Baked in 60 Seconds - Paleo Chocolate Mug Cake

I bake! I bake everyday and having started the paleo diet, not being able to sample my cakes and baking was a worry. You have to test everything you bake for your guests in the B&B, right?! Cue, husband! My testing guinea pig. But I do find it hard to resist a muffin, or brown bread, or dare I say it...Chocolate Cake.

 I went to the health shop today and bought some coconut flour, and wanted to put it to use without having to bake a whole cake. I remember a Chocolate Mug Cake trend from a few years back, and I thought why not. It will be made in literally minutes, I'll have road tested the coconut flour.....and I'll have that chocolate hit I've been craving.  Having researched a bit about regular chocolate mug cakes, I've made mine using subsitutes for non-paleo ingredients. It's not melt in your mouth delicious and it certainly isn't as amazing as it would be using regular ingredients, lets be honest! But in terms of maintaining diet and getting that guilt free chocolate hit, it ticks every box. Its really coconuty, which I love. If I was a rule breaker I'd dollop some ice-cream on top..... I made my batter in a bowl and then poured into the mug, to avoid making a mess.

Makes 1 mug cake

Ingredients

• 1.5 tbsp of coconut flour
• 2 tbsp of cocoa powder
• 2 tbp of honey
• 4 tbsp of almond milk
• 1 tbsp of coconut oil
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 large egg
• 1 tbsp of almond butter

Method

1. Beat the egg in the bowl, add rest of ingredients, except the butter, and whisk to incorporate everything.
2. Pour the batter into your mug
3. Place the almond butter in the centre of the batter
4. Cook in the microwave for 60 seconds.
5. Allow to rest for 30 seconds before digging in.

Sticky Sesame Orange Glazed Chicken Wings

Whenever I have a crowd coming over for drinks I throw some chicken wings in the oven. They disappear almost instantly. Chicken wings are so versatile, with hundreds of flavour combinations on offer. Seeing as I am following the Paleo diet currently (you may have heard), I decided to come up with a Paleo friendly chicken wing recipe, omitting all paleo no! no!s.

Ingredients

• Chicken wings
• 1 tbsp Cumin Seeds
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1 cup of freshly squeezed orange juice
• 1/2 cup of honey
• 1 crushed garlic clove
• 1 grated piece of ginger
• 1 tsp of chopped chilli
• 1 tbsp of rice wine vinegar
• 1 tbsp of soy sauce
• 1/2 a tsp of sesame oil
• 2 tbsp of toasted sesame seeds

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees
2. Place the chicken wings on a baking sheet lined with baking paper
3. Scatter the wings with the cumin seeds and grind with black pepper
4. Bake in the oven for 30 minutes
   
5. Meanwhile, add the orange juice, honey, ginger, garlic, chilli, vinegar, oil, and soy sauce to a saucepan, bring to the boil and reduce by half.
6. Pour the 80% of the sauce over the chicken wings and return to the oven for 20 minutes.
7. Remove from the oven, pour over the remain sauce and scatter the sesame seeds over the wings.
8. Serve with lime wedges and garnish with corriander leaves. Serve with a side salad. 

Paleo Friendly Asian Turkey Lettuce Cups - Bread-free Sambos

When taking on this new Paleo way of life, one of the main things I knew I would miss is my beloved bread!! I am addicted to sandwiches! When I used work in Galway I went to McCambridges on Shop Street EVERYDAY for my sambo at lunch. I used be morto when I used to go through the doors as the ladies behind the counter knew my order precisely. I live for sandwiches at lunch.

Even recently I've been having hummus on crackers for my lunch, both of which are a no! no! on the Paleo diet. I thought I would find it tricky but in fact, it's been fun eating outside my comfort zone for lunch. I bulk cooked and some of it lasted 3 days in tubberware in the fridge. I have to say, the body feels good without bread, bloat free. I must to admit I do still crave and miss bread however; but that's where my cheat meals at the weekend will save me.

Now on with this fabulous healthy, zingy and fresh lunch. I couldn't believe how full I felt after it, and I managed to stretch it for 3 lunches.

Ingredients

• 250g of minced turkey meat
• 1 garlic clove, chopped finely
• 1 stick of lemongrass, bruised and chopped finely
• 1 thumb size piece of ginger, peeled and chopped finely
• 1 red deseeded red chili, chopped
• 1 tbsp of mint/corriander, freshly chopped
• 2 tbsp of oil
• 1 tsp of fish sauce
• Juice of a lime
• 2 tbsp of coconut flakes
• 1 tbsp of toasted sesame seeds
• 1 large handful of spinach leaves
• 1/4 of a peeled mango, diced
• 4-5 leaves of baby gem lettuce

Method

1. Place the garlic, ginger, chilli, lemongrass, herbs and oil in and mini blender and pulse until liquidised to a paste.
2. Cook the paste for a few minutes on a high heat in a wok/skillet.
3. Put the turkey mince in the wok/skillet and stir fry until browned and loosened.
4. Add the fish sauce, coconut and sesame seeds and continue to stir fry.
5. Finally, turn off the heat and wilt in the spinach and finish with the lime juice.
6. Arrange the lettuce leaves cup-side up.
7. Distribute the mango pieces amongst the lettuce cups
8. Spoon the turkey mince over the mango and finish with some more lime juice perhaps.

