Chocolate Pancakes

I'm a big fan of pancakes. They are quick and easy to make, fill you up with slow releasing energy and taste so good too. I have these as a healthy treat. Maybe on a weekend for breakfast where you have time to sit and savour them with the morning papers or even a good book.

Check out my other recipes here for Paleo Pancakes and here for Oat Pancakes.

Ingredients:
100g of oats
1 large free range egg
250ml of water or milk
1 teaspoon of cinnamon
2 tablespoons of Chia seeds
1 tablespoon of Honey
2 teaspoons of 100% Cocoa Powder e.g. Bournville or Green and Blacks Organic

1 teaspoon of Coconut oil for cooking

Optional: replace some of the oats for the same quantity of Protein Powder.

Method:
Blitz the oats in a blender (or handheld) until they form a coarse powder.
Beat the egg, honey and milk/water together and fold in the oats until they are well mixed. 

Add in Chia seeds and 100% Coco and mix well.

I did all this in my hand held blender in the one jug which saves on wash up!

Fry in a ceramic pan in Olive Oil or Coconut Oil on a medium heat and flip once the underside is cooked.

Enjoy with a variety of healthy toppings!

Prep Time:
Less than 5 minutes!

Dietary Information:
Wheat free

Sugar Free (option to also leave out honey)
Can be made gluten free using gluten free oats
Good fats
Vegetarian
Oats are proven to lower cholesterol, be a good source of energy and high in fibre.
Eggs are full of protein, high in vitamins and minerals and great for your hair, skin and nails.

Chia seeds are full of protein, antioxidants and make you fell full for longer.

Cinnamon helps to lower your blood sugar and burn fat more effectively. 

100% Pure Cocoa Powder is packed with anti-oxidants and helps lower LDL cholesterol (the bad kind).

Storage Instructions:

These can be made in advance and when cool stored in a sealed container or frozen. These are a handy, high energy snack that can be enjoyed on the go with no mess or sticky fingers!

Serving Suggestions:
Enjoy sweet or savoury with your favourite healthy toppings such as:
Melted dark chocolate
Butter and lemon
Coconut cream
Fresh fruits
Cinnamon and raisins with a drizzle of honey
The world is your oyster. Get creative!

Frech Toast - Eggy Bread. A healthy option!

I love French toast. It's so soggy and yummy!

So I use my oat bread (recipe here) and soak it in one egg (beaten) with some cinnamon. Then I fry it in coconut oil and there you have it.

Because this bread is quite dense I slice it really thinly, prick some holes in it with a fork and leave it to soak in the bread for at least 15 mins or over night if you want it really eggy!

You could add fresh fruit on top for some extra sweetness, drizzle with some local honey or just eat as it is.

A perfect Sunday morning lazy breakfast!

Carrot Cake Breakfast Muffins

Carrot Cake Breakfast Muffins

These are so tasty, can be eaten at any time of the day and are so quick to make!  It’s a way of eating some vegetables while thinking you are eating cake! Winning!

Unfortunately this is not a picture of my muffins but something similar I found on the web...mine didn't last long enough for me to take a photo!..om nom nom nom.

Ingredients:

Makes 12-14 cupcakes or 8-10 large muffins

200g of Almond Flour (Super Valu, Dunnes, Aldi all do their own brand for about €2 for 200g)

2 teaspoons of Cinnamon

2 teaspoon of Baking Soda (gluten free is preferable)

1 piece of freshly grated Ginger root (about 2 inches)

¼ teaspoon of Organic Salt

6 large Free Range, Organic Eggs

1/3 cup of local Honey (more if you want to make them very sweet)

½ cup of melted, full fat Irish, grass-fed butter (e.g. Kerrygold)

1 teaspoon of Vanilla extract

1 large grated Organic Carrot

Optional: Raisins/Sultanas, Chopped Walnuts, Oats, Chia Seeds, Flax Seeds, Goji Berries etc. You can use these to bulk up the recipe and make even more muffins!

Method

Place everything in a bowl and mix. Simple!

Line a baking tray with cupcake or muffin liners, evenly distribute the mixture into the cases and bake at 180 degrees C or Gas Mark 4 in the centre of the oven for 20 minutes. Check after 10 minutes to ensure they are not turning overly brown, if so cover with tinfoil loosely. Depending on how large you make these they make take additional baking time. You will know they are cooked if you tap the bottom of a cupcake and it is solid and makes a hallow noise.

Leave to cool on a wire rack (or pretty much eat directly from the oven like I do!)

Prep Time

Prep time: under 5 minutes

Cooking time: 20 minutes

Equipment needed

Large bowl, cupcake tray, cupcake cases/liners

Dietary Information

Gluten Free/Wheat Free

Paleo

Vegetarian (Can be made Vegan if you use coconut oil instead of butter, chia seeds instead of eggs and maple syrup instead of honey)

Sugar Free

Contains good fats

One of your 5 a day

Ginger is good for digestion issues, nausea, natural anti-inflammatory and boosts the immune system. 

Carrots are full of Vitamin A and beta-carotene (anti-oxidant that repairs cell damage), they improve your eyesight, cleanses the skin and slows down ageing! 

Cinnamon helps to lower your blood sugar and burn fat more effectively.

Storage Instructions:

Keeps in a sealed container in the fridge for up to a week. Suitable for Freezing

Serving suggestions

Eat directly from the oven warm! Or serve with some whipped coconut cream on top as a treat.

