Easy Peasy Beetroot Tzatziki Dip

    Look in my fridge and you will find an abundance of yogurt. Usually, not just any yoghurt, but Total Greek FAGE 0% yogurt. The stuff is divine. It's creamy enough to enjoy as a rich desert with various toppings whilst also being extremely healthy ; high in protein, low in fat and no added sugars.
It is also extremely versatile and easy to cook with in savoury dishes.
I needed a flavouring or dip for my salad the other evening and feeling uninspired by the choice of herbs and spices in the cupboard, I threw together this colourful dip, using only 4 ingredients.

It's literally so simple.

Beetroot (diced into small cubes), Lemon Juice, 0% Greek Yoghurt, Oregano or Mixed Herbs.

Ready for the step by step. It's detailed and tricky, I'll warn you now.
Ready?

1. Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl.
......
That's it. It can't get any more simple than that! Obviously it's best served chilled and I wouldn't recommend keeping it for days on end, but it's a lot healthier than a lot of pre-packaged dips and not to mention cheap too! I used Tesco's Basics beetroot so I reckon that per serving, this comes in at about 20p? Maybe even less.

Chilli and Ginger Steamed Salmon with Sautéed Vegetables and Mango-

    I'll admit, I prefer fish to meat. Always have done. Always will do. When I get salmon, it literally makes me happy inside! It infuriates me when students say that eating healthily and nutritious/interesting food is expensive and can't be done. FOOLS!

Most of my meals cost a lot less to put together than buying excessive takeaways and eating out, plus I enjoy them more and my body appreciates them too!

    I've found shopping in Asian supermarkets quite an experience! The fruit and vegetables are extremely cheap (the other day I got 20 oranges for a £1 and 4 cucumbers for a £1! and three mangoes for £1) and fresh, and you find some real treasures there too! Coconut essence? Bingo. Ginger? Bingo. Spices? CHECK! Anyway, I'm going off on a tangent here. This was really simple to make and light and fresh too!

♥ 1 Small Red Pepper (sliced and diced)
♥ 1 Small White Onion (small slices)
♥ 1 Garlic Clove
♥ 50g Dried Mango Slices
♥ Chilli Flakes

♥ 2 Pieces of sliced fresh ginger

♥ 2 Salmon Fillets

1. Sautee the vegetables in a pan over a low heat so the pepper slightly chars and the onion goes soft. Add half the ginger, the chilli flakes and set aside.
2. Steam the salmon fillets until soft and flaky, top with the ginger and chilli before wrapping in tinfoil and allowing the flavours to settle.
3. Add the mango to the vegetables and allow to soften and get warm. Then, serve the salmon on top of the vegetables and serve.

I chose to serve my salmon with a sweet potato, and courgette and spinach salad.

High Protein, Crumbled Cookie Fro-Yo (For one)

High Protein, Crumbled Cookie Fro-Yo (For one)

    I'm a sucker for fro-yo. I'll admit it. Whether it be home-made pro-yo, frozen Greek yoghurt or going to get one of those beautiful, swirly towers of tastiness at a frozen yoghurt shop. I love the stuff.
But it can be really expensive! And a lot of shop bought ones are full of sugar and added nasties to makes them taste so good.
I'm not saying that this recipe is completely healthy, paleo, clean or sugar free, blah blah blah. But it is a heck of a lot cheaper and more nutritious than a lot out there. Plus, it's so blinking simple!
We all know that I am an addict for Total's 0% Greek Yoghurt, so for another #trytotal challenge, I made this for my weekend challenge.
If you don't know yet, at the weekend, I like to challenge myself with a food that could be considered 'unclean' or a fear food in the past. I think that by doing this, I will learnt to overcome stupid food myths I may have created, and begin to focus on food being a nice treat or something to enjoy rather than fear. 

♥ 200g 0% Total Greek Yoghurt
♥ 1 Tsp of Vanilla Essence
♥ 1 Tsp of Stevia
♥ 1 snack portion of mini Oreos (although normal sized would do the job just as well)

1. Put the yoghurt into the freezer and allow to solidfy for approximately 2 hours. It needs to be slightly frozen in order for this to actually resemble frozen yoghurt. In the meantime, crumble all but three of the cookies into a seperate bowl.

2. When frozen, take out and using a fork, break down the ice crystals in the yoghurt. Then stir through the crumbled cookie, vanilla and the stevia. Once done, you can freeze again for a bit if you want.

3. Top with the three remaining cookies and then serve with other toppings if you want. I used frozen berries and 0% sugar maple syrup.

VOILA, there you have it. Easy Peasy.

Homemade BBQ pulled salted beef (for two)-

    I think a big part of recovery is challenging past fear foods and beginning to tell yourself once again that good nutritious food is not scary and will not kill you. I had a huge fear of beef throughout my eating disorder and even the leanest cuts were considered extremely 'fatty' and therefore toxic to me. I didn't realise the only toxic thing about the situation was me and my attitude. 

I'm working on destroying each of my fear-foods/myths that I formulated whilst recovering and gaining muscle/beginning to exercise more.

This recipe I sort of made up from scratch and when I was making it, was completely unsure how it would turn out. Luckily, I think it looks pretty damn tasty and if anybody has beef with that, feel free to take it up with me..(pun intended)

The great thing about this BBQ sauce, is not only that it's made from proper nosh and is clean eating, but it is SOOOOO versatile. Literally, I've made homemade BBQ beans, BBQ pumpkin mash, BBQ chicken. The list is endless.

