During the winter months, I enjoy warm, hearty meals with a bit of a kick to fight off those lazy days and over-eager bugs! The Spicy Winter Soup with chicken proved very popular among my family and friends, however, being vegetarian this month meant that I would be getting my protein source from elsewhere! Cue, pulses, in the form of beans, the tinned variety!
Beans are hearty, full of vitamins and minerals, and loaded with protein! Tinned or dried, we have been eating them in various meals for years in our household! If you want to have this as a chilli con carne type meal or increase the protein content, simply reduce the water and add in mincemeat, Quorn or tofu.
I had a busy day and was hungry so had my soup with German rye bread, which is naturally love in gluten and heavy! Two slices do me every time! You can have your soup with whatever you wish! You can even serve it with rice, quinoa or any other carb staple, just remember to not add 1 litre of water, unless you want a sloppy mess!
This recipe is meat free, gluten free, and dairy free, but highly nutritious and delicious, even if I do say so myself!
Ingredients – Four Bean Soupreme!
INGREDIENTS
Four Bean Supreme Soup
1 red onion
1 onion
3 spring onions
4 cloves garlic
1 cm ginger
½ red chilli
½ green chilli
½ red pepper
½ green pepper
½ teaspoon dried coriander
1 tin chopped tomatoes
¼ tin red kidney beans
1 tin mixed beans (containing Adzuki, Cannellini and Haricot beans, you can use any mix you like)
Salt and pepper to taste
2 teaspoons coconut oil
1 litre filtered water, boiled
RECIPE
Four Bean Supreme Soup
In a large saucepan, melt 2 teaspoons coconut oil, and add in sliced and diced red, normal and spring onions (keep the green leaves until the end), crushed garlic, chopped ginger and turmeric, and sauté until golden brown, cooking on 3/4 heat;
Add in 1 tin chopped tomatoes, dried coriander, ½ teaspoon salt, and cook until the water evaporates for an infused and blended taste. I added in the chillies at this step because I wanted a spicier soup;
Add in the chopped peppers and beans, mix gently and add in the boiling water;
Cover and leave to cook for around 10 minutes on ¼ heat, stirring occasionally and to check the ingredients are done as you like them;
Your Four Bean Soupreme is served! (If you wish, garnish with fresh coriander, parsley, basil or even mint!).
Four Bean Soupreme is served!
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 20 minutes
Eating time: 15 minutes
Serves 2-4 people
Let me know how you get on and please feel free to provide feedback 🙂
As part of me going chicken-free in November, and vegetarian for December, I decided to cook fish! I looked in the freezer and found some haddock. I love how my mum cook’s haddock but it can be a bit too spicy for me, and although I love chapatti, my stomach doesn’t do well with gluten! I also bought a pack of mixed vegetables the other day and I decided to put it to good use!
I love colour in my food, and although many of the dishes turn out red because of the tomatoes, I love the mix of green and red, so always try to ensure a colourful and of course tasty dish! Ever since I began this blog, I wanted to ensure that I had a good mix of protein, fats and healthy carbs in my dishes, and this one has the macronutrients covered!
You can have this dish with rice, naan, chapatti, bread, bulgur wheat, buckwheat or anything like that but I love my quinoa so had it with that! Also, depending on how well you like your vegetables cooked, adjust the time you cook them for. I personally like them slightly crunchy, mum loves them basically mashed! Each to their own!
Heart Haddock and Quinoa Ingredients
INGREDIENTS
Hearty Haddock
250 haddock filet (2 pieces)
1 large onion
4 cloves garlic (I used a bag we’d frozen before)
2 cm ginger (I used a bag we’d frozen before)
2 green chillies (I used a bag we’d frozen before)
Salt and pepper to taste
Optional: Red chilli powder
Small pack of mixed vegetables
½ teaspoon dried coriander
Optional: A handful of fresh or frozen coriander
2 teaspoons coconut oil
Quinoa
100 g quinoa
1 small onion
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon coconut oil
200 mL filtered water
RECIPE
Hearty Haddock
In a large saucepan, add in 2 teaspoons coconut oil, 1 chopped onion, and caramelise on 3/4 heat;
Add in garlic, ginger, chilli, and cook and stir until the smell goes;
Add in 1 tin chopped tomatoes, dried coriander, 1 teaspoon salt, and cook until the water evaporates;
Add in the fish, mix, cover, and cook until all the frozen bits are cooked (unless using fresh, in which case cook until it is almost done), around 10 minutes;
Add in the mixed vegetables and cover for 10 minutes;
Continue to stir occasionally;
Check the fish and vegetables are done as you like them and add the fresh or frozen coriander as a tasty garnish;
Hearty Haddock is served!
Quinoa
In a saucepan on ¾ heat, add 1 teaspoon of coconut oil (put the water on to boil);
Slice and dice in the ¼ onion and stir, sauté until the onion caramelises;
Add the quinoa and stir gently for 30 seconds;
Add in the boiling water and a ¼ teaspoon of salt;
Allow the quinoa to simmer, turn the heat down to a quarter, and cover with the lid;
Check on it 3 to 5 minutes later and gently turn the quinoa over with a plastic or wooden spoon to ensure you keep your quinoa seeds in tact;
Repeat step 8 until the quinoa is cooked and all the water evaporates;
You are now ready to eat!
Heart Haddock is served!
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 20 minutes
Eating time: 15 minutes
Serves up to 2 people
Let me know how you get on and please feel free to provide feedback 🙂
In traditional Indian cuisine from the state of Gujarat, for those of us who are meat eaters, we don’t eat much by way of vegetables! As I have been trying to do throughout my blog, I want to increase the nutritional content of traditional dishes that I have grown up eating! Today it was chicken curry or chicken tikka massala again!
Broccoli and cauliflower are rich in vitamins C, B and K, and broccoli, so definitely good for your immune system at this time of year as our climate changes! Pigeon peas add some extra greens and vitamins to really give you a good helping of protein, healthy carbs, fats, fibres, vitamins and minerals!
I love my quinoa, but you can have it with whatever you wish! Mum had hers with chappati because she’s not a big fan of quinoa! More for me!
BrocCauli ChiQuin Ingredients
INGREDIENTS
BrocCauli Chicken
1 chicken breast
1 onion
50 g pigeon peas (we used a bag we’d frozen before)
1/2 tin chopped tomatoes
4 cloves garlic (we used a bag we’d frozen before)
2 cm ginger (we used a bag we’d frozen before)
2 green chillies (we used a bag we’d frozen before)
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon dried coriander
1 teaspoon red chilli powder
1 teaspoon
2 teaspoon coconut oil
Pillau Quinoa
40 g quinoa
¼ onion
2 cinnamon sticks
200 mL of filtered water, boiled.
¼ teaspoon Salt
1 teaspoon Coconut oil
INSTRUCTIONS
BroCauli Chicken
In a large saucepan, add in 2 teaspoons coconut oil, 1 chopped onion, and caramelise on 3/4 heat;
Add in garlic, ginger, chilli, and cook and stir until the smell goes;
Add in the chicken, sliced and diced, and cook until all the pink bits are cooked.
Add in 1/2 tin chopped tomatoes, spices and seasoning, pigeon peas, and place on ½ heat and cover for 5 minutes whether ingredient are frozen or not due to moisture from the chicken;
Simmer on ¼ heat for 20 minutes and stir occasionally to mix;
Add in the cauliflower, chopped, and cover for 10 minutes;
Add in the broccoli, chopped, and cover for 10 minutes,
Continue to stir whilst the curry cooks, add water if needed;
Check the chicken and vegetables if they are done as you like them;
BrocCauli Chicken is served!
Pillau Quinoa
You can begin cooking this simultaneously with the BroCauli Chicken at point 6;
In a saucepan on ¾ heat, add 1 tablespoon of coconut oil (put the water on to boil);
Slice and dice in the ¼ onion and stir, sauté until the onion caramelises;
Add in the boiling water, ¼ teaspoon of salt, the quinoa and stir gently;
Allow the quinoa to simmer, turn the heat down to a quarter, and cover with the lid;
Check on it 3 to 5 minutes later and gently turn the quinoa over with a plastic or wooden spoon to ensure you keep your quinoa seeds in tact;
Repeat step 8 until the quinoa is cooked and all the water evaporates;
You are now ready to eat!
BrocCauli ChiQuin
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 30 minutes
Eating time: 15 minutes
Serves up to 2 people
I made enough just for mum and I! Mum had hers with chapatti!
Let me know how you get on and please feel free to provide feedback 🙂
Biryani, be with any type of meat and/or vegetables is very popular during special occasions across the India subcontinent, and of course amongst immigrant Indian families across the world.
Traditionally, we have always enjoyed chicken biryani at home, such as the Eid (feast) after the Muslim holy month of Ramadan (Eid-ul-Fitr or Feast of Fast breaking) or 60 days later for Eid-ul-Adha (Feast of Sacrifice). Mum’s also made it for birthdays, family gatherings and so forth, and I have enjoyed it at weddings, engagements and other events.
As much as I love this speciality dish, I wanted to modernise it for my health and fitness needs. Therefore, I used only fresh ingredients (mum likes using frozen garlic and ginger), swapped the olive oil for coconut oil and used quinoa instead of rice! (I know what you’re thinking, I should rename this blog Spiced Up With Quinoa!).
You will need 3 saucepans for this, 2 medium sized ones and one large one, which you can line with aluminium foil like we do at home for easy washing.
INGREDIENTS
Chicken Mix
2 chicken breasts
100g lentils
100g soya yoghurt (you can add any type of yogurt; I am lactose intolerant!)
1 onion
1 red onion
1 tomato
4 cloves of garlic
1 cm of ginger
1 cm haldi (turmeric)
1 long red pepper (didn’t have this available at the time!)
1 long green pepper
1 long red chilli
1 long green chilli (didn’t have this available at the time!)
1 spoon dried coriander
1 teaspoon red chilli powder
1 pinch of saffron
Coconut oil
1 teaspoon salt
1 litre of filtered and boiled water
1 tin of chopped tomatoes (you can use fresh if you wish but it’s quicker and easier to use a can!)
Quinoa
200 g quinoa
Coconut oil
400 mL of filtered water, boiled
Salt
ChiQuin Ingredients
INSTRUCTIONS
Chicken (saucepan 1)
In a saucepan on ¾ heat, melt 2 tablespoons of coconut oil (put the water on to boil);
Slice and dice in the onions, and stir regularly until the mix starts to bronze;
Add the garlic (I cut the garlic knobs up, press them in a garlic crusher and add them directly into the saucepan) and ginger to the saucepan and stir;
To the mix, add one freshly chopped tomato, 100g soya yogurt, dried coriander, turmeric and a half a teaspoon of salt (feel free to add gharam masala);
Chop in the chillies and peppers (if you want your dish less spicy, add the chillies in with the other vegetables in point 7);
Cook this mix while stirring gently until the water evaporates (points 1-6 should take 5 minutes cooking time);
Begin preparing the quinoa;
Cut the chicken breasts into cubes, add to the saucepan and cook until all raw bits disappear, stir gently;
Turn the heat down to a quarter, add salt to taste, cover with the lid and leave the mix to cook for about 10 minutes;
You are now ready to mix with the quinoa!
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 15 minutes
Quinoa (saucepan 2)
In a saucepan on ¾ heat, melt 1 tablespoon of coconut oil (boil 500 mL filtered water);
Add in the quinoa and mix with the coconut oil (helps to keep the quinoa grains separated);
Add in 200mL boiling water and a ½ teaspoon of salt;
Allow the quinoa to simmer, turn the heat down to a quarter, and cover with the lid;
Check on it 3 to 5 minutes later and gently turn the quinoa over with a plastic or wooden spoon to ensure you keep your quinoa seeds in tact;
Allow the quinoa to simmer until the quinoa is cooked (add more water if needed) and all the water has evaporated;
You are now ready to mix with the chicken!
Preparation time: 1 minute
Cooking time: 15 minutes
ChiQuin Biryani (saucepan 3)
Spread 1/3 quinoa at the bottom;
Spread 1/2 lentils over the quinoa;
Spread 1/2 of the chicken mix over the lentils;
Spread remaining 1/2 lentils over the chicken;
Spread remaining 1/2 chicken mix over the lentils;
Spread remaining 2/3 quinoa over the chicken;
Cook on half heat for 15 minutes, and check the chicken with a knife to see if it has almost cooked through;
Transfer onto an elevated gauze or saucepan (to stop the bottom quinoa layer from burning) for 15 minutes on 1/4 heat;
Check to see if chicken has cooked and the mix is to your liking;
You are now ready to eat!
