Summer Cod salad

Today's salad is : Pan fried Cod, mixed leaves, peas, peaches, green beans, red onion, pickled cucumber, chickpeas and lemon & poppy dressing. 

Its been a while since I wrote my last post but fear not I have not given up just yet! I've been a busy bee in the kitchen and feel utterly guilty for abandoning my blog page. I have so much to write about! I am back with a bang ! :)

So we all know Summer is about salads and luckily for me I get to come up with my own salad of the day when I am setting up the kitchen.  Gluten free, dairy free and full of nutritious ingredients! :)

Getting creative with food is what I love and knowing I am trying to accomadate wheat free and dairy free customers. My knowledge of nutrition has grown so much from this daily task. At the start it was pretty hard coming up with a salad. It was like an impending doom fearing which ingredients go with what. Chefs dilemma pacing the veg fridge , spoilt with choice! But after awhile I got the hang of it and try better myself every day. Sometimes the best ideas come at the spur of a moment! So here is my healthy I've put together :) 

Nutella Croissant Bread and Butter Pudding || World Nutella Day |February 5th

So since I used to work for Nutella, I am obviously a big fan and still get some lucky packages every now and again. I thought what better way to celebrate World Nutella Day ( February 5th) than making a Nutella Croissant Bread and Butter Pudding! I kept it as simple as I could so it should be easier for you to make.

What you need:

~ 4 Croissants

~ 1 vanilla bean ( pods)

~ 400ml cream

~ 200ml milk 

~ 3 eggs

~ 100g of caster sugar

~ Small pinch of salt

I served mine with whipped cream.

Serves 4-5 people

Method:

1. Break up the croissants and put them in a baking dish. Layer in between with Nutella but not on top because it will burn! 

2.Put cream, vanilla beans,salt, milk and caster sugar into a bowl and whisk together

3. Leave for as long as you can. Overnight preferably with a form of weight on top so the croissants will really soak up the custard mix.

4. Preheat over to 180c

5. Put the baking dish inside and bake for 45 minutes 

Make sure the custard is set in the middle of the pudding but allow it to have moisture too.

Enjoy! 

Holly  x

Courgette noodles ||

Courgette noodles for dinner today. I got prawns in K O Connells in the English Market which were meaty and fresh. Sometimes carbohydrates can make me too full so simple noodles work for me! 

Ingredients:

~ 1 courgette

~Cherry tomatoes

~Onion

~Spinach

~Garlic

~Mushrooms

~Prawns

~Cayenne pepper

~Half a lemon

~Sun dried tomatoe pesto

Step 1.So first, I roasted all the vegetables in the oven with oil, salt and pepper except the courgette noodles!

Step 2.While they are roasting, julienne peeled the courgette then placed the heart of the courgette into the oven to roast as well.

Step 3.Heat up a pan until very hot and put the prawns in with salt and pepper. Put in some Cayenne to add a bit of spicyness.Add the spinach until it has sweated.

Step 4.Add the courgette noodles and then the roasted vegetables.

Toss in a garlic clove and sun dried tomatoe pesto.

Check for seasoning and serve up

Enjoy :-) 

Holly x 

BBQ baby back ribs

1. Ribs are my favourite food in the whole world so I had to do a blog post on how I do mine! There is a few methods on how to cook them but this is the easiest and fastest. I'm always trying new BBQ sauces every time I cook a new batch, I'm yet to make my own but when I do I'll be sure to share it with ye guys :-) After being to America, it will always be hard to live up to those Tony Romas Juicy ribs but I think I'm getting closer each time! 

Ingredients: 

~Baby back ribs ( depends on how much you want to serve up)

~BBQ sauce

~ Veg and spices for the stock pot

Step 1.Prep the ribs. Trim any fat and take the skin on the underside off. 

Step 2.Get a pot of water boiling, add whatever you think will give the ribs flavour! I add spices, herbs, garlic, worchester sauce, onions, stock, celery and carrots. 

