Dairy Free

Vegan option

Vegetarian

Vegetarian option

Gluten Free

Vegan

Paleo

Heart + Bowl has been a long time coming, but I am please to say that I have finally launched, and hopefully that I am here to stay! Yikes. Please excuse me while I do a little dance of excitement. This week’s been a bit of a whirlwind week for me. With a trip to Ireland, a friend’s birthday meal, a wedding reception and trying to launch my blog, it’s been a fair amount of crazy in the world of Anna. But alas! I have managed to churn out my first post, a Butternut Squash and Pancetta Risotto, and I’m happy to report that it was quite a success. It better have been really, I’ve been perfecting this recipe for years.

I thought the best way to kick off Heart + Bowl was with one of my tried and tested recipes, and really one of the first meals I ever truly refined and adapted myself.

While the pancetta in the risotto really sings, FEAR NOT vegetarians, because this dish still works when omitting the meat. I’ve made a veggie version of this dish for a friend, and sprinkled over a few toasted pine nuts, which was just as wholesome and tasty.

The fresh sage in this recipe really brings the whole dish together, so don’t skimp on it. Thinking about using dry herbs instead? Don’t evvvvvven think about it. I can guarantee it won’t be as good.

The best advice I can give you when tackling this recipe is to treat the rice like you would a young born baby, by giving it all of your attention. You don’t have to worry about changing dirty nappies though. You’ll need to keep stirring the rice (almost constantly), and adding stock little by little to get the best texture and consistency.

So that’s my first post! Phew! That wasn’t as terrifying as I thought it would be. I was all kinds of nervous that something would go horribly wrong. But look, there are words, photos, an ingredients list, and a recipe *points proudly*. If you’re reading this or just taking a browse, sorry for my weird attempts at so-called humour, and well… Thanks for popping by! I hope I haven’t scared you off by my terrible jokes, and please come back again soon.

Butternut Squash and Pancetta Risotto & the Launch of Heart + Bowl!

I don’t know if you’ve noticed lately, but Christmas Day is rapidly approaching! As much as I love pretty much everything about this festive season, it can be a bit of a fiasco when you have a food allergy or intolerance.

Living with allergies anytime of year can prove difficult, but throw a few mince pies and yule logs into the mix, and it gets even harder.  So I decided to create a free-from Christmas menu plan, for anyone who needs a little inspiration this winter. I also know it’s a nightmare to get a reservation somewhere decent in December (unless you book months in advance!) So for anyone stuck without a booking, or just looking to save pennies and entertain at home – this menu is for you!

While Christmas tends to be about over-indulging, I’ve tried to create a menu that’s healthy and wholesome, but still feels like a treat. I wanted the recipes to be accessible to lots of people, so all dishes will be gluten, dairy and refined sugar free, with vegetarian options. I’m going to release a recipe every week for the next 3 weeks, until you have a 3-course dinner for entertaining.

So, without further ado, my first recipe is this Spiced Parnsip Soup! This is an easy one-pot starter, and can be prepped in advance, so all you have to do is re-heat when your guests arrive.

The parsnips pair so well with cumin and turmeric, adding a beautiful hint of warming spice. I’ve kept the spices quite mild in this soup, in order to accommodate everyone. But if you prefer more of a kick, why not try adding ½ fresh red chilli?

To add a rich creaminess, I’ve made a little coconut crème to garnish the soup. This really helps to balance all of those spices, and gives it that extra special touch.

I hope you enjoy this Spiced Parsnip Soup – remember to use the #heartandbowl hashtag if you make this!

Plus, stay tuned for next week’s Christmas Menu recipe, where I will revealing the main event!

Christmas Menu – Spiced Parsnip Soup

Welcome to the main event! Yep, it’s this beautifully tender, melt-in-the-mouth, Beef and Apricot Stew!

I decided to move away from the typical turkey recipes flying around the inter-webs this time of year, and bring you this beef dish instead. I’m not much of a turkey lover if we’re being honest, and eating it once a year on Christmas day just about satisfies my turkey quota for the year. So when it comes to festive entertaining, I usually gravitate towards red meat. Stewing beef is great for this time of year. Not only is it cheap, but it’s incredibly flavoursome once it’s been slow cooked.

Beef also tends to absorb flavours really well, especially if it’s been cooked slowly. So you get to enjoy those lovely warming spices of cumin and smoked paprika. The apricots also bring a wonderful sweetness here, and an added festive touch!

If you’re hosting a dinner party, you can prepare the beef and apricot stew hours in advance of your dinner guests arriving. It can be slow cooking in the oven whilst you’re eating your starters (see my Spiced Parsnip Soup), and taken out whenever you’re ready to dish up the main.

I hope you’re enjoying my Christmas Menu plan so far! Please let me know if you get round to making this Beef and Apricot Stew, and remember to tag your H + B creations with #heartandbowl 

Plus, keep and eye out for next week’s recipe, where I will be sharing the finishing touch to my 3-course Christmas Menu… Dessert!

Christmas Menu – Winter Beef and Apricot Stew

Ok, ok. So I think I may have a new food obsession… Beer-battered veggies!!! Seriously, how have I never tried making these before?! I’ve battered many a fish, and an onion ring in my time – but never have I ever battered veggies before.

