I've been feeling the cold like everyone else in the British Isles for the last few weeks, and foolishly turned to chocolate and pub lunches. Noooooo! Hearty fare does not always mean heart failure. So I decided to make a curry stuffed with veg an comforting aromas. And don't worry, I'll cook with something other than butternut squash soon, they're just soooo good and healthy!
Butternut Squash, Cabbage and Chickpea curryserves 4Ingredients:1 butternut squash1 red onion1 tbsp olive oil1/2 savoy cabbage (or kale if you can find it - the flavour is amazing)2 garlic cloves1 can chickpeas1 pint vegetable stock1/2 tsp chilli flakes1 tsp dried coriander1 tsp fresh chopped coriander1 inch ginger1 tsp cumin powder1 tsp LittlePod vanilla essence2 tbsp no fat plain yoghurtInstructions:Start by peeling and chopping the butternut squash, and roast it in the oven with half the oil for 30min. Meanwhile, chop the onion and heat the rest of the oil in a deep sided frying pan. Add the chilli flakes, cumin, dried coriander and grated ginger for a minute before adding the onion, and once they're soft, add the garlic and LittlePod vanilla paste. Keep moving it around for a few minutes, and enjoying the smells, then add the chickpeas and chopped cabbage. Turn the heat down as ow as it will go, adding the roasted butternut squash and stock, and cover. Let this bubble for at least half and hour, to turn into something special. If it's looking too watery, take the lid off for 10/15min.Get some rice on the go while you're waiting - I'm really into brown basmati at the moment and that seems to take ages to cook. Your curry will wait for the rice, don't worry, the mushier the better. At the last minute, add the yoghurt and mix in the fresh coriander. Serve with a nice lime pickle or mint raita (mango chutney is so full of sugar I avoid buying it now, the temptation is too much,) and enjoy something warm, filling and good for you.Believe me, it will give you a big boost! My blip away from my 5 a day has made me realise the big difference in my energy levels, what we put in to our bodies really effects it's performance. Obvious, but easy to take for granted.
When it's chilly outside, it's best to fill up the internal radiator unit (tummy!) with wholesome, filling soup. Inspired by LittlePod's very own chef, Dave Buchanen, I concocted my very own chowder, based on his sweetcorn chowder with a few additions/substitutions. Dr Beesley prescribes this as a take to work lunch in a thermos, served with crusty fresh bread and butter. Don't feel bad about the butter, not when the soup is so low fat and good for you!
Butternut Squash, Sweetcorn and vanilla ChowderServes 4
Ingredients:1 white onion
1 tbsp olive oil
1 butternut squash
1 can of sweetcorn
100g of mushrooms2 garlic cloves
dried chilli flakes
1 pint chicken stock1 tsp LittlePod vanilla paste100g light philadelphia (I like the garlic & herb one!)
pepper & salt (to taste)
pumkin seeds to serve
Instructions:
Peel and cube the butternut squash and roast in a pre-heated oven at 350F/175C with half the olive oil and a sprinkling of s&p. It should take about 30min for them to soften, but check after 20min. A knife should go through them easily, like a boiled potato. Chop the onion and lightly fry in a large saucepan with the rest of the olive oil. After they've gone soft and translucent, add the mushrooms (if they're big ones, cut them up a bit) and the drained can of sweetcorn and peeled and roughly cut garlic. Add a small 1/2 tsp of chilli flakes, you can add more later if you're feeling brave!
Once the mushrooms have softened, add the butternut squash to the pan, the chicken stock and a tsp of LittlePod vanilla paste. Leave it on a light simmer for 30min, adding the philadelphia right at the end then blitz it! I love the handheld blitzers, just don't get to enthusiastic - keep the soup in the saucepan! Now put it back on the hob for a few minutes to heat it all up again (while you give your bread a chance to get a bit toasty in the oven) and season to taste.
Ladle into bowls, serving with warm crusty bread and a sprinkling of pumkin seeds to make it look extra special. Now tuck in and forget about the cold weather outside!
There's nothing like a lazy Sunday, and what better way to start it than with something hot and satisfying. I recommend French toast with a twist!
Serves 2
Ingredients: 1 tsp olive oil
4 pieces fresh thick white bread2 large free range eggs
splash of milk 1 tsp LittlePod vanilla extract1 lemon, freshly squeezed
sugar to serve
Instructions:
In a wide bowl, crack the eggs and add the milk and LittlePod vanilla extract (or any other LittlePod vanilla ingredients, the paste works wonderfully) and whisk it all together. Drizzle some olive oil in a frying pan and put over a mid to high heat. Dip the bread in the egg mix and lay them in the frying pan. Turn over so they're golden brown on both sides, then serve with lemon and sugar and a lovely glass of freshly squeezed orange juice and relax!