Step 3.Boil the ribs for an hour ( this gets them really soft and falling off the bone) 

Step 4.Line up on a tray and brush on the BBQ sauce. Put into the oven at 180 degrees until the sauce dries in a bit then apply another layer. Repeat this step 3 times until the ribs are fully coated and glazed. Do not forget to brush BBQ sauce on the underneath of the ribs!

Take out and serve up! Enjoy! :-) 

Courgetti || Healthy Eating

So since I am trying to be healthy and get as much energy I can from my five a day , I decided to try a new way to get in all my veggies! The latest craze Courgetti?? Coodles? Zucchini Fettuncini? Yep it literally is what it says. Now don't worry you don't need to invest in the fancy Spiraliser machine just yet. I used my trusty Julienne peeler which does the job just great. I bought this in my local cookery shop Brennan's. This recipe is simple and actually quite tasty. It is low in carbohydrates but rich in nutrients.

Ingredients:

~1 courgette or 2 if you are very

Hungry! 

~Tbsp of sun dried tomatoe pesto

~1 garlic clove

~Drop of oil

~Cherry tomatoes

~Spinach

~Kale

Method:

Step 1.Put the cherry tomatoes into the oven, seasoned with s + p

Step 2.In the meantime, use the julienne peeler to peel the courgette. I did not use the middle of the courgette but of course it can be added to the mix!

Step 3.Heat up a small drop of oil in a pan, sweat and season the spinach.

put the courgetti into the hot pan and toss in sun dried tomatoe pesto.

Step 4. Put one clove of garlic in and toss for a minute 

Season with salt and pepper.

Serve up with the roast tomatoes and Kale. 

(Recipe for Crisy Kale Chips : http://thepetitechefblog.blogspot.ie/2015/01/crispy-kale.html?m=0 ) 

Crispy Kale ||

Crispy Kale chips are something you must eat right now! If you love veggies you will love the taste of these. They are simple to make and can be used as an alternative to the bag of crisps that are usually their tempting us in the cupboard. Kale can be eaten raw as well or used in smoothies.

Ingredients:

~Kale

~Sea salt

~cayenne pepper

-Olive oil 

Step 1.Preheat oven at 180 degrees.

Step 2.Line your baking pan with parchment paper.Break the kale off its stem into small pieces and place it on the paper.

Step 3.Put some cayenne and sea salt on top. Drizzle wih oil.

Step 4.Put into the oven for 10-15 minutes until crispy.

Enjoy! :-) 

Green Smoothie || Healthy Eating

Feel low on energy and need a boost? Feel you need

To detox and trying to get in your five a day? The green smoothie craze has rubbed on me and I'm willing to keep it up once I'm getting an energy boost from it! The pictures below show what I put into it and I got it all for less than €5.00 at Aldi Ireland though the coconut water is from Marks and Spencer.

To complete the green smoothie I took a trip to The Good Food Shop in the English Market and got some Goji berries and a Superfood mix. I got some Chia seeds from Quay Co-Op Café. The packets are big and will last for a good while.They tasted lovely with the smoothie and will give you an automatic lift.These smoothies are perfect if you are constantly on the go like myself! 

Goji Berries are from a native Chinese shrub and are full of nutrients including amino acids and vitamins. It is thought they have benefits in mental well being and athletic performance. 

Chia seeds help hunger while making sure you are getting the right nutrients in your diet. They are high in OMEGA 3, fibre, antioxidants, and protein.

The Superfood Mix that I got in The Good Food shop contains cacao, macs, kelp, hemp,spirulina, cholorella, barley grass and Lucuma. This is 8 nutrients in one serving which are full of iron protein and OMega 3. One tablespoon of this can be consumer with a smoothie, coconut water or juice. 

Definitely try out out this green juice diet even for a while to see if it makes a difference. Breakfast time is the best time to have this to give you a good start to the day. Happy Juicing!!! :-)