Recipe - Breakfast muffins

Sometimes you need a breakfast you can grab and go, these delicious breakfast muffins are just the thing. Some days I leave the house at 7am for work. At that time in the morning I'm not usually too hungry for anything substantial so may just grab a quick smoothie. Neither do I want to be messing around in the kitchen making a big breakfast. But I know within an hour I'll be ravenous and ready for something more so I'm usually quite happy with myself that I thought ahead and made a batch of muffins for me to reheat at work.

You can pretty much add any veggies you have lurking in the fridge. Chopped red peppers would work really well, as would broccoli or courgette.

If you're pressed for time in the morning, make these the night before for an easy breakfast option. Go on, put that alarm clock on snooze for another 10 minutes!!

Ingredients

3 paleo friendly sausages, skins removed
1 carrot, grated
12 cherry tomatoes, quartered
2 spring onions, finely chopped
handful of fresh spinach
small handful of fresh basil leaves
8 large eggs
Salt and pepper to taste

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 175 (fan). Grease a 12 cup muffin tin with coconut oil
2. In a frying pan, cook the sausages until browned, breaking up into small pieces as you toss them around the pan.
3. In a bowl combine the carrot, tomatoes, spring onions and spinach.
4. In a large bowl whisk the eggs.
5. Once the sausage is cooked, turn off the heat and add the vegetables, stirring to combine until the spinach has wilted from the residual heat. Then add the basil.
6. Add the sausage and veggie mixture to the eggs and give it a good mix.
7. Fill each muffin tin to about three quarters. Be careful not to overfill as the mixture will rise a little.
8. Cook in the preheated oven for 20 minutes until the eggs look completely set and the tops are slightly golden.

These can be eaten straight away or stored in an airtight container in the fridge for 2-3 days. To reheat, pop a couple in the microwave for about 30 seconds.

Enjoy xx

Recipe - Chocolate Brownie bites

Being relatively new to Paleo, I still get the odd sugar/chocolate/sweet thing craving (plus in my other life I'm a cake maker which doesn't help). These delicious little morsels are almost a weekly treat in my house now, even my boys love them and one of them HATES nuts!! They're packed full of fibre, protein and healthy fats so keep some in the fridge for a mid afternoon energy boost, or just enjoy with a cuppa as an after dinner treat.

It's such a simple and tasty recipe, I'm sure it will be a regular in your home too!

Makes about 12

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups pecans (or walnuts if preferred)
1 cup pitted dates
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp vanilla extract
pinch of salt

Method

1. Place all of the ingredients in a high speed food processor or blender and blitz until everything is combined and there are no chunky bits.
2. With the processor still running, drizzle in a little water (1-2tbsp) to bring the mixture together.
3. Using your hands, roll into golf ball sized balls.
4. Allow a couple of hours chilling time before eating!

Will keep for about a week in the fridge but I bet they don't last that long :-)

Enjoy xx