We’ve been enjoying this simple snack for supper the last few nights.
Mix together equal amounts of ‘trail mix’ type foods. In the mix above there is a dessert spoon each of cacao nibs, goji berries, sunflower seeds and almonds. I’ve been adding pumpkin seeds too, but we’ve run out.
Pour over a small amount of whatever kind of milk you like. Allow to sit for a minute or two, to allow the chocolate flavour to infuse, then enjoy.
To borrow a jingle, ‘Tastes like chocolate milkshake, only crunchy!’
This has been our go-to egg recipe of late. I’ve been able to easily adapt it to the ingredients we have at hand. For example, the recipe calls for salmon, but ham works well too. It also calls for asparagus, which is great, but I’ve successfully used zucchini on one occasion and broccoli this time. I also used leek in place of the onion this time.
The original recipe (below) is from Australian Good Food, May 2010.
Smoked Salmon & Asparagus Frittata
Serves 4 | Prep 15 mins | Cook 1hr | gluten free
2 tsp olive oil
1 onion, thickly sliced
3 small potatoes, peeled
1 bunch asparagus, trimmed
200g smoked salmon slices, halved [I use Smoked Salmon for Cooking; it’s cheaper but still tastes good]
60g goat’s milk fetta, crumbled
6 eggs
¼ cup (60ml) skim milk
3 cups salad greens, to serve
1 Preheat oven to 180C or 160C fan. Heat oil in a small frying pan on medium-low. Cook onion, stirring occasionally, for 15 mins, or until caramelised.
2 Meanwhile, cook potatoes in a pan of boiling water for 10 mins, until par-cooked. Drain. To blanch asparagus, cook in a separate pan of boiling water for 1 min, until just tender. Drain, rinse under cold water, and drain again.
3 Slice potato and arrange over base of a [sprayed] 6 cup-capacity baking dish. Top with layers of caramelised onion, smoked salmon, blanched asparagus and fetta.
4 Lightly whisk eggs and milk until just combined. Season with pepper. Carefully pour egg mixture into baking dish, taking care not to disturb layers. Bake for 45 mins, until frittata is golden and just set. Spoon onto serving plates and serve with salad greens.
To use up last week’s leftover tomatoes, I tried out a new recipe: South African Bean Curry. The recipe is from an Australian Women’s Weekly magazine and it has been sitting in my ‘recipes to make’ folder for a while. I really enjoyed it - for a vegetarian recipe, it had a surprisingly bacon-y flavour.
South African Bean Curry
Serves 4*
2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
½ teaspoon brown mustard seeds
½ teaspoon cumin seeds
15 fresh curry leaves
¼ teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1-2 fresh long green chillies, seeded, chopped finely
3 cloves garlic, chopped finely
1 teaspoon finely grated fresh ginger
2 teaspoons sugar
1½ teaspoons salt
4 medium (600g) fresh tomatoes, chopped finely
1 cup (250ml) vegetable stock
400g can red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 cup (150g) frozen broad beans, thawed and peeled
yogurt and fresh mint leaves for serving (optional)
1 Heat oil in a medium pan over medium-high heat; add mustard seeds, cumin seeds, curry leaves, turmeric, ground coriander, cumin, green chillies, garlic and ginger. Cook, stirring, for about 1 minute, until the seeds begin to pop. Add sugar, salt, tomatoes and the stock. Bring the mixture to the boil, then simmer, uncovered, for 5 minutes.
2 Add kidney beans and broad beans; simmer, partially covered, for about 5 minutes or until the beans are heated through and tender. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground pepper.
3 Serve with yogurt and mint, if desired.
* In my opinion these would be 4 fairly small servings. I nixed the yoghurt and mint and had it with rice instead.
This is my favourite smoothie at the moment.
The recipe calls for red cabbage, spinach, blueberries, cherries, coconut or almond milk, ice, bananas, chia seeds and protein powder, but it’s easy to make substitutions depending on what you have at hand (kale instead of spinach, mixed berries instead of blueberries and cherries, soy or rice milk instead of coconut or almond milk etc).
Yum!
We had our fruit and veg delivery today (a ‘mystery box’). The driver kindly brought the box inside and put it on the table for me so I didn’t have to lift it off the doorstep.
Here’s what we got
Fruit: apples, bananas, oranges, lemons, pears, kiwifruit, mandarins, a grapefruit and a lime
Vegetables: potatoes, pumpkin, corn, sweet potato, carrots, parsnips, zucchini, cauliflower, red and green capsicum, silver beet, bok choy and a leek
Can you see the little guy that came along for a ride? Check out the cauliflower at the front of the picture
Here’s a close-up
I also ordered some extra bananas and kale (not pictured) to go in our smoothies with the frozen berries I get from the supermarket.
Anyway, I decided to wait and see what vegetables we got this week to help me make up my mind what to make for dinners for the next seven days. Here’s what I’ve come up with.
tomatoes leftover from last week –> South African bean curry
sweet potato, parsnips, cauliflower –> Roast chicken and veges
silverbeet –> Quinoa with feta, swiss chard and black olives
carrots, bok choy –> Kangaroo cashew stir-fry
pumpkin, green capsicum –> Chilli black beans
potatoes, pumpkin, corn –> Winter one pot (chicken)
red capsicum, zucchini –> Spicy lentil soup
I’ll pop back next week with recipes/photos if they turn out well.
