Fast Diet Recipe: Green Pea Hummus

I thought I would provide a slightly healthy relief from my recent Bunny Party recipes with a Fast Diet recipe idea... 

Green Pea Hummus. 

After the past few weeks/months of indulging a little too much, travelling and trying new foods, and working my butt off with wholesale orders, I've kind of let my eating habits suffer a little. 

And I have felt the impact on my hips!! So, hello Fast Diet, I am back! 

If you read A Cup of Jo you would have seen this one listed a few months back, and I pinned it and have basically waited for a rainy day! Well, that rainy day was yesterday. 

Apple + Peanut Butter + Cinnamon + Walnuts + Honey + Coconut

I just couldn't think of a name for this snack

other than "this is definitely not a donut" 

and so alas, here you have it.... 

an apple, 

topped with peanut butter, 

sprinkled with walnuts that have been dusted with cinnamon, 

all drizzled with honey and scattered with coconut (is that enough verbs for you?).  

Gluten Free Brown Sugar Cookies for every bunny

Wishing you such a wonderful Easter Sunday. 

The Easter Bunny has had a bit of a struggle finding us this year, so we are having a very low key Easter (but so far I've managed two serves of ice cream before 2pm, so don't feel too sorry for me!).

Homemade Nakd Bars (Larabars)

I've been thinking about making my own Homemade Nakd Bars for some time, and finally got around to it this weekend.

And they were SO simple!

I have made another batch since and played with the flavours a bit too.

Ever since becoming gluten intolerant a year or so ago I have loved Nak'd bars!

They are based on blended dates and sultanas mixed with a variety of different nuts and flavours.

Fast Diet - Week 13 - #LoseDayTuesday

I can't believe its week 13 of the 5:2 Fast Diet!! To find out more about it, read my original post here. 

Thirteen weeks, and whilst I've had some good weight loss, I'd like to see more! My original end point was my 30th birthday, but as that goalpost comes hurtling towards me next month, it seems I need to reevaluate my goals. In general I am happy that I am back to the weight I was at 3 years ago when we first got to the UK, but I want to get back to "wedding weight" now! Its funny, I caught up with a friend last week that I hadn't seen since July and I realised that I had lost 8kg since then (18lbs). So whilst I get myself down about these last few kilos that are taking their sweet time to vacate the premises, when I reflect on the bigger picture, its's really good and I need to focus on that more!!

I've had a bit of a flip-floppy week again with some migraines and emotional eating situations that I wish didn't happen. As much as I generally don't emotionally indulge as much these days, there are some situations that only a hot caramel creama will soothe! But Fast Diet days looked pretty tasted this week too, I got a little more creative with my calories!

Lunch - Roasted Rosemary Veggies

I was craving something warm and decided to break out of my soup addiction, so went with roast veggies instead! This was such a satisfying afternoon lunch and surprisingly, kept me full for quite a while.

The Fast Diet meg-made

Ingredients and Method

135g pumpkin (butternut squash) 

65g zucchini (courgette)

95g red capsicum (red pepper)

Garlic

Rosemary

Sea salt

Combine all ingredients and bake in a moderately hot oven (200C/400F) for 45 minutes until crisp on the outside and soft and comforting on the inside!

Dinner - O'Kelly Salmon

It was hard not to want to cook this one as soon as I saw a photo, it just looks so pretty! I still haven't mastered salmon and seem to cook it too quickly and get the little white bits appear (any tips??) but aesthetics aside, this was delicious and a massive dinner!

The Fast Diet meg-mad

Recipe from Mimi Spencer HERE.

Snacks - Gingerbread Cottage

Sounds too good to be true...yeah it kind of is! This was a bit of creative name for cottage cheese sprinkled with ginger, nutmeg and cinnamon, but hey, if it makes you more excited about a low calorie snack on a Fast Day, then creativity be mine!

The Fast Diet meg-made

Simply combine 1/2 cup of cottage cheese sprinkled with a dash of each of the spices, to your liking!

Drinks - Just water, of different temperatures

I had a stonking big headache all day long, so just kept drinking and drinking and drinking! I feel so very lame for saying so, but I really "Shook things up a little" by altering the temperature of my water today. Boring? Yes definitely. Effective? Actually yes! At its most basic, ice cold water tastes different to room temperature water, but it is also suggested to slow your rate of digestion down too, so its not entirely crazy to reach for a few glasses of warmer water throughout the day (particularly at meal time).

