Porridge Pancakes

Every day I eat porridge, also called oatmeal. I occasionally eat two bowls a day: breakfast and supper. It's a perfect way to start the day as oats are commonly known as being healthy and nutritious. Complex carbohydrates are also known to aid sleep so a small bowl in the evenings ensures I get a good night's rest. Sometimes I go to bed, thinking about breakfast and my morning bowl of porridge. I usually eat porridge in two different ways: oats, almond milk, flaxseed, protein powder OR oats, hot water, egg, hemp seeds, honey. When it comes to food and my daily diet, I'm a creature of habit!

I often add strawberries, chopped or grate apple, or sliced banana. Apples and bananas have more sugar than strawberries so I'm cautious to add these to my porridge, especially if I'm adding a little honey. However, a banana is perfect if I know I'm going to need some extra energy and won't be able to snack mid-morning.

Porridge with strawberries, almonds, egg hemp banana, apple

The other night I dreamt about pancakes and so I used my porridge ingredients and made pancakes, hence the name 'porridge pancakes'! These pancakes are slightly different to the regular oats pancakes I make on weekends - similar ingredients but I don't add flour. As a result, the porridge pancakes are less dense and slightly more moist. I use a whole banana for one batch of 4 pancakes whereas the previous versions use one banana for one batch of 6-8 pancakes. Therefore, there's more sugars (from the bananas) in each serving. The optional protein powder I eat with my porridge ensures I get an additional 9g protein.

Porridge, with fruit and protein (either from powder of an egg) keeps me feeling full for a good few hours. I also have to thank the 10g fiber from my breakfast for this feeling!

Porridge Pancakes
Makes 4 pancakes
Click HERE for a printable recipe card.

Ingredients:
- 50g / 1.8oz oats
- 6g / 1tbsp flaxseed
- 60ml / 2floz almond milk, unsweetened (or water)
- 1 banana
- 12g / 1tbsp protein powder (optional)
- 1/4tsp cinnamon (optional)
- 1/2tsp vanilla extract (optional)
- 50g / 2-3 strawberries, to serve (optional)

Method:
It's best to let the oats and flaxseed soak in the almond milk (or water) for 5-10 minutes first, so the batter isn't too runny.
Place all ingredients in a food processor and blend until smooth.

Pour mixture into pan and cook for a few minutes on either side.

Serve with a spoonful of non-fat Greek yogurt, strawberries, or chocolate nutella spread. ENJOY!

Click HERE for a printable recipe card.

Egg Porridge Pancakes
Makes 4 pancakes
Click HERE for a printable recipe card.

Ingredients:
- 50g / 1.8oz oats
- 10g / 1tbsp hemp
- 1 egg
- 1 banana
- 50g / 2-3 strawberries, to serve (optional)
- 10g / 1/2tbsp honey, to serve (optional)

Method:
Place all ingredients in a food processor and blend until smooth.

Pour mixture into pan and cook for a few minutes on either side.

Serve with half tablespoon of honey, or 2-3 strawberries. ENJOY!

Click HERE for a printable recipe card.

Nutritional Information:

Sweet and Sour Tofu Stir Fry

This is my first recipe published on my blog that features tofu. I love this protein-packed food so I'm sure there will be many more to come.

Tofu is a food made by coagulating soy milk and then pressing the resulting curds into soft white blocks. I prefer the firm/hard variety of tofu but I have eaten the soft/silken kind before, which is undrained and unpressed. Wikipedia has endless amounts of information about tofu.

I was keen to learn more about the nutritional value of tofu. I knew it was low in calories and a great source of protein. A 110g / 4oz serving of tofu gives you 10g protein. That's the same amount of protein in a glass (240ml / 8floz) of dairy milk. An egg has 6g protein whilst a serving of beef (110g / 4oz) contains 26g protein. Obviously vegetarians aren't going to opt for the beef option for their source of protein!

A serving of tofu contains 5g fat, a similar amount to eggs. However, a serving of beef contains 15g fat! Tofu is also a cholesterol-free food whilst eggs usually have approx. 200mg cholesterol.

This dish  is like a rainbow: red tomatoes, orange carrots, yellow pineapple, green peppers/celery etc. Whilst there's quite a bit of sugar (natural, of course) in this dish - from the pineapple chunks - the tofu is low in calories. I prefer to eat this stir fry with blended cauliflower instead of rice or quinoa to keep a moderate carbohydrate intake.

