BBQ RECIPE: Cajun and Piri Piri Corn on the Cob

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Corn on the Cob is a BBQ classic and as a vegetarian an absolute must. But why always serve it with butter and maybe a grind of black pepper? By adding a few extra ingredients you can transform the humble corn on the cob into something that will truly blow you away with flavour! Simple, easy and quick to prepare, these three ways are sure to be big hits at your next BBQ. There's something so understated about this usual side dish, but honestly the addition of Piri Piri and Cajun takes the corn on the cob to the next level. 

MEAL PLANNING: A week on a toddlers plate #2

A while ago now I put together a meal planning post featuring lots of Isabella's meals, which you can see here. It went down really well, so I thought I'd put together another one to help meal planning and ideas. It can be tricky thinking of new, interesting meals, so I hope this inspires you to try something new with your little one. All of these recipes are easy to put together and I will often make a batch of something and then give it to Isabella in different forms throughout the week, in an attempt to keep her discovering new foods, flavours and tastes. 

RECIPE: Carrot, Apple and Raisin Breakfast Cookies

Who wouldn't want a cookie for breakfast? Isabella is certainly up for 'biscuit' at breakfast time and these ones are full of fruit/vegetable goodness so I let her indulge. She especially enjoys these spread with a little bit of 100% peanut butter or dipped into natural yogurt. These breakfast cookies are beautifully sweet, with a crunchy outside and softer centre. They're also perfect for on-the-go or as a child friendly snack. I love using Sweet Freedom Fruit Syrup in baking, but you could replace this with honey if you prefer. I love having this as a quick breakfast and because they're full of fruit/vegetables they're a healthier option too.

RECIPE: Warming Halloumi and Vegetable Bake

What did the cheese say when it looked in the mirror? HALLOUMI! Sorry for the cheesy joke...I couldn't help myself. Halloumi has fast become my favourite cheese (probably thanks to Nandos!), but up until recently I haven't been very adventurous with cooking it at home. Aside from grilled tomatoes and halloumi I don't really cook 'main meals' with it. That's how this meal came about - it's a 'clear the fridge out' kind of meal, as well as being a nice centre piece for a dinner party. You can swap and change the vegetables in the base in accordance to what you need to use up - don't you love meals like that? Onto the recipe...

HEALTHY RECIPE: Banana Milkshake

Every now and again I get cravings for certain foods, I've read that this is because my body needs the nutrients that that food has but who knows? Recently I had been really wanting a fresh banana milkshake, which is unusual as I'd always go for a chocolate milkshake. I remembered making a really easy milkshake when we were children, using up the slightly 'over ripe' bananas we hadn't eaten. This is the easiest and most simple recipe ever but I thought I'd share it with you just in case you don't know how to make a healthy banana milkshake really quickly!


You'll only need 3 ingredients:

If you ever have bananas that are starting to go too brown to eat then it's a good idea to peel and slice them, pop them into a freezer bag and put them into the freezer. You're not wasting any food and you'll always have a supply of banana milkshake waiting to be made. Perfect.


Some other optional ingredients you could add to this milkshake are: honey, chocolate milkshake powder (e.g. Nesquick), maple syrup, Nutella etc.

What to do:


1) Put 200ml Skimmed Milk (you could use any kind of milk), one frozen banana and around 14 ice cubes into a jug/blender. I used a hand blender because our blender is so weak and wouldn't blitz the ice up.

2) Blend until you get the desired consistency - I wanted mine to be quite thick so I made sure the proportion of ice to milk was higher. It's completely up to you though.

3) Pour into a glass and enjoy. It's really that simple.

Have you got any healthy smoothie/milkshake recipes?

I'd love to see them :)

REVIEW: Soreen - The Original Malt Loaf Company

Soreen Fruity Five* (£1.20 or currently on offer 2 for £2 from Tesco) is one of their newer malt loaves, it's packed full of dried fruit and reminds me of Christmas for some reason! 

