Beetroot and Carrot Soup

This is a beautiful soup that will warm you right up after a long day or perfect as an energy boost mid way through your busy day. It is so simple to pull together and well worth the little effort required. Beetroot is in season at the moment so it is in all the shops and is cheap to boot. It is a Superfood because it is packed full of the antioxidant Betacyanin which fights against various cancers and is fantastic for your immune system which is important at this time of year when it is easy to feel so run down. Beetroot is loaded with vitamins A, B1, B2, B6 and C. Beetroots are naturally high in Sodium so you won't need to add any salt in this recipe.You can buy it raw from supermarkets, in which case you will need to wash it, remove the stalks and then boil or microwave in some water for 10 minutes. I bought cooked whole beetroot in a vacuum pack which works perfectly in this recipe and is so much easier! A bowl of this soup averages out at just 135Kcal so it is the perfect winter warmer to leave you feeling full and satisfied.
Ingredients
(Serves 6)
1 x 400g pack of cooked Beetroot
1 Onion
2 Medium Carrots
3 Stalks of Celery
3 Medium Potatoes
3 Tsp Mixed Herbs
1 Bay Leaf
1 Bouquet Garni ( can be bought in tea leaf form in all supermarkets)
700ml Chicken or Vegetable Stock
2 Tbsp Creme Fraiche
Fresh Parsley
1 Tsp Pepper
2 Tsp Olive Oil
1 Glass of Water

Method
1. To begin wash and chop all of the vegetables. Try to keep the potatoes, celery, beetroot and carrots a similar size so that they will all cook at the same pace.
2. Heat the oil in a large sauce over a medium heat. Add the onions, carrot and celery and cook for 5 minutes until they have softened.
3. Add the beetroot, potatoes, pepper, mixed herbs, stock and cold water. Bring this to the boil and then reduce the heat to a simmer for one hour. Add the bouquet garni and bay leaf at this stage.
4. To blend together pour the soup into a blender or food processor until smooth. If the soup is too thick at this point simple add some boiling water until you reach the consistency you desire.
5. To serve garnish with fresh parsley and creme fraiche. 

Crispy Duck Breast in a Blackberry Sauce with Celeriac Mash

This is a perfect dish for those winter nights that are creeping in on us. It is hearty, delicious and a little fancy to impress any dinner guests you may have! Duck can be quite a fatty meat, however the way it is cooked in this meal ensures that the excess fat is thoroughly drained and leaves you with a lean and beautifully crisp and succulent piece of meat. I have made the sauce before with fresh stoned cherries which work very well, yet as they are not in season at the mo blackberries work very well and can still be found in shops. Celeriac is really easy to work with for those of you who may not be familiar with this veg. Its makes a gorgeous mash with a twist, we all went for seconds!
Ingredients
(Serves 2)
2 Duck Breasts
1 Shallot
2 Tsp Unrefined Brown Sugar
1 Small Punnet of Fresh Blackberries
1/2  Glass of Port
1 Tbsp Balsamic Vinegar
1 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 Celeriac
2 Medium Potatoes
1 Tbsp Creme Fraiche
Salt & Pepper


Method 
Blackcurrant Sauce:
1. Finely chop the shallots. Heat the olive oil in a small saucepan and soften the shallots over a medium heat.
2. Add the Port, Balsamic vinegar, blackberries and sugar. You can chop the blackberries or leave them whole depending on the consistency you like. Bring this sauce to a rapid boil, and then reduce to a simmer.
3. Simmer the sauce for at least 10 minutes until reduced and thickened. If you like a smooth sauce, liquidise it at this stage.
Duck Breasts:
1. In the spirit of SkinnyLovesFood trim off any excess fat on the duck breasts. To cook these in  a healthy way but to keep the taste I like to use the George Foreman grill. This method cooks the duck breasts evenly and lets the skin crisp up perfectly. It also does the obvious by draining all of the fat from the breasts. Nothing wrong with keeping the duck fat for your roast potatoes on a Sunday when your having a day off from being good!
2. Heat the grill for at least 5 minutes before cooking the breasts, it needs to be at its hottest so that the skin crisps immediately. Score the top of the skin and season with salt & pepper to ensure a crispy finish. The duck only takes 7-8 minutes on the George Foreman, depending on how pink you like them.
Celeriac Mash:
1. Peel and wash the celeriac and potatoes. Chop up into even sized cubes and add to a saucepan of boiling water. Bring to the boil and reduce to a simmer for 25 minutes or so until soft throughout. Drain the celeriac and potatoes once cooked and return to a very low heat.
2. With a masher, mash the celeriac and potato together. Stir in Salt, pepper and the creme fraiche. If it is too dry add in a little skimmed milk at this point. 
To serve place the celeriac mash in the centre of the plate with the duck breast. Pour the sauce over the dish and enjoy!     

