Buckwheat Cheese Souffle Blinis

What is more glorious than weekend brunch? The slow, easy pace. The comfort food, allowing the day to fold out around you. The vast amount of culinary possibilities allowable; sweet or savoury, lunch or breakfast.

I have to say, it's one of my favourite meals. We try not to go overboard but sometimes a little indulgence in the middle of the day is wonderful.

This is a Sophia Dahl recipe I found on the BBC with a few alterations of my own. When I first saw the title and the chef attached, I assumed I'd have to make massive alterations to increase the healthier properties but it's surprisingly restrained. Really high in protein and quite low in calories, considering.

Topping possibilities are limited to your imagination. We had scrambled eggs and smoked salmon on ours. Stewed apples, poached eggs and hollandaise, ham and applesauce, etc. etc. Let me know if you try something else on yours!

170g Buckwheat flour

2tsp baking powder

salt & pepper

290ml milk

2 tsp mustard powder

75g low-fat cheddar cheese

75g low-fat onion and chive cottage cheese

4 egg whites

Mix flour, baking powder, salt and pepper. Add mustard powder, cheddar and cottage cheese. Mix well.

Whisk eggs whites until stiff peaks form. Fold egg whites into batter gently.

Heat skillet pan over medium high heat. These can be cooked with a knob of butter, little olive oil and just some non-stick spray.

Pour batter into hot pan. I use a 1/3 cup to scoop out the right amount. The batter should be enough to make 8, which serves 4.

Apple Pie Breakfast Bars

I love the accessibility of granola bars. If you're hungry on the go (which I often am) you can just dig into your bag, grab a bar and enjoy.

The problem is, all the recipes to make your own are double or triple the calorie and fat content of store bought ones so I generally avoid making my own. Unless, of course, I cut the bars into tiny thin slices which defeats the purpose of using them as portable means to curb hunger.

This recipe, while not the healthiest granola bar on the market, is still light enough to have with a cup of tea, not as a meal replacement.

3/4 cup whole wheat flour

3/4 cup oats

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1/4 tsp allspice

1/4 cup melted butter

1/4 cup applesauce

1 egg

1/2 tsp vanilla

1/4 cup raisins

3/4 cup chopped apples

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to gas 5/350F. Line a 13x9in pan with parchment paper. This enables you to keep the shape of the bars, without anything getting stuck.

Combine flour, oats, sugar and spices. Mix together applesauce, egg and vanilla. Add flour and spice mix to applesauce mix. Combine until just wet. Add chopped apple, raisins and nuts. Fold in.

Bake 20-25 minutes. Let cool in pan on wire rack. When cold, cut into bars (should make about 12).