Note: Large pieces of iceberg lettuce leaves work well here too, use them as roll ups as you might use a flour tortilla wrap perhaps.

Breakfast Chia Spinach Smoothie - The Paleo Way to Start the Day

I have been absent from the blog lately for a few reasons; I'm so busy with a one year old and I'm also getting the house ready for our third Bed and Breakfast season. But on top of this I had run out of fresh ideas for health eating. I had gotten myself into a food rut, making the same foods day in day out; partly to please our daughter as I want her to eat the foods that we eat, and partly due to laziness.

I have been eating healthy for a time now, adopting the 5:2 approach. That is I was eating very healthy 5 days of the week and eating whatever I wanted 2 days of the week. Those 2 days were getting worse and worse though, becoming more of a little piglet each weekend. I decided a new approach was needed, a kick up the bum. So I got researching online, and decided the Paleo Diet is for me. (caveman diet). I'm a total carb and wheat junkie so this diet is going to be a tough one. I've allowed myself 3 cheat meals a week though to help me stick with it. Other than these 3 cheats, my meals eliminate ALL dairy, and wheat, grains and pulses. Bye bye hummus, no more sushi, and adios pasta! Instead my meals with follow (loosely) the diet of our paleolithic ancestors (hunter/gatherers) and consist mainly of meat/seafood, fruit vegetables, and nuts and seeds. One of the hardest parts of this diet with be the elimination of sugar and salt and my beloved ketchup.

In mentioning all these sacrifices, the gains are apparently awesome. No hunger pangs, big weight loss, and and renewed healthier body, with extra energy and greater immune system as a result. I've bought the Paleo Diet book by Dr Loren Cordain. He's a very strict guy. When researching Paleo recipes online there are lots of ingredients the Dr Cordain says no to. So as I said I'm following him loosely, buy still steering clear of the grains, pulses and dairy items.

Breakfast for me is rushed affair and with working in the B&B sometimes it's forgotten about until 11am. With this new diet, a hot cup of lemon water first thing is a must, along with a fish oil capsule. Then I have options of every meat under the sun, eggs, smoothies, etc. I am really looking forward to testing some Paleo friendly granola; but for now this smoothie is the perfect healthy quick start to the day. Don't let the colour put you off; it is absolutely delicious.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup of almond milk
• 1/2 cup of water 
• 2 handfuls of washed baby spinach leaves
• 1 banana, sliced (frozen in slices if possible)
• 1/4 mango, chopped
• 1 tsp of chia seeds 

Method

1. Place all ingredients in the blender and whizz up for approx 2 minutes. (if your banana slices aren't frozen then add some ice cubes).

Healthier Thai Sweet & Sour Chicken

Bin the take out menus and get cooking rather than dialing!!! When you say sweet and sour chicken, chinese take out normally springs to mind. Chicken coated in a heavy sticky batter in a sickly sweet syrupy sauce! Not good and certainly not healthy!!!

Rather than thinking 'nah, sweet and sour chicken is too unhealthy for me', check out this recipe for a healthy and fresh Thai sweet & sour. A wonderful Thai girl taught me this recupe while on a cookery course on Koh Samui a few years back, and I've been making my own version ever since. (some ingredients have been substituted due to sourcing difficulties).

Ingredients

• 4 chicken legs on the bone
• 1 tbsp of peanut oil
• 3 cloves of garlic, chopped
• 1 stalk of lemongrass, bruised and chopped
• 1 thumb size, peeled and chopped piece of ginger
• 3-4 dried kaffir lime leaves
• 1 red chilli, deseeded and chopped finely
• 1 can of chopped pineapple chunks in juice
• 1 white onion, diced
• 1 cucumber, peeled and cut into bite size
• 3 tbsp of chopped coriander
• 3 tbsp of tamarind juice (you can get tamarind paste in M&S)
• 1 tbsp fish sauce
• 1 tbsp of Heinz Tomato Ketchup
• 1/2 tsp of palm sugar (brown sugar can be substituted)
• 1 tbsp of corn starch (corn flour mixed with water)
• 2 tbsp of hot sweet chili sauce
• Basmati rice and lime wedges, to serve

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees
2. Bake the chicken legs in the oven, in a oven proof dish covered with tin foil. Bake the chicken for 20 minutes.
3. In a wok, add the oil and stir fry the onion, garlic, lemongrass, chili, and ginger.
4. Add the lime leaves, fish sauce, ketchup, pineapple chunks and juice, tamarind juice and palm sugar.
5. Continue to stir fry.
6. Add the remaining ingredients and stir well to combine.
7. Remove the chicken from the oven and pour over the sauce.
8. Return to the oven, and cook for a further 20 minutes.
9. Serve with basmati rice, lime wedges and a  scattering of fresh coriander leaves.

