A few years ago I fell in love with gardening. I grew everything from chilli peppers, courgettes and herbs; to pak choi lettuce and spaghetti squash. It was an effort and a lot of hardwork, which was made harder by the fact that I had to use plant pots to grow my crops. Nonetheless, I persevered and nurtured my plants like a new mother and received an abundance of squash and vegetables that Summer. Continue reading “Spaghetti Squash in a Mushroom,Garlic & Parsley Cashew Sauce”
Peanut Butter & Chocolate Ganache Flapjacks
I used to love flapjacks growing up as a kid, the chewiness from the oats combined with the sugar made the little treats so moreish. Now i’m all grown up, I crave flapjacks every so often and as I’m wiser; I now know how easy these babies are to make. But also how easy they are to make healthier too.
I realise that flapjacks in other parts of the country are in fact pancakes, so to omit any confusion, these flapjacks are peanut butter and chocolate ganache breakfast bars and you do not have to cook them. Although, you can the bake for 10 minutes if you want.
Ingredients
- 1 Cup Rolled Oats
- 1 Cup Natural Muesli (No Added Sugar)
- 1/2 Cup Pure Honey or Maple Syrup
- 1/2 Cup Natural Peanut Butter
- 1/2 Cup Coconut Oil (optional)
- 1 tsp Vanilla
- 100g Dark Chocolate 75% or higher
- 80ml Milk
- 1 Square White Chocolate (optional)
Directions
- This part is as easy as placing the oats, muesli, honey, vanilla, coconut oil (if you are using it) and the peanut butter into a bowl and combining the ingredients until the muesli and oats stick together, then add the mixture to a baking tray and press the mixture into the tin evenly. Place in the fridge for 1 hour or the freezer for 30 minutes to harden.
- Take your dark chocolate and chunk it into smaller pieces and place half of the mixture into a saucepan to melt. When the chocolate has melted proceed to add the milk and the second half of the chocolate and leave on the stove, on a low heat until the chocolate thickens. Remove and leave to cool.
- When your flapjack base has set, add the cooled chocolate to the top and place back in the fridge or freezer until the ganache has set completely, this may take longer than 1 hour.
- Lastly, chunk the White chocolate and place in a small dish and into the microwave for 1 minute, stir and drizzle over the flapjacks when they are set.
- Slice the flapjacks into bars and eat on the go, for a snack, or as part of your kids breakfast or lunch.
NB: For better results bake for 10 minutes on a medium heat and then place in the freezer to harden. The base seems to set better with the coconut oil. For more recipes, reviews and ideas follow me on Instagram – @TheHungryWelshGirl and tag me in any of the recipes you try. I would love to see what you create and hear what you think.
Peanut Butter Crusted French Toast
At the beginning of the year I made and ate so much protein French toast that eventually the mere sight of it, made me want to gag and the same goes for proats too. I just couldn’t stomach the thought of making either ever again – until Christmas eve. As most of you know or should know, I follow a flexible/balanced approach to eating and I practise this all year around. So when Christmas sneaks up on me, I never feel the need to overindulge and I rarely do. But, when I came up with this idea late on Christmas eve, eve; I couldn’t wait to create it and I definitely felt like I was overindulging, but I didn’t care and I ate every morsel. Continue reading “Peanut Butter Crusted French Toast”
Mince Pies for Santa
We all know Santa loves a mince pie or two, but we also know that sometimes mince pies contain alcohol and drinking and driving is strictly prohibited – even for the elves – which is why these mince pies are alcohol free. I haven’t had a mince pie all year, so I was anxiously anticipating for the day to arrive when I could make my own and that day just so happened to be Friday – a week away from Christmas day – and they were worth the wait. I used the marmalade which I had left over from my St Clemente tartlets in my own variation of mince meat and I was impressed; I also added some Irish cream flavouring from the Skinny Syrups range too.
For the pie cases I used the same recipe that I made for the St Clemente tartlets, but doubled it so I would have enough pastry for the lids too. I would recommend making the mince meat a few days to a week prior to when you plan to make these mince pies as the longer it has to soak the better the end result, especially if you decide to use alcohol. I made my mince meat two weeks ahead and the flavour was delicious.
