Blackberry (bramble) picking

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We were talking the other day on our way to a birthday party about how awesome it would be to pick some fresh and wild blackberries (brambles).  When we arrived and to our surprise out of the kitchen window there was a huge blackberry bush. I grabbed a bowl and went out to inspect.  There were loads of ripe and ready to pick brambles.  All the scratches and scrapes were worth it as we gather a massive bowl up.  When we got back I made a blackberry and apple gin which will be ready in time for Christmas and a blackberry jam for my kids.  I’m not particularly keen on high sugar content jams but I needed to preserve them quickly as they were starting to spoil only after day two after picking.  So a high heat recipe was required.

If I were to come across such treasures again I would blend them up immediately into a smoothie when I got back to my kitchen as the nutritional content of blackberries is really high and they contain all sorts of goodies like vitamins A, C, and K, magnesium, potassium, and fiber.

“Vitamin A helps maintain eye health while vitamin C promotes wound healing, keeps gums healthy and helps the body absorb iron. Vitamin K, along with magnesium, are important in promoting bone health. Potassium plays a role in health blood pressure levels. And fiber helps control cholesterol and keeps you regular.” http://www.livestrong.com/article/110325-blackberries-nutrition

If you fancy trying your hand at foraging then check out the book below with a variety of things you can find for free in the wild.  Its so satisfying to go out and find something so satisfying in the wild.

Click on the book above for some more foraging adventures.

Spicy mushrooms with peanut slaw wraps

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I was looking for a really quick lunch fix the other day and this Asian infusion hit the spot!  Spicy mushrooms and onions with homemade peanut slaw wrapped in a corn wrap with additional spicy sauce if your brave enough.  I adapted a recipe from the book below – Rich Roll – The Plant Power Way.

Its a great book for easy family plant powered recipes and Rich Rolls story to fitness and health is very inspirational.  I’m also studying his plant powered educational course on the Mind Body Green website.  Its great for getting ideas for fueling your body for fitness and for daily meal ideas.  Click on the image to take you to his book.  Anyway back to my recipes, the ingredients are as follows…

Mini corn wraps

Mushrooms

Onions

Mini cabbages

Carrots

Peanut butter or Almond Butter

Tamari Sauce

Mirin

Rice Vinegar

Garlic Clove

Sunflower seeds

Shred the mini cabbage and the carrots and mix in a bowl, in a jar add equal amounts of soy, mirin and rice vinegar and a heaped tablespoon of peanut butter, close the jar and shake or use a small blender.  Add to the shredded cabbage and carrots and mix through.  Cook the mushrooms and onions in a little coconut oil and add a spicy sauce of choice.

Add the slaw to the corn wrap and top with mushrooms, wrap and enjoy!  Yummy! 🙂

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Courgette pancakes

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Tasty and mega simple courgette and pepper pancakes!  My kids always complain about courgettes but with a bit of good quality (next time I’ll make my own) BBQ sauce on the side these went down a treat and they didn’t even realise they were eating courgettes until the end! Lol! 😀

The inspiration for this recipe came from the Forks over Knives cookbook.  You can view and purchase the cookbook here at the link attached.
Grate two courgettes into a bowl and add 1/2 cup of wholemeal flour, finely diced red pepper and you could also add a tin of sweetcorn.  I didn’t have in the cupboard so I skipped this but would probably add it in next time for a little sweetness.  Season with salt and pepper and clump into little balls, fry in coconut oil in a non stick pan.  Serve with salad.  We had these topped with cream (soy cream) spinach sauce (recipe in the sides section) fried mushrooms and chipotle hot sauce!  We also had potatoes cooked in cauliflower cream on the side too!

Oh yummy!  😊

Two courgettes

1/2 cup of wholemeal flour

1 finely diced red pepper or colour of choice

1 small tin of sweetcorn

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The Forks over Knives plant based cooking meal plans are also available at the link below.  I have not personally tried the meal plans as I make up my own but if your new to plant based eating then I would recommend checking out the book below.

Veggie feast!

