1st of Dicember means for me the beginning of the Christmas Season. Even if you can see tv ads, the xmas lights on the street, presents and turrone from early November, I am able to hold myself until the 1st of December to begin Xmas arragements.

When talking to Xmas the one thing that first come into my mind are COOKIES! Yes I love the American tradition of exchanging cookies, make few different types, decorating them, pack them in beautiful boxes and share them with friends and family.

Trully is that most of the cookies and traditional Xmas sweets are loaded with refinated flour, sugars and decorated with artificial colouring, but you always can twist a little bit the recipe and make them much more nutritious and healthy.

Today’s cookies are all made with natural ingredients, 100% pure cacao, organic butter, much less sugar and whole spelt flour, but the best that they are super yummy. Italian biscotti, o carquinyoles how they are called in Catalonia, Hazelnut and Chocolate Cookies or Healthier Gingerbread Cookies are the ones I propose to you today.

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Galletas de Jengibre, versión saludable

Clásicas galletas de jengibre pero más nutritivas y saludables.

Course Galletas

Cuisine Navideña, Saludable

Ingredients

• 165 gramos de harina de espelta integral
• ¾ cucharadita de maicena
• ¼ cucharadita de levadura en polvo
• 1 ½ cucharadita de jengibre molido
• ¼ cucharadita de canela molida
• ⅛ cucharadita de nuez moscada molida
• ⅛ cucharadita de clavo molido
• 30 gramos de mantequilla ecológica sin sal o aceite de coco, derretido y enfriado ligeramente
• 1 huevo grande de corral temperatura ambiente
• 1 ½ cucharadita de extracto de vainilla
• 60 ml de melaza

Instructions

• Mezcle la harina, la maicena, la levadura, el jengibre, la canela, la nuez moscada y los clavos en un bol mediano. En un bol aparte, mezcle la mantequilla y el huevo. Añada la melaza. Agregue la mezcla de harina, revolviendo hasta que se incorpore. Transfiera la masa al centro de una hoja grande de papel de horno y forme un rectángulo de 2 centímetros. Cubra la parte superior con otra hoja grande de papel de horno. Enfríe la masa durante al menos 1 hora.
• Precaliente el horno a 175°C y alinee dos bandejas para hornear con papel de horno.  
• Con ayuda de un rodillo estira la masa de las galletas, para que te sea más fácil, puedes hacerlo dejando los papeles entre la masa y el rodillo, así este no se pegará. Estírala hasta que tenga 0,5 centímetros de grosor. 

  Con un cortador de galletas, corta la masa y colóquelas en la bandeja preparada. Con los restos de masa, vuelve a formar una bola y vuelve a estirarla, repitiendo el proceso. 
• Hornee las galletas  durante 8-10 minutos. Sácalas del horno, déjalas enfriar 5 minutos antes de pasarlas a una rejilla para que se enfríen completamente. 

Notes

Podéis cortarlas con forma de muñequito, el clásico gingerbread men, o como he hecho yo, en círculo y luego decorarlas con un poquito de glaseado para hacerlas más festivas.

The post December ¡Healthier Christmas Cookies! appeared first on Healthy Forkful.

Last weekend I posted in Insta Stories this delicious tender spiced pumpkin cake and it caused a total furore. Lots of messages asking for the recipe, and because nothing please me more than satisfying my beautiful followers, here it is, the magic secret for this beautiful cake!

Pumpkins are in season, oooh yeah!! Halloween and Thanksgiving is making my house to look like a pumpkin yard, I love it, also it challenge me to use up all those pumpkin in sooo many different ways, soups, stews, pasta, currys, pancakes, tarts and cakes are my favourite way to use all those pumpkins. But I’m open to suggestions

I baked this in a cold night, and let me tell you it’s superb. It might be healthy, but trust me, it tastes so good. It’s super moist, and spiced with my favorite mix of fall spices…ginger, cinnamon and cloves.

Eating pumpkin is good for your health, it’s a highly nutrient-dense food, and one of the best sources of beta-carotene, a powerful antioxidant. It’s rich in fiber and vitamin C help us support heart health and regulating blood pressure.

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Spiced Pumpkin Cake

Course cake

Cuisine Healthy

Servings 1 loaf

Ingredients

• 1 free range egg
• 200 gr roasted pumpkin pureed
• 90 ml plant based milk
• 60 gr coconut sugar or panela sugar
• 110 gr spelt flour or oat flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• a handful pecan nuts chopped

To serve

• thick yogurt or whipped cream

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 170ºC, line a loaf pan with partchment paper.
• Add the egg, milk, pumpkin puree, oil, coconut sugar to a bowl and whisk until combined.
• Add the flour, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, baking soda, and baking powder to a different bowl and mix well. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and stir until just combined.
• Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan and sprinkle the chopped pecan nuts on top. Bake on a middle rack for 30-40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
• Let the cake cool for at least 10 minutes. Slice and serve with thick yogurt or whipped cream.

The post Spiced Pumpkin Cake appeared first on Healthy Forkful.

These cookies are those that I like to bake over and over again, because they are amazing. Crunchy, delicate and super tasty. I often wrap them in beautiful packages and give them as a gift to family and friends. Another thing that I usually do is to make the dough, cut it and freeze it, so if there are unplanned visits at home, I just have to bake them and… surprise! freshly homemade cookies to leave them speechless, hehe. They are very easy to make and what I love about these cookies is that they are not too sweet.

They are made with spelt flour, an old grain that is related to wheat, but has a lower gluten content, so it is more beneficial to the digestive system. It could perfectly be replaced by oatmeal, which is a great source of soluble fiber that will help regulate your bowel function, in addition to reducing cholesterol and keeping you full for hours. In this recipe, I like to use butter, but you could use coconut oil too, I always choose organic butter, and although many demonize butter, it is a very rich source of vitamin A (necessary for sight and skin) , and vitamin D (essential to absorb calcium). Nuts such as hazelnuts are full of proteins that can help your body repair and also maintain a healthy immune system.

Do you need more reasons to get yourself into the kitchen to bake them?

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Hazelnut & Chocolate Cookies

Course Cookies

Ingredients

• 50 grams whole spelt flour
• 60 grams muscovado sugar or panela
• 80 grams organic butter
• 1 egg yolk
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 75 grams toasted hazelnut chopped into thick pieces
• 50 grams dark chocolate 75% (or cacao nibs) chopped

Instructions

• Sift the flour in a bowl.
• Place the butter in the bowl and whisk together with the sugar at low medium speed, until creamy, 1-2 minutes.
• Add the egg and vanilla, beat until mixed. Reduce speed and dry ingredients in three additions and chopped chocolate.
• Separate the dough in half and shape each half of elongated sausages. Cover with film and press both ends with the hand towards the center to tighten the dough. Chill prepared dough for at least 3 hours.
• Remove the cold dough and cut the cookies to a thickness of 1 centimeter. Place each cookie a couple of centimeters away on a baking sheet. Bake until the biscuits are lightly browned, about 18-20 minutes. Transfer the cookies to a grid to cool completely.
• Keep them in an airtight container for a week.

The post Hazelnut & Chocolate Cookies appeared first on Healthy Forkful.

My parents in law have a house in Menorca, it’s amazing over here, the sun, the sea, the food, the relaxation, the calm, the storms, everything feels good in the island. The house has a large open space in the back, it’s a wild awkward backyard, with space for barbeque, clothesline and lots of wild plants.

I love plants, all kind of plants, with flowers, without, exotic, classic… I enjoy having the house full of flowers, tiny cactus, green plants… but my preferred are of course edible plants, (a professional flaw :P). I’ve always dreamt with having a small vegetable garden, being able to harvest my own tomatoes, zucchini or herbs is one of my goals. The backyard here would be ideal but since we only come to Menorca in summer and some random weekends during the year, probably is not the best idea… So I satisfy myself by just planting a couple of mint and basil plants so I can enjoy fresh herbs in my meals. Right now there also are tons of weeds, a fig tree, prickly pears, a bougainvillea, daisies, hibiscus flowers, few huge ficus, lavander and… after five summers coming to the house, I’ve only discovered now, there are a couple of caper bushes!! (plus two baby ones).

