Flourless Pizza

For less than 500 calories, which is not even two slices of regular store-bought or delivery pizza options, a whole pizza can be eaten which is flourless, filling and a much healthier alternative.

In the recipe below, cauliflower is used to create the pizza base instead of flour. The pizza uses natural tomato paste instead of processed tomato sauces, that can be high in sugars and sodium. Grated cheese is baked into the base, in addition to being sprinkled on top, so there's no need to overload the pizza with too much greasy cheese. I topped my pizza with some green vegetables, sweet corn and shredded chicken.

The nutritional information for the recipe is without any meat or veg pizza toppings, only the grated cheese and tomato paste.

Whilst a traditional supermarket or delivery pizza may be considered quicker and tastier, my flourless version doesn't take too long to prepare and doesn't have the layer of grease which is often found glistening on top of the varieties that aren't homemade. In addition, who actually eats just one slice of pizza? A whole pizza has between 2240-2640 calories which is over the daily calorie intake for both men and women (typical daily value is 2000 calories)!

The Papa Johns large pepperoni pizza (14 inch) has 330 calories a slice (1/8 pizza / 130g), 14g fat, 870mg sodium, 37g carbohydrates, 2g fiber, 4g sugar and 13g protein.

The Papa Johns large vegetarian pizza (14 inch), topped with onions, green peppers, mushrooms, olives, cheese and tomatoes, has 280 calories a slice (1/8 pizza / 161g), 9g fat, 700mg sodium, 39g carbohydrates, 2g fiber, 5g sugar and 11g protein.

It's healthier to opt for a large slice of a thin crust pizza as all nutritional amounts tend to be lower. However, with less dough, there's more room for toppings which can make thin crust versions worse than deep pan varieties, especially if filled with salty, fatty processed meats and extra cheese.

Suggested Pizza Toppings:
peppers, onions, mushrooms, olives, courgettes, spinach, kale, chicken, tuna, sweetcorn, black beans, pepperoni, artichoke, pineapple, asparagus, avocado.

Flourless Pizza
Makes 1 pizza
Click HERE for a printable recipe card.

Ingredients:
Base
- 200g/ 7oz / approx. 1/2 head cauliflower
- 28g / 1oz cheese, grated
- 1tsp herbs, dried (e.g. parsley, oregano, mixed herds)
- 1 egg, beaten
- sprinkle onion / garlic powder (optional)

Topping
- 33g / tbsp tomato paste
- 15ml / 1tbsp water
- 28g / 1oz cheese, grated
- selection of pizza toppings

Method:
Blend the cauliflower in a food processor and then microwave/cook for 4 minutes to soften. Allow to cool.
In a bowl, mix the blended cauliflower, egg, cheese, herbs, and onion/garlic powder (if using).
Spread on a baking tray, sprayed lightly with cooking spray, to create a pizza base.

Bake in the oven at 220C / 425F for 15 minutes.

Mix the tomato paste with one tablespoon water to form a thick tomato sauce. Spread on the pizza base. Add grated cheese and additional toppings.
Bake in the oven at 175C / 350F for 10-15 minutes or until toppings are cooked. ENJOY!

Click HERE for a printable recipe card.

Nutritional Information: Pizza base plus cheese and tomato topping

Scones

How do you say 'Scone'? Does it rhyme with 'cone' or 'con'?
On online poll asking this question showed the clear winner being:
‘scone’ to rhyme with . . . ‘cone’!

Regardless of calling it a sCONE or a sCONe, this quick and simple recipe uses basic ingredients. However, I always use whole wheat flour and unsweetened almond milk. I don't add any additional sugar, preferring to sweeten my scones with dried fruit, such as cranberries.
There are lots of different scone recipes available so I may experiment in the future using egg (or flaxseed egg substitute), pumpkin puree, and/or buttermilk.

Scones
Makes 8
Click HERE for a printable recipe card.

Ingredients:
- 225g / 8oz flour

- 1tbsp baking powder

- 1tsp salt

- 56g / 2oz butter

- 40g / 1.4oz cranberries, dried 

- 150ml / 5floz almond milk

Method:

In a bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder and salt.

Rub in the butter to form breadcrumbs

 

Stir in the cranberries

Add the milk a little at a time to combine mixture into a dough.

Roll out on to a floured work surface and cut out 8 scones or use hands to form 8 balls and place on baking tray, flattening slightly with hands.

 

Bake at 220C / 425F for 15 minutes.

Cool on a wire rack. Serve with jam. ENJOY!

Click HERE for a printable recipe card.

Nutritional Information:

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:

Beetroot Brownies

My first efforts at baking with beets turned out to be hugely successful! I've been wanting to bake with beetroot for a while, ever since brownies and red velvet cupcakes featured beets. After buying no added salt canned beets for less than a dollar, I got to experiment in the kitchen perfecting the recipe below.

