Marrakech Food Diary

Another food diary from a trip to Marrakech, Morocco. What an amazing place and the good is out of this world! The spices and herbs used on all the dishes are just heaven...

South of France Food Diary

A food diary in photos of a week long holiday to the South of France. Beautiful, fresh, delicious food...

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.

Homemade Guacamole

Avocados are the best! Use it for a face mask, the base of an exfoliator, in brownies or making it the feature dish- Guacamole!

As the temperatures are getting warmer and we all aren't eating hot meals constantly for warmth, it is so nice to have a refreshing chilled meal once in a while, enter guac. So nourishing with a creamy texture and great flavour you can pair it with any dish or have it as your main meal.

There are so many benefits of eating avocado to boost your health. It is full

Warming Vegetable Bolognese

The most famous pasta dish is Spaghetti Bolognese, everyone knows and loves it (well almost everyone!). Warming, nourishing, filling and the rich tomato, garlic and herb flavours combined creates a quick dish for anyone to enjoy. But for all you vegetarians and vegans out there, here is a recipe for you! 

The bolognese can be combined with many different options! The lightest meal would be to add it to a base of my marinated kale and spinach salad (click here for the recipe). In contrast for a more comfort food dish that is still clean, is on a bed of spaghetti rice pasta (gluten free)! This is the closest to the 'traditional' Spaghetti Bolognese and tastes amazing! 

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.

The Trick to a Great Kale Salad

A portion of kale is hard to beat when talking about the number of nutrients and minerals it contains. It is great to include if you want a healthy and balanced diet. There are so many benefits of eating the green stuff including a high source of vitamins A, C and K, as well as improve blood glucose control in diabetics, lowering the risk of cancer and blood pressure and improving bone healthy!

So that leads me on to introducing a trick to creating a great Kale Salad.

Sweet Potato, Lentil and Coconut Curry

If you are looking for the perfect winter warming dish then look no further! Such a healthy dish with no added nasties like your shop brought curry. Filling and nourishing ingredients like the sweet potato and lentils, that are also great for your overall health- what's not to love!

I served it on a bed of steaming brown rice, but alternatively you can use quinoa or just on its own if you want!

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.

Sweet Beet Raw Juice

This recipe below I fell into by chance with the leftovers from my Green raw juice. This was my added extra experiment juice- but boy does it rank up there with my green juice!

I'm okay to admit that I am not the biggest beetroot fan. I mean I can eat it if it is in small quantities but in this juice I could hardly taste it and it gave the juice an amazing vivid colour that looks so appetising!

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.

Roasted Herbed Carrot Ribbon Spaghetti

I am constantly looking for quick and tasty dinner ideas that are not to heavy. I love carrot at the moment and thought how can I mix up the taste and cooking method, instead of the traditional chopped streamed carrots. Enter carrot ribbons!

So easy to do and the same prep time to make the ribbons than the normal steamed vegetables.

Perfect for all of you gluten- free and vegans out there who are looking for an alternative to spaghetti pasta. Here is the recipe!

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!

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. 

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!

Cauliflower Pizza Base

I have been meaning to try Cauliflower Pizza for a while now since my friend said how yummy it was. I heard that you cant even taste the difference between a typical pizza crust and this cauliflower crust!

I definitely put this to the test and let me tell you- the rumours are correct!! It is delicious. Try it for yourself now!

Ingredients:

Supporting Local Produce

Living on the Isle of Wight there is a big community feel about the Island and local produce is no exception! Majority of the island is agriculture which means amazing organic fresh, and more importantly local produce.

There are health benefits shopping for local produce because the chances of pesticides being used in mass produce growing are high and almost certain! The distance the food has travelled I couldn't even guess with supermarket produce, whereas if you source it more locally it has spent a fraction of the time travelling, and therefore you have a longer time period to use the produce. Supporting local businesses is really important too!

 This is why I love buying my fruit and vegetables in local stores not just the big chain supermarkets. Below are a few photos of my local produce shopping recently....

Isle of Wight