Recipe: Oreo & coconut mixed chocolate truffles

Truffles are something I've been keen to make for SO long! Super easy to make and really tasty. I'm a huge fan

You'll need:

- 500ml double cream
- Large knob of butter
- 1 bar of high quality (70%) dark chocolate
- 1 bar of high quality white chocolate (as high percentage of choc as pos)
- 1 pack of Oreo's
- 1 bag of dessicated coconut
- A little cocoa powder

Method:

Heat the double cream on a medium heat until hot (not boiling) then whisk in the knob of butter until melted. In the mean time break up your white and dark chocolate in separate bowls. Once the butter is melted whisk about 300ml of the cream mixture into the dark chocolate and stir until all of the chocolate has melted then set aside. I found that the white chocolate needed slightly less of the mixture so the remainder (200ml) should do fine, mix then set aside.

Pop both bowls of melted and mixed chocolate into the fridge to chill. The dark chocolate will only take a couple of hours but try and leave the white chocolate for a couple more hours. Whilst that's setting, blitz a bunch of Oreo's in a blender (or just bash them up if you don't have one) then pop that mixture, the coconut and the cocoa powder into three separate bowls

Once the chocolate mixture is hard to the touch, grab a melon baller or a teaspoon, scoop out a small ball and roll in-between your palms as quickly as possible to create a little ball before it melts in your hand, then drop it into your desired topping and roll it around. The white chocolate won't set quite as hard and was generally a pain in the ass throughout this whole recipe, so be swift when rolling and don't worry too much about making perfectly round balls (they all go down the same hole).

I found that the dark chocolate went nicely with just some cocoa powder on them and the white chocolate suited the coconut and Oreo crumbs better. This is a pretty easy recipe and the end result was honestly lovely. Give it a go and mix up your mixture's and toppings! Really good with a nice coffee or cuppa tea, enjoy!

JIM

Instagram/Twitter: @whatjamesate

Home cooks: Marathon training, a healthy w

So I may or may not have mentioned but I'm being sent to Tromso, Norway (the god-damn Arctic circle) today courtesy of my amazing workplace, The Breakfast Club, to run in the Tromso Midnight Sun Marathon. The run takes place as 9 in the evening this coming Saturday and as they have no darkness at this time of year  we are running through the night, in the daylight. Madness! TBC do so much for charity and as much as this is a huge personal challenge it is really about raising money for worthy charities. My dad sadly lost both of his parents to Cancer and I'm sure we all know someone effected by cancer, so I'm running in aid of Cancer Research UK.

I'm no runner. I've always been into sprinting, athletics and more fast past sports, so training for this marathon has been tough for me. As well as running I've been switching up the diet to shed a few pounds and become lighter on my feet so I thought I'd do a post of a few of the regular dinners we've been having to stay lean!

I won't bore with recipe's as they are pretty self explanatory but In short lots of greens, healthy carbs and fats alongside lean meats such as turkey and chicken breast. We use coconut oil to fry and bake everything, It's a super versatile and amazing product, I really recommend getting some!

I really can't wait to run alongside all my pals from work, it's going to be tough as hell but so rewarding running for a cause so close to the hear. If any kind souls fancied sponsoring me I'm going to keep the page going for a little while after I've (hopefully) finished the marathon!

Click me to sponsor me :)

Wish me luck!

JIM

Instagram/Twitter: @whatjamesate

Recipe: Healthy Chicken Tikka Masala

Here's one that is becoming a regular meal for us at home! A healthier than usual chicken tikka masala with a kachumba side salad.

You'll need:

Curry:
- two red onions
- coconut oil (for frying)
- chicken breast (two feeds roughly three people)
- a fresh chilli
- one large sweet potato
- a handful of spinach
- fresh coriander
- curry paste of choice (we used tikka)
- coconut milk
- tinned tomatoes

Salad:
- one red onion
- half a cucumber
- two tomatoes
- one lemon
- fresh coriander/mint

Method:
1. Dice onions and fry off in two teaspoons of coconut oil until very soft, then add the chicken breast (diced) and chilli, cook until browned.
2. In a separate bowl, cut the sweet potato into large chunks and microwave in a small bowl of water to soften. In the main frying pan, add two tablespoons of curry paste and stir into chicken.
3. Pour the coconut milk and tinned tomatoes over the chicken and onions, stirring to form a loose curry. Allow to simmer for 2/3 minutes.
4. Chop some fresh coriander and add both this and the spinach to the curry, followed by the softened sweet potato.
5. Allow the curry to simmer, and cook some rice to accompany it, if desired. In another bowl, finely dice all the salad ingredients, and stir together. Squeeze half of the lemon over the top and add a pinch of salt to taste.

Serve with mini poppadums, some mango chutney and natural yoghurt!

JIM

Instagram/Twitter: @whatjamesate

A little introduction...

Hey friends! Just a little introduction to the blog. I'm James, also known as Jim or Jimbo. I'm a recent graduate of Southampton Solent currently working at The Breakfast Club and playing drums in my band Ghostless, generally loving life.

The idea of doing a food blog has been in the works for years but I've always been way too lazy to get going with it. This blog will be a mixture of good food, travel, lifestyle and mucho coffee. I'm a huge foody and game for beers and burgers anytime. London is crawling with amazing food and drink so hopefully I can show you a few places you've not experienced yet. Feel free to let me know any places I should check out next and I'll be sure to get down to them!

Jim