Pear and Brazil nut granola

When I woke up this morning it was a miserable wet day in Cornwall, the perfect day to get experimenting in the kitchen!

I have been making granola for years now and have tried many different nut / fruit / seed combos but this tasty version is my current favourite. You can mix it up by swapping the dried pear for your favourite fruit - figs or apricots are always good.

I like to make a nice big batch and keep it in an airtight container - this lasts me for a few weeks!

Ingredients:

- handful of Brazil nuts

- handful of mixed almonds and cashews

- 2 mugs gluten-free oats (I use Nairns)

- 2 tbsp desiccated coconut 

- 2 tbsp linseeds

- 2 tbsp ground linseed

- handful of dried pear (can be found at most health food stores)

- 1/2 mug coconut oil

-1/4 mug honey

Method:

1. Pre-heat the oven to 180c, then Roughly chop the nuts, I use a large knife but if you have a food processor than give them a quick whizz!

2. Measure 2 mugs (I use an average-sized coffee mug) of oats into a large mixing bowl, then add the nuts, seeds and coconut.

3. Melt the coconut oil and add to the dry mixture along with the honey, stirring together until the dry oats and nuts are coated.

4. Tip the granola mix onto a baking tray and press down with a spoon so the mixture is tightly packed. (This helps the oats and nuts to stick together so that they can be broken into clusters later)

5. Place tray on the middle shelf in the oven, make sure you stay in the room as you will need to give the granola a stir every 5 minutes! Make sure you press it down each time. 

6. When the mix is golden brown all over (this should only take around 20 mins) take it out of the oven and leave to cool.

7. Once the mixture is cool break it up, hopefully it will create nice clusters of crunchy goodness! Add the dried pear and stir together. Finally put most of the mixture in an airtight container and the rest in a bowl to eat now!

I like my granola with a generous serving of fruit; my favourite are figs, banana and blueberry, along with some almond milk or natural yoghurt.

My granola makes the perfect speedy breakfast or amazing post-uni snack!

Avocado and egg brunch

This brunch is the perfect start to a busy as it's based on two protein rich foods; avocado and egg.
These two foods are such a tasty combo and are complimented perfectly by roasted cherry tomatoes. 
Since I had some leftover brown rice from last night, I decided to lightly fry it with some spinach to accompany the avocado boats, toasted gluten-free bread is equally good on the side. 

Ingredients:

- 1 avocado
- 1 egg
- handful of spinach
- small bowl of cooked brown rice
- handful of cherry tomatoes
- squeeze of lemon
- 1 clove garlic
- teaspoon of coconut oil
- sesame seeds
- paprika, black pepper and salt to taste

Method:

Preheat the oven to 180c then start by finely chopping the garlic and slicing the tomatoes in two.
Slice the avocado in half, scoop out a bit from the hole and eat it! This is to leave more room for the egg.
Crack the egg into a glass then pour half into each side of the avocado.
Place the avocado halves in an oven-proof dish (with high sides so they don't tip over) and add the tomatoes to the dish. They will need to cook for 30 mins.
Meanwhile heat up the coconut oil in a frying pan, add the garlic and fry for a couple of mins, then add the sesame seeds and fry until golden. Then add the spinach and a generous squeeze of lemon, along with a dash of paprika. Stir fry until spinach wilts then add the rice until heated through. 
Finally take the avocado boats and tomatoes out of the oven, plate up with the rice and lightly season with salt and black pepper!

Best breakfasts

It will soon become clear that for me;

- breakfast is the best meal of the day - 

I believe that it's so important to give yourself that little extra bit of time in the morning to eat something nutritious to start your day full of goodness and energy. Not only is it good for your gut, it stops you from getting those cravings to snack throughout the day, saving money and your health!

I love breakfast foods so much that I often have pancakes or porridge for dinner.. plus they're cheap to make which helps if you're a student! (recipes to come soon)

1. Fancy breakfast for a special someone - mexican eggs (poached in a tomato sauce with beans, peppers and spices) served on avocado toast.

2. Acai bowl, bringing back memories of Brazil, at The Good Life Eatery in Kensington.

3. My homemade granola (recipe to come this weekend!) with blueberry banana yoghurt smoothie and chia seeds.

4. My go-to saturday morning brekky of banana pancakes with yoghurt and berries!

First restaurant review! - The Curry Leaf Cafe in Brighton

Anyone who needs to avoid gluten in their diet for whatever reason will know that eating out can be difficult, expensive and just awkward! So as part of this blog I would like to share my experiences of finding delicious, nutritious, gluten-free meals on a budget while out-and-about.

Last friday I was in Brighton for my lover's birthday, we searched for somewhere reasonably cheap but slightly fancy to eat and came across The Curry Leaf Cafe. It serves Indian street food - which I love - and the menu is clear about allergens.. plus the bare-brick, plant-filled interior is wonderful. Thankfully Indian food uses a lot of gram (chickpea) flour which is gluten-free and creates super-tasty dishes. 

I ate a delicious aubergine curry, it was one of the best curries Iv'e had, the aubergine was melt-in-the-mouth and came with a cute side serving of lentil dahl. Starters included lentil fritters and aubergine chips, both cooked with gram flour - which not only tastes great but is more nutritious than ordinary flour; it contains more fibre and less saturated fats. 
The birthday boy ate a creamy, coconutty chicken curry which tasted so much lighter and fresher than your average korma, plus we only spent around £40 including drinks and starters! 
Overall I would definitely recommend The Curry Leaf Cafe, there are loads of amazing choices whether you're on a gluten-free diet or not and the food tastes so much fresher and flavoursome than your average indian restaurant. We'll be back!