Category: Light Bites & Snacks

3 Ingredient Snickers Bars (aka Reindeer Poops)

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As someone who is allergic to most nuts, I’ve never had a Snickers bar, but I have heard they are filled with crunchy peanuts, sweet caramel and coated in chocolate. I’ve not got a very sweet tooth, so I’m subbing in dark chocolate for milk, adding extra plant polyphenols which my gut will love. It’s also got the benefit of fibre from the naturally sweet and caramel-like date, and the crunchy almond butter has been blended with the skins on for even more fibre benefit, as these are the nuts I’m not allergic to.

All in all, this is a really easy recipe which will help to satisfy your sweet tooth when you might normally reach for a shop-bought version. Make a larger batch and keep them in an airtight container, if they last that long!

Serves 5

Ingredients

  • 5 Medjool dates, pitted and split down one side
  • 5 tsp crunchy almond butter (or any other nut butter of choice)
  • 100g dark chocolate, melted

Method

  • Add a teaspoon of nut butter to the middle of the date and close as best you can
  • Roll the stuffed date in the melted chocolate, getting an even coating over the whole surface
  • Allow to set on baking parchment for around 30 minutes
  • Enjoy straight away, or store in an airtight Tupperware for up to 2 weeks
Reindeer Poops

Per serving: 257kcal/ 15g fat/ 5.5g saturated fat/ 24g carbohydrates/ 4.4g fibre/ 4.6g protein

Kuri Squash Frittata

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Serves 6 as a lighter meal that is still high in protein.

Ingredients

  • 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 large red onion, sliced
  • 1/2 Kuri squash (350g), skin on and thinly sliced
  • 100g baby leaf spinach
  • 9 eggs
  • 100ml milk
  • 150g reduced fat feta cheese

Method

  • In a frying pan cook the onion for 2 minutes with the olive oil before adding in the squash and cooking for 5 minutes.
  • Add the spinach and allow it to wilt.
  • Whisk the eggs and milk, adding two-thirds of the feta before seasoning with pepper to taste.
  • Line a baking tin with parchment paper and add the cooked vegetables.
  • Pour over the egg mixture and scatter the remaining feta over the top.
  • Bake in a preheated oven set to 180°C fan/ 200°C convection for 22-25 minutes till golden brown and set.
  • Delicious served with a side salad.
Squash Frittata

Per serving: 241kcal/ 15g fat/ 4.8g saturated fat/ 7.9g carbohydrates/ 1.6*g fibre/ 18g protein

*Analysis completed with peeled butternut squash. Leaving the skin on the squash will help to increase the fibre content of this dish.

Air Fryer Falafel

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I used to work at King’s College London as a postdoctoral researcher and there was this little falafel stall just around the corner which would be mine and my colleagues go to spot when we were treating ourselves to lunch out (or running back to the metabolic research unit!).

These falafel are a nod to those which I used to have more frequently than I would like to admit, but I’ve put a healthy twist on them by cooking them in the air fryer, making no deep fat frying. This helps to reduce the overall fat of the falafel, as well as using extra virgin olive oil, which is a healthy fat which probably wasn’t the oil used for frying at the stall.

Makes 24 falafel

Ingredients

  • 250g dried chickpeas, soaked for at least 8 hours in cold water
  • 1 large red onion
  • 45g flat-leaf parsley
  • 20g dill
  • 30g coriander
  • Green chillis to taste (optional)
  • 1 tbsp ground cumin
  • 1 tbsp cumin seeds
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
  • 2-3 heaped tablespoons of gram flour
  • 30g sesame seeds
  • 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Method

  1. Add the soaked chickpeas, onion, herbs, spices, salt and bicarbonate of soda to a blender and pulse till everything is finely chopped and combined.
  2. Mix in the gram flour to get a consistency that is still wet, but just holds together when gently pressed.
  3. Rest in the fridge for 30 minutes.
  4. Using a 2 tbsp measure, create little pucks of the mixture and gently top with sesame seeds on each of the flat sides.
  5. Place each falafel onto a non-stick baking tray (or line with baking parchment) leaving a 1cm gap between them.
  6. Brush with olive oil on the top and bake in the air fryer* for 15 minutes, flipping halfway through.
  7. Serve hot and crispy!

*option to bake in an oven set to 200°C fan for 15-20 minutes

Air Fryer Falafel

Per serving (4 falafel): 280kcal/ 12g fat/ 1.7g saturated fat/ 24g carbohydrates/ 11g fibre/ 13g protein

Spiced Butternut Squash & Lentil Soup

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My friend doesn’t like thick soups, which is often the case when using curcubits. This, however, is a very thin soup, which still packs a punch.

Each serving provides you with a third of your daily fibre requirements, making it a great meal choice on cold winter days.

