My obsession with pumpkin seeds as a snack occurred just after Halloween, after the initial rush of people buying pumpkins they were left incredibly cheap. Naturally being tight as hell I grabbed a few, since after all I was very interested in what I could actually do with pumpkins in general.

The answer is… LOADS OF THINGS!

They’re actually surprisingly healthy and versatile. I don’t think anyone got the memo about this, since after all – we carve faces into them and leave them to rot. Food waste eat your heart out.

Who knows, maybe 1,000 years into the future scientists will find a carved fossilized pumpkin and ponder what was wrong with their ancestors. I’m getting carried away, but if anyone wants to buy the screenplay then drop me a line . Michael Bay, that one goes out to you if you’re listening.

Probably best to stop rambling and explain the how to make these toasted pumpkin seeds.

Toasted Pumpkin Seeds Ingredients 

• 1 x Pumpkin 
• 1Tsp oil
• Salt/Pepper to taste.

Step one in your pumpkin seed quest is to lop the top off the pumpkin and separate the flesh from the seeds. I’ve seen people on-line talk smack about using your hand, but screw them. Reach deep into the pumpkin sift through the flesh looking for seeds. 

Once the seeds are retrieved they will be covered in pumpkin gunk, you don’t that at all 

Wash all of the gunk off in a colander and dry  before the next step. 

After that, heat 1tsp of oil in a Pan over a medium heat. Once the oil simmers, through the seeds in. When the pumpkin seeds are brown and the husks open slightly they’re ready.
Finally put the toasted pumpkin seeds in a pretentious cup and photograph artistically after seasoning with salt & pepper. They”ll be delicious, mine didn’t stick around longer than an hour… Now to wait for the next Halloween. 

Expect a pumpkin purée recipe in the pipeline. Boy are you in for a treat. 

The post Toasted Pumpkin Seeds appeared first on The Healthy Hangover - Student Food Blog. Student recipes and guides.

Couscous has been around since the 13th century, it’s archaic and god damned delicious. There’s a million reasons why you should be eating couscous, it’s healthy as hell and cheap to boot! 

For me it’s been a real  game changer in my university packed lunches, it’s incredibly versatile and you can pretty much add anything you can think of to it. This recipe calls for five simple ingredients…. That’s right! JUST FIVE! 

Quit mucking about with flaky & soggy pre-packaged sandwiches and throw a big handful of couscous in some tupperware and be the envy of all your friends (Don’t forget a fork though, I did last week and it wasn’t pleasant) Expect many more couscous recipes to come, chorizo couscous is just the beginning. 

Shout out to my boy couscous, you the man!

Did I mention this was a pound for a kilo at LIDL? 

Chorizo Couscous Ingredients

Chorizo couscous

2014-10-22 09:36:17

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Prep Time

5 min

Cook Time

10 min

Total Time

15 min

Prep Time

5 min

Cook Time

10 min

Total Time

15 min

Ingredients

1. 200g Couscous
2. 2 Inches of chorizo
3. 400ml stock (Chicken or vegetable advised)
4. 1 tsp paprika

Optional

1. Parsley to garnish

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1) Slice up your chorizo, cut more than you’ll need as if you’re like me you’ll inevitably pick at it. 

2) You’re gonna want to fry your chorizo until it is crisp to release it’s delicious flavour. I generally dry fry mine but feel free to add oil… if you’re into that.

3) Add 200g of couscous to your chorizo pan, give it a stir to ensure the chorizo oil coats the couscous

4) I made 400 ml of vegetable stock with boiling water in a jug. Proceed to pour this onto your couscous until it is covered, measurements don’t have to be exact, just don’t drown it. Cover with a plate and leave it for 10 mins.

5) Take off the plate, add the paprika and then fluff the couscous. Then add the parsley to garnish. All done!

The post Chorizo Couscous appeared first on The Healthy Hangover - Student Food Blog. Student recipes and guides.

Ciabatta isn’t essential any bread can be used – but it will make it more authentic. If you’re a savvy shopper you might be able to pick up a loaf in the reduced section of your local supermarket. I’d highly advocate real butter for this recipe, but artificial spreads can be used if you’re watching the calorie count of your food. This recipe is perfectly acceptable as part of a healthy diet. Wholemeal bread could be used to make it better.