Since I’m not comfortable with a lot of movement at the moment, food has been fairly simple at our house recently. Last night for dinner I made a lentil salad with beets and goat feta. (Recipe here, but I chucked some old beetroot in the oven and roasted it for the salad instead of using tinned baby beetroot.) It was yummy and I had the leftovers for dinner tonight.
Would love to hear what your favourite simple meal is.
This morning’s breakfast
Pear & Greens Smoothie (makes 2 serves)
In a high-powered blender, blend together
- 3 generous handfuls kale or spinach leaves
- 1/2 a small bunch flat-leaf parsley
- 2 ripe pears, cored
- 1 cup almond milk
Enjoy!
Adapted from this recipe from the Food Coach
We were using a really good organic fruit and veg delivery company at the start of the year, but the business isn’t operating at the moment as the owner is overseas. We’ve tried a few other places but haven’t really been happy with what we’ve been getting.
On Wednesday I tried somewhere new, Organic Origins. Since I’ve been having a lot of smoothies lately, I was quite happy to see they had a Green Smoothie Box. I was a bit late putting in my order, so just opted to get an OMG! Quick Box to cover the rest of our fruit and veg needs, instead of choosing items myself.
Today (Friday) our order arrived. First up, it came in a refrigerated van, which will be great for keeping things fresh in summer. I was happy to see it was in two separate boxes, so I could see what each type of box contained. When I opened the boxes I was quite impressed to see a green biodegradable bin liner in each box. Since the boxes are collected and reused each week, it’s nice to have a liner - and we’ll be able to reuse the liners in our rubbish bin.
Here’s the contents of the boxes (the white bags are biodegradable and compostable).
Green Smoothie Box (starting on the left at the back): celery, juicing apples, kale, juicing carrots, zucchini, parsley, rocket, baby spinach, grapefruit, oranges, ginger, lemon and beetroot
OMG! Quick Box (starting on the left at the back): celery, leek, apples, salad mix, bananas, oranges, snow peas, red potatoes, broccoli, pears, grapefruit, lemons, sugar snap peas, carrots, zucchini and mandarins
So yes, that’s two bunches of celery, plus the half-bunch we already had in the fridge. Celery ideas, anyone?
When we were on holiday in Queensland a few weeks ago, we were in a health-food store looking for gluten-free bread that didn’t have any dairy products in it. We got chatting to someone else in the store who was also on holiday, and she was looking for Co Yo (dairy-free coconut-milk yoghurt). She said it was really nice, so when I saw it while doing our fruit and veg shopping online the other day, I decided to grab a tub to try. It got delivered yesterday morning, but I put it in the fridge and forgot all about it until late last night, when Rob and I were getting a bit peckish.
Please excuse the blurry pics. I had to take them from my perch on the couch, in the semi-darkness, while Rob was salivating.
We both really enjoyed it. It definitely had a coconut-milk flavour, but was much thicker and creamier (not as thick as coconut cream though; more of a whipped texture). I’d happily buy it more often, apart from the cost: $9.95 for a 400g tub!
The company also does a coconut ice cream, which sounds delicious, but I’m not sure how well it would survive a delivery from the other side of town :-(
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Today’s eats
1. Smoothie with sunflower seed milk, rice protein, kale, banana, apple and cinnamon
2. Juice made from kale, mandarins (off our tree) and ginger. Goji berries.
3. Smoothie made with water, rice protein, banana, frozen cherries, hemps seeds and cacao powder.
4. Juice made from carrot, beetroot, apple and lemon.
5. Magic Sausage Supper (recipe here)
Cabbage Salad
Raspberry and Spinach Salad
Chicken and Wild Rice Soup
Kale and Ginger Salad
Turnip Fries
Dhal with Spinach
Sausage Chowder with Kale
Beet Salad with Hummus
Watching Minding Your Mitochondria was a ‘lightbulb’ moment for me. In it Dr Wahls states that because of the way people in the developed world eat, we are in fact starving ourselves. We are alive because of complicated chemical reactions. If we are not providing the building blocks (vitamins, minerals, essential fats), those reactions cannot happen properly, leading to the wrong structures being made or structures simply not being made at all. It sets the stage for chronic disease…
Diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, Dr Wahls set out to discover a way of eating for optimal health and vitality. She reversed some of her symptoms, by becoming what she calls a ‘modern day hunter gatherer’. She suggests that each day we eat:
3 cups of green leaves
(3 cups is a dinner plate heaped high)
Green leaves are rich in vitamins B, A, C, K and minerals.
The B vitamins will protect your brain cells and your mitochondria (the mitochondria in each of our cells manage the energy supply for that cell).
Vitamins A and C support your immune cells.
Vitamin K keeps your blood vessels and bones healthy.
Minerals are co-factors for hundreds of different enzymes in your body.
