Simple beetroot soup

Glorious beets, looking like gem stones and so good for us! Beetroot can help to detoxify our liver, it improves blood flow and contains lots of goodness like antioxidants, potassium, iron, magnesium, folic acid, vitamins A, B6 and C. Helps to slow the ageing process from inside out.
We often use it in salads, but this time I wanted to share a simple recipe for an alternative use - in a soup.

Prep will take less than 10 mins, cooking around 30

This is what you need:
3-4 large beetroots
1 litre of beetroot juice - you can find it in any supermarket, I would recommend Beet It or Cawston Press Beetroot and Apple Juice
2 bay leaves
2-3 garlic cloves
1 stock cube - I really like using Kallo
black pepper to taste
sea salt to taste
herbs - 1 stick of rosemary, dried flat parsley, dried marjoram
few drops of lemon juice
fresh flat leaf parsley
dollop of cream

Here's how to do it:
Peel the beets and cut them in quarters. Place them in a large pot and add cold water to just cover them. Add garlic cloves, bay leaves and stock cube, wait till it starts boiling then simmer for around 10 mins. After that add all of the beetroot juice and all the herbs you want to use, and simmer for another 15 mins. Stir the soup to make sure the stock cube disolved completely, add black pepper and salt to taste. Additionally add few drops of lemon juice. Take off heat and serve with a bit of cream and some chopped fresh parsley. This soup is delicious on its own, with some boiled potatoes or a hard boiled egg. The choice is yours! :-)

Macaroni cheese with a twist

So the weather has changed, kids got back to school, conkers are falling down from the trees... the time has come for comfort, warming meals. What better way to celebrate seasonal veg than adding them into a classic meal like macaroni cheese! I found this idea in one of last year's Waitrose recipe cards you can grab in their shops. The autumnal twist comes from adding roasted butternut squash or sweet potato. Both will add extra flavour, creaminess and sweetness, just perfect for colder days.

Here's what you need:
500g of peeled and chopped butternut squash - it's also nice to add sweet potato, to save time you can buy ready peeled and chopped veg
2-3 garlic cloves
1 tbsp of chopped fresh sage
olive oil to drizzle - around 1 tbsp
black pepper to taste
230g of macaroni pasta
40g butter
40g plain flour
600ml of milk
175g of cheese - grated

Depending of what veg you use prep can be around 5-15 mins
Cooking time 40 mins

Here's how to do it:
First preheat the oven to 190 degrees, prep the butternut squash, peeling it and chopping. Place the veg into a baking tray, sprinkle with olive oil, crushed garlic cloves and spread over the squash, sprinkle with chopped sage. Place in the oven (middle tray) and roast for about 30 mins.

While the butternut squash is roasting, cook the macaroni pasta according to packet instructions (usually 8-10 mins). Once cooked drain and leave aside.
In a separate pan melt the butter and stir in the flour. Remove from the heat and whisk in the milk (with a fork or mini hand whisk), you want to achieve a fairly smooth sauce, no lumps from the flour. Return to the heat and when it comes to boil, reduce the heat and simmer stirring from time to time - you want the sauce to thicken a bit. When you achieve the right consistency add 3/4 of the grated cheese and stir until it melts completely. Add a bit of black pepper, to taste. Now you can take your sauce off the heat and pour it over the cooked macaroni. When the butternut squash is nice and soft and ready to come out of the oven, gently add it to the pasta - the idea is not to break up the veg too much and keep in chunks. Now pour the entire mixture into an oven proof dish, sprinkle the rest of the cheese on top and place under the grill for 3-5 mins or until you see the cheese melted and turning golden brown.

Enjoy, this dish will keep a large family (even of 5) satisfied :).

i L O V E cake - rosemary olive oil cake

I absolutely love baking and eating cake :-) Whenever I come across a recipe that is slightly unusual, I get excited and try to recreate it.

The cake recipe I'm going to share with you involves olive oil, rosemary and lemons - delicious combination! I found it in the 'foodism' magazine.

It takes 15 mins to prep and approximately 50 mins to bake

Here's what you need:
50g of plain flour
125g of ground almonds
2 and 1/2 tsp of baking powder
200g caster sugar
250ml of light olive oil
5 eggs, lightly beaten
1 and 1/2 tbsp of chopped rosemary
zest of two unwaxed lemons
fresh raspberries to decorate - or any other seasonal fruit
icing sugar for dusting

Method:
Preheat the oven to 160 degrees and grease a cake tin (20cm round shaped would work well). I like adding breadcrumbs to the greased tin, shaking them around just to create a thin layer of breadcrumbs sticking to the bottom and sides - turn it upside down so the excess breadcrumbs fall out, we only need a very thin layer - this helps the cake not to stick to the tin.