The night of our arrival, my father in law told me very thrilled we had to taste a jar of capers he pickled few weeks before, he knows how much I love handmade stuff! And guess what? They were delish!!! Curious of me I asked where he’d bought the ‘raw’ capers and he told me, from the backyard!!! My reaction was…. Whaaaat, we have caper bushes!?!?!? How I didn’t know!! It was funny, I could see how proud he was of having his own capers.

Did you know capers are tightly closed buds? If you let them grow they transform in beautiful white-pinkish flowers. Capers are also delicious and have a high nutrient value. They are rich in flavonoid compounds which are potent sources of antioxidants, preventing us from cancer and skin diseases. Capers contains iron, calcium, coper and sodium and vitamins like vitamin A or K.

Capers are great to bring flavor to plates, add them to salads, salmon, chicken or vegetables, serve over a slice of bread with cheese. Add to your tomato sauce for a richer and deeper flavour and it’s

the perfect vegetarian/vegan option to sustitute anchovies, they give that marinara flavour to any dish.

Making pickle capers is very easy, as with other pickles and marinated you just need a bit of patience. Capers also must be soacked in advance, three days, changing the water daily, to get rid of bitterness and harsh flavors. Once soaked you can manipulated and pickle or marinate as your like.

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COOKING CLASS IN BARCELONA- PULSES IN A DIFFERENT WAY

Bored of the classic chickpea casserole and lentils stews? Then, you can’t miss this opportunity to bring pulses to the next level!! I’ll be teaching a wonderful cooking class where you will learn how to cook pulses and legumes in a very different way.

When and where? Next 18th of September, at Barcelona Cuina Natural (BCN), a beautiful place where you’ll feel like at home! You can find more info and make reservations here.

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Homemade Pickled Capers

Course Appetizer, Snack

Cuisine Mediterranean, Picked

Ingredients

• 1 cup fresh capers soaked for three days (changing water daily)
• 1 cup vinegar I've used balsamic
• 1 cup water
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1 lemon cut in quarters

Instructions

• Have ready 1 cup of soaked and drained capers buds.
• Make a brine mixing vinegar, water, lemon and salt. Put your capers in a glass jar and cover with the brine. Leave for 3 days at room temperature, in a dark and cold place.
• You could pickle for longer, until you are satisfied with the taste. Once you like, keep in the fridge 

Notes

Make sure the capers are well covered with the brine.

Don't be alarmed if little white spots appear on the surface, it's a natural reaction to the fermentation

The post Homemade Pickled Capers appeared first on Healthy Forkful.

Do you love lasagna but avoid it because it’s rich in simple carbs, you are celiac or because so much cheese make you sick? Don’t go too far, I’ve got the solution for you! A couple of simple twists to the traditional recipe and you will be able to enjoy the most delicious lasagne ever, gluten-free, grain free and vegan!

Sliced aubergine instead of the lasagna pasta sheets, a vegan ragu made with caviar lentils is the main filling and a delicate and smooth cauliflower sauce will be in place of the classic bechamel, all topped with a crunchy “cheesy” topping.

Nutritional Facts

This vegan lasagna is pure goodness. Aubergines or eggplants as they are known in the States or Australia are very high in fibre, folate, manganese and antioxidants, they are also a great source of magnesium which helps with nerve and muscle contraction. Using them instead of the pasta sheets will allow you to reduce considerably the amount of carbs from your plate. Homemade Tomato sauce brings the flavor of summer to your table, so colourful, fresh, healthy and full of antioxidants. Caviar lentils are tiny black and round lentils, also called beluga lentils. Lentils are an excellent way for vegans to incorporate protein into their diet, they are a good source of iron and are low GI.

If is the first time to hear about caviar lentils, give them a try, you will love the, they are also delicious on their own, and work well with things like stew, over soups, and more!

I would love to know what you think about today’s recipe, if you can’t wait to give it a try and to see all your creations, so please, tag #healthyforkful on Instagram so I don’t miss any!!!