I’ve been busy designing this recipe for a few weeks now, with the help of the lovely folks at St Peter’s Brewery and their incredible Gluten-Free beer!

For those not in-the-know, St Peter’s Brewery are the makers of fine British beers and ales, from their beautiful brewery at St. Peter South Elmham, near Bungay in Suffolk. Some of you might recognise them for their excellent, unusually-shaped oval bottles?

With St Peter’s being local to me, I’ve always loved following the brewery, and seeing what they are developing next. I’ve even been on a couple of their brewery tours and tastings – which I highly recommend to any beer + ale enthusiasts!!!

St Peter’s use locally malted barley to produce anything from classical English cask-conditioned ales, to the more unusual varieties like, honey porter and fruit beer. It really is a fantastic range. So you can imagine my excitement, when I discovered they offered not one, but two gluten-free beers!!!

Since going gluten-free, it’s been difficult to find a high-quality gluten-free beer, that doesn’t feel like you’re missing out. But now that I’ve found St Peters Brewery’s Light and Dark versions, I need not look any further. There’s definitely no flavour compromise with these beers. Both have bold flavours from the hops and beautiful zesty, citrus notes – which make them perfect for the summertime! Both beers are also certified by Coeliac UK, which is another great bonus!

So I decided to design these Gluten-Free Beer Battered Veggies, to really show off how incredible this beer really is! I opted for the pale beer in this recipe, so that the batter is super light and airy! The beer really helps the batter to crisp up, and adds a great flavour punch, which really compliments the veggies. I’ve also added a gluten and dairy-free Dill Dipping Sauce to serve along side them, that’s fantastically herby + creamy! You could also serve them with a good sweet chilli dip too!

If all that beer-y goodness wasn’t enough, St Peter’s Brewery have kindly given me this Gluten-Free Gift Set to giveaway for FREE!!  The set includes 6 Gluten-Free Beers (3 Light + 3 Dark) and a handy tote bottle-bag to store them all in!

Just enter in the rafflecopter below and follow the giveaway instructions to win!!

Apologies, but due to postage reasons, I will be accepting entries from the UK only.

Find out more about St Peter’s Brewery 

Gluten-Free Beer Battered Veggies + A Giveaway!

I’ve always felt a bit sorry for cauliflower. If it’s even possible to feel human emotions towards a vegetable. I’ve always thought it was a bit misunderstood. The UK has never quite given it the respect it deserves. We tend to boil it to death, and serve it unimaginatively alongside a roast dinner. Flavourless, mushy and bland. It’s only saviour being a good splash of gravy to revive the poor thing.

He just needs a good home and somebody to love him. Is that too much to ask!? Wait… Are we still talking about cauliflower?

Luckily enough for me, the humble cauliflower has become quite ‘trendy’ these days. We’re mashing it, ricing it and roasting it, for a healthy alternative to other carbs.

The age of the tasteless cauliflower is over. The time of the sophisticated cauliflower, has begun. Yes, the world has finally woken up to how versatile it really is.

With this in mind, I decided to create a kick-ass cauliflower cous cous recipe that would perfectly accompany my fool-proof lamb koftas.

Recently, I’ve been making these lamb koftas pretty much every fortnight. Overtime, I’ve tweaked the recipe to give you what it is today.

This dish is super clean and fresh for the summer. The lamb koftas can either be fried in a hot pan or skillet, or sizzled on the BBQ!

I’ve dressed this dish up further by whipping up a creamy, vegan Tzatziki dipping sauce,  which really brings all the flavours together.

I hope you enjoy these Lamb Koftas with Cauliflower Cous Cous! Don’t forget to #heartandbowl if you make this – and help save a cauliflower near you!

Lamb Koftas with Cauliflower ‘Cous Cous’

Following on from my obsession with avocados, I’m bringing you this Raw Courgetti Salad with Creamy Vegan Avocado Dressing! It’s been a while since my Summer King Prawn Courgetti recipe, so I thought it was about time I get spiralizing again for the blog!

One of my favourite ways to have spiralized veggies, is to smother them in this creamy vegan avocado dressing. Avocados are fast becoming one of my favourite ingredients to use, because they’re great in both savoury and sweet dishes. Its creaminess makes it so versatile for all sorts of recipes. One of my all time favourites sweet treats is this Avocado Chocolate Mousse, which is my go-to dessert to whip up quickly on an evening.

This courgetti salad is so light and quick to make, that it makes the perfect speedy lunch or dinner in the summer months, when you don’t want to be sweating in the kitchen! You can even double up on the ingredients, and make this for a friend, or pack some up in a air-tight container and take it to work the next day!

I hope you like this Courgetti Salad with Vegan Avocado Dressing! Don’t forget to #heartandbowl if you make this, or let me know what you think in the comments below.

Raw Courgetti Salad with Creamy Vegan Avocado Dressing

What does winter mean for me? Cosy nights in watching old movies I’ve seen a thousand times before, while wearing thick-knitted socks and embarrassing Christmas jumpers. Oh and soup – lots and lots of soup.

