Wednesday 29 June 2016

FIVE FAVOURITES : Favourite things to do with Coconut Oil

I have been a big fan of this wonder oil for quite some time now and I must say, it's pretty impressive what you can do with it!

You think it's just for cooking?? Nope! Here's a super list of all the things that you can do with one little pot of coconut oil...

1. Cooking
So we all know that we can cook with coconut oil right? Well, if not you can. It has a super high smoke point so is great for stir frying foods and gives it a lovely coconutty flavour. Don't like coconut? No problem, you can buy 'fragrance free' coconut oil so you can use it for everything. 

2. Moisturiser
Yes it's a very rich oil, but it's great on the skin and body. I would say it's great especially as a body oil and it can be used on the face for very dry skin before bed time


3. Eye makeup remover
A bit of a random one, but it's true! Warm a little bit in your fingers and gentle massage over your eye area to remove makeup. Then wipe away with a nice warm flannel - This is great for waterproof mascara too, any oil will bring off stubborn makeup

4. Hair Treatment
If your hair is a bit dry on the ends, you can massage a little coconut oil through the tips of your hair to hydrate them. Wrap your hair in a warm towel and leave it on for 20-30 minutes (or even overnight), wash your hair by applying shampoo to the ends of the hair first dry, then rinse and repeat.


5. Cleaning our teeth
So did you know you can clean your teeth with coconut oil? So, not putting it on your toothbrush, but by doing a technique called 'oil pulling'. First thing in the morning (before you clean your teeth), put a heaped teaspoon of coconut oil in your mouth and start to swill it around your teeth. This can be a bit weird the first few times you do it, but try and see if you can swill it around for 20-30 minutes. Maybe do a quick tidy of the house, make the bed, prep your breakfast etc and then when the time is up, spit it out into the dustbin (or into a tissue - just not down the plughole!). Then clean your teeth as normal. It is believed that oil pulling can help remove toxins from the body and also help to whiten teeth! Maybe worth a try!

Thanks so much for reading, hope you have learnt at least one new thing you can do with this wonder ingredient!


Emmaline x
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Monday 27 June 2016

RECIPE: Sweet Potato Pancake for 'Meatless Monday'

So for many years now I've eaten omelettes for breakfast. I usually have them on a Sunday morning before work to keep me full all day - I don't usually get chance for a lunch break on a Sunday! So far so good I guess, I enjoyed them and they filled my belly all day. Great!
Then, I stopped eating eggs (well I say eggs, but I mean cooked eggs by themselves - not eggs in cakes etc) and then I was stumped. Granola and Coyo didn't cut it, smoothies didn't last long enough and well toast never touches the sides anyway! So what could I eat? What is so super filling that you can get to the afternoon without struggling too much? I know... Potatoes!


My sweet potato pancake was born! It did take a few attempts and a few changed recipes, but I think I've finally cracked it. This tastes amazing, can be eaten for breakfast or even as a side dish for your dinner at night. It fills your tummy and keeps you nice and full too without it being too heavy! I find sometimes with eggs they can feel quite heavy and hard to digest - probably why they keep you full for so long, but this fills you up but is not hard and heavy in your tummy.

So, here is my final recipe (for now) of my tasty potato pancake. It takes me around 10-15 mins to make so its not the quickest so I usually do it when I have a bit more time on my hands...

Ingredients (Makes 1 pancake)


1 Sweet potato, peeled and grated

1 Spring onion diced
1 cupful of frozen mediteranean vegetables
2 tbsp garlic oil
1 tsp chilli oil
1 tsp tumeric
1 tsp garam masala
1 tbsp gluten free flour
Small handful of fresh coriander

Method

  • Start off by adding 1 tbsp of garlic oil to the pan and frying your mixed vegetables and spring onion. I am lazy and use the frozen ones from the supermarket with mini roast potatoes in
  • Whilst they are cooking, rinse the grated sweet potato in a sieve until the water runs clear and then squeeze all the excess water out of them - I do this by putting the potato into a clean (preferably old) tea towel and dry it as much as possible. Add this to a bowl
  • To the bowl add another tbsp of garlic oil, the chilli oil, spices, flour and herbs (keep some to the side for garnish too) and mix well
  • When the vegetables are cooked, squish down the roasted potatoes with a fork in the pan and then add to the bowl of sweet potato. 
  • Mix everything together and add a teeny bit more oil to the pan.
  • Drop in a piece of sweet potato and check that it sizzles, if so add the contents of the bowl to the pan and squish it all down with the back of a spoon
  • Allow this to cook on a medium heat for a few mins until it starts to brown underneath (carefully have a peek by lifting up the edge and look underneath)
  • Then, this is the scary bit! You need to flip it over! You want to make sure its really pressed down and all squished together so it flips in one piece, if it doesn't though, don't worry just press it down again with the back of a spoon.
  • Continue to cook for a few more minutes and then when its cooked all the way through, slide it onto a plate and service with some chopped fresh coriander and maybe some chilli sauce - Yum! :)
I hope you enjoy this as much as I do, I've started making it along side my cooked breakfast with beans, tomatoes, mushrooms, spinach etc and it really gives it something extra.

