Bo's Kitchen

Plant based recipes made with love

Breakfast

Tropical bircher bowls

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tropical bircher bowls

Tropical bircher bowls are just what this new month calls for. Zesty, vibrant, fragrant and fruity food is what I’m lusting for after what feels like an eternity of cold weather. The first blossoms are starting to appear on the trees, the birds are singing and I’m planting some edible flowers this weekend, which means spring is coming! I couldn’t be happier. …

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Hazelnut overnight oat cups

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Hazelnut overnight oats with salted date caramel

I’m saying goodbye to January with these hazelnut overnight oat cups, layered with salted date caramel, and hazelnut butter. Life is good when this is breakfast.

It’s almost the end of the longest month in the history of time. Seriously, this month has felt like forever! A cold, hard January calls for extra yummy breakfasts. When there’s no summer berries and the cupboards are bare, it’s time to get creative with what I have left. One thing I always have a tonne of is oats. I usually have a 10kg bag in the garage. It sounds excessive and to be honest, it probably is, but when times are hard, oats can make milk, porridge, flapjacks, biscuits, flour and these cute wee breakfast pots (I also like to think that should the worst happen and world war three breaks out, I’ll have enough food to see us through until at least 2020).

Prep a batch of this the night before you want to eat it. I usually make the nut butter in the morning, when the hazelnuts have fully cooled. If you can manage your time better than me, you could definitely make the nut butter in the evening too- just be sure to let those nuts cool fully, your blender will thank you. The date caramel probably makes more than you need (although the cups pictured are super dainty), so you’ll have plenty left to spread on toast, pancakes or ice cream…mmmm.

date caramel oats chia hazelnut butter

Hazelnut overnight oats

  • 3/4 cup oats
  • 1.5 cups nut mylk
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 tbsp hazelnut butter
  • 2 tbsp chia seeds (I use Organic Burst chia)

Hazelnut butter

  • 2 cups hazelnuts
  • 1 tsp salt

Salted date caramel

  • 1 cup dates, pitted
  • 1 tsp salt (I prefer pink himalayan salt)
  • 1/2 cup boiling water
  1. If you’re making your own hazelnut butter- preheat oven to 180•c and lay 2 cups of whole hazelnuts flat on a baking tray. Roast until golden and fragrant, about 12-15 minutes, check on them half way through to make sure they aren’t burning.
  2. Allow to cool fully. Pour hazelnuts into a clean tea towel, wrap the sides up and roll them around on the counter to remove the skins. Don’t worry if you can’t get them all off, but less skins make for a smoother texture. Add to blender, along with salt and start off blending slowly, after 7-8 minutes it should be getting runny. Keep going until pourable. Store in a clean jar. No need to rinse out your blender- it will help with the next step.
  3. To make the overnight oats – add nut mylk, chia, vanilla and hazelnut butter into your (hopefully still sticky) blender and pulse briefly to combine. Now add the mixture to your oats and stir through with a spoon. The mixture should be quite runny at this stage- add a little more mylk if you need to- the chia seeds will soak up all the liquid. Leave in a large jar overnight.
  4. Before you go to bed, add your dates to a small bowl and cover with water. This will help soften and plump them up for the caramel.
  5. In the morning, drain your dates. Save this sweet water for smoothies or oatmeal, it’s delicious. Add drained, pitted dates, salt and boiling water, a little at a time, to your blender and combine until smooth and gooey.
  6. Layer your jars with salted date caramel, hazelnut overnight oats and hazelnut butter. Garnish with banana coins and crushed hazelnuts.

Cranberry and pistachio energy bars

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cranberry and pistachio energy bars

These cranberry and pistachio energy bars have been a firm favourite in my house this month. They’re so quick to prepare and compared to traditional energy bars, which in my experience tend to be dry, flavourless and tough, these are moist, sweet and incredibly moreish. The best bit is you can easily swap the ingredients around depending on what you have in your pantry- I love flexible recipes. The perfect way to use up all of those leftover bags of dried fruits and nuts from Christmas. Pistachio and cranberry is a wonderful combination though, so I’d recommend grabbing these if you can. They freeze really well too, so I’ve been making a big batch on a Sunday to enjoy through the week.

Feel free to add in your favourite superfoods, nut butters, dried fruits, coconut shreds, whatever you fancy really, just keep the proportions of wet to dry ingredients the same and you’ll struggle to go wrong.

I’ve worked all through the Christmas period and now I’m off for three whole days and I can’t wait to cook and shoot again, I really miss it if I can’t take pictures every day. I’m going to be rustling up some turmeric lemonade today, after spotting this beautiful recipe on my friend Janine’s blog. Take a peek here to check it out, the photography is stunning and her blog is a joy to visit. If you’d like to follow her on Instagram, you can find her at @nutsandblueberries.

