Healthy Swaps

Flaxseed Carrot Cake Pancakes – 90 calories each

flidfit Healthy Swaps, Recipes, Sweet Treats, Vegeterian

 

Okay, okay…. I might just be a little addicted to this flaxseed pancake recipe – but it’s pretty healthy, contains plenty of fibre and you can add grated vegetables to make it lower in calories.

One of my favourite cake recipes is carrot cake.  So todays flaxseed variation turned the basic pancake recipe into “Flaxseed Carrot Cake Pancakes”.  Served with cream cheese, chopped walnuts and pecans and a tiny drizzle of maple syrup.  These really didn’t need much sweetening, thanks to the dates that were incorporated into the batter.

These are super filling.  The recipe makes 8 pancakes, but 3 per person is adequate.  I didn’t struggle to eat the fourth!

Flaxseed Carrot Cake Pancakes – 90 cals

Preparation Time          10 mins

Cooking Time:               10 mins

Makes:                             8 pancakes

Calories per serving:     90

 

Ingredients

Oat Flour                                                  45g

Spelt Flour                                                40g

Linseeds, Freshly Milled                        7g

Baking Powder                                         1 Tsp/2g

Bicarbonate of Soda                                 ½ Tsp/2.5g

Peanut Butter, Powder, PB Fit              2 Tbsp/12g

Cinnamon, Ground                                  1 Tsp/3g

Butter, Salted                                           15g

Milk, Whole                                              130ml

Eggs, Free Range, Medium                    1 Egg/50g

Dates, Deglet Nour                                  34g

Miso, Paste, White, Yutaka                    2g

Carrots, Peeled                                         125g

Method

Peel and coarsely grate the carrots. Chop the dates in half, removing stones if present. Liquidise the egg, dates, milk, miso and butter in a blender to form a frothy liquid.

Mix all the dry ingredients (apart from the grated carrot) in a large mixing bowl.  Add the milk mixture to the dry mix and thoroughly combine.

Add the grated carrot and stir through. Leave for 2-3 minutes.

Preheat a large frying pan over a medium heat. You want the surface to be hot but not too hot – the oil shouldn’t smoke when it makes contact with the surface.

Lightly oil your frying pan (I use coconut oil) and pour half ladle measurements of the batter onto the pan. There should be 8 pancakes (as recipe is written). Best to cook them in two batches of four.

Flip when bubbles appear in the middle and the edges turn slightly dry, being careful not to burn.

Cook for 1-2 minutes more on the other side and then top with whatever else you please.

Serve topped with full-fat soft cream cheese, chopped walnuts or pecans (or a combination of both) and a drizzle of maple syrup.

Will reheat well the next day in the microwave.

Nutrition Data Per Serving

Calories (kcal)          90.4

Protein (g)                  3.4

Carbohydrate (g)        8.9

Fat (g)                        3.5

Fibre (g)                     6.6

Fruit & Veg                 0.4

Flaxseed carrot cake pancake – topped with cream cheese, chopped walnuts and pecans and a drizzle of maple syrup

Cauliflower and Cashew Macaroni Bake – 385 calories

flidfit Healthy Swaps, Recipes, Vegeterian

I was inspired to make this when I received a link to a vegan version of the recipe via a website I subscribe to – www.mob.co.uk

I love that so many of the recipes are low cost and use store cupboard ingredients – however, their quantities are usually HUGE and they’re not particularly focussed on healthy foods or weight loss.  They do have a section on Healthy Recipes and also many excellent “fakeaway” recipes which I often drool over!

I’m trying to introduce more vegetarian and vegan foods into my meal planning and to generally cut down on meat consumption. Something we should all be making an effort to do.

This recipe is a take on macaroni cheese but the creamy sauce is made by roasting and pureeing cauliflower and almonds with milk – the result is rather delicious!  However, I was unable to resist the temptation of adding some cheese – as cauliflower cheese is one of my all time favourite meals.

So this is my version of the Mob recipe:

Cauliflower and Cashew Macaroni Bake – 385 calories

Ingredients:

Cauliflower                                                 –  260g

Carrots, peeled                                         –  100g

Cashew Nuts, Plain, Average                  –  50g

Milk, Whole                                               –  300ml

Garlic                                                         –  1 whole bulb

Breadcrumbs, Panko                               –  50g

Thyme, Dried                                            –  1 Tsp/1g

Rosemary, Dried                                       –  1 Tsp/1g

Parsley, Fresh, chopped                          –  1 Tbsp/3.8g

Macaroni                                                    –  225g

Olive Oil                                                     –  4 Tsps/20ml

Cheese, Cheddar, Mature                       –  50g

Salt, Average                                            –  ¼ Tsp/1g

Pepper, Black, Freshly Ground                    –  ½ Tsp/1g

 

Preparation:  Grate the cheese.

Method:

Step 1.
Preheat the oven to 220°C.

Step 2.
Chunk up the cauliflower and dice the carrots. Toss with salt and a dash of oil and spread out onto a tray.

Step 3.
Roast the cauliflower and carrots at 220°C until tender, this will take roughly 25 mins. Roast the garlic in foil with salt and 1 tsp of olive oil for 25 mins until tender (this can be done alongside the vegetable roasting).

Step 4.
Reduce the oven temperature to 200°C.

Step 5.
Briefly toast the cashews in the oven in an oven proof dish or on a piece of foil. Once toasted, transfer to a blender jug and pour over 500ml of warmed milk. Add the roasted cauliflower and carrots and one of the cloves of garlic (popped out of its skin) blend until super smooth.

Step 6.
Season the creamy sauce with salt and pepper and set aside. Squeeze the roasted garlic out of its skin and save some of the oil.

Step 7.
Toast the breadcrumbs in some of the garlicky oil. Finely chop the thyme, rosemary and parsley and toss through the breadcrumbs.  Pop the rest of the garlic cloves out of their skins, roughly chop and stir into breadcrumb mixture.

Step 8.
Cook the pasta for a couple of minutes less than the pack instructs. Stir through the sauce with a splash of pasta water (if required). You want it a bit wetter than you think. Add the grated cheese and gently stir through. Pour into an oven proof dish and top with the herby breadcrumbs.

Step 9.
Bake for 15-20 minutes or until bubbling and golden. Serve with a fresh, zingy green salad or green vegetables.

Nutrition Data Per Serving

Calories (kcal)       384.6

Protein (g)                14.8

Carbohydrate (g)    36.7

Fat (g)                       19.8

Fibre (g)                     3.2

Fruit & Veg                 1.3

 

Creamy avocado and lime dressing (Keto)

flidfit Healthy Swaps, Recipes, Uncategorized, Vegan / Plant based

Studying the list of ingredients on shop-bought salad dressings can be quite revealing and even shocking – especially when it comes to the sugar  content and all of those preservatives.  So many contain a lot of water too…

So have embarked on finding some healthy dressing recipes.  Here’s the first.

Avocado, Flesh Only, Average – 170g

Juice, Lime, Fresh, Average – 40ml

Oil, Olive, Average – 30ml

Water, Mineral Or Tap – 30ml

Garlic, Raw, Average – 1 Clove / 3g

Coriander, Leaves, Fresh, Average – 15g

Cumin, Ground, Average – 0.25 Tsp / 1g

Pepper, Black, Freshly Ground, Average – 0.25 Tsp / 1g

Salt, Rock, Average – 0.25 Tsp / 1g

Method

Place all the ingredients In a food processor or blender.  I used a stick blender with a deep and narrow blending container.

Process until smooth, stopping to scrape down the sides a few times. Thin the salad dressing out with about the water (give or take) until it reaches a desired consistency.

Keep in an airtight container or jar for 1-2 weeks.

It’s been difficult to work out the nutrition for this, but it’s about 244 calories per 100g / 37 calories per 15g tablespoon.  But given that this dressing is so thick and creamy and full of “good” fats, it’s likely to satiate.  And from a health point of view, very nutritional…

Please do get in touch if there are any dressing recipes you’ve come across that are Keto friendly!

