Category: clean eating

clean eating, food, healthy, recipes

Potato Salad

ramblingmads

The humble spud has been accused of a lot recently – contributing to obesity, damaging farmland, being ugly. 

I say enough – clean eating is expensive, spuds are cheap and versatile. Leave them alone.  Here’s my potato salad, serve it as a side at a barbecue, or as my friend recommends, under a grilled chicken breast with broccoli  and salad.  

Serves 4 or more depending on hunger

Ingredients

1 small bag of potatoes – I prefer the small salad ‘new potatoes’ or similar. 

Small pot of yoghurt – I use natural yoghurt

Small pot of sour cream or creme fraiche 

Small bunch spring onions

Fistful of chives

Black pepper

Method

Wash the potatoes and boil till soft. While they’re cooking, chop the chives and spring onions (wash them too!). Mix the yoghurt, sour cream, chives and spring onions in a bowl. 

Once the potatoes are cooked, drain and leave to cool. Once they’re at a temperature you’re happy with (can be served warm or cold), use the sharp point of a knife to remove any eyes, peel off the skins if you prefer (much easier on the little potatoes after cooking), chop into desired size chunks. 

Add to the dressing, mix, season with black pepper, if using, stir again. It can now be served or stored in the fridge for later. Will keep a couple of days in an airtight tub in the fridge but is best eaten sooner.  

Ready to eat
clean eating, food, healthy, recipes

Make this tonight: lettuce gratin

ramblingmads

This is a great way to get more veggies into your diet, and can be vegan or vegetarian as well. It’s adapted from a far more complicated Hugh Fearnley-Whittingsall recipe previously published in the Guardian newspaper.

image
Photo from The Guardian

Ingredients

Cos type lettuces (I use two baby gems)
Olive oil
Sea salt
Black pepper
Celery
Peas
Spring onions
Pancetta cubes
Parmesan cheese
Bread crumbs (I used Japanese panko)

Wash and chop the lettuce, drain thoroughly. Toss with oil, salt and pepper. Put it in a casserole dish. Roast at 200°c for 25 minutes – keep an eye on it, do not let it burn.

While the lettuce roasts, wash and chop your celery and spring onions. Fry them in a pan with the pancetta, add the peas (I use them from frozen), season with pepper (if not using pancetta you could add a little salt).

Remove the lettuce from the oven, scatter the veg and pancetta over the lettuce. Reserve any liquid in the pan.

Sprinkle grated Parmesan over the gratin. Fry the breadcrumbs lightly in the preserved oil and fat. Scatter over the gratin. Return to oven for 5-10 minutes to melt the cheese and brown the breadcrumbs.

Serve on its own or with some crusty bread.

To make it vegetarian/vegan omit the pancetta, and switch the Parmesan for a dairy free hard cheese. You can add any other veggies that appeal too.

ramblingmads

baking, clean eating, food, recipes

Super easy flour-less cookies

ramblingmads

Small jar of nut butter (peanut, hazelnut, almond or cashew all work)
1 cup of coconut sugar (or brown sugar)
1 egg
1 tsp baking powder
Chocolate chips, m&M’s, cocoa powder (optional)

Mix all the ingredients together thoroughly, roll into small balls and place on a lined baking tray. Bake for 10 minutes at 200°c. Remove from oven and leave to set as they will be slightly soft.

Eat them all!

No pictures survive of the previous batch due to them disappearing mysteriously!

ramblingmads

beauty boxes, clean eating, food, healthy, lifestyle, recipes, skincare

The Vegan Kind Mystery Box

ramblingmads

image

So a little box of treats winged its wayt to me from Glasgow.

I am trying to eat better and stay away from chemical heavy cosmetics and beauty products so I thought The Vegan Kind’s boxes would be worth a look.

image

This is apparently a mystery box, presumably they are themed. This one contained several edible things and a body wash.

There was a pouch of pear puree which went into my herbalife shake along with a banana.

The red banana powder is something I already use and like, so this was a bonus as it’s not particularly cheap.

The gingerbread topper mix – designed for I think granola or muesli will either end up in a shake or on a fruit salad.

Quinoa crisps which I will try during the week with some quark dip.

Teabags – I like a herbal tea every now and then – so these will be drunk at some point.

Recipe card – what a lovely idea, including a recipe card so you can make something tasty – this one’s for a super green smoothie.

Finally the Organic Surge shower gel – started using this yesterday – smells amazing and really cleansing. And it’s a generous full-size bottle not a dinky sample.

I’ve also ordered their vegan beauty box to test out, will review once it’s delivered.

image

ramblingmads

clean eating, food, healthy, lifestyle, recipes

Eating for health

ramblingmads

image

Recently I have been trying to improve my nutrition and eat better. In the last couple of years I’ve fallen into bad habits and need to sort my food choices out.

I enjoy cooking (and baking) but have been lazy when I know better and eaten junk food, takeaways and other rubbish.

The Greek salad above is one of the simplest ways to eat better. Feta cheese, tomatoes (I like different coloured cherry toms), red onion, cucumber, olives (if you like them), drizzled with olive oil and a scatter of ground black pepper. Done. Takes a few minutes, tastes great and all that veg is great for you.

And for dessert? How about this:

image

Fat free yoghurt, fresh raspberries and sprinkled desiccated coconut. Tastes delicious, good for you too.

Now, neither of these things require much effort or actual cooking, so they’re perfect for a lazy person.

More recipes soon. (Problem is I never photograph my food, too busy eating it!)

ramblingmads