Hope you’re staying warm, my sweet peas! Wishing you a very happy New Year, roll on 2017!!!

Cranberry and pistachio energy bars

  • 2 cups rolled oats
  • 1/2 cup almonds, roughly chopped
  • 1/2 cup walnuts, roughly chopped
  • 1/2 cup sunflower or pumpkin seeds
  • 1/ 4 cup chia seeds
  • 1 cup pitted dates
  • 1/3 cup maple syrup
  • 1 tbsp coconut oil
  • 1/4 cup almond butter
  • 1/2 cup dried cranberries
  • 1/2 cup shelled and roughly chopped pistachios
  • 1/4 tsp pink himalayan salt
  1. Preheat oven to 190•c. Pour oats, almonds, walnuts and seeds onto a baking tray and spread out evenly. Toast in the oven for 10 minutes, until slightly golden.
  2. Add dates and 1/2 cup of hot water to a food processor and blitz until a date caramel has formed. Add date mixture and toasted oat mix into a large bowl.
  3. In a small pan, gently melt maple syrup, coconut oil and almond butter. Once combined, add to the large mixing bowl with the date caramel and oats. Stir well until everything is coated. Now mix through the cranberries, pistachios and salt, leaving a few pistachios and cranberries for the top.
  4. Line a small square baking tin (mine was 8×8 inches) with parchment paper- leave a little hanging over the sides so it’s easy to remove later. Flatten the mixture down with your hands or the back of a spoon. Now add your remaining pistachios and cranberries to the top.
  5. Set in the freezer for 30 minutes, or an hour in the fridge. Cut into 12 bars and store in an airtight container in the fridge or freezer.

Coconut waffles with raw chocolate sauce

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20160930-img_7270Oh hello there! I can’t believe it’s October already! Time is really flying this year and last month was the most hectic month yet. I now have two new kittens (Harry and Sushi) in my life and they are just about the best thing that’s ever happened to me. Have you ever tried to be in a bad mood with two tiny balls of fluff laying in your arms kissing each other? Well I have and it’s impossible. They definitely keep me on my toes. All I need to do now is train Sushi to stop climbing me like a tree when I’m about to feed her and we’ll be in crazy cat lady heaven. Life admin has taken over this month and I’ve been a bit behind with posts and photography but I’m ready to go again now, so expect some weekly updates for the rest of the year. I have a whole backlog of recipes I need to publish!

I am a true coconut lover, I think I have five jars of coconut oil at the moment, shredded coconut, coconut chips, coconut butter and coconut sugar. I also have coconut scented toiletries too, it never ends! It seemed only natural that I should indulge my coconut fantasies in the form of waffles. They didn’t disappoint. These coconut waffles are light and crispy and the raw chocolate sauce turns these beauties into something pretty special. You can keep the waffle batter for up to four days in the fridge, so this is a great recipe to make in advance for a lazy weekend. I added spirulina to the chocolate sauce, just to sneak some of my fave superfoods in. The recipe makes a lot of sauce, so you can make some raw chocolate with the rest (just pour it into a tray and set in the freezer), or just continue making waffles and chocolate sauce the whole week, which sounds like a great idea to me.

Coconut waffles

  • 1 flax egg (1 tbsp flax seed mixed with 3 tbsp water)
  • 1 cup plain flour (can sub plain gluten free flour)
  • 3 tbsp coconut sugar
  • 2 tbsp baking powder
  • 1/2 cup coconut milk
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 2 tbsp coconut oil, melted

Raw chocolate sauce

  • 1/2 cup organic cacao powder
  • 1/2 cup organic coconut oil
  • 1/4 cup maple syrup
  • 1 tsp Organic Burst spirulina (optional)
  1. Make your flax egg by mixing ground flax seed with water. Stir well and leave to rest to form a gel while you make the rest of the waffle batter.
  2. Add all waffle ingredients to a food processor and blend until combined. Add flax egg and pulse again. The mixture should be thick but pourable. Add a little more water if you need to. Chill batter in the fridge while you make chocolate sauce.
  3. Add cacao powder, coconut oil and maple syrup to a small pan and heat very gently until the coconut oil has melted. Take off the heat and stir through spirulina, if using.
  4. Turn on your waffle maker and pour in chilled batter. Cook until golden on both sides, then top with raw chocolate sauce, toasted coconut chips and fruit.

