Christmas Giveaway!

Christmas Giveaway!

Merry Christmas Eve!! With just one more sleep until Christmas here's my gift to you all to help say a big thank you for all of your support over the last year (my first year of blogging!).. a Christmas giveaway! I have two Christmas hampers to giveaway filled with some of my favourite healthy snacks..

To enter all you have to do is subscribe to my You Tube channel, give the giveaway video a thumbs up and tell me in the comments section what your favourite healthy snack is!

 

For more information & to watch the video just head over

to my You Tube Channel [click here]

Have a lovely Christmas Time everyone!

 

Nic x

Christmas Pumpkin Granola Recipe

Christmas Pumpkin Granola Recipe

Breakfast really is the most important part of the day - it kick starts your metabolism and if you eat breakfast then you're less likely to over-eat later on in the day. Breakfast eaters, particularly those who include a source of protein with it (e.g. eggs, milk, yoghurt etc.) tend to eat less calories over the whole day.

I first blogged about home-made granola back in March and thought I'd revisit this delicious breakfast idea with a Christmas twist - making it the perfect start for Christmas morning!

Home Made Pumpkin Granola

 

 Makes: 9 Servings

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cooking Time: 20-30 minutes

 Serving Suggestion: 50g granola with low-fat natural yoghurt & chopped fresh fruit

Ingredients: 130g (2 cups) porridge oats, 55g (1/4 cup) pumpkin puree,

60g (1/2 cup) of mixed nuts & seeds,

 2 tbsp of agave nectar or honey, 1 tbsp of vegetable oil,

100g (1 cup) dried fruits (e.g. mixed raisins)

 

Optional - 1 teaspoon of pumpkin spice

 

How to make:

1)   Pre heat your oven to 180 degrees C
2)   Mix the pumpkin, honey and oil in a bowl
3)   Add the oat and mix well, then add the nuts/seeds (plus pumpkin spice if using) and mix well
4)   Spread the coated oats onto a baking tray and bake for 10-15 minutes, then stir and bake for another 10-15 minutes or until golden (to make extra crunchy pieces squash together clumps of the oats together!)
5)   Once cool, mix your oats and dried fruit together

 

Nutrition Per 50g Serving: 139 kcal, 4.5g Fat

Nutritional Benefits: High in soluble fibre & antioxidants

(Lower in calories and fat than shop-bought granola: 212 kcal, 6g Fat)

 

 

This granola also makes the perfect last minute Christmas gift.. so what are you waiting for?! Happy Baking!!

 

Nic x

 

Ps If you're wondering, I got my pumpkin puree from Waitrose in the UK!

 

How to Make Christmas Pumpkin Spice

How to Make Christmas Pumpkin Spice

Christmas spices are wonderful.. I add cinnamon to my porridge all year round but add extra ginger as well in winter - it's just so warming! Spices add calorie free flavour and have extra health benefits too.. for example cinnamon can help to stabilise blood sugar levels and ginger can even help with feelings of sickness. A lot of recipes that I've been looking at though call for 'pumpkin spice' .. and although this humble spice may be readily available in the USA I for one cannot find it in English Supermarkets! Hence the reason for this quick blog post.. if you like cinnamon then you will love this home-made pumpkin spice recipe..

Cute jar from Hobby Craft...

So.. (now this really is easy).. this is what you'll need and all you have to do is mix all of the ingredients in a bowl or jar.. Et voila.. pumpkin spice!

To make 1 teaspoon of Pumpkin Spice you will need...

1/4 teaspoon of ginger
1/8 teaspoon of allspice
1/8 teaspoon of nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon

You can use this spice in my healthy pumpkin muffin recipe, no-bake pumpkin bite recipe and a new recipe that's going live on my blog tomorrow.. hint: it's perfect for Christmas morning!!

 

I love Christmas - can you tell?!

 

Nic x

 

Ps don't forget to watch my '5 tips to prevent Christmas weight gain' .. before it's too late!! - I also have a giveaway coming on my YouTube channel tomorrow evening so don't forget to subscribe and look out for that too!

