Halibut with Peas, Broad Beans & Crushed New Potatoes

Baby Sophie helping me to pod the peas

Fresh from the garden - peas, frizzy fennel and broad beans

Recipe (Serves 4)
500g New Potatoes
150g Broad Beans
150g Peas
4 Halibut (or other white fish) Fillets















For the sauce:
A handful of fennel frongs/dill
50g Creme fraiche
Squeeze of lemon juice
A clove of garlic





Boil the potatoes for about 12 minutes until cooked.

Remove the potatoes from the pan and add the peas and broad beans to the boiling water for 30 seconds and then drain.

Meanwhile heat a little oil in a pan and cook the fish steadily for a few minutes on each side until it is just cooked through.

Sautée the potatoes in a little oil, crushing them with the end if a rolling pin and cooking until they are golden and crispy around the edges. Then stir in the peas and beans for a minute before serving.

To make the fennel/dill sauce, simply whizz all the ingredients together.

Sit the fish on top of the potato mixture and drizzle the fennel/dill sauce or squeeze a lemon over the fish.

Summer on a plate..

Warm Beetroot, Butternut & Lentil Salad

This is a really good, easy warm salad. The quantities below are for a main meal for 4 adults, so you may want to reduce this a bit if you're making it for lunch as it is very filling.

Recipe (Serves 4)

3 Red Onions, peeled and cut into wedges
4 Fresh Beetroot, washed and cut into wedges
A Small Butternut Squash, cut into wedges
3 Tsp Ground Cumin
2 Tsp Ground Coriander
8 Cloves Garlic, peeled and slightly squashed with the side of a knife
Olive Oil
500g Cooked Puy Lentils
A large handful of mixed seeds
3 Tbsp Balsamic Vinegar
150g Goats Cheese



Heat the oven to 200C. Spread the beetroot, butternut squash, onion and garlic on a baking tray. Then brush/spray a thin coating of olive oil over everything and mix in the cumin and coriander. Roast for 35 minutes.

Take the tray out of the oven and stir the lentils and seeds into the veg mixture. Then put the tray back into the oven for approximately 5-10 minutes until the lentils are warmed through. Remove from the oven and drizzle with balsamic vinegar.

Place the lentil mixture straight onto plates or a serving dish and top with torn goats cheese.

Serve with fresh leaves.

Balsamic Strawberries

You may have gathered that I don't have much of a sweet tooth by the lack of dessert recipes on here, I'm not that bothered about sweet things, although I'd never say no to a bar of chocolate..

This is one of my favourite summer desserts though, and it's so so simple. The balsamic vinegar brings out the flavour of the strawberries to a whole new level. Use a good quality balsamic vinegar and local organically grown strawberries if you can.

Recipe (Serves 4)
400g Strawberries
2tbsp Balsamic Vinegar
1tbsp Sugar

Cut the strawberries into quarters, mix thoroughly with the sugar and balsamic vinegar, and leave to marinate for a couple of hours.

Serve with a dollop of creme fraiche..

Know Yoga Know Peace..

This is one of my favourite postures for stretching everything out - dandayamana dhanurasana. Thank you to my lovely yoga buddy Halle for taking this picture of me in the hot box recently.

Dandayamana Dhanurasana:

Bring your right hand out, palm facing up, elbow touching your body.
Say “Mama give me money.” You’re holding the money in your hand.
Bring your hand out to the right. Don’t turn your hand, don’t drop the money.
Grab your right foot behind you, palm facing up.
Hold from the inside, at the ankle, five fingers together.
Nice and tight grip, don’t lose the grip.

Left arm up in front of you, chin close to your shoulder.
Concentrate one point on your left knee in the mirror.
Left leg locked throughout the posture.
Bring your knees together to start.

Inhale breathing,
Charge your body forward towards the mirror, try to touch the mirror.
Simultaneously, kick your right leg back and up towards the ceiling.
Bring your body down from the lower spine, until your abdomen and chest are parallel to the floor.
Continuously keep kicking your right leg up as hard as possible.
Your foot should be coming up over the top of your head in the mirror.
Both feet should be in one line from the side.

