With National Burger Day coming up on Sunday, I was inspired to come up with a new burger recipe. One with lots of veggies. When making veggie and bean burgers I’ve often struggled to get them to hold together when cooking (and eating). But I’ve finally managed it! I used the advice from Inspired Taste, to roast the vegetables and beans before mixing them into the burger. This made sure there wasn’t too much moisture, helping to keep everything together. It’s a bit more time consuming, but is definitely worth it. The za’atar spice gives the burger a great flavour and the diced veggies and beans give it a chunky…
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Recipe: Kimchi Pancake (Kimchi Jeon)
I discovered so many new and delicious foods during the four years I lived in South Korea. Jeon (Korean pancake) was one of these foods. Although “jeon” translates to “pancake”, they’re not what you might imagine when you think of pancakes. I think they are a bit more like an omelette. There are lots of variations, including seafood, green onion and kimchi. In Korea, jeon are widely available from street food markets and restaurants, and are typically enjoyed with makgeolli (rice wine). Of course, in the UK it’s not so easy to find. Therefore, to get my fix I had to learn how to make my own. Oh how I…
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Recipe: Double Bean & Sweet Potato Chilli
This chilli wasn’t supposed to be a recipe for the blog. I was in a hurry to make dinner one night and just threw some things in a pan. The result was this dish which my husband claimed was the best chilli I’d ever made! Strong words! Luckily I remembered what I’d put in it and quickly wrote it down so I could share it with you here. Unfortunately, I didn’t have time to snap a photo of it. The photo above looks similar though (minus the sweetcorn)! I hope you enjoy it as much as we did. I highly recommend serving it with black rice. It adds a nice…
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Why You Should Choose Wholegrains Over Refined Grains
You might have heard people say, “choose wholegrains instead of refined grains.” And I touched on this in my posts about carbohydrates and fibre. But what exactly are wholegrains? And why should you be choosing them over refined varieties? What are wholegrains? Grains are the seeds from cereal plants, including wheat, rice, corn, barley, oats, quinoa and rye. The entire grain from these plants is the “wholegrain”. It is made up of three parts: The bran – the outer layer: rich in fibre, B vitamins and antioxidants. The germ – the core: packed with nutrients including B vitamins, minerals, healthy fats and protein. The endosperm – the middle layer and…
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Recipe: Grilled Fruit Kebabs with Basil & Honey Glaze and Rosemary & Honey Glaze
While the British weather might have you questioning if it really is Summer or not, these grilled fruit kebabs will at least let you pretend it is. I couldn’t decide which I liked more, the basil or the rosemary glaze, so I’ve included the recipe for both. I grilled these in my oven because I don’t have a barbecue, but they would be great on the barbecue.
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Tips for Reducing Plastic Use: Food Shopping, Storing Food & When Out and About
The impact of single use-plastic on our environment is vast. Much of the plastic we use is not recycled and although there is no definitive figure, estimates suggest a huge amount of this ends up in the ocean. The good news is, if everyone plays their part this can change. In support of Plastic Free July I want to share some tips about going plastic free with food. The three Rs (reduce, reuse, recycle) are a good first step when thinking about becoming more environmentally friendly. Reduce – consider what you’re buying and if you really need it. Try to buy food not wrapped in plastic packaging. Meal planning and…
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Recipe: Feta Tzatziki
Is it a dip? Is it a sauce? Whatever you call it, it’s delicious. I could easily eat a whole bowl of this with a baguette as the vehicle! Whenever I eat tzatziki I’m transported to childhood holidays on the island of Lefkas with my best friend and her family. I’m sure there were more than a few nights when this was all we wanted for dinner. This recipe slightly strays from the traditional, with the addition of feta cheese. I really like the saltiness and texture that the feta adds. When straining the liquid from the cucumber, you can just squeeze it and use immediately. But if you have…
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Are You Eating Enough Fibre?
I mentioned the importance of dietary fibre (also known as roughage) in my post on Carbohydrates last week. Today I wanted to go into a bit more detail because it’s an important part of a healthy, balanced diet. What is fibre? Dietary fibre is found in plant-based foods, such as starchy carbohydrates, fruit, vegetables, beans and lentils. Our body cannot fully break it down by digestion and it passes through the body, which helps the normal functioning of our large intestine and colon. There are two types of fibre, although foods often contain both types. They are: Soluble fibre – this forms a gel-like substance when it dissolves in water…
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Recipe: Fruit, Nut & Chocolate Porridge
Porridge is one of my favourites foods. I could eat it for breakfast, lunch or dinner – basically anytime! I love the unlimited number of combinations for toppings, the cosiness of it and how filling it is. Now chocolate porridge is even better. This is a simple recipe, born out of my craving for something tasty to eat after a run and not having much food in the house. I hope you enjoy it. This porridge provides you with good sources of: Fibre Protein Vitamin C Vitamin E Calcium See my post on the health benefits of oats. What toppings do you like on your porridge?
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Should We Really Avoid Carbs? An Overview of Carbohydrates
Ketogenic, Paleo and Atkins. The abundance of low-carb diets might make you think carbohydrates are the enemy, to be avoided at all costs. However, they are a macronutrient, which means that along with fat and protein, they are an essential part of our diet. They are the body’s preferred source of energy, so limiting carbohydrates may make you feel tired. Carbs do not make you put on weight! The initial weight loss you may experience when drastically cutting carbs is likely to be fluid loss, not fat loss. Not all carbs are created equal. We can get them from a wide variety of foods, not just bread and pasta. Some…
