Vegetable rice in under 10mins

This is a dish I came up with last night when I realised I had just bought more carrots when in fact it was carrots I had plenty of and actually needed some other vegetables... Anyway, I was trying to use some of them up as well as a leftover half courgette so I came up with this. You can use whatever vegetables you have for this though using either carrots, celery or onion as one of your choice is worth considering as they all help to make good stock - which means better flavour. And we all like good flavour! 

I used whole grain rice and topped with a torn mozzarella ball but you could leave the cheese out and add nuts if you're vegan or add meat or a meat substitute if you'd like something a little more substantial. 

It would work well as lunch or dinner, just experiment with different combinations and see what you like best. All of my recipes are just what I come up with in my kitchen naturally with what I have and that is what I hope you as readers will do when you read my recipes. See them as ideas not something you have to completely stick to. I'm all about inspiring healthy eating, not saying this what you should eat! 

See below for the recipe

Ingredients: 

2 carrots

1/2 large courgette 

Handful of spinach 

1/2 pack whole grain rice 

Dried powdered garlic

dried sage

salt 

Pepper 

Water

Optional

Fresh buffalo mozzarella 

Method: 

1. Put the vegetables, garlic and herbs in a microwaveable container with 1tbsp water

2. Cook for 3mins on high (900W) 

3. Then out stir 

4. Then add the rice and spinach and cook for another 2 more minutes 

5. Leave it to stand for 1 min and it's ready to serve 

If you're vegan, stop here and add nuts, falafel or something similar. Or just leave it like this if you want it as a side dish for fish or chicken. 

If you fancy, then add some mozzarella and a drizzle of olive oil to serve. 

For more foodie tips, photos and inspiration, visit my Twitter (@HLDCblog) or Instagram (@HCRinstacam). The blog can also be found on Facebook @hldcblog 

Have a great day,

Helen 

Lunch

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Ready, Steady...?

Who says you can't eat healthy on a budget?! This lot came to well under £2 and along with some cupboard and fridge essentials I can make some tasty, healthy meals. I'm thinking soup, veg purée smoothies, salad etc. It's great coming back from uni passing all the convenience supermarkets at a time when there's plenty of reduced bargains to be had. 

At this time of year with the amount of people coughing, sneezing and generally feeling unwell, vitamins are super important for keeping your immune system up to speed and defending against all the bugs going around! 

I used to love watching Ready, Steady, Cook when it was on tv. It used to be on when I came home from school and while other kids were out playing, I was watching a cooking programme... Anyway, on the programme they'd have a bag of certain ingredients that the chefs would have to come up with recipes for on the spot. They had only a few seconds to think of something and then a set short amount of time to prepare what they had come up with. Going and getting reduced items from a supermarket, to me, is a bit of a challenge like that and I love it. I find it very hard to plan meals ahead and do one 'weekly shop'. I like to be spontaneous! 

Why don't you give it ago yourself and see what you come up with? 

And don't forget, you can follow me on Instagram @HCRinstacam and Twitter @HLDCblog for daily postings of my foodie creations. 

Enjoy!

student

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10 Quick, Sweet Snacks

Feeling hungry? In need of some energy to get you through the mid-morning or mid-afternoon drops in energy? Or do you just want some ideas for sweet snacks at anytime of the day? Well, you've come to the right place! Hopefully there will something here that gets those tastebuds craving healthy food! All of these are gluten free (buy GF oats). 

Here's the list:

1. A plate of your favourite fruit 

2.  Oats with milk,  a chopped pear, nutmeg and honey

 3. Healthy pancakes 

4. Chopped apple, Greek yoghurt and maple syrup 

5. Sliced banana, almonds, and melted dark chocolate 

6. Greek yoghurt layered with fruit compote, chopped nuts and toasted oats 

7. Banana smoothie with cocoa powder and flaxseed

8. Bowlcake 

9. Roasted honey and cinnamon sunflower and pumpkin seeds 

10. Cottage cheese or Greek yoghurt with honey 

If you want daily food inspirations then follow my Instagram account @hcrinstacam or Twitter @hldcblog 

I'm also on Facebook: www.facebook.com/hldcblog 

Enjoy!