Kick back, so your right shoulder is behind your left shoulder, invisible in the front mirror.
Stretch your left fingertips towards the mirror, trying to touch the mirror.
Try to touch your shoulder to your chin. Shoulder blade, scapula coming out of the body.
In other words, your two shoulders should be in one line.

Kicking and stretching should be equal and simultaneous, 50 / 50.
If you lose the balance, you’re not kicking hard enough.

Body down more.
Stretch forward more, try to touch the mirror.
Kick back more. Kick harder. The harder you kick, you can balance for ever.
Body down and kick up one more time.

Change. Come up.

Other side.

Baked Kale Chips

For anyone who hasn't tried these yet, I recommend giving them a go, they are great for when you have the munchies and don't want to end up eating several large bags of Doritos..

Kale is super nourishing and packed with vitamin K for strong bones, plus anti-ageing, anti-cancer antioxidants beta-carotene and vitamin C. Your Doritos won't do that for you...


How to do it:

Wash raw kale and tear it into bite size pieces. Discard any thick stems and ribs.

Dry the kale thoroughly with kitchen roll.

Toss the torn kale in a tiny bit of olive oil or use a spray bottle to lightly coat it.

Spread the kale in a single layer on a baking tray and sprinkle lightly with salt.

Before...

Bake at 170 degrees C until crisp (5 to 10 minutes).

Keep a close eye on it as it only takes about 10 seconds to go from crisp, bright green kale chips to black, charred cinders.

...After

Try different flavours by adding miso paste / tahini / lemon juice / chilli flakes / smoked paprika / sesame seeds / anything you fancy.

Spinach and Smoked Fish Omelette

Perfect Saturday morning breakfast best enjoyed with a giant sized mug of builders tea.

Recipe (per omelette)
2 eggs, beaten
A small fillet of smoked white sustainably sourced fish - cod/haddock/pollack etc (undyed if you can get it)
A large handful of spinach
Freshly ground black pepper

Gently poach the fish in a pan of water or milk until it is just cooked. Lift the fish out of the pan and flake it into small pieces.

Add the spinach to the water for about 30 seconds until it has softened slightly.

Drain the spinach and squeeze out the moisture from it. Set the fish and spinach to one side.

Heat a little oil in an omelette/frying pan on a low to moderate heat and add the beaten eggs.

After a couple of minutes, scatter the spinach and flaked fish on top of the cooking eggs and season with black pepper.

Place the pan under a preheated grill until the eggs are fully cooked.

Moroccan Fish with Quinoa

This is a really good protein-rich, low fat supper which only takes about 15 minutes to make.

Recipe (Serves 4)
250g quinoa
Olive oil
1 large onion, diced
2 courgettes, cut into small dice
4 tomatoes, cut into small dice
300ml vegetable stock
1 tbsp harissa paste
4 fillets of (sustainably sourced) white fish

On a moderate heat, cook the onion in a little olive oil until soft.

Add the courgette and cook for a further 3 minutes before adding the harissa, tomatoes and stock and bringing it to simmer.

Sit the fish on top of the veg, cover and cook for 5-7 minutes until the fish is just cooked.

Meanwhile prepare the quinoa according to the directions on the packet.

Serve the fish on top of the quinoa and spoon over the veg and juices.

My 11 month old daughter Sophie loves picking out the little pieces of diced vegetables one by one.

My beautiful Sophie 

Pea & Horseradish Soup

Pea & Horseradish Soup
topped with freshly grated horseradish root

Using some of my leftover horseradish sauce I made this soup for lunch. Obviously you can use shop-bought horseradish sauce if you don't fancy foraging for it!

Recipe (Serves 2)
1 knob of butter
1 Onion, finely chopped
500ml Chicken or Vegetable Stock
400g Peas (I used frozen)
2-3 tbsp Horseradish Sauce
2-3 Dashes Tabasco Sauce
A couple of handfuls of Cooked King Prawns (optional)

Heat the butter in a saucepan and add the onions. Cook on a low heat for about 10 minutes until soft.

Add the stock and bring to the boil. Add the peas and simmer for a few minutes.

Remove from the heat and add the horseradish and tabasco. Blitz until the soup is nice and smooth.

