Posts Tagged ‘tasty’

Healthy Easter Breakfast for Kids

Monday, March 25th, 2013

Three ingredients, three steps to make these light pancakes within minutes!Easter-Bunny-Pancakes

Ingredients:

3 eggs

250ml milk

125g plain flour

Method:

  1. Beat eggs and milk together in large bowl, then beat in flour until batter is smooth.
  2. Lightly coat a 20cm frying pan on medium-high heat with cooking spray.
  3. Make one pancake at a time by dropping a large spoonful of batter onto pan and tilting to cover the whole surface of the pan evenly. Cook until golden, turning once, about 2 minutes per pancake.
  4. Have fun decorating your pancakes, for example Easter Bunny pancakes as shown here.

Spinach Omelette

Monday, April 23rd, 2012

Preparation - 5 minutes

Cooking time – 10 minutes

Serves 1

Ingredients

25g butter

60g baby spinach leaves

1 spring onion sliced

2 eggs, beaten

100g crumbled feta cheese

Salt and pepper

Fresh sage sprigs, to garnish

8 cherry tomatoes, grilled for serving

 

Method

  1. Melt 15g butter in a non-stick pan, add the spinach, and stir until wilted. Season with salt and pepper to taste, then lift from the pan, and drain well. Chop half the spinach and keep the rest warm.
  2. Melt the remaining butter, add the spring onion, and stir-fry for 2-3 minutes. Add the eggs, season, and cook gently until the eggs are set.
  3. Fill the omelette with the chopped spinach and feta cheese then fold in half. Remove from the pan and top with the remaining spinach. Garnish with sage sprigs and serve with the tomatoes on the side.

 

 

Pumpkin cake

Monday, October 24th, 2011

Preparation: 10 mins | Cook: 1 hour

Ingredients

  • 200g plain flour
  • 1 ¼ teaspoons bicarbonate of soda
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 255g pureed pumpkin
  • 200g dark brown soft sugar
  • 110ml buttermilk
  • 1 egg
  • 2 tablespoons butter, softened

Method

  1. Preheat oven to 180°C.
  2. Sift the flour, bicarbonate of soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg into a large bowl.
  3. Mix in the pumpkin, brown sugar, buttermilk, egg and butter until well blended. Pour into a 9×5 inch loaf tin and smooth the top.
  4. Bake for 1 hour in preheated oven, or until a cocktail stick inserted into the centre comes out clean.

 

Leek and Potato Soup

Monday, September 26th, 2011

Serves 6

 

Ingredients –

1 tbsp low fat spread

1 large onion, finely chopped

500g leeks, finely chopped

500g floury potatoes, peeled and chopped

3 tbsp chopped fresh parsley

1 litre of hot vegetable stock

300ml skimmed milk

Salt and freshly ground pepper

 

Method –

  1. Melt the low fat spread in a large, lidded, non stick saucepan and gently sauté the onion and leeks until soft, about 10 minutes.
  2. Add the potatoes, parsley and hot stock and bring to the boil. Cover and reduce the heat. Simmer gently for about 20 minutes.
  3. Add the milk to the saucepan and reheat gently. Season to taste and serve garnished with parsley sprigs.

 

Chicken Satay Skewers

Sunday, July 31st, 2011

Serves 4

Ingredients -

350g chicken breast, chopped into bite sized pieces

1 garlic clove, crushed

2 tbsp dark soy sauce

1 tsp dried chilli flakes

2 tbsp crunchy peanut butter

1 tbsp tomato puree

100ml pineapple juice

 

Method -

  1. Place the chicken in a shallow dish.
  2. Mix together the garlic, soy sauce, chilli flakes, peanut butter, tomato puree and pineapple juice. Pour the mixture over the chicken and toss well to coat all of the chicken pieces. Cover and leave to marinate for 30 minutes.
  3. Preheat the grill to high. Place the chicken pieces onto wooden skewers. Put them under the grill for 15 minutes, turning frequently, until evenly browned and cooked through.

 

Low Fat Carrot Cake

Monday, April 11th, 2011

Ingredients

For the carrot cake:
150 g dark brown soft sugar
2 large eggs
120 ml sunflower oil
200 g wholemeal self-raising flour
1½ level teaspoons bicarbonate of soda
3 rounded teaspoons mixed spice
Grated zest 1 orange
Juice of half an orange
200 g carrots, peeled and coarsely grated
275 g chopped dates

For the topping:
250 g low fat soft cheese
20 g icing sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Grated zest of one orange
1 level teaspoon ground cinnamon

 

Method

Pre-heat the oven to 170°C.

Line the base of a deep non-stick square cake tin (measuring 8 x 8 inches) with greaseproof paper.

First beat together the sugar, eggs and oil in a bowl for a couple of minutes until smooth.

Now sift together the flour, bicarbonate of soda and the mixed spice into the bowl. Mix well and then fold in the orange zest, orange juice, dates and carrots.

Then pour the mixture into the tin and bake in the centre of the oven for 35 to 40 minutes. Once cooked, remove from the oven and leave to cool on the side.

