Mushroom Pâté

A vegetarian alternative to meat Pâté, packed full of flavour. Enjoy spread on oat cakes or with cheese. 

To make the Pâté: 

200g of sliced mushrooms 

1 heaped tsp of truffle paste 

1 large crushed garlic clove

Fry the mushrooms and garlic in 2 tblsp of olive oil until completely soft. Mix the mushrooms with the truffle paste. Blend for a few minutes until completely smooth. Season to taste. 

Kidney Bean and Smoked Paprika Hummus

A great alternative to traditional hummus. This recipe can be adapted by adding sweet chilli instead of smoke paprika. 

To make the hummus: 

1 tin of drained and washed red kidney beans

1 heaped tsp of smoked paprika 

3 tblsp of lemon juice 

Simply blend all the ingredients and season to taste. Serve with more smoked paprika and olive oil. 

Banana and Coconut Ice Cream

A delicious creamy and sweet summer desert. Completely clean and nasty free. 

To make the ice cream: serves 1

1 very ripe roughly chopped frozen banana. 

1 square inch cube of fresh coconut 

1 tsp of honey (optional) 

Simply blend all the ingredients until really smooth. 

Fish and Chips

No ordinary fish and chips. This dish is made up of crispy sweet parsnip chips, succulent salmon and mushy mint peas. 

To make the parsnip chips: serves 1

2 tblsp of olive oil

One large or two medium parsnips

Chop the parsnip into long chips with the skin on. Steam until soft. Toss in the oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast for 25 minutes at 180oc. Turn the parsnips so they roast evenly. 

To make the salmon: serves 1 

1 fillet of salmon

Add the seasoned salmon to roast with the parsnips. Roast both for a further 15 minutes until the salmon is cooked through. 

To make the mushy mint peas: serves 1 

1 cup of frozen peas

3 sprigs of fresh mint 

While the parsnips and salmon are roasting prepare the peas. Boil the peas for a few minutes and drain. Blend the peas with the fresh mint and season to taste. 

Once the salmon and parsnips are both cooked, heat the peas through in a pan. Assemble the dish and serve. 

Chilli Mint and Cashew Nut Noodles

Sweet, spicy and fragrant. This is a fresh noodle dish bursting with flavour. 

To make the noodles: serves 1

1 nest of rice noodles

1/2 a cup of plain cashew nuts 

1 spring onion finely sliced

1 carrot sliced finely 

1/4 cup of sweetcorn

1/4 of an iceberg lettuce finely sliced

1 whole deseeded chilli finely sliced

1 handful of roughly chopped fresh mint 

2 tblsp of soy sauce

1/2 tblsp of sesame oil 

Cover the noodles with boiling water in a bowl and leave for 5 minutes to soften. Drain and set aside. 

Toast the cashew nuts until golden in a dry pan and set aside. 

Fry the onion and carrots in a little oil until soft the add the sweetcorn and lettuce. Add all the other ingredients including the noodles and cashew nuts. Stir for a few minutes until throughly combined and top with some more fresh mint. 

Pea and Mint Soup

A fresh spring soup. Naturally sweet and delicious. 

To makes the soup: serves 3-4

1 cooked potatoe 

2 cups of frozen peas

1 cup of broad beans 

1 large bunch of fresh mint roughly chopped

1 vegetable stock cube 

Put the peas, broad beans, mint and stock cube in a large pan and cover with boiling water. Bring to the boil for a few minutes until cooked through. Add the potatoe and blend until smooth. Season to taste. 

Flapjack Crumbles

These flapjacks have a lovely moist and crumbly texture from the ground almonds. Unfortunately they went too quickly to take a photo of the whole batch! Very yummy.

To make the flapjacks: makes 16 flapjacks 

225g of coconut oil or butter 

100g of set honey 

350g of jumbo rolled oats 

50g of ground almonds 

100g of dried fruit (i used cranberries, currents and apricots)

6 whole dates

Melt the butter/ coconut oil and honey together in a pan until completely melted. Take off the heat and add all the other ingredients. Meanwhile line a dish with greaseproof paper. Poor the mixture into the lined dish and bake at 180oc for 20 minutes of until golden brown. Let the flapjacks cool completely and ideally refrigerate before cutting. They are very crumbly so this is quite hard. 

