SAVOURY STACKED QUINOA PANCAKES

I'm predictable. Some people go to a restaurant for 'something a bit different' or 'something fancy'. For me restaurants are, and always will be a place I can indulge. I pick up a menu and 9 times out of 10 I will scan it for the sub-heading BURGERS. When I've been out with my roomates, who are well aware of my penchant for healthy eating, they seem intrigued that once I get inside the doors of any restaurant why I let go of all inhibitions and assume the persona of an teenage boy with a appetite the size of a buffalo's. To me restaurants are synonymous with treats. When I was younger my family could never afford to take spontaneous trips to dine out, instead they were saved for birthdays and special occasions.  But yesterday I was craving indulgence and stodge. So I decided to get creative. I've seen a lot of paleo recipes merely go without the bun. But after seeing multiple protein pancakes sprawled across my instagram feed I thought why not combine the two? And..hey presto 'Savoury Stacked Quinoa Pancakes' are born.

Grab a large mixing bowl and mix 1 egg white, 1 egg yolk, 1 cup of cooked quinoa, some oats and tablespoon of almond, hazelnut or any milk alternative of your choice until you have a porridge like consistency. Using a non-stick pan ladle in a tablespoon of your mixture and spread about the pan using a spoon. Cook for 2-3 on a low heat or until brown, flip and repeat. 

Stack em' up on your plate. 

Now make your fillings. I used onions, mushrooms, aubergine and grilled chicken coated in cayenne pepper and mixed herbs. I also spread on a layer of hummus onto each pancake. 

I served mine with balsamic roasted kale and asparagus. 

The cleanest most healthiest 'burger' if I ever saw one! It definitely satisfied my restaurant craving. Now where's the dessert...?

FIRST IMPRESSIONS NEVER LAST

To mark my boredom, and a need to be productive over the summer (whether anybody takes the time to read my blog it will be a ignorant comfort to myself) I've decided to share my paleo recipes with whoever happens to stumble across this page. I've followed a clean eating/paleo diet for about three months now and I'm enjoying the challenge that clean cooking is; there's lots of substituting and green colours involved! Hopefully creating a blog will provide me with some sort of drive to keep it up and continuing to experiment even when I return to university in September. I have a boring habit of feeding myself kale, frozen peas and sweet potato on most nights, and in between that I'd have cereal to replace dinner. Admittedly my photography skills are boderline laughable but I intend to get better with time (also once I do back to uni both of my roomates are art students..thus having great cameras and photography skills).

To get the ball rolling here are a few recent recipes;

1. 

2. 

These are the poorest quality photos I have taken so I thought I'd get them out of the way first. Plus I find it difficult to take photos of the food I've prepared when my family are eager to take their plates to the table..

1. Harissa grilled chicken, vegetable skewers and miniature 'pizzas'.
The 'pizzas' are made from slices of sweet potato baked in the oven at 180 degrees for around 20 minutes. Five minutes before you're ready to take the sweet potato out of the oven add sliced aubergine. Once both are done spread a layer of red pesto and crushed garlic on the sweet potato and place aubergine over the top. Then spread over red pepper hummus and added sliced beetroot. Next onto the stack was a dollop of spinach and mozzarella. Put back into the oven for 2-3 minutes until the cheese melts.

2. Pineapple and red pepper salsa grilled haddock, watermelon salad, courgette fritters and thyme & dill roasted pears.

Courgette fritters:
2 grated courgettes (soak the moisture with a tea towel)
1 cup of oatmeal or quinoa
1 tablespoon of hummus
1 glove of crushed garlic
Squeeze of lime
1 teaspoon of cayenne pepper
Crumbled feta
1 teaspoon of smoked paprika

Mix all ingredients in a bowl and form small cake shapes. I decided to throw them straight into the oven for a more healthier alternative. But you can also whisk up 1 egg and coat your fritters with the mixture, heat up a frying pan with oil (many vegans use coconut oil) and fry for 2-3 minutes on both sides till slightly browned and crisp.

Thyme and dill roasted pears:
- 2 halved pears (remove seeds with a teaspoon)
- Fresh thyme
- Fresh dill
- Mozzarella (blue stilton would also work very well)
- Cayenne pepper
- Almonds
- Balsamic vinegar
Lay out on a baking tray and throw on balsamic vinegar, sprinkle of cayenne pepper and a few almonds. Place thyme and dill on top. Roast in the over for 10-15 minutes. Add mozzarella and place back in the oven for a further 2-3 minutes.