Thanks so much for reading!


Emmaline x
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Sunday 26 June 2016

LITTLE GEMS: Sunday Lovely Sunday!

So how has your weekend been? Have you had a busy one? Mine's been pretty hectic to say the least to be honest.

Had a gorgeous dinner cooked for me by one of my lovely girlfriends on Friday night. I've not had breaded fish in years - this seriously took me back! Such a tasty warm chickpea salad with it too...


Then I made such a tasty big Saturday morning breakfast. I stole this idea from Helmsley & Helmsley a few weeks ago and then just kind of built on it. You basically put everything in an oven proof dish and stick it in the oven for a 20 minutes! Super quick and easy too. 


I started off by putting some chopped mushrooms and tomatoes in the oven dish and baked them for around 10 minutes. I then added my greens (this time I chose kale, spinach and asparagus) and then cracked an egg in a well on top of the spinach for hubby. Then put it back in the oven for around 10 more minutes. Whilst all this was cooking I make one of my sweet potato pancakes and popped some part-baked bread in the oven too. Such a delicious breakfast and was super easy! You really should give it a try!

Then on Saturday night we were invited to the opening of the new Brasserie Blanc in Kuntsford. Such a nice new restaurant, plus I love Knutsford for dinner. Always makes a change to go somewhere different!


The food was quite nice too, service was very good and the staff were very helpful and polite - especially as most of them were still in training.


I went for the vegetable chickpea burgers with smoked aubergine and tomato sauce. It was quite nice but could have been cooked through a bit more. To be fair though, they had just opened so I will give them another chance. Apparently hubby's steak was good though so he was a happy bunny!


Got the cutest little sweeties too from one of my lovely clients as a belated birthday pressie - actually quite excited to tuck into these ha ha! I usually try and be good and avoid sugar but these little beauties look so cute I can't resist ha ha!

Plus, I can't go through a week without taking a pic of my cat. I think I'm a bit obsessed! I love him so much though and as this one is especially cute, I thought I'd share because, well why not!


I hope you all had a lovely weekend break! Watch out for my 'Meatless Monday' recipe tomorrow to give you some inspiration during the week.

Hope you have a great one and thank you so much for reading


Emmaline x

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Friday 24 June 2016

EATING OUT: Piccolinos Alderley Edge

So I know I did a post recently on this place in the city centre, but I also wanted to do one on the restaurant in Alderley too. I have wanted to go here for quite a few months but have never got round to going - plus it's always been fully booked for weeks when I wanted to go.


So, I thought I would come for my birthday meal with my Mamma and we were definitely not disappointed! We got seated in the indoor/outdoor bit which is so lovely. It's super bright but they had the roof closed (it was raining!) but it still felt like we were outside! Amazing!


How gorgeous is it inside though! Love this decor - so beautiful!


I kind of have this thing at the moment where I order just a selection of sides and ask for them on one plate. Yes, I do get a lot of strange looks and an occasional 'eye-rolling' from the waiter, but it's so worth it. The only problem with Italian restaurants is they are not always that vegan friendly (I know I'm not full vegan, but I don't eat dairy or meat so I know I can be kind of difficult!). Plus, there is cheese in EVERYTHING! Yes, it's a good thing if you like cheese, but probs not best for my tummy. Here I ordered the courgette fries, broccoli with garlic and chilli, roast potatoes and roasted Mediterranean vegetables. It was so delicious! Mum went for the Spinaci salad, which is usually really tasty but it was super vinegary this time which was a bit of a shame. We still enjoyed it and mentioned it to the waiter afterwards who then said he would mention it to the chef - eeek! Hate it when that happens ha ha! I would say though that normally it's really tasty, so maybe we just caught them on a bad day perhaps.


Then came the dessert! Like I had in Caffe Grande I decided to have the Crepe Suzette again. It's so yum and I just love the novelty of them cooking it in front of you - well, not cooking but flambe it I guess. Either way, it adds a bit of fun to your meal. I made a video of it but I don't think it will upload properly :( I'm working on it though!

So, overall we had a really fun lunch. They also have some amazing cakes too so couldn't leave without taking a picture for you all.


Yummy! This counter seems to go on and on forever!


Thank you so much for reading! I hope you all have a great weekend and maybe check out one of the new Piccalinos soon. You just can't go wrong with good Italian food!

