Blueberry Oat Crumble Bars

Happy Valentine’s Day everyone! It’s so nice to have Valentine’s Day fall on a Friday isn’t it? I had great intentions to cook a nice gourmet meal for my husband but then I realized we had to hit the gym tonight as part of our marathon training plan. Plus, it is interval training tonight. Perhaps it is an excuse for me not to cook a lavish meal. So, the plan is to go to the gym and grab a take away meal after. I like it.

A few days back I found that I had a lot of blueberries to use up. I got a bit carried away when Aldi sold blueberries for 69p a punnet. I was asking my followers on Facebook what I should use the blueberries for. One of the responses I got was to make a blueberry pie. That coupled with seeing skinny blueberry crumble bars on another site inspired me to come up with my own version. These bars may not be a skinny version however it is still less fattening than a pie and tastes much better than dry Weetabix.

Butternut Squash, Courgette and Chickpea Hash (vegetarian)

Hello everyone, how is your week going so far? Since I missed my Meatless Monday post yesterday, I thought I would do Meatless Tuesday instead and show you what I cooked yesterday. How about that to justify missing my own deadline?

Last Friday I shared a recipe for Thai Butternut Squash Soup which is a perfect winter warmer. You might have noted that I used only half a medium butternut squash in that recipe. Obviously that left me with half a butternut squash to use up. I decided to use it with some courgettes to make a simple hash. I added some of my homemade tomato based pasta sauce into the mix for a very satisfying vegetarian meal. The butternut squash is a nice substitute for potatoes and I added a can of chickpeas for a protein boost to the dish. I can’t actually call it a one pan meal though as I used a roasting pan to roast the butternut squash first. Barring that, it is still as simple as can be and most importantly, it is delicious and satisfying!

Thai Butternut Squash Soup (vegetarian)

I am very excited to share this fantastic soup recipe with you. I am so excited I want to go straight to the recipe. Seriously, this soup has such a sophisticated taste you will receive many praises.

It’s a great addition to a dinner party menu too – especially if you are hosting an Asian themed one. It’s not difficult to do either. I roasted the butternut squash as I feel that it enhances the taste of the soup just that much more. As for the consistency of the soup, you can leave it chunky but I blended mine as I prefer my soups to have a smoother consistency. I think it looks better too.