healthy recipes - Page 2 of 2

Best Ever Blueberry Pancakes

These pancakes are always a crowd pleaser, I never cook any other version now. These really are the best pancakes ever.

At The Body Retreat we are always looking for ways to make every day recipes healthier, here we use porridge oats to provide a filling pancake sweetened only with blueberries (although we do like a little drizzle of syrup to serve), these pancakes will keep you full all morning until your morning snack. I usually have frozen blueberries in the house, so I have the ingredients to make these pancakes at any time, but Pancake Day is a great reason to give them a try.

Gluten, Dairy and Sugar Free Blueberry Pancakes

Makes about 10 good size pancakes or six very generous ones

2 tablespoon Buckwheat flour

1 cup porridge oats (rough)

1 cup blueberries (mash up a few to release a bit of juice)

1 egg yolk

2 egg whites

1/2 cup Almond milk

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

pinch salt

2 tablespoons rapeseed oil

Mix the dry ingredients in a bowl, add the mashed blueberries (saving few back for presentation)
Add the egg yolk and a good slug of milk, you are looking for a sturdy but gloopy batter mix (Due to the oats this will be much thicker than normal batter mix)
In a separate bowl whisk the egg whites
Fold the egg whites into the with metal spoon or fork so as not to knock the air out, this will loosen the mixture slightly.

Heat a tablespoon light rapeseed oil in a frying pan and using a large serving spoon to drop in a dollop of batter. I usually cook three at a time. The batter dosnt tend to run too far and once it meets the heat they start to set. Give it about two mins per side and then using a fish slice flip over and two mins on the other side.

I serve mine with the remaining blueberries a dollop of natural yog and a drizzle of maple syrup.

Start to finish this gorgeous recipe only takes about ten mins.

Id love to hear what you think about these pancakes and how you get on making them 🙂 xx

Soup saves winter lunch times and waist lines

We’re now well and truly into winter, the temperature has dropped, wind and rain seem to be a permanent feature. When it comes to finding a healthy lunch option salad doesn’t seem so appealing. It’s time to bring on some soup! It may surprise you to hear that not only are soups a great option nutritionally, but certain types of soup have also been proven to help support weight loss.

In particular, vegetable-based soups are a great option as they combine a high nutrient density with a low energy density – this means that we get lots of key nutrients including vitamins and minerals for relatively few calories. Increasingly, research has revealed that consuming soup improves satiety (the feeling of fullness at the end of a meal) so that we eat less which is great for weight loss.

These soups are easy to make, easy to digest, low on calories, relatively inexpensive to make, are filled with fibre, nutrients, vitamins and because of the high water content can add towards your daily water intake.

We like to keep things simple here at The Body Retreat and never more so than when it comes to recipes, no one has the time or the inclination to prepare complex or long winded meals, not unless its a special occasion. So these soup recipes are simplicity itself, all you need is one pot and a knife and nothing needs finely chopping you can make these soups as rustic as you like.

We would love to hear why your favourite Veg Soup Recipes are, or perhaps you would like us to help you to make a favourite soup healthier, pls leave us a comment below.

All soups serve 4.

Winter Vegetable Soup

1 onion chopped
2 sticks celery chopped
2 carrots chopped
1 courgette chopped
1/2 small white cabbage finely sliced
1 cup frozen peas
1 can chopped tomatoes
1 ltr Veg stock
Handful fresh basil and parsley

Fresh ground black pepper and a drizzle of virgin rapeseed oil to serve.

Place all the ingredients except the cabbage and peas in a pan and bring to a simmer for about 10 mins.

Add the cabbage and simmer for another couple of minutes, then finally add the frozen peas.

Just before you are ready to serve stir through the chopped fresh herbs and season with black pepper and drizzle the oil.

Celeriac & Apple Soup

1 tbps Rapeseed oil
1 large celeriac, peeled and chopped
2 onions, sliced
2 stick celery, chopped
2 large apples, peeled and chopped
1 ltr veg stock

Heat the oil, then sauté the onions and celery over a medium heat until soft but not browned.
Add the chopped celeriac apple and cook for 10 mins. Then add the stock and reduce to a low simmer for 15/20 mins.
Transfer the soup to a blender and blitz to a smooth consistency. Season and serve.
If the soup is a little too thick you can let it down by adding a little unsweetened pure apple juice.

Tomato & Chickpea Soup

1 onion
1 red onion
2 stick celery
1 can good quality chopped tomatoes
1 ltr vegetable stock
1/2 chickpeas, drained
1/2 ts dried chilli flakes
Salt & Pepper

Add all the vegetables to a pot and add the stock, simmer on a low heat for 10 mins. Add the tomatoes, chickpeas and dried chilli flakes and continue to cook for a further 15 mins. Transfer the soup to a blender and blitz to a smooth consistency, season and serve.

A warming breakfast recipe with a hint of sunshine

Its natural perhaps to think of fruit and yoghurt as a summer breakfast, its conjures up images of bright summer berries and fresh white yoghurt ten on cool sunny mornings. When the weather turns a bit chilly I always look forward to eating this Warm Citrus Compote Breakfast. It manages to be both warm, comforting, sharp and juicy and the added seeds and nuts make this a protein rich option which will keep you fuller longer.

This super quick breakfast recipe that we serve at our Weight Loss Retreat. It only takes 5 minutes to prepare and then 10 mints to cook, even better is that it tastes even better the day after so why not make it the night before and then just warm for 1 min in the microwave before serving. I add the fruit and nuts in stages as I like to keep a real bite in the almonds and I don’t want the fresh fruit to disintegrate.

At The Body Retreat we caution our ladies about eating to much fruit as its natural sugars can still cause sugar spikes and the inevitable crashes, this healthy breakfast recipe balances both dried and fresh fruit with seeds, nuts and natural yogurt to promote a slower release of the fruit sugar.

This recipe is is yummy and can be quite addictive (I speak from personal experience here) but you should have it on no more than two days each week and ensure that the other mornings breakfasts also also well balance with protein.

Warm Citrus Breakfast Compote.

Serves 2

1/2 Orange

1/2 Red Grapefruit

3 Dried Apricots

3 Dates

20gm Sultanas

1 ring pineapple (tinned or fresh*)

1 teaspoon mixed seeds

1 teaspoon Mixed Spice

20gm flaked or chopped almonds

* if you are using fresh pineapple you will also need a glug of orange juice.

Method.

Place the dried fruit and seeds in a splash of the pineapple or orange juice and leave to soak ( you can do this over night if you wish)

Next peal and chop the fresh fruit into small bite size chunks

Add the fresh fruit to the dried fruit and the mixed spice in a small pan and gentle heat on the stove for about 10 minutes. You will notice form my picture that at this stage the dried fruits start to break down and produce a lovely caramel colour and thicken the sauce slightly, but the fruit still retains its shape. We do not want mush here so do not boil!

Next add the almonds and stir. Leave to simmer while you get the yoghurt ready.

Serve while still warm on top of two tablespoons (about 80ml) of natural yoghurt.

Tag: healthy recipes

Best Ever Blueberry Pancakes

Soup saves winter lunch times and waist lines

A warming breakfast recipe with a hint of sunshine

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