Total calories for the day = 490

Exercise

I love my Reformer Pilates class. Even when I go to my class with very heavy feet and a heavy heart, I always bound out of the class filled with energy and a clear and settled mind. And then for the next three days, I have gloriously aching muscles, in places I never knew muscles existed! 

In addition to my Reformer Pilates class, I went for a few decent walks (with the pram) and continued my planks! 

My 30 to 30 Plank Challenge was gaining momentum, and then I had my form corrected, and so had to re-start the momentum with a new (and improved) form!! I'll be posting on my technique training session with one of the UK's (and the world's) most qualified coach, who just so happens to be my cousin, Joanne Elphinston. 

Weight loss?

Total loss to date = 3.4kg (7.5lbs)

Come on Meg, what's going on!?! Cue Snoop Dogg.... Drop it like it's hotttttttttt... I really want to drop another kilo before I wrap up my 20's, so for the coming week, I'll track each day and see how close I am hitting the 2,000 calorie suggestion. Surely that's where the other calories are hiding!! 

Goals for the coming week

My goals for this coming week are:

• Continue Plank Challenge
• Track calories each day, not just Fast Days
• Get to the pool and do some laps again, I've missed it over the past few weeks
• Research some more migraine-fighting foods to try 

So a few things to work on this coming week, but all in all, I am really proud of my progress. I don't think of myself as devastatingly unfit anymore, and I really enjoy that confidence. 

For a lot of new joiners to the Fast Diet, it's now most likely around week 3, I'd love to hear how it's going?? Any meal suggestions that are delicious and filling that you'd like to share? I am in a bit of an experimental cooking phase now so would love some new ideas!!!! 

And its my Mum's birthday today, so Happy Birthday Amma, we hope you feel better quickly! xx

Wishing you a wonderful week!



Psst!! If you are looking for a little more meg-made, I'd LOVE for you to follow along!


  

SillyNuts: Gluten Free Cinnamon Donuts

I'm not going to write an intro for these incredible treats, other than to explain the name!! What the?! Well, I wanted to have a play on the word Coeliac, because, praise the Lord, these are gluten free!! And when I gave one to Mr M as he walked in the door tonight, I asked him "how good are these?!" (rhetorical question of course), to which he replied "They're so good its just silly". And well, they look like a donut. So there we have it, may I introduce to you, the SillyNut. 

Ingredients
1 cup ground almonds/almond meal
1/3 cup white sugar (plus a little extra for dusting)
1 egg white
1 teaspoon cinnamon (plus a little extra for dusting)

Method:

1. Beat your egg white until it is as frothy and stiff as can be (about 3-4 minutes should do it).

2. Mix together the cinnamon with the sugar and slowly add it to the egg white while you are beating.

3. Continue to beat until it is all well combined.

4. Gently fold in the almond meal and mix well to fully incorporate into the sugary eggwhite.

5. Combine another few tablespoons of sugar and 1 teaspoon of cinnamon in a small bowl. Roll about a teaspoon of mixture into a ball and coat with the cinnamon sugar.

6. This step is optional, but I then made the holes in the centre by simply inserting a large icing tip into the middle of the ball, which made a hole. I kept the holes and rolled them to form full (and extra sweet) donut at the end too.

7. Bake in a moderate oven 180C/350F for ten minutes, or until just starting to brown.

Promise me this, you must eat some while they are still hot. They are too good not to.

They are crunchy and crisp on the outside, with a slightly dough dense centre.

But then, they are so good cold too. So you really can't lose. 

Okay go now, try them out, they are so good it's SILLY!!!!!!!!

A Baptism for Baby M

If you don't follow my Instagram feed, you may have missed that we've just been home to Australia for a few weeks. We went to be part of Saraids wedding, to celebrate my Father in laws 70th, and to celebrate the baptism of Baby M. A fair amount to do in two weeks!!

Living in the UK has its ups and downs but by far the hardest part is living so far from our families and so many old friends. I wanted to gather as many loved ones in one place to do Madeleine's Baptism, so Brisbane was the place to do it.

We landed very late on the Friday night after some horrific 30 hours in transit, had some sleep, and then got to work baking all day Saturday. Saraid and I work together like a well oiled machine, it was actually a heap of fun being so busy with her, I don't think there's another soul in the world who thinks so similarly to me!! 

We had a lovely little ceremony for Baby M at Marist College, which was where her mama and daddy met nearly 15 years ago. It was really lovely to be back in my husbands old school, and felt very special to be back there with our little daughter, all those years later.

