Inspired by Thailand – Vegan Mushroom, Peanut, Beansprouts and Lime Lettuce Cups

Looking for some easy healthy entertaining ideas for the weekend? Then try these super easy, super tasty Thai inspired Vegan cups.

Prep: 10 mins

Cook: 15 mins

Ingredients:

Pack of mushrooms (chestnut, button etc are fine), 2 garlic cloves, 1 thumb sized piece of fresh ginger, 1 whole lime, 2 tbsp of soy sauce, handful of natural peanuts, bag of beansprouts, 1 head of iceberg lettuce carefully separated into individual leafs,1 small red onion and bunch of coriander to serve.

Method:

1.Start by thinly chopping a packet of mushrooms then cooking on a low heat in a little oil to remove all the excess water

2.Remove from the pan and set aside

3. Add a little more oil and gently fry some garlic and ginger for a few minutes, add your mushrooms back to the pan with the juice of a whole lime, soy sauce, a good handful of peanuts and the beansprouts

4. Mix well and warm through (don’t over cook though as you want to keep the peanut crunch)

5. Serve with lettuce cups, shredded red onion and coriander

Enjoy!

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Inspired by Portugal – A Kinda’ Caldo Verde

I tried Caldo Verde recently in Portugal and it, is delicious as it is simple.

Have a look at the recipe below on my own take on this Portuguese comfort food, perfect for autumn.

Serves: 4
Prep: 10mins
Cook: 30mins

Ingredients: 2 pints of chicken stock, 1 large potato, 1 large courgette, 1 onion, 1 clove of garlic, 1/2 a ring of chorizo (I used turkey chorizo for this recipe as it’s a little healthier), tin of chickpeas rinsed and drained, good handful of spinach, a little oil and salt and pepper.

Method:

1. Start by gently frying one diced onion and garlic in a little oil to soften
2. Cube both the potato and courgette and add to the onion and garlic
3. Pour over the chicken stock and bring to boil
4. Simmer for around 10-15 minutes until the potato is soft and blitz all in a food processor to make a lovely soup base
5. Cut the chorizo into smallish chunks and dry fry in a pan for a few minutes to brown and remove any fat
6. Place the soup base back on a low heat and add the chopped chorizo, spinach and chickpeas for a further 15 minutes until all flavours have melted into this soup
7. Add seasoning and enjoy!

I also came across this lovely article recently on all things Caldo Verde!

https://www.theguardian.com/food/2021/mar/10/how-to-make-the-perfect-caldo-verde-recipe-felicity-cloake

Thursday’s Chicken Teriyaki

Mid-week sorted with my oven cooked Chicken Teriyaki, so quick to make and low fat too as cooking straight in the oven so no need to fry first…

Serves: 4

Prep: 10mins
Cook: 1h 30mins

Ingredients: 3 skinless chicken breasts, 1 large green pepper, cup of orange juice, 3 tbsps. shop bought Teriyaki sauce (I used Clearspring), 2 tbsps. runny honey, 2 garlic cloves, 1 tbps. of flour, handful of cashew nuts and fluffy white rice to serve.

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 150CFan
2. Get an oven proof lidded dish/pan ready
3. Assemble all of your ingredients except the cashew nuts and chop the chicken and pepper into bite sized pieces and add to the pan
4. Thinly slice your garlic and mix with the chicken and peppers
5. Whisked together the orange juice, honey and Teriyaki sauce and pour over the chicken
6. Pop in the oven lid on and cook for 1h and 15mins
7. After this time take the lid off and sprinkle over 1 tbsp. of flour, mix well, add your cashews and pop back in the oven, lid on for 15mins
8. Once ready serve with fluffy white rice and enjoy!

As a three person household we had enough leftovers for a little ones lunch box too. I just let the rice and chicken cool, steamed some broccoli and mixed together with some of the sauce, topped with slices cucumber for a little Teriyaki rice salad lunchbox – yummy!

Gluten Free, Dairy Free and Delicious Creamy Broccoli and Walnut Pasta

Need something that’s quick, healthy and delicious too this week? Then give this Gluten Free, Dairy Free and Delicious Creamy Broccoli and Walnut Pasta a try…great for kids too!

Serves: 2

Cook: 10mins
Prep: Less than 5 minutes

Ingredients: 120g of Pasta of your choice, (I used gluten free spaghetti), half a head of broccoli, handful of walnuts, squeeze of lemon juice, 3 tbps. of soya cream, 1 tbsps of olive oil, salt and pepper.

Method:

1. Cook your pasta as per packet instructions
2. While this is cooking cut your broccoli up into florets and boil for around 6mins
3. Drain the broccoli and add to a food processor with the rest of the sauce ingredients and blend to a thick sauce like consistency, if you prefer more liquid add some more olive oil
4. Drain your pasta and mix in the broccoli and walnut sauce
5. Add more seasoning if you wish and enjoy!

Weekend Treat – Rice Flour Pancakes with your Choice of Toppings

Gluten Free, Dairy Free and Sugar Free

So glad I have created this recipes as pancakes are a real weekend treat in our household, I was a bit dubious at first, thinking that the pancakes wouldn’t be as fluffy as they are when using normal flour, but this recipe worked a treat! It was really good to make the mixture of Friday night too, so that it was ready for a lazy morning breakfast. These pancakes are also gluten free, sugar free and dairy free so feels like an even better start to the weekend!

Ingredients: 3 large eggs eggs, 1 cup of rice flour, 1/2 cup of Oat milk 1 tablespoon olive oil, 1 tsp of baking powder, pinch of salt, oil of your choice for frying.