Preparation time: 2 minutes
Cooking time: 30 minutes
Serves up to 2-4 people –I made enough biryani to last us another day!
Let me know how you get on and please feel free to provide feedback!
When one is on the type of restricted diet that I am because of my acid reflux, IBS, and lactose intolerance, and leads a very active lifestyle encompassing my quest for a 6-pack where I attend the gym 5 times a week and dance salsa several evenings a week, one has the absolute need for highly nutritious food for needs to replace the forbidden food! I can’t have dairy so milk and Greek Yoghurt are out! I can’t have refined carbs so cereals, bread, rice and pasta are also out!
But I am a man! I need fibre! I need sugar! I need roughage! And I don’t want to have to reduce myself to raw carrot and sugar snap peas all the time (I do enjoy them but come on, every single day?!) for a snack when I want and need something filling!
Enter my Super Soya Yoghurt! I created this initially with porridge but after speaking to my PT who suggested removing the oats and dairy, I decided to switch to simply using soya (which he disagrees with!). This dish takes about 10 minutes to put together because I have all of the ingredients in separate tubs (yes, I am THAT particular!) and packs a serious nutritional punch encompassing all of what we need! We have a plethora of vitamins, minerals, healthy carbohydrates/sugars, fibre and protein, that’s what makes this yoghurt super!
I tend to have this has a small meal when I don’t want to have cooked food, usually late afternoon or evening, and with a cup of Spicy Masala Chai, it definitely hits the spot!
My collection of Dried Fruit, Nuts, Seeds, Spices!
INGREDIENTS
250 mL Soya Yoghurt
Natural Forever Bee Honey
Dried Fruits
1 teaspoon Dried Cranberries
1 teaspoon Pitted Dates
1 teaspoon Banana Chips
1 teaspoon Apricots Whole Pitted
1 teaspoon California Seedless Raisins
1 teaspoon Sultanas
1 teaspoon Currants
1 teaspoon Dried Blueberries
4 Prunes Whole Pitted
4 Sun Dried Mango
4 Dried Apple Rings
4 Diced Pineapple pieces
8 Diced Papaya pieces
Nuts
4 Whole Cashew Nuts
4 Brazil Nuts
4 Walnut Halves
4 Pecan Halves
8 Macadamias
8 Hazelnut Kernels
4 Almonds
Seeds
1 teaspoon Pine Kernels
1 teaspoon Pumpkin Seeds
1 teaspoon Sunflower Kernels Hulled
1 teaspoon Brown Linseed
Spices
Sprinkle of ground Cinnamon
Sprinkle of ground Nutmeg
INSTRUCTIONS
Add all the dried fruit, nuts and seeds in a bowl.
Pour in the soya yogurt.
Squeeze on the natural bee honey.
Sprinkle the ground cinnamon and nutmeg on top.
Mix it up and dig in!
My Super Soya Yoghurt
Preparation time 10 minutes
Eating time 10-15 minutes
Let me know how you get on and please feel free to provide feedback 🙂
My mum’s prawn curry has to be one of my all-time favourite dishes that I look forward to every month! We tend to limit the amount of prawns we eat because of the high level of LDL cholesterol in prawns but once or twice a month we can’t go wrong!
I looooove the delicious sauce my mother makes, it is absolutely divine, and back when I was eating chappati, I could have 1 or 2 easily by dipping then piece by piece into the sauce and devouring, without even having touched the prawns! Mum usually adds potatoes but I felt that wasn’t enough for what I wanted to achieve.
I believe in serving you up the tastiest, healthiest, most nutrient-rich and of course spicy, food as possible to help you continue to make fitness gains without compromising on taste! Who said Indian food was unhealthy?! As you may already know, I am off the chappati and my mission is to create spicy, tasty, healthy, complex-carb rich food without the need for refined carbs, which block my plumbing and, well, I really am not going back to that painful place! Therefore, protein-rich pillau quinoa, with the method we use to cook pillau rice, is the way forward for me and for you if you want!
