Here’s some quick inspiration for a healthy summer breakfast: homemade spelt and sunflower seed bread, topped with vanilla protein soya yogurt*, nectarine and raspberries.
* For the protein soya yogurt I use 5 tsp of plain Alpro mixed with a 3/4 scoop of PHD Diet Whey vanilla protein powder. It’s my go-to breakfast protein boost that I rely on pretty much daily for my toast topping. The vanilla flavour works well with peaches, nectarines, raspberries, blueberries and grapes. And chocolate flavour protein powder is great paired with bananas and strawberries.
Not going to lie: I love cake. One of the biggest challenges of consistent healthy eating is to resist the temptation of sugary treats. Of course I eat them – occasionally. But cutting down on sugar has done so much good for my health – happier stomach, clearer skin, no more insane blood sugar fluctuations – and I’d like to keep it that way. I can’t go long without sweet treats though, so to prevent the inevitable sugar binge I have integrated a load of healthy sweet alternatives into my daily diet.
One of them is this brilliant cake alternative, which is not just utterly delicious but also incredibly versatile. I always have a batch in the fridge and rely on them for my daily afternoon snack – you know, that 3pm low in the office when everyone gets their Snickers out and you’re just dying for a quick energy boost.
These brownies are based on chickpeas, dates, nut butter and oats, making them vegan, gluten-free and refined sugar free. My version is medium sweet, so if you have a very sweet tooth just up the amount of agave nectar a bit. You can also add chopped nuts, a mashed banana, a couple of shots of espresso or chocolate chunks to jazz things up a bit.
The recipe is very flexible and has already evolved into an exciting range of other cakes. My favourite variations so far are apple and cinnamon cake, spiced carrot cake and a total showstopper of a vanilla protein blondie. My friend took the basic recipe and turned it into a spiced pumpkin cake, and is also experimenting with a savoury version. This cake offers a lot of room for experiments.
So give it a try and get creative, throw in your own ideas and let me know in the comments if you come up with new variations!
Sundays are for cake, coffee and good books
THE BEST HEALTHY BROWNIES Makes one 24cm square tin – ca 16 brownies
100g oats*
1 can (240g) chickpeas, rinsed and drained
100g dates
40g agave nectar
50g peanut butter (or other nut butter)
30g cocoa
1 tsp baking powder*
250ml milk alternative (I use Oatly or Koko, but almond milk works too)
1 tsp coconut oil for the tin
Preheat the oven to 175°C. Brush a 24cm square (or equivalent size) brownie tin with coconut oil.
Put the oats in a food processor and blitz until they are finely ground. Add all the other ingredients and process everything into a smooth mixture.
Fill the mixture in to the brownie tin, spread evenly, and bake at 175°C for around 30 minutes, or until a toothpick stuck in the middle of the cake comes out clean. It’s ok if you still get a slight wobble in the middle; that will ensure you get a brownie-like consistency.
Leave to cool in the tin, then cut into squares or slices.
Keeps in the fridge up to one week. (They might keep longer but I haven’t tested that as they never survive more than a week in my fridge!)
* To ensure the brownies are gluten-free us GF-certified oats and baking powder.
Of all the chickpea-based alternative cakes, these indulgent but guilt-free vanilla blondies are definitely the most popular variation so far. They are as sweet and delicious as real cake, but low in fat, gluten-free and high in protein as the rely on chickpeas instead of the usual flour-eggs-butter basis.
The more I experiment with chickpeas, the more amazed I am at the versatility this little pulse offers for baking sweet treats. For the past half year or so, I’ve had a batch of chickpea-based cake slices – flavoured with different ingredients, from cocoa to apple and lemons to almond – in my fridge in any given week. They’re my go-to energy-boosting snack for long afternoons in the office, and a healthy treat for whenever I fancy something sweet.
This blondie version happened when I threw some of my favourite vanilla protein (Diet Whey from PhD) into my basic brownie recipe to see what happens. What happened was simply awesome cake!
GLUTEN-FREE VANILLA PROTEIN BLONDIES Makes one 24cm square tin – ca 16 pieces
1 can (240g) chickpeas, rinsed and drained
100g dates
100g vanilla flavoured protein powder (I use PhD Diet Whey)
50g oats*
40g agave nectar
50g peanut butter (or other nut butter)
1 tsp baking powder*
250ml milk alternative (I use Oatly or Koko Dairy Free, but almond milk also works)
1 tsp coconut oil for the tin
Preheat the oven to 175°C. Brush a 24cm square (or equivalent size) brownie tin with coconut oil.
Put the oats in a food processor and blitz until they are finely ground. Add all the other ingredients and process everything into a smooth mixture.
Fill the mixture in to the brownie tin, spread evenly, and bake at 175°C for around 30 minutes, or until a toothpick stuck in the middle of the cake comes out clean. It’s ok if you still get a slight wobble in the middle; these are nicer slightly undercooked so they don’t go too dry.
Leave to cool in the tin, then cut into squares or slices.
These blondies keep in the fridge for around a week.
* To ensure the cake is gluten-free us GF-certified oats and baking powder.
This year, ever since going back to veggie in summer, I’ve been experimenting with adding some whey protein to my food, because I just wasn’t getting enough protein for my level of training from my vegetarian diet. (My IBS-prone system puts a limit to how many pulses I can eat…) I’ve discovered a surprising number of tasty ways to add protein powder into my diet – because I’m not a fan of the shake – and throwing a scoop into my morning porridge is one of them. It has the added benefit of making this porridge super filling, so I don’t even feel the need to snack until lunchtime.
So here’s my new favourite porridge!
TWO GRAIN VANILLA PROTEIN PORRIDGE WITH BANANA AND CRUNCHY RYE FLAKES Makes one portion
For the porridge:
3 tbsp whole porridge oats
1 tbsp rye flakes (for example from Holland & Barrett)
200ml oat milk
100 ml hot water
Up to 1 scoop vanilla protein powder (I use PhD Diet Whey)
1/2 banana
For the topping:
1 tbsp rye flakes
1 tsp brown linseed
1/2 banana
Peel and slice the banana. Set one half aside for the topping. The other half will be cooked in the porridge for extra flavour and creaminess.
Put all the porridge ingredients (except the vanilla protein) in a small pan and cook until the porridge has your favourite consistency.
While the porridge is cooking, roast the remaining rye flakes in a pan until golden and crispy. (This only takes about half a minute once the pan is hot so keep an eye on them!)
When the porridge is ready, add a scoop (or half a scoop) of vanilla protein and whisk until it has dissolved. If the consistency gets too thick, add a splash of hot water.
To serve, put the porridge in a bowl, top with the remaining banana and sprinkle the linseed and crispy rye flakes on top.
