This recipe is super quick and simple but packs some serious flavour. Its great if you have some left over quinoa from the night before, or to make up as a change to your regular packed lunch.
This recipe packs a punch of plant based protein from the chickpeas, quinoa, kale and nutritional yeast ensuring a wider range of essential amino acids to keep you going strong.
Serves 1
Calories: 352
Fat: 8g
Carbs: 54g
Protein: 22g
Ingredients
3/4 cups cooked chickpeas
2 cups fresh kale
1/4 cup quinoa
1/2 vegetable stock cube
1 tsp coconut oil
1/4 tsp garam masala
2 tbsp nutritional yeast
Salt & pepper to taste
Boil the quinoa as per packet instructions with the stock cube.
When the quinoa is cooked, heat a large frying pan and add the oil.
Add all the ingredients including the cooked quinoa to the pan and fry on a medium heat
Continually stir until the seasoning is mixed through, the chickpeas are warmed and the kale has softened and wilted. (Note; kale doesn’t wilt as much as spinach)
Serve on its own or as a side with seitan sausages and some extra veggies.
Also known as body brushing, dry brushing is when you use a brittle brush in a sweeping movement over your body, working your way from your feet towards your heart, said to help increase blood flow and many other benefits along with it. Its a relaxing simple way to add a bit more self love into your day, and feels seriously good have a hard work out.
Benefits of Dry Brushing
Exfoliating
Increases circulation
Energising
Stimulates the lymphatic system
Aids digestion
Eases sore muscles
Relaxing addition to self care routine
Improves the appearance of cellulite
How to dry brush
starting from your feet work your way brushing up towards your heart int he sweeping movement, making your way to your stomach, sweeping in an anti-clockwise direction, then your arms, the same as your legs sweeping towards your heart.
directional dry brushing
How often should you dry brush?
Personally I dry brush before every shower or bath, which is roughly every other day. However some people will do it every morning or every night. this all depends on why you are dry brushing and how dry or sensitive you skin is.
Does dry brushing have any side effects?
There have been reports of people saying dry brushing can irritate their skin, for a lot of people this won’t be an issue, however if you have a history of sensitive skin, or skin conditions such as eczema or psoriasis I would definitely advice to be cautions using an exfoliating technique such as dry brushing. Instead to still get benefits such as increased circulation, improving cellulite and easing sore muscles, try doing self massage with a oil or lotion you know won’t flare your skin. If you are using a skin treatment cream for a skin condition,take the time to practice self massage whenever you are applying it, you can also use this as a mindfulness and gratitude practice, by listing reasons you are grateful for your body while you massage (this is great for someone feeling resentful towards their skin condition or other body ailment).
Its also worth noting even if you regularly dry brush with no side effects do not dry brush over any new rashes, wounds, sunburn or irritation, give them time to heal before continuing with your routine.
Dry brushes to get you started
Please be aware all information in this blog is based on my own personal experience and research, and I am not a medical professional. If you are needing advice about medical conditional please seek advice from a medical professional.
This blog post contains amazon affiliate links, which I gain money for qualifying purchases. These purchases make running this blog possible, and I would like to express my gratitude for every form of support towards my work.
If you want to support what I do in other ways …….
Time and time again I have said, as much as I love cooking I really dont like spending all day in the kitchen and slaving over meals that mean I’m standing in front of the cooker for hours on end. However I like to eat clean and unprocessed as much as possible, which can mean making alot from scratch.
I have eaten a plant based diet for most of my life and I dont intend on ever changing that, I used to heavily rely on processed meat substitutes as my main protein souce, however since cutting back on them and focusing on unprocessed protein such and beans and lentil I have found my energy and all round health is so much better….. but yep it can either get boring or time consuming.
However these bean balls are so damn quick to make and absolutely delicious. Most of the ingredients are easy to substitute and they work with almost anything. If you really want you could even eat this as a snack on the go, they are that versitile.
Recipe
Calories: 466 Fat: 25g Carbs: 54g Protein:22g
Ingredients
1/2 cup of butter beans
1/4 cup of tahini
2 tbsp of whole wheat flour
1tsp dried basil
1tbp nooch
pinch of salt
Directions
Preheat you oven to 180c
Put all the ingredients together in a food processor and blend until they have combined to form a dough.
Roll a tbsp of the mixture into a ball and place on a baking try prepared with parchment paper or oiled.
Lightly spray or drizzle the balls with oil.
Bake for around 20 minuets until golden brown and slightly crispy.
Substitutions
If you don’t have some of the ingredients but still want to try the recipe, heres a helping hand to guide you with substitutions.
