Deliciously Emily?

Day one of my +Deliciously Ella experiment started strong with Creamy Coconut Porridge. I've been ill with a really bad cold for what feels like weeks and this was just what I needed. I've made similar recipes before but this has a lot less coconut milk so it's flavoursome without being too rich. It also has banana cooked into the oats which I loved - my sister found it too sweet but she's not a big banana fan.

As usual I haven't been organised enough to actually prepare for the start of this project so lunch is some very late (and shop bought) houmous and carrot on the way to pick up my friends' kids from school, but I do notice how full I've stayed from the porridge. I'm giving the boys a snack later on and treat myself to one of what are clearly grown-up snacks - it's the most delicious thing ever and has officially ousted the nakd bar from my top spot.

 If you see the Aduna Baobab bar I highly recommend it! Much sharper than other dried fruit bars - I've only been able to find it in As Nature Intended so far but I'm sure there are other stockists.

One of my main struggles during the week can be motivating myself to cook (when it's only for me) when I'm tired and just want to collapse on the sofa. I resist that temptation and make the Black and Kidney Bean Chilli - with considerable scepticism that anything put together in ten minutes will taste of much. I stand corrected and it's lovely: I've never thought of putting jalapenos in a chilli before but I love it.

Tori (my sister) also cooks it at her place that evening and is less enamoured but I think it must come down to the different proportions etc we use - I certainly just used the recipe as a basis then added what I thought it needed. This is my recipe based on Ella's original.


1 onion, finely chopped
1 tin kidney beans
1 tin black-eyed beans
1 large carrot, grated
300ml passata
1tbsp tomato paste
2 tbsp sliced jalapenos, finely chopped
1/2 tsp dried chilli flakes
1/4 tsp hot smoked paprika
125g pack brown rice
1 avocado
rocket or other salad, to serve

1. Put your rice on to cook - I always use brown which does take quite a while.
2. Heat some olive oil in a pan and cook the onion for a few minutes until soft.
3. Add the beans, chillies, carrot, passata and tomato paste and stir it all together.
4. Cook for ten minutes or so to let the flavours come together then adjust according to taste. I like spicy food so for many people this may be far too much chilli. Be sparing till you get the right balance for you!
5. Mash your avocado with some lime juice.
6. Serve it all up and enjoy!

I will definitely be using this recipe again - I'm a big fan of extra vegetables added in so next time I'm going to add a grated courgette as well. I love chilli and this is a great weeknight supper that can be on the table in less than 30 minutes. I also can't say how excited I was at work the following day knowing this was waiting in the fridge for my lunch.