Sushi Just Got Sexy

Sushi has always been a pretty sexy, healthy meal. With omega-3 filled salmon and avocado, cooling cucumber, zingy ginger and seaweed (a bone fide superfood) featuring as common ingredients, it's hard not to think of this as a little roll of wonder. 

Now meet sushi v2.0 - that's right, sushi has been vegetated. Because although all the ingredients listed above are super-fantastic-amaze-foods, a roll of sushi also contains a whole lotta white rice. Which I am not a fan of (see post here).

So, to vegetatemyplate this bad boy, it's just a simple swap - bulgur wheat or quinoa in lieu of rice (or both, as pictured).

So why quinoa?

The only vegetarian source of complete protein, quinoa will get you full and stay there. 

And why bulgur wheat?

It packs a much bigger fibre punch than white rice, and has a very yummy, nutty flavour. 

Let's do it. 

What You'll Need:

Makes 3 x 10cm rolls

- 3 sheets sushi nori (available in all big supermarkets)

- 1 cup bulgur wheat or quinoa

- 3 cups water

+ sushi fillings. Popular options include: avocado, cucumber, prawns, ginger, salmon...

The How-To:

- Add water to bulgur wheat/quinoa and boil hard for 10 minutes

- turn down heat and simmer for additional 5-10 mins (bulgur wheat) or 10-15 mins (quinoa) until water is absorbed and grains are not crunchy. 

- spread an even layer of the grain across a seaweed sheet, leaving a 1cm gap at the top and bottom

- make a strip of fillings in a little pile across the grains

- use a sushi mat (or hands if easier) to roll the sushi tightly. 

- pop in the fridge to 'set' (roughly 10 min)

- use a very sharp and dry knife to cut into ~2cm slices

- serve with soy sauce, ginger, wasabi and if feeling punchy, a zingy Japanese beer like asahi!

Insta-Pizza Bases

Homemade pizza base. Mega faff right? Wrong. 

My old friend Greek Yoghurt and flour come to the rescue once again by providing a super easy quick pizza base that can be knocked up and ready to eat faster than you can say pizza express. 

Not strictly a vegetatemyplate worthy candidate as does not contain any of your 5-a-day, but a great opportunity to load up the top with yummy fruit or veg like a rainbow of peppers, spinach, pineapple, mushrooms, sweetcorn, onion ... 

What You'll Need:

Makes 6x ~10cm diameter bases

1/2 cup low-fat Greek yoghurt

1 1/2 cups plain flour*

1 tsp salt

1 tsp baking powder

Toppings of choice!

*3-1 yoghurt to flour ratio. (However much Greek yoghurt used, use triple the flour)

The How-To:

1. Combine flour, baking powder and salt in a mixing bowl. 

2. Fold in yoghurt

3. Knead knead knead with floured hands for a few minutes until dough feels soft and pliable.

4. Roll dough into 6 even balls, and use a rolling pin (or in my case, a thermos as a rolling pin is something I have yet to purchase. Invention of the mother of necessity.) and roll dough balls out until about 1/2 cm thick

5. Grill in oven 5 minutes either side

6. Whilst grilling, prepare your toppings (slice up your peppers, grate cheese etc)

7. Remove from oven/grill, top with tomato-ey sauce, toppings of choice, and a sprinkling of cheese. 

8. Pop back into grill until cheese is golden brown

Top Tips

- Use wholemeal flour to make this even healthier and filling

- The dough can me fridged or frozen. Simply wrap in glad wrap (cling film) so it is airtight, then whip out of the freezer for insta-pizza! (Obviously will need to defrost a little first. But will not take long, especially if dough ball is relatively small)

- add herbs (eg oregano) to the dough to give a tasty twist

- add 1-2 cloves of finely crushed garlic for insta-garlic bread 

- use smushed avocado instead of tomato sauce for a colourful and healthy alternative

Halloumi Quinoa Salad

Quinoa, Halloumi, Courgette and Broccoli Salad

A tasty little treat perfect for a summer's day. High protein, packed with bright green veg, and super salty yummy haloumi! (Yes, I realise halloumi is one of the highest-salt cheeses out there, on occasion it's just brilliant. The mix of squishy halloumi and crunchy veg is delightful!)

Quinoa is the latest entrant on the superfood trendy list. And for good reason. It looks and feels a lot like rice, but as the only vegetarian source of complete protein, unlike rice it will keep you full for a long time, and not cause a big spike in blood sugar levels. You can buy it easily in all supermarkets.

I served this at a gathering full of people for whom quinoa is "one of those weird, healthy things". I told them it was a rice salad, and they gobbled it all up and went back for more!

