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:

Energising Smoothie

I have been experimenting a lot with smoothies and juices at the moment. Differing flavour combinations to keep things interesting!

This smoothie is a great and energy boosting drink that you can drink either for breakfast or after a good workout as it includes Matcha Green Tea powder! You need a good blender if you are going to add the few cashew nuts and if the frozen banana won't break up just leave it at room temperature for 5 minutes to defrost.

There isn't really any need to put instructions to this recipe, other than chuck everything in the machine and blend away! Serve and enjoy :-)

Make Your Own Almond Butter!

Nut butters are one of my favourite foods. Seriously, half a pot could be gone in 24 hours! They are a nutritious, filling and a great addition to many meal.

They are generally quite expensive to buy, especially the organic nut butters that I love to get. So I wanted to create a recipe that you can make easily and efficiently at home that doesn't break the bank! My ultimate favourite nut butter is Almond! So here is my recipe for Almond Butter...

The only thing you need to purchase is almonds! There is two stages to making the almond butter and they can be done on totally different days if you want, the first stage makes the roasted salted almonds (great addition to meals) and then the second stage makes them into the butter we know and love!

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.

Healthy Hazelnut Frozen Chocolate

Okay so time for a great new chocolate recipe that is guilt-free and best of all good for you! Coconut oil really is the saviour of everything. The base to this amazing chocolate, a great hair mask and a body moisturiser! Cant get much more versatile than that can you?!

The recipe takes 10 minutes maximum to make and then frozen. You may think eating chocolate straight from the freezer would be strange, but seriously don't knock it until you have tried it!

Equally you can keep this chocolate just chilled in the fridge or at room temperature instead of frozen, as coconut oil is solid at an average room temperature. But remember if it is a hot day best to keep this in the fridge unless you want a chocolate fondue...

Makes 10 regular pieces if keeping at room temp or chilled or if frozen, freeze in block

Apple and Cinnamon Cake

Here is another amazingly tasty gluten free and sugar free cake recipe!

Apple and cinnamon is such a good combo (and you know how much I love cinnamon) so I thought a while back it is time to make one that I can enjoy. I have uploaded a photo on Instagram the first time I made this and realised I havent shared the recipe!! Here it is....

Ingredients:

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: