Monday, 30 October 2017

Recipe: Homemade healthy muesli

I posted a picture on Instagram of a jar of homemade muesli and asked you if you wanted a recipe for it; turns out you did. SO here we go...a nutty, nourishing, sugar-free, wheat-free muesli that doesn't taste of dust!




Ingredients:

600g oats
200g mixed nuts
100g sesame seeds
50g sunflower seeds
50g pumpkin seeds
100g raisins
100g dried cranberries
100g dried ready-to-eat apricots, chopped

Feel free to: change the types of dried fruit or seeds used according to your preference, and add some spices (cinnamon, nutmeg etc.) if you like a bit of extra warmth.

Method:
  1. Pre-heat the oven to 160C
  2. Spread the oats, nuts and seeds on a baking tray and bake in the oven for 10-15 minutes – making sure the oats don’t burn, but are slightly golden.
  3. Take the tray out of the oven and leave to cool
  4. Once the mixture is cooled, mix together with the dried fruit and store in a glass jar or other airtight container
  5. To serve – add milk or yoghurt and some fresh fruit if you like.

How do you like to start your day? What recipes would you like to see next?

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Thursday, 5 October 2017

Comfort Food: Lamb Tagine recipe

In my September In Review video I mentioned that I have been loving making (and eating) lamb tagines. I have written up my recipe - please see below. My apologies for the lack of photos - the many times I have made the tagine, the ravenous hordes have descended before I have had the chance to take nice photos...



This recipe serves four or five hungry people.

Ingredients:

1kg lamb neck fillet
1 large onion, diced
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
2 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp hot chilli powder
1/2 tsp ground turmeric
a few strands of saffron
2 small cinnamon sticks
1 lemon, unwaxed
500g of passata
150g dried apricots
125g dried pitted dates and/or sultanas
1 pint of lamb stock, or the water the lemon was boiled in
50g shelled pistachios
50g flaked almonds


Method:

1.     Pre-heat the oven to 150C (for fan-assisted ovens)

2.     Boil the lemon in a saucepan of water for 20 minutes, remove carefully and dice up the whole lemon while removing the seeds. Put the diced up lemon in a dish to use later. You will also want to retain the water it was boiled in for later...

3.     Dice the lamb neck and fry in a large oven-proof (and lidded) casserole dish over a very hot heat. Once the meat has browned, remove it from the casserole dish and set aside.

4.     In the same casserole dish you browned the lamb in, add the onion and garlic with some oil and start to sweat this down.

5.     Once the onion and garlic have started to soften, add all the spices (except the cinnamon stick and saffron) and stir over the heat to release the flavour.

6.     Add the lamb back in after a few minutes and stir the meat into the onion and spice mix, so that everything is thoroughly coated.

7.     You will now want to add your chosen liquid and also the passata. If your chosen liquid is lamb stock, then add the few strands of saffron to the stock before you pour over the meat. If you prefer, you can simply use the leftover lemon-y water from Step 2 and add the saffron to this. Stir!

8.     Add in the cinnamon stick, all the fruit (including the lemon) and the nuts and turn up the heat until the liquid is at a simmer, and let it bubble for a few minutes on the hob.

9.     Once the mix has bubbled away nicely for a few minutes, put the lid on the casserole dish and pop it in the oven for between 2 and 2.5 hours.


10.  Serve with a scattering of fresh coriander, rice, couscous or a green salad and watch the tagine magically disappear.

Let me know if you make this recipe - did you change anything? Are there any other recipes you make that are great comfort food meals?

How to get in touch:

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Twitter - http://www.twitter.com/Recovering_Life 
Blog - http://yourlifeinrecovery.blogspot.co...
Email - yourlifeinrecovery@gmail.com
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Wednesday, 4 October 2017

Month In Review: SEPTEMBER 2017



September 2017 in review, featuring the importance of boundaries, saying goodbye and the deliciousness of lamb tagine.
How was your September?

How to get in touch:

YouTube - http://t.co/CGZBkZnWU2
Twitter - http://www.twitter.com/Recovering_Life 
Blog - http://yourlifeinrecovery.blogspot.co...
Email - yourlifeinrecovery@gmail.com
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/Recovering.Life