 

Cacao buckwheat breakfast cups

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cacao buckwheat breakfast cups gluten freeThis month has been full of change. In a really good way. So far I’ve been to a festival in a forest, spent five days in London with my best friend and made some really interesting new connections. It’s only the 19th already! I feel like I’ve learnt to embrace this rollercoaster of a year and welcome whatever else is coming my way with open arms. I definitely don’t feel like I’m the same person I was at the start of the year. It’s weird how sometimes a few months can make you feel like you’ve grown so much. I am truly grateful for the lessons this year has taught me. Without all of them, I wouldn’t be in this place right now. It’s a good feeling knowing it was all for a reason. I have so many plans for the next few months too, so it looks like the end of the year will continue to be eventful!

Anyway, back to breakfast cakes…. these little buckwheat babies are so simple to make and although they look like sweet little tarts, they are loaded with goodness. These raw, gluten free shells are free from nuts and sugar, and a couple in the morning will keep you going until lunch. Buckwheat is a super nutritious whole grain, great at fighting off those mid morning hunger pangs. Cacao is a natural anti depressant and improves your mood.. sounds like perfect Monday morning fuel to me! Load them up with yoghurt and your fave fruits, or make the shells in advance and decorate before serving. I guess these would make great party snacks too. I’m tempted to make them even smaller, into little canapés… I love tiny things! Unless we’re talking jars of peanut butter, then the bigger the better…

Cacao buckwheat breakfast tarts

For the tart shells (makes about 8 small tarts)

  • 1 cup buckwheat
  • 1 tsp lucama powder (optional)
  • 1/2 cup cacao powder
  • 1 cup dates, pitted
  • 3 tbsp coconut oil, melted
  • 100ml water

For the filling

  • 1/2 cup non dairy yoghurt
  • 1 vanilla pod (deseeded)
  • Fresh fruit
  • Black sesame seeds and mint for garnish
  1. Roughly pulse buckwheat, lucama and cacao in a food processor until starting to crumble.
  2. Now add the dates, coconut oil and water and pulse until the mix comes together in a ball. Add water a tbsp at a time if it is too dry. You should be able to squish it between your fingers without it falling apart.
  3. Take out golf ball size lumps of dough and flatten in your palm. Press into a cupcake mould (I used a silicone one). Pop in the freezer for 30 minutes to firm up.
  4. Mix vanilla pod seeds with non dairy yoghurt and spoon into your tart shells. Garnish with fresh fruit, sesame seeds and mint. Store in the freezer for up to a month. Best eaten after thawing out for 15 minutes.

 

Chunky almond granola clusters

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chunky almond granola clusters with maca

Granola is just one of those things I wish I’d started making years ago. It can be so expensive to buy and they are often laden with as much sugar and salt as regular cereals. I set about making my own after trying several recipes and I’m now sharing the result with you. Making your own granola means you can make it just how you like it, it’s fairly hard to go wrong! This recipe is super flexible, so if you don’t have any of the ingredients just stick with the same rough proportion of wet to dry ingredients and you can be sure to whip up your own exclusive batch of breakfast heaven. The most important thing to remember is not to break it up on the baking tray while cooking and to let it cool completely before smashing to pieces (I enjoy this bit). Granola is amazing with yoghurt, on top of oatmeal or just on its own! The perfect nutritious snack.

Chunky almond granola clusters

  • 1 1/2 cup rolled oats
  • 1 cup almonds
  • 3/4 cup walnuts or pecans
  • 1 cup dried fruit (I used cherries)
  • 2 tbsp Organic Burst chia seeds (optional)
  • 1/2 cup sunflower seeds
  • 1/2 cup desiccated coconut
  • 2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/2 cup maple syrup or agave
  • Pinch of himalayan pink salt
  • 1/4 cup coconut oil, melted
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 2 tsp Organic Burst maca powder (optional)
  1. Preheat oven to 140°C and line a baking sheet with greaseproof paper.
  2. Blend almonds in a food processor into a rough crumb, leave chunkier for a crunchier granola. Add the almonds and oats to a large mixing bowl.
  3. Briefly pulse walnuts /pecans, just to break them up a little. Add to the mixing bowl.
  4. Add all other ingredients to mixing bowl, stirring really well until everything is coated evenly.
  5. Press the mixture down into a large flat piece of granola (almost like a flapjack) and bake in the oven for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, turn the granola around in the oven, don’t break it up (this is the key to clusters).
  6. Check again after 15 minutes and if it’s starting to brown around the edges, take it out. It should take no longer than another 20 minutes until it’s ready.
  7. Take out the oven and leave to cool completely before breaking into chunky clusters. Stores in an airtight jar for two weeks.

Aquafaba waffles with cashew cream

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peaches and cashew cream aquafaba wafflesAquafaba experiments have led me to these waffles. There’s a fair few aquafaba pancake recipes around online but I haven’t quite mastered them yet. I tried to switch up my trusty waffle recipe with aquafaba instead. Just save the liquid from a drained can of chickpeas (or kidney beans). You don’t even need to whip it, yet it still makes for the crispiest, lightest vegan waffles I have ever tried. I made a cashew cream to accompany the waffles, as I had a serious craving for peaches and cream! Oh and blueberries. Maybe a little maple syrup crept in there too…

The recipe below will make an extra big pot of cashew cream which you can keep in the fridge and add to overnight oats, pancakes, cookies, toast etc.

