Power Oats

Power Day

I needed a healthy, filling and nutritious breakfast on this particular morning.  My day included a gym session, dissertation, work, filming and three meetings! Such is the life of Saffy :)  I am not really a fan of dried fruit, but it goes very well with my porridge mix.  I try never to miss breakfast, unless I have a late start to the day.  It's my favourite meal and helps me to sustain a good mood.

Ingredients:

Porridge, a handful of raisins or sultanas, 1tbsp flaxseed, 1tsp honey (optional)
Method:

1. Put all of the ingredients into a bowl.
2. Bowl some hot water and pour over the ingredients till thick and yummy.

Cashew and Coconut Tofu Stir Fry

Textures

My favourite thing about this dish was the variety of textures.  The chewy moist tofu, crunchy carrots, soft green beans with the aroma of coconut milk really comforted me after a day of books, books and more books.  I also treated myself to some corn on the cob, it really reminded me of my old life in Barbados. Good times.  Sometimes healthy can be comforting.

This recipe was adapted from FitnessMagazine.com

Ingredients:

2 tsp sesame oil, 1 tbsp of grated or lazy ginger, 1 minced garlic clove, 2 medium carrots (chopped), 1/2 can of green beans, 8 button mushrooms (chopped), 4 spring onions (chopped), 1/2 can light coconut milk, 1 handful of chopped cashew nuts, serve with brown rice and corn on the cob.

Method:

1. Start cooking the rice.
2. Heat up the oil, ginger and garlic for a minute.
3. Add tofu and fry for 8 mintues, turn once or twice.
4. Stir in vegetables, coconut milk and cashews.
5. Cover with tin foil and cook for 8 minutes.
6. Cook the corn on the cob for 8 minutes.
7. Serve the stir fry with the rice and corn. Enjoy.

Saffy's Top Tip

Use the rest of the coconut milk to make a curry or another stir fry.

Diet Chicken Dinner

"Get that man you deserve!"

This is probably the simplest dish I have ever made but it actually tastes great and makes you feel good.  When you eat a healthy meal after excersize then may  feel a little more confident and ready to face the world so they can say "Hello!" to a fantastic new you.  When I was making this I was listening to Kanye West's song 'The New Workout Plan' so I was feeling healthy and energetic.  The best thing about simple dishes is that you can jazz them up any way you want to.

Ingredients:

A large portion of left over roasted or grilled chicken, 2 handfuls of wholemeal pasta shapes, 5 tbsps green beans, 3 tsps honey, 2 tbsps lemon juice, 1 tsp low fat margerine, 2 tsp black pepper, seasonings of your choice.

Method:

1. Start cooking the pasta.
2. Glaze you chicken in the honey and seasonings then start grilling the chicken. Grill for roughly 8 minutes. 3.When the pasta is almost cooked add the green beans then drain.
4. Put the pasta and beans back into the saucepan then add the pepper, margerine and lemon juice. Mix this together and season a little more to taste. 

Saffy's Top Tip

This is a great meal after a hard workout. Alter the amount of protein to carbohydrates depending on your dietary requirements.

Simnel Cake

Happy Mother's Day

My mummy loves marzipan, so I thought why not make her a Mothering Sunday traditional cake.  The Simnel Cake has a pretty interesting story to it, apparently the 11 marzipan balls are meant to represent the 11 apostles of Jesus minus Judas.  I bursted out laughing when I found this out so had to make it. 

This recipe was adapted from 'Good Housekeeping' (April, 2011).

Ingredients:

225g (8oz) softened butter (plus extra to grease), 225g self - raising flour (plus extra to line cake tin), 2 tbsps ground mixed spice, 240g (8.5oz) mixed dried berries, 150g (5oz) light muscavado sugar, 50g (2oz) golden syrup, finely grated zest of 2 lemons, 4 medium eggs lightly beaten, (recommended) 500g (1lb 2oz) marzipan, 3tbsps blueberry jam, 0% fat greek yoghurt.

Method:

1. Sift the flour in a large bowl.
2. Stir in the spice and the dried fruit.
3. Put the butter, sugar, syrup and lemon zest into another large bowl and mix.
4. Add the eggs in slowly and mix for roughly 3 minutes.
5. Fold the wet mixture into the flour mixture.
6. Preheat the oven to 170 degrees C / 150 degrees fan / gas mark 3.
7. Prepare a cake tin with butter and flour, scatter the butter on the top of the butter then rub it in.
8. Pour mixture into tin.
9. Bake for 1 hour.
10. After 1 hour cover with tin foil and then bake for 25 minutes.
11. The cake will be done when the metal utensil comes out clean after being inserted into the cake. (Do not do this after a short amount of time or your cake will sink.)
12. Scatter icing sugar on table surface and roll out enough marzinpan to cover the cake and to crimp the edges.
13. Heat up the jam until it is runny and spread on the top of the cake, but leave enough to stick on the marzipan balls.
14. Break off some more marzipan from the pack and make 11 small balls. Use jam to stick these on the cake.
15. Serve to your mother whilst singing a happy song and with some low fat greek yoghurt.