Sundried Tomato, Mozzarella & Pesto Stuffed Chicken

This is a delicious easy recipe that is super quick to russle up. It can be prepared in under 10 minutes, and while cooking gives you time to relax with a cheeky glass of vino or catch up on any thing you need to. I have served it with roasted vegetables but it will go with most accompaniments, such as cous cous, green salad etc. It can be prepared in advance and refrigerated which makes it ideal when you have friends coming over. The filling is light but full of flavour and the breadcrumbs are made using wholemeal breadcrumbs which need no butter keeping the calorie count down. I add dried herbs to breadcrumbs which add extra flavour and cuts out the need for salt. I sometimes add thin strips of chorizo to the stuffing which does add to the calorie content, but a few thin strips won't make a huge difference and really adds to the flavour!
Ingredients
2 Chicken fillets
4 Sun-dried Tomatoes
2 Tbsp of SkinnyLoves Pesto ( see May recipe )
100g Brown Bread Breadcrumbs
5 Slices of Light Mozzarella
4 Thin strips of Chorizo
1 Egg
50g Flour


Method
1. Slice the chicken fillets through the middle, being careful not to slice through all the way, and open out as flat as possible.
2. Spread the pesto down the middle of each fillet. On top of this add the sliced sun-dried tomatoes, mozzarella, and chorizo.
3. Fold the chicken fillets over . In order to keep the filling in place you will need to secure the sides by using cocktail sticks to keep everything in place.
4. Put the flour into a bowl and add 1 tbsp of dried herbs. Crack 1 egg onto a plate and break up with a fork.
5. Put the breadcrumbs on a plate and add another dash of dried herbs and mix. 
6. Roll the the chicken fillets in the flour and shake off any excess. Then dip the chicken directly in the egg. The chicken should then be rolled in the breadcrumbs and placed in a baking tray.
7. Bake the chicken for 35-40 minutes until cooked through in a moderate oven, at 180C.

    

Chicken Sweet n Sour

Yum, Yum, Yum. This recipe has all the flavour and none of the stodge, artificial colours and calories of this take away classic.

There are two alternatives with this recipes - the extremely virtuous version where poached chicken is used. Or the slightly more delectable - ever so slightly - bolder version where the chicken is quickly fried in a light, crisp tempura style batter.

Ingredients

Serves 2

2 chicken fillets / equivalent leftover roast chicken

1/2 green, red and yellow pepper

4 spring onions

4 cloves garlic

1 red chili

1/2 tin pineapples

1/4 butternut squash / 1 carrot

Handful mange tout

2 tsp corn flour

4 dsp tamari/soy sauce

juice from tinned pineapple

2 tsp tomato ketchup / puree

3 dsp cornflour

100ml cold water

1/2 chicken stock cube

1tbsp rapeseed/olive oil

120g tilda wholegrain rice

Method

1. Boil a pot of water and cook the wholegrain rice for 35 - 45mins.
2. Prepare all the vegetables. Peel and chop the butternut squash into small cubes. De seed and dice the peppers into large chunks. De seed and thinly slice the red chili. Peel and dice the garlic. Slice the spring onions.
3. If not using leftover chicken poach and cut the chicken into large chunks. Alternatively heat 1 tbsp olive/rapeseed oil and fry gently until cooked. Remove from the pan.
4. Heat 1 tbsp of oil in the wok. Fry the chili, garlic and spring onion for 30seconds. Add the butternut squash. Pour in a couple of tbsp of water, place a lid on top and allow to steam for 3-4 mins.