Creamy Courgette & Leek Pasta Bake (350 calories)

flidfit Healthy Swaps, Recipes, Uncategorized, Vegeterian

IMG_0907Made this up as there were many things in my fridge which needed to be consumed!

Creamy Courgette and Leek Pasta Bake

Serves: 3

Calories per serving: 350

Ingredients

Fusilli, Whole Wheat, Dry Weight – 100g

Olive Oil – 12ml

Leeks, Raw (x2)  191g

Courgette, Raw (3 medium) – 300g

Garlic, Raw – 2 Cloves/6g

Creme Fraiche, Full Fat – 80g

Mature Cheddar Cheese – 40g

Parmesan Cheese – 25g

Marjoram, Dried – ½ Tsp/0.5g

Thyme, Dried – ½ Tsp/0.5g

Chestnut Mushrooms – 125g

Preparation:

Wipe the mushrooms, cut them into chunks. Wash the leeks and finely dice them. Coarsely grate the courgette and lay it onto a clean tea towel (to absorb moisture). Peel and finely dice the garlic. Grate the cheese and combine the cheddar and parmesan.

Cook the pasta according to the instructions on the packet. In the meantime, heat the olive oil in a large frying pan and add the leek. Cook over a medium heat (don’t allow to brown, but to soften) for about 10 minutes. Add the diced mushroom and cook for a further 5 minutes. Finally, add the courgette and the herbs.

Once the pasta is cooked, drain thoroughly and combine with the courgette and leek mixture.

Allow to cool before adding the crème fraiche and about half of the grated cheese.

Combine and tip into a shallow oven-proof dish.

Top with the remaining grated cheese.

Place into a pre-heated oven at 190 degrees for about 20 – 30 minutes until turning golden and crispy.

Serve with some rocket.

Next time, I’m going to add some chopped walnuts to this, or toasted pine nuts.

Nutrition Data Per Serving

Calories (kcal) 349.3

Carbohydrate (g) 25.7

Fat (g) 20.8

Fibre (g) 5.9

Sodium (g) 0.186

Fruit & Veg 2.4

Protein (g) 15.0

Healthy Food Swaps

flidfit Healthy Swaps

As part of my weight loss journey, I’ve made a lot of “food swaps”.  I’m trying to virtually cut out things like pasta, rice and bread, reduce the amount of potatoes I consume.
These foodstuffs often are those which make you feel fuller – the things which make you feel full and contented.

I discovered, tried and like a recipe for cauliflower rice a long time before it became so hugely popular.  It’s now being sold in pouches ready to microwave!  Of course, as a horrendously marked up price.  £2 for 200g!

Given that the same shop sells a whole cauliflower (around 400g) for £1, it’s easy to see why so many stores are jumping on the bandwagon.

Strange that people buy it – all you need is a food processor with a metal blade and a cauliflower.  Chop the cauliflower into chunks, add to food processor, pulse about 4 or 5 times until the cauliflower resembled rice grains.

I actually managed to put myself right off cauliflower rice as I simply ate it too often!  Thankfully I wasn’t put off the vegetable itself.

cauli
Roasted spiced cauliflower.  A tasty and healthy alternative to rice or pasta.

Tonight I made a spiced roasted cauliflower to accompany a chicken breast in a tikka masala sauce.   330g of raw cauliflower, broken/cut into small bite sized pieces.  Spread on a baking tray.  Sprinkle on half a teaspoon of nigella (black onion) seeds, a quarter of a teaspoon of cumin seeds, a drizzle (10ml) of a really good quality (thick) balsamic vinegar.  Spray with 20 squirts of a low calorie spray oil.  Put into a pre-heated oven (190 degrees) for around 20 minutes, stirring half way through.

Total 150 calories.  Services one as a main meal or two as a vegetable side dish.

It remains slightly al dente, which is nice as it retains a bit of crunch and makes the whole meal take longer to eat!