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Aubergine Lentil Lasagne

Delicious gluten free, vegan Aubergine Lentil Lasagne

Course Main Course

Cuisine Italian, Vegan

Prep Time 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes minutes

Total Time 50 minutes minutes

Servings 2 people

Ingredients

• 1 big aubergine slice into circles
• 1/2 cup caviar lentils
• water
• bay leaf

Tomato Sauce

• 1 kilo ripe plum tomatoes chopped
• 2 shallots finelly chopped
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• pinch sea salt and black pepper
• freshly garden herbs (basil, thyme, parsley...) chopped

Cauliflower Bechamel

• 300 gr cauliflower cut into florets
• 1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
• 1 shallot
• 30-50 ml plant base milk
• sea salt

Vegan Parmesan

• 90 gr raw cashews
• 9 gr nutritional yeast
• a pinch sea salt

Instructions

• Start by boiling the caviar lentils. Place the caviar lentil in a pot with water, salt and bay leaf, put over high heat and bring it to boil. Reduce the heat to medium and let it cook until lentils are soft, about 20 minutes. 

  Drain and reserve.
• Meanwhile grill the aubergine. Brush both sides of each slice with olive oil. Place a grill pan over high heat and when hot add the aubergine slices, cook for 3-4 minutes and turn them to the other side. When cook remove and reserve.

Homemade Tomato Sauce

• Sauté shallots in the olive oil over medium heat.
• Add chopped tomatoes, cover with a lid, lower the heat, add herbs, season and let it simmer until tomatoes are soft, about 15 to 20 minutes
• Remove the lid and smash tomatoes with the back of a fork. This is the kind of chunky tomato sauce I love folding on pasta, beans and vegetable dishes.
• For the lasagne you will only need about a cup (250gr) of the tomato sauce. Keep the rest in a glass container in the fridge up to 3-4 days. If you want a thicker sauce let it reduce 10 minutes longer and if you prefer a smoothier sauce just blend it through a strainer or blend with a hand blender.

Cauliflower Sauce

• Place cauliflower in a saucepan of boiling water and cook for 15 minutes until tender. Drain and set aside.
• Sauté shallot in a saucepan with a bit of olive oil until soft, 4 minutes.
• Place cauliflower, onion, milk, salt and pepper in a blender and blend until smooth.

Vegan Parmesan cheese

• Add all ingredients to a food processor and mix until achieve a fine meal texture. You will need about 2 tablespoons for the lasagne. Keep the rest in the fridge for several weeks.

To build the lasagne

• Mix the cooked caviar lentils with a cup of tomato sauce.
• Drizzle with oil the bottom of a baking dish and layer with the grilled aubergine. 

  Spread the tomato lentil sauce and cover with the remained grilled aubergine.

  Spread over the bechamel and sprinkle with the vegan parmesan cheese.
• Grill in the preheated oven for 15-20 minutes until golden.

The post Aubergine Lentil Lasagne | Gluten Free, Vegan and Delicous! appeared first on Healthy Forkful.

Healthy Birthday Cake, because following a healthy lifestyle doesn’t mean to give up delicious cakes, and even less if it’s your birthday!!

Taking care of yourself is not just eating healthy. It’s also about mindset, about sharing food, living the moment and enjoy a fulfilled life!

Many people who start quitting sugar, leaving refined foods, and eating healthy… are afraid to have a bit of a cake, even if it’s healthy sugared cake; or to enjoy a dinner with their friends, they believe if they do, they have failed to themselves… My biggest advice is just don’t punish yourself, go with it and don’t make a big deal about it, you can move fon from it. It’s important to understand that life is about balance! You shouldn’t be afraid, a bite of something that you won’t consider in your daily healthy life is not going to ruin your habits, your new life philosophy. Tomorrow will be a new day and you can keep up with your healthy routine. You can perfectly enjoy your nephew’s birthday cake and still be healthy! The enjoyment of the party, your nephew excitement… all those moments also nourish you!

80/20 is a ratio that I really love. Fill your plate with antioxidant-rich wholefoods 80% of the time, and enjoy your favourite, slightly less nutritious foods for the remaining 20%.

This birthday cake is made with whole and delicious nutrient dense ingredients. Happy eggs, unsweetened almond milk, wholemeal spelt flour, fresh strawberries, vanilla, rich mascarpone, Greek yogurt and yes some sugar as well, coconut sugar for the sponge and maple syrup in the frosting, but really tiny amounts if you compare with a traditional cake recipe or the store-bought ones. We could say this healthy birthday cake falls somewhere in between that 80%-20%, having more weight in the 80% side.

