Butternut squash noddles with hazlenuts and sprouts (spiralizer recipe)

Hey! So recently I  bought a spiralizer which if you haven't heard of it, basically turns vegetables and some fruit into noodles/ pasta! I am a massive pasta lover but it's not always the healthiest of things and using this I can make pasta and squeeze in another portion of fruit and veg. I made this thinking it would be a main dish but it's actually more of a light dinner/ lunch or a starter. If you want to make it bigger I would use another butternut squash. This dish has sprouts in which is rather seasonal, and because it only uses the leaves, this is good to try sprouts without getting a full mouth of the taste if you are not a fan of them. Mixed in with everything else you can barely taste it! Making this dish was the first time I had made butternut squash noodles too and it's a bit harder than a courgette!

For 4 people you will need:
1 Butternut squash
3/4 of a cup of hazelnuts
a cup of Brussel sprouts
1/4 tsp of garlic powder
salt and pepper
a red onion
a garlic clove
1/4 teaspoon of chili flakes

First of all preheat the oven to 205 degrees celsius. Make the butternut squash noodles by cutting off the seeded end of the squash and then putting it into the spiralizer. shake over the garlic powder salt and pepper and put it in a lined dish in the oven for 8 minutes. Put the hazelnuts into the oven additionally but only in for five minutes.

In the meantime, thinly slice the onion and cut the bottoms off the sprouts and take the leaves off them.

chop the garlic clove and heat a wok or pan with oil. When it is heated on a high heat put in the garlic chili flakes and onion and stir on a medium heat. When the onion is wilted, add in the sprout leaves and cook for another three minutes,

Now you can add it all together!
Hope you enjoy!
Eleanor x

Best Christmas drink- Costa v Starbucks

Hey! So I am a massive Christmas drink fan and both Costa and Starbucks have some amazing Christmasy seasonal drinks and I have tried almost all of them (I know I'm very sad.) Here are my mini reviews on the ones I have tried!

Starbucks

Honey and Almond Hot chocolate= Probably my favourite Christmas drink from Starbucks. I got a large which was perhaps too big but it was absolutely delicious.

Toffee Nut Latte= Didn't enjoy this as much as I thought I would actually, this time it wasn't as sweet as I expected somehow?

Costa 

White hot chocolate= bit too sweet for me! I knew it would be and ordered a medium and even that I found myself feeling a bit sickly after, unless you have a massive sweet tooth I would probably recommend a small!

Black Forrest hot chocolate= by far my favourite Christmas drink from both Costa and Starbucks! I love it, I don't find this too sweet or bitter, just perfect!

Caramel fudge hot chocolate= I don't know if its just me but I could not tell the difference between this one and a normal hot chocolate? It was nice but i felt like it wasn't different enough!

What is your favourite Christmas drink?
Lots of love
Eleanor x

Deliciously Ella's apple and blackberry crumble

Hey guys! Today's recipe comes from Deliciously Ella's cookbook that I have ever so slightly adapted! This tastes amazing and is so good when you have lots of people around, plus it's healthy, vegan, gluten free and full of good things.

For this recipe you will need:

For the topping:
200g of almonds
180g of oats
3 tablespoons of coconut oil
100 ml of maple syrup
2 teaspoons of ground cinnamon

for the fruit:
6 red apples (I used five large cooking green apples from an apple tree)
4 tablespoons of honey (If using green sour apples like me)
a tablespoon of maple syrup (if using red apples)
400g of blackberries

Put almonds in a food processor until a flour forms and add it to a mixing bowl with the oats. Melt the coconut oil in a pan with the syrup and cinnamon or pour everything on top if already in liquid form. Make sure the liquid completely covers the dry ingredients by stirring.

Now, peal and core the apples and cut the remainder into small pieces.

put this into a pan with the blackberries, syrup or honey and a little bit of hot water. Simmer for ten minuets with a lid on and pre-heat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius.

when fruit is soft, transfer into a baking dish and put topping on top.

Now bake for 25 minuets!


This is done! This is one of my fave puddings for a dinner party as it's not very time consuming and fairly easy!

Hope you enjoy!
Lots of love
Eleanor x

My healthy(er) chocolate brownies

Hey guys! I think it's always important to know a good brownie recipe, even better to know one which you can make vegan and gluten free and actually not all that bad for you. Scroll to the bottom of this recipe to find out why these ingredients are better than usual brownie recipes! This recipe is quick and easy and not packed with sugar!

Makes 12 small brownies. You will need:

170g of buckweat flour
four table spoons of coconut oil (plus extra to greese)
two tablespoons of honey
250g of dairy free dark chocolate (or normal dark chocolate if not vegan)
1 1/2 teaspoons of baking powder (gluten free baking powder is available too to keep it gluten free)
2 teaspoons of raw cacao powder (or three of coco powder)
230 ml of almond milk (or milk of choice)
2 teaspoons of vanilla essence

pre-heat oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Heat 150 grams of the dark chocolate over a simmering pan of water.