So now that winter is coming – you can thank Game of Thronesfor that one – I wanted to give you a soup recipe to warm your insides on the cold and frosty evenings. Or to get you through that inevitable winter cold or flu, that only plenty of rest, re-watches of Friends and lashings of soup will cure.

This Butternut Squash Soup recipe has never let me down. I first created this recipe at University, and I have been fine-tuning it ever since. This was always my go to meal when I needed something satisfying and nutritious on a small student budget. It’s basic and easy, but does the job. No frills – just simple, hearty good food.

While I’ve been making and adapting this soup recipe for years, I only recently decided to add the crouton element to the dish. The croutons really give the soup a whole new dimension, elevating it from a little bowl of goodness, to a fully fledged wholesome meal. You don’t have to be a smarty pants to know that Rosemary and Butternut Squash is a killer combo. These are classic flavours paired quickly and easily to bring you a comfort blanket in liquid form.

p.s. I do not recommend using this soup as a blanket. Eat the soup – then grab a blanket. K?

Roasted Butternut Squash Soup with Rosemary & Garlic Croutons

Well, first things first, Happy New Year! I hope you all had a magical festive holiday.

The New Year brings something very exciting that I can now share with you! My first published recipe in a cookbook! That’s right, I’m bringing you this Spiced Butternut Squash and Crispy Chickpea Salad, a recipe I designed specially for British Military Fitness.

British Military of Fitness contacted me back in October and asked me if I would like to get involved in the campaign. I was really excited to get on board and start testing recipes in the kitchen. In the end, 24 fantastic UK Fitness and Food bloggers took part, to create this awesome collection of healthy recipes.

The #FitFoodBMF Recipe Book is packed full of nutritious dishes from breakfast to dinner, to help kickstart your 2016! The book release comes at the perfect time for all those who feel like they have over indulged this festive period. Want the even better news? It’s now available to download for FREE!

British Military Fitness believe healthy living and looking good isn’t a result of a fad diet, it’s about eating well as part of your everyday life. This is a philosophy I like to live by too. I’ve always felt that yo-yoing from strict diet to strict diet can’t be good for you, and that counting calories is not the way forward. I believe that if you build healthy eating more permanently into you day to day life, you’ll be far more able to succeed, in looking good and feeling great.

Even if that means swapping out just one of your unhealthy meals or snacks each day, for one of the dishes in this book! The key part to living a healthy lifestyle, is finding a regime that works for you, and finding one that you can maintain.

The #FitFoodBMF recipe book is filled with recipes that are satisfying yet light, and are wholesome, but don’t feel like you’re missing out.

For my recipe, I designed this Spiced Butternut Squash and Crispy Chickpea Salad with Tahini dressing! I wanted to make a recipe that was accessible as possible, so it’s vegetarian, gluten free, dairy free + refined-sugar free! It is also vegan adaptable if you omit or replace the honey in the dressing.

This salad is served warm, so it’s ideal for the winter months. The crunch of crispy chickpeas contrast nicely with the soft, roasted butternut squash. The creamy tahini dressing adds that extra special touch to the dish, and brings the whole salad together with a subtle sweetness.

The #FitFoodBMF campaign was such a fun project to be involved in, it was so satisfying to see one of my recipes in print, and it was a real honour to be printed alongside some great UK food and health bloggers.

You can download your FREE copy of the #FitFoodBMF Recipe Book here.

If you make this salad, remember to tag your posts #heartandbowl + #FitFoodBMF so we can see them!

Spiced Butternut Squash and Crispy Chickpea Salad with Tahini Dressing

So, unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past year, you will have probably heard of a little thing called spiralizing. One day (not so long ago) some clever clogs decided – HELL, let’s make spirals out of vegetables! Since then, it’s become one of the biggest healthy eating trends of recent years. That’s right! Goodbye carbs, wheat and after-dinner bloating – we don’t want you anymore! Now we can make spaghetti, linguine and noodles out of all kinds of veg, and we’re not looking back.

If you’re new to spiralizing, here are a few suggestions of vegetables you might want to try:

In order to create nutrient dense alternatives to some of your usual staples, simply wash your vegetables, cut off any ends, peel them (if needed) and put them through a spiralizer. You can pick up spiralizers from places like Amazon, such as the Hemsley + Hemsley Spiralizer, or the ICO Vegetable Spiralizer for a smaller alternative. (This happens to be my weapon of choice.)

I don’t normally get blog requests, but my good friend Olivia recently suggested I post a spiralizer recipe, and I jumped at the chance to get twirling vegetables! Because not only is spiralizing really healthy, it’s also ridiculously fun. No, seriously. You’ll get loads of satisfaction out of spiralizing, and that may sound a little crazy, but just try it. Ok?

This King Prawn Courgetti dish has minimal ingredients and is quick and easy to make. It’s ideal for the summer, as it’s super light, fresh and healthy. I used to make a version of this recipe with gluten-free spaghetti, but I actually think it works much better with courgetti. You don’t get that horrible bloated feeling after eating it, and the courgettes add much more flavour, colour and texture.

Good luck with all your spiralizing adventures and don’t forget to #heartandbowl if you make this!

Mains