Emmaline x
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Wednesday 22 June 2016

LITTLE GEMS: Mid Week Fun

I was a little bit naughty today and booked a day off - perks of being self employed I guess! Today is my favourite day of the year - The Royal Cheshire Show! It's a day of sauntering, spending time with Mamma and of course... eating! I will be honest and say that my phone remained in my pocket for most of the day so apologise for no pictures (I guess I was just too excited!), but if you ever get chance to go, it's a great day out. The ground wasn't too wet, we slocked around in our wellies and comfy clothes. Really is such a fab day out!

Had a lovely few days too since I last posted as it was my birthday last week. I was absolutely spoilt rotten and had some lovely pressies and meals out...


Had my fav thing on my birthday night... sushi! Got treated to some yummy food at Victors. Here we had the courgette fritters, crispy asparagus, flamed salmon rolls, tempura dragon rolls and also some chipotle fries! Oh so yummy!


Dessert was the lemon meringue pie - which is kind of deconstructed. Yum yum yum :)


I also was treated to lunch at the (semi-new) Piccalinos in Alderley Edge. I've wanted to go here for such a long time so was excited to go. The food was so great too, I'm not putting up too many pics though because I wanted to share them with you separately. I know I did Cafe Grande only a few weeks or so ago, but even so I still wanted to share this with you


Finally, I have to share my fav snack around at the moment, banana with nut butter. This is super simple but oh wow... so tasty! I've become a little obsessed with the Pip and Nut Cashew Butter with Cinnamon - this is delicious! I could actually eat it by the spoonful!

How has your week been? Lots of positives I hope!

Bit of a short and sweet one tonight but just wanted to say hello!

Thanks so much for reading,


Emmaline x
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Monday 20 June 2016

RECIPE: MEATLESS MONDAYS! Quick, easy meat free salad!

So, I've been wanting to introduce this type of post for a while now. I'm sure you have probably guessed with me being MIA a bit at the moment the clinic is super busy - so I apologies for the lack of posts!


I think this is a great idea to do on a Monday, usually we have had a heavy weekend of eating (and for some drinking too!) so I think it's nice to keep food nice and light on a Monday. I find meat can be very heavy on the tummy, so meat-free is always a nice start to the week.

As it's Monday, I would recommend something nice and quick to cook. You can always make your own veggie burgers, but it can be just as easy to buy them from the shops at weekend or on your way home. My favourite are either the Biona mini energy burgers or (what I've just discovered) is the GOSH range in the supermarket. It's a range of vegan friendly burgers and mini bites that you can have either on a loaded burger or alongside a nice summer salad - plus they are delicious too!


Dinner does not always have to take a long time, it can also just be an assembly job too! Fry the burgers in a dry pan or cook in the over/under the grill and you can have a nice, healthy tea in no time!


Why not try some veggie burgers with a large salad for dinner tonight? You choose what you fancy in the salad and customise it to suit your tastes.

Thanks so much for reading!

Have a great Monday!

Emmaline x
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Sunday 12 June 2016

LITTLE GEMS: Where has the sun gone?

Ok, so I'm not really complaining it's raining. I'm actually quite glad of it. Everything needed a good water so I'm grateful really, let's just hope it doesn't stay too long though!

How's your weekend been so far? I'm managed to get some yoga practice in and do some book keeping! Oh the joys of accounts!


Made a delicious plant based stir fry with some soba noodles, beans, sprouts and silken tofu. So tasty!


I also discovered these cool smoothie packs. I nipped out at lunch the other day to the supermarket to get some frozen fruit (which none of them seemed to have) and found these cute little bags of smoothie packs. I was actually quite impressed! They contain 2 bags of frozen fruit and 2 sachets of 'superfoods'. So easy and quick to use too. You get 2 smoothies from each pack and I just added the contents of the pack and the sachet into my nutri bullet and then added 250ml of water and 2 tablespoons of oats to make it nice and creamy. Was really tasty and great for a quick snack on the go. Check them out next time you're in the frozen section :)



I also made a super quick salad for lunch one day at work as I was in a rush and didn't fancy soup - how hot was it last week!
I just bought a selection of prepared veggies and then just assembled it all together. Super quick and super tasty!


Great way to make yourself a quick lunch to take to work with you.


Then, Saturday morning I had a play with my new purchase! I bought a waffle maker!! Oh my god, I was sooo excited to use this and I'd had it at home for a week already but didn't have time to use it. I made these tasty waffles. Served with fresh fruit, Coyo dairy free yoghurt, maple syrup and raw cacao nibs. They were amazing!! Gluten free and dairy free waffles of course too :)


Then, finally went for a tasty meal to Byron. I went for the veggie bean burger and no joke it was so yum! I've not been to Byron since I stopped eating meat 12 months ago so I was a bit dubious to how the veggie burger would be, but it did not disappoint at all. The burger was super crunchy and crisp on the outside and spicy and smooth inside. We had it with courgette and sweet potato fries - my fav!