Having malt loaf when I was younger was such a treat, the squidgy-ness spread with margarine and consumed in almost one mouthful was (and still is) complete heaven. I remember leaving for university, the first time I had full reign of what I ate and I would buy a Soreen Malt Loaf almost every week. Somehow you have a couple of slices and before you know it nearly the whole loaf has disappeared! It's just so moreish. If you've never tried it before you are seriously missing out - it's chewy, squidgy, packed full of raisins and can be eaten in a variety of different ways.

Soreen Toastie Loaf* (£1.20 from Tesco) is ideal for breakfast, toasting malt loaf is a new concept to me but it's so warming for colder days.

I have to admit I do tend to eat Soreen Malt Loaf spread with margarine but having had a peek at their website the options are endless, as is their range now! I couldn't believe how many different varieties of Soreen Malt Loaf there is now; from chocolate to banana to apple and sultana! After reading their 'Yummy Ideas' area of their website I now have a long list of recipes I can't wait to try out, I just need to get loads more as all of the products below have mysteriously disappeared (in my tummy)!

Soreen Banana Lunchbox Loaves* (£1.35 from Tesco) can fit nicely in a lunch box for a healthier alternative to chocolate bars. The banana loaf is really tasty, it's a lot lighter than the original malt loaf and can be eaten without margarine if you prefer.

These recipes are at the top of my list....

Soreen Best Ever Brownies

Chocolate Soreen Flapjack

Soreen Sumptuous Apple Pie

Soreen Baked Alaska

(I don't think I've ever tried a Baked Alaska before but I think I'd love it!)

Soreen Apple and Sultana* (£1.20 or currently on offer 2 for £2 from Tesco) is also a new addition to their range, I really liked this one because the apples somehow made it quite refreshing.

Which is your favourite variety from the Soreen Malt Loaf range?

Have you tried any of the recipes?

I'd love to know which ones are work a try :)

REVIEW: Natvia - The 100% Natural ZERO Calorie Sweetener

I don't know if you caught that Channel 4 Dispatches documentary called 'Are you addicted to sugar?' that was on a couple of months ago - it was about the effect of eating too much sugar on your body and how much sugar there actually is in some products? It's seriously surprising how much sugar is in some of the 'healthier' options, you might think choosing a smoothie or granola is definitely healthier but sometimes the sugar level is ridiculously high!

Here are some sugar facts for you...

(For reference, this is the amount the NHS recommend is a high and low amount of sugar '

Look for the "Carbohydrates (of which sugars)" figure in the nutrition label. High – over 22.5g of total sugars per 100g. Low – 5g of total sugars or less per 100g. If the amount of sugars per 100g is between these figures, then that is a medium level of sugars.')


M&S Count On Us contains 36.1g of sugar per 100g - that's 18g per average serving.


Cranberry juice is highly sweetened - a medium 250ml glass contains a whopping 36.3g of sugar. 


Safeway's Low Fat Yogurt with hazelnut contains 17.1g of sugar per 100g and 25.7g per pot. 


Ketchups are sugar-rich, with Heinz Tomato Ketchup containing 23.6g sugar per 100g or 2.6g per serving. 


Sainsbury's Low Fat Coleslaw Salad contains 6.1g of sugar per 100g - that's 15g per 250ml pot. M&S Low-Fat Coleslaw contains a little less, at 5.4g of sugar per 100g. 


(Sugar facts taken from here)

We have become to love foods that taste sweet, whether it be something you'd expect to taste sweet like a cake or something you may not expect, like bread. One way of cutting down your sugar in take (and therefore calorie intake) is using a sweetener. Sweetener's used to worry me, they seemed very 'fake' and manufactured but nowadays you can get ZERO calorie sweeteners that are 100% natural - what's not to like?!

Natvia is a zero calorie, 100% derived from natural ingredients, low GI and can be used for cooking and baking. The ideal alternative to sugar and other calorific, manufactured sweeteners. Natvia doesn't taste 'fake' and works well in hot drinks, baking, cooking and on it's own - it's so versatile!

