked and not sticky to touch

Meanwhile blend the filing ingredients together in a small blender, reserving a few slices of banana. If you are struggling with blending a small quantity, double the mixture and save some in the fridge for later. This makes a little more than needed for the cups anyway.

To fill the cups, place a couple of slices of banana at the bottom of each cup, fill with sauce and decorate with remaining banana and chocolate chips as desired. Microwave both cups at the same time on 70% power for 30 seconds. IMPORTANT: do not allow the mixture to bubble- watch closely and as you see it begin to want to bubble stop the microwave- you are done! For me, this happened at 30 seconds. (otherwise the mixture will boil over the edge of the cup and the texture will be impaired).

These are the cups served cold (not a huge visual difference but definitely better served hot!)

Gooey...melty....gooey....melty...double chocolate....banana....

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DAY TEN: Carrot cake baked oatmeal

The weekend before last, the morning before I was due to go on holiday…the very morning I had so much to do I told myself there was no way I would go into the kitchen and make a thing! I did venture into the kitchen, I just couldn't resist.

You see, a little idea had crept up on me, an idea that simply screamed ‘brunch’ and since I was hungry and the idea was simple I ended up in the kitchen whipping up a quick and simple baked oatmeal dish- carrot cake style. The perfect healthy filling mid-morning brunch, perfectly double portion sized so I saved the rest for the following morning for a hassle free breakfast before my flight. It was just as yummy served cold straight from the fridge! 

I’d come across various recipes for baked oatmeal in the past, not least from two of my favourite blogs Chocolate Covered Katie and Oh She Glows, but I’d never made a baked oatmeal dish of my own before. I’m often an impatient kinda girl when it comes to my breakfast so bowls of oats and two minute breakfast cookies are my usual style. But this was worth the short wait and the bonus of a ready-made breakfast the following morning... oh yeah!

You could sweeten this up with a little more agave or a pinch of stevia if you preferred, I wanted a very lightly sweetened breakfast snack so for me this was perfect. Add some choc chunks and a little more indulgence and you could also have yourself a dessert!

My oven dish was slightly too small (note the dribbles down the sides), so I packed the remaining mixture into a silicone muffin pan hence the muffin in the photos. You make all the mixture the into muffins if you fancied. I reckon this mix would make between 4 and 6 muffins depending on size of the pans.

Recipe: Carrot cake baked oatmeal

Ingredients

• 2 carrots grated
• 1 tbs chia/flax seed
• 1 cup soy milk (or other vegan milk)
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• ½ tsp nutmeg or ginger
• ½ cup oats
• 2 tbs chopped pecans or walnuts
• 2 tbs dried cranberries (or raisins)
• 2 tbs desiccated coconut
• 1 tbs coconut sugar/rapadura/agave
• Topping- sprinkling of desiccated coconut and coconut sugar

Method

Mix all ingredients together until well coated  and spoon into a greased oven dish*. Press down and smooth the top before sprinkling with a little extra desiccated coconut and coconut sugar (or other unrefined granulated sugar as desired).

Bake at 180C for approx. 20 mins until the topping is golden. Serve immediately.  This also tastes good cold the next day!

*my oven dish was approx. 20x10cm in size and I had a little mixture left over that wouldn’t fit in so I filled a silicone muffin case as well.

What Vegan MOFO means to me.

Quinoa flake breakfast bake

I have never really baked with quinoa flakes before, mainly because I struggle to get hold of them around here. But a few a weeks ago when I visited Wholefoods on Kensington High Street in London for the very first time (much, much excitement) I picked up a bag.

So on Sunday morning when I was debating breakfast, I figured a little experimentation with my new purchase was in order! As it turned out, this little experiment became a rather yummy breakfast experience. This single serve breakfast bake will see you right through to lunch…and it’s so pretty too, the perfect start to your day. This could easily be served as dessert as well, maybe add a little more sweetness if serving as dessert as I was going for more of a ‘breakfast level’ sweetness with this bake and let the banana provide all the sweetness, other than a light drizzle of brown rice syrup on the top. You can use any summer berries you wish, I happened to have a few stranwberries to hand at the time. You could mix berries through the batter, but I would be careful not to make the batter too wet.

I mixed in a few oats with my quinoa flakes, but feel free to use all quinoa if you like (it may work with all oats as well but I haven’t tested this yet). The quinoa provides a lovely light texture in an otherwise moist and dense and bananary bread. Be sure to use a dish that allows the batter to be no more than 15mm thick as you may find it does not cook all the way through if much thicker.

I used a mini fluted ceramic pie dish (a recent new purchase that I was desperate to use for something!) and the bake was quite difficult to remove neatly. You can either it eat straight from the dish or make sure you use a greased/lined tin with a removable base which should make things much easier.

Recipe: Quinoa flake breakfast bake

serves 1

Ingredients

• 1 large ripe banana- very well mashed
• Agave to taste if necessary (I didn’t use any extra)
• ½ cup quinoa flakes
• ¼ cup oats- GF if needed (or more quinoa flakes)
• ½ tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp vanilla extract
• ½ tsp cinnamon (optional)
• ¼ cup chopped nuts of choice
• Soy yoghurt to mix (I used approx. 3 tbs)
• Handful of berries to decorate
• Brown rice syrup/agave/maple syrup to drizzle

Method

Mix all ingredients (other than berries and drizzle) together in a small bowl adding the soy yoghurt last to achieve a thick smooth consistency. Spoon the mixture into a greased/lined mini pie dish  and decorate the top with the berries. Make sure the mixture is no more than roughly 1.5cm thick as it may not cook through properly.

Bake in a preheated oven at 180 for approx. 15 minutes until the top is lightly golden.

Whilst still warm drizzle with a little syrup and serve immediately.