Weatabix Banana Breakfast Loaf

A great breakfast if you need something quick and easy. Alternatively this makes a great nutritious snack. Delicious served with peanut butter. 

To make the loaf: makes 5 slices 

6 weatabix 

1 cup of water 

1/2 cup of milk

1 mashed ripe banana 

50g dark chocolate chips 

1 tsp of baking powder 

1 egg or (1 tbsp of chia seeds soaked in 3 tblsp of hot water until thick) 

1 tblsp of honey 

Blend the weatabix until a flour consistency. Add the baking powder, mashed banana, egg, water, milk and honey. Blend until smooth. Mix in the chocolate chips and pour into a greased loaf tin. Top with banana slices for decoration and bake at 180oc for 30 minutes. It is important to let the cake cool completely before eating.

Green Spinach and Chicken Curry

A dark vibrant green curry full of iron and vitamins. A lovely change from using tomatoes. 

To make the curry: serves 2 

1 chicken breast diced 

1/2 a finely chopped onion 

1 tsp of fennel seeds 

1/2 a cup of broccoli 

1 heaped tblsp of Indian curry paste

6 frozen cubes of spinach 

1-2 cups of water

Fry the onion, broccoli and chicken in a little coconut oil until golden and cooked through. Add the curry paste and fennel seeds. Fry for a few minutes. Meanwhile defrost the spinach and blend with the water until smooth. Add to the frying pan and simmer for 5-10 minutes. 

Serve with wild basmati rice and homemade red onion chutney. 

Pea and Prosciutto Ham Soup

A delicious spring soup made with prosciutto ham for more flavour. Serve with fresh bread and butter. 

To make the soup: serves 1-2 

2-3 slices of prosciutto ham 

1 small tin of marrow fat peas (mushy peas) 

1/2 a vegetable stock cube

1 cup of water 

Roughly chop the ham and fry in a dry nonstick pan to release the flavours. Add the peas, water and stock cube. Simmer for 5 minutes. Stir, season with just black pepper and add more water if needed. 

Moroccan Chilli Tagine

A warming, filling and fragrant tagine. Served with a homemade tomatoe chutney, chopped almonds and cous cous. 

To make the tagine: serves 2-3 

1/2 a finely chopped onion 

2 cloves of crushed garlic

A handful of finely chopped coriander 

1 drained tin of chickpeas

1 drained tin of kidney beans

2 tblsp of raisins

1/2 a sliced red chilli

1 tblsp of honey

1 tblsp of chopped almonds 

2 tblsp of tomatoe paste 

2 tsp of cinnamon 

2 tsp of curry powder 

1-2 cups of water 

Fry the onion in a little olive oil until soft. Add the chickpeas, kidney beans, chilli, raisins,  honey, garlic and spices. Fry for a few minutes. Add the water and tomatoe paste. Add the coriander, almonds and season to taste with salt and pepper. Simmer until a rich consistency is achieved. 

Peach and Summer Fruit Bircher

A delicious summer alternative to warm porridge. This recipie can be adjusted with different fruits, flavours and toppings. Using dried fruit is great in this recipie as it rehydrates overnight becoming juicy. Experiment with raisins, natural yoghurt and honey. 

To make the Bircher: serves 2

Half a cup of oats 

1 tblsp of sun flour seeds 

1 tblsp of pumpkin seeds 

1 tin of chopped peaches in juice 

1/2 cup of frozen berrys

1 tsp of cinnamon 

Make a simple porridge using the oats and 1 cup of liquid (the drained juice from the peaches plus water). This can be done in the microwave or on the stove for a few minutes. Simply add all the other ingredients and leave over night in the fridge. 

Easy Lentil Dahl

So so easy, this Dahl tastes great the next day on baked sweet potatoes, with meat and fish or simply on its own. I served mine with spicy mango chutney, fresh coriander and pitta bread. 

To make the Dahl: serves 2 

1 tin of plum tomatoes 

1 cup of water

1 heaped tblsp of Indian curry paste 

1 cup of red split lentils 

Mix all the ingredients in a large casserole dish and break up the tomatoes throughly. Bring to the boil for 10 minutes. Cook for 10-15 more minutes at 160oc with the lid on in a preheated oven. 

Anchovy Spaghetti

When travelling in Verona, Italy I tried this dish with fresh homemade Italian pasta! Bellissima! Serve with fresh cracked pepper, Parmesan cheese and a side salad. 