Natvia is available around the world but more locally to the UK, you can buy it at Planet Organic, a range of pharmacy's and wholefood shops. If you type your local town into this search, then you can find the stockist most local to you - here.

Are you interested in trying to cut down your sugar intake?

Feel free to leave me a comment :)

HEALTHY RECIPE: Spicy Tuna Burgers

I whipped these up for Tom on one of my days off, they're so easy and flavoursome - or so I'm told! As a vegetarian I clearly don't eat these, in fact I try and make them without touching the tuna at all (which can be done!). I saw a recipe for a tuna burger that used fresh tuna steak, which I didn't have so I adapted it, added mashed potato and came up with these Spicy Tuna Burgers.

What you need:

1 can of Tuna

2 small Potatoes or 1 large Potato, cubed

15g Butter

3 tbsp Skimmed Milk

1/2 Red onion, finely chopped

1 Garlic Clove, crushed

1 tbsp Vegetable Oil

2 tbsp Breadcrumbs

1 tbsp Sesame Seeds

1 tsp Dried Chilli Flakes

Black Pepper

What to do:

1) Boil the potato for 20 minutes or until completely soft. Mash with the butter and milk, until smooth but still relatively firm. It needs to be able to hold the burgers together.

2) Fry the onions, black pepper and chilli flakes on a medium heat for around 10 minutes or until they're completely cooked. Add in the sesame seeds after around 8 minutes cooking.

3) In a bowl, mix the drained tuna, mashed potato, onion mix and breadcrumbs. Heat oil in a frying pan. At this point you can mould the burgers into disc shapes with your hands (yuk!) but I just used a spoon and the side of the bowl! Fry the burgers for around 5 minutes on each side. The outside should be crispy and the middle soft and fluffy.

4) You can serve these in a roll with tomato ketchup or with a salad for a healthier option. Or even with chips, as a healthier alternative to fish and chips.  

Feel free to leave me a comment :)

RECIPE: Lower Calorie White Chocolate Cheesecake

A couple of weeks ago we visited Tom's family for dinner, Tom's mum is so welcoming and always produces mountains of delicious food. It's such a lovely time together. Tom's sister made a White Chocolate and Raspberry Cheesecake, now I'm not usually a cheesecake fan and Tom certainly isn't (he doesn't like cheese at all - bizarre) but I had a slice and have been craving it again ever since! As I'm trying to eat more healthily and consume slightly fewer calories, cheesecake clearly doesn't fit in well with that aim. A regular cheesecake slice has between 350-550 calories - PER SLICE! I know it's a treat but that is a lot of calories, so I made it my mission to come up with a recipe for a lower calorie cheesecake. This is a white chocolate cheesecake, so it could be even lower in calories if you omit the white chocolate (so that it's like a New York cheesecake). 

When I started looking for a lower calorie cheesecake I found so many recipes that I thought could be made even lower in calories. So I took a couple of risks (luckily they paid off) and created this delicious recipe that doesn't compromise on texture or flavour.

I'm no calorie expert, so don't take this calorie count as precisely correct but I've tried to add together the calories from all of the ingredients I used and then divided them by 16 for a portion. I worked out that per slice this recipe is around 135 kcal, not bad compared to the 350-550 kcal you'd usually find in a cheesecake slice.

What you'll need:

6 Fat Reduced Digestive Biscuits, crushed

35g Lighter Flora

1 1/2 tubs of Extra Light Soft Cheese (I used Tesco's)

1/2 Ricotta

1 Egg, beaten

1 tsp Vanilla Extract

150g White Chocolate, melted

3 tbsp Cornflour

7 tbsp Sweetener (I used Canderel), this can be changed depending on how much of a sweet tooth you have.

