Savoury Parmesan and Marmite Protein Bars

In the UK, you can't buy savoury protein bars, so I've been thinking about this for some time.  Sweet protein bars tend to use dried fruit as the 'glue', so I had to google for ideas as to what 'glue' to use for these savoury bars.  Quinoa seemed to be used quite a bit, which is of course also high in protein, so perfect here.

These do dry out quite well in the oven and become fairly crispy on the outside, which was the texture I was going for.

I think next time, I shall actually cut it into 10 bars instead of 12, which will give 146 calories, 8g protein and 4g dietary fibre.




Nutrition Information per bar (makes 12)
Calories: 122
Protein: 7g
Carbohydrate: 11g
Fat: 6g
Dietary Fibre: 3g

Ingredients
80g dried quinoa (cooked)
100g oats
40g hemp powder
20g salted almond kernels
20g salted pistachio kernels
30g milled flaxseed
50g grated parmesan
1 heaped teaspoon marmite (17g)
80g light soya milk

Method

• Cook the quinoa according to instructions.
• Preheat the oven to 180C.
• In a large bowl, weigh out the oats, hemp powder, flaxseed and parmesan.  Mix in the marmite with your fingers until it's distributed through the ingredients.
• Grind the nuts together in a blender and mix into the dry ingredients.
• Mix in the quinoa, and stir in the milk until the mixture forms a paste.
• Grease a 20cm non stick square metal baking tin, and press the mixture down well.  Score into 12 rectangles.
• Bake in the preheated oven for 25-30 mins until firm and browned (yes, you will actually be able to tell they've browned!).
• Remove from the oven, cut into bars, allow to cool in the tin for 10 minutes, then cool completely on a wire rack.
• Wrap individually in foil, and store in an airtight box for up to a week.

Healthy Egg McMuffin

I don't eat much bread at all, but I like it occasionally.  In the UK, unless you buy bread rolls, bread comes in huge 800g (sometimes 400g) loaves.  This says a lot about how much bread is eaten as a staple in the British diet.  This is in contrast to Japan where bread is bought in packets of 3 or 6 impossibly thick slices (and only usually of white bread).  When I was living in Japan, after visits to the UK I occasionally brought back an 800g loaf of sliced wholemeal bread, and put in my freezer.

These days, I have a tiny under the counter fridge, with only an ice box to freeze things in.  Consequently, if I buy a loaf of bread, I'd probably eat a maximum of 4 slices before it went mouldy.

The other evening, I found myself googling microwave bread and came across a recipe from this website http://www.thelaundrymoms.com/trim-healthy-mama-bread/.  I came across other ones too, that I'll probably try sometime soon.  As I already had the ingredients for this one, I decided to try it.  The first time, I used a whole egg in the bread, instead of the powdered egg white and water, and ate it with ham, mustard and dairylea cheese.  Today, as I wanted to eat it with egg, I just used egg white in the bread.  This bread is very high in fibre, vitamin D and omega 3, 6 and 9, and also provides calcium, zinc and iron.  Although high in fat, along with the fibre this keeps you feeling full until lunchtime, and most of the fat comes from the omega fatty acids.  Taking only about 5 minutes to make, this is a very quick and easy breakfast, as well as being very low in carbohydrate and calories!

Ingredients
For the bread
1 x 5g sachet powdered egg white, made up with 7 teaspoons warm water.
4 level tablespoons (24g) milled flaxseed
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 - 1 teaspoon (4g) softened butter (I use spreadable butter and don't keep it in my fridge)
Herbs to taste

For the egg and cheese filling
1/2 - 1 teaspoon (4g) softened butter
10g low fat grated cheddar cheese

Nutrition Info
For the bread
Calories:  149
Protein: 8.5g
Carbohydrate: 1.78g
Fat: 12g
Dietary Fibre: 6.8g

For the egg and cheese filling
Calories: 117
Protein: 8.4g
Carbohydrate: 0.2
Fat: 8.9g
Dietary Fibre: 0g

Method

• In a cereal bowl, mix the powdered egg white with 2 teaspoons warm water, then mix with an additional 5 teaspoons warm water.  
• Stir in the milled flaxseed, baking powder, herbs and butter.  Flatten in the bowl.
• Microwave in a 750w oven for 1 and a half minutes.
• Turn out onto a baking rack to let the steam escape.
• In another cereal bowl, beat the egg with the butter, don't worry about any large bits.
• Microwave in a 750w oven for about 1 minute until set.
• Slice the bread in half, put the set egg on one half and sprinkle with the grated cheese.
• Sandwich with the other half and enjoy!
  

Notes

• If you don't have powdered egg white, then use a whole egg without the water.
• I buy milled flaxseed from Lidl or Aldi - it is much cheaper there than from a health food shop.
• You could probably cut down on the fat and calories more by reducing the butter in the recipe.

Baked Coconut Lentils

This recipe pretty much came from the Whole Foods recipe site and is given here http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/recipe/baked-coconut-lentils.  In its own right, it looked so delicious I generally followed the method, but substituted soft dried figs for the dates.  In pre-cooking the lentils in the saucepan before baking, I used enough boiling water to cover, and then added more water as necessary to ensure a cooking time of 30 minutes.The following are the ingredients I used for one person, and the corresponding nutritional information.  As usual, I used my LeKue steam case for the baking part, as it's so easy to wash afterwards!  The cooking smells were wonderful too, I'll definitely be making this again...

Ingredients (serves 1)
1 teaspoon coconut oil
50g chopped onion (I use frozen)
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon ginger paste
3 soft dried figs, chopped
1 teaspoon soy sauce
50g brown lentils, uncooked
15g unsweetened dessicated coconut

Nutrition Info
Calories: 402
Protein: 15g
Carbohydrate: 53g
Fat: 15g
Dietary Fibre: 21g

Baked Pumpkin Gratin with Rosemary and Goats Cheese

Recipe from Waitrose here http://www.waitrose.com/content/waitrose/en/home/recipes/recipe_directory/b/baked_pumpkin_gratin_with_rosemary_and_goat_s_cheese.html.  I substituted a teaspoon of paprika rather than cumin seeds and garnished with dried chilli strands.  I used a soft goats cheese and crumbled that in rather than a hard cheese I could grate.  The last cooking time was nearer 20 minutes for me.  And wow, the sudden wafts of melted goats cheese in that last 10 minutes ;-d

Verdict?  A beautiful, very very tasty, creamy dish - I liked the squash and goats cheese and am a big fan of rosemary.  I'll no doubt cook a variation of this again.  But, for me, for the calorie count of this recipe, it just wasn't filling enough with a crisp green salad.  As butternut squash is already a starchy carbohydrate, then I wouldn't want to add crusty bread to bulk it out as suggested.  If you're having a starter or dessert as well, then with a crisp green salad it's fine (but key point even with a starter or dessert - the recipe serves 2, not 4, unless you eat it with baguette). 

Chard and Chickpea Stir-fry

Quick, healthy, flavoursome and colourful stir-fry!  Whilst it is very low in protein and fat, it's also very high in fibre and so is actually quite filling to balance a higher calorie meal in the day!





Ingredients
50g red chard
100g pak choi
25g carrot (about a 1/4)
10g ginger root
120g chickpeas (about 1/2 can)
1 tsp olive oil
juice of 1 lime
1 tsp runny honey
1 tsp soy sauce
tiny bit of garlic puree

Nutrition Info
Calories: 247
Protein: 8g
Carbohydrate: 40g
Fat: 6g
Fibre: 7.5g

Method

• Wash the chard and pak choi and use scissors to cut into smaller pieces.
• Peel the carrot into thin ribbons with a vegetable peeler.  Cut into bite size pieces with a knife.
• Peel and cut the ginger into small ribbons with a knife.
• Drain the chickpeas.
• Mix together the lime juice, honey, soy sauce and garlic puree.
• In a wok or frying pan, heat the olive oil over a medium-high heat.  Add all the ingredients and stir-fry for 3-4 minutes until piping hot, but the carrot should still be al dente.
• Serve immediately.

Fragrant Lime, Pea and Feta Rice Bowl

The tangy creaminess of the feta is balanced by the sweetness of the citrus herby peas, with crunch added by the pumpkin seeds.  The peas are just warmed through in the hot rice, so that they don't lose their vivid green colour.  A high fibre nutritionally balanced dish with around half the RDA for zinc and vitamin C, and around 1/3 the RDA for calcium, magnesium, iron and dietary fibre.  With a rice cooker, this was so quick and easy to make, and really tasty.  May well become a new favourite!

Ingredients (serves 1)
180g cooked Italian brown rice (1/2 cup dried)
50g frozen peas, thawed
15g pumpkin seeds
1/2 lime (zest and juice)
15g mix of herbs (lemongrass, coriander, ginger, garlic, chilli)
50g feta, roughly crumbled

Nutrition Info
Calories:500
Protein: 22g
Carbohydrate: 64g
Fat: 20g
Dietary Fibre: 10g

Method

• Cook the rice according to instructions.  Thaw the peas in a sieve under cold running water, and drain.  Meanwhile, prepare the mixture, so that it can be stirred in the hot rice just as it has finished cooking.
• Dry fry the pumpkin seeds for a couple of minutes until they smell nutty and start to pop.  Set aside.
• Put the zest and juice of half a lime and mixed herbs into a saucepan and quicklywarm for a couple of minutes, until the herbs absorb the juice.  Mix in the peas and feta cheese.  
• Stir into the rice with the pumpkin seeds.  
• Serve immediately.

Notes

• I use Sainsbury's Easy-Cook Italian Brown Rice as this is the closest I can find to brown sushi rice or sticky rice (at a reasonable price).
• Waitrose do a Thai frozen herb mix, which is what I use in this recipe.
• This is best eaten hot and immediately, as the peas continue cooking in the hot rice and quickly lose their colour.  However, although it doesn't look as visually appealing, it's also delicious cold.

Creamed Spinach

On cold, wet and windy days like this weekend, I love to go to the supermarket and then cook for the freezer.  Today, being just after Christmas, I bought 800g of sliced smoked salmon for about £9, a real bargain:-)  This I have packaged up in greaseproof paper slices and frozen.  Luckily I love smoked salmon...

Anyway, I was also in the mood for freezing some vegetable dishes, and so one of the things I made was this creamed spinach which freezes well.

Ingredients
500g spinach
75g shallot, chopped
1 tsp olive oil
150g half fat creme fraiche
1 rounded tsp ground nutmeg
good grinding of black pepper

Nutrition Info (for whole 500g spinach)  
Calories:495
Protein: 21g
Carbohydrate: 45g
Fat: 30g
Dietary Fibre: 11g

Method

• Wash the spinach.  Pour boiling water over to blanch, then strain in a sieve.  Press out as much water as possible.
• In a saucepan, saute the chopped onion in the oil over a medium heat for 5-10 minutes until golden.  Add the freshly ground pepper, ground nutmeg, and stir in the creme fraiche.
• Mix well with the spinach.
• To serve, heat through in a saucepan.
• Freeze in small portions, or flat freeze in cooking rings or silicone cupcases then store in freezer bags in the freezer.

Notes
You could also make this with cream, mascarpone or coconut milk instead of the creme fraiche.   If you don't want to freeze it, then yoghurt would also work well.  To freeze, you need a good proportion of fat (...in the recipe...).

Creamy Shiitake and Wasabi Soup

I don't often buy mushrooms, but I just fancied some mushroom soup today, and this creamy smoky soup with a very slight kick is what I came up with...





Nutrition Info (serves 1 as a light lunch)
Calories 253
Protein 11g
Carbohydrate 43g
Fat 5g
Dietary Fibre 7g

Ingredients
1 potato (about 150g)
100g shiitake mushrooms
100ml soy milk
50ml drinking yoghurt
1tsp wasabi from a tube
200ml water

Method

• Wash the potato and microwave in the oven for about 8 minutes until cooked.  Wash the mushrooms.
• In batches, blend the potato with the mushrooms, soy milk, drinking yoghurt and water.
• Gently heat the mushroom cream in a saucepan and mix in the wasabi.
• Serve hot with a grating of black pepper.

Broccoli and Gorgonzola Potage

This is a creamy tasty satisfying soup! The recipe makes enough for two people for lunch.









Nutritional Information (per portion)
Calories 371
Protein: 18g
Carbohydrate: 56g
Fat: 10g
Dietary Fibre: 9g 


Ingredients (serves 2)

430g potatoes, unpeeled
220g broccoli
160g onion
150ml soy milk (or regular milk)
50g gorgonzola
salt and pepper to season

Method

• Roughly chop the broccoli - stalks, florets and leaves all OK.
• Roughly slice the onion.
• Steam all the vegetables.  I use my LeKue steamer for this in the microwave, steaming the potatoes whole in their skins for 10 minute, the broccoli for 5 minutes and the onion for 2mins 30 sec.
• Measure out together 150ml soy milk and 350ml water.
• In batches, blend the steamed vegetables and liquid together in a food processor, transferring each batch to a large saucepan.
• When all the soup has been blended, crumble in the gorgonzola and stir over a gentle heat until the cheese has melted.
• Season to taste.  I used a good grinding of salt and a black pepper mix that includes orange and lemon peel and garlic.
• Serve hot.

Chocolate Healthy Truffles

This was an experiment rather than anything else to see what kind of high protein/high mineral/high fibre snack I could make.  Really pleased with the result!  Despite the wacky ingredients, they're delicious (think chocolate cheesecake/brownie mix), not too sickly, and incredibly filling! I accidentally(!) ate 5 and may never need to eat again... They look high in fat because of the cheese and the almonds, but that also pushes up the protein and mineral content so I think is worth it, as part of a balanced diet. 

Note
On testing these ones out on friends, it seems that people prefer a sweeter truffle, so maybe add more powder sweetener to taste.  Or even smoked chilli?  The kinako flavour overpowers the cocoa a bit, so next time I think I'll try rolling in cocoa or ground almonds...  Will update...

Nutrition Data (for 2 truffles)
Calories: 120
Protein: 5.8g
Carbohydrate: 9g
Fat: 6.8g
Fibre: 2.2g
Calcium: 118mg
Magnesium: 36.4mg
Zinc: 0.8mg
Iron: 1.6mg

Ingredients
100g red kidney beans
28g ground almonds
2 fresh figs (70g total)
28g grated cheddar
2 pieces iron-enriched processed cheese (30g total)
15g cocoa
1 tsp zero calorie liquid or powder sweetener
7g kinako (roasted soy bean flour), for dusting

Method

• Preheat the oven to 180C.
• Put all the ingredients into a blender and blend as far as possible, then mash in a bowl using a fork.
• Put a sheet of greaseproof paper onto a baking tray and spoon on 10 heaped teaspoons of mixture, flattening into rounds.
• Bake for 15 minutes, then cool on the paper on a wire rack. All you will have done is dry out the mixture a bit.
• Roll each round into a ball and into kinako (roasted soy bean flour).

Chocolate Banana, Spinach and Kiwi Smoothie

Don't knock this one before you've tried it...!  Blend 2 green kiwi, 2 large handfuls of spinach, 1 banana and 1 tbsp cocoa powder with some mineral water.  Amazing!  I might add some blueberries next time.

Celery and Pear Smoothie

Blend 2 pears and 3 sticks celery together with mineral water and a tablespoon of lemon juice.

Peach and Kinako Smoothie

The kinako (roasted soy bean flour) adds a nutty flavour as well as protein and B vitamins.

Ingredients (serves 1)
1 peach
1 tbsp kinako
1 tsp ginger paste
1 tbsp fresh mint


Method

• Put everything together in a blender with some ice cold mineral water and blend.
• Serve immediately or chill in the fridge.

Rosemary and Ginger Caramelised Onion and Red Lentils

Ingredients (serves 1)
1/2 large onion
1 tsp olive oil
1 long sprig fresh rosemary
1 tsp ginger paste
50g red lentils
300ml stock
50g goats cheese
1 cucumber and a large handful soy sprouts (or any other salad vegetables)


Ingredients for the dressing
1 tsp olive oil
1 tsp balsamic vinegar
1/2 tsp honey (I used manuka)

Method

• Saute the onion, rosemary in the olive oil for about 10 minutes until caramelised, then add the ginger paste and red lentils off the heat, stirring for 1 minute.  
• Add the stock and simmer for about 20 minutes until all the liquid has been absorbed, and the lentils are mushy.  Leave to cool slightly.
• Slice the cucumber and arrange with the soy sprouts on a plate.  Add some slices of goats cheese.
• In a small bowl, whisk the dressing ingredients together.
• Spoon the red lentil mixture onto the soy sprouts and drizzle the dressing over the salad and lentils to serve.

Creamy Kabocha and Caramelized Onion Soup

Ingredients (serves 2 as a starter)
1 onion, chopped
1/3 kabocha (Japanese pumpkin)
1 stock cube
250ml boiling water
150g silken tofu
1tsp olive oil
freshly grated black pepper


Method

• Par-microwave the kabocha for 6 minutes, and scoop out the seeds
• Scoop out the flesh and roughly chop (reserving the skin for a smoothie)
• Heat the olive oil in a frying pan, add the onion and saute for 10 minutes.
• Remove from the heat, crumble in the stock cube and slowly add the boiling water to dissolve the stock cube.  Put back on the heat and add the kabocha chunks.  Simmer for about 10 minutes.
• Leave to cool slightly.
• Add to a blender with the tofu and blend until creamy.
• Reheat in a saucepan and serve with freshly grated black pepper.

Note: Kabocha skin is edible.  However the colour in a soup is truly revolting, trust me!  Much better to add to a green smoothie, I made one with soy sprouts.

Miracle 6 Calorie Chocolate Jelly

This is a bit of a miracle chocolate dessert, ideal for chocolate cravings when you're on a diet!  If you follow Slimming World, then this dessert is free on all plans (even if you end up eating all 5 portions!).

Agar-agar is a seaweed, that can be used like gelatine, the difference being that it is vegan, high in fibre and some essential minerals and expands in the stomach making you feel fuller.  It's a great snack.  I've already given a few agar agar recipes on this blog, but this is my first chocolate one!  It also doesn't need a fridge to set even during the summer (setting temperature is 50C).  Currently it's about 35C in my kitchen (trust me, not pleasant!) and it set in about 30 minutes on the bench.  The setting time for this agar-agar recipe is a bit longer than most because it contains chocolate which is high in oxalic acid.  This setting property of agar-agar also means that it's ideal for picnics because it doesn't melt in summer temperatures.

Agar-agar is very versatile.  This is a pure chocolate recipe, but you could cut back on some of the water and add juice or anything you like really (adjusting the syns of course!), once you've melted the agar in the water. Definitely recommended!  Agar-agar jelly is usually quite a bit firmer than regular jelly but with the addition of cocoa powder, this jelly is much softer.  A fantastic way to quell those chocolate cravings!


I made 4 tubs and 1 rabbit mould jelly with 600ml water.

Nutrition Data  (total for 5 portions)
Calories: 28
Carbohydrate: 6g
Protein: 1.5g
Fat: 1g
Dietary Fibre: 3g

Ingredients
4g pack agar-agar
7g cocoa powder
1tbsp zero calorie sweetener, to taste

Method

• Boil 400ml water.
• Put cocoa powder in a jug and slowly mix in the water and sweetener.  Sprinkle in the agar powder, stirring continuously.  If using agar granules/flakes, then boil for a few minutes in a saucepan stirring continuously.  Quickly stir in 200ml cold water.
• Immediately pour into 5 moulds or small containers and put on a bench to set.  Once cool, chill in the fridge.

Multicoloured Potato Salad

This very simple salad is jam-packed with healthy vegetables, and is extremely filling.   If you are able to get a mix of coloured salad potatoes, so much the better!






Nutrition Data (for entire salad)
Calories: 1082
Carbohydrate: 184g
Protein: 55g
Fat: 16g
Dietary Fibre: 34g

Ingredients (serves 5 as a snack or 2 as a main course)
340g new potatoes
400g tin Four Bean Salad (drained weight 240g)
250g pack frozen mixed vegetables (peas/sweetcorn/carrots)
20 green olives stuffed with parmesan cheese
450g tub fat free yoghurt
15g wholegrain mustard

Method

• Boil or steam the potatoes in their skins for 20 minutes, then cool in cold water, drain and quarter.
• Mix the yoghurt with the mustard, stir in the frozen vegetables (no need to thaw), the whole green olives and the bean salad.  Stir in the chopped potatoes.
• Chill and serve.

Barley, green olive and mozzarella salad

This came about as a bit of a 'what have I got in the cupboard to use up?' moment...    Some time ago I bought some barley on a whim, and have added it to rice from time to time.  Well, it really needs to be used up now, along with the mozzarella that is due to be used before tomorrow.



Ingredients (serves 2 generously - the picture is a third of the total)
1 cup of barley
1 red  onion
1 cucumber
tin of sweetcorn
1/2 can red kidney beans, drained
1 can stuffed olives (40)
100g mozzarella
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp balsamic vinegar
1 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp honey

Method

• Cook the barley according to instructions (I use a rice cooker with double the amount of water), and allow to cool.
• Chop the onion, chop the cucumber and mozzarella into 1cm pieces and halve the olives.
• Make the dressing by whisking together the olive oil, vinegar, lemon juice and honey.
• Toss all the ingredients together and store in fridge until ready to eat.

Lemon Linguine

Well it's been a while since I've posted any recipes so today I wanted to post a Nigella Lawson recipe that I like, that has many different versions available elsewhere.  No picture, because I haven't made it recently...

Ingredients (serves 2)
200g linguine
juice and zest of half a lemon
4 tbsp of light single cream
50g parmesan cheese, grated
1 egg yolk
freshly ground black pepper

Method

• Cook the pasta according to instructions.
• Meanwhile combine the cream, parmesan and egg yolk and mix well.  Slowly add the lemon zest and juice to avoid curdling.  
• Drain the pasta, and stir in the sauce until the pasta is well-coated and the sauce is melted.  Add a little water if absolutely needed.
• Serve immediately with freshly ground black pepper.

Cauliflower cheese and potato soup

Nutrition Data (per portion, serves 4)
Calories 231
Protein 13g
Carbohydrate 17g
Fat 13g
Dietary Fibre 6g







Ingredients
1 large onion(210g)
1 tsp olive oil
1 head of cauliflower, head and stalks (520g)
160g potatoes
1 stock cube
100g grated cheddar
50g marscarpone

Method

• Wash the cauliflower and cut into florets, and cut up the stems.
• Wash and scrub the potatoes, and cut into chunks.
• Dice the onion.
• Heat the oil and fry the onion for about 5 minutes until  soft and golden brown.  Add the cauliflower, potato, 1 litre of boiling water, and crumble in a stock cube.  Bring back to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for about 20 minutes until the vegetables are soft.
• Stir in the mascarpone and grated cheese and stir until melted.  Leave to cool slightly.
• When cool enough to handle, transfer in batches to a blender, and blend until smooth.
• Reheat to serve, grating in fresh black pepper and nutmeg.