Now my mother uses fresh unpeeled and uncooked king prawns which I love because their shell adds to the gorgeous sauce, however, being someone who doesn’t like to get his hands dirty whilst eating (call me lazy and particular if you wish!), I decided to go for the easier option of shelled and cooked prawns!
The delicious vegetables!
INGREDIENTS
Spicy Green Prawns
1 onion
1 red onion
3 spring onions
4 cloves of garlic (I love garlic in my food!)
1 cm of ginger
1 cm haldi (not tamarind as I say in the video, my apologies!)
1 red chilli
1 green chilli
1 long red pepper
1 long green pepper
1 medium cauliflower
2 heads broccoli
1 carrot
150g cooked king prawns/300g fresh king prawns
Olive oil
Salt
Pepper
1 tablespoon dried coriander
1 litre of filtered and boiled water
1 tin of chopped tomatoes
200ml of filtered water, boiled
INGREDIENTS
Pillau Quinoa
100g quinoa
1 onion
4 cardamom seeds
8 cloves
8 black pepper seeds
200ml of filtered water, boiled.
Salt
Olive oil
INSTRUCTIONS
Spicy Green Prawns
In a saucepan on ¾ heat, add 3 tablespoons of olive oil (put the water on to boil for the quinoa);
Slice and dice the onions (hold back the green leaves of the spring onions until the end), garlic (I cut the garlic knobs up, press them in a garlic crusher and add them directly into the saucepan) and ginger and add to the saucepan to sauté. Stir regularly until the mix starts to bronze;
To the onions, add in the tin of chopped tomatoes, dried coriander, tamarind and a half a teaspoon of salt and chop in the chillies (if you want your dish less spicy, add the chillies in with the other vegetables in point 7);
Allow to simmer and continue to stir gently until the water evaporates;
Slice the carrots, and cut the broccoli and cauliflower into manageable chunks;
Add the boiling water to the saucepan and then add in the carrots, broccoli and cauliflower (and stir gently for a couple of minutes);
Turn the heat down to a quarter, taste the soup and add salt and pepper to taste;
Cover with the lid and leave the mix to cook for about 10 minutes;
Add the prawns and chopped spring onion leaves and cover for 5 minutes;
Feel free to add any coriander to finish and you are ready to eat!
Pillau Quinoa
Begin making your quinoa preparations at point 6 of cooking the spicy green prawns;
In a saucepan on ¾ heat, add 1 tablespoon of olive oil (put the water on to boil);
Slice and dice in the onion and stir, sauté until the onions caramelise;
Add in the spice mix of cardamom, black pepper, cloves and cinnamon sticks;
Add in the boiling water and a ½ teaspoon of salt;
Add the quinoa and stir gently. I gently rinse the quinoa first in lukewarm water and then drain it before adding it to the saucepan;
Allow the quinoa to simmer, turn the heat down to a quarter, and cover with the lid;
Check on it 3 to 5 minutes later and gently turn the quinoa over with a plastic or wooden spoon to ensure you keep your quinoa seeds in tact;
Repeat step 8 until the quinoa is cooked and all the water evaporates;
You are now ready to eat!
Spicy Green Prawn Curry With Quinoa
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 30 minutes
Eating time: 15 minutes
Serves up to 4 people
I made enough curry to last us another day and my mother and I like to eat our quinoa fresh!
Let me know how you get on and please feel free to provide feedback 🙂
I love chicken curry! It is in my top 5 for meals I love to enjoy! However, I am not a big fan of having to prepare an entire chicken when the only part I enjoy is the breast! My mum noticed that I only enjoyed chicken breast when I was a teenager, so around the late 1990’s, my mum, my late father and I began experimenting in the kitchen with chicken tikka masala. My dad had friends who ran Indian restaurants and after some advice, we decided to have some fun in the kitchen!
Coming from a family and culture based on a daily staple of spicy and tasty Indian food, I knew I had to learn from the best, my parents, and so chicken tikka masala was the first dish I ever created with them!