Serves 4

Ingredients

  • 1 large red onion, roughly chopped
  • 2.5 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 2 cloves of garlic, roughly chopped
  • 1 tbsp cumin seeds
  • 650g pumpkin, skin on and roughly diced, seeds reserved
  • 100g red lentils
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp white pepper
  • 1 tsp ground turmeric
  • 15g fresh coriander

Method

  • Gently fry the onion and 2 tbsp oil in a large pan till soft and translucent. Add the garlic and cook for a further 2 minutes.
  • Add the cumin seeds and cook till fragrant before adding in the butternut squash and lentils with 1 litre of boiling water.
  • Allow to simmer for 20 minutes till the lentils and squash are cooked through and soft.
  • Meanwhile, coat the squash seeds with the remaining 1/2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil and roast in an oven set to 180°C fan for 12 minutes, or 6-8 minutes in an air fryer.
  • Blend till smooth, seasoning with the remaining spice and serve with the crispy seeds and coriander leaves.
Spiced Butternut Squash and Lentil Soup

Per serving: 302kcal/ 13g fat/ 2.0g saturated fat/ 29g carbohydrates/ 10g fibre/ 13g protein

Sourdough Blueberry Bagels

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Blueberry sourdough bagels. Just a small amount of work and you will have the most delicious bagels – chewy crusts with a soft centre, filled with sweet and tangy blueberries which you know will do you good.

If you can’t find freeze-dried blueberries you can leave these out. Most shop-bought dried blueberries are sweetened with fruit juice and therefore won’t work as a replacement.

Makes 9 bagels

Ingredients

  • 200g frozen blueberries
  • 40g caster sugar
  • 150g active starter, refreshed 10-12 hours before
  • 500g bread flour
  • 8g salt
  • 75g freeze-dried blueberries (optional)
  • 20g molasses (to make vegan) or honey
  • Rice flour for dusting

Method

  1. Add the frozen blueberries to a large mixing bowl and pour over 200ml of boiling water. Allow the blueberries to thaw for 5 minutes.
  2. Add the caster sugar and sourdough starter and mix.
  3. Add the flour and salt, and mix in the bowl by hand for around 5 minutes before transferring to the work surface and kneading for a further 5 minutes. It will be sticky but keep working it.
  4. Transfer back to the mixing bowl, cover and rest for 1 hour.
  5. Top the dough back onto the work surface and knead for 1-2 minutes, adding the freeze-dried blueberries if using. Cover and prove at room temperature for 3 hours.
  6. Divide the dough into 9 equal portions around 125g and shape into a tight ball, using rice flour to stop them from sticking. Allow to rest for 30 minutes.
  7. Pinch the centre of each ball with your thumb and index finger, creating a hole. Then using both index fingers spin the dough around to create a bagel shape. Cover and rest in the fridge overnight, or for at least 8 hours.
  8. The next day, set the oven to 220°C fan, bring a large pan of water to a boil, and add the molasses.
  9. Boil each bagel for 30 seconds on each side before removing onto a wire cooling rack.
  10. Bake on a lined tray for 18-20 minutes, till golden brown and nicely puffed up.
  11. Delicious served with your favourite cream cheese and extra berries.
Sourdough Blueberry Bagels
Sourdough Blueberry Bagels
Sourdough Blueberry Bagels
Delicious served with fresh berries for further added phytochemicals

Prawn Dumplings

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Makes around 18 dumplings

Ingredients

  • 100g bamboo shoots, finely sliced
  • 2 spring onions, finely sliced
  • 300g prawns, deveined and chopped
  • 1 garlic clove, grated
  • 1/4″ ginger, grated
  • 1/4 tsp white pepper
  • 1 tsp sesame oil
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 18 rice paper sheets, each cut into 4

Method

  • Mix all the filling ingredients together
  • Soak 4 small squares of rice paper in cold water for 1 minute before layering 2 as a square and 2 as a diamond.
  • Place 1 heaped teaspoon of mixture into the middle of the rice paper and fold the diamond corners in followed by the square corners in. Pinch at the top to seal.
  • Place in a lined steamer and cooker for 10-12 minutes.
  • Enjoy hot with your favourite chilli oil or sauce.
Prawn Dumplings

Sicilian Caper Focaccia

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Makes 1 large focaccia which will serve 8 minimum

Ingredients

  • 150g levain, refreshed 8-12 hours earlier
  • 15ml extra virgin olive oil plus extra for later
  • 150g wholemeal bread flour
  • 600g white bread flour
  • 12g salt
  • Salted caper
  • A few sprigs of rosemary

Method

  • Mix the levain, 500ml water and 15ml olive oil together before adding the flours and mixing to make a shaggy dough. Leave for 30 minutes covered.
  • Mix 12g of salt with 75ml water till dissolved, and pour over the dough, scrunching the dough with your hand to mix it in. The dough should look very rough and almost broken into small pieces. Cover and leave for 45 minutes.
  • Over the next few hours complete 4 sets of coil folds, allowing the dough to rest for 45-60 minutes between each fold.
  • Line and grease a large baking tray with olive oil. Gently transfer the dough to the baking tray and push the dough over the surface so it reaches the corners as best you can – there will be some resistance so don’t force it.
  • Cover the dough and leave in the fridge to slowly rise overnight – anywhere between 8-24 hours depending on your schedule
  • The next day preheat your oven to maximum temperature, add a small empty tray to the bottom of the oven for steam later, and remove the focaccia from the fridge.
  • Once the oven is up to temperature, uncover the dough and drizzle with a little olive oil. Using wet fingers, press your fingertips through the surface of the dough to create plenty of dimples before adding capers (with a little of their salt) and rosemary to the dimples.
  • Place the focaccia in the oven, adding water into the hot tray to create steam, closing the door as quickly as possible to trap the steam in, and reduce the oven temperature to 225°C fan/ 245°C convection for 20 minutes.
  • Remove the tray with water and bake for another 5 minutes* till the crust is golden.
  • Remove from the oven, and allow to cool on a wire rack.
Sicilian Caper Sourdough Focaccia

Bulgar Wheat Salad with Chickpeas

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Did you know that the average Brit spends £1000 buying lunch at work over the course of the year? This cost, coupled with the single-use packaging and missed opportunity for added nutrition is why I’ve teamed up with MyNutriWeb as part of Sustainable September to help you be more sustainable when it comes to lunch. It is estimated that 28% of people look to social media to influence their lunch choices, so let me influence you with my sustainable bulgar wheat salad with chickpeas which costs less than a meal deal, is packed full of fibre, and provides 20g of plant-based protein. You can read the full blog on MyNutriWeb’s webpage.

Serves 2 but can easily be doubled up to make more lunches

  • 100g bulgar wheat
  • 20g chives, finely chopped
  • Juice of 1 lemon
  • 6 sundried tomatoes, chopped, with
  • 200g cucumber, diced
  • 100g flat-leaf parsley, chopped
  • 1 tin of chickpeas, drained (look for those with no added salt)

Method

  1. Add the bulgar wheat and chives to a large mixing bowl and pour 120ml boiling water over the top. Cover and leave to steam for 10 minutes till all the water has been absorbed.
  2. Once cooked, fluff the bulgar wheat and stir in the remaining ingredients.

Substitutions:

  • Bulgar wheat for couscous, quinoa, or orzo
  • Chives for spring onions or finely diced red onion
  • Sun-dried tomatoes for fresh, or roasted peppers, or artichokes
  • Cucumber for courgettes, or leftover roast vegetables
  • Flat leaf parsley for lettuce, rocket, watercress, spinach or any other leafy green
  • Chickpeas for any other beans e.g. butter beans, kidney beans, haricot beans
Bulgar Wheat Salad with Chickpeas

Per serving: 448kcal/ 8g fat/ 1.1g saturated fat/ 65g carbohydrates/ 18g fibre/ 20g protein

Gut Loving Chickpea Caesar Salad

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My Gut Loving Crispy Chickpea Caesar Salad is a delicious way to increase diversity as well as pack in pre- and probiotics whilst delivering 13g of fibre and 30g of protein per serving!

Did you know that the bacteria found in Parmigiano Reggiano can survive and help to colonise our gut making it a delicious probiotic if eaten raw? And this paired with the live bacteria in the yoghurt (more probiotics) and plenty of prebiotics (chickpeas, garlic, extra virgin olive oil, rocket, spinach and watercress all being sources) and fibre diversity and quantity make this the perfect salad for both your tastebuds and gut microbiota.

Serves 2 as a main

  • 1 tin of chickpeas, drained and dried
  • 2.5 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 180g stale sourdough bread, torn into bite-sized chunks
  • Juice of 1 lemon
  • 100g live yoghurt (I used a 0% fat variety)
  • 1 clove of garlic
  • 3 anchovies in oil (12g)
  • 60g Parmigiano Reggiano
  • 2 baby gem lettuce heads
  • 100g mixed rocket, spinach and watercress

Method

  • Mix the chickpeas with 1/2 tbsp olive oil and cook in an air fryer set to 200°C for 20 minutes
  • Mix the sourdough chunks with 1 tbsp olive oil and add to the chickpeas after 10 minutes.
  • Meanwhile, make the dressing by combining the lemon juice, yoghurt, garlic and anchovies together and blending till smooth. Add half the parmesan.
  • In a large mixing bowl, add the leaves and the dressing and mix well before adding most of the crispy chickpeas and croutons.
  • Serve in a large bowl and top with any leftover chickpeas and croutons, and the remaining parmesan. Eat straight away.
Gut Loving Chickpea Caesar Salad

Per serving: 663kcal/ 28g fat/ 4.1g saturated fat/ 65g carbohydrates/ 13g fibre/ 30g protein

Blackberry & Brie Sourdough Toastie

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A really easy toastie recipe with the added nutrition from chia seeds to make the quickest jam ever! The chia seeds soak up any liquid from the crushed blackberries, helping to thicken the juices so it works as a spread for the toastie, whilst adding a little extra fibre and healthy polyunsaturated fats. The sweet sharpness of the seasonal blackberries contrasts perfectly with the creamy brie, and the crunch of the sourdough.