Butter beans – any white beans will work; black-eyed peas, cannelloni beans, chickpeas,great northern beans, navy beans, pinto beans or soy beans
Tahini – ideally stick to tahini for a boost of calcium, however remember it is just sesame seed butter, so you could either make your own if you have some sesame seeds and some extra time or you could use any other type of seed of nut butter, the flavour will be a bit different but the texture should be the same; peanut butter, cashew butter, almond butter or sunflower seed butter.
Flour – ideally any wheat flour to get it to bind well however a gluten free mix should still work well, or you could try spelt, oat or buckwheat. I would advice to avoid trying coconut or almond with this recipe though, they just aren’t absorbent enough to bind the way we want.
Nutritional information on ingredients is calculated through webmd.com. They are an estimation.
If you want to support what I do in other ways …….
In our house we have a really bad habit of buying new ingredients, especially health foods, using them once and then forgetting about them and going back to the same ingredients we use time and time again. Because of this I often get in a determined mood to use up my my store cupboard ingredients, and sometimes this results in some really awesome new recipes. (But more often than not I end up making some pretty dodgy meals).
Since the coronavirus pandemic I have been stuck in the house with the kids, as our youngest Winter is was born in January just as it was arriving in the UK. Unsure how the virus will effect newborns we have been taking precautions from the beginning to ensure her safety. ( As of yesterday the UK has started to go into lockdown and other than key workers no one if leaveing their homes) This has given me the opportunity to take using up store cupboard ingredients to a whole new level. Trying my best to avoid the crowded and lets face it vary bare supermarkets, I have been trying out lots of recipes that I just never felt I had the time for before.
;I know for a lot of people the country or more so the world going on lock down it terrifying for them, businesses and jobs are in jeopardy, everyday social habits are a no go and life as we know it has been completely flipped on its head. However what we are loosing is being gained back in time that we never knew we had, and it is up to us how we choose to use that time. We can choose to use this time productively, to learn something or try something new that we never felt we had to time to do before or events bonding with our family, and by doing so we can come out of this feeling at least some gratitude for the time we gained.
……I digress, this was supposed to be a post about seitan. So I have been meaning to try making seating for a few years now. Seitan is a cheap, minimally processed plant based protein source, and because it is so minimally processed, you can make it at home. However I always had this idea in my head that it was really hard work to make, I thought it would take hours or needing until my arms fell off, I also thought you HAD to make it with Vital wheat gluten as apposed to regular flour. Now don’t get me wrong traditionally that is all true, but you can still make awesome seitan quickly and with regular flour; the vital wheat gluten will give you a better protein source so if you have it awesome, if you reading this during the pandemic and don’t want to leave your house hunting for one ingredient….. just use what you’ve got.
We used these sausages so far for a roast dinner however you could easily used them for anything you would normally use sausages for, I will most likely be experimenting more with them over the becoming weeks and i shall let you know what works and what doesn’t. Leave me a message below in the comments with your wins and failure s using this seating recipe.
With all that being said and out of my system….. heres the recipe.
Heat the oil in a pan and add the onions, cook until softened.
Add the cumin seeds and cook for another minuet until toasty.
Add all ingredients, except for the flour to a food processor, and pulse until it looks all saucy.
Add in the flour and combine on low/dough setting until it forms into a dough.
Split the up the dough and form into sausage shapes.
Roll the sausages up tightly in Foil/cling film.
Put you steamer on to heat and place the sausages in the steamer basket, steaming gently for 40 minuets, turning half way through.
What the sausages are steamed allow to cool before unwrapping.
You can heat the sausages up by either frying or grilling.
Don’t be afraid to substitute ingredients where you don’t have them – leave comments below on successful substitutions and ways you have used the recipe.
If you want to support what I do in other ways …….
Whether your wanting to get motivated to work towards your fitness goals or your overall attitude to life, these are my all time favourite movies to get you back into your grove.
1. Yes Man. One of my all time favourite movies that I have gone back to time and time again to give my attitude to life a boost. If your finding it hard to step out of your comfort zone and try new is the movie to help motivate you! If you love the film don’t forget to also check out the best selling book that inspired the film.
2. Tomb Raider. As a life long tomb raider fan I loved the new tomb raider (2018) film staring Alicia Vikander, from the boxing and cycling scenes at the start to the amazing action scenes, this film is a great motivator for getting generally active and trying new ways to get fit.
3. Wonder Woman – Gal Gadot is a fitness inspiration in her self, but mixed with the heartwarming perspective of an outsider during a time of war it makes her character an all round inspiration.