How was your week? Did you have a nice break?

Hope you have a lovely week to come, thanks so much for reading!


Emmaline x
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Monday 6 June 2016

FIVE FAVOURITES: Workday Breakfasts

It's been a little while since I've done a 'five favourites' post so I thought I would do one today. Workday breakfasts and weekend breakfasts are like two different meals. One is to be made quick and easily - also as little mess as possible, and the other is a lot more leisurely. Today I wanted to focus on the weekday/workday breakfasts, especially as it's the start of Ramadam for all Muslims out there so I guess breakfast is a pretty big part of peoples diet for the next 30 days at least!

Breakfast is such an important meal for us, it really can kick start our bodies and give us the fuel and energy that we need to tackle the day ahead. I know some people can't stomach food first thing in the morning, but if you can get something in before lunch - even if it's not just upon waking it will help you. The problem is, a lot of us start the day with something that can be so sugary or heavy that it almost slows us down a bit. We need FUEL people - when I think fuel I'm not thinking honey nut loops either! Let's see my five favourite options...

1. Avocado on Toast


Ah, probably one of hubby and my favs! You can mix it up however you like - go for simple plain avo, or maybe add something extra perhaps! I love avocado, coriander and lime mashed in a bowl with salt and pepper then spread on toast. Then you can top it with crispy onions, smoked paprika, balsamic glaze, dried chilly flakes - the possibilities are endless!

2. Acai Bowl


I had this for breakfast this morning. Super quick and easy and again, like the avo toast you can mix it up to suit you. In my Vitamix Blender I add...

  • a frozen banana 
  • handful of frozen berries 
  • frozen mango
  • spoon of nut butter 
  • a date
  • 1/4 cup oats
  • 1/2 cup of ice water
  • 1/2 tbsp acai berry powder (or fresh if I can get it)
Blitz it all up and pour into a bowl. Then top it with whatever you like! I like bee pollen, cacao nibs, goji berries, granola, chia seeds, coconut flakes and some fresh berries perhaps! You can mix it up to suit your likes and dislikes - super quick to make too (my recipe serves the two of us)

3. Porridge


Yum! I love porridge! It's so filling too! I know it's more of a winter thing, but unless your house is like a sauna in the morning, I'm sure you'll be fine having this - or you could always swap it for 'overnight oats'. Using a similar recipe but just soak it overnight instead of cooking them on the stove.
I love my porridge with Rude Health's Almond milk (it has to be this - anything else doesn't taste right to me - aka porridge diva!). The key to great porridge is to keep stirring it and to never let it boil. I use 1/3 cup of organic porridge oats to a cup of nut milk. Then add a good grating of nutmeg and a 1/4 tsp of vanilla paste to make it nice and creamy.
The top it with whatever you fancy! Maple syrup, berry compote (just add a handful of frozen berries to a pan with a drizzle of maple syrup and bring to the boil - ta dah! done!), chopped bananas and nut butter... the list goes on!

4. Green Smoothie


This literally varies depending on what I have in my fridge and what I'm in the mood for. I try and keep it to 70% greens and 30% fruit but you do what works for you. If you can add a good handful of spinach or kale it's great and you don't really taste it either. I also love adding some good supplements such as the Green Magic powder, probiotics, baobab or maca powder. Plus, if you really want to you can add protein powders too. Try and drink it slowly though, it should take a good 30 minutes to drink a smoothie in the morning otherwise you can end up feeling quite bloated. Short on time? Why not prep your smoothies in advance and put all your smoothie mix into small sandwich bags in the freezer, then all you need to do is add your liquid to the blender and your bag of goodies! Super quick and again very easy to do - you can even take it on the go with you!

5. Sweet Potato Hash Brown


So this is a bit of a new thing for me. Since I've stopped eating eggs I have struggled a bit finding a breakfast that keeps me full for quite a while on a Sunday when I'm working all day without a lunch break. Eggs used to be my best option as I felt that they took quite a while to digest, but unfortunately this is not really a good thing. So, after doing a bit of thinking, I came to the conclusion that potatoes are my best option and boy was I right! This hash brown/rosti is super delicious and also super filling - but without the heaviness I feel after eating eggs. I have cooked some mushrooms with this one too, but you can make it however you feel fit - plus it can also depend what is in your fridge! Will be posting up a full recipe soon on my take on a cooked breakfast - watch this space!

So there you have it! My Five Favourite Workday Breakfast options. Thanks so much for reading and I hope you have got some inspiration for your breakfasts!

Ramadam Mubarak to everybody who is celebrating this month! Enjoy your breakfasts!


Emmaline x



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