All by Val Simpson

Simple and delicious oat cakes

Simple and delicious oat cakes

Val Simpson
Recipes, Mains

Good old fashioned oat cakes are so so delicious and versatile. They are also super easy to make, as a batch and keep. With the main ingredient being pinhead oats (or steel cut oats) they make the perfect high fibre savoury snack teamed up with our smoked mackerel pâté or French sardine pâté. Another French way to enjoy those is with a little butter, some sliced radishes and a little salt. I like to vary the herbs or spices I mix in them; I have tried and tested rosemary, oregano, garlic, turmeric, curry powder, cumin and paprika. If you want to have them with cheese, I recommend to stick to herbs.

Portobello no bun vegetarian burger

Portobello no bun vegetarian burger

Val Simpson
Recipes, Mains

With BBQ season kicking off soon and 2 teens looking forward to make up for lost social time, weekend gathering around food will hopefully be regular occurrence. There seem to be more and more vegetarians amongst my teens’ friends so I am busy creating, planning and testing some new recipes to suit all dietary requirements. This is so so tasty with a nod to my home country with French goats cheese and caramelised red onions! And no processed fake meat in sight!

Spicy turkey and harissa meatballs

Spicy turkey and harissa meatballs

Val Simpson
Recipes, Mains

When trying to get clever and time efficient with meal planning and food prep, we often go for the simple crowd pleasing classics that you can batch cook and freeze. And what better than a batch of meatballs. Turkey mince is very affordable too. The beauty of meatballs is that they are so so versatile: added to a lunchbox, to comforting pasta bowl, served with simple mediterranean roasted veggies, one pan meal. Leftovers are perfect sliced in a wrap with salad and avocado for lunch!

Cacao & turmeric energy balls

Cacao & turmeric energy balls

Val Simpson
Recipes, Snacks

We all need to find that perfect post workout refuel snack that will hit the balance between carbs and protein. This could be it for you! It is a no bake recipe, super easy, 5 mins to make and sets in the fridge within an hour! With that rich cacao flavour it will also satisfy that little craving for a treat! Perfect Sunday food prep ready for the week to avoid grabbing some high sugar processed snack in a rush!

super easy breakfast egg in a pepper cup

super easy breakfast egg in a pepper cup

Val Simpson
Breakfast and brunch, Recipes

These bell pepper egg cups are one of the easiest nutritious option to kick start your day. Breakfast is important but it doesn’t have to be the first thing you do in the morning. What is key to a successful first meal of the day though is that is has to be quick, easy, delicious and balanced. Protein content is key to fuel the day ahead and keep you full until the next meal. If you can also include your first portions of fruit and veggies it’s an absolute winner. Give them a go! They make a fab Sunday brunch item too! Just add a sliced half avocado.

How and why exercise for the menopause

How and why exercise for the menopause

Val Simpson
Blog, Nutrition, Health

Women's health around the peri menopause stage of their life is a topic close to our heart, and we speak from experience as well as qualified professionals. Exercise has been shown to help control a number of physical and psychological problems and changes associated with menopause and midlife, including depression, weight gain, loss of muscle mass and bone density.

Harissa, chickpea and apricot lamb koftas

Harissa, chickpea and apricot lamb koftas

Val Simpson
Recipes, Mains

When it’s all about meal planning, food prep and making sure you have good nutritious home cooked food ready when you need it, these are perfect to make all year round. Very quick and easy to assemble with no blender or processor, those lamb koftas can be served with a side salad or some quinoa and steamed greens. I like to serve them with a side of cumin and parsley yoghurt.

5 tips to help teens find their groove with exercise

5 tips to help teens find their groove with exercise

Val Simpson
Blog

My number one rule will always be to only cultivate a mindset of positive association with exercise and avoid any negative connection to physical activity being a way to “burn calories” or “compensate” for that weekend pizza and ice cream!

Teens and exercise is a very wide subject, but for now , as I write during our third period of lockdown in the UK, I thought I’d give you a few tips particularly applicable to support your teens right now.

𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙒𝙃𝙔 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙃𝙊𝙒 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙮 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙙𝙞𝙛𝙛𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙠𝙨 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙪𝙨:

Butternut squash garam masala soup

Butternut squash garam masala soup

Val Simpson
Recipes, Soups and salads

Soups always help making lunch quick, easy and healthy. The secret, as always, is in the planning and prepping! If you want your soup to keep you full until supper, you need to make sure it contains some protein and healthy fats. This soup contains coconut cream ticking both boxes. You could always swap for greek yoghurt, but the coconut does work really well with the garam masala spice. Perfect comfort food!
I make this soup using my slow cooker, but you could do in an AGA, or slowly on a stove.

Immune boosting chicken soup

Immune boosting chicken soup

Val Simpson
Recipes, Soups and salads

Roast chicken on a Sunday is my ultimate comfort food. What’s even better is knowing that nothing will go to waste. First make a stock/broth with the leftovers and then make the ultimate comforting and immune boosting chicken soup. Full of the warming goodness of ginger and turmeric, packed with vegetables, this soup is a winner every time. I have also added pearl barley to make it go further , but you could ommit or swap for brown rice, giant couscous or quinoa.