With Sophie at Marist College Ashgrove

After the ceremony we had a small morning tea back at the Godmother, Saraids' house. 

I can hear your very first question..... What's the theme Meg, there has to be a theme?? Of course there's a theme, it was all tied in to Baby M's party dress, this gorgeous Ralph Lauren dress we picked up in Conneticut last month (Which, came in its very own tiny little garment bag, I nearly died from the cuteness!!).

To start the theming off, I ordered some fun striped straws, in theme of course, and added a touch of sparkle to them and popped them in some mini-milk bottles for some fresh lemonade...

I made lots and lots of lace bunting, which we cut to hang in all the doorways around the house too!

I also had my meg-made Confetti Filled Balloons, using navy blue and pink confetti. I of course forgot to photograph them up, but they were lots of fun to play with after as well!!

I purchased some super cheap Ikea cups and saucers, and made most of the cake stands with plates and different sized bowls.

There was plain vanilla cupcakes, decorated with pink glitter heart picks.

I relived my childhood by making some Tea Cups! Using Arnotts Tic Toc biscuits for the saucer, marshmallow for the cup, half of a musk Lifesaver for the handle and a Allens Freckle for the top. I'm sure you can recreate these with similar supplies in the UK and USA, but I just think they were the sweetest!

I used the same recipe for my GF Royal Sugar Cookies but couldn't find oat/nut flour at all, so used half ground almonds and half regular GF flour. Without the heavy nut flavour the honey became the star and they were delicious. Bless Saraid for indulging my crazy ways. When I made these to look like tea bags and ask if she could tie each with the lace ribbon....rather than look at me like I was completely bonkers, she just simply got on with poking the ribbon through the hole! 

My mum went to the markets and got some beautiful fresh fruit so we filled some plastic wine glasses with a fruit salad...

I made and completely forgot to serve a huge batch of lamb meatballs with a spicy tomato sauce. Oops! I was wondering why it was such a sweet party!

And the final treat were going to be Zuccini Pizzas, but ended up being Zucchini Bites, and they were gorgeous. Saraid added the perfect amount of pepperoni to give these a bit of a zing, they were so tasty!

I wanted Baby M to have a special little headband that was Baptism-appropriate and so made her this little lace and gold sparkle headband. I think she had an inkling of how angelic she looked!

It was such a lovely morning gathering our Australian loved ones to celebrate Baby M's Baptism! Thank you to all our friends and families who were able to partake in this special day. 

A huge thank you to Saraid for helping so much, taking so many photos, being two steps ahead when jetlag set in, and for allowing me to clutter up your house for two weeks! 

Stay tuned for a post about the magnificent wedding of the Godmother!!! 

Cinnamon sugar roasted nuts - Gluten Free

It has taken me a while to post about these, but these gluten free Cinnamon Sugar Roasted Nutes are definitely worth the wait. 

You know the old "real estate trick" of having a Roast Lamb (if you're in Australia) or a batch of cookies (in the US) in the oven when you're having an open house, as it makes the house smell homely and inviting...well..

I think these cinnamon roasted nuts can replace both of those options and could be the global real estate fairy dust.

I feel like these should be made once a week, just to "freshen up" the smell of your house, they smell that good. There is just something special about heated up cinnamon and sugar. In Australia there is an amazing chain store donut shop called Donut King, and they do the greatest ever hot cinnamon donuts. They are made to order and you get to watch your dough ring drop into the vat of oil and bubble along and land on the tray of cinnamon sugar, where they are gloriously coated and placed in your paper bag, ready to burn your hands and tongue, but its all worth it, they taste like a ring of heaven. 

Anyway, I digress.... back to the nuts! 

So these nuts take me back to many places in Australia. One is Donut King with Bridge, and the other is to a small street vendor in the middle of Melbourne city, who, in the middle of the cold winters, would be selling these roasted nuts on the roadside and they would just smell like they were going to warm you up immediately. 

So, I think you get the gist, they smell good. 

But they taste good too! Nothing that evokes childhood memories just by the smell is going to taste awful, of that I can be sure. They taste delicious. 

They are crunchy, sweet, salty, wholesome, indulgent and warming. 

I adapted the recipe from the Healthy Food For Living, as I found this recipe to be far less sugary than others and it appealed to me to use the eggwhites to coat the nuts prior to coating them in the cinnamon sugar, not unlike my donuts....

