Courgette Fritters

These fritters are my new go to for lunch and dinner! So tasty and go with many other dishes such as houmous and ratatouille. I top my fritters with slices of avocado and a squeeze of lemon and the combination is absolutely delicious! I even love them cold (but others prefer them as a hot meal!).

                          

These are a great vegetarian meal with high levels of protein that you will get from the ground almond and eggs.

Walnut Butter

Similar to the Almond Butter post I did a while back, this time walnuts! I love to mix up the different nut butters and try different ones. This recipe makes a tasty and creamy nut butter.

I have figured out walnut butters perfect pairing for a great snack- dates! Dates stuffed with creamy walnut butter is like caramel and toffee heaven. Way better than any refined sugar alternative you would find in the supermarket. 

Cookie Dough Bites

I am very excited about this recipe!! Cookie dough is the ultimate indulgence and now it is healthy! Of course this is gluten free and refined sugar free as usual, but this is also suitable for you lovely vegans out there. So simple and quick to make and no baking required! I taste tested these on friends and family and has not been forgotten about so here is the amazing recipe for you all to enjoy...

Ingredients:

Fruit and Nut Protein Flapjacks

I have had a lot of requests from you lovely people for a flapjack that is high in protein, but still clean and healthy. So I can't let you down and here it is! This tastes amazing and could seriously compete (if not beat) the traditional bakery flapjack that is high in sugar and fat. 

With so many different nuts it has the perfect amount of chew in it.

Injured: A Guide to Eating For A Fast Recovery

Now this is not my normal food post (no yummy recipe unfortunately, sorry!). But I think equally important, so I felt I should share. When a person is injured, either a sports related injury or any accident, how important diet is in the recovery, mentally and physically! After all it would be easy to just eat rubbish junk food while on bed rest or not being able to exercise. This however is not the solution and have discussed these points below. Please do comment after reading this post and let me know your thoughts on this interesting subject.

I will start at the beginning on how intrigued I became with the subject of recovery. A few weeks ago I had a car accident. I was the only person in the car thankfully and I came out very lucky... Glass cuts, bruises and a very sore back but overall okay! I was told to rest, and to be honest I had no choice as my back was very sore standing and even sitting down. This continued for a good week after my accident. In the first few days after I completely lost my appetite presumably due to shock (anyone who knows me knows I am a complete foodie, yes hence the name). Not being able to eat the smallest bowl of porridge was surprising. But then it occurred to me that I wasn't active, doing my usual routine of work, gym or swimming. So it was good I wasn't eating as much food as my regular diet because I didn't need to. It was more about listening to my body, eating when hungry and stop when my stomach felt content.

Focusing on the quality of what I was eating was of course another light bulb moment. Just like an injured runner I needed to eat right for a fast recovery. I eat clean anyway but this was adapting my diet to aid the repair of my muscles, tissue and ligaments specifically. This meant eating a balance of the following and definitely not cutting out any food group: 

Quinoa, Almond and Mint Salad

I am feeling really inspired at the moment with Moroccan food! The mix of flavours are amazing and create an unbelievable combination. This salad is inspired by a Moroccan couscous salad, that includes sweet raisins, crunchy salted almonds and fresh herbs!

This dish is not only gluten free it is also vegan too! I cannot get over the taste of this salad, the quinoa makes it so filling, as well as the avocado. No green leaves are this recipe so it is very much a hearty salad.

Almond Butter Biscuits

Nut butters are just heaven (apart from peanut, sorry). If you are like me I could go through a pot of almond butter in a couple of days! I kept seeing peanut biscuit recipes everywhere, but as I do not like the taste of peanuts I thought almond butter would be unbelievable in a cookie!! Sweet and packed with protein!

So I experimented and came up with a recipe I am proud of and so happy to share with all of you! 

Healthy Fish and Chips!

Who doesn't love a good fish and chips right?! I live by the sea and there are so many fish and chip shops around being an English country town so I did some research and found a healthy version of battered fish. 

Of course I had to give it a try and it was honestly better than the fatty battered fish they serve in those shops as I find the amount of grease that you find at the bottom of the paper is not great to say the least! Plus you could actually taste and appreciate the fish with this recipe!

Then I had a thought that it wouldn't be right to serve these delicious healthy fish fillets with unhealthy chips- Enter sweet potato fries! The perfect nutritional alternative to normal potato chips. 

Serves 4
This recipe is just for the fish, for the sweet potato fries recipe click here.