Ingredients: Mince Meat
- 100g Dried Figs
- 100g Soft Dates
- 100g Sultanas
- 50g Walnuts
- 60g Chunky Apple Puree
- 60g St Clemente Marmalade
- 45ml Orange Juice
- 2 tsp Cinnamon
- 1 tsp Mixed Spice/Pumpkin Spice
- 45ml Irish Cream Flavouring or Irish Whiskey
- 1/3 cup Sweetener
Ingredients: Pastry
- 100g Rolled Oats
- 50g Sukrin Coconut Flour
- 60g Grass-Fed Butter or Coconut Oil
- 1 Free Range Eggs
- 1 tsp Baking Powder
- 1/5 Cup Sweetener
- 2 Tbsp Honey
- 2 tbsp Ice-Cold Water
Directions
- Pre-heat an oven to 170c
- Add the rolled oats to a food processor and blend into a flour, before adding the eggs, baking powder, sweetener and coconut flour and proceed to blend the ingredients together.
- Cube the butter and add it to the mixture and pulse the food processor so that the butter isn’t blended up completely, but chunked through the flour. Continue to add the ice cold water to bring the ingredients into a ball of dough. Cover and put in the fridge for 30 minutes.
- Sterilise a countertop and dust with some flour, before rolling the pastry flat and cutting 8 round shapes from it. Press the pastry into a greased muffin tin and fill with the mince meat. Follow the same process to make the lids, place over the top of the cases, press gently around the sides and pop into the oven for 20 minutes.
NB: You should have about half the mince meat left after you have made these mince pies, you can double the pastry recipe and make more mince pies, or save it and make the mini Christmas cakes I have coming up over the next week.
For more recipes and ideas follow me on Instagram – @TheHungryWelshGirl and tag me in any of the recipes -I would love to see what you create and hear what you all think.
© The Hungry Welsh Girl 2016
All photos, recipes and texts are copyrighted unless otherwise stated.
All Rights Reserved.
Sticky Toffee Date Pudding
I’ve never actually eaten sticky toffee pudding before. Although, I have always fancied it. Who wouldn’t? A rich, gooey vanilla date cake drowned in a sweet, sticky toffee sauce – the words on their own have me drooling. I don’t know why I’ve never eaten it, I guess I don’t eat out very often and when I do, I never have dessert. This cake is so easy to make and because there is a large amount of dates in the cake, the amount of fat required is pretty non-existent which is why I went all out for my toffee sauce and used grass-fed butter.
The sticky puding itself was so unctuous and delicious: gooey and crunchy with pecans on the inside. I loved it. Every bite I had, had me craving for more and it took all the willpower inside of me, not to eat the other three t00. These sticky toffee date puddings are small: ramekin sized, but do not be fooled by the size of these gems because only one kept me full for hours. I did use Kodiak Cakes power cakes pancake mix for these puddings, which I bought from Cardiff Sports Nutrition, but wholemeal flour can be used as a substitute.
Ingredients
- 200g Soft Dates
- 70g Kodiak Cakes Pancake Mix
- 30g Sukrin Coconut Flour
- 60ml Vegan Milk
- 35g Pecans
- 100ml Water
- 3 tbsp Maple Syrup
- 2 tsp Cinnamon
- 1 tsp Vanilla
- 1 tsp Baking Powder
Sticky Toffee Sauce
- 250ml Maple Syrup
- 25g Grass-fed Butter (Margarine or Coconut Oil for vegan)
- 30ml Milk
- 1-2 tsp Vanilla Extract
Directions
- Place the dates in a saucepan with the water and bring to a boil for 10 minutes, reduce the heat and boil for another 10 minutes or until the dates are soft. Blend them into a puree, in a food processor.
- Combine the dry ingredients in a mixing bowl and in a separate bowl beat the egg, add the egg into the dates and then stir the dates into the dry ingredients. The pudding mixture may be a bit sloppy.
- Grease 3 ramekins and evenly fill them with the pudding mixture. Place the ramekins in a rectangular dish, with enough water in the bottom of the dish to cover it – cover the puddings with foil and cook the toffee date puddings for 25-30 minutes. The bain marie will steam the puddings and stop the sides from burning and sticking. But, it will also keep the inside of the puddings moist.
- After 20 minutes remove the foil and cook for a further 10 minutes. Insert a knife into the centre of the cakes and if it is clean when removed, the cakes are done.
When your puddings are cooking, you can make the toffee sauce.
- Bring the maple syrup to a boil in a saucepan for 5 minutes, then reduce the heat and stir in the butter, vanilla and milk. When the toffee sauce has thickened remove from the heat and pour over the warm toffee date puddings and serve immediately.