Low Calorie Carrot, Celery & Apple Soup Recipe

Low Calorie Carrot, Celery & Apple Soup Recipe

I'm a big fan of soups - they make the perfect lunch as well as healthy starter.. which is why I wanted to blog this recipe now - as this soup would be perfect for an alternative 'light' Christmas dinner starter! Like I said in my tops tips video for how to keep well over winter, soups are a great way of eating lots of vegetables in a tasty way. Soups are also filling and satisfying. This soup though isn't too heavy which is why it would be the perfect starter to Christmas (or any!) dinner.

 

Carrot, Celery & Apple Soup Recipe.. :)

This soup works out at just 30-38p per serving and provides ~160 calories. Serving wise it serves 5 x starter portions and 4 x lunch portions.. So, if you'd like to make this delicious soup recipe then here is what you will need... !

 

900g carrots, finely chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
3 celery sticks, diced
1 litre of vegetable stock
3 medium eating apples (1 for serving)
2 tablespoons of tomato puree
1 bay leaf
2 teaspoon of sugar (I used brown sugar) - it's only a small amount!
1/4 of a lemon
salt & pepper
To garnish: Shredded celery leaves 

And here is what to do.. !

1) Place the carrots, onion and celery in a large pan and add the vegetable stock. Bring to the boil and then reduce the heat.. cover and simmer for 10 minutes.

2) Peel, core and dice 2 of the apples and add to the pan along with the tomato puree, bay leaf and sugar.. bring to the boil and then reduce the heat to simmer for 20 minutes (partially cover).

3) Pour the soup mixture into a food processor or blender and blend until smooth (I did this bit in batches).. then return the soup to the pan to reheat... season with salt and pepper.

4) While the soup is reheating, wash and core the remaining apple and cut into small thin slices, without peeling.. place into a small pan and squeeze over the lemon juice. Heat for 1-2 minutes until the apples pieces have softened slightly.. then drain.

5) Serve the soup topped with apple and shredded celery leaves.. then enjoy!!

 

Optional: I found this soup a little light for lunch and so added 1/2 a can of cannellini beans per serving.. (making the total soup serving ~50p / portion x 4)

 

 

This 'lunch' soup provides more protein (9g per serving x 4) and is still low in calories (only 270 kcal) .. enjoy with bread rolls as a starter or  with Ryvita crackers (my fave!) for lunch.

 

 

Happy soup making!! Soup is really SO easy to make .. I really hope that my step by step pictures have made it as simple as it really is!

 

Nic x

Christmas Salt Dough Decorations

Christmas Salt Dough Decorations

With Christmas just around the corner I wanted to share with you an amazing 'recipe' for home-made salt dough decorations. I've been making them as gifts for friends (popping them inside Christmas cards) and also saved a few for my own tree.. they look great and are so fun and simple to make. Some of them look good enough to eat but I must warn you.. they are NOT edible! A friend did ask 'can I eat it'.. but unless you like hardened flour with salt and water then I'm afraid these decorations are best left on the tree!

Heart un-painted Salt Dough Decoration!

Spray Painted Gold Star Decoration

So, if you want to give salt dough decoration making a go.. then this is what you will need.. !

1 cup Plain Flour (250ml), 1/2 cup Salt (125ml), 1/2 cup Water (125ml)

Extras!! Ribbon, Wooden hearts/stars, All purpose Glue, Gold Spray-Paint
Plus: Rolling Pin and Cookie Cutters

And here's what to do...

1) Mix together your flour, salt and water

 

2) Knead dough for 5-10 minutes

 

3) Flour your surface (I forget this step the first time round..!!)

 

4) Roll out your dough with a rolling pin

 

5) Place your cutters into the dough (I used star and heart shaped cookie cutters)

6) Make holes at the top of the decorations (I used the end of a pen for this)

7) Place your shapes onto baking paper on a plate

8) Bake in the microwave for 3 minutes

 

9) Add your ribbon and wooden stars/hearts with glue or spray paint gold (I added a couple of coats of the spray paint and left them to dry over night before adding the wooden star and ribbon)

 

 

10) Admire / hang on the tree / give as a gift!

 

 

Let me know if you make these decorations - over twitter / instagram / facebook or comment below! If you're interested I got all of my 'extras' from Hobby Craft - that place is like a sweet shop for adults!! 1 week until Christmas.. !! Have a good one :)

 

Nic x

 

Ps I'll be blogging some more Christmas inspired recipes and treats over the next week and will be vlogging a fab giveaway on my YouTube channel so don't forget to subscribe to that too!