Chicken and Kale Korma

We love a good curry. But as we are keeping our spending down we cannot afford a takeaway. The other week we decided to buy a ready made curry from an upmarket food chain and after we had eaten we really were not happy. The quality was not good and we really did not enjoy our meal after spending as much as we had. So to try and make up for that disaster I thought I'd make my own curry with the help of Aldi's Specially Selected Mild and Creamy Korma curry sauce. 

I have never used this sauce before but I loved how it came with a sachet of spices to add to the chicken before adding the sauce. This enabled the flavours to fully develop as the meat cooks. This sauce creates a deliciously creamy, fragrant and mildly spiced curry. The coconut, cream, yogurt and ground almonds give it a truly authentic finish. To give this curry some added goodness I have added some shredded kale. When it comes to leafy, green vegetables you just know that they are good for you. Kale is classed as a super food, it is an excellent source of vitamin K, C and A. But what not many people know is that kale is an great source of calcium which makes it a useful source for vegans or people who follow a dairy free diet. But the list does not stop there, kale also contains folate (folic acid), anti oxidants, manganese, copper and it virtually fat free and low in calories! If you struggle to get the kids to tuck into some kale at dinner time, then do what I do, add it to a meal that is sauce based and watch them eat it all up!

This is what I did...

Iceland #PowerofFrozen - Honey and Mustard Red Snapper Recipe

As long as I can remember there has always been an Iceland on the high street. But I will admit to not shopping there a great deal. That is until now!

In 2015 Iceland kicked off their #PowerofFrozen campaign working with Holly Bell, Great British Bake Off finalist and blogger at Recipes from a Normal Mum. They created a PowerofFrozen cookbook containing 45 recipes to celebrate 45 years of business. Since then they have worked with bloggers such as Emily Leary from A Mummy Too and Vicki Psarias from Honest Mum. So when they contacted me and asked me to write them a recipe, I could not wait to get started!

It has been a few years since I have shopped in Iceland so I really was not too sure what to expect. I knew that I was guaranteed of finding family favourites such as fish fingers and potato waffles but I was surprised to find them alongside superfoods, rare meats and Slimming World meals. I was amazed by the wide variety and choice they had to offer. When choosing frozen food from Iceland you know that you are going to be buying food that has been carefully selected from around the world. Modern freezing techniques ensure that the nutrients are locked in the product, unlike fresh products that loose nutrients as the edge closer to their best before stage. Thanks to these new techniques you can be guaranteed to have the same taste and quality of fresh food, but with the valuable nutrients kept inside. Selecting frozen food also inevitably reduces food waste. I feel guilty every time I throw vegetables that are past their best into the compost pile. Using frozen produce allows you to use exactly the amount that you require, leaving what is left in the freezer for another meal.

When it came to selecting what food I would like to show you from Iceland, I really was spoilt for choice. They had the usual fish that I was expecting to see like cod, haddock and tuna. But alongside it I was surprised to see red snapper, squid tubes and whole sea bass.

Merchant Gourmet Red and White Quinoa with Sweet and Sticky Cod

Did you know that 2016 is the year of the pulse? What a great excuse to try more pulses and grains!

Regular readers will know that I love trying new foods and have recently been adding a wider range of pulses and grains to my families meals. Grains and pulses are full of nutritional goodness and add such delicious flavours to a dish.

When Merchant Gourmet asked me if I would like to try some of their products and use them in one of my recipes I could not wait to get started.

To kick start the new year, Merchant Gourmet have teamed up with top chef Sophie Michell to promote their new, nationwide campaign "Eat Well, Live Well". They want people to start the new year as they mean to go on, starting and maintaining healthy eating habits and incorporating more pulses and grains into their diets. Over the year Sophie will be sharing some delicious recipes which she hopes will inspire the nation to eat healthier! Healthy meals which taste great are winning meals in my book!

To get you started I have created a quick and easy recipe which is full of flavour and ideal for a midweek meal when you are short of time. Thanks to the Chinese five spice and the Manuka honey it is full of flavour.

This is what I did...

Banana Coconut Cake and CookBlogShare Week 18

If you are a regular reader you will know how I love to experiment with baking. I love trying out new ingredients, especially healthier options and super foods.

So when Indigo Herbs asked me if I would like to try some of their organic, gluten free baking ingredients I could not wait to get experimenting and baking. When the products arrived I was delighted to see that it included some of my favourite ingredients, coconut products! I have recently discovered both coconut flour and coconut oil and have enjoyed baking with them both. I was excited to see that they had also sent me some coconut sugar which is an ingredient which I have not used before but have wanted to try out. If you are using coconut flour for the first time it is important to remember that coconut flour has a completely different consistency to regular flour. It is much more absorbent so requires more liquid and/or extra eggs. It is great to use as an addition to other flours. In this recipe I have combined it with gluten free rice flour and it has worked perfectly.

Indigo Herbs are an online shop where you can find any health food supplements that you may need. It is full of foods and tips to help you have a healthier lifestyle and include more superfoods in your everyday diet. I can see this being an online shop that we will continue to order from for the supplements that we love to add to our foods.

I really did enjoy baking with the coconut products and will admit that this was my second attempt at the cake. As I mentioned before, coconut flour behaves differently to regular flour and my first cake was too dense so after a few adjustments I found the perfect recipe. I hope you enjoy it as much as we do and I look forward to sharing more coconut recipes with you!

This is what I did...

Chocolate Cake with Added Goodness

I love chocolate cake, but I do not love the guilt that comes with it. That is why I decided to make a chocolate cake which has a bit more goodness in. If it contains a few super foods it cannot be all bad now, can it?

When I decided what ingredients to use for this cake I decided to use chia seeds. Chia seeds are one of the healthiest seed there are, they are not only full of nutritional goodness that have important benefits to your body and brain. Cranberries are full of antioxidants and even contain anti inflammatory properties. Then the raw cacao contains many essential minerals, helps increase alleviate fatigue. The creme patissiere is dairy free and made using coconut milk.

This is what I did...

Lean Greens - Review

As you probably know recently I have been discovering 'superfoods'. I have been adding chlorella, wheat grass, chia seeds and matcha to all sorts of juices and smoothies. But trying to incorporate all of the superfoods that they say you should have can be hard as there are so many. Then there is the problem of which ones to choose and then there is the price.

The individual packets are not cheap!

You can imagine how curious I was when Lean Greens asked me if I would like to try their superfood drink food supplement!

I could not wait to try them!

So what is in Lean Greens?

What makes them different to other food supplement drinks? Well look a all the goodness that it contains...

Photograph courtesy of Lean Greens

Sweetpea Pantry Review

Today I am sharing a delicious company, the Sweetpea Pantry.

Sweetpea Pantry have created some amazing baking kits. I am not usually a fan of cake and bake mixes however I did get really excited about Sweetpea Pantry mixes. You may be wondering what makes these mixes different. Sweetpea Pantry are not your regular mixes, they are 100% natural ingredients and contain superfoods!

Yes superfoods for kids!

Since we changed our diets we have been adding a lot of superfoods to our diets and I have been looking for ways to incorporate the goodness into meals and bakes that the children will also like. Sweetpea Pantry keep it simple, they only use 100% natural ingredients, cut down refined sugar and get as much goodness into each pack as possible.