Oat & Apricot Fingers

Oat & Apricot Fingers

by | Oct 5, 2021 | Blog, Recipes

Oat & Apricot Fingers

These oaty bars are unbelievably easy to make and perfect for pack-ups or snacks.

The oats provide fibre and B-vitamins, while the apricots are a valuable source of plant-based iron and beta-carotene.  Nuts and seeds are packed with vitamin E, magnesium, zinc, and fibre; and if you opt for good quality dark chocolate you’ll be getting a bit more magnesium and some antioxidant polyphenols!

 

Oat and apricot fingers drizzled with chocolate

You will need:

8-10 dried apricots (opt for unsulphured apricots if you have sulphite sensitivities)

50g oats / gluten-free oats

30g of chopped mixed nuts and seeds

50ml water

30g dark or white chocolate

A greased and lined baking sheet

Oven set to 180*c

Here’s how to make them…

Soak the apricots in water for at least 3hrs until soft.  Drain, and puree them in a blender.

Put the oats in a saucepan with the apricot puree, 50ml water, and the chopped mixed nuts and seeds, mix them well and gently heat for a few minutes until the mixture is soft and mushy.

Grease and line a baking sheet.  Press the mixture evenly onto the sheet – it shouldn’t be too thick, about 1-1.5cms is about right.

Bake in the oven at 180*c for around 15mins, or until firmly set.

Remove from the oven and carve into fingers before it cools. One cooled, remove from the tray and set onto a cooling rack.

Melt the chocolate and drizzle it over the oat & apricot fingers.  Allow the chocolate to set (pop the fingers in the fridge to speed this bit up), then store them in an airtight tin.

Enjoy!

For more recipe ideas and friendly nutrition chat follow me on Twitter and Facebook or hop over to the Facebook Group at www.facebook.com/groups/nutritioninyork

Carrot top & Cashew Pesto

Carrot top & Cashew Pesto

by | May 14, 2020 | Recipes

Pesto is quick and easy to make with lots of different possibilities for ingredients and flavours.

No basil? No problem. Swap to kale, rocket, watercress – even carrot tops!

No pine nuts? Use cashews, walnuts, hazels, or pumpkin seeds.

The leafy green tops of these carrots were in good shape, so I whizzed them up with nuts, oil and garlic into a delicious pesto packed with fibre, magnesium, zinc, B-vitamins and beta carotene.

There’s no parmesan in this recipe simply because I didn’t have any to hand; include it if you want to, or not, the choice is yours. The recipe works absolutely fine without it.

INGREDIENTS

Carrot tops – washed and roughly chopped. I used all the greens on this bunch.

Generous handful of cashew nuts

1-2 cloves of garlic (depending how garlic-breathy you want to be afterwards)

3 tablespoons olive oil

Place all the ingredients in a mini-chopper or blender and whizz until smooth.

Store any leftovers in a glass jar in the fridge for 3-4 days.

My favourite way to eat pesto is as a topping on goats cheese on toast. The sharp saltiness of the melted cheese sits well with the pesto flavours.

Other options include swirling it into a green soup (try Louises’ Green Soup or the Nettle, Leek & Spinach soup), mixing with warm pasta, or spread on oatcakes.

What’s your pesto preference?

Are you parmesan yay or nay?

Tell us all over on Twitter or Facebook

Abby’s Gluten-free Seeded Bread Rolls

Abby’s Gluten-free Seeded Bread Rolls

by | May 13, 2020 | Recipes

Gluten-free bread has gained a bit of a reputation for being crumbly and tasteless.

Because of this, many gluten-free home bakers have taken matters into their own hands and created their own delicious recipes.

Step forward Reg. Nutritionist Abby Foreman and her gluten-free seeded bread rolls!

As a Coeliac, Abby knows only too well the pitfalls of gluten-free breads. In the quest for better breads, she’s created these seeded bread rolls packed with fibre, vitamins, and minerals. They can even be batch cooked and frozen. Simply reheat in a warm oven – perfect for when you really need a bread bun with your lunchtime soup!

INGREDIENTS

1 cup quinoa flakes

1 cup buckwheat flour

1 1/2 cup pumpkin seeds

1/2 cup sunflower seeds

3 tbsp psyllium husks – this is the vital ingredient for making the dough sticky and held together

2 tbsp mixed herbs

2 tbsp whole chia seeds

2 tbsp whole flax seeds

2 tbsp salt

600ml fresh water

METHOD

Put the quinoa flakes and 1 cup of the pumpkin seeds in a food processed. Blend into a fine flour. Place all the dry ingredients into a bowl with the flour and combine well. Stir in the water, and mix everything together well. Let the mixture sit for an hour to absorb the water.

Preheat the oven to 180 c fan and line a baking tray (or two) with some greaseproof paper. Take a fist full of the dough and shape into a bread roll before placing it on the baking tray.

Bake the rolls for around 45 minutes until golden and crispy on the outside.

The rolls are best eaten when warm. You can store in an airtight container in the fridge for a few days, or in the freezer for a couple of months. Simply place the roll in the oven to heat through.

For more recipes from Abby and to find out about her 1-1 consultation services and online packages go to www.afnutrition.co.uk