MISS HOLLY P
A BIT OF ME . A BIT OF FOOD . A BIT OF WINE
blog

Welcome to the #FoodSavvy challenge!!

So as we embark on a new month, I have taken on a brand new challenge! Along side the support of Hubbub and Norfolk and Suffolk County Councils I have been given the opportunity to share with you my experience and journey in becoming more #FoodSavvy!

In Norfolk and Suffolk alone we waste 113,000 tonnes of food waste which costs the average household an extra £810 per year and the tax payer just in these 2 counties an extra £12.6m per year!!! That’s hugely alarming right?? I’m really excited to be given the opportunity to get involved in hopefully learning new ways to reduce this personally in my household and also raise awareness to my surrounding counties and further afield!

So, if you’ve been following me a while, I like to think; and I hope you’ll agree, I’m pretty savvy anyway and from my personal financial situation over the last few years, I’ve taught myself to become more #FoodSavvy and am really excited to see what new ideas I can take on board to drive this even further in my life! I’m a genuine lover of food and it sickens me to see food go to waste, so I always try to keep it creative in the kitchen and let nothing avoidable go in the bin but I know there’s still more to do!

This week, from tomorrow, Monday, I’ll be carrying on as normal and at the end of the week I’ll be doing my baseline measurement to see what waste I’m producing in my household on a normal week, before we put in to place some of the useful provided tools to aid in this months challenge!! I’m actually off for a few days from Monday morning on my holidays to France, so I’ll be getting my folks back at my home to save their avoidable food waste along with logging roughly any food that I waste abroad Monday to Thursday, all of this you can keep track of on my instagram stories! I’ve always been a lunch prepper, I’ve been using food recycling at home for some time and i consciously make the efforts to minimize a single use plastics in my life but even as a conscious person I know the results will alarm me when so many things on offer to us have not undergone the same thoughtful and sustainable journey we would want in an ideal world. After this week is done and we measure what’s ‘normal’ for me and my household, then we’ll start the reduction measurements from week 2! Food waste and the volume of single use plastics used world wide is a huge issue and I invite you this month to join the challenge and become more #FoodSavvy with me, from Norfolk, Suffolk and beyond!

cooking

Chickpea and White Bean Curry

I love a good curry and exploring different flavours and styles dependent of origin is great fun in the kitchen! This sweet, spiced, North African inspired curry is cheap, quick, easy and healthy and with the great flavours from my Buy Wholefoods Online turmeric powder and cinnamon powder it will having you transported away to a Moroccan rooftop by flavour in under half an hour.

Prep time- 5 minutes 

Cook time- 25 minutes

Serves 2-3 

Ingredients

-An onion

-A tin of chickpeas

-A tin of white beans

-1 tablespoon of Medium curry powder

-1/4 teaspoon of Buy Wholefoods Online Ceylon Cinnamon Powder (pure)

-1 teaspoon of Buy Wholefoods Online Organic Tumeric Powder 

-A tin of chopped tomatoes

-Cumin

-Chilli flakes

-Passata

-100g of sweetcorn

-A handful of baby spinach

To serve-

-Microwave wholegrain rice or pitta

-Fresh coriander

-Mango Chutney

Start with a spritz of spray oil over a medium heat and add your onions, white beans and chickpeas, stir fry for a couple of minutes to soften and then add a tablespoon of curry powder fry for a further 2 minutes until the legumes are coated and the flavour is absorbed.

Then gradually add your in tin of chopped tomatoes and passata followed by the turmeric and cinnamon stirring as you go. Add the 100g of sweetcorn and stir in and the wilt in all of the baby spinach, simmer for 20 minutes on a low heat and you will be ready to serve, this gives time for everything to soften down.

Then serve with your chosen accompaniment and enjoy! I have gone for a pitta, mango chutney and fresh coriander today but rice and yoghurt works great too!

I’ve linked Buy Wholefoods Online so you can grab some ingredients too and recreate at home!

 

Tag me in your dishes on insta! I can’t wait to see how you serve yours!

 

Thanks for reading, H x

health

Oat Flour Pancakes Recipe

Since this years Shrove Tuesday I am a complete pancake convert so I have teamed up with Buy Whole Foods Online  and am going to make some delicious pancakes using Organic Wholegrain Oat Flour! 

For this recipe you will need….

  1. 3/4 of a cup of Organic Wholegrain Oat Flour
  2. 2 table spoons of sugar 
  3. A dash of salt 
  4. 2 Teaspoons of baking powder (as oat flower does not contain gluten this helps them rise)
  5. 1 Cup of oat milk (any milk of choice will work)
  6. 2 Teaspoons of ACV or white vinegar (apparently activates the baking powder), I prefer white, tried both.
  7. 2 eggs 
  8. A dash of olive oil
  9. Any flavorings you want to add to the mix… vanilla extract, cinnamon etc etc, I did mine plain

When I say a cup, I literally mean a bog standard mug! I’ve always thought how ambiguous ‘cup’ sounds in recipes! 

Directions for the mix 

Add ingredients 1 – 4 to a mixing bowl, that’s the Buy Whole Foods Online organic oat flour, baking powder, sugar and salt, mix together.

Add ingredients 5-8 to a mixing jug, whisk up until smooth and then gradually add the wet mix into the dry mix in the bowl, mixing as you go.

If you are flavouring stir in number 9 once your mix is made.

Let your mix rest for around 10 minutes, this helps the ingredients activate and thicken

Ladle onto a hot non stick griddle or pan, if using a pan spritz with fry light. You do not need much.

TIPS

  • I found this batter still quite runny compared to traditional pancake mix and kept over pouring, you only need a tiny little bit of batter as it spreads and then the baking powder works it’s magic and they puff up, so if you want them round, less is more.
  • Wait until the top starts to bubble before you attempt to flip

Flip them onto a plate, stack ‘em high, top with some extravagant toppings, DEVOUR. 

For mine I went for greek yoghurt, berries, lemon curd and Buy Whole Foods Online edible dried red rose petals! For Jamie’s obviously all the sugar, syrup, lemon, berries and marshmallows! 

Another of my favourites is banana, peanut butter, syrup and dark chocolate!

I did some research online as I’ve never used oat flour before and never made pancakes in general and took some top tips from other great bakers online (who I will credit in links at the end) to make the recipe and took some of my own shortcuts too!

Pancake options are so endless, once you have your fluffy little cakes what you top them with is totally open to experiment!

What other recipes do you guys love to make with oat flour? What’s your favourite topping?

 

Thanks for reading! Tag me on instagram in your creations @misshollyp

H x

 

For my research and inspiration a huge thanks to https://julieharringtonrd.com/oat-flour-pancakes/

https://www.thedishonhealthy.com/2018/02/07/oat-flour-chocolate-chip-pancakes/

 

cooking

Low Fat Beetroot Hummus Recipe

Everyone loves a good hummus and with the addition of buy whole foods online beetroot powder it adds the fabulous bright pink shade you only get from beetroot! Using the powder is a quick, easy and clean way of adding its superfood benefits to any dish! Hummus is a super cheap, quick and easy thing to make and perfect for starters, snacking, picnics and entertaining! This recipe is vegan too so suits all dietary needs! So why not follow my simple recipe and delight your tastebuds! The best bit… no ACTUAL cooking required!

Serves 3+

Prep Time- 5 Mins

Cook Time- 2 Mins

Ingredients-

 

The preparation really could not be easier! Grab your food processor, open you chick peas, toss them in the blender, add the garlic clove, buywholefoodsonline.co.uk beetroot powder, olive oil spray, tahini paste and almond milk. I also season with salt and pepper. Then BLITZ! After blending check your texture and if it’s too thick add a little more almond milk. The reason I use almond milk is to give it that nice creamy texture without the added fat and calories of the usual olive oil- hence making it lower in fat and calories 🙂

I chose to serve mine up with crudités and homemade tortilla chips but hummus is one of the most versatile things out there! Add to sandwiches, wrap and salads for extra colour and flavour!

 

How easy was that? Are you trying out this recipe? What other types of hummus have you tried or want to see?

I’ve linked to buywholefoodsonline.co.uk so you can grab your beetroot powder and browse all their other amazing ingredients too!

Thanks for reading,

H x

 

blog

Nibble Protein Bites Review

I have been trying out a new brand which I came across on instagram, when I discovered their profile they just stood out from the rest and seemed really interesting to me! Nibble Protein Bites The lovely folks sent me over all their flavours to try out! The thing that stuck out to me that this brand was going to be very different to any of the other ‘health snacks’ and protein and energy products on the market which are gluten free, vegan etc etc was that product contains 1/2 – 2/3 less sugar than the majority of the markets competitors. That’s pretty impressive stats! But how are they doing it? Well for starters these little bites are date free, almost ever other product I have trialled of a similar concept has contained dates, yes most of us love natures gooey, yummy caramel but dates are notoriously high in sugar! Nibble protein bites are sweetened with anti-oxidant dried plum puree and low GI coconut blossom nectar! Fancy eh? So a different type of natural sustained energy release than you may have tried before! Nibble are so proud of their product spec that I even got a fantastic comparison chart included with competitor info! Nibble’s contain just 15% sugar per 100g when the nearest competition is Bounce Bites at 26% and the highest Nakd Cocoa Mint bar at a huge 45%! With 24g of protein per 100g too and the calories at about average of most brands wouldn’t you agree it’s all sounding pretty good, but the question is….do they stand up to the taste test?

These are the 7 different flavours that I was sent and they have just launched gingerbread as an 8th, so there’s something to suit most palettes and I have to say some more unusual combinations which is good to see. My top 3 picks were – in reverse order – Choc Walnut Brownie- I adore walnuts and I loved the little chunks of nut in each bite, Lemon with coconut- gorgeous, light, citrusy and refreshing and then the winner *drum roll please* was Choc Orange Brownie! How these do not have more sugar in is beyond me! They are delicious like a real treat or dessert!

 

If watching sugar is something you are trying to monitor, you need a quick pick me up on the go, you like to have a pre of post gym protein fix or you just love trying healthy snacks this brand is for you. If you fancy getting you hands on some here ‘s a list of stockists! 

Vegan

Gluten Free

Date Free

High Protein 

Fibre Rich

Low Gi 

Have you tried these guys? Why not hit up their instagram and check out what they’re up to… @nibbleprotein or click here 

 

Thanks reading!

H x