So, it's a new year, which means I traditionally attempt to get Mr Strongman Fitness eating breakfast.  He is very much of the school of thought that a triple expresso and a muffin should 'count' as a 'healthy' breakfast option, but sadly we disagree.  He also won't consider anything that requires any morning time prep, as this would interrupt any bonus sleeping time he may have.  
I have often made overnight oats for those mornings where I know I won't have time (or inclination) to knock up anything decent, and get tempted by muffins and egg baps and so on.  So, this year, I decided it was time to introduce Mr Strongman Fitness to the wonders of Overnight Oats.  We agreed on a seven day trial, and different interesting flavours each day.  So, here are the recipes and our ratings of them (mine from the viewpoint of the person having to make them, his purely as consumer) - make some and see what you think!  

The basic recipe for one portion of overnight oats needs a small ramekin or teacup (approx 40g oats). You need:
Giant rolled oats.
Milk (or 'fake' milk - soya, hemp, coconut milk etc)
Chia seeds.

For each measure of oats, you need double the amount of milk, plus 1tbsp chia seeds.  Just measure these into an appropriate pot, leave overnight in the fridge and you're good to grab and go in the morning.  You can warm them in the microwave, or I prefer them cold.
The chia seeds are optional, but they do make it have a nice gloopy consistency.  You can swap out some of the milk for yoghurt, water, juice, or anything else wet.

It looks like thick porridge, and transports very easily.  Limit the washing up by using a jar or tupperware to mix it up in that you can also then transport in the morning.

Got chatting in the gym last week.  Client : "I'd quite like to make risotto, is it difficult?".  Well, no, not the way I do it.  Sometimes, especially when the nights are drawing in, I just fancy a bit of risotto...  Leftovers can easily be made into arancini (posh sounding rice balls...) or even my tasty balls with spicy broth.
We had ours with roast chicken and baked tomatoes.  But, as always, feel free to pimp your dinner however you fancy.  I happened to make mine vegan, just by chance (simply a lack of parmesan, if the truth be known), and they are wheat and gluten free too (but check your stock cubes to be sure).

Recipe (serves two hungry people):
1 large onion, chopped and fried until soft.
150g risotto rice
About 1 pint "stock" - see later....
75g parmesan, or two tsp nutritional yeast

Simply bung onion, rice and stock into a casserole dish, cover it, and bake at 200 (180 fan) for about 30 mins.  
About 10 mins before the end, add the cheese, or nutritional yeast (note: worth doing as a cheese eater too if you're avoiding dairy/reducing fat).  See below for other tasty additions at this point...
The "stock" is some lovely combo of veggie stock (or chicken if non-veggie), any leftover wine (yes, I know, no such thing as 'leftover' wine), or a slug of vermouth (Pernod is also interesting) if you happen to have such a thing.

Possibilities to add ten mins before the end (it should all cook in time):
A handful of frozen broad beans, and a handful of frozen peas.
Zest and juice of one lemon, couple of handfuls raw prawns.
Blue cheese, asparagus.
Salmon (chopped small, you can leave this raw), plus mint and dill to serve.

I've also done this "risotto milanese" styley - in which case add a pinch of saffron to the stock.


It's not as good as a lovingly stirred risotto.  But it's not far off, and involves 20 mins less tedious stirring....

And, here is the clincher, Mr Strongman Fitness made this for me while I was out jumping around (=working) last week.  And if he can do it minus supervision, then it's got to be a goody....

Ok, so Chinese style balls and broth isn't a particularly tempting title, but it is what it is.  Plus, it amuses me to look at the search terms and see that people have got this page when looking for a whole different sort of 'tasty balls'.
​People have been bothering me for semi-healthy free-from Chinese-style bits and pieces for a while, and I've been perfecting vegan, gluten free options.  Here's what I've come up with.  You can, of course, add extras and leave out anything you don't like.  This takes approx 30 mins max to make, is dead easy, very satisfying tasty and possibly vaguely good for you.  I've got a vegan/non-vegan alternative for you on the balls, but the broth is much the same either way.  Let me know what you think?
I've deliberately sourced a lot of it from supermarket ready packed veg (as it's easy that way...), but you can add any sort of veg you like.  Beansprouts would be particularly good I think (I didn't have any...).

Tasty balls

50g rice (uncooked weight), cooked.
150g cooked chicken or tofu.

Add both ingredients to a food processor and pulse to blend.  Shape into small balls and shallow fry these for approx 5 mins, to cook and firm up.  
(I added a spoon of gram flour to the tofu ones to keep them together, but I'm not convinced it's needed.)

Set aside, and start on the broth....