On Saturday, my culinary eyes were opened! Dave Buchanen, the new LittlePod chef, created a magnificent 6 course taster menu using the LittlePod ingredients and a lot of pazzazz. LittlePod took over the restaurant of the Sid Valley Hotel and fed fans and friends of the company. I took the family along and we all had a lovely time (there was even wine tasting!). Inspired by the vegetarian main course of Roasted Baby Bell Peppers with Butternut Squash Risotto, Parmesan Crisp & Vanilla Glaze, I made my own (simplified and recreatable!) version. Enjoy! To sample some recipes from Dave's pro kitchen, visit his new blog - http://littlepodchef.blogspot.com/ and try out his Mixed Summer Berry & Sambucca Sabayon, another of the courses from the Sid Valley evening, which was amazing.
Serves 4
Ingredients:
400g aborrio risotto rice
2 tsp butter
1 glass white wine
1 tsp LittlePod vanilla paste
(you could use the extract, or the seeds of 1 pod, but I love using the paste! It's the best of both worlds)
1 pint of chicken stock
1 tbsp olive oil
1 red onion
3 cloves of garlic
1 butternut squash
1 pack button mushrooms
a few basil leaves
pepper & salt (to taste)
Instructions:
Chop (and peel if desired - I like the added texture of the skin) the butternut squash into cubes (I cut mine into approx 1cm squares so they'd be easy to eat and faster to cook), dice the onion and garlic and drizzle with olive oil in a large roasting dish. Place in a mid to high oven, keeping an eye on it. You want them to be soft all the way through and brown. If it's ready before the rice is cooked, just turn the temperature down and keep warm. Add the mushrooms about 5-10 min before the rice is ready. Don't worry if you get the timing wrong! Both elements will be fine keeping warm for a bit.
Once the veg is in the oven, put a large pan (a non-stick frying pan with big sides or a wok would do) over a mid range heat and add 1 tsp of the butter. Once it has melted, add the rice and fry for a minute. You don't want it to go brown, just a bit translucent. Then add the wine and the LittlePod vanilla paste and watch it bubble, stirring well. Once the liquid has all but evaporated, start adding the stock, a ladle at a time, stirring regularly as you don't want it to stick to the bottom of the pan. It should take about 20min for the rice to absorb all the stock and to lose it's bite, test it after 20min and give it some water if it's not soft all the way through. Once it is, turn the heat off, add the extra tsp of butter and let it rest of a minute with a lid on the pan. Trust me, this will make it extra yummy! Add pepper and salt to taste. Remember that stock can be quite salty anyway, so don't go over the top.
To serve, plate up the rice and top with the roasted veg. Chop some basil leaves up and put on top. Some freshly grated/pared parmesan is perfect with it!
Hi there! Well my sweet tooth has been calling again, and I've decided to satisfy it with these delicious banana muffins. But wait... is that a hint of chocolate too? LittlePod recently launched their Chocolate Extract, and I've been itching to try it, but was unsure what to do with it. I think the addition of it to this banana muffin recipe I adapted from allrecipes.co.uk (full link at bottom of page) really added some depth to an already lovely treat. And I've checked the ww points and it's only 3! I might try replacing the butter with marg next time to make it even better. Best served with a fresh mug of coffee in the mid-morning slump (the not quite lunch, but low energy and tummy growl time!) or as a breakfast on the go. Does it count as one of your five a day?
Banana & Chocolate Muffins(makes 9)Ingredients:135g plain flour0.5 tsp baking powder0.5 tsp bicarbonate of sodapinch of salt2 large bananas100g caster sugar1 egg50g melted butter2 tsp LittlePod chocolate extract9 dried banana flakes (to decorate)Instructions:Pre-heat your oven to 180C/gasmark 4. Sift the flour, baking powder, bicarb and salt into one bowl. In another bowl, mash the bananas, and add the sugar, egg, butter and LittlePod chocolate extract, and mix altogether. Add the flour mixture a bit at a time, mixing as you go. Now divide this mixture up among 9 muffin tray holes (I used those magic plastic cases that go in the oven as I couldn't find a muffin tray), placing a banana flake on the top of each. Cook in the middle of the oven for at least 20min (turning tray round halfway), or until they are good and brown and spring back when lightly prodded. Take out and put on a cooling rack. Keep in an air tight container for up to 3 days, or freeze! Delicious.
original recipe found here: http://allrecipes.co.uk/recipe/36/delicious-banana-muffins.aspx
Yumtastic! It's the weekend and so I'm treating my sweet tooth to some delicious biscuits. My friend gave me a gorgeous bird biscuit cutter so these are extra cute. The recipe is based on one I found on the WeightWatchers website (I've recently signed up - it's a great resource and I've lost 3lb in my first week, wow!), but I've added some littlePod sparkle to it.