For more recipes, reviews and ideas follow me on Instagram – @TheHungryWelshGirl and tag me in any of the recipes you try as I would love to see what you create and hear what you think.
© The Hungry Welsh Girl 2016
All photos, recipes and texts are copyrighted unless otherwise stated.
All Rights Reserved.
Vegetarian Herb Pate
Do you have a vegetarian or vegan visiting you over the Christmas period? Are you are at a loss as to what to serve them? I know it can be stressful to cook at Christmas time – there’s just so much to get done – then throw a vegetarian or vegan into the mix and you have yourself a very stressful little Christmas; as you not only have to be extra vigilant with the ingredients, but you also have to be aware of cross contamination too. Well, look no further my little beauties because I have you all covered with this delicious vegetarian herb pate, which can also be adapted to suit vegans too. It’s so good in fact, it will have your guests singing the famous words in chorus – “Please Sir, can I have some more?”.
As always I used Quorn in this pate recipe, as I have a lot of respect for the brand and everything they have tried to accomplish over the years for not only vegetarians, but also people who are trying to lead a healthier life and cut back on fat and meat. I’ve eaten Quorn since I was 11 years old and like a fine wine, it has only got better with time. It’s funny because most people assume humans can only get their essential amino acids from meat, but Quorn products actually contain all of the amino acids that an adult requires; it’s also high in protein and fibre too with some of their products being low carb, gluten free and now vegan as well. I know what you’re all thinking ‘She must be affiliated with Quorn in some way or another!’ and that’s simply not true. I just love their products, as they are all versatile and I think this vegetarian herb pate is a perfect example of just how versatile it actually is, not only that, but I love the flavour too.
Jar Sterilising
If you plan to make this ahead of time then you will need to sterilise the jars which you intend storing the pate in, but don’t worry, it’s not hard. Take your jars, wash them in hot soapy water, then place them in the oven for 40 minutes to an hour at 200c. Remove them and leave them cool at room temperature. Do not run the jars under cold water, as they will crack.
Ingredients
- 120g Quorn Mince
- 100g Quorn Chicken Pieces (they do a vegan version too)
- 2 Medium Shallots
- 100g Chestnut Mushrooms
- 1/2 Scoop (15g) of Pea Protein
- 60g Low-fat Soft Cheese (Whipped Coconut Cream for vegan)
- 20g Grass-fed Butter (Margarine or Coconut oil for vegan)
- 1 Garlic Clove
- 2 tsp Mixed Herbs
- 1 tsp Chilli Powder
- 1/2 tsp Turmeric
- Salt to taste
NB: I urge you to flavour the pate based on your own taste. It took me quite a while to flavour the pate, so please use the above measurements as a guide and base the end result off, of your own taste buds for best results.
Directions
- Chop your mushrooms and fry them in a heated frying pan on a medium heat until they start to soften. Peel and chop the shallot and toss it in with the mushrooms. When the shallot starts to soften, add in the Quorn mince and Quorn chicken pieces, as well as the garlic, herbs, spices and ACV and leave to cook until everything has softened and warmed through – leave to cool. If the ingredients start to stick to the frying pan then drizzle a little oil or butter.
- When the mixture is cool, add the cooked ingredients to a food processor and blend until the mixture is almost a puree. At this point you can add in the soft cheese and pea protein.
NB: If you are making the vegan version of this herb pate, after you have blended the ingredients once; whip some coconut cream with an electric whisk and gently fold the cream into the ingredients. As I haven’t tried this version before I’m not sure if there will be a hint of coconut in the pate, but it may be able to be masqueraded by adding some more herbs: taste as you progress. A better alternative would be a vegan soft cheese ( if you can find it) or blend tofu instead. The purpose of the soft cheese is to give the pate a mousse-like texture that is reminiscent of the meat pate, but also because it makes the pate easier to spread. You could omit the whipped coconut cream altogether, but I can’t guarantee the end results will be as successful as the vegetarian version.
- When your pate is complete it should have a bouncy, airy texture to it. If the mushrooms have made the pate too liquid, then add a touch more pea protein and blend again; spoon the mixture into your sterilised jars and cover with equal amounts of melted butter.
For more recipes, reviews and ideas follow me on Instagram – @TheHungryWelshGirl and please tag me in any of the recipes you try as I would love to see what you create and also hear what you think.