While this is happening, sift flour, baking powder and cacao powder into a bowl. Then sir in honey, oil, milk and vanilla essence.
When your chocolate is completely melted,

Add it to the bowl and mix until combined.

Then break the 100g of chocolate left into squares and stir them in too.
Now grease the bottom of a baking dish and put grease proof paper on top. Pour mixture in. Put it in the oven for 20 minuets.

When it comes out leave to cool and then cut up into pieces! Enjoy!

A note about the ingredients and how they are good for you...

Buckweat flour is a gluten free flour, it has no wheat in despite it's name. It controls your blood sugar levels and is good for the heart. It's health promoting potential is equal to fruit and veg!

Raw Cacao powder is darker and stronger than coco powder, so less is needed. It has less sugar and is better for you.

Dark chocolate and honey are the best sources of antioxidants on the planet.

Coconut oil is made from good fats and can lower your risk of heart disease.

Lots of love
Eleanor x

student meals- No nonsense chili

Hey guys! Todays post is for a no nonsense chilli, so named because this chili is cheap and fairly plain but still delicious and easy to make for students who don't know how to cook. This chili contains no actual chilli just because of costs but you could easily put a chili in or hot spices. The recipe is enough for 4 people but i gave half of it to me and my boyfriend and put the other half in the freezer for later. If you are making it for four people, you will need more rice. I got nearly all my ingredients from Aldi.

For 2 people (plus two extra servings for freezing) You will need:

500g of beef mince
a can of chopped tomatoes
a can of kidney beans
Beef stock cube (I actually used bouillon just because I had it, it worked fine too)
3/4 of a mug of rice
one large onion (or two small ones)
a little bit of oil

Start by dicing the onion up into small pieces. Then put the oil into a pan and heat it up until hot and add the onion. Fry the onion for a few minuets.

Now add the mince in (keep it at a high temp) and stir for about five mins until completely brown.

Now add the stock cube to 300 ml of hot water and pour that in along with the chopped tomatoes.

Now put on a lower heat and simmer for 20 minuets. At this point I put my rice on since I was using brown rice it took about 25 minuets. Follow the instructions for your rice as it may not need to be on for as long!
After 20 minuets, add the kidney beans and take off heat. Let it cool down and stand for about 10 minuets and then it is finished!

Hope you enjoyed!
Lots of love
Eleanor x

Healthy coconut and lemon truffles

Hey guys! Today's recipe comes from one I found on Chocolate Covered Katie's instagram. I am not sure if the recipe is her own or not however this is where I got it from! I have converted the cups into grams and changed it a little bit! I hope you like!

Makes 13 truffles
For this recipe you will need:
Half a lemon (juice and zest)
100g of desiccated coconut plus extra for coating
50g of ground almonds (the original said almond meal but I used this instead and it worked perfectly)
2 tbsp of pure maple syrup
half a tablespoon of vanilla extract
2 tablespoons of coconut oil

The method could not be simpler! Simple put every ingredient into the food processor until you can form a batter with it in your hands. It should look like this:

Before:

 After:

Then form them into balls and roll them in the extra coconut in a bowl. Then place them onto some parchment paper and pop them in the fridge for half an hour!

 And voilà they are done!

Hope you enjoyed,
lots of love
Eleanor x

student meals- Chicken and mushroom couscous

Hey guys! Today's recipe is a meal I have come up with that is cheap and delicious and healthy! I have used half a packet of lemon and coriander couscous from asda that I just needed to put in hot water for five minuet's, but you can use any type of couscous you like so follow the instructions on the packet for your own couscous!

For one, for this recipe you will need.

some oil or oil spray
two mini chicken fillets
couscous
5 or 6 white mushrooms
a small onion or half a large one
teaspoon of harissa


First of all cut up the onion and mushrooms.

Then heat oil in a pan at a high heat and add the onions. When they begin to get soft, add the mushrooms.

In a frying pan, heat oil at a high heat. Cut the chicken up into bite size pieces and rub harissa into them. Then fry the chicken until it goes white. Make sure when you cut into it it is white!

Then I put boiling water into my cousus, but follow your instructions accordingly.

When everything is done, (I often find my mushrooms and onions are done first, make sure you don't burn them.) Then put everything into one large bowl or plate and mix it all together and enjoy!

Lots of love,
Eleanor x

Student meals- sausage pasta

Hey guys, today's post is of a meal that is quick and easy to make for everyone at uni, it's also really yummy for those of you who aren't! I cooked this for my boyfriend when he came round on friday, its one of my favourite meals to make for people too because it's just a bit nicer and more filling than pasta with pesto.

(For two) for this recipe you will need:

6 sausages (I used lamb, you could use veggie ones to make it vegetarian)
as much pasta as you need (I usually measure it using my bowls, so i made two bowlfuls)
a jar of pasta sauce (I used sainsbury's own tomato and herb sauce)
some oil

First put the pasta on to cook as this will take the longest. Once the pasta has been cooking for about five minutes, put some oil in a frying pan and fry the sausages.

When the sausages are browned both sides, cut them up into little pieces. (excuse my feet...)