Spinach and Nutmeg Gratin

If you are hosting a meal for a group this is an excellent choice as you can prep this meal before and once it is cooked it is ready to serve! Crowd pleaser indeed- I have been asked for repeat of this ever since I brought it out the first dinner party.

The nutmeg spice in the gratin really compliments the egg and cheese in the recipe. Gluten free and sugar free recipe of course. Try and see for yourself. I serve it with a full salad and you will hear rave reviews- trust me!

Serves 4-6 depending on appetites.

Chocolate Quinoa Porridge

If you are like me and a massive chocolate lover then look no further because this is the breakfast for you! 

Quinoa, almond milk and cacao powder- all of these superfoods are included in this breakfast meal which make this such a nutritious and filling way to start the day. High in protein and antioxidants! Read below for recipe...

Makes porridge for 2 people

Clean Fridge, Clean Mind

During this time of year it is so easy to be tempted and relaxed with what you eat... How many times have you looked in the fridge multiple times expecting something else to have magically appeared in there?! The answer is all of us have done this at some point.

In my opinion to stop temptation is to stop it at the source- the fridge and cupboards! If you had got the fridge stacked high with greens, fish, meats and healthy fats after one big weekly shop then thats going to focus you completely and you are more likely going to reach for a healthier snack or prepare a clean meal.

I really do believe in the motto- Clean fridge, clean mind.

I have taken a few photographs of my fridge and it is prepped with my different meal ingredients, healthy snacks and my favourite green raw juice so there is no room or excuse for me to go off track!

Healthy Snacks: 5 Quick and Easy Combos

Snacking is actually good for you! Smaller meals throughout the day is actually the ideal way to keep the hunger at bay and keep energy levels high and stable.

Below I have given you 5 ideas for the perfect snack combos for you to try! With no cooking or prior preparation these are perfect for a busy lifestyle that gives you no excuse to grab an unhealthy "fat free" breakfast bar or packet of crisps. Each one has a good protein so will leave you feeling satisfied and curb any sugar craving you may have.

1) Sliced Apple and Almond Butter

2) Avocado, Cherry Tomato and Mozzarella Ball Skewers

Glorious Sunday Brunch Pancake Stack

I had to share with you my favourite stack of my clean protein pancakes that I have made to date! 

Click here for my Delicious Protein Pancakes recipe!

Adding different toppings and flavours really mixes up the taste buds and makes this recipe so versatile!!

For this particular pancake mix I have made them particularly Christmas-y! I have done this by adding different

Superfood: Quinoa Flakes

© Photography by Clean Foodie Guide

Trying different types of superfood is so interesting. Experimenting with recipes and trying them out with new flavours is something I love to do. This is exactly what I have done today! I recently found a pack of quinoa flakes which I have not tried before. 

Knowing how quinoa in its normal form is and having used it a lot in the past I found it a bit of a pain to prepare and and cook, so when I found this I was excited- all of the nutrition with none of the effort!! 

Gluten Free Pastry

One meal that I missed when I went gluten free was quiche! Such a great meal and so versatile and easy to make so when I discovered that I could make pastry that I could eat, I jumped at the chance!  

Here is the delicious recipe that I think tastes better than normal pastry. 

Raw Protein Balls

These protein balls are amazing. They were one of the first raw clean treats that I made and showed me how delicious a combination of fruits and nuts can be!

The beauty of these raw bites is that they are ready whenever you fancy one, either as a clean treat or even for a quick breakfast if you haven't got time to prepare anything. 

They are kept in the freezer so they will last a good while (that's if you have eaten them all before frozen!) 

Salad Loving

In the last few weeks I have not been able to get enough of salads! I used to be one of those that said "I don't like rabbit food" but oh how things have changed since then ha!

I think it is because salads have evolved in recent years instead of that standard iceberg lettuce and slices of grilled chicken... Not really something that would get me running to the kitchen. But now I have discovered different elements that have made me do a U-turn! 

I think the foundation to a good salad is a good source of protein, and an ingredient that you love (mine is avocado) and a great topping like pesto or balsamic vinegar. Then you can build things around that, but always remembering to mix it up. Repetition can be very dull.

So have a look below for my favourite salad creations, and I hope you feel inspired!

Speedy Pancake Stack

Speedy meal alert! These scrumptious stack of pancakes only have two main ingredients in them....

Delicious Protein Pancakes

 When I first discovered the recipe for healthy pancakes I was shocked at why people still cook them the unhealthy way.

 As a lover of cottage cheese I was thrilled that this was one of the ingredients. This tasty recipe is a perfect sunday brunch feast that can be switched up and has unlimited topping choices!! Will touch on that later. Here is