Helen xx 

Snack

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6 Healthy Meal Ideas

Here are some ideas for quick and healthy meals which are relatively low cost and great for busy lives. They're all actual meals I've had over the past few weeks since commencing my MSc so I can vouch for the fact they're tasty and energy-filled! 

1.Baked Chicken breast with sweet potato mash and steamed vegetables 

2.  Tuna, mozzarella and sautéed veg

3. Tinned mackerel in sunflower oil with basmati rice and plenty of steamed vegetables. Protein and omega 3 rich. 

4. Vegetable rich pasta in a homemade tomato an mozzarella sauce (recipe coming soon - watch this space!) 

5. White fish of your choice (I used haddock), baked sweet potato fries, steamed great beans and peas  

6. Scrambled eggs mixed with herbs, mozzarella and tomatoes, pasta and spinach

Top tip: Serve spinach hot by boiling up some water and pouring it over a bowl of spinach. Leave for a few minutes. It will wilt the spinach perfectly, making it tender without losing any nutrients. It also makes it easier to digest. 

For more meal ideas, food pics, and tips: follow my blog on Twitter: @HLDCblog, Instagram: @HCRinstacam, and Facebook: @HLDCblog

Have a great day, 

I have studying to do! 

Helen xx

meal ideas

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Good morning!

It's Monday today. For some people it's the day that there is an extra struggle to get out of bed in the morning as there's the knowledge that you've got a whole working week ahead of you. 

There's a hashtag on social media that often emerges as soon as Monday begins. What is it? "#MondayMotivation". Appropropriate? I think so! 

This morning when I woke up, naturally, and before my alarm clock at 6.58am, which always makes me happy, I was greeted with this view. 

What a stunning view. I love sunrises and skylines; it's even better when they're combined. It made all my thoughts about the many, many tasks I have to get done this week disperse and I was just absorbed in viewing the beauty. Sometimes that what you need, to pause, look at what's in front of you, and appreciate the many small delights that spontaneously appear before your eyes each day. 

I feel this image is definitely appropriate as a '#MondayMotivation' post or even a general morning motivation post. Although this blog is predominantly about healthy living through eating a good diet, I would also like to inspire healthy living in general - both physically and mentally. Images like the above are soothing and relaxing in times of business and stress so I will be posting some more in the future. I have recently started an MSc Psychology of Mental Healthy so you can tell it's influencing me already! 

The library calls, so I better leave here and get studying, but I'll end with these pictures of the changing sky from before sunrise to after sunrise this morning. 

Follow me on Twitter: @hldcblog and Instagram: @HCRinstacam for more photos of food and scenes. 

I also have an Instagram project called 'Scottish Scenes' (Just search for @ScottishScenes to find it) where I post pictures of the beautiful natural beauty of Scotland. 

Have a great day! 

HCR xx 

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7 Days of Breakfast Ideas No. 1

Morning person? No? Sometimes it is difficult just to get out of bed in the morning without having to think of what to have to have for breakfast too. It's easy to get stuck in a boring loop of having the same thing every day for breakfast. There are however plenty of different options you can have for breakfast and if you have the thought of something exciting for breakfast awaiting you when you get out of bed, you're more likely to get up quicker! So it's a win, win really. More variety, tastier food, and an added incentive to get up. I created this post for today as it is, firstly, a Monday and let's face it, who doesn't like some #MondayMotivation? And secondly, it is a time of year when many of us are going back to work, school, university or starting a new job. Plus, I am procrastinating getting ready to leave for university myself... Sharing healthy breakfast ideas is for the greater good though, isn't it?! Anyway, here are my suggestions. I shall post some more sets of 7 over the coming weeks as well as some lunch and dinner ideas.