What to do:

1) Preheat the oven at 200'C. Put the Lighter Flora into a microwavable bowl and microwave for 30 seconds, or until it is completely melted. Mix in the crushed biscuits to form the base. As I didn't have a large springform cake tin, I used two smaller ones (from The Range). Spray your container with FryLight or grease with Lighter Flora, then press in the biscuit mix. Make sure that it is all firmly compacted down and bake for 10 minutes.

2) In a bowl mix the soft cheese, ricotta, vanilla extract, cornflour, melted white chocolate, beaten egg and sweetener. Once completely combined pour into the baked biscuit base.

3) Cook for 10 minutes at 200'C. After the 10 minutes open the oven door for 3 minutes (if using an electric oven) and then continue cooking the cheesecake at 110'C for 25 minutes. 

4) Once the 25 minutes is up the cheesecake should still be wobbly in the middle but solid around the edges. Turn the oven off completely and leave in the oven for 2 hours to cool gently. At this point a lot of recipes I've read then said loosen off the sides of the cheesecake and put back in the cooling oven for another 1 1/2 hours. I didn't have time for this, as I wanted to cook dinner (priorities!), so I removed them after the initial 2 hours and they were fine. I'm not sure if it would have been ok if I'd done a bigger cheesecake, rather than two smaller ones. The gradual cooling is to prevent a crack appearing across the cheesecake.

5) I served this delicious white chocolate cheesecake with some defrosted berries.

Are you a cheesecake fan?

Feel free to leave me a comment :)

HEALTHY RECIPE: Sweet Potato Brownies

About 4 weeks ago I started trying to eat more healthily, I stopped eating so much processed food and started eating more natural foods. This prompted me to search the internet for tasty recipes that didn't involve loads of specialist ingredients. I came across a healthy food blog called Deliciously Ella - it's the most fantastic blog if your looking for vegan, gluten free, healthy recipes! On Deliciously Ella I came across a recipe for Sweet Potato Brownies, my first reaction was disgust and then I became intrigued. The 'brownies' looked so moist (my least favourite word in the world!) and delicious, so after a rubbish day at work last week I decided to do some therapeutic baking. Normally I would have picked up lots of chocolate and baked chocolate muffins or cookies but I'm trying so hard to stick to this healthy eating that I ignored my want for real chocolate and baked these healthier brownies instead.

I can't believe how good they are, baring in mind they don't have any chocolate in - just cocoa powder. They are not too far off a real brownie, obviously they aren't quite as yummy as a triple chocolate brownie but for the health benefits and over half the calories - they are a perfect alternative. I found some of the ingredients Ella uses quite difficult to source at 5pm on a Thursday afternoon, so this version is Supermarket friendly as I got all these ingredients from my local Tesco.

What you'll need:

(recipe adapted from Deliciously Ella)

3 Medium Sweet Potatoes, peeled and chopped into chunks

2/3 of a cup of Ground Almonds

1/2 a cup of Rice Flour (available in the 'World Food' section of Tesco)

1/2 a packet of Dried Dates

2 tbsp Cocoa Powder

5 tbsp Maple Syrup

What to do:

1) Preheat the oven at 190'C. Put the chopped sweet potato into a microwave proof bowl, cover with cling film and microwave on high for 5 minutes. Check how soft the sweet potato is, mine needed another 4 minutes before it was 'squashable' with the back of a knife.

2) Blend the dates and now soft sweet potato in a food processer, until it's completely smooth. This combination is surprisingly tasty and sweet! Put the rest of the ingredients in with the sweet potato/date mix and combine well.

3) Put into a lined baking tray and cook for around 20 minutes. My brownies took more like 35 minutes, so just keep testing them - once a knife comes out clean then you know they're cooked.

4) Allow them to cool in the tin for 10 minutes, then remove them from the tin and cut into whichever size you would like. Personally I prefer smaller brownies of this mixture, as it is quite rich.

Have you tried any 'healthy' versions of our unhealthy favourites?

Feel free to leave me a comment :)