 When the pasta is done drain it and put it back in the pan and mix the sauce through. Then mix the sausages in and serve!

Hope this post has given those at uni a new idea thats quick cheap and delicious!
Lots of love
Eleanor x

Deliciously Ella's Vegan Falafels with lentil courgette and mint salad

Hey guys! Today's recipe is an adapted version of two deliciously Ella recipes which taste amazing together!

This serves four!
For the Falafels you will need:
2 cloves of garlic crushed
juice of two lemons
2 tablespoons of olive oil
2 tablespoons of date syrup or honey
2 tablespoons of apple puree ( I used apple sauce)
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon of ground tumeric
1 tablespoon of tahani
2 cans of chickpeas (800g) (I accidentally used one tin and it was basically mush, I had to use oats to thicken it up, use 2!)
65g of pine nuts
sprinkling of brown rice, buckwheat or chickpea flour

For the salad:
100g of green lentils
3 medium corgettes
2 avocados
fresh mint
juice of four limes
handful of sunflower seeds (optional)

First of all start with the falafels. Put all ingredients into a food processor apart from the pine nuts, chickpeas and the flour and blend until mixed.

 Then add the pine nuts and chickpeas. Don't blend too much! I did this and it was basically hummus (wasn't helped by the lack of chickpeas.) I salvaged it by used lots of oats and they turned out amazing in the end but life would have been made easier if I didn't have to!

Roll into 12 balls and pop them in the fridge for half an hour. While doing this, pre-heat oven to 200 degrees Celsius.
Now roll them in the sprinkled flour and bake them for 45 minuets.

Now work on the salad. Put the lentils in boiling water and boil for ten minuets. Then simmer for 30 minuets. While this is happening, use a potato peeler to peal the courgettes into thin slices.

A few minuets before the falafel's and lentils are done, chop avocado up into chunks. Then place cooled lentils and lime juice, mint and sunflower seeds in the bowls with them.

Distribute the salad with the falafel's onto plates and you are done!
Hope you enjoy!
Lots of love
Eleanor x

Ginger slices

Hey guys! Today's recipe is for ginger slices! I decorated mine for fun too which you can also do! These are quick to make and taste yummy, although perhaps not one of my healthiest of recipes... I have become a massive fan of ginger, I love using it in cooking and baking, I often add it in for flavour. It's also great in smoothies and juices and I am constantly looking for new ways to use it!

Makes 12 slices
You will need:
200g of caster sugar
1tsp ground ginger
200g self raising flour
2 tbsp of golden syrup
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
55g margarine
1 egg
240ml of hot water

icing:
270g icing sugar
75g butter
2 tbsp milk
a teaspoon of vanilla extract

Decorations!

Preheat oven to 180C. First of all mix the sugar flour ginger and bicarbonate into a bowl. Then rub in the marge until it forms breadcrumbs

In another bowl, beat the egg and add this to the mixture along with the water and golden syrup.

Mix with a wooden spoon until all combined. Then pour mixture into a greased tin and pop into the oven for 35 minuets or more. It should be golden brown and quite springy.

 Let it cool and in the meantime make the butter icing by beating softened butter in a bowl. Sift in icing sugar and beat it in. Then put the milk in and vanilla extract and mix in.
Cut the cake when cool, into squares.

Now ice and decorate in anyway you want! I used icing stars, pink sugar, glace cherries and bronze sprinkles but you can use whatever you like! You could even make different coloured icing or ice the cakes using a piping bag in pretty patters.
Enjoy!
Eleanor x

Chiquito restaurant review

Hey guys! Today I bring you another restaurant review. Chiquito is a restaurant bar and mexican grill, serving a wide range of delicious mexican food, including burritos, burgers, tacos, fajitas and more.

Before we sat down, we had a wait of around ten minutes which wasn't too bad considering it was a sunday night. While we waited we looked at there enormous list of drinks and cocktails. I went for an Amaretto sour and coke which was lovely. I was fascinated by their dessert cocktails too, including a strawberry popping candy one and the tiramisu martini. 

When we were seated, we were given a little dish of popcorn which we nibbled on as we decided what to eat which was a nice touch.

 I decided my order and I finally lost my burrito virginity, opting for a sweet potato and bean burrito. This came with tortilla chips, guacamole, sour cream and salsa. This was £10 which I was very happy with.

For pudding, me and my boyfriend once again shared some churros which were delicious. However they were not as good as the Las Iguanas ones I am afraid to say!

Overall the food was delicious and I did not think the pricing was too bad. It was £32 for two mains, one pudding, my alcoholic drink and a J2O. My drink was expensive at £6.45, and most of the cocktails were quite pricy. There was a specials menu which showed you which mains were exactly £10, and if you ordered two meals off of this, all deserts were £3.95. Most mains were over £10, and the Fajitas were about £15 which i thought was expensive.

I would recommend this as a nice treat. If you like mexican foods and grills then you will really love Chiquito's, the food was delicious but it wouldn't be something that is affordable often!

Have you been here? What did you think?
Lots of love,
Eleanor x