1. Fruit salad with yoghurt and nuts

2. 2 slices of sourdough toast with avocado

3. Porridge with your favourite topping

4. Poached eggs on toast

5. Banana and strawberry smoothie with chia seeds and flaxseed

6. Overnight oats with blueberries and flaked almonds

7. Banana and coconut pancakes

Follow this blog on social media for lots of food pics, meals ideas, and inspiration:

Instagram | Twitter | Facebook

Enjoy!
Helen x 

Breakfast

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Banana & Coconut Pancakes (gluten and dairy free)

This is a fantastic sweet dish that is great for breakfast, dessert, or brunch. The pancakes are super easy to make and uses ingredients you probably have in the house already. When cooking, they smell like banana bread baking in the oven! They are also dairy and gluten free while also fitting into a low-FODMAP diet. (Not a fat-losing diet but a diet for people who have IBS) Since bananas are naturally super sweet, there is no added sugar or sweetener and all ingredients are natural making it a ‘clean’ recipe too.

I made these pancakes originally after deciding on a twist from the 1 banana, 2 egg pancakes that are commonly found on the posts of healthy eating food bloggers or those for providing recipes for those with celiac disease. I often just bung stuff together when experimenting with new recipes so I can’t really say exactly why I decided on the following ingredients! What I can say, though, is that I definitely think it worked. If you decide to give them a go too, I really hope you think so too and enjoy them us much as I did. It’s the reason I do this blog, after all, to try to show people that food which is healthy does not have to be boring and lacking in flavour. It really can be exciting and flavoursome!

Here is the recipe

Banana and Coconut Pancakes

Ingredients:

1 ripe banana

1 large free range egg

2 tbsp water

1 tbsp desiccated coconut

1/2 tsp cinnamon

Coconut oil to fry

Method:

• Mash the banana and add the egg, water and cinnamon

• Mix well and add then add the coconut

• Melt coconut oil in a crepe or frying pan

• Once the oil has melted, spoon 1tbsp amounts of the pancake mixture into the pan

• Cook until the top starts to bubble and then flip each pancake over and cook on the other side until golden brown on each side

Serve with a sprinkling of desiccated coconut

Other ideas:

Serve with coconut yoghurt (the type made fully from coconut that is dairy free)

Top with blueberries and coconut flakes

If you'd like to see my daily cooking pursuits follow me on Instagram @hcrinstacam and Twitter @hldcblog 

I also post videos on Facebook: link here

Have a great day,

Helen x

gluten free

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Raspberry Clafloutis-style dessert

This is a delicious recipe for a French Classic. It's my take on it though so I'm not saying it's authentic! I just had a craving for something 'almond-y' so I thought I'd create something a little clafoutis like. This version is gluten free as I used ground almonds but traditionally would be made with flour. 

Raspberry Clafoutis-style dessert 

2 eggs 

1/2 of a 1/4 cup honey 

1 cup semi skimmed milk 

Coconut oil 

50g whole almonds (ground into meal)

3/4 tsp vanilla extract 

Handful of raspberries 

Preheat oven at 190

Put coconut oil on dish and put in oven to melt (about 30secs) 

Once melted, remove from oven and 

Arrange raspberries on dish 

Mix together 

Add to a glass dish 

Bake for 25mins @190 degrees C or until golden and set. 

Follow my foodie pursuits on Twitter: @hldcblog and Instagram: @hcrinstacam

You can also find me on facebook.com/hldcblog 

Sweet!

Have a great day, 

x

sweet

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Pecan and Pear Oats

What to have for breakfast? Hmmm... If, like me, the thought of food in the form of breakfast is a big incentive to get up and out of bed in the morning, it's crucial that you pick something good for breakfast! As an avid fan of oats, my breakfast usually has oats in it as some point or another. I often have porridge but some days call for a cold bowl of deliciousness. Days like today, Summer Solstice.

I'll now share with you my go-to for days like this! It's packed with complex carbs for slow release energy, vitamins, calcium and protein. 

Ingredients:

• 1 pear - peeled and cut into small chunks 

• 30g serving oats 

• 6 pecan halves broken 

• Milk (however much or little you like) 

Put it all in a bowl and hey presto you're done! 