Broth

1 pack of 'asian mushrooms' (Tesco do good ones).
1 pack pak choi, rounghly chopped.
1 pack mange tout and sweetcorn, roughly chopped.
1 tsp chinese five spice
1 portion of rice noodles
Spring onions
3 cloves garlic, chopped.
1 bunch coriander.
To taste:
Chilli
Soy sauce/tamari
Chinese rice wine
Fish sauce (for the non-vegan version, obviously!)

Stir fry the veg quickly, then add approx 2 pints of veg stock, the garlic and five spice.  You can add a sachet of miso soup here if you have any (awful stuff, in my opinion!).  Add the chilli and sauces to taste, then bring to the boil. Add the balls and noodles and simmer for 5-10 mins until everything is cooked and heated through.

Serve in large bowls with coriander and extra chilli sprinkled over the top.  There is likely to be slurping and spattering as the noodles flick around the place, so perhaps not a first date meal.....

Mr Strongman Fitness gave me a 9.5/10 for this.  He meant 10/10 of course, but likes to keep me grounded ;)

Mr Strongman Fitness doesn't like that fried chicken.  You know, the stuff from the famous place.  Too greasy apparently.  So he was quite pleased last week when I took it upon myself to create a tasty healthier version.  

If you've been keeping up with my "not-quite-so-filthy" recipes, you'll know that it's minimal ingredients and faffing, for maximum tastiness.  You choose how filthy you make stuff, so you can deep fry this if you should feel the urge - you make the decisions about what you shove in your gob, after all.

Anyway, two chicken bits is plenty per person.  The other half prefers drumsticks, I like a thigh myself, works with other bits too, but adjust cooking time accordingly.  
In addition to the chicken, for two people:
1 tblspn paprika
1 tblspn turmeric
2 tblspn gram flour (wheat free, but also makes it taste nice).
Stick the dry stuff on a plate and mix well.
1 egg, beaten in a decent sized bowl.


I skinned the chicken, but you don't need to, then dip in the egg to cover, then the dry stuff.  You can repeat this if you like to get a thicker crust (there's plenty of dry stuff with this recipe, so you can do).
Then roast in the oven for approx 15-20 mins until the chicken is cooked through.


We has this with the coleslaw I made here and (with a fruity pudding) that was plenty.  This would BBQ very well I suspect....  I tend not to season before cooking, and this needs a bit of pepper and salt (or sumac) and appreciated a quick squeeze of lemon too.


Finger licking good, apparently :)

Bank holiday weekend and I had a sudden urge for some curry.

My last efforts at a 'healthier' curry recipe was a tandoori based affair, so I wanted to create something a bit more 'filthy' and a bit more 'takeaway' this time, but keeping my usual general principles of fresh ingredients, minimal fussing about.  We had this with some wild rice, but would be fab with some nice chewy naan and some mango chutney.  

I'd say this was a medium sort of heat - Mr Strongman Fitness being my litmus test for this, he went slightly pink and didn't request yoghurt - but the chutney is a little deceptive (you've been warned).  Would be good with paneer instead of beef too (reduce cooking time accordingly).  Loosely based on a recipe from Good Food magazine a few months ago, but loads of the faffing about removed.

It's dead easy, just a bit of grating and then just leave it alone for a bit.  Well worth a try.  
Feeds 2-4 depending on hungryness.

Beetroot and Beef curry

1 tsp cumin seeds.
1 tsp coriander seeds.
1 tsp cardamom pods.
3 beetroot, raw, grated.
400g beef, cut into chunks.
2 onions, sliced.
1 tsp grated fresh ginger.
1 tsp grated fresh garlic.
2 red chillis, chopped.

Bash the cardamom in a pestle and mortar (or bowl and rolling pin....) and remove the outer 'shell' to leave the black seeds.  Add the cumin and coriander and bash well (no need to make a powder - it will all cook down).  Fry this mix quickly in a dry pan until toasted.  Add the remaining ingredients, and about a pint of water. Cook for 90mins (or as long as you can), just check every so often and top up with water if you need to.  It should be quite a thick curry without much sauce.

Coriander chutney

1 pack coriander.
Small handful of mint leaves.
Juice of one lemon.
1 chilli.

Whizz all the ingredients in a blender, adding enough water to get a loose paste.  

We happened to have a chunk of raw coconut, so I also grated this and whacked it in too.  You'll need to season this well - I used sumac rather than salt and plenty of pepper.  I'm told the chutney keeps for a few days in the fridge, but we never needed to find out.  

Damn tasty scran.

More beetroot tastiness here: http://www.lovebeetroot.co.uk/

I've been quiet lately.  It's exam season.  So I'm shut indoors marking piles and piles of scripts.
So, as distraction this weekend, I decided I fancied a meze plate with a slight tapas twist. All done from scratch, but without too much faffing about.  Takes less time than heating up some crappy ready meal.  And, as I keep banging on about, you know what's in it and can change it to suit you.
This is fab for kids as they can pick at bits and try new stuff.  The resident little person is very impressed with the beetroot hummus (I suspect that this is mainly because it's pink, but I'll take that).

