Recipes

Cottage Cheese Pudding (High Protein)

Cottage Cheese Pudding (High Protein)

This creamy cottage cheese pudding is as healthy as it is delicious! Packed with 40g protein, it makes a great prepare-ahead-of-time breakfast, healthier dessert or even a post-workout snack. Cottage cheese is definitely having a moment on social media right now and for good reason. It's such a versatile ingredient that's packed with protein and fairly low in calories and fat (especially the lower fat or fat-free varieties). It's also quite mild in flavour, so it can easily be incorporated into many different recipes. I never really thought of cottage cheese as a main ingredient in a sweet recipe until I saw the viral TikTok trend of using it to make cookie dough. Although I haven't tried the cookie dough [...]

Nadia2024-07-20T19:14:31+01:00July 15, 2024|Breakfasts, Desserts, Gluten Free, Post Workout Meals, Vegetarian|0 Comments

No-Bake Pistachio Chocolate Cookies (Healthy/Vegan/GF)

No-Bake Pistachio Chocolate Cookies (Healthy/Vegan/GF)

These no-bake pistachio chocolate cookies are the perfect summer treat when you're craving something sweet and chocolatey, but don't feel like turning on the oven. They're made with better-for-you ingredients and also happen to be vegan and gluten-free! I've always tended to lean towards making no-bake desserts over baked ones, for many reasons. Even more so during summer when the last thing I want to do is turn on the oven and make the house even warmer! For all my international readers, the last few summers in the UK have been a little unbearable. We may not experience the kind of scorching hot weather you get in other countries, but unlike other countries, we don't have AC built into our [...]

Nadia2024-07-04T16:59:42+01:00July 3, 2024|Cookies, Dairy Free, Desserts, Gluten Free, Vegan, Vegetarian|1 Comment

No-Bake Peanut Butter Chocolate Pinwheels (Vegan & Gluten-free)

No-Bake Peanut Butter Chocolate Pinwheels (Vegan & Gluten-free)

These no-bake peanut butter chocolate pinwheels make the perfect chilled after dinner-treat during the warmer months. They don’t require baking, easy to make and are healthier than your average chocolate-based treat! I’ve always thought that chocolate and nut butter make the most amazing flavour combination for healthier desserts. Especially when I’m thinking of no-bake desserts that require very few ingredients and a straight forward method. This no-bake peanut butter chocolate pinwheels recipe has been on my blog since 2018, and I must admit that up until recently I had completely forgotten about it! This tends to be the case when I’m busy thinking up new recipe ideas that I forget to appreciate old gems like this one. I’ve decided to [...]

Nadia2024-06-19T16:43:12+01:00June 19, 2024|Chocolate, Cookies, Dairy Free, Desserts, Gluten Free, snack, Sweet Snacks, Vegan, Vegetarian|14 Comments

Easy Hummus Recipe (Authentic Middle Eastern)

Easy Hummus Recipe (Authentic Middle Eastern)

Hummus is something that I eat every single day without fail! I eat it on the side of main meals with salads and cooked vegetables, and it's also one of my go-to snacks. I like to have some peeled chopped carrots in the fridge so when I'm feeling peckish, all I have to do is open the fridge, take out the hummus and carrots and devour! I also like to have it with rice cakes when I run out of carrot sticks and I'm too lazy to peel more!

Nadia2024-06-06T17:07:10+01:00June 6, 2024|Dairy Free, Gluten Free, Raw, Sauces and Dips, Savoury Snacks, snack, Sugar Free, Vegan, Vegetarian, Video|29 Comments

Chocolate Protein Chia Pudding

Chocolate Protein Chia Pudding

This chocolate protein chia pudding is the perfect prepare-ahead-of-time breakfast on busy mornings. A fuss-free breakfast that's healthy, balanced and tastes like a dessert! If you've been following me for a while, you'll know I'm a big chocaholic. Most of my dessert and snack recipes feature chocolate. I'm not sure when the obsession started, because growing up in Iraq, chocolate was very rarely eaten in my household, or in general. What I remember used to be referred to as 'chocolate bars' were cheap chocolate dipped biscuit wafers. When I say cheap, I mean the chocolate was so thin, you could actually see the wafer pattern underneath. There was barely any chocolate on them! Maybe that's why I'm so obsessed with [...]