Method:

1. Combine all you wet ingredients and mix well
2. Add slowly to the rice flour, baking powder, salt and mix well, so that there aren’t any lumps
3. Leave overnight in the fridge
4. When ready to cook, give the mixture another really good stir
5. Heat some oil in a pan and start to cook your pancakes in batches, using a 1 tbsp. to measure out each pancake
6. Cook on each side for 2 -3 minutes
7. Once cooked top with your favourites pancake topping, chocolate sauce and banana works, blueberries and honey or in my case, poached egg, pancetta, spinach and black pepper yummy!

Wholemeal Banana Muffins

DF, Low Sugar

Whipped up a batch of these yesterday, great for lunch on the go, lunch box treats or after school snack. This recipe is dairy free and low sugar, making these a great addition to your weekend baking, as well as using up those overripe bananas!

Makes: 12 Muffins

Ingredients: 200g wholemeal flour, 4 overripe bananas, 2 eggs, 100ml of oat milk, 50g of brown sugar, 1 tbsp. of olive oil, 2 tbsp. of oats, 1 tsp. of baking powder, 1 tsp of baking soda, 1 tsp. of honey.

Method:

1. Preheat your oven to 180F
2. Combine all of your wet ingredients except the honey and mix well,
3. Add to all of the other dry ingredients
4. Mix well until smooth
5. Mash your bananas in a separate bowl and then add to the muffin mix
6. Mix well and then finish off by stirring in the honey
7. Fill a 12 hole muffin tray with muffin cases and fill equally with the muffin mixture
8. Pop in the oven and bake for 15 -20 minutes until the muffins have risen and are golden brown
9. Allow to cool and keep in an airtight container until ready to eat
10. Enjoy!

Venezuelan P.A.N Time!

Hi there! I will be whipping up a treat with this at the weekend, but wanted to know your thoughts on it and spread some awareness of its origin and uses.

P.A.N is actually an acronym meaning “Producto Alimenticio Nacional”, translating to “National Food Product”, originating in Venezuela and is seen as a staple in Venezuelan diets.  It is also used widely across the rest of South America and cornflour such as this is also a used in a lot of African cooking too, and can be used in a similar way to Italian Polenta.

Main uses include Venezuelan arepas and empanadas – yummy! It also boasts no additives and is great for those following a gluten free diet.

Now for the hard part…

As violence, political and economic instability continues in Venezuela, it is estimated that 3 million people have fled their homes, with at least 1 million now based in nearby Columbia. This figure includes 300,000 children, some of whom are travelling alone leaving them incredibly vulnerable.  It is predicted that by the end of 2019, this number will rise to 5.3 million.

Below are some stark statistic from Save The Children US, on the impact this current situation is having on children still in Venezuela:

• 15% of school-age children are out of school
• 16 out of 1,000 children die before their 5th birthday
• 33% of people live in poverty
• 13% of children suffer from stunting due to malnutrition

If you would like to find out more please visit: https://www.savethechildren.org/us/what-we-do/where-we-work/latin-america/venezuela

I will be making an Inspired by Venezuela recipe later this year, but for now if you would like to have a look at some of the other South American Recipes, I have put together a list, including delicious recipes like Crab and Sweet Potato Fritters to Piri Piri Style Turkey Breast!

Inspired by Haiti – Crab and Sweet Potato Fritters

Inspired by Columbia – Tuna Steak Stew with Lime and Oregano

Inspired by Mexico – Avocado and Cucumber Gazpacho

Inspired By Ecuador – Slow Cooked Pork and Bean Stew with Cheesy Potato Cakes

Inspired by Peru – Chicken, Black Rice, Green Sauce and Avocado SaladInspired by

Brazil Piri Piri Style Turkey Breast, Black Beans, Orange and Tomato Rice, Smashed Avocado and a Simple Salsa

Inspired by Haiti – Banana and Mango Mock Ice Cream with Dark Chocolate and Cashew Nut Shards

Remember all recipes are created for you not only to enjoy, but to also raise awareness of the struggles these countries face on a daily basis, so if you would like to make a donation to Save The Children, who are working everyday to support children around the World, please visit my just giving page by clicking the link Just Giving for more information.

So where will we go next? Come back on Monday to find out!

See you soon!

Thanks

Rosalyn x

 

 

 

Inspired by Mexico – Avocado and Cucumber Gazpacho

Serves: 2

Ingredients: 1 large avocado, 1/2 cucumber, 1 garlic clove, 2 tbsp. Olive oil, 100 – 150ml of cold water 1 tbsp. White wine vinegar, salt and pepper

For the salsa topping: 1 tomato, 2 tbsp. sweetcorn, 1/2 small red onion, 1 red chilli, 1/2 tsp. Paprika, 1/2 tsp. dried oregano drizzle of olive oil

Method:

1. Peel the cucumber and chop the avocado and cucumber into chunks
2. Pop into a blender with the rest of the ingredients and blitz to a smooth consistency add a little more water if you like and seasoning to taste
3. Set aside in the fridge until ready to serve
4. Chop the tomato and onion into small chunks
5. Slice the chilli thinly and remove the seeds
6. Add the chilli to the tomato, red onion and sweetcorn and mix together
7. Pop on top of your chilled avocado soup and sprinkle over some paprika, dried oregano and a drizzle of olive oil
8. Enjoy!

Save The Children US have been working in Mexico for many years to help support and secure the rights of children.  Have a look at the statistics on the struggles they face below:

• 10% of school-age children are out of school
• 15 out of 1,000 children die
  before their 5th birthday
• 12% of children are engaged in child labour
• 46% of people live in poverty

To find out more about the work Save The Children are doing please visit their website:

https://www.savethechildren.org/us/what-we-do/where-we-work/latin-america/mexico

And if you would like to make a donation via this blog, please visit my Just Giving Page, by clicking the link here Just Giving

Thanks x