Who wouldn’t want a bite of it? This cake nourish you and even more important, provides happiness to your soul!!!

POSSIBLE VARIATIONS

Want to customize this healthy birthday cake recipe?  Feel free to…

Use a different type of flour: you could use oat flour or wholewheat flour instead of spelt flour. 

Use a xilitol instead of coconut sugar: xilitol is a natural sugar from the birch tree, it’s an excelent option for diabetics because it’s affects much less the blood sugar than the white sugar. Check the package to convert the amount, because it’s much sweeter. 

Use any fruit you like: I’ve used strawberries but you could use blueberries, raspberries, a mix of berries or diced apples or pears for example.

Make a big cake or tiny cakes: with this amount you can bake a 22cm cake or make two/three tiny cakes. For this last option, I use to bake the sponge in a flat tray and then cut tiny circles with a glass.

MORE FAVORITE CAKE RECIPES

If you look for more ideas of delicious and healthy cakes, check:

• this incredible chocolate and beetroot cake
• the Carrot Cake in it’s healthier version,
• this two colour celebration cake.

 

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Healthy Birthday Cake

Delicious and healthy birthday cake made with whole ingredients that will nourish your body and your mind.

Course Dessert

Cuisine Vegetarian

Prep Time 40 minutes minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes minutes

Total Time 1 hour hour

Servings 8 people

Ingredients

For the sponge

• 110 ml extra virgin olive oil or coconut oil
• 90 gr coconut sugar
• 1/2 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 2 free-range eggs
• 150 grams wholemeal spelt flour
• 30 grams ground almonds
• 1/2 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 pinch cream of tartar or few drops of lemon juice
• 125 ml almond milk or any other milk

For the frosting

• 500 grams mascarpone
• 180 ml Greek natural yogurt o skyr (super thick yogurt high in protein)
• 2 tablespoons maple syrup
• 1 teaspoon vanilla powder
• 100 grams strawberries finely chopped

For decoration

• berries fresh or frozen
• fresh strawberries

Instructions

For the sponge

• Preheat the oven to 180ºC. Line a 23*30cm oven tray with parchment paper.
• In a big bowl beat the eggs, coconut sugar, vanilla and oil until smooth.

  In a different bowl, mix spelt flour, ground almonds, baking powder and cream of tartar. Gently fold it through the egg mixture.
• Add almond milk and mix gently.
• Pour the mixture into the prepared oven tray and bake for 20-30 minutes. Once cooked, remove from the oven and let it cool completely.

For the frosting

• Meanwhile prepare the frosting by stiring the mascarpone with a spatula until smooth. Add yogurt, maple and vanilla and stir until smooth.
• Take one third of the mixture into a different bowl and add the strawberries.
• Reserve both bowls into the fridge and let them set.

Assembling the cake

• Take the sponge and cut 6*8,5cm circles with a cookie cutter or a glass.

  Place one circle onto a serving plate. Scoop about 2 large tablespoons of the strawberry mascarpone mixture into the middle on the circle and smooth out to the edges.
• Add a secon circle and repeat the previous step. 
• Top with a thrid circle. Spredd vanilla mascarpone around and on top of the cake smoothing with a palette knife. Decorate with strawberry and berries.
  
• Make the same proccess with the other 3 circles. You will get two tine covered cakes.

Notes

This recipe makes 2*8,5cm cakes.

You could get a two layer cake of 22cm diameter by dividing the sponge mixture between two 22cm cake tins and baking them for 40 minutes aprox. When it's time to build it, place the strawberry mascarpone in between the layers and cover with the plain vanilla mascarpone.

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This Spiced Cauliflower Burger tastes like heaven. I made them last week for our traditional healthy fast-food weekend dinner and were a total success.

I hardly can believe, cauliflower was one of the vegetables that I most hated in my younger years. It wasn’t until a couple of years ago that I started to give it a oportunity. I played with it a lot, what could be the best way to cook it? I’ve made cauli-balls , cauliflower pate, cauliflower couscous, cauliflower bechamel, cauliflower stir fried, I’m made flatbreads with it and even try it in smoothies. And the truth is that I’m using it more and more every time because I love it!!! You just need to forget the over boiled cauliflower you use to eat when kid and find a way to cook it you like it, in most of the dishes I mentioned before it doesn’t even taste or smell cauliflower!

