95 calorie pesto pasta (nutritious, vegan and gluten-free!) + #recipeoftheweek 18 May

18 May, 2013 By 15 Comments

95-cal-vegan-pesto-pasta

I’m full, which is weird! – me

I am trying SO hard to eat well right now, but it’s pretty easy to stray.

Tonight I had a meal that felt really greedy but was actually pretty much as innocent as you can get. This dish uses an amazing pasta that’s available in health food shops and contains only 7.7 calories per 100g. It’s very chewy, which takes some getting used to, but it’s worth it for the lovely feeling of being full without the guilt.

The ‘pesto’ is super easy to make too and uses savoury yeast for flavour and nutrition, liquid aminos for a truly vegan seasoning, while fresh basil, baby spinach and garlic give that classic pesto flavour.

I’m really pleased with the results. If you’re vegan, coeliac, or on the 5:2 diet, this is a perfect dish for those days when you need something filling.

Here’s what to do (feeds one):

Ingredients

  • 60g baby spinach (14 calories)
  • 1 pack of Slim Pasta spaghetti (16 calories)
  • 1/2 tsp olive oil (20 calories)
  • 8 tsp water (0 calories)
  • 1 rounded tbsp Engevita savoury yeast condiment with B12 (40 calories)
  • 1 small handful fresh basil (2 calories)
  • 1 spray of Liquid Aminos vegan soy sauce alternative (1 calorie)
  • 1/2 clove garlic (1 calorie)

(Calories are estimated)

Instructions

  1. In a large pan over a low heat, put the spinach, basil, oil, and garlic and half the water and cook until totally wilted – add the rest of the water if it goes dry
  2. Tip into a blender, add the liquid aminos and yeast and blitz for a few seconds
  3. Drain and wash the ‘pasta’, then cook over a medium heat for 2-3 minutes
  4. Stir the sauce through and serve

Simple, yummy, filling. Will you try it?

Add your #recipeoftheweek

Do you have a recipe to share? Here’s the place you can do it! Pick one from the past week, or any time at all. Meaty, vegan, fatty, low-calorie – all recipes are welcome, just as long as you haven’t linked them up to #recipeoftheweek before.

You share the goods, then I generally go round reading, commenting, Stumbling, Pinning and drooling over everyone’s entries. It’s that simple. So just link up below and let’s share the love.

  1. Link up your post using the Linky tool below
  2. Add the “Recipe of the Week” badge to your post so that readers can find other great recipes.
  3. Take a little time to read and comment on each other’s recipes.
  4. Come back next Saturday and we’ll do it all over again.

Enjoy!

Link up your recipe of the week
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American-style pancakes with maple syrup (vegan recipe)

14 May, 2013 By Leave a Comment

Pankcakes with maple syrup

Aw, shame. I’m going to need to make lots of yummy pancakes to test this syrup on – me

This week, Clarks sent me a selection of their maple syrups, fruit syrups and honeys, so we thought we’d give them a proper road test with some beefed  up American-style pancakes.

We used no eggs, sugar or dairy in the recipe. Instead, we used soya milk, sweetened the batter with Clarks Fruit Sweet (a syrup made from carob fruit sugars, which has the benefit of regulating blood sugar levels and has 25% fewer calories than sugar), bound everything together with arrowroot, fried with soya margarine and, once cooked, topped with Clarks Vanilla Maple Syrup with Carob Syrup, which is deliciously clean and sweet tasting with the faint smokiness you expect of good quality maple syrup.

If you’d like to make the pancakes for yourself, here’s what to do…

Ingredients

  • 300g flour
  • 2 tsp Clarks Fruit Sweet
  • 8g arrowroot powder
  • 500ml sweetened soya milk
  • 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
  • 1 tbsp soya margarine
  • 1-2 tbsp Clarks Vanilla Maple Syrup with Carob Syrup

Instructions

  1. Mix all of the dry ingredients except the bicarb in a large bowl
  2. Stir in the milk bit by bit to avoid lumps
  3. Melt the margarine in a large, nonstick frying pan, then pour it into the batter and mix well
  4. Stir through the bicarb
  5. Heat the pan to a medium-high heat, and cook the pancakes with about 60ml per pancake
  6. They’ll need just 45 seconds or so before the bubble on top and brown underneath
  7. Flip over, cook for another 30 seconds then transfer to a plate, stacking as you go
  8. When all the pancakes are cooked, drizzle with the maple syrup and serve

You can buy Clarks syrups in packs of three on Amazon from £9.99.

