Tag: treats

Healthy Living, Recipes

Oaty Apple Crumble

Jen Dietitian

IMG_0199

I am so pleased with how this recipe turned out!

Apple crumble has to be one of my all-time favourite desserts, and this is a great healthy version made with oats. The crunch you get from using walnuts means you can omit the butter and it’s much lower in sugar than other versions too. Let me know if you try it and what you think!

 

 

Ingredients
(for the filling)
Approximately 5 large apples
1 tsp cinnamon
(for the topping)
50g + 20g oats (or 50g oat flour + 20g oats)
50g walnuts
1 tbsp coconut oil
1 tbsp honey
1 tsp cinnamon

Method
1. Preheat the oven to 200’c.
2. Cut the apples into bitesize chunks (no need to peal if you don’t want to!). Add the cinnamon and place in a pan with a lid on a low heat. Leave to stew for 5-10 minutes.
3. Using a food processor, blend 50g of the oats until you have a flour (this can take a while!).
4. Meanwhile, melt the coconut oil in the microwave.
5. Once the oats are ground, tip the honey and coconut oil into the food processor. Mix together.
6. Add the additional 20g of oats, the walnuts and cinnamon and blitz it all together until the nuts are chopped. You should have a mixture that resembles a crumble topping.
7. Tip the stewed apples into a dish and cover with the topping. Pop in oven for approx. 20 minutes, or until the crumble topping has gone slightly golden.

IMG_0201Serve with a dollop of Greek yoghurt or custard!

Nutritional info per portion
(based on above serving 6 people)
Calories: 218kcal
Fat: 10g
Saturated fat: 3.5g
Protein: 3.5g

Recipes

Banana Ice Cream

Jen Dietitian

20150528_114415It’s that time of year again where ice cream is everywhere. There’s nothing better than enjoying a cooling ice cream after a long day in a hot office, and now you can do it without the added sugar!

This recipe is SUPER SIMPLE! It has just one essential ingredient.

I’ve known about this idea for a while, but never tried it. I tried it last week and now I’ll permanently have bananas in my freezer, and when you taste this you’ll find out why! It actually tastes like creamy, ice cream. Suitable for just about anybody; those watching their weight, those with lactose intolerance, vegans, children, even babies! Plus you can vary it and make it “more gourmet” by adding in different things.

Healthy, cheap, tasty and sooo easy to make!

You’ll need a banana and a food processor.

(This recipe works best with ripe, sweet and soft bananas…the ones that are starting to go a little black in your fruit bowl!)

METHOD
1. Peel the banana, slice into coins and freeze in an airtight container or freezer bag (a couple of hours should be enough but overnight is best).
20150528_113850

2. Pop the banana slices into a food processor and blend.

20150528_1140133. First, they’ll appear crumb-like (see picture >>). Use a soft spatula to scrape the bits off that are stuck to the sides and keep going!

4. Once your bananas are becoming smoother, you can add in other ingredients if you want (see below for ideas).

5. Keep blending until your bananas (and extras) resemble a smooth, creamy texture…like ice cream!

6. You can enjoy it immediately, or you can put it into an airtight container and put it back in the freezer until it becomes more solid.

Additional flavourings (some not suitable for babies <12 months age):
– Walnuts (or other nuts)
– Peanut butter
– Frozen berries
– Honey
– Chocolate chips
– Nutella
– Crumbed biscuits (speculoos or ginger nuts!)
– 1/2 teaspoon Cinnamon or ginger

Do let me know what you think and if you try adding in different things!

Recipes

Bara Brith

Jen Dietitian

I made this for the European bread festival at Schuman last weekend, and it was very popular. Lots of people asked where they could buy it, and upon being told I’d made it, I promised them I would put it my blog. (It didn’t even last long enough for me to take a picture!)

Bara Brith is Welsh ‘speckled bread’. It’s not really bread at all, more like a fruit cake, but one that is very special to me, given my Welsh heritage. I don’t often post cake recipes on here, but I love baking! This recipes is low in fats, but it does contain quite a bit of sugar from both the muscavado and the dried fruit.

You need to start making this the night before, as ideally the fruit needs to soak in the tea over night.

Ingredients
350g self raising flour
150g muscovado sugar (or any brown sugar)
1 egg
300ml tea (you can mix it up here, but I normally use Welsh – or English – breakfast)
450g dried fruit (raisins, sultanas, cranberries and mixed peel work well)
1 tbsp honey
1 tsp mixed spice
2 tbsp orange juice
1 tbsp orange zest

Method
1. Tip the dried fruit into a large bowl (it will expand), and pour the tea over it. Cover and leave it to soak overnight.
2. Preheat your oven to 160’c and grease a loaf tin lightly with butter.
3. Grate the orange to get the zest, then cut in half and squeeze  to get some juice. Sieve it to ensure there’s no pips!
4. Mix together the sugar, egg, honey, orange juice and zest.
5. Add this mixture to the bowl containing the fruit and mix well.
6. Gradually sieve in the flour and mixed spice, stirring in as you go.
7. The consistency of the mixture should be thick and drop slowly off the back of a spoon. If it’s too thick, slowly add a little milk until you reach the desired consistency.
8. Pour the mixture into the greased tin, and place into the oven. It will need around 1.5-2 hours. The top should look golden, and be firm to the touch in the middle.
9. Allow to cool, before slicing into 12-14 slices and enjoying with a nice cup of tea.

This is the one picture I do have…

IMG_20150508_231258

Nutritional info (based on the above recipe yielding 14 slices):
CALORIES: 230kcal
TOTAL FAT: 0.6g
SATURATED FAT: 0.1g
PROTEIN: 3.4g
TOTAL CARBOHYDRATE: 57g
SUGARS: 30g