1. Heat 500ml of vegetable oil in a small saucepan. Mix together the cornflour and water.
2. Add the peppers to the pan and allow to cook for another 2 mins.
3. Then add in the pineapple chunks. Stir the corn flour into the pineapple juice. Add this along with the tomato puree and tamari (soy sauce).Crumble in the stock cube. Gradually add 100mls cold water. Allow to simmer for 5 mins while the chicken cooks.
4. Dip the chicken chunks in the batter mix and place in the hot oil. Toss in the oil after about 1 minute. Cook for about 3/4 mins in total. Remove, drain really well on kitchen paper and season with a pinch of salt.
5. To serve, spoon some rice on the plate, then the sweet n sour and top with the crispy chicken.

Lemon, Vanilla & Blueberry Pancakes

This is a simple easy and deliciously tasty weekend breakfast treat that won't leave you feeling sluggish for the day. It's crazy easy to whip together and can even be made the night before & refrigerated. So it's ready to fry up in the morning, or afternoon if your having that cheeky lazy lie in we all crave! The pancakes here are made with whole wheat flour which will not leave you with that bloated feeling refined white flour can very often do. The lemon and vanilla add a natural sweetness which makes these pancakes so hard to resist!
Whole wheat flours are more nutritious because they contain most of the vitamins lost when making white flour. They are also higher in fiber which we know to be great for digestion. The germ contains some fat and most of the vitamins, while the bran layer is mostly fiber. Because of the higher fat content, whole wheat flour doesn’t keep as well or long as white flour. 
The recipe below makes 5-6 thin crepe like pancakes

Ingredients

150g Whole Wheat Flour

1 full Egg plus 1 Egg white

200ml Slimline Milk 

2 to 3 tbsp Water if needed

Zest of Half a Lemon

Half Punnet of Fresh Blueberries

Half Tsp Vanilla Extract

Pinch of Salt

Method 

1. Place the eggs, flour, milk, and salt into a blender and blend until smooth.

2. Grate the lemon zest in and add the vanilla extract. Mix with a spoon.

3. If the mixture is too thick add in a little water to thin.

4. The batter works best after resting in the fridge, best left overnight but an hour will do or even straight away if you cant wait! 

5. Fry the pancakes over a medium heat as thin or thick as you like.

6. Serve with fresh blueberries, a cheeky drizzle of Maple Syrup and Enjoy!!

My Most Virtuous Salad

This salad is the most virtuous, wholesome, healthy salad ever !!!!! It is so good for you on so many levels. The base for this salad is a combination of brown rice and green lentils. These are both high fibre, wholegrain protein foods which have a low g.i . This means this salad will keep you full for a long time as the energy will be released slowly. The avocado has essential fats, vitamins A & E and a high proportion of fibre. The chicken is poached and as a result is an excellent source of lean protein.

This salad is ultra adaptable - ingredients can be substitued for others depending on personal preference or simply what is in the salad drawer.

There are 2 dressings suitable for this salad or again feel free to experiment - perhaps a balsamic dressing or honey mustard dressing.