To make the pasta: serves 1 

100g of dried wholemeal spaghetti 

A 50g tin of anchovies in olive oil 

Simply boil the spaghetti until cooked throughly. Chop the anchovies and throughly combine with the warm pasta, adding all the olive oil. 

Make sure you add no extra salt and go easy on the parmesan, the anchovies can be very salty. 

Coconut Cream and Poached Pear Chia Seed Pudding

Packed full of nutrition this is a creamy and sweet pudding. Try Pina Colada Chia Seed Pudding - just add pineapple instead of pear. Serve cold.

To make the pudding: serves 2 

2 tblsp of chia seeds 

1/4 cup of coconut cream 

1 tblsp of algarve syrup 

1 large poached pear or 2 tinned pear halves chopped roughly 

1/4 cup of filtered water 

Mix all the ingredients and refrigerate for 1 hour. Sir throughly. Leave for another 2 hours or ideally over night until a pudding consistency forms. 

Pear, Walnut and Stilton Salad

A salty and sweet salad that's delicious enjoyed in the sunshine! 

To make the dressing: serves 1

1 tblsp of olive oil 

1 tsp of algarve syrup 

1 tsp of finely diced red onion 

1 tblsp of finely chopped parsley 

1 tblsp of pear juice 

Salt and pepper to taste 

To make the salad: serves 1

1/4 of a small iceberg lettuce finely chopped

2 inches of cucumber sliced

2 tblsp of toasted walnuts

50g of Stilton cheese crumbled 

3 tinned or very soft fresh pear halves pealed 

Dress the lettuce, cucumber and walnuts. Pour into a plate, assemble the pear halves and scatter with the Stilton. 

Spinach Falafels

These crispy falafels are yummy served with red pepper hummus as a side dish or starter. Alternatively they make a great main in pitta breads or wraps! 

To make the falafels: 

1/2 a cup of gram flour (chickpea flour) 

4 frozen cubes of spinach defrosted

100 ml of water

1/4 tsp each of smoked paprika, cumin, turmeric and ground fennel seeds 

Mix all the ingredients and season with salt and pepper. Leave to soak for at least 30 minutes. Fry in a little olive oil for a few minutes on each side or until golden brown.

Cherry, Apple and Almond Crumble

A yummy crumble, great for family Sunday lunchs. 

For the fruit filling: 

2 large roughly chopped cooking apples 

1 tin of drained cherrys or 2 cups of fresh destoned cherrys 

About 1 cup of sugar 

Heat all the ingredients in a pan on a low heat until soft. Add more or less sugar depending on the sweetness of your fruit. 

Put into a deep serving dish ready to top with your crumble. 

For the crumble topping: 

120g of plain flour

85g of butter, cut into cubes

4 tbsp of caster sugar

5 tbsp of ground almonds 

3 tbsp cold water

Combine all the ingredients in a blender or by hand and then flake over the top of the fruit filling. Cook at 180oc for 30-40 minutes or until golden brown. Serve with lashings of custard or cream. 

Vegetable and Lentil Stew

A lovely warming stew that is perfect served with fresh wholemeal bread. 

To make the stew: serves 2 

1 small onion roughly chopped 

1 1/2 carrots roughly chopped

1 corgette roughly chopped 

4 broccoli stems 

1 clove of garlic 

1 chicken or vegetable stock cube 

1 tsp of corn flour 

4 tbsp of red split lentils

A few sprigs of fresh rosemary  

In a large casserole dish fry the onion, carrots and courgette in a little olive oil. When golden add the corn flour, broccoli and garlic. Fry for a few more minutes. Add the stock cube, rosemary and lentils. Deglaze the pan with a little water then continue to cover the vegetables. Cook at 180oc for 30 minutes. 

Worcestershire Mushrooms and Poached Eggs

An easy breakfast, which is best with really good quality eggs and Worcestershire sauce. 

To make the breakfast: serves 1

6 slices mushrooms

A handful or watercress (tomatoes or corgettes or aubergine work great too) 

2 tbsp of Worcestershire sauce 

2 eggs 

Fry the mushrooms and watercress until soft in a little olive oil and seasoning. Meanwhile poach the eggs. Add the Worcestershire sauce in the last few minutes deglazing the pan. Serve with the eggs on top. Delicious.