Tofu Burgers

Another vegetarian burger, using tofu as a great source of protein (16.5g per burger), with healthy fats coming from walnuts. The tofu absorbs all the great flavours - soy sauce, mustard, hot chili sauce and basil.

A little prep work and time is required to drain the moisture from the tofu, but this is well worth the effort as the tofu crumbles easily and forms perfect patties when mixed with all of the other ingredients. The burgers are baked in the oven instead of fried, but brown really nicely and actually look like meat burgers!

To press the water from the tofu, I used paper towels for absorption and added a bit of weight using a saucepan.

Tofu Burgers
Makes 4

Ingredients:
- 450g / 16oz tofu, firm
- 30g / 1oz walnuts
- 110g / 4oz onion
- 2 cloves garlic
- 85g / 3oz carrot, grated
- 30ml / 2tbsp soy sauce, light
- 20g / 4tsp mustard (I use Dijon)
- 5g / 1tsp hot chili pepper sauce (e.g. sriracha sauce)
- 1/2tbsp basil, dried

Method:

• First, drain the tofu and squeeze out excess water by wrapping it in paper towels or a clean tea towel.
• Add a bit of weight and let the towels absorb as much tofu liquid as possible - leave for 1-2 hours.
• In a food processor, chop the walnuts into fine crumbs and then set aside.
• Using the food processor, chop the onion and garlic.
• In a frying pan, sprayed with cooking spray, cook the onion, garlic and grated carrot for 5 minutes, until softened.
• In a large bowl, add the soy sauce, mustard, hot chili pepper sauce, dried basil, walnuts and cooked onion carrot mixture.
• Stir to combine.
• Crumble the tofu in a food processor and then add to the bowl, mixing everything together.
• Form four patties and place on a baking tray.
• Bake at 200C / 400F for 20 minutes, turning halfway through, until golden brown.
• Serve on whole wheat buns or with green vegetables. ENJOY!

Nutritional Information:

Honey Almond Popcorn Balls

These delicious treats taste just like a bag of toffee/caramel popcorn: sweet and crunchy. I consider them to be a lighter and healthier version to the bags of store-bought toffee popcorn, which is usually sweetened with corn syrup and cooked in butter/oil. These balls are also the perfect snack-size and there's no need to worry about polishing off an entire bag of popcorn!

I adapted this recipe from the Thrive Market website. As mentioned in the original post, these  treats are perfect for Halloween!

Simple air popped popcorn is a great snack by itself - sprinkled with a little cinnamon or nutritional yeast. A 50g / 1/4cup serving yields about 5 cups of popped popcorn. I simply heat the kernels in a pan, with the lid on, over a medium heat, shaking the pan occasionally throughout popping so nothing burns.

Honey Almond Popcorn Balls
Makes 12

Ingredients:
- 50g / 1.8oz popcorn, unpopped
- 28g / 1oz almonds, chopped
- 64g / 4tbsp almond butter
- 80g / 4tbsp agave nectar OR honey
- 1tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2tsp cinnamon

Method:

• In a saucepan with a lid, pop the popcorn, shaking occasionally so the kernels don't burn.
• In a large bowl, combine the popcorn and chopped almonds.
• In a small saucepan, stir the agave nectar OR honey and almond butter together and let it bubble for a minute.
• Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla and cinnamon.
• Pour the sweet nutty mixture over the popcorn mixture and mix thoroughly.
• Whilst the mixture is still warm, spray hands with a nonstick spray and form popcorn into balls, squeezing gently to compact all the ingredients together. 
• Store in an air tight container for up to a week. ENJOY!

Nutritional Information:

Autumn Fruit Punch

This fruity punch can be enjoyed warmed or chilled - depending on the weather and the mood. It's refreshing as a chilled sangria but also comforting as a warm mulled wine.

In the past I've made traditional Mulled Wine and several Infused Spirits.

The nutritional information below is just for the liquid - i.e. alcohol and juice. If the boozy fruit is also eaten, add a few more calories and grams of sugar!

Autumn Fruit Punch
Makes 8 (150ml / 5floz servings)

Ingredients:
- 1 apple, sliced
- 1 pear, sliced
- 1 orange, sliced
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 8 cloves, whole
- 750ml / 1 bottle red wine
- 480ml / 16floz pomegranate juice
- 240ml / 8floz vodka OR bourbon
- 240ml / 8floz water

Method:

• Warm all ingredients gently over low heat for 15 minutes to combine and infuse the liquids and flavours. 
• Strain before serving in glasses, removing the cloves and cinnamon stick.
• If drinking chilled, allow to cool before straining and refrigerating. ENJOY!

