Mango Madness Vegan Smoothie

This smoothie came  out a glorious golden colour and is perfect in this lead up to summer. Here in England the weather is pretty unpredictable, and almost always contains a seemingly endless amount of drizzle. So, this is a good way to start off your day, or relax int he afternoon whatever the weather to bring a little bit of sunshine into your life.

Ingredients: 

1 banana

3 small / 2 medium sized apples

handful of raspberries

200ml rice milk

1 mango

handful of flaxseeds

handful of spinach

1.) Peel and chop the apples, mango and banana. Place in a blender.

2.) Add the rice milk, spinach, raspberries and flax seeds. Blend for two minutes. If you leave out the spinach you end up with a bright pink smoothie, which can be great for kids (or if you're just a fan!).

3.) Enjoy. Top with honey, oats, and chia seeds if you wish.

Love and Light

Steph

Any comments/questions are always appreciated

Clean Nut-Free Vegan Oat Bars

This is one of my favourite recipes I've made in a while. Recently I've felt a bit lost on the snacking front - so many shop bought snacks contain masses of sugar (hello the delicious and marketed as 'healthy' Nature Valley bars). My boyfriend is allergic to nuts, so I can't go for nakd bars or healthier options like that either. Starting to reach minor levels of insanity, and feeling myself ogling the crisps when food shopping, I decided to take matters into my own hands and home make some oat bars. A final plus is that they work out cheaper than store bought ones.

Ingredients (makes 1 batch):

300g porridge oats

2 ripe bananas

200g soft figs

50g dried cranberries

3 tablespoons honey or maple syrup
3 tablespoons coconut oil

1 teaspoon vanilla essence

Handful of chia seeds

1.) Preheat the oven to 180 degrees. Finely chop the figs. 

 2.) Mash the bananas and mix them together with the honey, vanilla essence and figs .

(It may not look pretty now, but don't worry, they're delicious)

3.) Mix the oats, chia seeds and cranberries in a bowl. 

4.) Add the wet ingredients to the bowl and mix. 

5.) Line a baking tin with greaseproof paper or baking parchment. Press the mixture into the tin.

6.) Cook for 15-20 minutes, or until it's darkened to a golden brown a little. Cut up and serve. 

What's your go-to healthy snack?

Love and Light

Steph

Festive Healthy(ish) Mini Apple Tarts

This post may seem a tad late, BUT Christmas is not over yet (at least the holiday season isn't!). So, these are the perfect nifty little snack for a buffet table or light pudding - you could even add a dab of natural yogurt if you feel like it.

Ingredients (makes 12 tarts):

2 cooking apples (should weigh roughly 1lb)

75g demerara sugar

100g wholemeal flour

50g butter 

Pinch of salt

250ml water

1.) Peel and chop the cooking apples. 

2.) Put the apples in a pan. Add the sugar and the water. Put on to stew for 25 minutes.

(This is not the prettiest of pictures, but trust me when I say it tastes nice!)

3.) Cut the butter up into chunks. Rub into the flour with your fingers in a bowl until it reaches a breadcrumb consistency.

4.) Add a little bit of water, and with the blade of a knife mix it in. Continue to do so until you have created a dough. Tip: add in small chunks so it doesn't get too wet too quickly!

5.) Leave dough to chill in the fridge for 15 minutes.

6.) Roll out the dough - use a cookie cutter to make 12 circles. Press into a cupcake tin.

7.) Put a teaspoon full of apple in each tartlet.

8.) Cut out a small shape from pastry to place on top of each one - I chose holly leaves, but anything works!

9.) Place one on top of each tartlet.

10.) Cook in the oven for 20-25 minutes. Enjoy!

Hope you all had wonderful Christmasses!

Love and Light,

Steph

**All photos are property of Sophie Hartley**

Check out my new Facebook page here! 

Simple Spinach and Goat's Cheese Salad

So, we all know Christmas is a time for indulgence, but this really easy salad could make the perfect starter, or simple Christmas evening meal when you want to reduce the roast-induced bloating. This salad is a great winter one as it's warm and very filling, for the simple ingredients it contains. 

