#OnkenTips Instagram Recipe Book

Whether in meals, snacks or baking, I love using yogurt to give recipes a healthy little boost. Working with Onken over the past few years has been a great way of learning about yogurt and also finding tasty alternatives to butter and milk.

Some of my favourite 'dollops of difference' for weekdays are adding yogurt to mashed potato to make it extra creamy and to make a great chicken marinade with a spoon of tikka paste mixed with yogurt. Healthy too!

Last week Onken released their #OnkenTips Cookbook, the UK's first crowdsourced Instagram cookbook. Yogurt lovers from across the country have shared their favourite ways of using Onken.

For more inspiration, the #OnkenTips Instagram Cookbook can be found online here.

Here's a sneak peak of the inside...

Whether it's my lemon and blueberry yogurt loaf, Miss Mamo's garlic bread or Nicole's yogurt satay sauce, there's some great tips in the book. Take a look for a dollop of yogurt inspiration!

This post is in collaboration with Onken.

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Food in September

September whizzed by in a flurry of food and meet ups. I got by, with a vitamin B12 deficiency and a bout of laringyitis. All the more reason to eat you say? Thank you very much!

I tried steamed buns for the first time and am absolutely hooked. Pork belly too. So much so, I'm looking forward to taking some more sweet buns this week. Last weekend, Persephone, Flick and I ventured over to Lewisham's Model Market. There we saw our favourite Mother Flipper but also these guys, Yum Bun. Soft plump steamed buns, tender pork and crisp cucumber with lashings of hoisin sauce. Awesome.

I'm feeling seasonal. It didn't take much, but I'm already excited to get baking with sweet potato, cinnamon and apples. Zomato hosted a little get together with Primrose Bakery to celebrate National Cupcake Week and to show off their new book. This sweet potato cake with brown sugar frosting is glorious and I can't wait to recreate it. I had a sneaky little flick through the book and fell in love with pretty much all the recipes. If I were to have a book, this is exactly how I'd want it. So as you can imagine, I was thrilled to hear I'd won a copy when its released in the next few days!

For months I've passed The Fire Station on the way to work and worried that their renovations would see it turn into a block of flats or hotel. When they finally reopened and revealed a new menu of burgers and stone baked pizzas, I grabbed Hannah and Flick and went to do research...! You need to know where's good for burgers within a 5 minute walk-radius of your office, right? The bun is gorgeously plump, the patties were tender and so much American cheese and maple bacon, I was in my element. They didn't scrimp on the fries either. Highly recommend this if you're near Waterloo. 

You may think I'm a little mad, but I booked train tickets up to Manchester just to try this place. Home Sweet Home have dominated my Twitter feed with their towering creations ever since I got Twitter. I went for the cookie monster which has a bright prink swirled sponge and cookies tucked in between each layer and Boy went for a hazelnutty chocolate creation. Far too sweet but great for a treat. We also stopped by Solita and absolutely loved their cheeseburger spring rolls.

And lastly, if you've been round these parts for a while you'll know just how much I love yogurt. Onken hosted a great party to mark the launch of their new Greek range. This included Greek Gods, a Dairy Grove where yogurts hung from trees and plenty of cocktails. They even made yogurt portraits of the X Factor judges, pretty impressive. I loved all of the flavours, particularly apple and cinnamon one.

Another monthly favourite of mine is Frankie's horroscopes, check out what's in store for you this October. Or just for a laugh, her clever infographic of what actually goes on in female toilets.

If you're still in the need for a little more seasonality then Emily's pumpkin spiced latte macarons should do the trick!

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Food in June

Lemon and blueberry yogurt loaf

I've dusted off the cobwebs on an old recipe, this lemon and blueberry yogurt loaf I made for Onken's #OnkenTips campaign. The loaf is fabulously light and fresh, with the help of a quick squeeze of lemon juice when pulled from the oven. So far I haven't shared any, I've eaten half and stowed the rest in the freezer for emergency cake situations.

June Degusta box*

I received my first Degusta Box in the post this week and can proudly say that there's not much left. I'm thoroughly impressed with everything so far, including delivery notifications and how carefully packed everything was. Each month comes filled with different food items to try and is a great way of topping up with cupboards and trying new things.

This June picnic box comes with a variety of soft drinks, snacks, a fruit cider and vodka ice lolly. Stay tuned for a recipe using the coconut sugar; something I've wanted to try out for a while now.

Pip & Nut

Any snacks that come in a handbag friendly form get a thumbs up from me. I recently ordered a mixed box of Pip & Nut nut butter squeeze packs to try after stalking them for a while on Twitter. Their nut butters are completely free from nasties, just nuts, roasted and sprinkled with a little salt. Handy to stow away in your work locker, handbag, car or to take out for a boost mid-run these have certainly come in handy over the last few weeks.

My favourite way to enjoy these have been squeezed over a banana whilst reading my Kindle on the train to work, to dunk apple chunks in whilst watching OINTB curled up on the sofa or drizzled over my porridge to keep me going on night shifts at work.

Extra hot chilli sauce

I like making all manner of condiments, most especially chilli jam. But when I spotted a recipe for extra-hot chilli sauce in Waitrose's June magazine and thought I'd give it a go. The men in my family are hot sauce aficionados, so I altered the quantities and added a larger amount of scotch bonnet chillies to ensure this gave a good kick.

To make this extra-hot sauce, you will need to roast 100g red chillis, 50g scotch bonnets, 250g cherry tomatoes, 3 skin on garlic cloves and 1 halved red onion for 25 minutes. Once roasted, remove from the oven and remove the stalks from the chillies and place into a blender. Squeeze in the garlic and the onion free from skin. Add 6 tbsp water, 4 tbsp red wine vinegar, 1 tbsp dijon mustard and 1 tbsp honey. Blitz for a few minutes until smooth. Be careful when opening up the blender, it'll be hotter than Daenerys' dragon's breath. Pour into spare jam jars or bottles.