Disclosure: we were sent some Clarks syrups free of charge for review. No payment was received for this post. All posts are 100% honest.

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The Sugarjack Lily Tote Leather bag. Part 1: the work life test

2 April, 2013 By 2 Comments

sugarjack

I love this bag – me

Sigh. Look at it. Just look at it! I have a strong dislike of the use of ‘sexy’ in reference to everything from creative concepts to powerpoint presentations, but on this occasion I so want to say it. But I won’t. So, um, it’s, um, it’s HOT. *cough*

The Lily Black Patent Tote Leather Changing Bag from Sugarjack retails for £189.00 from UK stockists including Mamas and Papas, Harrods and John Lewis.

It’s available in 3 colours: Nude, Black Crinkle Patent Leather or Burnt Orange / Tan Grain Leather, and I opted for black because it’s classy as hell and goes with everything.

The texture of the black tote is tough and touchable. I’ve been lugging it to the office and back every day for a month, and even down to London and back, stuffed full of pens, USBs, my laptop and all manner of other bits and pieces and it still looks perfect. Not a crack, not a scratch.

It’s functional too, with two large front pockets with zips to foil pickpockets and lots of space and pockets inside. There’s also the Sugarjack removable ‘baby organiser’ compartment, which I pull out for work, but will tell you more about in ‘Part 2: the mummy life test’. I have, however, been making good use of the chic little nylon and leather detachable zip pocket pouch for storing small make-up – it’s brilliant for avoiding that ungainly scrabble in the toilets as you dig around for the concealer, only to find it has lost its top and ruined your bag lining.

The top closes a little with two zips at either edge – an unusual, eye-catching look – and then pops shut with the aid of magnets under the lining. The buckles, zips and clasps are chunky, shiny, logo-emblazoned gold and it’s this finishing touch that seems to draw the most comments.

From a distance, this bag is black, functional and pretty understated against my black trouser suit and patent heels. Close up it’s a sexy (there, I said it!) statement bag that no one would ever guess doubles as a baby changing bag. But I’ll save that for Part 2…

Disclosure: I was sent a Sugarjack Lily Tote Leather bag free of charge for review. No payment was received for this post. All posts are 100% honest.

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Chocolate chip raisin muffins with nutella frosting + #recipeoftheweek 23 – 29 March

23 March, 2013 By 8 Comments

Chocolate chip raisin muffin with Nutella frosting

The best thing I’ve ever tasted – JD, 5

Woohoo! It’s Saturday! We’ve been baking, obviously, and after chucking some rather random ingredients together, came up with these lovely muffins. It’s a cocoa batter, flecked with raisins and chunky dark chocolate chips, baked and then topped with a little Nutella. Think light sponge, crispy top and a flavour combination not unlike a bar of Fruit n Nut. YUM!

Here’s the recipe, followed by #recipeoftheweek linky.

Ingredients

For the sponge:

  • 175g butter, softened
  • 200g caster sugar
  • 3 eggs
  • 4 tbsp milk
  • 175g self raising flour
  • 25g cocoa powder
  • 1tsp baking powder
  • 90g dark chocolate
  • 70g raisins

For the frosting:

  • About 1/2 a small jar of Nutella

You’ll also need:

  • A 12-hole muffin tray
  • 12 muffin cases
  • Piping bag
  • Star nozzle

Instructions

  1. In a large bowl, beat together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy
  2. Beat the egg and milk together, then add to the mix and beat thoroughly
  3. Sift in the cocoa, flour and baking power and fold through
  4. Roughly chop the dark chocolate and sir into he batter with the raisins
  5. Line the baking tray with the cases and share the mixture evenly between them
  6. Bake for 30 minutes
  7. Allow to cool completely
  8. Put the nozzle in the piping bag and add the Nutella
  9. Pipe a small swirl of Nutella on top of each cake

That’s it! Simple and really, really nice with a cuppa.

Add your #recipeoftheweek

Do you have a recipe to share? Here’s the place you can do it! Pick one from the past week, or any time at all, just as long as you haven’t linked it up before.

I’m really enjoying going round and reading, commenting, Stumbling, Pinning and generally drooling over everyone’s entries, so just link up below and let’s share the love.

  1. Link up your post using the Linky tool below
  2. Add the “Recipe of the Week” badge to your post so that readers can find other great recipes
  3. Take a little time to read and comment on each other’s recipes
  4. Come back next Saturday and we’ll do it all over again

Enjoy!

Link up your recipe of the week
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