Ingredients (makes 1 serving): 

30g Goat's cheese

7 Baby plum tomatoes

30g Spinach

Balsamic Vinegar

1.) Preheat the oven to 200 degrees.

2.) Cut the baby plum tomatoes in half lengthways. Sprinkle a little bit of balsamic vinegar over them - it's easiest to do this by first pouring a bit into the cap of the bottle, otherwise it often ends up splashing out. 

3.) Place on an oven tray and cook for 20 minutes. This may not look like the neatest thing, but believe me, it tastes divine!

4.) Whilst this is cooking, place the spinach leaves on your plate. Cut up the goat's cheese into small squares and sprinkle over the spinach.

5.) Once the tomatoes are cooked, place them on top. Enjoy!

Any comments are always welcome :)

Love and Light,

Steph 

Classic Healthy Dish Twist | Gluten-Free Dairy-Free Lasagne

As I mentioned in my recipe for healthy garlic bread, I LOVE Italian food, but going dairy-free has put a number of obstacles in my way. However, this recipe means that I get to eat my favourite dish: glorious lasagne. This guilt free meal is really filling, and great for a winter night when you get bored of having the same old routine meals (I always end up eating lots of fish and veggies because it's simple and winter makes me lazier). 

Ingredients (makes 2 servings):

125g turkey mince

1 courgette

1 small carrot

1 small onion

1 clove garlic

1/2 tin chopped tomatoes

Dried basil

Dried rosemary

Dried parsley

Extra virgin olive oil/coconut oil

Dried Chili

Ground black pepper

Sea Salt

1.) Peel and finely chop the carrot, onion and garlic. Chop up the turkey mine (unlike normal mince, it can be really really hard to de-clump once it starts cooking). 

2.) Put a tablespoon of oil in a saucepan. Add the carrot, onion and garlic. Cook until the onion is soft and a bit transparent.

3.) Add the chopped tomatoes, a pinch of each herb and a little bit of dried chili (or more, if you want more of a kick!). Season with black pepper and sea salt. Allow to simmer for 15 minutes

4.) Preheat the oven to 200 degrees. 

5.) After the sauce has been simmering for 5 minutes or so, put a tablespoon oil in a frying pan. After it has heated, add the turkey mince and brown.

6.) Whilst this is browning, take the courgette and start making the sheets to replace normal pasta ones. Do this by first peeling the courgette and then using the peeler to create strips. 

7.) Add the turkey mince to the sauce.

8.) Get your lasagne dish and start layering! Meat - courgette - meat - courgette - a little left voer meat for the top. 

9.) Cook for 20 minutes

Enjoy!

Love and Light

Steph

Any comments/questions are always welcome! :) 

Healthier Garlic Bread Alternative

I think everybody has a favourite cuisine, and, as much as admittedly I do like a bit of fish and chips, Italian is the one for me. It's a tad hard going dairy free here, but it is doable both in your own home and eating out.Anyway, I'm a great lover of garlic bread in all forms - baguettes, pizza dough, naans: you name it, I've probably tried it (and loved it). But, this little recipe is a great simple thing to do when you don't want to buy a calorie- and grease-laden lot of garlic bread. It takes less than 5 minutes from start to finish, so is handy for a little pick-me-up or as an accompaniment to a meal.

Ingredients:

Butter (or dairy free alternative)

1 garlic clove

Granary bread

Dried Basil

Dried Parsley

Dried Rosemary

Sea Salt

1.) Finely chop or crush the garlic. 

2.) Put the garlic in a small tub. Add about 50g butter.

3.) Sprinkle a large pinch of parsley, and a small one of basil and rosemary on top. Add a little bit of salt. 

4.) Toast some bread and top with the mixture. You now have your own ready-made nasties-free garlic bread!

(garlic bread feat. my home-made dairy and gluten free lasagne!

If you want something a bit more heavy duty, why not top with some grated mozzarella?

Love and Light

Steph 

Any comments/queries are always very welcome