super duper salad!

This healthy plate was created because of my insane obsession with beetroot! I just absolutely adore the stuff, raw, pickled( i can easily eat a whole jar in one sitting!), roasted with balsamic and garlic, lush lush lush!! So during a " i need to lose a few pounds" stage this winter,one of many may i add,  i made this...its so yum and fresh and healthy and very filling! Enjoy! :-)


What you need.....Serves 4 as side dishes

1 whole raw beetroot
3 washed unpeeled carrots
1 large Red Delicious apple
handful of walnut halves
handful sultanas

Dijon Honey dressing.....

4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
4 tablespoons white balsamic vinegar
3 teaspoons dijon mustard
2 teaspoons clear honey

To make it look nice....

Peel the skin from a cucumber in long strips, leave to soak in cold water for a little while and they will go nice and curly

How to make it...

In a nice big bowl grate all the vegetables and apple, chuck in the walnuts and sultanas, season and mix well.

In an empty clean jam jar put all the dressing ingredients and with the lid on(!) shake like mad!

Pour as much or as little as you wish over the salad and serve with cucmber shavings piled up high and all fancy....and scoff!

Rainbow bean salad... a combination of beans, coriander, mint and lots of little crunchy bits!

I love beans!!! All kinds, but my favourite are butter beans. Yum yum yum! So here is a recipe i created in the chalet just to liven them up a bit and make them look pretty :-)
Serves 4...as side dishes, 2 as a main course...
What you need...
2 tins of butter beans in water
1 tin of cannelini beans in water
1 tin of chick peas in water
a handful of fresh mint leaves roughly chopped, quite fine
a handful of fresh coriander leaves, roughly chopped
a small red onion, finely diced
2 small carrots, washed and grated
1 clove of garlic, crushed
For the dressing....
100ml of olive oil
50 ml of white balsamic vinegar...or white wine vinegar
1 tablespoon of dijon mustard
1 tablespoon of runny honey
half a red pepper, diced
1 spring onion, sliced
a few chunks of pineapple, diced
sea salt and black pepper to taste
What you do....
Put the olive oil, vinegar, mustard and honey into a jar, put the lid on and shake like mad!
Drain the beans and put into a bowl, add all teh other ingredients and pour on the dressing.
Mix well, taste it and add salt and pepper....job done! 

Banana and poppy seed loaf...

This lovely recipe was given to me by my mum, Its absolutely gorgeous and almost feels healthy because of the bananas :-)

Oven 180c/350f/gas 4

Grease and line a 900gram loaf tin

...What you need.....
175 grams of self raising flour
175 grams of soft brown sugar
175 grams of butter, softened
3 eggs, beaten
a teaspoon of baking powder
3 ripe bananas, mashed
2 tablespoons of poppy seeds
For The Topping......
200 grams of low fat cream cheese
2 tablespoons of icing sugar, sieved
grated orange rind and poppy seeds to make it gorgeous

What you do.....
Put all the ingredients(except the ones for the topping!!), into a big bowl.
Use an electric whisk if possible and mix really well.
pour into the prepared loaf tin and bake in the centre of the oven for about an hour...or until firm to touch.
Insert a knife into the centre of the loaf...it should come out clean
leave to cool in the tin for 5 minutes then place on top of a wire cooling rack until completely cold

Make the topping....
mix together the cream cheese and the icing sugar
spread on top of the cold loaf and decorate it with orange rind and poppy seeds to make it look fabulous :-)
enjoy this cake with loads and loads of tea!