Add pitta breads if you like, or tzatziki.  Hey, or baklava if you must.  
The point is that you decide.  You're in control.

Beetroot hummus

2 cooked beetroots (vac packed from Tesco if you like, not in vinegar though)
1 tin chickpeas, drained.
3 cloves garlic (you might prefer a bit less, we LOVE garlic).
1 lemon

Whizz the beetroots, garlic and chickpeas together, add the juice of the lemon, season to taste (I use sumac rather than salt).  You probably need to loosen this with a bit of water to get the right consistency.  Sprinkle with nigella seeds and sesame seeds to make it look pretty.

Falafel

500g broad beans, cooked (frozen ones are fine).
1 egg
1tsp cumin seeds
1tsp coriander seeds
1 green chilli, finely chopped.
Chickpea flour (optional)

Toast the seeds in a dry frying pan, and grind in a pestle and mortar.  Whizz up the broad beans, add the egg, chilli and spices and stir to mix well.  Liberally flour your hands and shape the mixture into about 8 balls.  You can either fry these, or bake in the oven (about 30 mins conveniently....).

The above (plus pitta) made enough for two hungry people for dinner with leftovers for lunch the next day.  
Can't be arsed to make the hummus?  Get it from the supermarket then!  Though do check the labels - 'healthy choice' hummus is not always 'better' than the standard variety...  They also sell roasted peppers (again, check the label as these come full of oil), olives and feta and tasty things like that you can add to make this a proper feast.  You can also add some tahini or oil to the hummus if you like, but I find I don't notice their absence.  

You can also change the amounts of chilli and garlic in there, but if you've read one of my previous postings you'll know I like to keep Mr Strongman Fitness ex-wife-proof, just to be on the safe side :)

I hope you enjoy this.  I know I did!

I get a lot of people asking me for lunch ideas if they no longer eat wheat and/or dairy.  The odd thing is, because I was wheat and dairy free for so long (fifteen years) it's sort of my default position.

I just happened to make such a thing this week. I thought it might make a nice treat for Mr Strongman Fitness, who, I presumed, may never have had Vietnamese spring rolls before.  Apparently he had, a lot, due to his impressively culturally diverse primary school, and Min's mum making them for him.  Ah well.  

You can get the spring roll wrappers from Ocado and Tesco (and any oriental supermarket if you happen to have such a thing).  Be warned though, if you've never used them before they can be a bit fiddly to rehydrate.  I recommend a large bowl of near-boiling water and a dip-and-rotate strategy.  Expect the first one to be a disaster (much like pancakes...).

Anyway, enough waffling.

Basically you need to find tasty veggies that won't wilt (if you're doing this for packed lunch anyway).  So I used chopped spring onions, mange tout (sliced lengthwise so they look pretty), cucumber, beansprouts, chilli, carrots and peppers.  All veggies sliced thinly into matchsticks.  I also added some coriander (leaves left whole, stalks chopped finely).  The pink things in my piccie are crayfish tails (which they sell in Morrisons, Co-op and Waitrose), prawns and tofu are both very good too.   Mix up as you see fit, place into wrapper and roll. These will keep fine in a lunchbox and will make work colleagues very jealous.  Two rolls were plenty for me for lunch, the other half had three.   

You can pimp it from there depending on how filthy you'd like it to be.  Mr Strongman Fitness had his with some pre-made sweet and sour sauce.  I made my own satay sauce with a spoon of peanut butter and some fermented soy beans.

As with all my recipes, it's about keeping it simple and you being in control.  You choose.   You can even deep fry these if you feel the urge (though stick something like chicken in there rather than crayfish?).  

Him indoors says that they're not as good as Min's mums. But they're probably a lot healthier.  
I'll take that.

I'm quite fond of fajitas, as is Mr Strongman Fitness.  I also am quite fond of Chinese style lettuce wraps.  So when attempting my domestic goddessry (ie making dinner) last night, I decided to combine the two.  
Fajitas without the bready bit are quite good, as it turns out.  I also knocked up a couple of salsa/salad type things to go with.  As with my previous recipes, it's your choice how filthy to make this - Mr Strongman Fitness added some grated cheddar and sour cream, I added pickled chillis to mine.   
I might make some guacamole for next time.  

Full of decent stuff, easy to knock up and damn tasty.

Chilli (for 2 hungry people)
Half a chopped red onion (see later)
One tin black beans
One tin red kidney beans
One tin chopped tomatoes
Chillis to taste (1 dried chipotle chilli here, but Mr Strongman Fitness is a wimp....)

Bung it all in a pan (i don't bother frying the onion) and simmer for 20 mins.  Add water or stock if you need to during this time.

