Madeleine Shaw's Pecan and Raisin Fruit Loaf with ricotta and berries

Our final recipe of the week from Madeleine Shaw's 'Get the Glow' is this delicious and nutritious pecan and raisin fruit loaf with ricotta and berries. Its one to try this weekend when you have time to yourself in the kitchen and will provide snacks for the week ahead.

From Madeleine, 'A fruit loaf like this is such a great pre-workout snack. The nuts, dates and dried fruit are all high in energy, so a bite or two of this and you’ll be able to get the most out of your exercise session'.

Ingredients;

120g unsalted butter

200g coconut sugar

1 egg, beaten

200g Medjool dates, pitted

1 vanilla pod, seeds scraped

2 apples, grated

1 tsp baking powder

½ tsp bicarbonate of soda

280g rice or buckwheat flour

pinch of salt

1 tsp ground cinnamon

200g walnuts, chopped

75g raisins

1 tbsp sesame seeds

100g ricotta or Greek yogurt/ coconut yogurt

200g seasonal berries, such as raspberries or blueberries

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/gas mark 4. Line a 1kg loaf tin with baking paper.

2. Cream the butter and sugar in the food processor, add in the egg, dates, vanilla and grated apples and pulse to combine. Sift in the baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and flour with a pinch of salt and the cinnamon. Fold in the walnuts and raisins and process for 5 seconds so the nuts and raisins are mixed in well but not too broken up.

3. Pour the mixture into the tin, smoothing over the top gently, and bake for 50 minutes–1 hour until just cooked through. To see if the loaf is cooked, insert a skewer in the middle – if it comes out clean, It is done. Leaf the loaf to cool in the tin for a few minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

4. Cut into inch-thick slices and toast. Serve with the ricotta/yogurt and berries

More from Madeleine:

Nutritional health coach to the stars, and bestselling author of GET THE GLOW, Madeleine Shaw knows that life is a balancing act. Monday to Friday it's hard to juggle the demands of work and family with eating healthily, and the weekends are full of temptations that undermine our best efforts to get our glow. Madeleine offers the answer in READY, STEADY, GLOW, a beautiful and accessible cookbook designed for real life.

READY, STEADY, GLOW is a book of two halves offering weekday recipes that can be made in less than 30 minutes, alongside sumptuous show-stopping meals perfect for the weekend. All recipes are wheat- and sugar-free, bursting with flavour and nutritional value, and contain natural ingredients that can be found in your local supermarket.

Not so long ago, Madeleine Shaw would wake up feeling bloated, tired and unhealthy. So she decided to turn her life around and embarked on a journey to health that saw her travel to Sydney where she learned the art of eating well.

Inspired to share her story with others, she is now a trained nutritional health coach, food blogger and creative cook. Her six-week 'Get the Glow' programme is in-demand by an impressive list of high-profile clients, all of whom Madeleine has helped enliven the hottest, healthiest and happiest versions of themselves.

For now at least, Madeleine lives in London, where she is never too far away from her healthy staples: a blender, a yoga mat and a coconut!

Visit Madeleine's website at: madeleineshaw.com which is bursting with health and nutritional advice

#Lifestyle