These beetroot brownies also include coconut oil, another first for me. I did a search on the internet as I wanted to learn more about coconut oil. It seems to have become very popular recently, not only as an alternative to butter and other varieties of oil (olive, canola, etc.) in cooking and baking (it withstands heat), but also in many beauty and skincare products. This website has 101 Uses for Coconut Oil
Even Dr Oz is talking about The Surprising Health Benefits of Coconut Oil

Coconut oil

Melted Coconut Oil

Varieties of coconut oil, olive oil and canola oil typically have 120 calories per serving (15ml / 1tbsp) and 14g fat. Out of those fats, olive oil and canola oil only has 1-2g saturated fat but coconut oil has 13g saturated fat. For comparison, one serving of butter (14g / 1tbsp) is 100 calories, 12g fat with 7g saturated fat, and 31mg cholesterol. Oils do not have any cholesterol.

I was shocked by the amount of saturated fat found in coconut oil, but there's been more and more information and research into fats which is changing the way I'm thinking about food and what's fundamentally 'healthy'. A good article I read recently was published in the New York Times: Butter Is Back

The saturated fats found in coconut oil (medium chain triglycerides) are metabolized differently in the body in comparison to dairy and red meat. MCTs go straight to the liver from the digestive tract, where they are used as a quick source of energy. More can be read about MCTs and other evidenced based health benefits of coconut oil online.

Enough about nutrition and more about the deliciousness of chocolate brownies made with veg! I love brownies that are chocolaty, gooey and dense. Traditional recipes call for butter, white flour and refined sugar. I usually don't like to add processed foods into my recipes but I added a little dark chocolate as the first initial batch of brownies (which only contained cocoa powder and honey) turned out to be more cake-like than brownie-like. They weren't as chocolaty as I'd envisaged either. I think I overcooked them too, keeping them in the oven a few minutes longer than necessary.

That didn't stop the cat from helping herself as they were cooling on the side. The pesky scamp took one in her mouth and ran halfway up the stairs!

The second batch were the winner. Kept far away from the cat, these brownies were perfect in texture and taste. The half melted morsels of dark chocolate added just the right amount of sweetness and the combination of coconut oil and beetroot puree ensured the brownies were soft and moist.

The second batch have 25 additional calories and 4g extra carbs (3g extra sugar, 1g extra fiber) than the original experimental batch. All the other nutrients are very similar as I reduced the amount of coconut oil by a tablespoon.

Beetroot Brownies
Makes 8
Click HERE for a printable recipe card.

Ingredients:
- 120g / 4.3oz beetroot (I use no added salt canned beets)
- 40g / 1.4oz oat flour
- 40g / 1.4oz flour
- 20g /4tbsp cocoa powder, natural unsweetened,
- 1.5tsp baking powder
- 40g / 2tbsp honey
- 3 eggs, beaten
- 45ml / 3tbsp coconut oil, melted and slightly cooled
- 1tsp vanilla extract
- 56g / 2oz dark chocolate chips or chopped

Method:
First, blend the beetroot in a food processor to make a puree.

In a large bowl, stir together the dry ingredients (oat flour, flour, cocoa powder, baking powder).

Add in the wet ingredients (honey, eggs, coconut oil, vanilla extract) and beet puree. Mix until smooth and then stir in the chopped chocolate or chocolate chips.

Pour batter into a loaf tin or 9x9 pan (lined with parchment paper or sprayed with cooking spray). Cook at 175C / 350F for 20-23 minutes.

Cool on a wire rack and cut into 8 squares. They should be a little gooey. ENJOY!

Click HERE for a printable recipe card.

Nutritional Information:

Beets, Red Beets, Beetroot

Beets, Red beets, Beetroot. Whatever this red root vegetable is called, it can be added to a variety of dishes: salads, soups, smoothies, and even desserts! It is easily becoming a popular food in my daily diet.

I recently ate a delicious salad with roasted red beets, chickpeas and feta. At home, I tried to recreate it (without the feta as I didn't have any) but used canned beets instead.

As much as roasted veg tastes great, I rarely have the patience to wait whilst veg roasts in the oven, especially when it can be eaten raw in a salad or steamed in boiling water for a couple of minutes. As the weather warms up and summer approaches, I prefer to eat uncooked food and keep the oven turned off.

The convenience, shelf-life and cost ($0.79 a can) associated with canned beets are more appealing. Cooking fresh beets take 35-60 minutes. They then must be peeled before use in a dish. After discovering they also maintain about the same nutritional value as fresh beets, giving you a good source of fiber, iron and folate, I stocked up at my local supermarket - ensuring I bought beets with no added salt.

A typical serving (120g / 4oz) contains 40 calories, no fat or cholesterol, 25mg sodium (no added salt variety), 8g carbs, 6g sugars and 1g fiber. They also contain potassium, magnesium, iron, vitamins A, B6 and C, folic acid, and antioxidants.

The day after my beetroot salad, I used some in a smoothie. I added in 100g canned beets into my Green Fruit and Veg Smoothie. Instead of green, it turned out to be a milk chocolate brown colour. Although it didn't taste like drinking melted chocolate, the natural sugars from the apple and beets made it refreshingly sweet.

I am keen to make Borscht, an Eastern European soup, as well as red velvet brownies and cupcakes.