Can be eaten in the car on the way to work if you are in a rush!

Great with a cup of tea and a book!

A Gut Busting Brekkie

Breakfast really is the most important meal of the day. Typically your gut is clear, you've digested all the food from the day before and I always think of it as a chance to heal any damage done from the weeks before (processed foods, alcohol, sugar all cause damage to the gut bacteria which is so important is health and especially in aiding weight loss).

So this breakfast is chock full of healthy bacteria inducing foods, it's tasty and quick to make!

Ingredients:

Greek Yogurt
2 heaped tablespoons of Udo's Beyond Greens (found here)
1 heaped teaspoons of Cinnamon (excellent at lowering your blood sugar and aiding weight loss)
1 handful of blueberries
1 heaped tablespoon of 100% Coco
1 teaspoon of honey (I use Healy's Organic Honey as it's local to Ballincollig)
2 teaspoons of my homemade granola (recipe here)


Method:
Add all ingredients into a bowl, mix well and enjoy!

Why should you eat a well balanced healthy breakfast? Above is why!

Home-made Choco Berry Granola

This is a great Sunday morning treat. It is so quick and easy to make and keeps fresh for weeks in a sealed container. It's also a great 'sugar free' alternative to cereal for people in the morning.

 Serving sugestion with natural, Irish, organic yogurt and organic bluberries.

Ingredients:

250g      Organic porridge oats (I use Flahavan's as they are Irish and local)

50g        Kerrygold Butter (full fat salted/unsalted depending on your taste)
              or Extra Virgin organic Coconut oil

100ml    Healy's Organic Honey (I buy this brand as it's local to me in Ballincollig, Cork)

2 tbsp    Cinnamon (lowers bad cholesterol and blood sugar)

50g        100% Coco (Bournville or Green and Blacks Organic)

40g         Chia Seeds (These are high in protein and available in all good health shops/supermarkets)

40g         Goji Berries (These are high in antioxidants and available in all good health shops)

50g         Nuts and Seeds of choice. Here I used Sesame seeds.

Method:

Melt Coconut oil/Butter in a pan at a low heat.

Add in Oats and allow to absorb the good fat stirring well.

Add in Honey and stir well so all the oats are coated.

Add in the rest of the ingredients and mix.

Spread the mixture on a lined tin and roast in the oven at 170 deg C for 25 minutes.
Check after 15 minutes to ensure it isn't burning/turning black. If so reduce heat and check often.

Leave the mixture cool in the tin for about 20 minutes and then transfer into a well sealed container.

Serve and enjoy!

Other variations can include

- Gluten Free Oats

- Fresh fruit

- Chopped nuts

- Rice Flakes

Any dry healthy ingredients really.

Feel free to post me pictures of your creations! I'm always open to ideas.

Remember Eat Clean, Train Dirty, Live Easy.

Breakfast for the car!

Preparation is key when you are trying to be healthy and eat well. But let's be realistic we all have our disorganised days or days when we get delayed. We are all human don't beat yourself up about it. 

I was late this morning and so didn't have time to eat brekkie before I left the house. So I reverted to this breakfast smoothie that takes 2 minutes to make and can be eaten with one hand, while driving! Please be careful on the road I don't want any accidents that are smoothie related!

It is nutrition packed and such a great way to start the day. It's not going to win any flavour awards but the benefits will outshine the taste.

It's also an excellent post 'morning work out' fuel if you chose to do fasted cardio/training before you eat in the morning.

Enjoy and #eatclean

Ingredients (discussed in detail below)

2-3 heaped table spoons of yogurt

2 heaped table spoons of Udo's Beyond Greens

1 handful of blueberries 

Protein Powder of choice if desired

Method: (2-3 minutes)

Blend all in a nutri-bullet/blender/mash and stir by hand. Add some water if the yogurt is particularly thick and shake. Add to a portable/reusable bottle and drink in the car/on the bus/train/while cycling/at your desk. 

Yoghurt: Plain, organic and Irish where possible. Greek Style Yogurt has more protein than regular yogurt so depending on your needs select accordingly. Full Fat if 'fuel for performance' is your goal. The probiotics in yogurt are so good for your gut health, something we tend to ignore and has an effect on everything we do.

DO NOT use: 

- fat free yogurt (this is full of chemicals and artificially sweetened which makes you crave carbs), 

- flavoured yogurt, it must be natural flavour i.e. plain (even if it says 'real fruit pieces it will have sugar and other ingredients added to prevent the 'fruit' from discolouring)

Udo's Beyond Greens or alternative. This is a super product containing many 'green' products that are packed with health benefits, as well as good fats that heal, fibre, antioxidants and active digestive enzymes that help your gut in ways you can't even imagine. More information on this here. I would need a whole other blog post to break down all the benefits of this product. It is pricey but so worth it if you live a busy lifestyle and need instant boost of nutrition! Available in most good health stores, usually found in the fridge. 

Bluberries. Organic and fresh (not frozen if possible) and Irish if they are in season. Packed full of antioxidants, fibre and vitamins and minerals these truly are a superfood.

Protein Powder if desired. 

Alternative flavourings that can be added:

Cinnamon (great at boosting your metabolism)

Drop of honey for sweetness

Other berries like strawberries, raspberries, gojiberries

Milled Flax seeds