♥ 1/2 large white onion (sliced thinly)
♥ 200g chopped tomatoes
♥ 1 Tsp paprika, cumin, cinnamon, chilli powder
♥ Chilli Flakes (varies depending on how well you can take the heat!)
♥ 240g Pulled Salted Beef Brisket (I got this from ASDA, but any pulled beef will do)
♥ 2 Tbsp Worcester Sauce
♥ 1 Tbsp  tomato purée.
1. Sautee the onions until golden and soft, before adding the spices and half of the beef and warming through.
2. Pour in the chopped tomatoes and reduce the heat until the liquid begins to evaporate and thicken. Then add the Worcester sauce and stir through the mixture. At this point, add the chilli and taste the sauce. You can alter the spices slightly and add more if required!

3. Serve with the remainder of the beef on top.

(FYI, I've also made this in the past and stirred through smooth peanut butter to make it thicker and it works a treat too!)At the time, I served this with steamed bulgar wheat and a  courgette and baby red chard salad, but I guess it's personal preference!

Vegan Chickpea 'Cookie Dough'-

    Throughout my illness, I used to kid myself and tell people that I loved to cook. I didn't. Really I loved the control it gave me, the ability to determine exactly what went into my food and know precisely what I was eating. I used to get a thrill from knowing the number of calories I was consuming, terrified of straying off of my strict calorie limit I gave myself. My meals were bland, tasteless and boring. I'd convince myself that cucumber tasted good on it's own for lunch and that dry, bare, branflakes were a suitable breakfast before sport. It was obsessive, compulsive and unhealthy!

   Now, I genuinely love it. I don't follow the IIFYM trend that is going on now strictly, however I do feel my meals are becoming more adventurous and I am more willing to try new things!
I enjoy cooking so much so, that when I came home from my hockey game today, I felt inspired to bake something for a treat for later. Although I don't think I should see any foods as particular treats, or be limiting myself to only eating certain things, at the weekend I do try to challenge something that I would have considered 'unhealthy' during my eating disorder. Little things that normal people eat without an issue, but that I trained myself to hate and avoid for fear of piling on weight! But, how on earth can this be considered an unhealthy treat when a) it was made with a healthy mindset and b) because it contains pretty much completely clean and nutritious ingredients?! I was inspired by http://chocolatecoveredkatie.com/  and then made my balls (hehe) before using them to top my evening bowl of yoghurt!

This recipe makes enough for 10 balls of 'dough'

♥ 240g chickpeas (previously drained)
♥ 2 TBSP Peanut Butter/ Almond Butter
♥ 1 TBSP Stevia
♥ 2 TBSP Agave Nectar/Honey/Maple Syrup
♥ 1 TSP cinnamon
♥ 1 TSP vanilla essence
♥ 75% Dark Chocolate Chips/Fruit/Unsweetened Coconut/Nuts/Cocoa

1. Then simply blend all except the last ingredient together, adding water if it gets too stodgy and pulse until a dough forms.
2. Roll and form into small balls, then roll in the final ingredient or press in choice of filling. Finally, chill or if you want to, warm slightly before serving.

Dark Cocoa and Venison Chilli Con Carne- (Serves one)

     What better way to challenge yourself than combining two past fear foods?! TWO I HEAR YOU CRY. Red meat, and chocolate. I made this a couple of weeks ago and it was absolutely lush if I do say so myself. The spice of the Chile Con Carne really kicks before you get the lovely sweet after taste from the cocoa!

Venison is definitely something I will try again. It's ridiculously lean and packed full of protein, iron and nutrients! Not to mention, I found that when cooked right, it was really tender and didn't taste as tough or fatty as some beef steaks can.

    I've never thought of combining sweet and savoury before, other than the obvious peanut butter and sweet potato of which I am a die hard fan! But this really hit the spot and I think shows that adventurous and different foods should not be scary or feared.

♥ 250g lean venison shoulder steak  
♥ 1/2 medium onion (diced)
♥ 100g drained kidney beans

• ♥ 1/2 can chopped tomatoes
• ♥ cHILLI fLAKES (PLUS EXTRA TO GARNISH)
• ♥ 20G DARK UNSWEETEND DARK COCOA POWDER
• ♥ 2 TSP CUMIN/PAPRIKA
• ♥ 1 tsp ground cinnamon, garlic

1. Begin by adding a bit of hot water to a frying pan and slowly cooking the meat (I find doing this keeps it tender) until just about cooked through. Then, add the paprika, cumin, half the chilli flakes and garlic and continue over heat. Reduce the liquid and then add the onion, make sure it is fully covered in the spices and soften. 

2. Reduce the heat, and add the tomatoes and kidney beans. Let them soften and the beans cook completely, before stirring in the cinnamon and cocoa. Allow to simmer away until it smells quite spicy and until the cocoa has fully dissolved.

3. Then serve with more chilli flaked on top!

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Broccoli and Cashew Nut Pesto (vegan) -

♥ 50g Cashew Nuts (Soaked in warm water)
♥ Squeeze of Lemon Juice
♥ Garlic Granules or two garlic cloves
♥ 1/4 head of broccoli florets (steamed until soft)
♥ Basil

1. Make sure the cashew nuts are slightly soft and that the broccoli is too.
Then simply put all the ingredients into a blender or food processor and blitz. You don't want slime, so avoid blitzing it until completely smooth, but make sure all the cashews have broken up slightly!
The garlic and lemon add flavouring so adjust them to suit your taste!

And that's it...I serve with chicken and find it goes well.