Double Vanilla Biscuits (based on WeightWatchers Christmas Cookies)
makes about 30 biscuits
Ingredients:
115g caster sugar
65g polyunsaturated margarine
1 small egg, lightly beaten
1 tbsp golden syrup
1 tbsp lemon juice
1.5 tsp LittlePod vanilla paste
175g plain flour
0.5 tsp bicarbonate of soda
0.5 tsp baking powder
1 tsp mixed spice
50g icing sugar
1 tsp littlePod vanilla extract
1 tsp (ish) hot water
Instructions:
Mix the sugar and marg in a large bowl with an electric whisk until it is smooth. Add the egg, golden syrup, lemon juice and LittlePod paste and whisk some more.
In another bowl, sift the flour, bicarb, baking powder and mixed spice and mix. Add the dry mixture to the first bowl a little at a time, beating thoroughly. You're aiming for a stiff dough, so if you're mixing isn't making any difference, sift some more flour in a little at a time.
Divide this mix into two balls and wrap each ball in cling film and leave in the fridge for 30min. Preheat your oven to 180C/350F/Gas mark 4.
Lightly spray 2 baking trays with cooking spray. Lightly flour your worktop and knead the two balls of dough together again. Now roll it evenly so it's about 0.5cm thick all over. Use your cute cutter and transfer them over to the trays, leaving a gap of at least 2cm between each shape. Re-roll and repeat to use as much of the dough as possible. (I added eyes to my birds at this point with a skewer.) Put in the oven for about 8min, check and turn after 5min. You want them to be an even golden brown. Transfer to a cooling rack.
When they're completely cooled, mix the remaining ingredients to make a delicious icing. Use an icing bag to draw something pretty on each of your biscuits, it doesn't need to be the same each time! Let the icing dry, then keep the biscuits in an airtight container for up to 4 days, if they last that long!
There are some lovely recipes on the main LittlePod website, along with lots of information about the products and our company. Check it out! (Click on image to go to www.littlepod.co.uk)
I love to start the day with a really satisfying and tasty breakfast, that will keep me full until lunchtime. Granola is a bit like musli really, and this one is delicious! I adapted the recipe from one I found at www.answerfitness.com (link at bottom of post), and have kindly translated it from American cups into grams and spoons for us Brits. Enjoy this cereal with milk (and sweetener), or as a treat add some low fat yoghurt and fruit! A perfect fuel for a busy day.
Orange & Vanilla Granola
Ingredients:75ml freshly squeezed orange juicezest of 1 orange2 tbsp honey1 tsp cinnamon1.5 tsp LittlePod vanilla extract225g rolled oats25g wheatgerm25g flaxseed/linseed1tbsp flaked almonds1tbsp sunflower seeds100g dried blueberries25g dessicated coconut (optional)Place the orange juice, zest, honey, cinnamon and LittlePod vanilla extract in a small pan and warm on a moderate heat until it is all combined. Leave to one side. Mix the remaining ingredients (apart from the blueberries and coconut!) in a large bowl, then add the liquid from the pan. Mix with your hands, it should go a bit like a topping for a crumble. Spread this mixture on a large baking tray and bake at 180 degrees (gas mark 4) for about 20min, taking it out to turn and 'shuggle' halfway through. Add the coconut at this point if you're using it. It should be fairly dry by now, but if not, put back in the oven for another 5mins, no longer as it could burn and that won't be nice. Then leave it to cool, adding the blueberries when it is. Put your granola in an airtight container to make it stay nice and crunchy for longer!This should make enough for about 14 helpings, I find you don't need too much of it to feel full. And it's good for you, so no feeling guilty, just full of energy!
Original recipe can be found here:
http://www.answerfitness.com/49/low-fat-homemade-vanilla-orange-granola-healthy-recipes-from-answer-fitness%C2%AE/
Hi there! I'm Harriet, I love food, and I love to cook. I'm also involved in littlePod, a lovely Devon based company that produces delicious vanilla products. Combine these factors with the fact that maybe I love food too much and need to lose some lbs, and 'poof'! The littlePod diet blog was born. I hope you'll be inspired by recipes I've found and made, that use vanilla in a low fat way. There's more to vanilla than yellow ice cream!
If you have any recipes that you'd like to share, please get in contact: hblikethepencil@hotmail.com