Sweet and Sour Tofu Stir Fry
Makes 5
Click HERE for a printable recipe card.

Ingredients:
- 15ml / 1tbsp olive oil
- 185g / 6.5oz onion, chopped
- 120g / 2 stalks celery, chopped
- 190g / 7oz carrot, cut into halfmoons
- 160g / 6oz green pepper, cut into cubes
- 110g / 4oz mushrooms, chopped
- 10g / 2tbsp ginger, chopped
- 300g / 11oz firm tofu, cut into cubes
- 411g / 14.5oz / 1 can diced tomatoes (no added salt)
- 20g / 1tbsp honey
- 560g / 20oz pineapple chunks (in pineapple juice), reserve juice
- 10g / 1tbsp flour
- 15g spring onions (garnish)

Method:
In a pan or work, heat the oil and cook the onion, celery, carrot, pepper, mushrooms and ginger for about 5 minutes. Keep veg crunchy.
In another frying pan, sprayed with cooking oil, saute the tofu cubes for 10 minutes, until golden brown.
Add tomatoes, honey and pineapple chunks to the wok and heat until bubbling.
Add golden tofu cubes to the wok.
Mix the pineapple juice with the flour and add to the wok.

Once the sauce has thickened, serve on a bed of cooked brown rice or blended cauliflower.
Garnish with chopped spring onions. ENJOY!

Click HERE for a printable recipe card.

Nutritional Information:

Why I love salads

As much as I'd like to stuff my face with fried food and cake, when I take a moment to think about how much processed rubbish goes into junk food (and the consequences on your body after indulging), I actually feel a little grossed out.
That's why I love to eat salads!

I love the taste, and feeling, of crunching on fresh, raw, natural ingredients*. The good thing about salads are that I can make a large bowl (see my photos) and take my time grazing/munching away without the worry of a). over eating / indulging in a big portion and consuming mega numbers of calories, and b). my meal going cold, thus shoveling in mouthfuls whilst food is hot.

Don't get me wrong, on some days, I do feel like hot food, and so I'll cook up something. In the winter, I'll usually switch from eating salads everyday to eating homemade soups (basically just loads of blended-up veg). Future blog posts will no doubt feature soup recipes and pictures.

Back to salads...with the ones I make, it's a case of 'anything goes'. I get plenty of nutrients and usually vary the sources of proteins (tuna, boiled egg, chicken, low-fat cottage cheese) and fats (avocado, almonds, cheese. I also like to sprinkle a tablespoon of hemp seeds, chia seeds or flax seeds on top of my salads. If I want a little sweetness, I'll occasionally add some fruit (strawberries, dried cranberries, grapes, apple).

Below is my basic salad recipe with nutritional information.
Ingredients:
- 40g / 1.5oz spinach OR kale
- 50g / 1.8oz black beans (no added salt)
- 50g / 1.8oz sweet corn
- 80g /2.9oz green pepper
- 75g /2.7oz tomato
- 2 celery sticks
- 50g / 1.8oz cucumber
- 1/2tbsp hemp seeds
- 1tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 1tbsp apple cider vinegar**

Method:
Place spinach or kale in a large bowl or on a plate
Add black beans and sweet corn
Chop pepper, tomato, celery and cucumber
Sprinkle hemp seeds on top of salad
Pour on vinegar

Add your source of protein, fat or fruits and ENJOY!!

Nutritional Information:

Protein and Fats

Fruits

*There's a lot of information on the internet about raw food diets. I'm no expert - I just like eating salads! If you want to learn more, I suggest you search 'raw food benefits' and read one of the 39,700,000 result pages. The top result from Google was this website: 10 Reasons Eating Raw is Healthier For You and the Planet

**I haven't included any nutritional information for apple cider vinegar (ACV) as it basically has zero calories, fat, carbs, sugars, fiber, protein.
However, there are many health benefits associated with ACV. Some include detoxification, to promote weight loss, to help digestion, to alleviate skin problems...
Don't take my word for it, just Google 'apple cider vinegar benefits' and you'll see about 5,530,000 results. An example is here: 7 Reasons to Love Apple Cider Vinegar