To add a tasty protein kick, garnish with cooked King Prawns.

Green & Red Superfood Salad

Home grown goodies

I used some great home grown ingredients in this - lettuce, beetroot (grated) and lentil, pea and bean shoots. Plus bought some young spinach, fennel (shaved) and pomegranate to complete this delicious salad. Chucked it all together et voila....

Wild Horseradish Sauce

Today baby Sophie and I went on a woodland adventure foraging for wild horseradish. With the help of a friendly local who pointed us in the right direction we managed to find and dig up this pretty impressive root.

At home I cleaned it up and (with a LOT of eye-watering) grated it and made it into an amazing horseradish sauce by adding a small pot of natural yoghurt, a teaspoon of cider vinegar, a teaspoon of Dijon mustard and a half a teaspoon of sugar.

The cleaned up horseradish root

The perfect accompaniment to fillet steak and piles of sweet potato fries..

Hot Horseradish

Sweet potato fries

Chicken & Vegetable Chilli

This is a great everyday family meal which is packed with beans and veg so you don't need rice, just a handful of tortilla chips or dehydrated root vegetable slices if you want to be really healthy.

Recipe (Serves 4)

Coconut Oil
8 quartered skinless chicken thigh fillets

1 large onion, chopped

1/2 green pepper, sliced
1/2 red pepper, sliced
2 carrots, chopped into batons
2 tsp smoked paprika
1-2 tsp chilli powder
2 tsp toasted cumin seeds
1 x 400g tin chopped tomatoes
1 x 400g tin pinto beans, rinsed and drained
400ml chicken (or vegetable) stock
150g green beans, trimmed
2 large handfuls of spinach
Natural yoghurt to serve


Heat a generous amount of coconut oil in a pan and brown the chicken.

Remove the chicken from the pan and replace with the onions. Cook for 5-7 minutes until golden and softened.

Add the pepper and carrots and cook for 5 minutes and then add the chicken back to the pan.

Stir in all the spices and cook for a minute, then add the tomatoes, pinto beans and stock.

Simmer for 10 minutes, then add the green beans and simmer for a further 10-15 minutes, stirring in the spinach a few minutes before serving.

Serve in bowls with a handful of chips and a spoonful of yoghurt.



Chicken & Vegetable Chilli

A New Soundtrack

As soon as I saw the chink of sunlight through my bedroom curtains this morning I was itching to get out for a good run. So I quickly got into my running gear, GPS and playlist at the ready as I do every morning and headed out towards the nearby woodland. Before long I was in a good pacey rhythm, enjoying the beautiful surroundings and the promise of a happy sunny day ahead. At about 3 miles in, the music that was pumping into my ears stopped abruptly, the woman who tells me my average pace had gone..my iPod was dead. Not good.

If like me you like some upbeat motivational tunes to accompany your run and set yourself goals to improve on speed/time you'll know what I'm talking about here..

As it turns out, the lack of power in my iPod turned this into a brilliant new experience. My new soundtrack was better than I could have ever expected. The rhythmic beat of my feet striking the ground, the sounds of birds, sheep, ducks, a stream running alongside me. I can't believe I've been missing out on all of this beneath the sound of Emeli Sande.. I felt so much more connected with my surroundings and my body, and managed to completely let go of the pressure that I usually put myself under to perform and improve every time I run.

This has really been a revelation to me and I've decided that from now on I'll go running gadget free at least once a week and just really enjoy connecting with nature and feeling what my body is doing that day.

First Sighting of Sunshine! - Greek Salad

It's been such a wet July so far, so it was lovely to sit in the sunniest spot of the garden with a couple of friends and enjoy lunch alfresco today.

A tasty Greek Salad of cucumber, home grown tomatoes and black olives topped with crumbled feta and a very big squeeze of lemon juice was just perfect.

Green Prawn Curry

Ingredients

3cm piece of ginger, roughly chopped

2 cloves of garlic, roughly chopped

1 onion, roughly chopped

1-2 green chillies

1tsp ground cumin

2tsp ground coriander

4 cardamom pods, split and seeds crushed

100ml chicken or veg stock

200ml half fat coconut milk

Bunch of coriander, finely chopped

Bunch of mint, finely chopped

400g raw peeled prawns

Blitz the ginger, garlic, onion, chillies and all of the spices with a splash of water into a smoothe paste.