Salsa:
4 tomatoes
2 red peppers, quartered

Cook at 200 degrees for 20 mins (will be charred around the edges).  Whizz up.

Salad:
Half a cucumber, chopped.
Half a red onion, chopped.
Handful parsley, chopped.
Handful coriander, chopped.
One lime, squeezed.
Pomegranate seeds (can get these in a pack, ready to eat).
1 tblsp natural yoghurt 

Mix together, done.

You'll also need some Chinese Leaves.

Put everything on the table in bowls, and allow everyone to help themselves.  The Chinese Leaves are the 'tortilla' part here, and do their job very well.  

As always, you can tart this up however you fancy it - you make the choices.  Much tastier than the packet crap you get from the supermarket, and you're in control of what goes in it.  It's all about the choices...

I've been asked lately for more recipes.  Easy lunches and dinners that contain limited amounts of crap, easy to make, good stuff in it, tasty as hell.  That could be used as part of a healthy-eating/weight-loss plan, if that's your bag.  And your wish is my command.

This is a variation on a puttanesca sauce (meaning 'whore' in Italian I'm told...) with prawns.  I don't put garlic in, as I tend to have it as a solo lunch.  But if you're sharing it, then whack a load in.  

And, as a special Brucie bonus, you get a pudding today too.  I'm spoiling you, I know.  They're called "f*ck me" oranges, as when I first created this for the boyfriend his comment was "f*ck me they're tasty".  I also like to think you could very easily seduce someone with the perfumey honeyed gorgeous spiciness here!

Slut's prawns

325g baby plum (or cherry) tomatoes
200g prawns
1-2 red chilli (to taste) 
Handful of basil.
Eight black olives
1 tsp capers.
Rocket to serve.

Place toms in roasting dish and cook at 180 for about 20 mins.  These need to be baby/cherry toms as we're going to include the skins, and larger tomatoes leave nasty stringy bits - baby toms have softer skin.
Once roasted, whizz with chopped red chilli and basil to make a sauce.  Place sauce in a pan with prawns, olives and capers and heat through.  Season with black pepper.  Serve with rocket on the side.

I can happily devour this for a lunch on its own.  Add some good bread, rice, pasta, or even quinoa if you must (eurgh...)and it will do two for lunch easily.  The sizes of toms and prawns just happen to match the sizes they sell in Tesco, so don't worry about being precise!

"F*ck me" oranges 

Per person:
2 blood oranges
6 - 8 cardamom pods
1 tsp honey
1 tsp rosewater

Peel and slice oranges thinly and lay on a plate.
Crush the black bits inside the cardamom in a pestle and mortar (a rolling pin and bowl work too....), add honey and rosewater.  Spoon dressing over oranges.
If you can, leave this at room temperature for an hour or so to let everything infuse together.
You might not need to use all the dressing - I like the strong taste of cardamom and rose, but for some people it's a bit like perfume so see what you think.
The dressing is also fab with watermelon, papaya (add lime juice too) or mango (leave out the honey).

"You know that 'special' sauce you make when Mr Strongman Fitness is due to go to lunch with his ex-wife the next day? You should so blog that."

In my opinion, you can't be too careful where ex-wives are concerned.  After all, at one point she was wife.  

The special sauce is the best tomato sauce you will ever have.  The reason it's 'special' is that it also has a teensy weensy little bit of garlic in it.  OK, it's got an enormous amount of garlic in there...
It's also dead easy to make and full of good stuff.  Just four ingredients (or three if you don't do cheese), no nonsense.  But I guarantee it will impress.  And will keep both ex-wives and vampires at bay, should you worry about either.

Not that I distrust Mr Strongman Fitness.  I just consider it wise to take sneaky measures just to be on the safe side.  Consider it a contingency plan if you will.    And I get to eat tasty garlicky sauce too, bonus!

For two:
Eight tomatoes, preferably slightly over-ripe ones.
One bulb of garlic.
A bunch of basil.
25g parmesan, chopped into small bits (tastes fine without though).

With a small knife, carefully cut the 'core' out of the tomato, and then stuff it with peeled cloves of garlic (usually 2-3 per tomato).  Slightly tricky to explain,so I took a piccie for you (over there <<<<).

When you've done this to all the tomatoes, place them "hole" side downwards into a metal roasting tray so that they just fit (if they're cosy, you won't need to add any oil).

Cook at 180 degrees for an hour.  The skins will blister and you'll get some of the 'juice' caramelising.  This is fine....  They look a bit like my (blurred, sorry) piccie over there >>>>>.

Use a fork to remove the skin (it should come off very easily), then mush the tomatoes and garlic together with the fork until you get a sauce.  Add ripped basil leaves, and stir in the chunks of parmesan.

Great with pasta.  Fab whizzed up (add a bit of stock/water) as soup.