Saffy's Best Moments:

1. My marzipan decoration kept going wrong so from a birdseye view I wanted to make it look like a crown.

2.  The cake was moist and my decision to reduced the amount of dried fruit and sugar recommended by the magazine paid off, because I used extra spices instead.  It's the Birdspeed/ West Indian Way :)

3. I enjoyed sharing funny Bible stories and singing to mum.

Spinach and Watercress Soup

Seasonal Soup

Though this was meant to be a starter this seasonal soup became my main meal.  It was just so filling and tasty I had to go back for seconds.  I was a little shocked to hear that there was such as thing as watercress soup and it was only until I started making the recipe when I found out there is more than one type of watercress. Despite not using the giant watercress (and instead using that which kiddies use to make funny egg charachters) the soup still provided a strong flavour even amongst all the spinach.  This soup definately made me love soup again, it's one of the best soups I've tasted .... plus I added creme fraiche South Park Stylie :)

This recipe was adapted from the 'Good Housekeeping' Magazine (April 2011)

Ingredients:

1tbsp olive oil, 1 medium onion, 2 medium garlic cloves (chopped into very small pieces), 2tbsps ground nutmeg, 2 packets of fresh growing watercress, 500g frozen spinach, 1.6 litre of hot vegetable stock, 1tbsp lemon juice, 1tsp ground coriander,1tsp black pepper, 2 tbsps creme fraiche, wholemeal seeded baguette slice to serve.

Method:

1. Heat the oil in a large pan and gently cook the onion until it is soft.
2. Stir in garlic, coriander, black pepper and nutmeg. Cook this for literally a minute.
3. Add 1 and a half packets of watercress, and the frozen spinach and then pour over the stock.
4.  Bring this to the boil.
5. Once boiled remove from the heat and blend with a hand blender.
6. Start toasting seeded baguette rolls.
7. Reheat the soup if needed.
8. When ready to serve add the creme fraiche and lemon juice to the pot and stir in.
9. Pour into serving bowls and garnish with watercress.

Lemon Spinach with a Poached Egg

Good Morning

There is nothing like a good breakfast on the weekend.  A good breakfast puts me in a good mood for the rest of the day and definitely helps during the dissertation final stages. My mum taught me how to make a poached egg and reminded me that "practise makes perfect", so I am glad that I have learnt another technique.

This recipe was adapted from Morrisons' Magazine (Result Customer Communications, 2011).

Ingredients:

(This recipe can be doubled, I guess I had a small appetite.) 1 egg, 1 slice of wholemeal bread, a little spread, 1 crushed garlic clove, a load of spinach and 1 tbsps lemon juice. (You can save the left over spinach for a snack.)

Method:

1. Start poaching the egg by using a little vinegar in the water, cook in the hot water for at least 3 minutes.
2. Toast the bread.
3. Put the spread in another pan on a medium heat.
4. When the spread melts add the garlic and lemon juice.
5. Stir for 2 minutes then add spinach until it has wilted.
6. Use a slotted spoon to remove the egg and drain excess water on paper towel.
7. Place spinach on toast and then place the poached egg on top. Serve immediately.

Chicken and Mango Curry

Simple and Full of Flavour

When I first saw this dish I was a little apprehensive because it just seemed so simple.  I always thought that curries needed lots of ingredients, but  I was gladly wrong as  the flavours were fantastic together.  Also I love mango curries, the sweetness of the mango just reminds me of beautiful Bim.  It is so important to use fresh herbs as well because it adds a delightful  fragrance, it is quite nice to know the garnish actualy adds to the dish rather than making it look pretty.  I also used lightly toasted almonds to add a  little crunch.  Overall a great healthy meal.

This recipe was adapted from Morrisons' Magazine Jan/ Feb 2012 (Result Customer Communications, 2011).

Ingredients:

1 tbsp olive oil, 1 large onion (chopped into small pieces), 2 chicken breasts, 1 garlic clove (chopped into small pieces, or crushed), 1 tbsp ground ginger, 1 tbsp tomato puree, 150ml vegetable stock (1/2 cube), 1 small mango (diced), 25g reduced - fat creme fraiche (I had to do it!), fresh coriander, 10g toasted flaked almonds, brown rice to serve.

Method:

1. Before you start cooking put on the brown rice and cook according to the instructions.  (You usually bring brown rice to the boil but then let it simmer for 30 - 40mins.)  Wash and prepare chicken by chopping into small cubes. (Make sure you wash you hands after and do not put the chicken on the table surface to prevent contamination.)
2. Heat a pan over a medium heat.
3. Add 1 tbsp olive oil and when hot add the chopped onion.
4. When the onions are soft add the chicken breasts.
5. Keep cooking till the chicken breasts are white.  Though many recipes say cook for 2 minutes I always cook for longer to be safe, but not too long because I did not want over done chicken in the curry.
6. Stir in the garlic clove and tomato puree. Let this season the chicken for 2 minutes.
7. Add 150ml of stock, bring this to the boil then let it simmer for 10 minutes.
8. Add the mango and cook for about 3 minutes.
9. Remove from the heat and then stir in the creme fraiche.
10. Serve with brown rice.
11. Garnish with fresh coriander and the toasted almonds.