Nutritional Information:

Butternut Squash Hummus

Further to my Butternut Squash Risotto dish posted earlier this month, this is another recipe that uses roasted, then blended squash. Why not make the two recipes together whilst the oven is hot and the food processor has squash mixture in it?

As an autumnal version to my classic hummus, which also contains chickpeas, tahini and lemon juice, this has the added tastiness of butternut squash.

I have been on a roll with butternut squash, sneaking it into all kinds of things. My favourite recipes so far include this hummus, the risotto, muffins and soup.

Butternut Squash Hummus
Makes 8 (80g serving)

Ingredients:
- 420g / 15oz butternut squash, skin on, deseeded and roughly chopped
- 1tsp ground black pepper
- 1tsp onion powder
- 1/4tsp garlic powder
- 1tsp cumin
- 1tsp coriander
- 420g / 15oz / 1 can chickpeas, drained with liquid reserved
- 30ml / 2tbsp lemon juice
- 30g / 2tbsp tahini
- 120ml / 4floz aquafaba (chickpea liquid)

Method:

• In a bowl, coat the squash with black pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, cumin and coriander.
• Roast squash in the oven at 210C / 410F for 30 minutes, until soft.
• Put all ingredients into a food processor and blend until creamy.
• Serve with chopped veg or spread on rice cakes. Enjoy!

Nutritional Information:

Curried Ginger Chicken Noodles

A super fast and delicious meal. The great thing about brown rice noodles is that they only take a few minutes to cook and are a great source of fibre, offering plenty of carbs and satiety. The combination of curry and ginger powder gives great natural flavour to the chicken and rice noodles - much healthier and just as quick as some of those packets of instant ramen noodles with very salty seasoning and artificial flavours.

I added some celery and frozen peas to the chicken and noodles but mushrooms would taste great too. Prawns would also be a tasty alternative to chicken.

Curried Ginger Chicken Noodles
Makes 2

Ingredients:
- 112g / 4oz rice noodles
- 110g / 4oz onion, chopped
- 110g / 4oz / 2 stalks celery, chopped
- 85g / 3oz peas,
- 1tbsp curry powder
- 1tsp ground ginger
- 240ml / 8floz chicken broth, reduced sodium
- 170g / 6oz chicken, cooked and shredded (I use canned chicken breast)
- 15ml / 1tbsp soy sauce, light
- 8g / 1tbsp corn starch
- 30ml / 2tbsp water

Method:

• Soak the noodles in boiling water for 5 minutes to soften, then rinse and drain. Set aside.
• Meanwhile, in a pan sprayed with cooking spray, cook the onion, celery and peas for a couple of minutes.
• Stir in the curry powder and ginger and cook for another couple of minutes.
• Add the broth, cooked chicken and soy sauce.
• Bring to boil and simmer for 5 minutes.
• Meanwhile, whisk together the cornstarch and water and then pour into the pan.
• Add the cooked noodles and stir to combine all ingredients. ENJOY!

Nutritional Information:

Butternut Squash Risotto

Apparently September was national rice month. I must've missed the memo about this. Nevertheless, I've been meaning to use some more home-grown butternut squash and I also wanted to try this risotto recipe from the Deliciously Ella cookbook/blog. I adapted the recipe slightly but I love the combination of squash, nutritional yeast and tahini.

Butternut Squash Risotto
Makes 4

Ingredients:
- 840g / 30oz butternut squash, skin on, deseeded and cubed
- 2tsp paprika
- 1tsp cumin
- 170g / 6oz brown rice
- 16g / 2tbsp nutritional yeast
- 15g / 1tbsp tahini
- 30ml / 2tbsp lemon juice
- 30ml / 2tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 1/2tsp mixed herbs
- 120ml / 4floz water, if necessary
- ground black pepper

Method:

• In a bowl, coat the butternut squash with paprika and cumin, then place on a baking tray, lined with foil.
• Roast the butternut squash in the oven at 210C / 410F for 30 minutes, until cubes are soft.
• Meanwhile, boil the rice for about 30 minutes, rinse and drain.
• Place 3/4 of the roasted squash in a food processor, along with the nutritional yeast, tahini, lemon juice apple cider vinegar and mixed herbs.
• Blend until a smooth creamy consistency forms.
• Stir the blended squash mixture into the rice, adding the remaining cubes of squash and up to 1/2cup (120ml) water if necessary.
• HeatSeason with ground black pepper. 
• Serve with steamed broccoli, asparagus, or peas. ENJOY!

Nutritional Information:

Ice Cream Parfait

As an extra special treat, particularly if I fancy a little more sweetness and crunch, I sometimes make these ice cream parfaits. The base is frozen blended bananas, topped with chopped dried fruit and nuts. The recipe below uses dates and almonds but at combination of raisins, cranberries, apricots, walnuts, pecans, cashews etc. can be used.

