Healthy meal idea: Flaked baked tuna, cream cheese and pesto with greenveg!

This meal is easy peasy to make and packed full of protein and vitamins! 

Ingredients

- 1 tuna steak

- 40g 'Yum' pesto and cream cheese

- 5 spears of asparagus

- 50g green beans

- 100g brocolli and cauliflower florets 

- fresh black pepper

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-preheat the over at 180 degrees and place tuna steak on middle shelf (sprinkle some black pepper on top beforehand). Cook for approx 17mins.

-in the meantime prepare the veg. 

- once the tuna is cooked, flake it in a bowl and mash the pesto cream cheese into it.

-serve everything up in a dish and FEAST!!

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Macros: 410cals 14g carbs 16g fat 49g protein

Enjoy x

Breakfast idea: 'Overnight' Oats

This breakfast idea is so simple. All it requires is for you to prepare it the night before :-)

The secret added ingredient that makes ALL the difference is the addition of Chia seeds. Chia seeds have a huge nutritional profile. They contains calcium, manganese, and phosphorus, and are a great source of healthy omega-3 fats. Chia's stabilizing effect on blood sugar also fights insulin resistance which can be tied to an increase in belly fat, according to Live Strong.

Ingredients 

-60g gluten free oats

-120ml alpro light soya milk

- tsp vanilla extract

- 20g chia seeds

- 1tbsp agave syrup

Optional ingredients:

You can add whatever fruit you fancy to your overnight oats. In my picture above I used some strawberries and sultanas. If you plan to workout before your breakfast you could even add a scoop of protein powder in there :-)

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- mix all of the ingredients together in a sealable container and leave in the fridge over night. Add your fruit toppings just before you eat it - as simple as that!

Macros for the porridge without toppings: 

404cals 

36g carbs (all the chia carbs are pure fibre so not absorbed!) 

11g fat (6 of which are polyunsaturated!) 17g protein.

Enjoy x

Spicy baked tempeh sticks!

Tempeh goes in the same category with marmite - people seem to either love it or hate it. I personally love marmite- I'll eat it out of the jar with a spoon he he! 

I must warn you, these spiced chips are quite addictive, and a perfect alternative to bread as an accompaniment to soup or stew.

Ingredients

-1 packet of tempeh (300g)

-1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

-1/4 teaspoon ground coriander

-1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric

-1/4 teaspoon chilli flakes or cayenne pepper

-1/4 teaspoon ground cumin

-pinch of sea salt

-freshly ground black pepper

                       ~*~

1. Preheat the oven to 150C and line a baking sheet with baking paper. 

2. Cut the tempeh into thinnish slices and arrange the slices on the baking sheet.

3. Mix together all the spices and sprinkle the mixture on both sides of the tempeh slices. 

4. Bake for 40-60 minutes, turning the slices regularly, until they feel firm and slightly crispy. 

YUM!

Macros: 150cals 11g protein 10g carbs 7.5g fat (mostly poly-unsaturated)

Moroccan turkey, lentil and vegetable stew!

So you're after some comfort food but you don't want it to lay heavy on your waistline? Well you've come to the right place!

This lentil stew can be served with or without the meat depending on your preference.

Ingredients (makes 4 servings)

-1 tablespoon olive oil

-1 yellow onion, finely chopped

-1 clove garlic, minced

small piece of fresh ginger, grated

-2 carrots, finely cubed

-1/2 teaspoon ground coriander

-1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

-1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric

-1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

-1 medium sized eggplant, cubed

-100g green beans, chopped

-100g button mushrooms, chopped

-5-6 tomatoes, chopped

-100g green lentils (or any lentil you prefer

-300g turkey breast, cubed

250ml - 500ml vegetable stock

pinch of freshly grounded black pepper

 1. Heat olive oil in a large pan. Cook the turkey through. Add onion, garlic, ginger and carrots. Cook for a few minutes, then add the spices and a splash of vegetable stock. Cook for a further few minutes.

2. Add the rest of the ingredients. Start with just 250ml of vegetable stock and add more when necessary during cooking. Cook the stew for 30-40 minutes or until all the vegetables and the lentils are fully cooked.

Serve with any other veg you fancy! Put any leftovers in Tupperware in the freezer and just defrost and heat up when you fancy more!

I will be enjoying my leftovers with some spicy baked tempeh sticks at work this week :-) (recipe soon to be added)

Macros per serving: 175cals 9g carbs 30g protein

Enjoy :-) x

Guilt free chocolate yoghurt!

Ok, call me crazy, but this yummy dessert treat is made with.... Wait for it..... Wait for it......

COTTAGE CHEESE!?

Yep, totally crazy but totally delicious! Perfect for a post workout protein treat YUM!

Ingredients

-125g low fat cottage cheese

-1tsp raw cacao powder

-1tbsp stevia 

-using a hand blender, blend all ingredients together until smooth

Viola!

Add healthy toppings such as strawberries.

                    ~*~

This version has these macros:

138cals 16g protein 10g carbs and 3g fat

                     ~*~

Are you after an even bigger protein-packed version?? 

Add a scoop of protein powder to the mixture and a splash of Alpro light soya milk and you'll get the following macros:

222cals 32g protein 10g carbs 5g fat!!

Enjoy :-)

Vanilla protein pancake!

So ok... You get the idea! I love protein pancakes!! As time goes on I'm finding new variations so I'll continue to post each one so you have a few to pick and choose from!!

Ingredients

-2 egg whites

-One scoop of unflavoured pro-10 whey concentrate powder

-1tbsp coconut flour

-100ml alpro light soya milk (or a milk of your choice)

1 tbsp vanilla extract 

-Whisk all of the above together in a bowl then pour the mixture into a hot flat frying pan (spray some 1cal spray on beforehand)

- wait until one side has gone brown then flip. Once the other side is brown, fold over and place on a dish.

At this stage the plain pancake has the following macros: 

171cals, 27g protein 6g carbs (all fibre!!)

                              ~*~

But of course we like some lovely toppings to go with it!!!

In this example I chose to top the pancake with some chopped strawberries, blueberries and some cacao chocolate sauce (basically healthy raw chocolate!)

How do you make the chocolate sauce I hear u ask?!

Cacao sauce

- 1tbsp raw cacao powder (mine was The Raw Chocolate Companies Organic Cacao powder)

- a splash of soya milk

-A squeeze or honey

- A tablespoon of stevia

Mix together in a shallow dish then microwave until warm and smooth

Then pour pour pour! Don't forget to lick the bowl and spoon :-)

                              ~*~

Macros for pancake + toppings:

285cals 32g protein 16gcarbs

ENJOY x

Zero Calorie Moyu Noodles!

 Moyu noodles are my new favourite alternative to spaghetti/noodles.

In one 200g pack there are only 12 cals (and these are burnt just through eating them) so there we go...zero calorie noodles!

I thought I'd share a few simple, nutricious, high protein recipe ideas which you can use with Moyu Noodles.

My favourite is as follows:

Ingredients

200g moyu noodles, rinsed

Half an avocado

1 poached egg

80g soya beans, pre-cooked
50g chicken, pre-cooked(feel free to use more though, it's just what I had left!)
40g Pesto Cream cheese (by YUM)
Grated Mozerella Cheese 10g
1tbsp Pesto Alla Genovese

- first start off by scooping the avocado half into a bowl
- add the tbsp of Pesto alla Genovese - then use a hand blender to puree both til smooth
- in a hot pan, add the moyu noodles together with the avocado/pesto puree, cooked chicken pieces, soya beans and Pesto cream cheese.
- keep stirring until heated through - in the mean time bring your poached egg to the boil (make sure its runny!)
-serve up noodle mixture, add poached egg to the top and sprinkle with the mozerella cheese

TA-DA!

This recipe contains only 403 calories, a whopping 31g of protein and only 4g carbs!! And boy does it taste good after a 5k run and weights session followed by some protein pancakes!!


Other ingredient ideas...

In this version I used brocolli and cauliflower....

In this version I used asapargus and peppers!

Be creative and share any ideas you have :-)

Nori Wraps

So here's a recipe I picked up from Pinterest and tried out for myself...a healthy take on wraps!

Substitute the bread in your usual wraps for Nori Seaweed sheets...we're talking a massive 5.5 calories per sheet!!?? Considering the average bread wrap is about 180cals - that's quite a reduction in calories don't you think? Aside from that..Nori is very nutrional!

You can choose any filling you like - healthier the better of course!

One of my favourites is as follows (this makes two wraps):

- Shredded chicken (100g)
- Half an Avocado, sliced
- 1 Sweet Pepper, sliced
- a blob of Pesto alla Genovese
- 2 nori sheets

Macros: 290 cals 7.5g carbs 25.5g protein

I often chuck an extra boiled egg in my lunch box too just to up the protein even further (add an additional 83 cals and 7g protein.....373 cals and 32.g of protein - not bad for a super healthy, super tasty lunch don't ya think?! :-)

Banana Protein Pancake

This has to be literally one of the easiest pancake recipes EVER! And totally delicious – next time I’m going to make a double batch!!

A perfect post work-out snack – I had mine for dessert after my tea!

All you need are 5 ingredients and BOOM, delicious puffy banana pancake!!

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Ingredients

-1 scoop Pro-10 whey protein concentrate protein powder (unflavoured)

-1 tbsp coconut flour

-Half a banana mashed

-1 egg white

-A splash of Alpro Light soya milk (or any milk)

- Whisk all ingredients together then heat a flat frying pan, spray a little non-stick spray and pour the mixture into the pan when its heated up. With these quantities I made one medium pancake but you could make two small if your prefer J Wait a few moments then flip pancake over so it goes golden on both sides!

Macros for the pancake alone: 192 cal 22g protein 19g carbs (mostly from the banana!)

You can add whatever toppings you fancy. I decided to add the remaining half of my banana, a squirt of Groovy Foods Agave Syrup and a sprinkle of cinnamon powder and WOW it was gooooood!

 

Macros with my toppings:  258cals 23g protein, 36g carbs (again, mostly from the banana!)

Strawberry Protein Pancakes

So here's my first eat clean post! Woo!

I’ll start off with one of my favourite recipes….

Strawberry Protein Pancakes!

These are so simple to make and the toppings are completely up to you…but obviously fruit and a dash of honey will be a lot healthier than mountains of cream / sweet sauces.

In this example I used blueberries and some Rowse’s honey. I also made a chocolate protein powder sauce to make them extra gooey/proteiny (I will add this recipe at the end).

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Ingredients

-1 scoop of strawberry whey protein isolate protein powder (I used Pro-10 Whey protein isolate Strawberry which you can buy from Play.com/Amazon)

-2 egg whites

-1tbsp of coconut flour

-1 tsp of cocoa berry flaxseed (any flaxseed will do but this version can be bought from -Holland and Barrett)

-100ml of Alpro Light Soya milk (or any milk you prefer)

- Whisk all ingredients together then heat a flat frying pan, spray a little non-stick spray and pour a bit of the mixture into pan when its heated up (you should be able to make 5 small pancakes from the whole lot). Wait a few moments then flip pancake over so it goes golden on both sides J

-Top with blueberries and honey or whatever you fancy! Or if you fancy some protein-packed chocolate sauce see below:

Protein Chocolate Sauce

 

Ingredients

1/3 scoop of Diet Fuel Ultralean Chocolate protein powder (bought mine from Holland and Barrett)

A splash of soy milk (or any milk you prefer)

Add water as needed for consistency

Microwave for 10 seconds at a time til it’s heated and smooth…then pour on top of your pancakes!

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Of course if you wanted something really chocolatey you could melt a little bit of 85% dark chocolate on top….but let’s keep that idea for treat days ;-)

For this example, my pancakes totalled 285 cals and 44g of protein!