Ok ladies. Let’s be real. Quarantine is really starting to get boring if you’re not using your time to its full potential – if you were one of those people who always wished for a longer weekend, I truly hope you’re happy, because here we are on this mega–long weekend, stuck at home for the foreseeable future. 

Not to worry though, this article isn’t here to bore your brains out and make you contemplate all the awfulness around us right now. This article is here to give you something fun and easy to do, with amazing results to enjoy and maybe share! Here are 3 flexible recipes to experiment with for cooking beginners and experts to enjoy alike! 

Summer Fruits Chia Pudding 

• Fresh OR Frozen Berries of Choice 
• Chia 
• Milk of choice 
• Sweetner of choice  
• Additional toppings (yep you guessed it right, of choice!) 

Simply mix together 1 tablespoon of Chia, 250ml of your choice of milk and some sweetener. Mix it well and place in the fridge overnight. 

The next morning, you can decorate your chia with some delicious fresh berries and extra toppings (shredded coconut is delish and a source of healthy fats.) If you’re more into indulgence, then dark chocolate shavings will be a delicious addition too! 

If your berries are frozen, you can add them on top too – but if you want to be extra fancy, you can make a little homemade jam: simply throw your frozen berries in a pan with some sweetener of choice and bring to a boil. The fruit should release its own liquid, so there’s no need to add extra!  

Vegan Friendly Chickpea Masala Wraps 

The most yum lunch you’ll ever have! Easy and delicious. 

• Tin of Chickpeas 
• Oil 
• Flat bread  
• Spices (cumin, paprika, chilli powder, dried corriander, garlic powder) 
• Salt 
• Lemon 
• Salad

In a pan, heat up around a tablespoon of Oil, add your spices to the warm oil and cook on low heat until fragrant. Then add in your drained chickpeas and cook until thoroughly heated! Garnish this with fresh coriander and lemon! Make sure you check for taste, incase you need to add more salt.   

In the meantime, heat up your flat bread and prepare a simple shredded salad (shredded carrots, cucumber and iceberg are fine, a tomato salsa does taste amazing too!). You can spread some cream cheese or any other spreads you enjoy onto your flat bread, add some salad and some of your toasted chickpeas with any sauces or condiments you like, wrap it up and tuck in! 

Easy Fuss Free Chocolate Tiramisu 

The most delectable cheats dessert ever – if you are Italian, please look away as this recipe may cause slight offense. This dessert is alcohol free, so even the kids can enjoy it (you can spike your dessert if you like, don’t worry we won’t tell!)

• Sponge Fingers / Lady Fingers 
• 2 tsp Instant Coffee 
• 250g Mascarpone 
• 700ml Double Cream 
• 250g Dark Chocolate  
• Vanilla Extract  
• Chocolate Shavings 
• 5 tablespoons Sugar 

 In a clean bowl, mix sugar and Mascarpone until smooth and well combined. In a separate bowl, whip up your double cream and vanilla until soft peaks – transfer to your Mascarpone and whisk until light and fluffy with firm peaks.  In another bowl, melt your dark chocolate chunks until smooth and melted. Mix in half your tiramisu mixture into the chocolate. In a separate bowl combine warm water with your instant coffee and set this aside. 

You can now assemble your tiramisu in your dish of choice. Start by soaking eat sponge finger for a second on each side, before placing it neatly into your dish; continue this procedure until you have covered the surface of your dish with your coffee-soaked fingers. 

Add a layer of your plain tiramisu mixture and smooth it out, then repeat with the sponge finger layer. Once you have done another layer of sponge fingers, you can proceed to your chocolate layer. Keep layering everything until your dish has been filled. Finish with chocolate shavings and set aside in the fridge for up to 2 hours to set.  

The longer you leave it the more the flavours develop!  Enjoy as a delicious airy and light after dinner treat. 

Most of all, just have fun experimenting in the kitchen! Now is the perfect time to develop new skills and try new things. Head over to Mindful Chef and get 25% off recipes with a Cohorted exclusive discount.