Heat some oil in a pan (I use a fine oil spray and a non-stick wok) and fry the paste for 5 minutes. Add the stock and coconut milk and simmer for 10 minutes.

Then add the prawns and herbs and simmer for a further 3 minutes until the prawns are pink and cooked through. Serve with brown rice /cauliflower rice.

Boiled Eggs with Asparagus Dippers

Eggs have suffered a bad press in the past having been associated with high cholesterol and heart disease. But more recent studies have shown that moderate egg consumption does not lead to higher cholesterol and this has resulted in a dramatic rethink regarding the nutritional value of eggs in our diets. They are in fact one of the most nutrient-dense foods available.

Eggs are extremely rich in vitamins and minerals which are highly 'bio-available', meaning that our bodies easily absorb the goodness from them. They are also really high in protein, which can help you to feel full for longer. So with only 65 calories in a single medium egg, it makes them a good choice if you're watching your calorie intake.

Combined with delicious antioxidant-rich asparagus this makes for a great breakfast (or lunch) which only takes 6 minutes to make.

Boiled Eggs with Asparagus Dippers

And here's how to do it...

Using the smallest possible pan, just cover the eggs in cold water, and cover the pan. Bring to the boil quickly, over a high heat. Once boiling, remove the pan from the heat and leave to stand, still covered, for 6 minutes.

Meanwhile, Remove the woody part of the asparagus stems by gently snapping off the ends (they should just break naturally).
Coat the bottom of a frying pan with oil/butter (I use an oil spray so that the pan is just covered with a light film of oil) then add the asparagus and cover with a lid. Place the pan over a medium heat for about 5 minutes, or until the asparagus spears are cooked but are still a vibrant green colour.

After 6 minutes, remove the eggs from the pan and place them in egg cups. Crack the top of each egg with a spoon and remove the top. To serve, dip the asparagus spears into the soft egg yolk...

8 Hours Sleep?



Ardha-Kurmasana (Half Tortoise) is definitely the posture I need this morning. It's said to give the benefits of 8 hours sleep thanks to the oxygen and nutrients that are delivered to the brain whilst in the posture. It also gives you a nice stretch across your back and shoulders which feels really good.

I'm not sure it's going to compensate for 11 months of broken sleep since having my daughter but it certainly feels good and brings calmness to my mind and body.

Namaste!

Rajasthani Dal

This is one of my favourite meals - the recipe for this delicious dal was given to me by my mum who is vegetarian and a fantastic cook.

Not only is it insanely tasty and very cheap to make, it's also high in protein and iron and low in fat. Lentils which are the main ingredient in this meal nourish the kidneys and adrenal glands (helping to manage stress within the body).

Ingredients (serves 4)
225g red split lentils
2 cloves
1/2 cinnamon stick
4 black peppercorns
1 litre water
2.5cm ginger, peeled and chopped
3 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
1tbsp unsalted butter
2 finely chopped onions
3 tomatoes skinned and finely chopped
2tsp garam masala
1tsp hot chilli powder
1tsp ground turmeric
Sliced fresh green chillies to serve (optional)
2 tbsp double cream to serve (optional)

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

Blitz the ginger, garlic and a tbsp water to a paste in a blender. Heat the butter in a pan, add the onions stirring until lightly browned then add the ginger and garlic paste, tomatoes, garam masala, chilli powder and turmeric.

After 2-3 minutes tip the cooked lentils into the pan and leave to simmer for 8-10 minutes. Add cream and chillies if desired and serve with chapatis.

This one definitely gets the seal of approval from my 11 month old daughter Sophie!

Beginnings

It's the beginning of a new week and the beginning of my blog. I'm hoping to use this space to share some ideas and recipes. I am passionate about healthy living - cooking tasty wholesome food for me and my family, yoga (particularly sweaty hot/Bikram), running, enjoying the world around us and making the most of every day.
I hope you enjoy reading,
Emma x



Beginning my week with overnight soaked oats, oat bran, chia seeds, coconut milk and cinnamon