Serves 1

Ingredients

  • 100g blackberries
  • 1 tsp chia seeds
  • 60g brie
  • 2 slices of seeded sourdough
  • 1 tsp honey (optional if the berries are too tart)
  • 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Method

  • Mash the blackberries and chia seed together and leave for 5-10 minutes to thicken.
  • Once the jam is “set” spread it onto slices of sourdough, and top with slices of brie and honey if needed. Sandwich the second piece of bread over the top.
  • Heat a skillet over a low-medium heat and add 1/2 tbsp olive oil. Cook the toastie on one side for 3-5 minutes till golden brown. Brush the second side of bread with the remaining oil before flipping and cooking.
  • Serve immediately.
Blackberry & Brie Toastie

Per serving: 764kcal/ 41g fat/ 14g saturated fat/ 66g carbohydrates/ 9.3g fibre/ 27g protein

Courgette Pasta Bake 3 Ways

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I was asked for a recipe that could be batch-cooked and frozen down for a baby as part of weaning using a courgette. So here is my Courgette Pasta Bake which can be used 3 different ways: either cook and eat straight away, as meal prep either in the fridge for a few days or the freezer for a few months, or as mini individual pasta muffins which are great for weaning and can be frozen down as individual portions.

I’ve used semi-skimmed milk and a 30% less fat cheddar-style cheese to help keep the saturated fats down, but if you are making food for babies aged 2 and under use full-fat varieties.

I’ve also used a higher-fibre white pasta for extra fibre to help me reach my 30g recommendation for the day.

Makes 6 adult portions

Ingredients

  • 50g butter
  • 60g plain flour
  • 1l milk
  • 1.5tsp English mustard
  • 300g cheddar cheese, grated
  • 4 courgettes (550g total), grated
  • 450g pasta of choice – I used an added fibre variety
  • 2-3 large tomatoes (optional), sliced

Method

  • Set the oven to 180°C fan/ 200°C convection.
  • Melt the butter in a medium-sized saucepan. Add the flour and cook for 1 minute before adding the milk a little at a time, stirring constantly till thick. Add the mustard and half the cheddar cheese and season with pepper to taste.
  • Meanwhile, cook the pasta for 2 minutes less than the packet instructions.
  • Off the heat add the courgette to the sauce and mix in, and once the pasta is cooked, drain, and add to the courgette sauce and mix.
  • Option 1: Pour everything into an ovenproof dish, top with the tomato slices and remaining cheese and cook in the oven for 15-20 minutes till the top is golden brown and bubbling.
  • Option 2: Pour into an ovenproof dish, allow to cool and top with cheese when you are ready to cook. This can be stored in the fridge for up to 5 days, or frozen for up to 3 months.
  • Option 3: Divide the mixture into muffin cases, top with the remaining cheese and bake 15-20 minutes till the top is golden brown and bubbling. You can freeze these as individual portions for a baby – make sure they are piping hot in the middle when reheating in either the oven, air fryer or microwave.

Per serving: 478kcal/ 22g fat/ 13g saturated fat/ 42g carbohydrates/ 4.7g fibre/ 26g protein

Courgette Flower Arancini

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This is a rough recipe, as it’s dependent on several factors:

  • How much risotto you have left over
  • How many courgette flowers you have
  • How much time you want to spend making these!!

In all honesty, these weren’t the easiest recipe I’ve ever made, but I did think they were worth all the extra effort.

Your gut microbes will also love this recipe due to the resistant starch formation in the risotto when it’s left overnight in the fridge.

Ingredients

  • Leftover courgette risotto, stored in the fridge for 24 hours
  • Courgette flowers, male and female
  • Mozzarella (optional, but highly recommended!)
  • Plain flour
  • Eggs
  • Breadcrumbs – I used some stale sourdough focaccia

Method

  • Remove the stamen from the inside of the courgette flowers to make more space inside.
  • Stuff each flower with leftover risotto and optional mozzarella, twisting the ends of the petals to close the end.
  • Dust each flower in flour, egg and breadcrumbs before baking on a lined baking sheet in a preheated oven set to 225°C fan/ 250°C convection.
  • Bake for 12-15 minutes till crispy and golden brown.
Courgette Flower Arancini