4. Rocky – I had to include THE ultimate classic all time motivational film for the training montage alone. ( but also because my other half would never forgive me if I didn’t)
5. Bucket List – for the sake of motivating you to do all the things you’ve put on hold and also remembering what’s important in life you have to watch this film!
6.Eddie the eagle – the ultimate underdog story, to remind you, you to keep doing what you love and block out the haters.
7. Fighting with my family – this film totally ignited my love of wrestling . Telling the story of Saraya aka Paige journey to becoming Divas champion by embracing being herself and working hard at her craft it’s sure to get you motivated. A great movie for wrestling fans to watch between main events.
What would you add to the list?? Leave a comment below and let me know.
I’ve talked about how I support mindfulness day to day. I even have a dedicated #mindfulnessmonday on my Instagram stories. However I have never talked about affirmations and how repeating positive statements can help readjust your mindset into focusing on your goals.
What are affirmations?
Affirmations seemed to get a lot of limelight after ‘the secret‘ film came out. This idea that changing your mindset to a positive focus could change the world around you was so appealing to many. However although I do use affirmations in this way, and as a family we are believers in working with the universe…. this is not how I refer to affirmations in this blog.
How do I use affirmations?
These are simply reminders to call back your self from those points of panic, fear and depression that can be so easy to slip into while going through a healing process. I keep these written in my phone for whenever I feel myself going into a state of stress. They are short positive affirmations I can easily focus on when my brain is going on a spiral but I know healing should be my goal. No matter what type of healing you are going through whether its mental or physical use these powerful affirmations as part of your daily live to see dramatically increased results.
I am strong
2. I am surrounded by love
3. I am healthy
4. I have all the tools to heal
5. I am at peace with my past
6. I look forward to the future
7. I am happy
8. I am powerful
9. I am independent
10. I am confident
11. I am joyful
12. I am filled gratitude
Try using these affirmations first thing in the morning to set your focus for the day or whenever you find you are starting to struggle with motivation.
Then try adding your own affirmations once you understand where your mental blocks are.
Affirmations may not be a magic pill to heal but it can be a great tool on your journey of healing.
If you are struggling with consistency try using a journal to collect your affirmations in, to bring structure to your practice.
If you would like to use more affirmations and journaling in your healing practice check out our collection of workbooks in our shop.
Best way to end a cold winters day after a working hard training – snuggled on the sofa with some comforting high protein traditional stew.
Serve the stew piping hot on its own or with one of these traditional sides:
Creamy mashed potatoes
Dumplings
Crusty bread
Brown rice
Creamy polenta
Cauliflower mash
Quinoa
Now you’ve got the recipe check out the notes to know how to make it yours, from how to choose the best ingredients to tried and tested substitutions for this old fashioned stew.
Heat a large rimmed pan over medium heat. Once hot, add oil or water and shallot and sauté for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add mushrooms and coconut aminos and increase heat to medium-high. Sauté for 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Add a pinch of salt and pepper.
Add thyme, lentils, and 2 cups (480 ml // or the smaller end of the range if adjusting recipe size) vegetable broth. Bring to a low boil over medium-high heat. Once boiling, reduce heat to a simmer and cook on low for about 20 minutes, adding more broth as needed if the mixture looks dry.
In the meantime, add potatoes to a large pot and cover with water so they are just submerged. Bring to a boil on high heat and cook for 12-15 minutes or until they slide off easily when pierced with a knife.
Once tender, drain potatoes and add back to pot or a mixing bowl. Season with salt, pepper, and a bit of olive oil and mash until tender and fluffy. For added moisture in place of oil, add unsweetened plain almond milk or vegetable broth.
Once lentils are tender, taste sauce and adjust flavor as needed, adding more salt or coconut aminos for saltiness, pepper for spice, or tomato paste for more depth of flavor (optional – we didn’t find it necessary). Turn off heat and let the mixture rest so flavors can deepen. Add the 2 Tbsp (30 g // or more as needed) mashed potatoes to the lentil mushroom stew and stir in to thicken.
To serve, divide mashed potatoes between serving plates or bowls and top with desired amount of lentil and mushroom gravy. Garnish with fresh parsley, vegan parmesan cheese, or more thyme, if desired.
Store leftovers separately, covered, up to 4 days in the refrigerator or in the freezer up to 1 month. Reheat on the stovetop or in a 350 degree F (176 C) oven until hot.
Notes
Onion – red or brown are fine whatever you got will work.
Garlic – if the though of chopping this much garlic fills you with dread, use the ready chopped stuff from a jar, 1 tsp is usually the same as 1 clove.