© The Hungry Welsh Girl 2016
All photos, recipes and texts are copyrighted unless otherwise stated.
All Rights Reserved.
St Clemente Tartlets
It’s only the second day of December and I’m already feeling the Christmas blues. I think the older I get, the more I turn into Scrooge and while there are many things about Christmas I have grown to hate, thankfully food isn’t one of them. I’ve been planning my Christmas recipes for weeks, mainly to keep myself sane throughout the festive month, but I also wanted to create some recipes that I hadn’t seen before, because while traditional is lovely, different is even better. Continue reading “St Clemente Tartlets”
Creamy No Churn Ice-Cream
Ice-cream is one of my favourite dessert foods, it goes well with everything: brownies, cake, cookies; everything and like the majority of the world, I’ve always wanted to make my own ice-cream, minus the ice-cream maker. I just don’t have the money or space in my kitchen for another gadget that I wouldn’t use that often. So when I came across this recipe for a no-churn ice-cream on pinterest, I rushed out and got all of the ingredients straight away. Actually, that’s a lie…I just did an online order from Asda because the twenty first century rocks like that. At the time of this epic discovery I didn’t stop to think about alternatives to have less calories, which I find incredible because usually I’d have counted the macros and probably not have ended up making this which would have been a HUGE mistake as this is fantastic ice-cream and because of the fat, it’s filling too and one scoop should be more than enough for you. Continue reading “Creamy No Churn Ice-Cream”
Quadruple Chocolate & Banana Peanut Butter Cake
I’m sure with the amount of posts I add to Instagram my followers must think I bake all day everyday and while I really wish that were true and I that I could do this for a living, sadly it’s not. The truth is, I just create recipes that are quick and easy and I try to keep ingredients to a minimum when possible, which is why I can bake a batch of cookies and a cake in less than an hour. I won’t lie to you though, it wouldn’t be possible without my sous chef Kenny; he’s just a whizz in the kitchen and makes my life so much easier ( Kenny
Now about that cake…
I felt like something decadent and chocolatey last night and I knew as soon as I woke, I would be making the most 
chocolatey cake I had ever eaten: with banana and peanut butter, because I can’t seem to get enough banana cake lately. For the banana cake to be quadruple chocolate I needed most of the ingredients to be chocolate – duh – and thankfully I had some Reese’s dark chocolate peanut butter hiding unopened in the back of my cupboard and combined with cacao, dark chocolate and chocolate protein powder I had myself a quadruple chocolate, banana and peanut butter cake. While the taste and texture was spot on for me, I was disappointed that the cake didn’t rise into a voluptuous chocolate loaf and this seems to be a common problem with my baking: nothing ever rises. I understand that a cake with protein powder will rise to a point and then deflate like a party balloon – in my experience – when removed from the oven, but this happens even when I don’t use protein powder. Maybe I’m not using enough ingredients? Obviously I’m no Mary Berry, so if anyone knows the answer to this and where I’m going wrong, please feel free to help a girl out and comment below! Diolch Yn Fawr 🙂
Ingredients
- 200g Banana
- 50g Rolled Oats
- 50g Chocolate Protein Powder
- 50g Chocolate Peanut Butter
( I used Reeses)
- 30g Cacao Powder
- 40g Dark Chocolate
- 1 Free Range Egg White
- 1 Free Range Whole Egg
- 100ml Almond Milk
- 1 tsp Baking Powder
- 1 tsp Bicarbonate of Soda
- 2 tbsp Stevia
Directions
- Pre-heat your oven to 175c/347F (fan-assisted)
- Add the rolled oats to a food processor and blend until the oats have turned into a powder/flour, now toss in all of the other ingredients ( minus the chocolate) and blend until the batter is smooth.
- Using a knife cut your chocolate into chunks, roll them in a little protein powder and fold them into the cake batter with a spoon.
- Pour the batter into a Teflon loaf tin or line a loaf tin with greaseproof paper, then pop the tin into the oven for 20-25minutes. Stick a knife into the centre of the loaf and if it is clean when removed, the cake is cooked.
If you are vegan, you can omit the eggs and add more banana, or a combination of both apple and banana and use a Vegan Chocolate Protein Powder instead of the vegetarian one I linked to above.
instead of the vegetarian one I linked to above.For more recipes, reviews and ideas follow me on Instagram: @Happy.Hungry.Healthy or Twitter: @HungryWelshGirl and tag me in any recipes you try, I’d love to hear what you think.
