Satay Style Stir-Fry

This is a very quick and tasty stir-fry with an extra protein and omega boost. It's the kind of meal you can throw together in minutes using very few basic ingredients.

Serves 4

Enough Stir Fry Ingredients for 4 People - this can be any kind of mixed veg chopped to a similar size to ensure even cooking, sliced or diced meat, uncooked prawns/squid, sprouted beans, sliced fresh chilli..whatever you have to hand or like in a stir-fry.

Groundnut or Sunflower Oil

50g Sesame Seeds

2 generous tablespoons of Peanut Butter
(I use Whole Earth Organic as it doesn't have any added sugar)

A generous squeeze of Lemon Juice

Just cooked (still hot) Rice or Noodles (Optional)
(I use microwaveable brown rice if I'm tight on time)

Soy Sauce
(Kikkoman Less Salt is my preference)

Heat some oil in a wok and add the sesame seeds until they are a lightly toasted colour (they may pop a little so don't use too strong a heat here)


Then if using meat, stir-fry it in the oil and seeds until it has browned. Add any harder pieces of veg first for a couple of minutes before adding the rest of the veg, then stir-fry over a high heat for a couple more minutes until all the veg are cooked but still crunchy.



Mix the peanut butter and lemon juice together and add to the stir-fry, coating everything well with it.

Add rice or noodles if using and a glug of soy sauce to the wok and stir together.

Rhubarb, Ginger & Coconut Fool

This is a delicious twist on the traditional British classic, Rhubarb Fool.

Ingredients
400g rhubarb, roughly chopped
Juice of 1/2 an orange
200ml prune juice
1tsp ground ginger
1 tin of coconut milk, chilled overnight in the fridge


Combine the chopped rhubarb, orange juice and prune juice in a pan over a medium heat. Bring to the boil and simmer until the rhubarb is soft and gooey. Drain and set aside to cool completely.




Having chilled your tin of coconut milk overnight in the fridge, turn the tin upside down and open the bottom end of the tin. Pour out all of the coconut water.

Don't chuck this away it's full of goodness, so drink it straight or add it to a smoothie. Potassium-rich coconut water is perfect for rehydrating after a long run/ hot yoga session.

Scoop out the remaining coconut cream add the ground ginger and whisk it until it becomes fluffy and light.

Alternate spoonfuls of rhubarb mixture and coconut cream into a small glass or fold together gently to create a lovely light, moussey fool.

Quick Tagine with Lemon & Olive Millet

Unlike slow-cooked red meat Tagines, this recipe can be cooked on the hob in 45 minutes and you still get to enjoy those lovely sweet warming Moroccan flavours.

For this Tagine, you can either use chicken thighs (organic preferably) or if you want to keep it vegetarian/vegan, you can use chickpeas and vegetable stock, I've detailed how to make both versions below.

Ingredients (Serves 4)
1 onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
2 tsp ground ginger
2 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp turmeric
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 pinch dried chilli flakes (up to you how large a pinch!)
1 tbsp tomato purée
1 Sweet Potato cut into chunks
2 Carrots cut into chunks
150g dried apricots and/or prunes (unsulphured if possible), roughly chopped into quarters
The juice of half an orange
600ml chicken or vegetable stock
6 chicken thighs, skinless boneless, cut into chunks OR 1 tin of chickpeas
A handful of torn fresh coriander leaves

Heat some oil in a large flameproof casserole over a medium heat. Add the onion, garlic, ground spices, and chilli flakes and fry until the onions have softened.

Stir in the tomato purée, orange juice, stock, dried fruits, sweet potato and carrots and bring to a gentle simmer. Partially cover the pan and continue to simmer for 15 minutes.
Add the chicken if using, re-cover the casserole and continue simmering for 20 minutes removing the lid for the last 10 if there is still a lot of liquid. If you're using chickpeas, continue to simmer the fruits and veg for 15 minutes before adding the chickpeas for the final 5 minutes of cooking.

Garnish with fresh coriander and serve with Lemon and Olive Millet

Cooked Millet

Some reasons for including millet in our diets:

Millet is easily digestible. It is gluten free and non allergenic

Millet is one of the few grains which is alkalizing to the body.

Millet is high in silicon which benefits your hair, skin, nails, teeth and eye health.

Millet contains tryptophan which stimulates the production of the brain hormone serotonin, calming your moods and aiding sleep.

Millet’s high protein content (compared to other grains, at 15 %) makes it an excellent addition to a vegetarian diet.

Millet has anti-fungal properties and is especially regarded for the treatment of candida yeast overgrowth in the gut. Yeast thrive on all the refined sugars we consume and can actually create sugar cravings within us. Eating millet could help to reduce these cravings.

Millet contains B vitamins, and high amounts of iron, magnesium, and potassium.

Lemon & Olive Millet

Ingredients
200g millet, well rinsed
500ml water
2tbsp chopped pitted kalamata olives (about 6 olives)
Juice of 1/2 lemon
A handful of chopped fresh parsley

Place the millet in a saucepan over a medium heat and toast for a couple of minutes. Add water and bring to the boil.

Reduce heat, cover and cook until the millet has absorbed all the water (about 20 minutes)

Remove from heat, fluff with a fork, and add olives, lemon juice and parsley. Easy.

Thai Crab Cakes

I decided to make these lovely crab cakes this evening for a girly night in with a good friend to accompany our Friday night pink bubbles.

