Clare’s Tasty Tapas (2)

Here is part two of Clare’s Tasty Tapas. These are super as a main meal any evening, ideal for lunchtime leftovers and you will impress many a dinner guest if you were to sever mini ones of these as canapés.

Today we have our simple mango salad, Mushroom bruchetta and Tomato bruchetta.

Makes: 4 servings

Preparation Time: 10 minutes

Total Time:  20 minutes

Ingredients

Mango Salad:

• 100g Mixed Salad leaves
• 1 sliced mango
• 1 sliced red onion
• juice of 1 lime
• 2tbs extra virgin olive oil
• pinch of black pepper

Mushroom Bruchetta:

• 8 slices of french bread
• 200g button mushrooms
• half a glass of white wine
• 1tbs smooth mustard
• 1tbs grated garlic
• pinch of salt and pepper
• handful of fresh chopped parsley

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Tomato Bruchetta:

• 200g vine ripe tomatoes
• 2-3 chopped spring onions
• 2tbs olive oil
• 1 grated clove of garlic
• 1tbs of sugar
• pinch of salt and pepper

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PREPARATION

Mango Salad: Mix the salad leaves, mango, red onion and dress with the oil, lime juice, salt and pepper.

Mushroom Bruchetta: Cook your sliced mushroom in a pan for 4-5 minutes, until soft and tender, add the wine and cook until almost evaporated, add your mustard, garlic, parsley, salt and pepper. toast your bread slices and top with the mushroom mixture.

Tomato Bruchetta: Chop your vine ripened tomatoes, add your chopped spring onions, garlic, sugar, salt and pepper. Toast your bread and top with the tomato mixture.

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❤ Clare with the Hair ❤

Blog Stats June 2015

Pinch punch happy 1st of the month and for most of you it is a fabulous beginning with some glorious sunshine.

Today I am sharing with you my blog stats for June, this has climbed each and every month since my little blog begun and I can see that we have many repeat readers also, thank you 1st time visitors and thank you to all my repeat visitors. I really appreciate the time that you take to come and visit this blog and thank you for all your emails and comments, it is super.

http://www.clarewiththehair.com

This month 107,103 of you visited Clare with the Hair , WOW! honest to god! WOW! who would have thought that when I began to blog that so many of you would like what I do and over 100,000 of you would come and visit my blog in just one month, this is incredible!

Clare with the hair new design website is being launched in the next few days, so keep your eyes out for the release of this. It is a more professional looking, stylish blog that will load pages really fast for you, be 100% mobile friendly and have all the buttons you need to connect via social sites with me.

If there is an item you feel I should include on Clare with the Hair . com, then please get in touch with your suggestions.

❤ Clare with the Hair ❤

Oven-baked Fish & Chips (with half the calories of your traditional Fish & Chips)

A classic combination given a  healthy makeover by oven cooking the ingredients instead of frying. All the flavour with a lot less fat!

Makes: 4 servings

Preparation Time: 15 minutes

Cooking Time: 40 minutes

INGREDIENTS

• 880g of floury potato, scrubbed and cut into chips, (leave the skins on) for a healthier option use Sweet Potato
• 2 tbsp olive oil, for me it is Coconut Oil but you can use one of the lite oil sprays
• 50g fresh breadcrumbs, I use wholemeal but feel free to use breadcrumbs of your choice
• zest the peel of 1 lemon
• 2 – 3 tbsp chopped parsley
• 4 x 140g/5oz thick  white fish fillets (up or down the numbers depending on your requirements) this is based on 1 per person,
• 200g cherry tomato, I like to sprinkle a little black pepper onto these

I also like to add a green veg on the side of this but you can opt for your favourite and steam this.

PREPARATION

1. Heat oven to 220C/200C fan/gas 7. Pat chips dry on kitchen paper, then lay in a single layer on a large baking tray. Drizzle with half the olive oil , coconut oil or spray and season with salt. Cook for 40 mins, turning after 20 mins, so they cook evenly.
2. Mix the breadcrumbs with the lemon zest and parsley, then season well. Top the cod evenly with the breadcrumb mixture, then drizzle, with the remaining oil again using your option. Put in a roasting tin with the cherry tomatoes, then bake in the oven for the final 10 mins of the chips’ cooking time.

As far as easy goes this is way up there. it tastes delicious and needs very little attention while in the oven, this is one of my families favourites

NUTRITION

Per serving: 366 calories

• Tip , Healthy benefits

  We have halved the fat and calories of this traditional favourite by cooking it in the oven instead of frying, and even better again with coconut oil of your lite oil sprays. Although potatoes don’t count towards your 5-a-day, they’re a useful source of vitamin C as well as B6, potassium and manganese and if you opt for a sweet potato you have seriously increased the health benefits, Remember to add a nice green vegetable with this to make it a truly great family meal.

Let me know how you get on with this and as always if there is something you would like me to make, then let me know in the comments section below or via the contact me page.

Thank you for reading you FABULOUS people

❤ Claire with the hair McCarthy ❤

Turkey & Lettuce Wraps (Tasty yet very low fat)

Based on a popular Chinese dish, these fun wraps also make appealing appetizers or canapé when entertaining. There are flavoured with five-spice and are ridiculously simple to make. you can add diced tomatoes, mango, cucumber or red onions to mix this recipe up.

This recipe is based on 4 servings so double up or half down to suit your individual needs.

Makes: 4 servings

Preparation Time: 30 minutes (max)

Total Time: 30 minutes

INGREDIENTS

• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 cup brown rice
• 2 teaspoons sesame oil
• 450g 93%or better,lean ground turkey
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
• 1 large red  pepper, finely diced
• 1 8-ounce can water chestnuts, rinsed and chopped(this is a standard size can)
• 1/2 cup reduced-salt chicken broth (shop bought or even better to make your own)
• 2 tablespoons hoisin sauce
• 1 teaspoon five-spice powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt (if you must, I tend to leave this out)
• 2 heads  lettuce, leaves separated, I use two as it is only the outer leaves that can be used here.
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh herbs, such as parsley, basil, mint or chives, (I use parsley, chives and mint)
• 1 large carrot, shredded

PREPARATION

1. Bring water to a boil in a small saucepan. Add rice; reduce heat to low, cover and cook following the instructions on the packet. Once cooked remove from the heat.
2. Meanwhile, heat oil in a large nonstick pan over medium-high heat( I use coconut oil here). Add turkey and ginger; cook, separating the mince with a wooden spoon, until the turkey is cooked through, about 4-6 minutes. Stir in the cooked rice,  pepper, water chestnuts, broth, hoisin sauce, five-spice powder and salt; cook until heated through, about 1 minute.
3. To serve, divide lettuce leaves among plates, spoon some of the turkey mixture into each leaf, top with herbs and carrot and roll into wraps.

TIPS & NOTES

• Make Ahead Tip: Prepare the filling (through Step 2), cover and refrigerate for up to 1 day. Serve cold or reheat.

• Notes: Hoisin sauce is a spicy, sweet sauce made from soybeans, chiles, garlic and spices. It will keep in the refrigerator for at least a year.
• Often a blend of cinnamon, cloves, fennel seed, star anise and Szechuan peppercorns, five-spice powder was originally considered a cure-all miracle blend encompassing the five elements (sour, bitter, sweet, pungent, salty). Look for it in the supermarket spice section.

Per serving: 276 calories; 11 g fat (based on 6 leaves per person and the above quantities being divided into four portions)

Let me know how you get on making these and if you have any food’s you would like me to create a recipe for then get in touch and I will do my best for you x

Thank you for reading you FABULOUS people

❤ Claire with the hair McCarthy ❤

New Review : SeeSee Mineral Facial Pure Mud Mask

So I tested this Mineral Mud Facial Mask a few months ago for TV’3 Xpose show and this was screened on Wednesday evening’s show so now I can share my thought and findings on this product. Here is a clip from the show http://www.tv3.ie/entertainment_video.php?locID=1.803.824&video=84304

I have a combination skin type and suffer from the very occasional break out on my Tzone, but over all I have the skin under control. I found this work very well for my skin type.

From a price point of view this is very keenly priced at just €10.99 with other items in the rage as low as €4.49, SeeSee is available in pharmacy’s nationwide.

The Dead Sea high quality dark Mud Mask is enriched with minerals for deep facial cleansing. This Dead Sea Mud is rich in minerals and highly purifying. It removes dirt, excess oil and any traces of impurities, while gently exfoliating dead skin cells, revealing fresh new skin. I found the first few times I used this that I did get a bit of a break out but once we got beyond this point I found my skin just glowing.The mask will leave your skin smooth, silky looking, healthy and radiant. The Mud Mask softens the skin and contains mud minerals including sodium, potassium, magnesium chlorides, bromides and sulphates, together with plant extracts including Jojoba oil, Mentha oil, vitamin E, sweet almond oil and olive oil. The skin is smoother, fresher, brighter and more defined.
The user instructions: Apply a thin layer in circle motions, allow to dry and rinse well with water only. apply your regular moisturizer after your face is completely clean.

Thank you for reading you FABULOUS people

♥Clare With The Hair ♥