There's quite a lot of sugar in each parfait - even though it's natural sugar from fruit - so I do only eat these occasionally.

Ice Cream Parfait
Makes 2

Ingredients:
- 2 bananas, chopped and frozen
- 5ml / 1tsp vanilla extract
- 28g / 1oz almonds, chopped
- 20g / 0.7oz dates, chopped
- 5g / 1tbsp cocoa powder, unsweetened
- 1/2tsp cinnamon

Method:

• In a small bowl, combine the chopped nuts, dates, cocoa powder and cinnamon.
• In a food processor, blend the frozen bananas with the vanilla, until smooth and creamy.
• Serve in bowls or glasses and top with chocolate nut, date mixture. ENJOY!

Nutritional Information:

Quesadillas

A quesadilla could be described as the Mexican equivalent to a grilled cheese sandwich. Instead of bread, corn or wheat tortillas are used. Vegetables, meat and cheese are added in between the tortillas and grilled.

I made quesadillas using black beans, sweet corn, tomatoes, peppers and chicken. I added avocado and grated cheese on top which made them very super tasty. Due to the number of tortillas, avocado, cheese filling, two quesadillas are quite calorific - a substantial dinner. One could be eaten as a light lunch.

Quesadillas
Makes 4

Ingredients:
- 120g / 4oz tomato, chopped
- 85g / 3 oz pepper, chopped
- 85g / 3oz sweet corn
- 85g / 3oz black beans, no salt added
- 170g / 6oz chicken, cooked and shredded
- 2tsp taco seasoning (optional)
- 8 corn OR wheat tortillas
- 85g / 3oz avocado
- 56g / 2oz cheese, grated (I use 2% milk reduced fat)

Method:

• In a pan sprayed with cooking spray, cook the pepper, tomatoes, sweet corn and black beans for 3-5 minutes.
• Add the cooked chicken and taco seasoning and stir to combine.
• Spoon the mixture on top of four corn OR flour tortillas.
• Add the avocado and sprinkle with grated cheese.
• Place the remaining four tortillas on top and press down gently to compact ingredients.
• Grill for 5-10 minutes, flipping half way through if not using a George Foreman grill, until the cheese has melted and the tortillas are slightly toasted. 
• Cut into halves or quarters. ENJOY!

Nutritional Information:

Pumpkin Chocolate Cake

As it's October, and the seasons are changing, pumpkins are beginning to appear in supermarkets as well as on door-steps and in lattes! The beauty of stocking canned pumpkin purée in my pantry means I can cook and bake with it all year round. A particular favourite meal is my Pumpkin, Kale, Ginger, Tofu Curry.

In the past I've made chocolate brownies using pumpkin and also a gooey chocolate fudge cake which is gluten, dairy and grain free. I wanted to combine both recipes and adapt them slightly to get a soft chocolaty cake with less fats than the pumpkin brownie and less sugar than the fudge cake. The brownie recipe uses more nut butter and coconut oil than the recipe below and the fudge cake has a high sugar content due to the chocolate sauce drizzled on top.

The brownie recipe also calls for flax-egg but I used aquafaba (chickpea liquid) instead and added the dry flaxseed to the flour, thus reducing the amount of flour needed by a quarter. If flaxseed is not to hand, a whole cup (120g) of flour or oat flour can be used.

If served with ice cream (frozen bananas), this would be an excellent dessert!

Pumpkin Chocolate Cake
Makes 8

Ingredients:
- 32g / 2tbsp nut butter (I use cashew or almond butter)
- 15ml / 1tbsp coconut oil, melted
- 20g / 1tbsp agave nectar OR honey
- 45ml / 3tbsp aquafaba / bean liquid
- 160g / 6oz pumpkin purée
- 1tsp vanilla extract
- 90g / 3oz flour (I use whole wheat)
- 26g / 4tbsp flaxseed meal
- 20g / 4tbsp cocoa powder, unsweetened
- 1tsp baking powder
- 1/2tsp cinnamon
- 40g / 1.4oz dark chocolate, chopped OR chocolate chips

Method:

• In a bowl, combine nut butter, coconut oil, honey, aquafaba, pumpkin and vanilla.
• In another bowl, mix together the flour, flaxseed, cocoa, baking powder and cinnamon. 
• Fold the dry ingredients into wet ingredients and stir until well mixed. 
• Stir in the chopped chocolate (or chips).
• Spread the mixture in an 8x8 baking tray or loaf tin and bake for 30 minutes at 175C / 350F.
• Allow to cool on a wire rack before slicing. ENJOY!

Nutritional Information: