Pimped up carrot and coriander soup

I’m trying to cut down on fake meat subs and get more of my protein from whole food sources. This soup combines pulses with veg, spices and boosts the protein with some halloumi croutons.

For six portions you need

• Three large carrots, chopped. No need to peel.
• One large sweet potato, chopped but not peeled.
• Handful of shallots/one large onion, chopped.
• 3-4 garlic cloves.
• 1″ ginger.
• 2 tsp each ground cumin and coriander.
• 1 cup red lentils.
• 1 tin each drained pinto beans and chickpeas.
• 4 tsp stock powder (marigold is my fave).
• 1.25-1.5 litres boiling water, depending how thick you want the finish soup.
• 2/3 large pack fresh coriander, with stalks.

To serve

• 75g halloumi per person.
• 100g skyr.
• 1 tsp harissa paste.
• 50g cabbage, shredded

Method

1. Put the chopped veggies into a pan along with the spices, red lentils and stock powder. Cover with boiling water and bring to the boil.
2. Reduce the heat, mostly cover with a lid and simmer for 15 mins.
3. Meanwhile, air fry the cabbage for about 10-15 mins at 180 until crispy. Season with a little salt. You can spread on a baking sheet and cook in the oven if you don’t have an air fryer.
4. Chop the halloumi into crouton sized pieces and air fry at 200 for about 10 mins until crispy. You can pan fry instead if you don’t have an air fryer.
5. Once the lentils and veggies are cooked, add the coriander and blend to a smooth consistency. Add the chickpeas and pinto beans. Heat the beans through.
6. Served topped with 100g skyr, topped with the halloumi and cabbage crisps. Drizzle over 1 tsp harissa. You could toast some seeds to go on the top too if you wish.

Macros

To reduce the calories omit the halloumi.

Creamy Chick*n and Leek Lemon Pasta (v)

I love creamy pasta sauces but they are often very heavy and fat laden. This version uses silken tofu for the sauce making it much lighter but also high in protein at the same time. 664 calories and 59g protein per serving.

For one portion you need

• 75g wholewheat spaghetti
• 1/2 tub silken tofu, blitzed until smooth
• 1 pack this isn’t chicken vegan chicken
• 1 leek, thinly sliced
• Juice and rind of 1 lemon
• 1 courgette, cut into batons
• A little olive oil
• Fresh flat leaf parsley
• 1 tsp wholegrain mustard
• Salt and pepper
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder

1. Cook the spaghetti in boiling water for 10-12 mins. Reserve some of the cooking liquid before draining.
2. Sautee the leek and courgette in a large pan until tender and the courgette is lightly browned.
3. Add everything else apart from the parsley and cook until the chicken is heated.
4. Add the pasta to the pan along with enough water to slacken the sauce to your desired consistency.
5. Serve garnished with parsley and extra lemon.

Roasted Apricots with Yogurt

This makes a nice breakfast, snack or dessert. Our oddbox delivered us a lovely batch of ripe apricots so this was the obvious recipe to make with them.

For four portions you need

• About 20 fresh apricots, halved and destoned
• Handful pecans
• 4 tbsp orange juice
• 2 tbsp brown sugar
• Few drops of cardamom essence

1. Place the apricots in an oven proof dish and sprinkle over the nuts, sugar and juice. Roast at 180 degree for 30 mins.

2. Sprinkle over the cardamom essence and serve with yogurt. Simple!

Cherry Bakewell Oats

I make these once a week and have them for breakfast on work days. Each portion contains 496 calories and 49g protein when served with a soya latte.

For five portions you need:

• 100g oats
• 100g protein powder (omit this if you aren’t bothered about protein!)
• 250g soya milk
• 1 banana, mashed
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp almond extract
• 20g peanut butter
• 200g defrosted frozen cherries
• 30g flaked almonds

Mix everything together apart from the cherries and flaked almonds. Pour into a dish and then scatter over the cherries and almonds. Bake at 170 for 25-30 mins. Serve with 125g 0% fat skyr and whatever other fruit you fancy.

Blueberry Baked Oats

I’ve neglected my poor blog recently, too many other plates spinning in the air. So here’s a recipe for baked porridge which makes a nice change from soaked oats. You can bake five portions in one go making it great for meal prepping for busy work days.

This recipe is from BBC Good Food for their Blueberry Baked Oats. I have omitted the skin on almonds and used peanut butter and soya milk (which is higher in protein than almond milk). You could also add protein powder to the mixture to boost the protein content, however you might need to add more liquid if you do this. Each portion (without extra fruit) contains 398 calories and 30g protein.

