It's good to be 'bad'

People can be sooo judgemental about food and nutrition, especially when it comes to clean and lean/fresh eating. It drives me crazy! I do not believe that carbs are the seventh circle of your kitchen's own private hell, or that eating its agent of destruction 'pasta' will cause your digestive tract to close up.

That thud you just heard? Oh don't mind that it's just me falling off my high horse. That scrabbling and cursing you hear now? Why, that's me scratching and clawing my way back on to it! I ate pasta. It was delicious!

I tried to keep this dish as healthy as possible while still satisfying my craving for something creamy and hearty and baaaaad! Boil up as much pasta as you intend to eat...remeber no one is judging you. Chop up a few capers along with a small bunch of dill and mix them into a teeny (or a tremendous) amount of creme fraiche. Heat up a griddle pan and when it's nice and hot lay a salmon fillet skin side down to cook, this will only take a few minutes. Slice a handful of mangetout in half lengthways and do likewise with some French beans, chuck them both into the pasta water for the last 1/2 minutes cooking time. Drain this pan, flake in your salmon and mix it well with (you guessed it) green leaves, today I used watercress, rocket and beets. Finally add your caper creme fraiche and enjoy.

Not all bad, lots of good in there...and pasta! But the world kept turning and my bowel didn't develop polyps so all's well that ends well, and this ended well! Yum!

 

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Emergency Clean Cuisine

I have been terribly guilty of not listening to my own advice lately in that have been hideously underprepared for all my meals! It makes life soooo much harder! Too many times I've raced into the kitchen after work and immediately commenced eating everything within reach! Tonight was almost one of those nights but thankfully this gorgeous seafood cocktail rescued me!

Remove the prawns from the freezer and let them defrost. In a small own bowl mix a tablespoon of seafood dressing (or three parts creme fraiche to one part ketchup) with the zest and juice of half a lemon, to this add your cooked crab meat and let it sit. Slice up an avocado, a fennel bulb and a head of baby gem lettuce and toss it with leaves of your choosing (spinach and watercress for me). Now that your prawns are defrosted quickly grill them and while they're hot add them to your crab meat. Arrange everything on a plate (and if it's really an emergency) DEVOUR it!

So this might be less clean than I like thanks to jarred sauce, but sometimes, I have to cut myself some slack or I'll end up at the drive-thru again (true story) and I'm ok with that! This is delicious and a great balance of lean protein, healthy fats and green carbs so I'm willing to let the tablespoon of decadence slide!

 

 

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Something to make quinoa edible

It has taken me sooooo long to accept quinoa. Empires have risen and fallen in less time! Until recently I just found it such a noxious, smug, self satisfied grain. And yes before you ask I do have a tendency to personify my meals! Unfortunately because quinoa is an excellent source of plant protein and there's only so many lentils a girl can eat I knew it was time to branch out. But UGH! It looks like frog spaw and tastes (I imagine) just like to too!

Luckily, I have stumbled upon a remedy - parsley pesto. Add two good handfuls of parsley, half a garlic clove (you don't want to smell like your lunch all day), a handful of almonds and a squeeze of lemon to a fast running blender. When it's become a pulse slowly add olive oil (or coconut) until it reaches a consistency you find edible. I keep mine chunky because I like a bite, and honestly, it disguises the quinoa better! Both parsley and almonds have excellent anti-oxidant properties (parsley contains them and almonds activate them) which is an added bonus!

There is no image for this recipe because quite honestly, it looked like frogspawn had been mushed into grass then scraped on to my plate and I'm really not dedicated enough to this blogging business to spend hours making the images 'just so'. You'll just have to trust me that it was yummy! It's equally yummy with coriander or a mix of both herbs.

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Guacamole...in a fashion

No superfoods or fads just clean, quick meals!

Oh dear, not my finest photographic moment! I blame it on the fact that I was utterly starving and this smelt too good to deny for even a moment! This recipe has all the ingredients of a guacamole but reduces the need for washing up by eliminating the blender (boo dirty dishes!), I have no doubt this would taste as delicious with actual, grow up gucamole!

Start by removing the shells of the prawns and deveining...lol joke! Start by defrosting a portion of prawns (because life is short). While that's happening chop up a mango, an avocado, a small amount of parsley or if you prefer coriander and a quarter of a red onion. Over your prawns tip a squeeze of lime juice and a little/a lot of grated chilli. Heat up a griddle pan until it's nice and hot and sizzle off your prawns. When your prawns have turned pink mix everything together and finish it with another squeeze of lime. Minimal effort, maximum taste - just the way I like it.

 

 

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Irresistible!

Yum! I've been sick for a few days, and if I'm honest I've been relishing all the pampering! But enough is enough! I decided to get my body back in order with this Super Bowl. Chopped coconut, blueberries, watermelon, kiwi and satsuma segments. Delish! Watermelon and kiwi are A-MAZ-ING together, I'd happily eat them all day! I had this with celery and cottage cheese on crackers for the friendly bacteria and a kick of protein. It was detox central today, so I should be better in no time!

 

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Brilliant Brussels

Brussel sprouts are the highlight of every Christmas for me! Yes, they even trump presents (no pun intended). So I was naturally horrified when the Gentleman referred to them as "the devil's testicales." Whaaaaat?! How dare he insult these shrivelled globes of glory. I promptly set about changing his mind, this is the recipe that won him round.

Chop your sprouts in half, keeping any of the outer leaves that fall off. In a pan warm some coconut oil over a low heat, you'll need enough to well cover your sprouts. To the pan add 2tbs of grated ginger, 1 crushed garlic clove and 0.5tsp of ground coriander. Heat it nice and gently for about 5 minutes. Taste it and decide if its tangy enough, keep in mind that sprouts are strong little blighters so you might need more ginger and coriander (depending on how much you want to camouflage them!) Toss your sprouts into the pan and let them soak up the mixture. Transfer the whole lot to a baking tray and roast them on a high heat for 15-20 minutes, leave them alone except for a rattle halfway through. I like to sprinkle over the loose leaves 5 minutes before they're ready, they crisp up wonderfully!

Successfully disguised sprouts!

 

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Oranges Are Not The Only Fruit

If I'm being honest, being unemployed has been pretty hard. I went from having a stressful job, filled with challenges, deadlines and an endless list of tasks marked urgent, to having entire days yawning in front of me with absoloutely nothing to fill them with. At first I tried to adopt the attitude that "finding a job was my new job", unsurprisingly that endured for the first three days by which time I'd applied for every job I wanted and many, many more that I definietly did not want! Hours swelled and my sense of dejection and failure ballooned.

One day I woke up and was convinced that I'd never get a job. EVER. Because I was crap and everyone knew it. It was all rather illogical and utterly unacceptable. Thankfully, soon after this black morning I stumbled upon an old copy of Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit by Jeanette Winterson. Hallelujah! This book is marvellous; hilariously refreshing, thought provoking in its bizarreness and (it's most invigorating glory) related by a woman uncompromising in her loyalty to herself.

Just when I needed to I heard...

It was a timely kick up the arse. I promptly quit whining and set about finding a boat (not literally - I'm land locked). Nobody was going to give me a job, I had to earn a job! In addition it was high time I stopped applying for every job I heard about and rather fixed my sights on the abundant potential that exists in every. Single. Day. My success could be mine to claim. Thank you Jeanette, oranges, most definitely, are not the only fruit.

 

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