For me, chicken tikka masala is probably the easiest dish to prepare. Having lived away from home in both the UK and Germany, I could rustle it up with pillau rice in about 45 minutes. Living on my own, I also developed my own way of cooking it with some tweaks here and there to help give it a sweeter base for taste through using a mix of onions to adding in vegetables to increase the nutritional value.
Since it was International Ladies Day on Sunday 8th March 2015 and today is Sunday 15th March 2015, i.e. Mother’s Day here in the UK, I decided to add some greens in the form of okra aka lady’s fingers, hence the name, Lady’s’ Chicken Tikka Masala!
Traditionally, all Indian dishes are served with rice or chappati. Since I am off both due to health reasons, I decided to spice up the quinoa just like we spice up our pillau rice!
You will be seeing my favourite ingredients today which are onions, red onions, spring onions, garlic, ginger and of course chilli! Give me those ingredients, and depend on the order they are used, I can cook you Indian, Italian and Turkish dish!
Here is my first ever cooking video! It’s very long at 23 minutes but my aim is to create videos of about 5 to 10 minutes in length to keep you informed and entertained!
Ingredients Board!
INGREDIENTS
Chicken Tikka Masala
2 chicken breasts
1 onion
1 red onion
3 spring onions
4 cloves of garlic (I love garlic in my food)
1 cm of ginger
1 red chilli
1 green chilli (I didn’t have any to hand but do use one for colour and extra spice!)
1 long red pepper
1 long green pepper
6 okra aka lady’s fingers
1 tablespoon dried coriander
¼ teaspoon powdered tamarind
Olive oil
Salt
Pepper
1 litre of filtered and boiled water
1 tin of chopped tomatoes (you can use fresh if you wish but it’s quicker and easier to use a can!)
200ml of filtered water, boiled.
Pillau Quinoa
100g quinoa
1 onion
4 cardamom seeds
8 cloves
8 black pepper seeds
200ml of filtered water, boiled.
Salt
Olive oil
INSTRUCTIONS
Chicken Tikka Masala
In a saucepan on ¾ heat, add 3 tablespoons of olive oil (put the water on to boil);
Slice and dice the onions (hold back the green leaves of the spring onions until the end), garlic (I cut the garlic knobs up, press them in a garlic crusher and add them directly into the saucepan) and ginger to the saucepan to sauté. Stir regularly until the mix starts to bronze;
To the onions, add in the tin of chopped tomatoes, dried coriander, tamarind and a half a teaspoon of salt and chop in the chillies (if you want your dish less spicy, add the chillies in with the other vegetables in point 7);
Allow to simmer and continue to stir gently until the water evaporates;
Cut the chicken breasts into cubes, add to the saucepan and cook until all raw bits disappear, keep stirring gently;
Add the boiling water and then add in the okra and chopped peppers and stir gently for a couple of minutes;
Turn the heat down to a quarter, taste the soup and add salt and pepper to taste;
Cover with the lid and leave the mix to cook for about 10 minutes;
Add the chopped spring onion leaves and cover for 5 minutes
Feel free to add any coriander to finish and you are ready to eat!
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 30 minutes
Serves up to 4 people
Pillau Quiona
Begin making your quinoa preparations at point 6 of cooking the chicken tikka masala;
In a saucepan on ¾ heat, add 1 tablespoon of olive oil (put the water on to boil);
Slice and dice in the onion and stir, sauté until the onions caramelise;
Add in the spice mix of cardamom, black pepper, cloves and cinnamon sticks;
Add in the boiling water and a ½ teaspoon of salt;
Add the quinoa and stir gently. I gently rinse the quinoa first in lukewarm water and then drain it before adding it to the saucepan;
Allow the quinoa to simmer, turn the heat down to a quarter, and cover with the lid;
Check on it 3 to 5 minutes later and gently turn the quinoa over with a plastic or wooden spoon to ensure you keep your quinoa seeds in tact;
Repeat step 8 until the quinoa is cooked and all the water evaporates;
You are now ready to eat!
Ladys’ Chicken Tikka Masala with Pillau Quinoa!
Preparation time: 5 minutes
Cooking time: 20 minutes
Serves up to 2 people –I made enough chicken to last us another day and my mother and I like to eat our quinoa fresh!
Let me know how you get on and please feel free to provide feedback 🙂