To make the topping, mix the soft cheese, icing sugar, vanilla extract, orange zest and cinnamon together until light and fluffy. Cover the bowl with clingfilm and put in the fridge for a couple of hours to chill.

Once the cake has cooled, take it out of the tin and spread the topping over it. The cake has to be cold, otherwise the topping will start to melt.

Sprinkle with ground cinnamon and enjoy!

 

 

 

Thai Beef and Mixed Pepper Stir-fry

Monday, January 31st, 2011

Ingredients:

500g lean beef fillet

1 tablespoon sesame oil

1 garlic clove, finely chopped

1 lemon grass stalk, finely shredded

2.5cm piece of fresh root ginger, peeled and finely chopped

1 red pepper, cored, deseeded and thickly sliced

1 green pepper, cored, deseeded and thickly sliced

1 onion, thickly sliced

2 tablespoons lime juice

Freshly ground black pepper

Method:

  1. Cut the beef into long thin strips.
  2. Heat the oil in a wok or a large frying pan over a high heat. Add the garlic and stir-fry for 1 minute. Add the beef and stir-fry for 2-3 minutes until lightly coloured. Stir in the lemon grass and ginger and remove the pan from the heat. Remove the beef from the pan and set aside.
  3. Add the peppers and onion to the pan and stir-fry for 2-3 minutes until the onions are just turning golden brown and are slightly softened.
  4. Return the beef to the pan, stir in the lime juice ansd season to taste with pepper. Serve with boiled noodles or rice.

Calories per serving – 255,     Serves – 4,     Preparation time – 20 minutes,     Cooking time – 10 minutes

Keep Warm with Winter Soups

Monday, November 29th, 2010

Squash and chilli soup

  • 1 medium butternut squash, peeled and cut into 1” cubes
  • 1 onion, peeled and finely chopped
  • 1 red chilli, cored, deseeded and finely chopped
  • 1 tin coconut milk
  • Vegetable stock
  • Olive oil
  • Freshly ground salt and pepper

Sauté the squash, onion and chilli in a little oil for a few minutes then cover and leave over a low heat to sweat gently for 10 minutes. Add the coconut milk and enough stock to cover the vegetables. Bring to the boil and cover. Simmer gently for about 30 minutes or until the squash is tender. Season generously and whizz in a blender until smooth.

Bacon and lentil soup

  • 6 oz lentils
  • 2½ pints stock
  • 1 clove garlic, peeled and finely chopped
  • Freshly ground pepper
  • 7 oz bacon rashers, finely chopped
  • Small can tomatoes
  • 1 large onion, peeled and finely chopped
  • 1lb potatoes, peeled and diced
  • 2 tablespoons lemon juice

Wash the lentils before placing them in a saucepan with the stock, garlic, pepper, bacon, tomatoes and onion. Bring to the boil, cover and simmer gently for about 1 hour or until the lentils and bacon are soft. Add the potatoes and cook for another 20 minutes. Whizz in a blender. Add the lemon juice and check the seasoning. Serve hot garnished with crispy fried bacon or grated cheese.

Italian-style beef stew

Monday, October 4th, 2010

An easy, super healthy stew full of vitamin C.

 Ingredients:

  • 1 onion, sliced
  • 1 garlic clove, sliced
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 300g pack beef stir fry strips, or use beef steak, thinly sliced
  • 1 yellow pepper, deseeded and thinly sliced
  • 400g can chopped tomatoes
  • Sprig rosemary, chopped
  • Handful pitted olives

 Preparation and cooking times

 Prep 10 mins                                       Cook 20 mins

 Method

1.     In a large saucepan, cook onion and garlic in olive oil for 5 mins until softened and turning golden.  

2.     Tip in the beef strips, pepper, tomatoes and rosemary, then bring to the boil.  

3.     Simmer for 15 mins until the meat is cooked through, adding some boiling water if needed. Stir through the olives and serve with mash.

Make it vegetarian – Leave out the beef and cook 1 chopped aubergine and 1 chopped courgette along with the pepper. Finish by sprinkling over some feta cheese.

Per serving:    225 kcals, Protein – 25g, Carbohydrate – 7g, Fat – 11 g, Saturated fat – 3g, Fibre – 2g, Sugar – 6g, Salt – 0.87 g

Traffic Light Ice Lollies

Monday, July 12th, 2010

fruit-ice-lollies

Colourful, fun and a great way to give fresh fruit to your children.

 

Ingredients

250g strawberries

4½ tbsp runny honey

3 large ripe peaches or nectarines, peeled, stoned and sliced

5 large kiwi fruit, peeled and sliced

 

Method

1.   Puree the strawberries with a hand blender. Sieve the puree to get rid of the seeds.

2.   Stir 1 ½ tbsp of the honey into the puree. Then pour the strawberry puree into each of the ice lolly moulds until each mould is ⅓ full.

3.   Freeze until firm – this should take 1 ½ hours.

4.   Repeat this process with the peaches and 1 ½ tbsp of the honey, then the kiwi fruit with the rest of the honey, freezing between each fruit.

Prep time:           10 min, plus several hours freezing

Cook time:          0 min

Serves:               8