Do you want ideas for delicious, healthy and creative recipes? I’m still shocked that there are people who think that eating yummy things and enjoying it is incompatible with leading a healthy diet. I’d say it’s just the opposite: how good do healthy things taste!
Many of you ask me, when you see my food photos on instagram, for the recipes. And the truth is, they’re almost always recipes taken from other people, although sometimes I’ve adapted them. Over time, I want to create my own recipes.
Clarifications
Don’t forget that you don’t need to follow a recipe to the letter. Don’t get discouraged if you click the link and see in the ingredients list something that doesn’t fit with your grocery shopping. For example, you can’t have all the kinds of flour at home, or all the dried fruits, or all the possible spices. But, if you like the recipe in general, try to do it with whatever you have, and usually it will end up just as good. Although sometimes it’s worthy to buy those ingredients so you discover new flavors!
Above all, feel free to adjust the amounts for these and other recipes you see across the Internet. The truth is some of them are ridiculously small, and the amounts suggested for 2 people (or even 4) would do for only 1. I used to struggle a lot when I had to eat more than what the recipe said, I felt I was overeating. But actually those amounts just show what other person has eaten at a certain moment, as part of a diet we won’t know. Numbers are mere guidelines and are most useful to determine the proportions, specially when it comes to baking.
The difficulty levels and cooking times are variable. A trick to make things easier a lot of times is to try to use the microwave instead of the oven, given that the plate size allows that.
This series
Another added difficulty may come from the language of the recipe, not so much for the names of the ingredients (which if you don’t know them can be translated without any problems) as for the different units of measure. That’s why I’ve not only translated the recipes in Spanish, but also converted the amounts to the imperial system for those of you who use it.
This post is the first one of a series of 3. Be on the lookout to discover ideas for lunch and dinner. Today we’re going to see recipes for breakfast and snacks, so as to start the series with sweetness.
Without further delay, let’s cook!
1. Banana fudge bars (Better Being Steph)
You’ll see many recipes of this list carry banana. It’s great to give a sweet and creamy touch. Add chocolate and peanut butter to the mix and there’s no way a day that starts like this can be a bad day.
2. Oats, cinnamon and apple fitness sponge cake (Directo al Paladar)
You need to try this to start the day. I’ve tried quite a lot of different sponge cakes since I began recovery and it’s been hard to select the best ones. If this one has passed the test, it’s for something.
Ingredients for 10 units:
-20 egg whites
-1 egg
-250 g / 8,8 oz oats
-2 tbsp cinnamon
-Sweetener
-2 peeled and sliced apples
-1 yogurt
-1 package yeast
Method:
- Peel and slice the apples. In order to avoid the slices to become black, you can sprinkle them with a bit of lemon juice. Don’t be afraid of the taste the lemon might leave in the apples, it will give them a delicious touch.
- Then, place in a blender the egg whites, the egg, the oats, the cinnamon, the sweetener, the yogurt and the yeast package and blend until you’ve got an uniform mixture, that will have a pretty liquid texture.
- Grease a mold for the oven, square or rectangular, with a bit of oil. Pour the mixture into the mold and distribute the apple slices over it.
- Bake in an oven preheated at 180ºC / 356ºF for about 45 minutes or until when you poke the cake with a toothpick it comes clean. Take the cake out of the oven and let it cool down before cutting it.
3. Vegan Snicker Balls (Anne Travel Foodie)
Really tasty energy balls that will remind you of your favourite sweets. A great mix between fitness and foodie!
4. Sweet potato brownies (Healthfully Sam)
This list wouldn’t be complete without a recite that combines in a mega simple way 3 of the most delicious foods in the world!
5. Chocolate chunk cookies (Starving to Strong)
Who said cookies couldn’t fit into a healthy diet? Of course they do, and what’s more, those are better than any others.
6. Cocoa mugcake with banana nice cream (Lidia Folgar)
A breakfast for the sweet-toothed, with several parts. Each one of them is delicious and the final result as a whole is deliciousness itself.