Nutritional facts

Cauliflower belongs to the cruciferous family, like kale, cabbage, sprouts. It’s a good source of the cancer-fighting agents known as glucosinolates. It is also loaded with vitamin B6, C, K, fibre, folate and potassium. It support digestion and boost your immune system and it works as an anti-inflammatory.

Why Cauliflower makes you fart? And how to avoid it!

You may be afraid of it because it makes you bloated and gassy. This happens because we are not able to break down raffinose, a complex sugar found in cruciferous. So it ends fermenting by bacteria in our lower intestine and produces methane, carbon methane, carbon dioxide and hydrogen, leading to flatulence. Which are actually quiet smelly.

To reduce this or simply don’t suffer from it:

• Cook your cauliflower ‘al dente’, not raw neither over cooked.
• Chew well your vegetables, at least 20 times per bite.
• Puree those cruciferous. Pureeing increases contact with your digestive enzymes as the food travels through your GI tract, increasing its absorbility. As a result, there’s less residue arriving to the colon to feed your gut bacteria – and less opportunity for flatulence.
• Enjoy an herbal tea after your meal. Fennel, cumin, cinnamon, peppermint or ginger tea are best to reduce the gas and the symptoms of an upset stomach.

Once you know these tricks and you discover your way for cooking cauliflower, you will see it with different eyes, believe me!

Today’s burger is a vegetarian one loaded with eggs, almonds, quinoa and of course cauliflower. The special part is all those spices that blend perfectly together. The result is a truly and seriously delicious burger. They have a great texture and an awesome smoky flavor that will satisfy your meat cravings.

Are you ready to give it a chance? If so, please, remember to tag #healthyforkful on Instagram or leave a comment below and share your thought about it.

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Spiced Cauliflower Burger

This Spiced Cauliflower Burger is tasty, filling and delicious. It would satisfy to the king of the meaters! 

Course Main Course

Cuisine Vegetarian

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes minutes

Total Time 40 minutes minutes

Servings 4 people

Ingredients

• 1 head cauliflower cut in florets
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 200 grams quinoa cooked
• 100 grams ground almonds
• 100 grams parmesan cheese grated
• 2-3 happy eggs
• salt & pepper

For serving

• mayonnaise
• green sauce
• bread buns sourdough if possible

Instructions

For the burgers

• Preheat the oven to 200ºC. Line a baking tray with partchment paper.
• Place the cauliflower florets on the baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with spices. Roast for 20 minutes, until soft. Let cool.
• Transfer to a food processor and blend to form small pieces, couscous size. Be careful to don't puree it.
• in a big bowl, mix cauliflower, cooked quinoa, ground almonds, parmesan, 2 eggs, salt and pepper. Combine well. If you see the mixture is too dry and doesn't hold together add another egg.

  Form 8 burgers and let them rest for 10 minutes.
• In a nonstick pan, add a bit of oil and heat over medium heat. When hot, add the burgers and cook each side until golden brown before flipping. Flip them carefully to avoid breaking.
• Arrange the burgers with mayo, green sauce, bread buns and enjoy them with crispy oven spiced potato wedges

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Crispy Oven Spiced Potatoes

Delicious and healthy baked oven spiced potatoes

Course Side Dish

Cuisine Vegan, Vegetarian

Prep Time 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes minutes

Total Time 35 minutes minutes

Servings 4 people

Ingredients

• 3 potatoes cut into wedges
• 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon paprika

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 180ºC. Line a baking tray with parchment paper.
• Place potato wedges on the tray, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with oregano and paprika. Roast for 30 minutes, until golden and soft.

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By now you all know my love and adiction for porridge. And because I want to pass this devotion to all of you, today I bring you a super quick porridge so you don’t have excuse to avoid a nutritious breakfast in the morning.

This porridge breakfast recipe is great for busy mornings. For those days we couldn’t avoid to press the snooze bottom of our alarms. For those we rather prefer to get coddle in bed than spending time preparing breakfast. But here you have the solution, it will only take you few minutes to make and you will still enjoy its beautifully healthy and energising properties.

