Nourishing You
I absolutely love to cook and bake!
For me, spending time in the kitchen relaxes my mind and helps me to feel calm. Not to mention, it is often followed by lovely tasty food that satisfies my belly and my brain!
Over the years I have come across many different sorts of food from all over the world and I enjoy coming home and recreating dishes I have had the pleasure of eating.
Eating a well balanced diet and feeling suitably nourished is very important on and off the yoga mat. I like to make sure my body is fuelled correctly with a variety of foods to makes sure I'm getting everything I need.
Although I love to eat healthy food and it makes me feel good, I also know that it's not practical to be good all the time.
It's good to be able to listen to your body and understand when a cheeky treat is needed!
Enjoy the recipes I have chosen to share with you!
Happy cooking xx
Beautiful Banana Bread
Gluten and refined sugar free - can also easily be made vegan
Ingredients
⅓ cup (75g) melted coconut oil
½ cup honey (168g) or maple syrup (155g)
2 eggs
1 cup (225g) mashed ripe bananas (about 2 ½ medium or 2 large bananas)
¼ cup (56g) oat or soya milk
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla extract
½ tsp salt
½ tsp ground cinnamon
1 ¾ cups (220g) gluten free flour
Optional: ½ cup mix-ins - I like chopped walnuts and raisins
Method
1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit (165 degrees Celsius) and grease a 9×5-inch loaf pan
2. In a large bowl, beat the oil and honey together with a whisk. Add the eggs and beat well, then whisk in the mashed bananas and milk. (If your coconut oil solidifies on contact with cold ingredients, simply let the bowl rest in a warm place for a few minutes)
3. Add the baking soda, vanilla, salt and cinnamon, and whisk to combine
4. Lastly, switch to a big spoon and stir in the flour, just until combined. Some lumps are ok! If you’re adding any additional mix-ins, gently fold them in now
5. Pour the batter into your greased loaf pan
6. Bake for 55 to 60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean (typically, if I haven’t added any mix-ins, my bread is done at 55 minutes; if I have added mix-ins, it needs closer to 60 minutes).
7. Let the bread cool in the loaf pan for at least 10 minutes. You may need to run a butter knife around the edges to loosen the bread from the pan.
8. Carefully transfer the loaf to a wire rack to cool before slicing.
Seriously Chocolatey Brownies
Ingredients
175g Cadbury's dairy milk chocolate
40g cocoa powder
175g unsalted butter
3 eggs
250g caster sugar
75g flour
Optional 50g chopped walnuts
Method
1. Line your baking tray with parchment.
2. Preheat oven to 180 degrees
3. Melt the chocolate over a pan of boiling water
4. Whisk the eggs and sugar in a mixing bowl until smooth and fluffy
5. Add the chocolate and mix well
6. Mix in the flour and cocoa till well combined
7. Fold in chopped walnuts
8. Pour the mixture into the baking tray and cook for 30 minutes
9. Cool completely before taking them out of the tin
10. Cut into delicious chunks and serve
Warming Red Lentil Dahl
Vegan friendly and gluten free
Ingredients
1 tsp coconut oil
2 onions diced
3 cloves of garlic finely chopped
1 tbsp fresh ginger peeled and grated
½ fresh red chilli
½ tsp cumin seeds, coriander seeds and mustard seeds
2 tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp garam masala
1 cup (200g) dried red lentils
1 can of chopped tomatoes
1 can of coconut milk (I used the light version)
2 cups (500ml) vegetable stock
Salt and pepper
Juice of ½ lemon
2 handfuls of fresh spinach washed
Method
1. Heat coconut oil in a large pan on a medium heat
2. Add the onion and cook gently for 5 minutes
3. Add the garlic, ginger and red chilli and heat through
4. Grind the cumin, coriander and mustard seeds lightly in a pestle and mortar and add to the pan along with the turmeric and garam masala nd cook for 1 minute
5. Add the lentils, tomatoes, coconut milk and stock, stir until combined
6. Season with salt and pepper and cook on a low / medium heat for 15 to 20 minutes until reduced and thick, add the spinach for the final 5 minutes
I like to serve mine with roasted vegetables or rice.
Claire's Favourite Coffee and Walnut Cake
Ingredients
For the cake
225g of unsalted butter, softened
225g of caster sugar
4 large free range eggs, beaten
1tbsp of instant coffee granules mixed with 1tbsp of boiling water
225g of self-raising flour
75g of chopped walnuts
For the filling and topping
100g icing sugar, sifted
150ml double cream
100g mascarpone, at room temperature
Method
1. Preheat oven to 180°C. Grease and line 2 x 8 inch (20cm) sandwich tins with baking paper
2. Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy
3. Add the beaten eggs, a little at a time, with a tablespoon of flour to stop it curdling, and beat well between each addition of egg and flour
4. Add any remaining flour along with the coffee and walnuts and mix well
5. Divide the cake mixture between the two sandwich tins and bake for 20–25 minutes, or until well risen and a dark golden brown.
6. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 2 minutes before turning the cakes out onto a wire rack
Whilst the cake is cooling make the filling and topping
1. Beat together the icing sugar, cream and mascarpone, then fold in the reserved 2tbsp coffee
2. Once the cake is completely cooled spread over the plain cake to make a sandwich and add more for the topping
3. Decorate with walnuts
Osk's Golden Milk Ladoos
Ingredients
1 cup ground almond
1 cup desiccated coconut
1-2 tsp turmeric
1-2 tsp ground ginger
2-3 tbs honey
2-3 tbs coconut oil
Pinch of nutmeg
Pinch of ground cardamon
Pinch of salt and pepper
Method
1. Put all the ingredients in a bowl and mix thoroughly - when adding the ginger and turmeric add a teaspoon first and then gradually add more according to taste
2. Roll into bite-sized balls
3. Sprinkle with a little extra desicacated coconut
4. Place in the fridge until chilled
Fantastic Flapjack
Ingredients
200g coconut oil
50ml honey
150g chopped dates
400g porridge oats
100g milled linseed
Optional extras:
Desiccated coconut, raisins, dried apricots, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, chocolate chips, central layer of mincemeat at Christmas)
Method
1. Preheat oven to 180*C
2. Line a deep baking tray with baking parchment
3. In a pan, gently melt the coconut oil and honey
4. Add the chopped dates and mix. Give the dates a bit of a bash so they become gooey.
5. Put all the dry ingredients into a large bowl and mix in the coconut oil, honey and dates until the oats are coated.
6. Carefully put the mixture into the baking tray and use a potato masher to ensure everything is compressed and evenly distributed.
7. Bake for approximately 12-15 minutes until golden on the top.
8. Leave to cool completely in the tin and then cut into squares.
9. Store in an airtight container and enjoy!
