Food update for the week!

Hola! Sadly I've been unwell for the past week or so, crazy fever, cold, flu and so on, so my body has been exhausted. However, I don't seem to be the only one! It looks like a nasty bug is going around at the moment and everyone is getting hit in some way or another :(. Having filled up on fruit, herbal tea and lots of water, I'm finally feeling back on track, yay. But oh wait, I have 4 hours of exams tomorrow! Hopefully all goes well.

It has now been a month since I've started my job and my attitude towards food preparation has altered greatly! Daily 9-5s, trying to fit in seeing friends and the gym, I always find myself with hardly any time to devote in the kitchen. So having managed to whip up some quick dishes with what I had in store, I'm really pleased with the results! Recipes for spinach 'wraps', bulgar wheat salad, quick beef chilli/ stew and healthy crispy chicken bites will be posted as soon as possible, but for now a long night of revision awaits.

               

Xx

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Chicken, carrot and lentil stew

This is just one of those very easy to put together dinners. Perfect for a week full of serious studying. I somehow was not ready for what ICAS had in store for me! A year's worth of University material covered in about a week studying for this qualification. Although challenging, learning all this material has made me even more exciting and eager to start hands on work with clients in the Audit department.

CHICKEN, CARROT & LENTIL STEW

• 1 small onion, diced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tsp cumin
• About 6 chicken breasts, cubed
• 0.5 tsp paprika 
• Pinch of chilli flakes, optional
• 0.5 tsp cinnamon 
• 3 carrots, peeled and cut into chunks
• 200g red lentils, washed
• 1 can of chopped tomatoes
• 1 vegetable stock cube, dissolved in about 1 litre of water

1. In a large saucepan, heat up some coconut oil and fry the onion, garlic and cumin until fragrant and the diced onion has softened.#
2. Add in the chicken cubes, lightly frying until opaque and just cooked through. Stir in the paprika, cinnamon and chilli flakes.
3. Add in the chopped carrot pieces and leave to slightly brown for 1-2 minutes.
4. Pour in the stock as well as the chopped tomatoes. Simmer for 5 minutes. Add in the red lentils and let the dish cook for at least 30 minutes on low heat, adding more water and stirring as required.
5. Season with salt and pepper.
   

Xx

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Chickpea frenzy!

My cooking mojo is finally back! Travels now feel like a distant memory, my new career has kicked off and I've finally had some time to myself to play around in the kitchen. I've gone back to that phase of focusing on one ingredient and just trying to make and create as many dishes as possible out of it. Today's focus was on chickpeas because they are so cheap and are also a good source of protein. I managed to make some pretty decent muffins as well as a great crunchy snack, perfect for catching up with the Great British Bake Off.

CINNAMON SPICED CHICKPEA AND RAISIN MUFFINS

These muffins are packed full of fibre, low in fat and the chickpeas bump up their protein content. Makes about 10 muffins or 6 large ones.

• 100g whole wheat flour
• 50 g oats
• 35 g desiccated coconut
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• Pinch of salt
• 50 g raisin 
• 1 400g can of chickpeas, rinsed, drained and blended
• 1 vanilla pod or 1 tsp vanilla extract 
• 1 egg
• 70 g honey
• 2 tbsp olive or coconut oil
• 100 g milk
• 2 tbsp chia seeds, optional
• Small handful of dark chocolate chips, optional
• Handful of sunflower seeds to top, optional

1. In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, oats, coconut, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, raisins, chia seeds and choc chips if using.
2. In another bowl, mix the blended chickpeas, egg, honey, vanilla, and oil until smooth. Pour into the bowl of dry ingredients and roughly combine. 
3. Slowly add in enough milk to form a cake like batter. Do not over mix.
4. Spoon into muffin cases and top with sunflower seeds. Bake in a preheated oven at 175 degrees Celsius until golden brown for around 15 minutes.

CRUNCHY CHICKPEA SNACK

I have always seen pictures of these on Instagram but never really realised how easy they were to make! This is such a simple and easy to make snack, definitely worth the effort. You can spice them as you wish; salt and pepper, cinnamon, cocoa, curry and so on... Perfect movie munching snack or just as nice used to top salads and soups.

• 400 g can of chickpeas, drained and dried
• Seasoning, I used 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tbsp olive oil

1. Once you have rinsed the chickpeas, drain and dry with paper towels. Completely drying the chickpeas is key and will reduce required cooking time. 
2. You will find that most of the outer skins will fall off which is perfectly fine and will actually also speed up baking time.
3. Place the chickpeas on a metal tray and bake in a preheated oven at 175 degrees Celsius for 15 minutes. Remove the tray, add oil and seasoning, give it all a good shake and bake for another 10 minutes.

Enjoy and hopefully I will be back to updating the blog on a weekly basis :)!
Xx

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