This isn’t the healthiest of recipes. But it’s one that should be considered a treat. It’s perfect for Italian inspired dinner parties. Homemade garlic bread is incredibly easy and will add another level of indulgence to impress your company (Particularly if they do not cook!) As a suggestion this could be teamed with homemade pizza (Recipe )

Stale bread can be used within this recipe, since crustiness is not a factor. Homemade garlic bread can be a great way to use up a loaf that has been sitting around for a while.

Homemade garlic bread

2014-09-29 13:21:31

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Prep Time

5 min

Cook Time

5 min

Total Time

10 min

Prep Time

5 min

Cook Time

5 min

Total Time

10 min

Ingredients

1. 5 tsp butter / margerine (the former is better but anything will do!)
2. 2tbsp sliced parsley
3. 4 minced cloves of garlic
4. 1 ciabatta

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Homemade Garlic Bread

1) Slice your ciabatta evenly. At this point turn your oven on if baking.

2) Mince your garlic, either by crushing the clove and then dicing it or use a conventional garlic crusher (Link to the one I own at the bottom of this page)

2) Add butter, crushed garlic gloves and the sliced parsley to a mixing bowl. Fold these ingredients together. Ensure that you mix thoroughly as you do not want to simply have chunks of garlic.

3) Spread slices of ciabatta with garlic and parsley infused butter 

4) Toast ciabatta under grill or bake at 220C for 5 minutes. Take care not to leave it under the grill too long if using stale bread.

5) Serve and wonder why you ever bothered with frozen garlic baguettes.

Equipment used for homemade garlic bread 

The post Homemade Garlic Bread appeared first on The Healthy Hangover - Student Food Blog. Student recipes and guides.

Tuna Mayonnaise Quesadilla

2014-09-23 10:55:37

Serves 2

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Prep Time

10 min

Cook Time

5 min

Total Time

15 min

Prep Time

10 min

Cook Time

5 min

Total Time

15 min

Tuna Mayonnaise Mix

1. 1 can drained Tuna chunks
2. 1/2 can drained sweetcorn
3. 1/2 diced pepper
4. 3 tsp Light mayonnaise
5. Squirt of lemon juice
6. Squirt of sriracha extra hot sauce

Quesadilla

1. Tortilla Wrap
2. Iceberg Lettuce

Extras

1. Cheese
2. Pineapple (For reals)

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1) Relatively little prep for this one, dice your green pepper and then open / drain your tuna and sweetcorn.

2) Add your full can of tuna, half can of sweetcorn, diced green pepper, 3 tsp on light mayonnaise, a squirt of lemon juice and a squirt of sriracha extra hot sauce

3) Mix until desired consistency, I like to leave mine a little chunky.

4) If you have a George Foreman grill this next step will be easy. If not, the same results can be achieved with a pan (Simply add 1 tsp of oil to a pan that is large enough and fry. 

Add your wrap to the grill and then add just enough filling, this stage is trial and error dependant upon the size of your wrap, don’t get too tuna mayo happy or it will erupt out of the sides.

At this stage cheese can be added, I didn’t add any at this point as I wanted mine to be a little bit less fatty. You can also add pineapple at this stage for a very interesting taste experience.

5) Grill yo wrap for around 3 -5 mins. This will be dependant upon size of wrap, quantity of filling and heat of grill.  

 6) Remove your wrap from the grill once warmed through, you can leave it until it’s a bit crispier if that’s your preference.

 7) Slip some lettuce into your quesadilla if you want, the reason I left this until the end is because I have a real aversion to limp lettuce and enjoy the crunch.

8) Bathe in the warm light of the tasty tuna mayonnaise quesadilla you have made. 

The post green pepper and Sriracha Tuna mayonnaise quesadilla appeared first on The Healthy Hangover - Student Food Blog. Student recipes and guides.

Prawn and avocado Chilli salad

2014-09-21 08:14:35

Serves 2

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Prep Time

10 min

Cook Time

10 min

Total Time

20 min

Prep Time

10 min

Cook Time

10 min

Total Time

20 min

Salad

1. 1/2 head of iceberg lettuce (Shredded)
2. 2 tbsp basil leaves

Topping / Dressing

1. 2 garlic cloves
2. 150 g Ready to eat Prawns
3. 1 Avocado
4. 1sp Dried Chillis
5. 1 1/2 handfuls of cherry tomatoes

Extras

1. Crusty Bread
2. 1/2 Lime (squeezed)

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2) Heat some 1 tsp of oil in pan over a medium heat, add your garlic and tomatoes first. Cook these until the tomato begins to fall apart.  This generally takes around 5 minutes.

