The Sweet Life

This recipe is so simple to make. It’s amazing sometimes how you can turn a few simple ingredients into a fabulous and totally delicious dish. Another alternative to this dish is to add 1/4 cup of capers and 1/3 cup of fresh parsley (instead of thyme) - this dish is often called Lemon Chicken Piccata.  Piccata is a method of preparing food where meat is sliced, coated, sautéed and served in a sauce. The dish is Italian, but it is originally made with veal. But here I chose to make mine with chicken breasts, thinly sliced, or butterflied. I served mine with steamed greens and wholewheat couscous.  This recipe serves 4. Ingredients  2 skinless and boneless chicken breasts ( cut in half lengthwise) salt and pepper to taste White spelt flour (for coating the chicken) 4 tbsp organic butter 2 tbsp olive oil ⅓ cup fresh lemon juice ½ cup chicken stock  3 sprigs of fresh thyme  Extra thyme and slice lemon for serving (optional) ...

These can eaten as a snack or served for dinner alongside couscous or brown rice.  I decided to serve mine on top of wholewheat couscous with a healthy dose of  paleo tomato sauce  and a side of greens.  Needless to say they are delicious, and as is the case with most dishes, even better the next day.  This recipe serves 2 Ingredients 3 boneless skinless chicken breasts (pulsed in a food processor until ground) 1 onion (diced) 2 cloves of garlic  (diced) 3 strips of bacon  (diced) 1 egg  1 tablespoon of olive oil 2 tablespoons paleo tomato sauce (or tomato passata/tomato puree)  3 tablespoons chopped Italian parsley (or coriander) Method 1. Preheat your oven to 200 ℃  and line a tray or dish with baking paper or tin foil.  2. In a frypan over medium heat, add the diced bacon and cook until a good amount of fat has been rendered out.  2. Add the onion and the garlic and cook until the on...

These healthy scones are a great snack or can also be used as toast (cut in half and pop into the toaster or toast in the oven) or as bread for sandwiches etc. Ingredients 1 1/2 cups of wholemeal spelt flour 1 1/2 teaspoons of baking powder A pinch of salt 1 tablespoon of olive oil 150ml of water Method 1. Preheat the oven to 220 ℃ and line a tray with baking paper. 2. Combine the flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl. 3. Add the oil to the mixture and pour in the water (half of it at a time to check the consistency - if becomes to wet add more flour). Mix with a wooden spoon. 4. Lightly flour baking tray and hands. Divide the dough into two pieces and place on the baking tray. 5. Pat each piece into about 1cm thick discs. Using a knife cute each disc into 4 scones. 6. Place in the oven and bake for 15 minutes. 7. Serve hot with organic butter or use as bread for toast/sandwiches. Enjoy x

Last week I purchased Sarah Wilson's I Quit Sugar book and found it so interesting. I would recommend it to anyone (especially sugar lovers). It makes you stop and think about the amount of sugar you consume daily and the effects sugar has on your body. It also has an 8 week detox programme to help you eliminate sugar from your diet. I have started the 8 week programme so i'll keep you posted as to how I go. I will be putting up recipes from Sarah Wilson's IQS book and other recipes I try out throughout the 8 weeks of detoxing from sugar! Wish me luck :)! By this point I bet your  thinking "What are activated nuts?"... well nuts and seeds contain poisons in the husk that can make them hard to digest. Soaking and drying nuts and seeds causes them to sprout, which activates enzymes that make them easier to digest and metabolise. The more enzymes you get from food, the less your own body's enzymes are needed to break down food - see Sarah Wilson's "...

This recipe is a great healthy alternative to normal muffins and they taste just as good...if not better! They contain no flour and no oil. They have  yogurt to keep them moist, which results in the muffin being a little on the denser side, but it is still soft and spongey. Yes there is dark chocolate… but it is a healthy amount of it. This balances out the fact that the muffin themselves are healthy, however you could replace the chocolate with something like blueberries, cacao nibs or walnuts.  This recipe makes about 15 medium sized muffins.  Ingredients 1 cup of natural Greek yogurt 2 ripe bananas 2 eggs 2 cups of rolled oats  1/4 of a cup of raw honey 1  ½ teaspoons of baking powder 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda 1/2 cup of dark chocolate chips (or roughly chop up pieces of dark chocolate from a block) Method 1. Preheat oven to 200 ℃  and line a muffin tin with muffin cases, I also spray the cases with olive ...

This recipe is also ideal for the slow cooker - follow the same recipe but reduce the stock to 200ml, as you don't need as much liquid for slow cooker stews. Cook on low for around 8 hours. Ingredients Coconut oil (or olive oil/spray) 1 onion (roughly chopped) 2 celery sticks  (roughly chopped) 4 carrots  (roughly chopped) 2 garlic cloves   (roughly chopped) 1 tablespoon of spelt flour 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon 500g of cubed lean beef stewing/casserole steak 2 tablespoons of tomato puree 3 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar 125ml of red wine (optional) 400ml of beef stock A few sprigs of fresh thyme Salt & pepper Method 1. Preheat the oven to 150 ℃. 2. In a lidded ovenproof casserole dish heat the oil. Add the onion, carrots and celery and cook on high heat until tender (about 4 minutes). 3. Add the garlic and cook for a further minute. 4. Combine the flour and cinnamon together with salt & pepper in a medium sized bowl. Toss the beef in ...

When it comes to takeout i always choose Thai. I love Thai food and somehow whenever Thai takeout is involved i always end up ordering larb gai! Its such a refreshing dish with classic thai flavours.  Traditional larb gai has red onions (you can add these - i'm not a big fan), rice powder, lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves and a few other things but i thought id put together a recipe that you could make with what you would normally have in your cupboards at home, plus put a healthy twist on it as well.  Using 1 red chilli gives it a good kick but its not really spicy so if you like a lot spice add more chilli.  It tastes great on its own as a salad, or served with brown rice. If you are looking for a low carb option is is delicious served in lettuce cups.  Ingredients  1 tablespoon sesame oil (peanut oil or any other oil is fine) 1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger 2 cloves garlic (roughly diced) 2 spring onions (finely diced) 1 la...

This recipe is pretty self explanatory and very simple. You only need two ingredients. The blueberries make a perfect snack especially if you feel like something sweet and cold (great in Summer). Ingredients  Blueberries Natural yogurt (you can use any flavour)  Method 1. Start by washing the blueberries and lining a tray or container with baking paper. 2. Use a toothpick to dip each blueberry into the yogurt making sure its completely covered and then carefully place on the baking paper. Do this to all the blueberries. 3. Place the tray/container of blueberries carefully into the freezer and leave for at least an hour.  4. You can enjoy your blueberries straight away or keep them stored in the freezer (in a snap lock bag works well and takes up less space).  Enjoy x

These fabulous brownie balls are only made with 4 ingredients and have no gluten, no refined sugars, no dairy and no grains. They are super easy and quick to make. So quick in fact that i made them in 15 minutes in a mad rush to take them for dessert when i went to a friends place for dinner.  A great tip when making the balls is to get a heaped teaspoon amount of mixture in your hands and squeeze together until a ball is formed. They will not form into a ball if you roll them, they fall apart. If the mixture is too dry and not sticking together add a little honey (about 1 tablespoon) to the mixture.  Recipe makes 10 balls Ingredients 3/4 cup of raw almonds 1 tablespoon of raw cacao powder 12 pitted dates 2 tablespoons of natural peanut butter (I use Pics)  Method 1. Put the almonds in the food processor and process until the almonds are finely chopped like almond meal, then put aside. 2. Put the dates in the food processor and process ...

This recipe is so versatile, you can add anything you like, but cheese and bacon really are such a great combination and these make a great comfort food snack or side dish without all the extra guilt.  Alternatively you can add in some spinach to the mixture - in a pan with a little bit of olive oil fry some chopped garlic and add some spinach once the garlic is cooked, once the spinach is wilted add this into the mash mix.  I only use a little cheese but you can skip the cheese all together if you like, a little bit of cheese is ok :).  A thicker type of milk, like almond milk is better to use because it gives the mash a creamier texture.  You can either add your bacon into the mash (which i do) or sprinkle it on top at the end. Also making sure you keep some flesh in the skins allows the skins to crisp up but not become too dry. Serves 2  Ingredients 2 sweet potatoes Olive oil (or coconut oil or olive oil cooking spray) Almond m...

Banana fritters are perfect when you are craving a sweet fix on a cold winters day.  These fritters are coated in an almond crust and baked in the oven. They have a delicious crispy outside and a soft warm inside. They are great served with Greek yogurt. Next time I will chop up some almonds and add these to the mixture to add more crunch.  This recipe serves 2.  Ingredients  2  bananas 30 g honey (warmed in the microwave for 10-20 seconds) 40 g almond meal Zest of 1/2 an orange  A sprinkle of ground cinnamon Greek yogurt (to serve) Method 1. Preheat your oven to 220 C. 2. In a bowl combine the almond meal, cinnamon and orange zest. 3. Cover the bananas with the warmed honey until they are well coated. 4. Roll the bananas in the almond mixture until completely coated.  5. Place onto a baking tray lined with baking paper and b ake for 10 – 15 minutes until golden (watch closely as the almond mixture tends to bu...