On the menu – Detroit Pizza, Seed Topped Porridge and Pumpkin Pasta

Friday

This is Detroit Pizza from Miguel Barclay’s Super Easy One Pound Meals. You’re meant to cook it on a smaller baking sheet, to get the proper rectangle shape but I didn’t have one the right size so I free formed it, I think it’s pretty rectangular. Anyway, living up to the book’s title, this was really super easy and surprisingly quick, just a quick mix, kneed and roll, sticking on the toppings and twenty minutes in the oven. It’s made using self raising flour and well, it is and it isn’t pizza, it isn’t pizza in that it obviously doesn’t have that lovely traditional thin base but the base was surprisingly crisp, with a nice chew, so it was quite pizza-ry. My expectations for this were obviously much lower than the actual result, I think I was thinking of the deep pan pizzas from the ’80s, which really weren’t good (far too bready), whereas this was much nicer. I will definitely be making again.

To note, as usual with Miguel Barclay recipes, this was filling (phew, as I type this after eating this, I’ve got the pizza sweats). Filling is good though, particularly for £1 (I haven’t priced my attempt at the recipe but £1 sounds about right, although it’s only economical if you make sure that you use the rest of the pepperoni from the considerably more than £1 packet elsewhere before, it goes off). Anyway, I think if I were to make this again, for one portion I would reduce ingredients to about two thirds and if I were making it for me and my two kids (which is highly likely), I would probably just double the ingredients, not triple it. However it does make me wonder if my habit of being a bit of a grazer, rather than just eating three big meals a day, is the most economical way to eat.

Tuesday

This was less of a recipe and more of a suggestion from @foodandpsych on Instagram, after I saw this post, it’s really nice.

View this post on Instagram

EATS || Multi-grain Porridge. Caramelised Almonds & Pumpkin Seeds. What else for World Porridge Day? ° ° For the topping: Toast almonds and pumpkin seeds (or whatever combo you like) in a dry frying pan over a medium-high heat until the almonds start to turn golden. Add a pinch of soft brown sugar and stir so that the sugar starts to melt and coat the edges of the nuts and seeds. This should take between 30-60 seconds. Remove from the heat and serve immediately. ° ° Aside from an excuse for a (another) bowl of lovely porridge there’s a really important message behind #worldporridgeday, which was launched by a Scottish charity (@marysmeals) with the goal of providing some of the world’s poorest children with at least one good, meal every school day. I’m always talking about how nutrition supports mental health but it’s even more basic than that. It’s impossible to concentrate when you are hungry, which is another way that poor nutrition can be a barrier to wellbeing. ° ° But it’s so easy to forget that children go hungry in the UK too. So, if you can, please consider making a donation to your local food bank. Food poverty is a growing issue in the UK and many, many families rely on donations to get them through the week. Most food banks have a list of the most needed items either on their websites or on their doors. I promise you there is a food bank closer to you than you think. Check out @trusselltrust for more information about their network or just google ‘food bank’ and the name of your area. Even if it’s just a few bags of oats, sometimes even the smallest acts of kindness can make a difference. Xx . . . . . #functionalmentalhealth #totalwellbeing #functionalmedicine #preventativemedicine #wholebodymentalhealth #mentalhealth #brainhealth #wellness #wellbeing #health #healthy #nutrition #foodandpsychpodcast #food #foodie #foodstagram #foodporn #breakfast #brunch #porridge #prebiotics #prebiotic #fibre #fiber #oats #oatmeal #porridgeporn #oatmeal

A post shared by Kimberley Wilson CPsychol (@foodandpsych) on Oct 10, 2018 at 2:54am PDT

Wednesday

This was my second attempt at making Pumpkin, Spinach and Walnut Pasta from Lazy Cat Kitchen, the first time I burned my butternut squash cubes to charcoal, although the recipe without the butternut but with added pancetta, is still really gorgeous. So gorgeous I made another attempt at it today, keeping the pancetta in too. Even though I reduced the oven temperature and the time, I still rather burnt my butternut but by removing the worse bits, I did at least manage to rescue some of the squash this time, maybe it isn’t the recipe and more my oven 🤷‍♀️. Anyway, it was still really nice.