Sieve the flour, baking powder and ground almonds into a large mixing bowl, add sugar and stir everything together. In a separate bowl lightly beat the eggs then add them to the flour mix. Mix together, then add olive oil, chopped rosemary and lemon zest - mix well until all combined and smooth. Pour the mixture into prepared tin and place in the middle of the oven. Bake for around 50 minutes. The cake will still have a slight wobble, but when cooling down it will set nicely. Once cooled dust it with a bit of icing sugar. Top up with fresh fruit and enjoy with a nice cup of tea. This cake might even make you want to grow your own rosemary! ;-)

SUPER SMOOTHIES

Smoothies are such an easy and delicious way of consuming more fruit and veg. Whenever I feel like snacking, I open the fridge to see what I can find and blitz some yummy, creamy drinks.

Here is a selection of my favourite recipes. The beauty of making smoothies is that you can be as wild and creative as you wish. The more often you make them, the more confident you'll feel in creating new delicious flavours! For now I hope you'll try some of mine... And adding some supplements to smoothies can boost energy levels, make your skin glow and feeling more balanced - but these are optional in my recipes.

BEETROOT PASSION

BEETROOT PASSION
Ingredients:
1 small beetroot (cooked or raw)
1 celery stick
1 banana
half of passion fruit (you need to scoop out the delicious flesh of the fruit)
1 tablespoon of baobab powder  - optional
1 glass of coconut water or apple juice

Simply put all the ingredients in a high power blender and blitz till smooth consistency.

Beetroots are full of vitamins plus help to detoxify the body, by purifying the blood and delivering fresh supply of iron and antioxidants into our system.
Baobab powder is rich in vitamin C, antioxidants, helps to release energy and healthy glowing skin.


GLORIOUS PINEAPPLE

GLORIOUS PINEAPPLE

Ingredients:
1 banana - I really like freezing chopped banana for added coolness and creaminess in the smoothies, yum!!
handful of chopped pineapple
fresh turmeric root - 1 teaspoon worth will do
1 tablespoon of honey
1 tablespoon of baobab powder - optional
1 glass of coconut water
chia seeds to top up the smoothie

Add all of the ingredients apart from chia seeds and blitz in a high volume blender. Once all creamy and smooth sprinkle the chia seeds for added omega 3 boost. Enjoy.

Fresh turmeric is a great ingredient to add to smoothies, it will act anti-inflammatory and will boost your immune system.
Fresh pineapple is full of vitamin C, supports immune system, bone strength and eye health.


GREEN DETOX

GREEN DETOX

Ingredients:
handful of washed kale
1 tablespoon of spirulina powder
1 banana
1 or two dried dates - for added sweetness
1 cup of coconut water - you can use apple juice if you prefer

Put everything in a blender and mix till smooth.

I love kale. It has a nutty, slightly bitter flavour and can help to ease lung congestion and benefit the stomach.
Spirulina is a nutrient rich, fresh water plant that has the ability to capture the sun's energy. It helps to cleanse and detoxify the body and it's protein content supports energy levels so it can definitely help after few glasses of wine... ;-)

BEE CACAO

BEE CACAO

Ingredients:
1 frozen banana
raw cacao nibs - 1 or two tablespoons will work
1 tablespoon of peanut butter - you can also use almond or hazelnut butter
bee pollen - 1 tablespoon
1 cup of milk - any will work, I really like using either almond or coconut milk
you can also add two ice cubes for making the smoothie more crunchy and chilled

Put all of the ingredients into a blender and blitz - if you like it to be more crunchy don't blend it till it's completely smooth. It's absolutely delicious, filling and will give you a nice energy boost and it's a great alternative to a chocolate bar...
Raw cacao is a great source of magnesium, potassium, antioxidants and can improve your mood!
Bee pollen is another super supplement that is rich in proteins, vitamins including B-complex and folic acid, it's rejuvenating and contains all the essential components of life, clever bees!!


TROPICAL ISLAND

TROPICAL ISLAND

Ingredients:
1 frozen banana or half an avocado
fresh papaya - half will work well
chia seeds - 1 tablespoon (half to go in the blender, the other half to sprinkle on top of the smoothie)
Maca powder (optional) - 1 teaspoon if using
coconut oil - 1 teaspoon
1 glass of coconut water

All of the ingredients go in a high speed blender and blitz till smooth. Enjoy!

Papaya is such a delicious fruit, filled with vitamin C, which is a great infection fighter and it tastes of summer holidays.
Maca is a root that grows in the mountains of Peru and it's famous for its ability to balance hormones, mood swings, depression plus increases stamina and energy.

PICK ME UP

PICK ME UP

Ingredients:
half of avocado or one small banana
handful of goji berries
baobab powder - 1 tablespoon (optional)
handful of washed kale
few leaves of fresh mint
1 glass of coconut water

Add all of the ingredients into a blender, blitz till smooth and creamy.

I love goji berries and often add them to morning porridge or smoothies. These nutritious little berries are found in the Himalayas and have been used in Chinese medicine for thousands of years. Adding fresh mint will make the smoothie very refreshing and together with baobab powder (if using) will help to pick you up!! :-)


I hope you will find these recipes useful, but also be as creative as you like in making your own combinations :-)

And here's a picture of some of my favourite supplements, they can be found in any healthy food store. Have a beautiful day.