For five portions you need:

• 500ml soya milk
• 200g porridge oats
• 2 tbsp peanut butter
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 egg, beaten (use an extra mashed banana if you’re vegan)
• 1 small banana, mashed
• 400g frozen blueberries
• 1 tsp almond extract
• Natural skyr to serve (100g per serving)
• Additional fruit of your choice

1. Place all the ingredients apart from the skyr and fruit topping into a bowl and mix well.
2. Tip into a 2 litre casserole dish and bake at 180 degrees for 35 mins (I used my remoska to save energy).
3. Leave to cool then portion into tubs with yogurt and fruit topping (if desired).

Protein waffles with blueberries

It’s fair to say I’m driving everyone mad at the moment in the run up to my first comp with what I can and can’t eat and my fluctuating weight… So here’s something I can eat that tastes delicious too. 54g protein and 483 calories (when served with a soya latte).

For one portion you need

• 1 egg white
• 30g self raising flour
• 30ml soya milk
• 30g protein powder
• 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
• 125g plain skyr
• 1 cup blueberries and a splash of water
  
• 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp honey

1. Begin by making the compote. Heat the blueberries and water until the juices run and the berries pop. Leave to cool.

2. Make the batter by combining the flour, powder, vanilla, egg white and milk until smooth. Pour into a heated waffle maker and cook until done.

3. Serve topped with yogurt, compote, cinnamon and honey.

Bob’s Favourite Breakfast

Well it was this weekend, I can’t say for sure it’s his absolute favourite! This recipe is such a cheat but who cares! You can meal prep ahead for a week too if you want.

For four portions you need

• 1kg tub of skyr (or other yogurt but I want the 0% fat and high protein content of skyr)
• 200g frozen black forest fruits
• 200g frozen blueberries
• A little honey/agave nectar

1. Portion out the skyr into 250g portions.
2. Top with 50g of each of the berries. You can add them frozen for the morning ahead.
3. Drizzle over 1tsp of sweetener of your choice
4. Add a topping if you wish. My current favourite is 20g of soya flakes and 20g protein granola.
5. Scoff 😋

It will last for 5-7 days if prepping ahead of time.

Tofu Scramble (v)

Full English with tofu scramble

The husband’s band had a writing retreat last weekend and I had the pleasure of cooking for them all. On the breakfast menu was tofu scramble which was declared a triumph by those who sampled it.

For four portions you need

• 1 block firm tofu (I used cauldron)
• A little oil
• 1/2 bag washed spinach, roughly chopped
• 1 tsp each of ground cumin, coriander, tumeric, chilli flakes (or to taste!)
• 1 tbsp nutritional yeast (optional)
• 2 tbsp dark soya sauce
• ground black pepper

1. Begin by draining and then lightly squeezing the excess water out of the tofu. There is no need to press it.
2. Crumble the tofu into a non stick pan and add the oil and seasonings. Cook over a medium heat until dry and heated through.
3. Add the spinach and soya sauce and cook for a further 1-2 mins until the spinach is wilted.
4. Serve with a full English or on toast. It’s also nice cold and mixed with a little vegan mayo as a mock egg sandwich filling.
5. You can vary the scramble by adding any/all of the following: mushrooms, tomatoes, spring onions, peppers and so on.

Chocolate Protein Waffles

If in doubt, add 5g of cocoa powder to it is my current mantra 😁These protein waffles are quick to cook and will keep you going until lunch.

For four waffles you need

• 100g egg white
• 100ml plant milk/normal milk
• 30g protein powder
• 30g self raising flour
• 5g cocoa powder
• Skyr/greek yogurt to top
• Frozen berries

1. Blend everything together (apart from the yogurt and berries) until smooth.
2. Heat a waffle iron and cook the batter in two batches making 4 individual waffles in total.
3. Top with 150g yogurt and 80g berries. I like to nuke my berries to turn them into compote and have them warm on the waffles.

These freeze well and you can cook them from frozen in the toaster too.

37g protein 4g fat 33g carbs per serving.

Protein Waffles

Blogging this before I forget as it was a nightmare trying to find a sensible recipe online so I kinda made this up as I went along… This recipe makes enough for 8 waffles in my stove top maker but obviously it will vary according to the size of your device!

For 8 waffles you need

• 250ml soya milk/coconut milk
• 1 egg
• 100g plain flour
• 1/4 tsp baking power
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 30g protein powder
• To top: protein chocolate spread & berries

1. Blitz all the waffle ingredients together until smooth.
2. Heat a waffle iron until smoking and add your batter, cook for 5-6 mins until done.
3. Top with the spread and berries, scoff!