Our recipes are specially created to be healthy, nutritious and family friendly. Tuck in!
All tagged after school
For the oats lovers out there, this is a must try baked oats recipe. Great to make on Sunday and you have at least 2-3 days of breakfast covered. Always top up with a good portion of greek yoghurt (enough to make up 20g protein) and maybe a drizzle of almond butter and you’ve got a perfect all season breakfast. If you have kids needing a refuel in between school, sports etc, it makes a great snack too.
These new raw healthy bliss balls are so so refreshing. The lemon coconut classic combo gets a new life with that hint of turmeric. They are nutrient dense and feel like a fab treat. They are also pretty, do not need baking and set in the fridge quickly, so what's not to like!
This bake is pretty much a breakfast bowl! Goodness and fibre of the oats, greek yoghurt for the protein and all the berries because we love them so much! It is super simple and can be eaten cold or slightly warmed up with an extra spoonful of yoghurt, almond butter and seeds! You must give it a try! Perfect for a lunch box too.
This is the perfect autumnal warming breakfast! Done using a pressure cooker, it is easy, quick and cost efficient. Made with steel cut oats, this porridge is full of texture, nuttiness and warmth we all crave during colder months. It is a balanced breakfast perfect to fuel a day at school or pre workout.
These raw healthy snacks were inspired by the arrival of all the gorgeous summer fruits. Raw, nut-free, vegan, naturally gluten free, light and fresh they are the perfect pick-me up, on-the-go refuel for the longer days, late outdoors training session or delayed never-ending cricket matches! They are pretty, do not need baking and set in the freezer quickly, so what's not to like!
This is the perfect no-bake fruit and oats snack bar. Full of natural goodness, no nasties, sugar only from the fruits and added benefits of pumpkin seeds. Make ahead in 15mins, sets in the fridge in an hour and keeps really well. Ideal for lunch box in nut free school environment. These are gluten free and really simple with a lovely citrus kick of orange perfect for breakfast on-the-go!
When your spring or summer isn’t playing ball and you need an injection of sun to your day this is the smoothie to reach for. Also good when it’s hot and sunny outside! Zingy from the turmeric with the taste of tropical sun from the pineapple. Refreshing and filling.
Sometime, a beautiful purple, green or yellow smoothie is not going to do the job! So, back in the days of taking my son to rugby, I embarked on a fairly long journey to convince a then pre-teen Rugby mad son that I could make him a healthy, nutritious and energy boosting shake he would be proud to take to rugby training. The aim of the game was to avoid him bowing down to the peer pressure of gulping a fluorescent blue or orange energy drink! Today, I can happily report that this shake is fab for my own post workout refuel too.
Snacks are part of life for our busy active families. I don’t mean the ones you grab from the supermarket shelves or in a rush. We prefer making our own for the week ahead. These are a great quick and easy no-bake option and made with 6 real and wholesome ingredients only. Mango can be swapped for another dry fruit ( make sure they are just that, fruit and no sulphate or added anything) and cashews can be replaced with almonds or Brazil nuts if you have them in your cupboard. Using maple syrup make those granola bars vegan too if that’s important to you.
These snacks came about due to a brown banana and some dates that needed eating. I usually make our very popular banana bread with these. However I was looking for a snack to make that my daughter could take into her nut-free school. The banana bread contains almond flour so is a no-go. These crumble bars are the result. My daughter has declared them even better than the banana bread, which is popular with her and her friends! The banana and dates are combined into a consistency that resembles caramel. Seriously delicious!
Not another snack requiring NO BAKING… said no-one ever! Whenever we are invited to talk at an event, be it a wellness event, nutrition talk or workshop at a school it seems most families struggle with choosing healthy snacks. They are not always necessary or even recommended, but when trying to manage a busy schedule and aspiring to a healthier regime it is really important to have the right balance of nutritious and flavoursome ingredients to keep us going. These snacks taste just like lemon drizzle cake!
Kat and I are not really snackers, but with 5 children between us and busy schedules we know that they are often a necessity to keep us all going, mums and children alike. However, with so many supermarkets and health shops increasing their range of so called "healthier option" snacks, it is easy to get confused with the often misleading claim on the front of the packets.The nutritional labels at the back are so often just as confusing. The solution to ensure you know exactly what you eat? Make your own snacks and get the kids involved with flavours. Many of the snack bars sold in the supermarkets or health shops as "healthy" are often still very high in sugar due to the dried fruit content or sugar alternatives used. We have so many great options on the website, baked snacks, raw options, all gluten free and mostly nut-free for a school policy compliant lunch box. We believe that a good nourishing snack should always include protein.
At The Health Boost, we are foodies and passionate about good food to be enjoyed with our friends and family. And who doesn't enjoy a nice cookie! As always, we try and keep it free from nasties and rich in the good stuff. Including lavender flowers into the cookie dough has transformed those little thumb print cookies into real taste buds adventures. Don't get bored, be bold with food !
With all the talk and noise about snacking or not snacking, government guidelines not always suitable for all, what to do? As busy mums to active sporty kids, we prefer to make sure that if our children need to refuel between meals, we make nutrient dense homemade snacks available. These energy balls are nut-free too, so can be taken to school or the local sports club. And for those who like a strong boost, add extra turmeric, go on!!
At The Health Boost, Kat and I aim to thrive on a balanced lifestyle including lots of good real food, being as active as possible in the time we have, so treats do feature there somewhere. This is one of those treats! Delicious, nutritious and a little naughty! Coconut is a bit of favourite ingredient of mine and luckily it offers many health benefits aside from tasting delicious.
The search for nutritious healthy snack bars is never ending. With the added restriction of the "nut free" policy in schools, making your own is the key to success. These bars contain oats and seeds, no nasties, no refined sugar and no nuts. These are really quick and simple to make ahead, and add to a packed lunch or your gym bag for a post-workout refuel.
So, breakfast cereals… where do we even start? Well, let’s start with the fact that homemade granola is the easiest thing you could do! Make a batch on Sunday afternoon with the kids and enjoy every morning with your choice of milk, yoghurt, fresh fruit etc…
I started experimenting with raw food a while back now and always find new inspiration for energy balls, adjusting flavours and ingredients to suit seasons, moods and hectic family diaries. In order to satisfy that festive spiced biscuit craving and still provide the much needed post workout fuel or after-school sport these cranberry and mixed spice balls do the trick. And the level of spice can be adjusted to suit younger or more mature eaters equally.
Healthy snack bars are very hard to find and can sometimes be deemed healthy or advertised as such but beware! When possible, we try and make a batch on a Saturday or Sunday to get us through the hectic schedule of after school sport. Packed with essential fats and protein, gluten free and with no refined sugar, they will keep you going steadily for longer.
These energy balls were inspired by, or should I say, commissioned by my Sweaty Betty team mates! They have been designed to be free from most of what we try to avoid or reduce and full of the flavour of that much loved coffee shot! They are a perfect made ahead item and were a massive instant hit at our Monthly meeting!