Rosemary – fresh will always be better but there’s no reason you can use dried
Oil – try to stick to good quality coconut oil or olive oil
Stock – home made stock will always be better for you health, however I’m just not organised enough so we use stock cubes – this is a really good brand health wise
Lentils – We have tried this recipe with a few different proteins and green lentils were my favourite, but my other half prefers beef stew. If you don’t fancy lentils play around with other whole proteins, like beans or chicken.
Tamari v soy sauce –
Flour – plain flour works best, but wholewheat will also be fine. If yo ur avoiding gluten corn flour works really well. The most important this is the method, add water a small amount at a time to avoid gross flour clumps ruining your hearty stew.
Cooking method – in this recipe I cook on the hob, however if you don’t want to be standing watching over it, the stew also works just as well in the slow cooker or in the oven.
Please be aware all information in this blog is based on my own personal experience and research, and I am not a medical professional. If you are needing advice about a medical condition, please seek advice from a medical professional.
This quick make versatile wholewheat pizza dough will become a staple recipe in your kitchen!
Who doesn’t love pizza? Its the ultimate weekend treat food, but like with all treat foods its often heavily processed and prone to leaving you feel like crap. However there can be a way around it, most foods can be made healthier simply by going back to basics, stepping away from the mass produced versions and cooking them from scratch; and pizza is no exception.
As long as you don’t have any problems digesting wheat and gluten this pizza dough is a great step towards making your Friday night pizzas a whole lot healthier, with only 6 basic ingredients including high fibre wholewheat flour.
This is also a great cooking activity to do with children where they can get really stuck in kneading the dough and learn about yeast as they see the pizza dough magically double in size.
Pizza dough kneading is one of those moments where I can find joy in the mundane. Where I remember it’s the simplest things in life that really make it. As with sculpting and gardening the act of creating with my hands, calms my mind and focuses my attention back to the moment. As someone managing PTSD this form of grounding mindfulness is an important part of my healing process. But learning to take the time to appreciate the mundane in whatever way works for us is a valuable tool for everyone no matter our circumstance. . #foodasmr#kneadingasmr#asmr
Mix the yeast, sugar and water in a small bowl and set aside for 5 minuets until foamy (if it doesn't foam your yeast may be gone off)
Combine the remaining ingredients with the foamy yeast mixture until they come together to form a mass. This is quickly done in a food processor on dough mode (the lowest mode)
Once completely mixed together super the the dough into however many pizzas you are making and knead them for roughly 2 minuets each.
Put the dough into a lightly oiled bowl in a warm place loosely covered cling film for around an hour when it will have doubled in size.
Preheat oven to 190c and lightly oil a baking tray.
Gently shape the dough and top with your favourite toppings
This healing sweet potato soup is perfect for days when your needing a comforting nutrition boost. Easy to make and packed with lots of flavour its a great recipe to batch cook to have a few portions to hand for lazy days. The addition of crispy kale makes an addictive healthy iron packed alternative to croutons that you will be topping all your favourite dishes with.
Add onion and celery to a pan over a medium heat with a little water or oil and cook for around 5 minuets or until soft.
Add the sweet potatoes, garlic and thyme. cook for a further minuet.
Add the stock and simmer for 20 minuets until the potatoes are soft.
Leave the soup to cool.
Puree the soup in a blender until nice and smooth. Do this in batches if you have a small blender
Turn your oven on to 180c and place the oil, kale and salt onto a baking dish.
Put the kale in the oven and add the coconut milk to the soup.
Warm the soup up on the stove. By the time the soup has warmed the kale should be nice and crisp.
Serve in big cwtchy bowls with the crispy kale sprinkled on top.
Notes
To batch cook this recipe double all the soup ingredients, an leave to cool before freezing. Sadly the kale doesn’t work well cooked int batches and is best made fresh, however with it only taking a few minuets to cook its totally worth it.
Source your ingredients –
Onion – I have a tendency to use red onions a lot in my recipes purely because I’m a wimp and they make me cry less, but I honestly don’t feel it matters what type you use, just use what you’ve got in the house and it will still taste amazing
Garlic – I say 2 cloves but really thats a minimum. Garlic lover? then just put in as much a you want.
Celery – Don’t worry if you hate celery you wont taste it I promise
Sweet potatoes – they vary in size so much, so when i say large i mean the size of a childs head large.
Thyme – we use fresh from our garden, however dried works good too
If you would like to try more recipes like this check out the restorative wellbeing recipe book currently available in paperback and kindle edition over on amazon or join us in Restorative Wellbeing THE CIRCLE!
The Circle Recipes
Already a member of the circle and wanting some more delicious sweet potatoes recipes? We have got you covered.
