Butternut Squash and Chickpea Curry

So recently I've been making my own dinners instead of my mum cooking them for me, partly because I'm trying to eat healthier and also to try out and get better at cooking different foods. Most of the meals I cook usually don't include meat either due to the fact that it no longer appeals to my taste-buds and it's generally better for the planet. Not only does this make my meal slightly better for me, but also I've found that cooking without meat is usually a quicker process. I've made this vegan curry a few times and find it super easy to make and really yummy. So here's the recipe!

 Ingredients...
- 1 butternut squash
- 1 red onion
- 1 green pepper
- 1 red chilli
- 2 gloves of garlic
- 1 lemon
- 2 tins of chopped tomatoes
- 1 tin of chickpeas
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp ground turmeric
- 1/2 tsp ground ginger
- 1/2 tsp ground cumin
- 1/2 tsp mustard seeds
- 1/2 tsp coriander seeds
- 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
- handful of spinach or kale (optional)

Method...
1) Begin by dicing your onion, pepper, squash, chilli and garlic cloves. 
2) Then, by using a pestle and mortar, grind all your spices together. 
3) Pop the chilli and garlic into a pan and fry for a few minutes until fragrant.
4) Add the spices and a dash of water to the pan and simmer for another few minutes. 
5) Stir in your diced onion and a little more water and simmer again for a few minutes. 
6) Pour in your 2 tins of tomatoes, the squash, green pepper and drained chickpeas.
7) Fill one of the tomato tins with water and add to the saucepan along with the juice of one lemon.
8) Bring to the boil and simmer for half and hour. 
9) If you're using spinach or kale, stir into the curry and serve with rice.

I used two smaller red onions because I didn't have one normal sized one. I also only used half a pepper because that's all that was in the fridge, so as you can see, you can change the recipe to whatever you have in your kitchen. You could even change the squash for pumpkin or sweet potato!

I couldn't find any ground turmeric or mustard seeds in the cupboard, however, the curry still tasted great without it! 

Depending if we have any spinach of kale in the fridge, I will stir in quite a lot of the stuff once the curry is done before plating it up. 

I served the curry with basmati rice and a small amount of quinoa. With the left overs, I poured it into a few containers and popped them into the freezer. Therefore if I'm ever in a rush, I can simply reheat the curry from frozen for an instant meal!

I hope you liked this recipe, be sure to stick around for another blog post next week! :) 

Becky x

Peanut Butter Granola Bars

It's halfway through your school or work day and you find yourself barely awake since you've probably not had as much sleep as you'd wished for the night before. This peanut butter granola bar is perfect for a pick me up snack, and since they contain oats, the energy will be slowly released throughout the rest of the day so that you don't come crashing down an hour after eating one.

Ingredients:

-180g rolled oats

-33g peanuts, chopped

-95g peanut butter

-85g honey

-dried fruit, seeds, nuts, choc chips etc. (optional)

Method:

1) Preheat the oven to gas mark 4.

2) Combine the oats and peanuts.

3) Melt the honey and peanut butter and add to the mixture.

4) Throw in any optional extras of your choice. (I used dried cranberries and dark chocolate chips)

5) If, at this stage, the mix is too dry add in more melted honey or peanut butter. 

6) Put the granola bar concoction into a lined tray and bake for 25 minutes. 

7) These granola bars also work as none bake by putting them into the fridge for an hour. 

I hope you enjoyed this simple recipe, stay around for another blog post next Sunday! :) 

Becky x