Jim Beam's Bourbon BBQ Sauce*

To follow up from last week's post, that dreamy Jim Beam bourbon BBQ sauce is available to buy in Sainsbury's stores from this week. After using most of the jar in my BBQ shredded chicken sandwiches, I've used the dregs to stir through some baked beans for a little mix up. It tastes great!

Zomato app

If you're into eating out, and you haven't already, you must download the Zomato app. Its a great way of being able to see reviews for nearby restaurants and you can even upload your own reviews and photos. I love being able to follow friends and to have a nose at where they've been and what they chose on menus! The app itself is seamless and super easy to use.

Check out where I've been eating, here.

Sugru*

I'm genuinely intrigued and looking forward to getting some fixing and organising done with a pack that was sent to me to try. Essentially, its described as play dough for adults. Its a material that dries and sets firm so you can use it to organise your kitchen knives or to fix wonky drawers. So far I've used some to stick a hook up for tea towels and its super strong. I'm looking forward to taking some inspiration from their suggested kitchen hacks as well and will report back!

Recipes I've bookmarked to try:

Brookies - Jo from Every Nook and Cranny

Greek pork souvlaki with tzatziki and homemade pitta bread - Lucy from Supergolden Bakes

Gin and tonic ice lollies - Kirsty from A Dash of Ginger

Stay tuned, I have a giveaway coming up for one reader to win next month's box. Or, use the code '98VWM' to get £3 off which will last until the end of October.

Items marked with an * were sent to me to try out. I have not been paid for any posts and, as always, all views are my own. 

Everyday Yogurt Lovers & Recent Favourites

When my alarm started sounding at 06:30am on a day off, I did doubt the table I'd booked a few weeks before. Yes, I had to book weeks in advance and yes, the only booking I could get was 08:15am. But, eating breakfast 230m in the clouds at Duck & Waffle sure is an experience. Check out my mini review on Urban Spoon here.

I spent Friday night in Brighton meeting some other food bloggers and we enjoyed some great Tapas in Solera. It was the perfect place to go for a larger group, the Sangria was great and I'm still surprised at how reasonable the bill was. 

Crumbs and Doilies has proved to me that cupcakes were definitely not a phase and I still love them. Not only have I enjoyed scrolling through their Instagram snaps, Jemma the owner's how-to's on YouTube, they also have the cutest packaging I've seen in a long time. 

Speaking of YouTube, I worked on a little recipe for Onken as part of their #OnkenTips campaign. Using yogurt in baking is a great alternative to fat and it ensures your bakes are light, moist and creamy.

In this video you'll see me and some fellow bloggers give a quick run through our #OnkenTips. If you fancy giving the lemon and blueberry loaf cake a go, the recipe can be found on their Facebook page.

And now, after all this cupcake and waffle eating, I'm off to prepare some 'healthy' work meals for the week ahead!

Onken: Strawberry Yogurt Eton Mess

When the invite slipped into my inbox for a second, more intimate, masterclass with Onken and Lisa Faulkner I was more than excited. After the last event in April myself and fellow foodies learnt some simple and inventive ways of using yogurt in everyday cooking. Some of the recipes we learnt have even become weekly staple meals for me!

This time round we gathered at the gorgeous Ham Yard Hotel for an indulgent 'Treat Yourself' evening in which Lisa showed us how to make seasonal dessert dishes with the Onken fruits range. These included Creme brulee, Eton mess, smoothies and ice lollies.

Its always lovely to have everything perfectly prepped and ready for you...with a glass of Prosecco!

You can find all of the recipes (including the Creme Brulee shown above) on the Onken website, here.

My favourite recipe of the evening was Eton Mess made with Onken fat free strawberry yogurt. A lighter, fresher twist on the traditional using yogurt instead of cream. Perfect for summer evenings and it looks great served in wine glasses.

After a long day travelling back from the Cotswolds on Sunday, I made my own to enjoy.

Onken Strawberry yogurt Eton Mess
(Recipe from Onken, serves 4)

3/4 punnet of strawberries (roughly 180g)
3/4 punnet of blueberries (roughly 180g)
25g sugar
1 lime
1 pot (450ml) Onken Fat Free Strawberry Yogurt
6 readymade meringue nests
100g chopped hazelnuts

Place two thirds of the hulled strawberries and two thirds of the blueberries in a small pan with the sugar and a squeeze  of lime. Warm slowly on a low heat until soft. Crush with a fork until smooth and chill.

Mix the remaining fruit, chopped, in a bowl with the yogurt and two crumbled meringue nests.

Divide the chilled puree between four glasses and layer over the yogurt mixture.

To finish, crumble over the remaining meringue nests, some fruit and a sprinkle of hazelnuts.

Feel free to use other fruit or any nuts of your choice. I used strawberries and raspberries in mine and some desiccated coconut.

Onken Naturals: Mini Lemon & Pistachio Loaves

In the week I attended an event hosted by Onken where Celebrity Masterchef winner Lisa Faulkner lead a masterclass on cooking with yogurt. As part of Onken's Dollop of Difference campaign, Lisa took us through 3 easy recipes whilst nutritionist Angela Dowden was on hand to to tell us about the nutritional benefits of yogurt.

And the best part, myself and the other food bloggers got to roll up our sleeves and get stuck in. We made banana muffins, french onion dip and chicken tikka kebabs. All incredibly quick and easy to make.

Here's how I got on...