Recipe extract: Cook with me, Pear and orange breakfast

Healthy and satisfying.

This is exactly what I want to eat when I have a healthy hunger; it's satisfying, but leaves me feeling clean and enriched. It takes only 5 minutes to make, so it's perfect for even the busiest day. What I love is the flavour of almond and orange with pear, and the way the almond meal absorbs the moisture from the grated and sliced fruit. The coconut and pine nuts are the support cast, adding a gentle nutty richness.

Serves: 1 | Prep time: 5 minutes

INGREDIENTS
1/2 sweet pear

1/4 cup almond meal

2 tbsp dessicated coconut

1 tbsp pine nuts

Zest of 1/4 orange

1 orange, 1/2 juiced, 1/2 peeled and chopped

1/3 cup thick, low-fat yoghurt

5 dates, finely sliced

1/4 cup soy milk

4 pecan nuts, finely sliced

Splash of maple syrup (or vanilla syrup, runny honey or other sweet syrup)

METHOD

Grate the pear into a mixing bowl. Add the almond meal, coconut, pine nuts and most of the orange zest, then mix to combine well. Add the chopped orange and juice and mix in. Use your hands to transfer to a serving bowl, making a mound in the middle with a little well in the top.

Dollop the yoghurt into this well, and top with the sliced dates and the remainder of the orange zest.

Pour soy milk around the base to add moisture, and sprinkle sliced pecans around the sides. Finish with a delicate dribble of syrup.

In a breakfast like this, I am always thinking about freshness, moisture, different textures and shapes of ingredients - what will give the dish some zing.

Also a big thing for me is: "How will this meal make me feel an hour or two later?"

This recipe leaves me with a happy memory of delicious orange and almond, and a feeling that I'm ready for the morning ahead and that my body will really enjoy what I've given it.