3) Add your prawns and 1 tsp of dried chillies, turn the heat down at this point as you don’t want to make the prawns too tough!

4) Whilst your prawns are heating up, tear up your lettuce and add it to a mixing bowl with your basil leaves.

5) Flip your avocado out of it’s spoon with a skin and slice it into bite size pieces. 

6) Add all warm ingredients to the mixing bowl and toss that salad! 7) Serve in two bowls with black pepper on top and a slice of lime. 

The post Prawn and avocado chilli salad appeared first on The Healthy Hangover - Student Food Blog. Student recipes and guides.

Mexican Chicken & Avocado Wrap

2014-09-21 04:33:25

Serves 2

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Prep Time

5 min

Cook Time

15 min

Total Time

20 min

Prep Time

5 min

Cook Time

15 min

Total Time

20 min

Spice Mix

1. 1 1/2 Tsp Cumin
2. 1 1/2 Tsp Smoked Paprika
3. 1 tsp Chilli Flakes
4. 1 tsp Ground Coriander

Filling

1. 2 Chicken breasts (frozen or fresh is fine)
2. 1 Yellow pepper
3. 1 Red onion
4. 2 Garlic Cloves
5. 1/2 Avocado
6. Lettuce leaves
7. Tortilla wraps

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Much health, many wow

1. First step to this chicken and avocado wrap is to dice all your vegetables, try not to cut your fingers off

I grilled my chicken from frozen on a George Foreman grill (Game changer)

2. Slice your chicken, it doesn’t matter if you’re using fresh or frozen (Both can be added to the pan & be fried to defrost)

You’ll only want to add a bit of colour to your vegetables, don’t go overboard.

3. heat one tbsp of oil in a pan on a medium heat and begin to fry your vegetables

4. After 3 mins when they are soft, add your spices & chicken the mix will turn into a very bold colour

Top your wrap with anything you want, sriracha hot sauce is an ideal addition

5. Assemble with the lettuce & avocado then enjoy!

6. Put your middle finger up to pre made fajita wraps

The post Mexican Chicken and Avocado Wrap appeared first on The Healthy Hangover - Student Food Blog. Student recipes and guides.

Spring onion scrambled eggs & avocado on toast.

2014-07-01 06:44:44

Serves 2

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Prep Time

10 min

Cook Time

10 min

Total Time

20 min

Prep Time

10 min

Cook Time

10 min

Total Time

20 min

Ingredients

1. 4 eggs
2. 1 avocado
3. 4 spring onions
4. 2 Tbsp chopped parsley
5. 2 Slices granary farmhouse
6. Olive Oil
7. Salt & pepper
8. Hot Sauce

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Add one tbsp of olive oil to a small pan and heat over a low/medium heat

Then trim your spring onions, slicing off the papery parts at the end and the bulb. Also use this time to finely cut your parsley

Then, add your spring onions to the pan and stir frequently, ideally you want to cook these just until they’re soft – heavy frying will ruin them.

Whilst the spring onions are getting soft, cut your avocado in half here’s a video on how to prepare an avocado for recipes:

Then, once you have cut your avocado in half – scoop out it’s innards and add into a bowl, at this stage I like to season the avocado mush liberally with salt & pepper

Then, crack your eggs into a cup and season / beat ‘em.

  At this point your spring onions will be soft and releasing an onion-y scent, so chuck your eggs into the pan  – at this point how many eggs you have in the pan will affect what heat you should use, I had 4 so I kept it to current medium setting.

Put 1/2 of your parsley in at this stage, save the rest for garnishing.

At this point, it’s probably a good idea to put your toast on for the optimum breakfast, so throw that on.

The secret to good scrambled eggs is to always keep them moving in the  pan and lower the heat towards the end of cooking them, it’s also worth turning the heat off when they still look undercooked as the residual heat within the pan will continue to cook them. 

Use your avocado mush as butter… NATURE’S BUTTER 

Then top with scrambled eggs

Finally – garnish with more black pepper, parsley and hot sauce. Then wonder why you don’t just throw this together every time you’re hungover.

The post Spring Onion Scrambled Eggs & Avocado on toast appeared first on The Healthy Hangover - Student Food Blog. Student recipes and guides.