Having a plate full of daily greens will dramatically reduce your risk of cataracts and macular degeneration.
--> Have more kale (it has the most nutrition per calorie of any plant), more parsley, cooked greens and smoothies with greens.
3 cups of sulfur-rich vegetables
Your brain and mitochondria need sulfur.
Your liver and kidney need sulfur so they can remove toxins from your bloodstream
--> The cabbage family is rich in sulfur. Includes cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, turnips, swedes, radishes and kale.
--> The onion family is also rich in sulfur. Includes onions, garlic, leeks, chives, shallots.
--> mushrooms and asparagus also contain sulfur.
3 cups of bright colour (preferably 3 different colours)
Colour are flavonoids and polyphenols, potent antioxidants that will support your retina, your mitochondria, your brain cells and the removal of toxins.
--> You can get your colours from vegetables like beets, carrots, peppers, red cabbage, or you can get them from berries and brightly coloured fruit like peaches and oranges.
High-quality protein that’s rich in omega 3 fatty acids
Omega 3 fatty acids insulate the wiring in your brain; it also helps in the development of straight teeth and a larger brain.
--> Have wild fish (particularly salmon and herring) and grass-fed meat
In addition, include
organ meat once a week
Organ meats are concentrated sources of vitamins, minerals and coenzyme Q. They are particularly potent at supporting your mitochondria.
--> Try organ meats like liver, heart, tongue, gizzards or sweetbreads
seaweed at least once a week
Seaweed is a rich source of iodine and selenium.
Your brain needs iodine to make myelin, the insulation for the wiring. It also needs iodine to remove toxins, particularly mercury, lead and heavy metals. Adequate iodine lowers your risk of breast cancer and prostate cancer.
Dr Wahls states that if you commit to having these nine cups (three platefuls) of vegetables and berries every day before you have grain, potatoes or dairy, you will have dramatically increased the vitamin and mineral content of your diet, plus you will have dramatically lowered the risk of food allergies.
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I listened to the talk several times, and made notes. Then decided to give it to try. What did I have to lose?
More next time.
Wow, can’t believe it’s been about a month since I last posted!
Work has been keeping me busy, and in between I’ve been making plans for my new office. My current office is under the stairs, and it’s pretty cold and dark
I decided I wanted to move my office upstairs, where it’s lighter and warmer. The only problem? The room I want to use looked like a paint shop had exploded in it.
There was a young girl in this room when we inspected the house before buying it, and it looked like she had been given free reign with the choice and application of paint. The wall around the window was dark purple (applied in swirls), the rest of the walls were pink, and the window trim was lilac. And she had definitely coloured outside the lines – no painter’s tape for this girl.
I had to sand back the purple swirl effect around the window, and sand the gloss off the window trim before I could even start painting. LOTs of undercoat was needed to cover up the purple paint and lilac trim.
I finally finished the painting earlier this week. The green skirting boards are staying for now, until we replace the green carpet
Ta da!
Now I just have to furnish it!
Last night I prepared some gluten-free hot cross buns. When I got up this morning I just had to preheat the oven, pop them in, then make coffee when they were nearly ready.
I ended up having two hot-cross buns and two cups of coffee. I very rarely have coffee these days (usually one cup with Rob on a Sunday morning), so, fueled up with carbs and caffeine, I decided to tackle the area down the side of our house. It was a mess when we moved in nearly two years ago, and has barely been touched since, apart from Rob occasionally going in with a weed eater.
I pulled out bricks, roof tiles, sticks and weeds, and a few hours later it looked much tidier
There’s still a pile of broken bricks near the ducted heating unit, but I think I’ll need a wheelbarrow to do any justice to it.
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Thought I’d throw in a few pics of some other food I’ve enjoyed eating this week…
Leftover roasted veges with hummus
Spanish eggs with tomatoes and chorizo sausage. (Our friend Luke stayed on Friday night and made us all breakfast on Saturday morning.)
Enjoy the rest of your Easter!
I saw these noodles advertised in the Sunday paper. Until now the only way to buy this kind of noodles (made from konjac, a Japanese root) was from overseas (Miracle Noodles) or in an Asian food store (shirataki noodles). They are now available in the health food section of Woolworths, as Slim Pasta (Angel Hair).
Last night I decided to have a go at cooking with them. First you have to drain and rinse them, then soak them in hot water for one minute.
They swell up a bit after soaking in the hot water. Drain, then toss into your dish.
Bon appetite!
I found the noodles to be quite flavourless on their own, so you’d definitely want to eat them in something, rather than underneath or on the side of a dish as you would with rice.
They are low carb, but because of the properties of the konjac, they swell slightly in your stomach, so I felt quite satisfied after the meal, even though there was no rice.
We’ve tried a few different gluten-free noodles and these ones are pretty good. Rob said he’d happily have them again.
Yesterday in our fruit and veg box we received a dragon fruit!
I’ve never eaten one before so today I Googled to see if ours was ripe to eat. Apparently it was, so I decided to dig in!
Look, it’s like a fruit version of beetroot!
It had a strong sweet perfume, a melon-like texture and seeds like a kiwifruit. Different!