Ingredients

1.5 cups of mixed nuts of your choosing, but chop them to be the same size so that they cook evenly

2 T brown sugar

2 T granulated sugar (mine was white)

1 egg white

1 t ground cinnamon (but this is quite heavy handed, perhaps go for 1/2 a teaspoon if you're not cinnamon obsessed!)

A dash of salt

Method

1. Combine cinnamon, sugars and salt in a bowl and mix well. 

2. Whisk the egg white until white and stiff, which should only take about a minute.

 3. Chop your nuts evenly and add them to the egg white.

4. Add the cinnamon sugar mix to the nuts and toss well until well covered and until there is no sugar left in the bowl, it should all be coating the nuts.

5. On a sheet of parchment paper, spread the nuts evenly in one layer and bake for 20 minutes on a slow oven (120C/250F).

I then divided these nuts into small bags as part of the favour bags from Baby M's first birthday party. I also gifted these to neighbours and foodie penpals as I wanted to share the warmth and love of these gloriously roasted nuts. 

I have been given a variety of fun spices over the past few months and think they would make fabulous nut-seasoning, and a fun way of making nuts a little more interesting. 

Chai Frappe

Summer is here! Like, actual warm weather, sunny days, and warm nights that even justify the fan being on! It may be a few months behind our hopes and dreams, but it is here. And it may go in about a week, but for now, it is here and we are making the most of it.

And what says summer more than an iced frappuccino! I sneak into the Starbucks down the road from us every now and then (read: once on Friday cause it was hot enough for it) and have a caramel frappe (no coffee) and it is just delightful. It is quite a treat though, as I know, I know, how bad it must be for me! 

So, I thought, if I have a food processor, if I have ice, why can't I just make one at home. That way I know exactly what is in it, and how bad it is for me!!! 

Or not bad, as it turns out! 

I saw the recipe for this in Crazy, Sexy, Kitchen, and my general rule of thumb for life is that if a vegan eats it, it's good for you! I love my chai lattes in winter, and miss them terribly since leaving Australia! There's the odd antipodean who makes a good chai in London, but generally they are the syrup chai if you're even able to find one. So finding a way to enjoy chai's in summer is perfection!!

I've made this frappe twice in the past 2 days, once with the dates and once without (and with a sneaky scoop of icecream.....yada yada it was delicious and I'd just been slogging the heavy baby and heavy pram up all the hills in London, and so I figured I earned it). 

Chai Latte Frappe

Ingredients

3 cups almond milk

1/2 T ginger (I used ground but fresh it recommended)

1/2 T cinnamon

1/2 t cardamon

1 t vanilla extract

2 dates pitted (and soaked to soften)

sea salt to taste

ice

Method

1. In a high speed blender (or food processor if that's all you have like moi), blend all ingredients until smooth. 

And that is all. 

It is nutty and sweet thanks to the almond milk, vanilla and dates, but the cardamom gives it an extra zing. The salt helps to enhance each flavour, so don't forget to add the salt. 

Refreshing and light, and just what is yearned for on a warm and sunny afternoon. With no guilt! 

Chicken and apple balls

Sounds interesting doesn't it!

The thing is, I got this recipe out of a baby book!! The Annabel Karmel's New Complete Baby & Toddler Meal Planner, has loads of meal ideas and guides on what your baby can eat at each stage of their development. After getting bored of serving Baby M the same 3 variations of meals for weeks on end, I usually consult this book for a new idea to throw in the mix. Today's was a winner. For me anyway...

It usually takes a few tries for Baby M to get used to a new texture/flavour, but while she takes her sweet time doing that, I couldn't have these go to waste (or go cold...). 

These tasty little balls are sweet from the apple, fresh from the parsley and filling and hearty thanks to the chicken and breadcrumbs. You could adapt it in so many ways too, and it really took a total of ten minutes from concept to plate, and that is so often a winner even if it tastes a little so-so. 

Ingredients

1 onion, finely chopped

1 apple, peeled and grated (or cut into chunks for the food processor)

2 large chicken breasts

1/2 T fresh parsley

2oz/50g fresh breadcrumbs (I used GF bread)

Plain flour for coating (again, I used GF)

Method:

1. Saute half of the finely chopped onion for 3 minutes until cooked but not brown. 

2. Put into the food processor the chicken, apple, onion (both the cooked and uncooked halves), parsley and breadcrumbs and pulse until the chicken is minced and all well combined. 

3. Roll into small balls and coat in the flour. 

4. Shallow fry until lightly golden and cooked through, which takes about 5 minutes. 

Delicious! Definitely not just a snack for the little ones!!