Follow my IG for daily foodie updates: @hcrinstacam and I'm also on Twitter: @hldcblog 

Snack

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Date and Coconut Porridge

Here is a tasty way to make porridge, an update spin on a classic breakfast. 

This recipe is can be dairy free by using water but if you use milk, the coconut and milk goes together to make a deliciously coconut-ty creaminess. While the date gives it natural sweetness along with the coconut and the cinnamon adds a little spice. 

Ingredients:

30g oats

180ml water or milk 

1tbsp desiccated coconut 

1/2 tsp cinnamon 

1 or 2 dried date(s) (finely chopped) 

1 tsp honey (can leave out if using milk or if you're wanting less sugar)

Method:

1. Put everything into a pan

2. Stir on a medium heat until thickened to your taste 

3. Serve and top with more coconut or Greek yoghurt

Follow my Instagram and Twitter accounts for daily 'foodspiration'. 

Twitter: @hldcblog 

Instagram: @hcrinstacam 

Breakfast

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10 Porridge Toppings

10 porridge topping ideas

1. Banana, almonds, and honey

2. Desiccated coconut, pecans, and maple syrup

3. Blueberry sauce (heat a handful of blueberries, a little honey and a couple of tbsp's water in a pan with coconut oil and cook till soft)

4. Greek yoghurt, strawberries, and honey

5. Flaxseed and dried cranberries

6. Almond butter and chia seeds

7. Melted dark chocolate and chopped hazelnuts

8. Greek yoghurt and honey

9. Cottage cheese and maple syrup

10. Raspberries, flaxseed, chia, and dark chocolate chips

Follow the blog on Twitter | Instagram | Facebook for more tasty ideas!

Snack

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10 Healthy Wrap Fillings

Here is a handy list of suggestions for what to fill a tortilla wrap with. I love having a generously filled wrap for lunch as they are super convenient (protein, carbs, and veg in one), quick to make, and easy to grab and go.

Also to keep the wrap as healthy as possible, try to use wholemeal or 50/50 tortillas rather than white ones so you get more fibre.

10 Healthy Wrap fillings

1. Hummus, rocket, red pepper, and feta cheese

2. Chickpea, cous cous, Harissa dressing, and salad leaves

3. Chicken /or lentil dahl, mint yoghurt dressing, baby spinach, and fresh coriander leaves

4. Red onion, goats cheese, and baby spinach

5. Turkey bacon, iceberg lettuce, and tomato

6. Chicken, sliced olives, cous cous, lettuce, and a mint yoghurt dressing

7. Smoked salmon, cucumber, low-fat cream cheese, and freshly ground black pepper

8. Feta cheese, fresh basil, tomatoes and black olives (add salad leaves too)

9. Red peppers, grated carrot, hummus, and watercress

10. Pre-cooked bean chilli, spinach and natural yoghurt. Fancy bean chilli but don’t have a recipe? No problem! I have one from one of my earlier blog posts here.
I hope there was something there that sounds great to you. Have a food-tastic day! ;)

(P.S This is actually a repost from my original blog but I feel it is worth sharing as it's a great little list to have to hand when wondering what to have for lunch!)
 
Helen

Lunch

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Hello

 Hello!
Welcome to my new blog where you will find posts with healthy recipes and tips. This blog is a continuation of my original food blog (which you can view here). I have neglected to post a new blog post in quite a while so as it is a new year I felt it would be nice to start afresh. I will post the same type of posts as I did previously with a continued focus on healthy eating, recipes, and meal ideas.
I have some new recipes created and written already so I will start posting them in the very near future. I also have some great new meal ideas and plans. Until I start posting, though, you can follow my visual food diary on Instagram. I also post quite a bit on Twitter and sometimes on Facebook.
   
Have a great day, Helen x
   
   
P.S. As well as being a food-enthusiast, I also write and make art so follow my personal Twitter account to keep up to date with me!

Hello

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