"You shouldn't be scared of what you don't understand" - Ravi, on quinoa, 2016. 

So if you are even half interested in food, or you eat, then you'll probably have heard of 'quinoa'. The general vibe we get is that it can do no wrong. Apparently it's a superfood. Whatever that means. So when I saw it on sale I thought I'd bite the bullet and buy some. 

I returned to the house, proudly bearing this seed-come-grain which no one knows how to pronounce and set about making my lunch. My first shock was that you actually have to cook this thing. I don't know why but I kind of assumed it was one of those things that was edible straight away. No. You have to cook it for 10 mins. And then once it's done it looks like little pieces of frog-spawn with tails #technicalterm. 

Anyhow, my verdict is basically that I think it needs something a tad sweet to go in it (the raisins in this recipe worked fab, as did the feta). So in general it's good. I had mine at 1pm and, writing this at 5:30, I am still fairly full so it's worth a shot, even just for the novelty factor. 

If anyone knows any OMG YOU MUST TRY THIS recipes with quinoa (or anything else), please get in touch - you can message the facebook page here. Or email in "BarkingBaking(at)gmail.com".  Such fun.

This was supposed to be a green smoothie. It's got spinach and everything in it. Edgy. But sadly the berries overcame the greenness of the spinach and it's kind of mauve instead. Anyhow, it's healthy, tastes great and making it takes just long enough to be classed as procrastination. 

S/o to Elle for technique tips.

Cannot convey how good this was. And it's healthy. Do it. Found this recipe on BBC GoodFood; they use small tomatoes, I used big ones because that's what I had. 

I had two halves for supper but it  could be a great starter too. Also, had this for lunch and if you heat the peppers up in the microwave and bung them on some toast then that's pretty good.

I have seen these floating around all over the internet for a while now so I thought I would try it to see what all the fuss was about. Have to say they are very good. They're kind of dense and because it's just banana and egg it's pretty healthy. I think these might become my new breakfast for when I haven't got any milk for cereal. Or maybe when I feel like a pick-me-up in the summative revision season... Do give it a go.

Ingredients

• 1 egg
• 1 banana, chopped and mashed

Method

Chop your banana into a bowl and then mash it with a fork. Make sure you mash it well otherwise the pancake won't work so well. 

Bung in an egg and give it a good beat with your fork. (Not going to lie, it doesn't look that attractive at this stage).

Fry in butter, flipping when brown. Keep the pancakes quite small. This recipe makes two.

I topped both with a little honey and raspberries. Eat.

This is like a grown up lemon drizzle cake. I made it gluten free because Freddie was running a "gin siesta" and he can't do gluten. Gluten free flour doesn't seem to change how the cake cooks or anything. So just do it.  Gin and lemon is a classic combination and it works wonderfully in this cheeky cake. Give it a go!  Remember to subscribe to our YouTube channel/like the Facebook page.

So here we are. Meat-free Monday. This was actually really good. It's lovely and rich and super healthy. There's that famous "fact" about celery - it is meant to burn more calories than it gives you or something. So if you're trying to be a bit healthier, then this is definitely a good one. And, as I say, it isn't just eating a lettuce leaf. You can eat healthy and well without becoming a rabbit. #profound. 

The recipe came from a beautiful blog called Sprouted Kitchen. Go check it out!

Does about 4 meals. I've frozen some. Wine is pretty key in this one so grab something nice. Check out Barking Booze for some suggestions.  

So I had this out in Hong Kong over the summer and they had it for sale in the grocery so I got some. It's gorgeous. Takes no time to cook and is super delish. You just need some garlic so this about as it gets. Trick is to keep the heat low when frying the garlic. 

Probably a side or could be a green quick bite if you are trying to be super healthy... 

So I said that for my New Year resolution I was going to be more vegetarian because, as has been duly noted by Ravi and Chloe, I am really not great at it. This was a lovely little supper that was actually surprisingly filling. And you feel gorgeously healthy afterwards. Very easy, very nice. Give it a go. 

So this is a lovely healthy little meal. Tilda very kindly sent me some rice to try and I must say I have rather enjoyed it. This stuff has Quinoa in it. Quinoa is super healthy but it still tastes great. I think it's fair to say we all kind of go a bit mad over Christmas in terms of how much food we eat but something like this is great because it really fills you up, it's very easy and yet it's not bad for you at all.