Ingredients:
1 clove of garlic, chopped
3cm piece of ginger, grated
A handful of chopped coriander leaves
The zest and juice of 1 lime
1 egg yolk
2 tsp mayonnaise
300g crab meat (about 2 crabs)
Since I no longer live near the sea I used sustainable Devon Crab bought from my local fishmongers which is caught in pots off the South Devon Coast.



Blitz the garlic, ginger, coriander leaves, lime zest and half of the lime juice together to form a paste.

Combine the paste, egg yolk, mayonnaise and crab meat and stir until they are all mixed together well. If the mixture is very moist, you may need to add a little flour. I literally just added a teaspoon of flour and that was plenty.

Line a baking tray with foil and lightly brush the foil with oil.

Spoon your mixture into a biscuit cutter on the baking tray and press it down with the back of the spoon to form a little patty. Remove the cutter and repeat until you have about 6-8 patties.

Place them in the fridge to chill for half an hour or so.

Chilling in the fridge - The mini patties at the front are for baby Sophie who loves these!

Preheat your oven to 180C and cook the crab cakes for 20 minutes.

Squeeze the rest of the lime juice over them, gently place them on a salad of sugar snap peas, pea shoots, and cherry tomatoes...and drizzle generously with sweet chilli sauce.


This particular recipe is really healthy as the crab cakes are baked rather than fried - and because they aren't padded out with breadcrumbs they are a good option if, like my dinner guest, you are following a low-carb diet. Just packed full of Omega 3 and lots of lovely flavours..so does that mean we can have an extra glass of wine?!!

Vegetable Curry

This is a great dish to chuck any vegetables you have lying around into. I make it in two stages, first making a curry sauce and then adding the veg. You can make up a big batch of this sauce and then add different veggies as and when you want to use it. I tend to grab whatever seasonal veg we have to hand and I usually use a few favourites of mine - butternut squash, pepper and cauliflower. But you can literally use any vegetables that you have or particularly like.

This is not a massively spicy recipe as I use it for my 12 month old - I just add a chopped fresh chilli to the top of my portion before serving to give it an extra kick.

Ingredients
100g red lentils
2 diced onions
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
3cm piece ginger
3 tsp ground cinnamon
3 tsp garam masala
2 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp ground coriander
2 tsp paprika
2 tsp turmeric
1 tsp chilli powder
1 400g tin chopped tomatoes
2 tbsp tomato purée
2 tbsp coconut cream
A selection of vegetables cut into bite sized chunks

Bring the lentils to the boil in a saucepan with 500ml of water, cover and simmer for 20-25 mins until the lentils are soft.

Blitz the ginger, garlic and one of the onions with a little water to make a paste.

Heat your chosen fat in a pan (I use coconut oil but you could use olive oil/butter/whatever), add the other onion stirring until lightly browned. Then add the paste and spices and fry gently for a couple of minutes.

Next, add the tomatoes, tomato puree, coconut cream and lentils along with 400ml of water. This is your curry sauce. (If you have opened a carton of coconut cream, you can freeze the rest, it freezes well)

Add your veg to the curry sauce - tonight I used half a butternut squash, a courgette, a red pepper, some cauliflower broken into florets and some green beans.

Simmer your veg gently for 25-30 mins. Enjoy with some brown rice, a chapatti or a handful of tortillas.

This also freezes really well. Either the sauce on it's own or the whole curry - and the flavours seem to intensify on freezing.

Raw for a Day

Raw Courgette Pappardelle with Tomato, Pepper, Basil and Pine Nut Sauce

There's a lot of buzz around at the moment about eating a raw food diet. Eating raw invoves eating raw, unprocessed (preferably organic) vegan foods that have not been heated above 42C so that the live enzymes in the foods are retained.

Going raw is said to increase energy, improve the appearance of skin, aid digestion, assist weight loss and reduce the risk of heart disease.

Personally I'm not wanting to go raw full time right now but I am enjoying having at least one day a week where I am eating only raw foods. I've already found that by going raw for a day, I've upped the amount of these nutritious foods in my diet during the rest of the week too - out of habit and because I've discovered some new things that I don't want to wait until my raw day to enjoy.

As I'm only eating raw once a week, I have so far kept it very simple eating fruit, raw veg, seeds and nuts on their own or in the form of salads with the very occasional more inventive dish such as raw courgette pappardelle with a raw tomato, pepper and basil sauce topped with pine nuts. But over the next few weeks and months I'll be experimenting with some more adventurous raw meals..

King Prawn Dhansak

Dhansak is originally a Persian curry. I don't think this is a very authentic version - I've tweaked the recipe over the years and added king prawns (you could use chicken, or add veggies instead for a vegetarian dish). But it is full of gorgeous flavours, foolproof and so tasty.

Ingredients (Serves 4)
200g lentils
3 garlic cloves, crushed
3cm piece ginger, finely grated
2 onions, finely diced
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp garam masala
1 tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp chilli powder
400g tin chopped tomatoes
400g raw king prawns
2 tbsp mango chutney
A handful of roughly chopped coriander leaves

Bring the lentils to the boil in a saucepan with a litre of water, cover and simmer for 20-25 mins until the lentils are soft.

Blitz the ginger, garlic and a little water to make a paste. Heat some oil in a pan (I use a generous amount of coconut oil), add the onions stirring until lightly browned then add the ginger and garlic paste and spices.

After 2-3 minutes tip the cooked lentils into the pan, add the tomatoes and leave to simmer for about 5 minutes.

Stir in the king prawns and mango chutney. When all of the prawns have turned pink, take off the heat and stir in the coriander leaves.

Serve with chapattis, rice or cauliflower rice, get your curry fix knowing you are having a really healthy meal.