Cocoa and banana mugcake:
Ingredients:
-1 egg or 2 egg whites
-1/2 ripe banana
-2 tbsp oat flour
-1 tsp cocoa
-1 tsp yeast
-Optional: 2 drops of vanilla essence
-Optional: cocoa chips
Method:
- If we want the mugcake to be more spongey we’ll use 2 egg whites and whip them to stiff peaks. I use a whole egg because it takes me less time and for me the result is equally good.
- It’s as simple as blending well all the ingredients and placing them in a cup (try that the mixture isn’t above the middle of the cup). Put it in the microwave at maximum power (it’s better to place it in one side instead of in the middle so it turns). Turn it on for 30 seconds, stop and see if it’s ready. If it isn’t, put it 10 more seconds and stop again and do that over and over until you reach the desired consistency. To make sure, you might want to poke with a toothpick.
Banana nice cream:
Ingredients:
-1/2 ripe banana frozen in slices
Method:
- Blend the frozen banana when you’re going to eat it and shape it as a ball. It’s important to blend the banana at that moment, since if we were to freeze the banana already blended, we wouldn’t get the ice cream texture.
Cashew cream:
Ingredients:
-1 tbsp cashew butter. You can buy one that doesn’t have added sugars or make it at home by blending cashews. You could also use peanut, hazelnut or almond butter.
-A splash of milk or veggie drink (almond, soy, coconut…).
Method:
- Mix the cashew butter with the milk or veggie drink and heat it up in the microwave. Stir until you get an uniform mixture of liquid consistency.
Pure chocolate syrup:
Ingredients:
-1 square of chocolate, minimum 85% cocoa.
-1 tbsp of milk or veggie drink.
Method:
- Melt the chocolate with the milk or veggie drink in the microwave, stopping every few seconds to stir. Add more or less milk until you get the desired consistency.
Now you just have to place on a plate the mugcake together with the nice cream and spill the cream and the syrup over them. Enjoy!
7. Microwaved banana bread with peanut butter, cocoa and berries (Lidia Folgar)
There are lots of variations of banana bread and it’s great because you can use it as a sponge cake, adding toppings like these ones, or slice it so you have your own healthy bread.
Ingredients for 4:
-2 eggs
-2 ripe bananas
-4 tbsp oat flour
-2 tbsp yeast
-1 tsp vinegar
-Peanut butter thinned in milk
-Cocoa diluted in milk
-Berries (blackberries, blueberries, raspberries)
Method:
- Mix the eggs, the bananas, the oat flour, the yeast and the vinegar with a blender.
- Place the mixture in a silicon mold and put it in the microwave 5 minutes.
- Add the toppings.
8. Banana bread chickpea deep dish pizookie (It’s a Healthy Lifestyle)
The first time I heard the name “pizookie” was with this recipe. It stems from the mixture between pizza and cookie (although is more like the second!), so you can already imagine that it’s something wonderful.
9. Oat tarts with Greek yogurt & frozen berries (My Nutri Calendar)
You can eat yogurt with oats and it’s going to be a good breakfast… or you can try and use the same ingredients with a new cooking method and take your breakfast to the next level!
10. Oats, cinnamon and vanilla pancakes (Lidia Folgar)
Pancakes are great for a special breakfast and, since they’re made in frying pans, they don’t require as much preparation as sponge cakes, but they can be made at the moment that you want to eat them.
Ingredients for 5 pancakes:
-1 glass of oats
-1 ripe banana
-1 egg and 2 egg whites
-1/2 tsp yeast
-Cinnamon and vanilla essence
-Topping: peanut butter thinned in milk
Method:
- Blend all the ingredients.
- Make the pancakes in a frying pan.
- Cover with the topping.
Yummm… They’re all delicious! If you decide to try any of these recipes, please upload it to instagram and tag me (@paolapetrinut). And remember soon you’ll have available the lunch and dinner recipes ranking.
Bon appetit!
