Poached egg with guacamole toast

This is one of my go-to lunches any day of the week and it’s a good one to make if you’re working from home at the moment. It’s quick, easy and nutritious so you can’t really go wrong. As long as you have the right bread (I like a sourdough doorstep) and don’t over cook your egg, it’s never going to disappoint. I’m not reinventing the wheel here, but it’s a useful basic to have in your back pocket!

Ingredients

Serves 2

• 2 slices of sourdough or wholegrain toast

• 2-4 eggs

• 1 avocado

• 5 cherry tomatoes, quartered

• 1 thin slice of red onion, or 1/2 spring onion, chopped finely

• Juice of 1/4 lemon

• Pinch of cayenne

• Salt & pepper

Method

• Slice the bread and place in the toaster ready to go

• Boil a pan of salted water and reduce to a simmer.

• Prep the avocado - mix all the ingredients together mashing the avocado a bit as you go. Just enough to break it up, don’t puree it!

• Put the toast on.

• Place each egg (shell on) gently in the hot water for just 10 seconds to help keep the shape when you poach it. If you have very fresh eggs you probably don’t need to do this.

• Remove the eggs and crack each one gently into the pan, allowing enough space for them to float separately - I usually don’t cook more than a couple at a time.

• Cook for 2 - 2 1/2 minutes to get a perfect yolk - no longer!

• At the same time, get the toast on to your plate, spoon on the guacamole mix and top with the egg. Sat and pepper to taste

Desert Island Disco smoothie

This is a lovely tropical blend that’s great for breakfast or a mid-morning boost! I always try to use frozen fruit for smoothies as it means you don’t have to add ice.

Ingredients

Serves 1

• 70g mango

• 40g banana

• 1 tbsp oats

• 200ml coconut drink (my favourite is Rude Health)

Method

• Add to the blender and blitz well

Clean green smoothie

I’m just going to put it out there now that I’m not a fan of veggie smoothies. I know, I know, I should like them, but in general I find them far too hardcore! I’d much rather eat an actual vegetable. Anyway, I don’t like to be defeated so I’ve been on a mission to create a green smoothie that I actually like rather than drinking for health (medicinal) purposes and I think I’ve cracked it.

Ingredients

Serves 1

• 30g spinach

• 70g banana

• 20g avocado

• 3-4 mint leaves

• 5g fresh ginger

• 1 tbsp lime or lemon juice

• 210ml cold water

Method

• Add all the ingredients to your blender and blitz throughly

Strawberry & mango smoothie

This is my daughter’s favourite flavour combo and we’ve been making it a lot recently. We only used a little banana so it didn’t take over the taste and just added a bit of creamy texture. If you want to add some protein you could put in 1 tbsp of chia seeds and a little water (as they’ll thicken the mix). I always buy bags of frozen fruit for smoothies as they’re cheaper and they chill the drink without using ice, but if you only have fresh go ahead, but add a couple of ice cubes.

Ingredients

Makes 2 medium glasses

40g strawberries

40g mango

30g banana

320ml apple juice

Method

Put all the ingredients in the smoothie maker and blitz!

Cashew nut butter

Once you've made your own, you'll never go back! I'm a complete convert to making my own nut butters, they're so much smoother, cheaper and tastier. Try them stirred into overnight oats (recipe here), porridge, smoothies or on toast.

Ingredients

• 2 cups of cashew nuts

• Pinch of sea salt

Method

• You'll need a 'proper' food processor like a Magimix, or Heston Sage to make any kind of nut butter as the small ones aren’t powerful enough unfortunately.

• Put all the nuts and salt into the processor and blend for around 4-5 minutes, or until smooth.

• Store in an air-tight jar.

Cashew butter overnight oats with coconut yoghurt & almonds

I discovered a whole new world of breakfast recently when I cut out dairy, wheat & refined sugar. Instead of staggering bleary-eyed to the Alpen every morning, it made me think about alternatives, and I ended up discovering loads of new options that I now really enjoy. I love making overnight oats, especially now its summer as porridge is way too hot.

Ingredients

Serves 3-4

• 120g oats

• 375ml almond milk

• 2 tbsp of cashew butter

• 1 tbsp of chia seeds

• Handful of raisins, about 40g

• Pinch of salt

To serve:

• A dollop of natural yoghurt, or coconut yoghurt)

• Handful of chopped nuts

• Another drizzle of nut butter

Method

• Place the almond milk, nut butter, oats, chia seeds, raisins, maple syrup and salt in a tub that has a lid and mix together well.

• Place the container in the fridge and leave to thicken overnight.

Blueberry, coconut & maca smoothie

I love this smoothie. Super quick and easy to prepare too, but I appreciate not everyone has raw maca powder in their cupboard, but it’s pretty easy to find these days, even Aldi stocks it! You could always leave it out though, the smoothie would still taste great.

Maca is an ancient Peruvian root crop from the radish family, which has a malty, slightly caramel-like taste. It's a great supplement to add to your smoothies or porridge as it won't change the original flavour too much. Maca is well worth having in stock as it's high in antioxidants, nutrients such as Vitamins B1 & 2, calcium and iron, and energy-boosting compounds called macamides and macaenes. It is called Peruvian 'ginseng' as it is said to improve energy levels and help to restore hormone imbalances.

Ingredients

Serves 1

• ½ frozen banana

• 1 handful frozen blueberries

• 250ml coconut milk drink

• 1 tsp maca powder

Method

• Just put the ingredients in a blender and blitz!

Tip

• I keep a stock of frozen fruit in my freezer for smoothies as it's so much better than adding ice, which waters the flavour down. When I find bananas in the fruit bowl that are going a bit too brown, I peel them and add to my freezer bag.

• The coconut milk drink I prefer is made by Rude Health - it doesn't contain any additives or thickeners, unlike other brands, just coconut milk, rice and water.

Asparagus with poached egg on sourdough

Last night was a rare occasion; husband was away and kids all fed in one way or another. I found myself starving at 8pm and looking into the fridge with despair, until I noticed the asparagus that I had bought from the local farmer's market at the weekend. I decided on a classic combo, pairing griddled asparagus with a soft poached egg on sourdough. Wow, what a dish! Very simple, very effective - my perfect mid-week dish description.

Having said this would also make a great breakfast, brunch or lunch!

Ingredients

Serves 1

• 6 asparagus spears

• 1 egg

• Fresh bread (of any variety)

• Pinch of sweet smoked paprika

• 1 tablespoon parmesan, finely grated

• Salt & pepper

Method

• Baste the asparagus in a little olive oil and heat a griddle, or frying pan if you don't have one. Place the asparagus in the pan and allow to colour on both sides. This shouldn't take much more than 4-5 minutes. 

• As the asparagus goes in the pan, bring a pan of water to boil and poach the egg; put the bread in the toaster. Everything cooks quickly, so it all have to go on together pretty much. 

• Once the toast is done, butter and put on the plate followed by the asparagus, sprinkled with a little paprika and then top with the egg. Finish with the grated parmesan and there you have one of the tastiest, quickest meals you'll ever make.

Tip

Perfect poached eggs

Ever wondered how chefs get their poached eggs into small neat looking bundles that wobble delicately on top of you toast? The trick is to to put the whole egg (still in the shell) on a spoon and place it in boiling water for 10 seconds. Then remove and crack into the water. You'll find that the small amount of heat you gave it in the shell just keeps the white together nicely, so it forms a better shape when poached. Of course if you have super fresh eggs then this isn’t necessary, but it’s a good trick to know for most standard supermarket ones!