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I was so hungry tonight and in desperate need of a veggie feast after a crappy food week!  My new vitamix professional blender arrived yesterday and anyone that owns one will understand my excitement and inspiration to get cooking again.  It is an amazing machine and I’ve waited very impatiently for three years to own one…finally my blender dreams have come true ha ha ha!  Check on the picture below for a full spec.

So to give my vitamix a workout I made a cauliflower cream sauce to cook my thinly sliced potatoes and onions in the oven and topped with nutritional yeast…also know as “cheese” sprinkles in my house!  😊

Then I blended up some garlic cloves with alpro soy cream and spinach.  I cooked this lightly in the pan to create the spinach sauce for the top of the courgette fritters.  These were so simple and I made them by grating the courgettes and adding peppers and seasonings, then fried lightly in a little coconut oil.  To top it off I added some fried mushrooms in the non stick (I try to use little oil) and chipotle sauce!  The tomatoes were fresh out of the greenhouse and were super sweet on the side.

I added a huge dollop of high quality BBQ sauce and a blob of coconut oil on top of the kids potatoes for some extra fats!  I also gave them a cheeky, cacao, banana, peanut butter with a dash of soy cream on the side smoothie which they had double helpings of.

A meal full of protein, iron, vitamins and about nine different veggie ingredients, it makes me feel super happy when my kids pack themselves full of nutritious foods.  They certainly don’t all of the time, kids are kids and they are free to eat as they wish but I hope to inspire them! 😍

Superfood for super kids! 😎

All of the recipes are available in the menu and will be posted soon. 😎  I love it how blogging makes me hungry again lol!  Mmmm what to eat now…

ps – I am a vitamix blender addict now! 😊

Healthy snickers bars

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Made to order and available at my market stall.

Healthy “snickers” bar made with a cashew and coconut flour base, topped with a peanut butter caramel filling, peanuts and a thin dark chocolate drizzle.

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These bars are really filling and are a great high energy snack made with healthy and natural ingredients. I split my bars into three cubes and eat pre/post exercise or during a really long walk.  Great body fuel!

Healthy chocolate bars with almonds

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Health chocolate bars made with raw cacao powder and cacao butter, high in antioxidants and a guilt free treat!

Nourishing ingredients include, raw cacao powder, raw cacao butter, agave syrup and almonds…simple!  😊

Experimenting at the moment but hopefully will have some up on the etsy store soon.

Brazil nut cacao fudge slice

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Naughty treats!  Brazil nut cacao fudge slice made with Brazil nuts, medjool dates, cacao and coconut oil, topped with a thin layer of raw chocolate and sprinkled with coconut!

So yummy!  It’s difficult to just eat one!  Available to order online on our etsy store and sold at market.  Drop us a line through the contact form or email.

 

Coconut and spirulina smoothie

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Ok so the colour looks a bit yuk! But this was a delicious morning sweet kick!  Fresh coconut meat with banana and spirulina for an extra nutritional boost!  😄  My fave nutritional supplement at the moment…just throw all the ingredients below into a blender and whizz up for breakfast or great for a post run energy boost!

one banana

coconut water from one young green coconut (these look white in the super market as the hard green bit has been chopped)

flesh from the inside of the coconut

1 tsp spirulina (1/2 if first time)

 

Mexican street food

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Super speedy supper again…used a tesco Mexican mix to make this fat burrito! 😍

Wraps

cooked rice

shredded lettuce

tomatoes

cucumber

tofu pieces (cauldron brand)

courgette

cheese (optional)

Stir fry the courgette with the tofu pieces and add the marinades and sauces in the order specified on the packet.  Place the wrap flat on the plate and top with rice, the cooked saucy mix, shredded lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber and chilli sauce.  Roll u into a big fat burrito and enjoy!  The kids had grated cheese on theirs instead of chilli sauce but that is optional obviously.

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We love Mexican food in this house.

 

Pasta with mixed salad

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Super quick pasta with mixed salad for lunch.

pasta

salad vegetables of choice

sunflower and linseeds for sprinkling

mozzerella balls (optional)

olive oil

Cook the pasta and whilst cooking chop up all the salad bits and bobs, then add to pasta and sprinkle with seeds, season and drizzle with olive oil.  Enjoy!