The Best Chia Pudding

Following my 'Lets talk about Chia Seeds' post I thought it was only right to show you a recipe for my latest addiction and go to breakfast for early mornings and post workout meals! Lets get straight to it, because quite frankly, I cannot wait!

Ingredients:-

A handful of chia seeds

Double the amount of Almond milk

Agave syrup

Toppings:-

Mixed berries

Granola

Muesli

Flaxseed

Seeds

Nuts

Recipe:-

1. Place chia seeds, milk and agave syrup or sweetener of your choice to a bowl, I like to use a smoothie glass as I find it easier to mix without getting it everywhere! Also it means I can pop a lid on it too!

2. Mix it and pop it into the fridge to sit overnight.

3. In the morning take it out of the fridge and pop it into a bowl and give it a good mix

4. Add all the toppings you want! I love mixed berries and granola with this, the sweet and sour with crunchy granola goes so well!

5. Eat it up, because if you don't, then I will.

TOP TIP - If you want to really spruce it up, add some cacao powder to make a chocolatey dessert!

So that's it, yes it's so simple, just five steps to your delicious breakfast. I love eating this on early mornings before work or it's also fab between a run and a workout, filling, nutritious, and a great way to kick start any healthy routine. Boo ya. 

Yes it's so good that I said 'boo ya'

Love from Flo xx

Sweet Potato Lunch

So it's time to show you one of my favourite recipes to do after a workout or just if you're in need of some comfort food! It's super healthy and it fills you up without the bloated feeling afterwards. I'm in love with this dish, it's also so easy to make and requires very little ingredients!

So lets get started!

Ingredients :-

A couple of sweet potatoes 

A handful of pine nuts

A handful of spinach

Half an avocado

Half a cup of quinoa

Coriander

Mixed herbs

Paprika

Mushrooms

Red onion

Coconut oil

Flaxseed oil

Himalayan salt

Recipe :-

1. Start by turning the oven onto gas mark 8, we're gonna cook the sweet potato as if you were cooking sweet potato fries, this way they'll be really crispy on the outside, but soft on the inside!

2. Next you want to peel and chop your sweet potato, I like to keep a bowl next to me and put all the peelings and ends of veggies so that at the end I can put it all in the bin. Chop the sweet potato up nice and small so that it becomes really crispy!

3. Next you want to coat the sweet potato, I like to do this in a freezer bag as you can shake it all up without getting your hands all oily! So place the sweet potato into the bag, along with a teaspoon of paprika, a teaspoon of mixed herbs, a teaspoon of the salt and a tablespoon of olive oil or flaxseed oil!

4. Shake the bag and then place the sweet potato onto a baking tray and try your best to make sure none of the cubes are touching, then place it into the oven!

5. Now lets focus on the quinoa, put half a cup of quinoa into a pan with two cups of water, mixed herbs and salt. You can also add a little lime or lemon at this point if you would like! Then put a lid on it so it boils nicely.

6. Next chop up your veggies, I like to use mushrooms and red onion, you can use courgettes, aubergine or even cucumber and celery to give it a nice crunch and salad feel! As I am using mushrooms and red onion, I put a dollop of coconut oil and flaxseed oil into a pan, then add the red onion and then the mushrooms. I also add some mixed herbs to the pan too!

7. Keep checking your sweet potato and your quinoa, and stir your quinoa with a fork as that makes it nice and fluffy!

8. Once your sweet potato is starting to look crispy, take them out and add a handful of pine nuts, then add it back to the oven, this means the pine nuts will roast for the last 5 or 10 mins of cooking.

9. Once your quinoa has soaked up all the water, turn off the heat and add the cooked veggies to the quinoa pan and stir it up!

10. Next chop up some avo and place it on a bed of spinach in a bowl, then add the quinoa with veggies on top. Then take the sweet potato with pine nuts out of the oven and add that to the bowl. 

And you're finished! Simple, quick, and all of this can be done within half an hour. What could be better?

Love from Flo xx

'Let's talk about' Chia Seeds.