Daddy's blackberry pie

Summer is in full swing and what better way to celebrate sunny, warm afternoons than with a piece of a home made pie.
During our Sunday family walk in the local park, we came across some wild growing bramble bushes. Boys were very excited with our discovery and we quickly decided that it would be lovely to make a blackberry pie.

Todays' entry is taken over by my other half Andy, who makes lovely fruit crumbles and pies :-) - I however added a little twist as it would be boring not to experiment with ingredients and flavours!

Prep time 10 mins, baking 45 mins

Here's what you need:
2 cooking apples.
2 handfuls of fresh blackberries, or if you're making this pie not in the berry season, frozen fruit would be just fine. We even picked enough today to freeze a couple of bags for winter :-)
1 sheet/packet of ready rolled shortcrust pastry (it's a big time saver) - any supermarket will stock it.
sugar - now this is the little twist, I decided to replace caster sugar with the lovely caramel flavoured coconut sugar. It's unrefined and made from the nectar of the coconut palm blossoms. You can of course stick to either brown or caster sugar - we will only need few table spoons to coat the fruit once it's in the pie dish.
A little bit of milk for brushing the pastry on top just before it goes in the oven.
Double cream to accompany the pie.

Here's how to do it:
Peel and chop the cooking apples, add washed blackberries and scatter around in a medium sized pie dish. Sprinkle the fruit with sugar - if you prefer the pie to be sweeter add a bit extra, we added just enough to coat the fruit with the thin layer of sugar. Roll out your ready made pastry covering the dish completely - then cut the unused leftover pastry around the edges of the dish, making sure all the fruit is sealed underneath it. Once the pastry is rolled out to cover the dish pinch around the pastry edges, brush a little bit of milk on top to get a nice colour and glaze.
Put in the oven for 45 minutes on the middle tray in 180 degrees.

When baked take the pie out of the oven, let it cool for a while then tuck in!

Add a dollop of double cream, or if you feel like indulging more vanilla ice cream will work very well. Enjoy - it's yummy and even better when someone else makes it for you! Thanks Andy xx

Happy foodie holidays

I'm currently on holidays with my family in France and going to the local food markets is getting me very inspired for new food ideas! Everything is so beautiful, I had to take few pictures and share with you on my blog. Here's only a small selection of what I found on the market today...

I'm loving the fact that my boys are very keen to try new flavours and dishes that they wouldn't have accepted back home. They are eating more fish and grilled prawns which is great to see!

Have a lovely sunny holidays everyone and please keep checking my blog for new recipes inspired by my travels!

M O R O C C A N chicken

The summer is definitely here and the warm weather made me think of this old recipe I found in 'Baby Led Weaning' by G. Rapley, when my babies were a bit smaller... Another family favourite, filled with fragrant spices, just perfect for warm summer dinners. Cumin, cinnamon, chilli powder, chickpeas, courgettes, chicken, fresh parsley, coriander and mint... close your eyes and you will find yourself in Marrakesh! Oh how I wish...

Prep time 10 minutes, cooking around 40-45 mins

This is what you will need:
coconut oil
one medium size onion, chopped
1 packet of organic chicken thighs
1 medium size courgette - chopped
1 can of chickpeas - drained and rinsed in water
2 teaspoons of ground cumin - lovely spice with lots of health benefits including treating colds, insomnia and extremely good for digestion
1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon
pinch of chilli flakes or powder - if you like heat add a bit extra
black pepper to taste
juice of half a lemon
handful fresh coriander chopped
handful of fresh parsley chopped
optional handful of fresh mint chopped
250ml of chicken or veggie stock - I tend to use half a stock cube, my favourite ones are Kallo (less salt) or if you can use home made stock
This dish goes really well with either quinoa, rice, couscous or millet, the choice is yours  - cook enough for 4 people, or if you're cooking for kids it will be enough for a family of 5

Method:
Heat the oil in a pan and add chopped onions, fry for few minutes. Add cumin and cinnamon and fry for few more minutes mixing it all together. Add the chicken thighs (one packet usually has 6 thighs), fry them for couple of minutes turning so the chicken browns a bit. Next add stock, chopped coriander and chilli, wait for the stock to start boiling then lower the heat, cover the pan with a lid and simmer for 25 minutes. In the meantime boil a pan of water and cook either quinoa, rice, or millet according to packet instructions. If you're using couscous you won't even have to cook it, just pour hot water over the dry couscous to slightly cover it, then cover the bowl and after few minutes stir with a spoon to check if it's soft enough to eat. I like adding a tablespoon of olive oil to make it more creamy.
After simmering your chicken for 25 minutes, add chickpeas and courgette. Cover the lid and cook for another 15-20 minutes, or until the courgette and chicken thighs are soft.

Once cooked take off heat and add chopped herbs - parsley and if using, mint, add black pepper and lemon juice. Transfer all to a large serving bowl together with your preferred grain.

It might be a slightly more time consuming dish, but I promise it tastes lovely and feeds a large family.

And lets hope the sunny days stay for a bit longer....