Cashew cream

  • 1 1/2 cup soaked, drained cashews, (soak overnight)
  • 1/4 cup maple syrup
  • Juice of lemon
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/4 – 1/2 cup of water
  • 1 vanilla pod, deseeded
  1. Add all ingredients to a blender and process on high until smooth. Add a little more water if you need to, blending for a good 5-7 minutes until you have a smooth, glossy cashew cream. Store in the fridge for up to four days.

Waffles

 

  • 1 cup all purpose flour
  • 1 tbsp coconut sugar
  • 2 tbsp baking powder
  • 1 cup plant based milk
  • 3 tbsp aquafaba
  • 2 tbsp vegetable oil
  1. Mix flour, sugar and baking powder in bowl.
  2. Add milk, aquafaba and oil and whisk until smooth and runny.
  3. Brush your waffle iron with a little oil. Fill iron with batter and cook until crisp.
  4. Top with fresh fruit, maple syrup and cashew cream.

Blueberry buckwheat parfait

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blueberry buckwheat parfaitCreamy, sweet, filling and nutritious. These little blueberry beauties are sure to get your day off to a good start! If you don’t have any black currants, just sub them for more blueberries. These take less than five minutes to prepare, just remember to soak your cashews and buckwheat the night before. You do need some frozen bananas too, so don’t forget to pop a couple in the freezer! I always have a tonne pre frozen, I think I presume most people are as banana obsessed as I am.

Buckwheat is naturally gluten free (it’s actually from the rhubarb family) and full of fibre and B vitamins, meaning it’s a great addition to breakfast. It also contains tryptophan which is a natural anti depressant! Just one cup of buckwheat provides 25% of your RDA of tryptophan. It’s pretty awesome stuff.

Blueberries and blackcurrants are from a powerful family of blue fruits and veggies. Anything blessed with this beautiful colour helps fight inflammation in the body, boosts your immune system and contains anti cancer compounds. I’d love to know if you try this simple breakfast parfait!

Blueberry buckwheat parfait (makes 2 parfaits)

  • 3/4 cup buckwheat (soaked overnight in water, rinsed and drained)
  • 1/2 cup cashews (soaked overnight in water, rinsed and drained)
  • 2 frozen bananas
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/2 cup coconut milk
  • 1 cup blueberries
  • 1/2 cup black currants
  • 1 tsp acai powder (optional)

Extra berries and mint for decorating (I used leftover brownie crumble too)

  1. Rinse your soaked buckwheat well, until the water runs clear and the sticky residue is removed. Rinse your cashews too.
  2. Add rinsed buckwheat, cashews, frozen bananas, vanilla extract and coconut milk to your blender and blend until smooth. You want it to be thick but pourable, so add a little water if you need to.
  3. Pour the mixture into your glasses until 3/4 full. To the remaining mix in the blender, add blueberries, black currants and acai powder and blend until smooth.
  4. Top up your jars with the purple mix and decorate with more berries, brownie crumble and mint.

Baobab sunshine smoothie bowls

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baobab sunshine smoothie bowl
 Wake up and feel amazing with my baobab sunshine smoothie bowls. This recipe reminds me of being on holiday. Creamy coconut milk, pineapple and orange are a winning combination. With the weather being so wet and dreary here in the UK at the moment, I am resorting to making my own sunshine in the kitchen!
I added a good dose of Organic Burst baobab to these beauties for an extra pick me up. Baobab is full of natural vitamin C and iron, which is just the thing if you’re feeling tired and depleted of energy. It has a slight citrus flavour which works beautifully in these fruity bowls. I’ve also added a little of my favourite spice, turmeric, which is a powerful anti inflammatory with a multitude of benefits. It’s secret is curcumin, a powerful healing compound. Did you know that in some studies, curcumin has been proven as effective as Prozac in treating manic depression? In fact, some studies show curcumin to be even more effective than prescription drugs! I won’t rave about it for too long, but seriously, take a minute or two to do some research on this miracle spice and you’ll see what I mean.
Baobab sunshine smoothie (makes enough for two bowls)
1/2 cup coconut milk
1/2 cup water
4 frozen bananas
1 pear
1/4 pineapple
1 orange
1 tbsp peanut butter
1 tsp turmeric
1. Blend all ingredients together until smooth, adding more water as needed.
2. Top with fresh fruit, coconut shreds, toasted nuts and chia pudding.