The cashew nuts a great because they kind of give a cheeky bit of texture to it all. Well worth it. I used Tesco Value so they cost hardly anything. Go grab some. 

Give it a go! Check out the video too.

Let's face it: smoothies are not as great as we think they are. Sure, they taste good but really the reason why we love them so much is because they're full of sugar. So this is a 'reduced' sugar recipe; obviously it's not as sweet but it does still get lots of fruit in you without the sugar. Give it a go. Watch the video.

If you want something healthy and delicious this is for you. Peaches are just the most amazing things and probably my favourite fruit. Use a small banana for this (or half a large one) as we don't want to overpower the taste.

Let us know how yours worked out - get in touch on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or Snapchat (all our usernames are BarkingBaking so just ping us there!).

Ingredients

• 1 peach
• 1 apple
• 1 banana

Method

Cut the peach, apple and banana into slices then put onto a plate with some baking paper (this helps stop it sticking to the plate).

Freeze overnight.

Blend in a blender when it's frozen solid. It's quite stubborn so you'll need to keep scraping it down with a fork.

Enjoy. Makes about 2.5 ramekins of ice cream.

This is another addition to our healthy ice cream series! It's great. Not going to lie, it is arguably more of a sorbet. This recipe makes just one serving so if you want more, double up the ingredients. Got to start packing for my return to Durham soon and this was a perfect way to procrastinate...

Ingredients

• 1 peach
• Large handful of blueberries

Method

Cut the peach into slices (no need to skin it but do remove the stone). Pop the peach and the blueberries on a plate with some baking paper.  Freeze overnight.

Bung the frozen fruit into a blender and whizz until it's gone smooth - you'll need to use a fork to push the mix down the sizes of the blender.

Eat!

If you haven't already worked it out, I'm currently obsessed with these healthy ice creams. They taste amazing and are super healthy. What's not to like.

This really is gorgeous. Ice cream. Healthy. Fruit. You don't really get anything better. No added sugar. Just fabulous. Do it.

Ingredients

• 2 bananas
  
• 5 strawberries
  

Method

Peel the bananas and cut them up. Hull (ie cut the green bit off) the strawberries and cut them into halves. Pop it all on some baking paper on a plate then freeze (overnight works great). 

Then when you want to make the ice cream, blitz everything in a blender until it's super smooth. You will probably need to poke a fork in and scrape the fruit down towards the cutty bit of the blender a couple of times.

Serve immediately or pop in a pot, cover and freeze - be aware this (obviously) makes it go hard and it will not be the soft gorgeous stuff you get when you eat it immediately.

Elena and I did this together. She has done them before so is  a bit of a pro! They were really good; everyone thinks they are really complicated to cook but actually they are surprisingly easy. And some recipes will tell you that you need a blow-torch to caramelise the top but if you chuck it in at the top of the oven then that does the job. This recipe is based on one by Simon Rimmer.

Try it!

I was hungry and had no idea what to make. This is what happened. It was actually very nice. Vegetarian! Wooop! Easy.

These are splendid. Very wintry, very cheap, very tasty! Eat warm with cream. Faaabb.

OK this must come with a health warning! It is absolutely the sweetest thing that has ever been made in the Barking Baking kitchen. My HUGE thanks to Ronald for introducing me to this traditional sweet treat from the Philippines. He assures me that if in doubt, add sugar. Sounds good to me! 

This is very easy to do and absolutely incredible. Try it.

This recipe was taken from Jamie Oliver's website but was actually done by a lady named Maddie Rix. It is amazing! I have always been a little hesitant to leave out flour - it is such a staple that it just seems wrong to have it loiter in the cupboard.

However, this has changed my views. Get on it. It is cheap and tastes a bit like brownie (i.e. fab).

We've affectionately nicknamed it "cowpat cake" because it looks like one...as a result it is pretty difficult to present nicely. But it does taste gorgeous.

Healthier than ice cream (well, apart from our super fruity ones). Bit of a cheat. Love it. I don't have an ice cream maker here at Durham so this is my work around. Fab. 

This is a great summer recipe. It is healthy, light but somehow quite filling. 

The only downside is that it has what I call "cat food tuna" (tuna from a tin) which everyone knows smells horrible. However, this recipe makes it bearable! Give it a go.