Delicious dairy free date brownies

Delicious dairy free date brownies

Val Simpson
Recipes, Snacks

Life without the occasional brownie is not for me! For that reason, I love trying to play with swapping and replacing ingredients for those with a better nutritional value. For these brownies I have not used refined white or brown sugar but instead opted for medjool dates. You would honestly not notice the difference. But I will let you be the judge of that…Go on, have a go and let me know!

Green falafels and spicy tahini dressing

Green falafels and spicy tahini dressing

Val Simpson
Recipes, Mains

Falafels are one of my favourite “street foods”. I first discovered them when was quite young travelling with my family in Israel. They are also a staple of Lebanese cuisine that I love so much. I have tried many ways to make them and recently read about making them using dry chickpeas rather than tinned and so I thought I’d share. Falafels are versatile, nourishing, and full of plant based protein goodness. Perfect for your vegetarian friends! The tahini dressing is simple, creamy and tasty.

Oats and plant protein energy snacks

Oats and plant protein energy snacks

Val Simpson
Recipes, Snacks

We usually recommend to avoid snacking if possible and focus on 3 nourishing and balanced meals a day, but, family life, work, busy schedules, sporty kids and big workouts can often call for a refuel on the go. In that case, we would always prefer making our own snacks, with real simple wholesome every day ingredients we know and recognise and always include protein. These energy balls do not require any food processor or baking. 5 minutes to make and set in the fridge in an hour! Give them a go!

Overnight mango chia breakfast pots

Overnight mango chia breakfast pots

Val Simpson
Recipes, Breakfast and brunch

Creating good breakfast habits is often a very hard one to crack! Making ahead is one of the best advice we can give. Those overnight chia breakfast pots take 5 minutes to prepare the day before, keep in the fridge for 2-3 days, are rich in protein to keep you full and can be made with an endless list of fruits! What’s not to like! You can easily make a “pick & mix” batch to suit everyone in the family! Any fresh or frozen fruit can be used! Today’s choice is frozen mango!

Perfectly balanced breakfast bowl

Perfectly balanced breakfast bowl

Val Simpson
Recipes, Juices and smoothies

Possibly my 3 favourite Bs: Balance, Breakfast and Bowl. Building a balanced breakfast bowl is so much fun and far easier and quicker than it looks. This is how I built this pretty and colourful bowl of yumminess. Most ingredients can be swapped for similar items you will have in your fridge or cupboards, fruits can be changed based on seasonal availabilities and yoghurt can be replaced with your dairy-free option if necessary.

Green power breakfast smoothie

Green power breakfast smoothie

Val Simpson
Recipes, Juices and smoothies

In the summer I love nothing more than a lovely fresh green smoothie for breakfast. If it’s a spin class morning, I like to enjoy it after but if I am strength training, I need a boost of power before I hit the weights. This is my recent most favourite to give me that boost on a summer’s morning! One of my favourite Plant based protein powder is by ThatProtein and contains Baobab, recognised for its immune boosting properties, high iron and vitamin C nutritional profile!

French healthy 5 minute sardine pâté

French healthy 5 minute sardine pâté

Val Simpson
Dips and sauces, Recipes

If you want a tasty, budget friendly 5 minute recipe which is also brain boosting, look no further. This is perfect for children who love the taste of tinned sardines. This quick sardine pâté recipe is packed with omega-3 fatty acids and the ideal savoury healthy snack or delicious as part of a summer lunch spread, served with toasted bread, carrot sticks or oat crackers.

raspberry and pistachio frozen yoghurt bark

raspberry and pistachio frozen yoghurt bark

Val Simpson
Recipes, Snacks

Can you resist these? Really simple to make, but also, amazingly healthy and nutritious. What’s not to like? Children will love to get involved and they can customise with their favourites. You can substitute with blueberries or blackberries - or any of your favourite berries. You can use frozen berries too. A colourful snack or healthy treat perfect to share (or not!).

Easy Chickpea flatbread - Socca

Easy Chickpea flatbread - Socca

Val Simpson
Recipes, Mains

This is hand on heart the easiest flatbread you can make and it’s naturally gluten-free! Socca is a traditional French dish from Nice where I partly grew up. It was probably my favourite street food. Cooked on very hot grills, they were usually served in a cone of brown paper with a sprinkling of coarse sea salt and pepper, maybe thyme or rosemary. It it was one of those South of France classic for which everyone has their own technique for cooking, but the ingredients however are pretty much always the same: equal parts chickpea flour and water, add olive oil, that’s it. That simple!

Moroccan carrot and chickpea salad

Moroccan carrot and chickpea salad

Val Simpson
Recipes, Soups and salads

North African classic flavours and spices have always been some of my favourites as I grew up with them. Harissa, cumin, sumac mixed with the sweet and sour of lemon and honey easily elevate a very simple, fresh and quick to rustle up salad that brings summer to your table. Give it a try. Also works really well if you add some grated beetroot.

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