So here is one of the sections I'll be doing on this blog 'Let's talk about'. It gives me the chance to show you guys what all these ingredients actually mean. And what they do for your body. Because lets face it, what's the point of putting things in your food, if you don't know why or how they're benefitting you in your healthy food fix.

Today we're gonna talk about Chia Seeds. Now for all you Health food enthusiasts, Chia seeds will be a noticeable occurrence in most recipes you read. And I bet you don't really know what they do or why they're there. Don't you worry, for weeks I had no idea why I was spending ten minutes everyday soaking tiny seeds in a bowl of water and then pouring, what looked like, frogs born all over my muesli in the morning. Well look no further, I'm going to prove to you exactly why you're spending good money on something that seems so insignificant. Keep reading, It'll be worth it.

Where does it come from? Chia seeds come from a flowering plant in the Mint family that is mostly grown in Mexico. History proves that it was very important for Aztec soldiers in suppressing hunger for a long time whilst at war.

How does it work? When you soak Chia seeds in water they form a gel, that gel contains no calories which is good if you're dieting. And also as the gel forms it increases in size and weight meaning that it helps the body think its full, without adding calories!

Benefits (grab a cuppa - there are a lot!) - 

• Vegan 
• Great source of fibre
• Full of anti-oxidants
• Cuts cravings for food
• Balances blood sugar
• Gluten free
• Rich in omega 3 ( Three times more omega than salmon )
• Rich in protein
• Anti ageing ( perfect for healthy skin, hair and nails )
• 3 times more iron than spinach!
• 5 times more calcium than milk!
• 7 times more vitamin C than oranges!
• 15 times more magnesium than broccoli!
• Chia gel can replace butter and eggs when baking
• They're cost effective
• Have no flavour, but they magnify the taste of what they're added to!

Now if I haven't convinced you to include them in everything then I don't know what would!
See you next time!

Love from Flo xx

Pop!

Okay, so I have a confession, I'm addicted. Addicted to the best popcorn in the world! Okay, okay, so let's get to the nitty gritty, why does it taste so good? Simplicity. This is such an easy recipe for such a healthy yummy snack.

Ingredients:-

4 Squares of Dark Chocolate

Heaped teaspoon of salt

Handful of kernels

Coconut oil

Recipe:-

1. Heat a teaspoon or two of coconut oil in a pan on Medium heat

2. Place the kernels in the pan and put a lid on!

3. Place the chocolate in a microwaveable bowl and heat at 30 second intervals

4. Once popcorn is done, add to a bowl and add the melted chocolate and salt and mix it all together!

5. At this final point I like to put it into a sandwich bag and shake to mix it properly

6. Finally, Eat it all up!

I love this recipe, to the point where I am actually a little worried that I might be addicted..

Enjoy!

Love from Flo xx

Beaming Breakfast!

Considering this is my first post, I thought I'd start with the first and most important meal of the day - Breakfast! 
Now I find that if I want to kickstart that healthy fix I can only succeed if I have a filling and nutritional breakfast, and this can be very simple and easy to achieve. All you need is some of your favourite yoghurt, some frozen or fresh berries and fruit and you're good to go!

Ingredients:-

4 scoops of your fave yoghurt! ( I like natural or greek )

A handful of frozen and fresh berries

A teaspoon of Cacao nibs

A tablespoon of Chia Seeds

Agave Syrup

Optional -

Flaxseed

Mixed seeds

Nuts

Recipe:-

1. Scoop the yoghurt into your fave bowl

2. Pop the kettle on (if using frozen berries)

3. Chop up fresh berries

4. Add your chia seeds to a small bowl and add two tablespoons of water, leave to soak

5. Add boiling water to frozen berries and leave to defrost

6. Add fresh berries, cacao nibs and any extras to the bowl of yoghurt

7. Tip out water and add frozen berries to the bowl

8. Check your chia seeds, and if it looks like a gel/frogs born consistency then add to the bowl

9. Gobble it all up!

So it's as simple as that, no fuss, simple yummy and nutritious food.

Love from Flo xx