Nadia2024-06-03T12:03:48+01:00May 16, 2024|Breakfasts, Dairy Free, Gluten Free, Protein recipes, Vegan, Vegetarian|10 Comments

Healthy Pistachio Date Cake

Healthy Pistachio Date Cake

This healthy pistachio date cake is made with better-for-you ingredients that will nourish your body, but it also tastes good! What more can you ask for in a dessert? This healthy pistachio date cake is inspired by the blueberry breakfast cake that I posted last month. I was so pleased with the way it turned out, both texture and taste, especially considering it was made with wholesome ingredients and had 13g protein per serving! I wanted to create another version with Middle Eastern flavours I grew up eating in Iraq. Cardamom, pistachio and dates are staples in Arabic cuisine, especially in desserts (but also savoury dishes!). When you combine all three flavours together you get the most delicious and moreish [...]

Nadia2024-07-19T13:57:27+01:00May 1, 2024|Breakfasts, Cakes, Desserts, Protein recipes, snack, Vegan, Vegetarian|18 Comments

Chocolate Peanut Butter Oat Cups

Chocolate Peanut Butter Oat Cups

These chocolate peanut butter oat cups make a great healthier dessert or snack in between meals. An oaty cup filled with a simple 2-ingredient homemade chocolate peanut butter. They're also so easy to make! These chocolate peanut butter oat cups were inspired by the peanut butter chocolate oat cups I made a couple of years ago. They're one of the most popular recipes on my blog, and for good reason. They're easy to make, require only a handful of ingredients and they're good for you. Not bad for a satisfying sweet treat! This version is a little different. I decided to bake the oat base, then I filled it with a simple chocolate peanut butter that I made myself by [...]

Nadia2024-06-01T12:41:11+01:00April 24, 2024|Chocolate, Dairy Free, Desserts, Gluten Free, snack, Vegan, Vegetarian|0 Comments

Healthier Knafeh Recipe (Vegan/Dairy-free)

Healthier Knafeh Recipe (Vegan/Dairy-free)

This healthier Knafeh recipe is my take on one of the most popular desserts in the Middle East. It's much lighter than the traditional recipe with less sugar and fat. It's also easier to make and happens to be vegan & dairy-free! Knafeh, also spelled knafe or kunafa, is a traditional Middle Eastern dessert that is popular in various countries across the region, including Lebanon, Palestine, Jordan, Syria, and Iraq, where I grew up. It's a sweet pastry made from shredded phyllo dough (or semolina dough) that is layered with cheese, typically a white cheese like Akkawi or mozzarella. The pastry is baked until golden and crispy, then soaked in a sugar syrup flavoured with rose water or orange blossom [...]

Nadia2024-04-23T18:06:07+01:00April 23, 2024|Dairy Free, Desserts, Vegan, Vegetarian|3 Comments

5-Ingredient No-bake Pistachio Brownies

5-Ingredient No-bake Pistachio Brownies

These 5-ingredient no-bake pistachio brownies are so moreish, require no baking and are packed with nutrients! Perfect if you’re looking for a super easy and yummy dessert. Why I love making these 5-ingredient no-bake pistachio brownies: No-bake desserts are my favourite type of treats to make. They’re so easy, call for few ingredients and taste so good! What I also love about them is that you can adjust the taste and texture as you go along rather than having to wait for something to bake before you know whether it’s worked or not. I've made a couple of different variations of these brownies over the years, based on one of my most popular blog recipes so far - these 5-ingredient no-bake [...]

Nadia2024-04-16T16:00:44+01:00April 16, 2024|Brownies, Chocolate, Dairy Free, Desserts, Gluten Free, snack, Vegan, Vegetarian|3 Comments

Palestinian Date Ring Cookies (Kaak Asawer)

Palestinian Date Ring Cookies (Kaak Asawer)

These Palestinian date ring cookies (aka Ka'ak Asawer) are the perfect little treat when you want something sweet, but not overly indulgent. They have a hint of sweetness from the dates and are so aromatic from the addition of spices like cinnamon, cardamom, fennel, aniseed and nigella seeds. Kaak Asawer (also known as Ka'ak Asawir or Ka'ak bi ajwa) are traditional Palestinian cookies that are filled with a date paste and shaped into rings. They may look difficult to make, but the recipe is really simple. The only technical part comes into play when shaping them. Even then, you quickly get a hang of the process once you know how much of the dough and date paste you need to [...]