Serves 2

30g green lentils

30g brown rice

1 chicken fillet

1/2 avocado

1/4 red onion

1 - 11/2 tomatoes

1/4 red, green & yellow pepper

1 chicken stock cube

Handful fresh chopped parsley & chives

2 boiled egg whites

Handful of fresh spinach leaves

Optional: Low fat feta, steamed brocolli

Dressings

Curry Dressing

3 tbsp 0% fat natural yoghurt

1 tbsp low fat mayo

2 tsp curry powder

1 tsp mango chutney

Basil & Goats Cheese Dressing

3 tbsp skinny basil pesto ( see previous recipe)

1 tsp soft goats cheese

1 tsp 0% fat natural yoghurt

Method

1. Bring a small pot of water to the boil. Add in the brown rice and lentil and boil for 30 - 40 mins until they become tender but still with a little bite.
2. Bring a small pot of water to the boil. Add in the stock cube and chicken fillet, turn down to a medium heat and poach for 20 mins. When cooked, remove from the water, allow to cool and shred.
3. Hard boil 2 eggs. Place the eggs into a pot of boiling water and boil rapidly for 10mins. Remove from the water and place in a bowl of cold water to cool down. Shell, set aside the yolk and chop into large chunks.
4. Turn on the grill. Place the segments of peppers under a hot grill until they char and the skin goes black (5-10mins). When blackened wrap them in clingfilm. This will cause them to sweat and then just rub/peel off the skin and what remains are gorgeous, tender roast peppers. Cut into small dice.
5. Peel and dice the avocado and red onion. Deseed and dice the tomato. Chop the fresh herbs.
6. To make the curry dressing : combine 3 tbsp 0% fat natural yoghurt, 1 tbsp low fat mayo, 1 tsp mango chutney and 2 tsp curry powder. If you find this too thick, stir in a little of the remaining chicken stock. Some fresh coriander leaves will really lift this dish.
7. To make the basil & goats cheese dressing : combine 3 tbsp skinny basil pesto, 1 1/2 tsp soft goats cheese and 1 tbsp natural yoghurt.
8. Now just assemble, place the lentils and rice in a bowl, toss through the avocado, onion, tomato, shredded chicken, peppers and egg whites. Coat in the dressing. Add a little oil ( Irish rapeseed or olive oil ) if the dressing is too thick.
9. Place some fresh spinach leaves in the base of the serving bowl, place the grain salad on top and sprinkle over with the fresh herbs . To be a little extra indulgent and I do recommend it - crumble over some egg yolk. Yum.

Spinach, Bacon, Avocado & Wholemeal Pesto Pasta Salad

This recipe is a take on a rather traditional salad.  When eating a salad it is very easy to believe we are being extremely virtious however they can be ladened down with stodgy carbs and fattening creamy dressings. The full fat version of this salad would be very unforgiving however this version is just perfect - all the indulgence and none of the guilt.  The wholemeal pasta (just 30g per person) adds a wholesome, filling carbohydrate which makes this salad a complete and filling main meal. The avocado gives us essential good fats which our body needs. They can be high in calories hence only 1/4 per serving however with their creamy silky texture this is ample. In relation to the cheddar cheese I am loving Kilmeadan Light Cheddar at the moment. One of the best on the market. The sun-blushed tomato recipe is here on the blog already and is so simple but if you don't fancy that feel free to use cherry or buffalo tomatoes. (A little depth of flavour is required )

P.S. I am so sorry there is no visual here - my camera and I are having a bit of a row at the moment and my camera is refusing to upload the photo. I promise i will have it sorted ASAP.

Ingredients
Serves 2

120g baby spinach leaves
1/2 red onion
1/2 ripe avocado
40g reduced fat cheddar cheese
2 low fat rashers
60g (dried) wholemeal organic pasta (any shape)
12 sun blushed tomatoes
2 dsp skinny basil pesto (see previous recipes)
2 dsp extra virgin olive oil

Method

1. Boil a small pot of water. Cook the pasta for 15 - 20mins until tender or al dente.
2. Wash & dry spinach leaves. Thinly slice the onion. Peel and cut the avocado into large chunks.
3. Grate the cheese. Grill the rashers and thinly slice.
4. Drain the pasta, and allow to cool. (to speed up the process - pop it in the fridge)
5. When cool stir in the pesto and olive oil.
6. Now, to assemble. Toss the spinach leaves and pesto pasta together.
7. Place in serving bowls and top with onion, avocado, bacon and cheddar cheese.
8. Enjoy.