Homemade Italian Inspired Sausage Rolls

The humble sausage roll gets a makeover here, using a few store bought ingredients and  can be prepared in a few minutes work. I was never a huge lover of sausage rolls. The thought of sausage rolls used to conjure up images of soggy, stodgy shop bought tasteless rolls I was given to eat as a child. Usually bought from the deli counter of a gas station. They had all the tastiness of cardboard. So with that said I've not eaten sausage rolls in years. In my mind they simply were not worth the calories. 

Then recently I was asked to make homemade sausage rolls for a tea party, and I got to thinking that homemade sausage rolls would actually be completely open to additions of all types of flavours. You are in charge and you get to decide what goes into the sausage roll. This is where I decided a bit of shop bought organic garlic pesto, sundried tomatoes and pine nuts would transform a potentially bland sausage roll into something really special. I also decided to add a dimension of texture by sprinkling them with some sesame seeds before baking. I must say, since I made these I am completely converted, my waistline will not be happy with me.

Ingredients

• 1 ready rolled puff pastry sheet
• 1 lb of good quality pork sausages
• 2 slices of wholemeal bread
• 3 tbsp of pine nuts
• 1 small red onion
• 2 tsp of dried oregano
• 3 tbsp of semi sundried tomatoes
• 2 tbsp of good quality pesto
• 3 tsp of sesame seeds
• 1 egg
• Salt and pepper

Method

1. Preheat oven to 200 degrees
2. In a mini food blender, blitz the bread, pine nuts and sun dried tomatoes and the onion.
3. Make a slit in each sausage and squeeze the sausage meat out of their skins
4. Mix the sausage meat with the blended bread mixture and the dried herbs. Season well.
5. Roll out the pastry sheets and cut across the middle horizontally so you have two rectangle shapes.
6. In the centre of each rectangle divide out the pesto and spread it the whole way across length ways
7. Divide the sausage mixture in two and roll it into a 'sausage' shape to fit the length of each pastry rectangle. Place the sausage over the pesto in the centre.
8. Beat the egg and brush all edges with the egg wash
9. Fold one side of the pastry over the sausage mixture to meet the other edges on the opposite side.
10. Press the  pastry edges firmly together and make indentations the whole way length ways with a fork.
11. Brush the entire roll with egg wash
12. Using a very sharp knife  half each sausage roll down the centre, then half those halves and so on. The number of sausage rolls you make depends on the size you want them. You can have 8 large ones from each roll or 16 mini sausage rolls.
13. Place the sausage rolls on a lined baking tray. Season the tops with freshly ground black pepper and the sesame seeds.
14. Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes, depending on the size of sausage rolls you have made.
15. Remove when golden and cool on a wire rack.

You'll never buy a sausage roll in a shop again.

Mother's Day Lemon Drizzle Cake

Happy Mother's Day to all the mums out there! I hope your nearest and dearest are looking after you on this special day. If there's anyone out there who didn't nip to the shops for a box of chocolates their moms, fear not, help is here. This is such an easy peasy lemon drizzle cake, you can whip it up in no time and mum will feel super special that you made an effort and baked her a cake.

It's my very first mothers day today, which I think is a big deal, as last mothers day I was two weeks away from giving birth, and I felt cheated that I couldn't celebrate mothers day (for myself, of course I spoilt my own amazing mammy!).

Even though it is my first mother's day, I actually don't think I can now visualise what life was like without being a mom. It's the most important thing in my life and equally my mom is one of the most important people in my life and I always try to find ways to tell her how much I appreciate her and how much she means to me and my little girl.  The old saying 'where would we be without our mothers' comes to mind, and I think never a truer thing has be said.

So here is my lemon drizzle cake that I just made up really as I went along. With all my cakes I am using my basic cake mix quantities that I owe thanks to Donna Hay for. Then I tweak it to make different types of flavour cakes. My cake cracked a lot on the surface and normally I would be very upset about this, but it suited my lemon drizzle cake perfectly as it means that the sugary lemony syrup gets to travel down throughout the cake permeating the cake with yet more lemony fragrance.

Ingredients

• 225g of self raising flour
• 165g of caster sugar
• 120ml of milk
• 5ml of lemon juice
• 1 tsp of sicilian lemon extract
• zest of 2 lemons
• 2 large eggs
• 125g of butter

Drizzle

• 85g of caster sugar
• juice of 1 large lemon

Method

1. Preheat oven to 165 degrees celsius 
2. Prepare your cake tin. I'm using a silicone cake tin, for an easy life. I think they are great!
3. In a food mixer, sift the flour and sugar into the bowl. Add the zest.
4. In a jug add the egg, juice and milk. 
5. Melt the butter for 1 minute in the microwave.
6. Add the butter and the lemon extract to the jug and whisk to combine.
7. On a slow setting in the mixer, mix the flour and sugar and slowly add the wet ingredients.
8. Mix only until combined, do not over mix.
9. Add the batter to the cake tin and bake in the oven for 45 minutes.
10. When the cake is baked, remove from the oven and cool on a wire rack
11. When the cake is cool, make the drizzle by whisking the caster sugar and lemon juice together.
12. Pour over the cake, ensuring it leaks into all the crevices of the cake.
13. Serve with a hug and a cup of tea.

Happy Mothers Day!!!!!!!!