The secret is just to soak the oats with boiling water while you get ready. Then warm it up over the stove or in the microwave a couple of minutes. And finally the fun part, add your favourite toppings or whatever you have on hand. Or even if you want a speedier way to make porridge you could put everything in a bowl and thow it into the microwave, a couple of minutes to high temperature and voilà a delicious and creamy porridge is done!

Lately I’m enjoying a lot a big bowl of chocolate porridge, yes, just add a teaspoon of pure raw cocoa powder to your milk and oats and you will get an intense chocolaty breakfast, perfect for chocolate lovers.

If you’ve been cautious or are still exceptical of porridge, I challenge you to give this one a try! Let your granola aside, the chocolate flavor makes this porridge irresistible, especially with a little melted dark chocolate on top.

This is the easiest and best way to have healthy and nutritious mornings, don’t you thing? If you give this recipe a try, let me know!! I would love to see what you come up!! Please, leave a comment below or tag #healthyforkful on Instagram!

Wish you a happy week!

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Super Quick Chocolate Porridge

Still sceptical about porridge? This super quick chocolate porridge will make you downfall!! Chocolaty, creamy and addictive!

Course Breakfast

Keyword chocolate, oats

Prep Time 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time 3 minutes minutes

Servings 2 portions

Ingredients

• 100 gr rolled oats
• 200 ml boiling water
• 100 ml any kind of milk
• 2 teaspoons pure cacao powder
• 2 teaspoons honey or maple syrupe optional
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• To serve
• pear or berries
• Nuts
• Seeds as pumpkin, sunflower, flaxseeds or poppy seeds
• Honey maple syrup (or any other swetener)
• Dark chocolate melted

Instructions

• Put the oats into a big bowl  with water, half of the milk, pure cacao and honey if using. Place into the microwave and heat 2 minutes on high temperature. Check the consistency, stir and heat 1 minute longer if you want it creamier (you may need to add more milk if it's too thick).
• Remove from the microwave, add the rest of the milk, stir and divide between a couple of bowls.
• Serve it with your favourite toppings, melted dark chocolate is a top!

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 My Valentine’s day memories begins at college. Once, talking with my sister, we concluded we didn’t want to wait for a boyfriend to celebrate St. Valentine. We had each other, we loved each other and we knew we were going to be always there for each other. So we decided I was going to be her Valentine and she was going to be mine.

My mum use to prepare a special dinner that day (she still does) and we were going to be protagonist as well. At the time of exchanging presents, I was very excited, I got a little mug with a heart for my sister, although she thought we were joking and didn’t buy me anything, it doesn’t really matter, it was the start of a beautiful tradition between us. Since then every year we still exchange something (even just a postcard) as a symbol of our sisterly love.

It’s important to realise that love, and St. Valentine’s Day, is not just about having a significant other. Love is in the air, in the people you surround yourself with. It is in a great movie, the places you call home, in the fresh flowers. Love is enjoying a massage, doing your favourite sport  and in a great dinner.

There is a lot of pressure on this holiday to be in love and in a romantic relationship. Look far beyond that, celebrate the love you can find everywhere in your life.

Right now what is making me very happy and loving are these delicious homemade healthy Ferrero I made over the weekend. They are perfectly sweet with a wonderful crunchy effect and a deep maple flavour. And of course they are even better that the real ones!!

If you are addicted to chocolate like me, be sure to check out the Chocolate Beetroot Cake, this delicious Chocolate Banana Smoothie and don’t forget the Chocolate Granola from the free ebook!

I would love to know what’s your plan to celebrate St. Valentine’s Day this year. Leave a commen below or tag a photo #healthyforkful on Instagram so I won’t miss it!