What You'll Need:
For each person:
- Quinoa: 1/2 cup (uncooked)
- Brocolli 1 cup
- Courgette: 1
- Halloumi: ~ 3 playing card slices
- Salt and Pepper to season
- Olive Oil to drizzle

The How-To:

- In a pan, put the uncooked quinoa and twice as much water (eg: 1 cup quinoa, 2 cups water). (Optional: for addional flavour, pop in a veggie stock cube)
- Cut up brocolli into bite-sized pieces
- Boil quinoa hard for 10 minutes
- Put the brocolli in a steamer above the quinoa to steam merrily away as the quinoa cooks
- Turn down the heat and simmer the quinoa for an additional 10-15 until soft (try a little bit - if crunchy and difficult to chew, its not ready)
- When ready, drain quinoa, season and set aside with brocolli to cool

- Use a potato peeler to create long slices of courgette - including skin
- Slice the halloumi into playing-card sized pieces, and grill for 3-4 minutes each side, until beautifully golden brown 
-  Mix all together, season, and drizzle with olive and mix again.

Serve warm or cold. (the halloumi is definitely yummiest warm though!)

Bean Making Brownies

Chocolate Brownies. Decadent, yes. Healthy, no.  Until now. 

Don't get me wrong, these will never be classified as a superfood, they will not make you live to 127, but in comparison to their classic counterparts, these little beauties are a lot kinder to the waistline whilst tasting super gooey and amazing. 

No butter, no flour, no eggs, no oil. No worries. 

What You'll Need:

(Original recipe taken from the brilliant Chocolate Covered Katie, and adapted).

1 can black beans, drained. 

2 tablespoons cocoa powder

1/2 cup oats

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup maple syrup OR 1/3 cup agave nectar with 2 tablespoons sugar

1/4 cup Greek yoghurt

2 teaspoon vanilla essence

3/4 teaspoon baking powder

1 bar of milky bar (or other white choc)

Optional extras:

1 Mars bar for chunky decoration on top

1/3 cup Greek yoghurt to swirl through for marbled effect (as pictured)

The How-To:

1. Well mix all ingredients except the milky bar and optional extras in a blender until very smooth

2. Roughly chop the milky bar

3. Pour brownie mix into a baking tray covered with baking paper

4. Stir through milky bar until evenly spread

(Optional step: evenly dollop extra Greek yogurt on top and stir through with a spoon until batter is 'marbled')

5. Scatter mars bar on top of the mixture

6. Cook in 180 degrees for 25 minutes. Leave at least 10 minutes before trying to slice into. 

Tip: taste even better cold!

Banana Breakfast Pod

The perfect grab-and-go breakfast for those who simply do not have time in the mornings (aka- everyone).

Make this the night before in approximately 1.7 minutes flat, pop in the fridge overnight and let time do the rest!

Contains one of your five a day, oats for  slow-release energy, chia and flax seed for fibre and omega-3, and Greek yoghurt and sunflower seeds for protein to keep you full - at least until your mid-morning snack (don't pretend like you don't have one).

What You'll Need:

- half a banana, the riper (and therefore squidgier) the better

- 1 tablespoon oats

- 1/2 tablespoon chia seeds

- 1/2 tablespoon flaxseed

- 2 tablespoons low-fat Greek yoghurt

- sprinkling of pumpkin seeds

- squeeze of honey

- cinnamon

- 1/2 cup water

- a little Tupperware pot to build it in. (Make sure has a well fitted lid! Greek yoghurt spillage in work bag: sub-optimal)

The How-To:

1. Mash the banana in the pot with a fork. 

2. Pop the chia and flax seeds on top.

3. Add water into the pot and stir well.

4. Add the oats, cinnamon and Greek yoghurt, stirring well again to ensure everything is mixed thoroughly. 

4. Top with sunflower seeds and honey. 

5. Fridge overnight. 

6. Don't forget to grab on the way out the door in the morning!

Courgetti: Courgette Spaghetti

Courgette (known as zuchinni to our friends across the pond) is one of the most versatile, easy-to-prepare ingredients you can find. 

Using a julienne peeler (which you can easily buy online for about £3) you can use this wondrous vegetable to make courgetti: courgette spaghetti.

Simple to make, so deliciously crunchy, so refreshing on a hot day, so good for you. 

Gram for gram, ordinary white spaghetti contains ten times the calories and none of your daily vitamin C recommendation (courgettes have 30%).

(image sourced here)

Per 100g, you will get 17 calories, 0 of which come from fat. In fact, 95 of those 100 grams come from water, meaning that when you eat a courgette, you are not only upping your hydration, you are also getting full without taking on too much extra energy. Ideal for those watching the waistline or going low-carb.

The How-To:

- Quite literally, use the julienne peeler as you would a potato peeler - but instead of making slice it makes spaghetti strands. 

- Use the whole courgette - the dark green skin looks great and contains lots of fibre

- You can cook the courgetti by popping it into the sauce you're planning on putting over it, but I prefer to keep it raw and get the great crunch!

Other ways to use the ever-so-excellent courgette:

- Scooped out and grilled to use as taco shells

- Sliced to use instead of pasta sheets in lasagne

- Thickly sliced and flash-grilled in a sandwich press as an easy veg side in the workplace

- Courgette pizza bases

- Sliced and topped with cottage cheese and salmon for a healthy (and good looking!) starter at a dinner party.