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Homemade Healthy Ferrero

A delicious healthy version of Ferrero Rocher. Adapted from Healthy Studio Bcn

Course Sweet Treat

Prep Time 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes minutes

Total Time 50 minutes minutes

Ingredients

• 150 grams ground hazelnuts
• 50 grams oat flour
• 100 grams dates pitted
• 18-20 whole hazelnuts roasted and skinless
• 1 tablespoon raw cacao powder
• 1/2 teaspoon pure maple extract

Caramelised hazelnuts

• 100 grams whole hazelnuts
• 25 grams coconut sugar or honey

To decorate

• 100 grams dark chocolate melted
• caramelised hazelnuts crumbled

Instructions

• Start making the caramelised hazelnuts. In a linen oven tray, place 100 grams of hazelnuts, drizzle the honey and mix well. Bake at 160º until hazelnuts are caramelised, about 10 minutes, be careful not to burn. When cold, place them in a food processor and pulse until semble breadcrumbs. Reserve.
• Place dates in a food processor and pulse until they become a paste. 
• Add ground hazelnuts, oat flour, cacao, maple essence and pulse once more until combined and you get a smooth dough.
• Scoop portions of the mixture. Flatten each portion in the palm of your hand, place a whole hazelnut in the middle and then close the truffle mixture around the hazelnut. 
• Melt the chocolate, dip a truffle in the chocolate, making sure it is well coated. Then roll in the crumbled caramelised hazelnuts. Let them to cool.

The post Celebrating Love: Homemade Healthy Ferrero appeared first on Healthy Forkful.

Few weeks ago there was a small revolution over Spain when a mum, and nutritionist, tweeted ‘My son doesn’t know what a cookie is. He is happy eating chickpeas for breakfast’. Critics and supporters expressed their opinion all over Internet, more than a thousand comments, retweets, and more than three thousand likes. Even one of the main newspapers wrote an article about it.

I don’t like to judge anyone. Even more, when I don’t have kids. The truth is that I would probably let my kids to know what a cookie is, the difference between a good cookie and a bad cookie and the pros and cons of them. But I also would let my kids have chickpeas for breakfast if that makes them happy.

I actually have already eaten chickpeas for breakfast-brunch. The first time was few months ago, and I have to say the photo on Instagram was quiet popular . Because, isn’t chickpeas a delicious and healthy protein-carb option? And like any nutritionist would say, our meals (brekkie included) should consist on healthy fats, lean protein and complex carbs. So it doesn’t matter if it’s for breakfast, lunch or dinner go for chickpeas whenever you want!

This avocado on toast topped with dukkah chickpeas is a super top breakfast, fancy, delicious and fullfilling. You will feel like being in the best brunch spot of town but better, in your pyjamas!

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Avocado on Toast with Dukkah Chickpeas

Delicious and superb breakfast option

Course Breakfast, brun

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 5 minutes minutes

Total Time 15 minutes minutes

Servings 2 people

Ingredients

• 2-4 slices sourdough bread
• 1 riped avocado
• 2 tablespoons sour cream or cream cheese
• 150-200 grams dukkah chickpeas* see recipe below
• a handful sprouts
• 1/2 lemon juiced
• salt
• black pepper

Instructions

• Toast the bread.
• Slice avocado and mash it on the toast. Spread the sour cream or cream cheese over the avocado.

  Sprinkle with a bit of lemon juice and season.

  Top with dukkah chickpeas and sprouts.
• Serve immediatly

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Dukkah Chickpeas

Makes enough for the toast plus extra for snacking

Course Snack

Prep Time 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes minutes

Total Time 35 minutes minutes

Servings 1 big bowl

Ingredients

• 350 grams chickpeas cooked
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 3 tablespoons dukkah (homemade or store-bought)

For the dukkah (makes a small jar, keep in the fridge)

• 70 grams roasted hazelnuts
• 2 tablespoons sunflower seeds
• 1 teaspoon fennel seeds
• 1 tablespoon cumin seeds
• 3 tablespoons coriander seeds
• 1 tablespoons sesame seeds
• a pinch coarse salt
• 1 teaspoon paprika

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 160ºC. Line a baking tray with parchment paper.
• To make the dukkah, toast seeds in a small pan over médium heat for 2-3 minutes until fragant, be careful not to burn them. In a food processor blend hazelnuts, all the toasted seeds, a pinch of salt and paprika until ground.
• For the dukkah chickpeas. Place chickpeas in a colander to drain for a few minutes. Mix with 3 tablespoons of the dukkah and the olive oil. spread evenly on a baking tray and bake for 20-30 minutes until golden, stiring them from time to time.

The post Avocado Dukkah Chickpeas Toast appeared first on Healthy Forkful.