Curried Chickpea and Lentil Patties

¼ cup of dried chick peas (or 1 tin)

¼ cup of mixed lentils (or ½ tin lentils)

1 veggie stock cube and water (if using dried chick peas and lentils

2 tbs natural or greek yogurt

1 tsp garlic

dash chilli

olive oil

1 egg

½ cup oats (I use quinoa oats for a gluten free option)

1 ½ tsp curry powder

dash Tabasco

1.  If using dried lentils, then boil lentils/chickpeas in a saucepan with veggie stock and water until soft (about 30 mins).  Skip this step if using from a tin.

2. Place remaining ingredients (except oil) in a food processor and blend until combined.

3. Scoop tablespoons full into a hot pan and lightly fry until golden brown.

4. Eat on it's own for a high protein snack or toast in a wrap with salad, cheese, hommus and mint yogurt.

Spiced Banana Jaffles

A short and sweet blog of a breaky option that's short and sweet!

1 banana

2 tbs natural yogurt

1 tsp mixed spice

1tsp LSA

1 tsp chia

1 tsp cinnamon

2 slices of bread (I used quinoa for a higher protein option)

Mash banana in a bowl, add remaining ingredients (except bread) and stir.  Spread on bread and close into sandwich.  Toast and serve! 

*If a cold filling isn't your cup of tea, warm the banana mix in the microwave for about 30 seconds before spreading.  For an indulgent option, add a tablespoon and a half of dark chocolate OR some pineapple and coconut.

From Scratch Veggie Tacos

I was craving tacos tonight and really wanted to try to make my own from scratch.  I notice that there is a massive load of additives and salts in the packet taco mix, so I did a search of spices needed in taco sauce.

So I simply chopped up 1 1/2 cups of mixed red/green capsicums and red onions and fried in a non stick pan with a spray of oil and a teaspoon of garlic and teaspoon of chilli.  I then added a tablespoon of tomato paste, 1/2 tin of red beans and 1/2 tin of chopped tomatoes (or 1 whole tomato chopped) and allowed to fry for about a minute.  Add a teaspoon of paprika and teaspoon of powdered cumin.  Allow to simmer for about 5 minutes.

Place in taco shell and top with iceberg lettuce, chopped tomato, grated carrot.  Add sour cream and cheese if desired!

This mix makes about 2-3 tacos. It has a slight after burn, so you can omit the chilli if spice is a concern.

Enjoy!

Quinoa, Pear & Raspberry Breakfast Slice

I was after a bit of a change for breakfast and I was keen to use up some quinoa flakes, so I searched the net for some recipe ideas.  I came across some ideas, but all of them were full of sugar!  Soooooo..... I experimented with a recipe without the need for 'sugar'.  This recipe is also gluten free, dairy-free and can be egg-free if required (you can use 2 eggs if desired, the slice would most likely hold better).  So here it is:

Ingredients:

½ cup quinoa flakes

½ cup Water

¾ cup almond meal

1 tsp Baking Powder

1 tsp Salt

1 tsp mixed spice (to sprinkle on top)

1 tsp ground Cinnamon

2 ripe pears chopped thin

1/8 cup Vegetable Oil

½ cup fat free Greek Yogurt

1 tsp Vanilla Extract

1-1/4 cup mashed Ripe Banana

¼ cup of frozen raspberries

¼ cup of almond milk

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 150 degrees.

2. Shift dry ingredients in a bowl.

3. Combine remaining ingredients (and 2 eggs if you are using them).

4. Grease bread pan with spray olive oil and pour mix in.

5. Bake in oven for 40 minutes or until a knife comes through clean.

6. Serve with fruit salad or vanilla yogurt.

Happy Hips Chocolate Cake

I have many loves in my life: My family, my friends, health, fitness, art, music, books, and THEATRE! Recently I performed in a local theatre production and I wanted to make something yummy to thank my cast for being so awesome. So I whipped up a yummy fruit platter and baked a chocolate cake.  Obviously not everyone has the same ideas as me so I in this instance I had to compromise.  So I made an awesome recipe where the only 'sugar' was in the dark chocolate and apple sauce. It was an absolute hit with EVERYONE! Definitely have to make it again soon. ;-)

INGREDIENTS

2 tbs cocoa

¾ cup oat flour

¾ cup of almond meal

¼ cup oats

½ cup of dark chocolate chips

2 eggs

1 cup of apple sauce

1 tablespoon mixed spice

1/2 cup almond milk

2 tbs olive oil

1 capful vanilla essence

½ cup raspberries (optional)

METHOD

1. Preheat oven to 150 degrees.

2. Shift dry ingredients into a bowl

3. Place remaining ingredients in a bowl and stir until combined. 

4. Pour into loaf tray lightly greased with olive oil spray.

5. Cook in oven for 30 mins or until knife comes through clean.

6. ENJOY! 

Clean Apple and Pear Vegan Pancakes

One of my biggest food highlight as a child was the occasional weekend morning when my father used to cook pancakes.  I’m sorry but no one has ever topped the culinary brilliance of my father’s recipe that was made with love.  The huge pancakes he would ‘flip’ on the pan, then top with honey and roll them up.  Stuff Christmas morning… seriously we got just as deliriously excited when dad whipped up these babies!

Anyway, in a perfect world we’d be sitting around eating pancakes every morning with toned supermodel bodies and our exceptionally fast metabolisms would burn every last morsel. But alas! We are merely human!  Don’t get me wrong, I love eating pancakes in their ‘true form’, but there are times where I’ve really craved a batch but didn’t want to feel guilty afterwards.

And yes, I have found a solution. These pancakes are guilt-free, suitable for vegans AND the ONLY SWEETENER is the apple and pear.  I know it’s not the same, but they still taste just as great.  So basically all you need is:

PANCAKES

¾ cup of quinoa flakes (or you can cook up a batch of quinoa)

¾ cup of coconut OR almond flour OR oat flour

about 1 -1 ½ cups of almond milk

1 tsp LSA, 1 tsp wheatgerm

1 tsp of nutmeg

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp chia seeds

1 capful vanilla (or one stick)

1 tub of apple puree (I used the SPC but you can use the baby food one as well)

PEAR TOPPING

1 pear chopped into small cubes

1 tsp mixed spice

1 cup of water (or more depending on size of pear)

1.     Before preparing your pancakes, place all ingredients for pear topping in a saucepan and leave to boil until pear is soft.

2.     Place all pancake ingredients in a bowl and mix until well blended (Start with just one cup of almond milk and add more as required.

3.     Spoon into small pikelet sizes on a non-stick pan and cook each side until it appears bubbly on top (as you would normal pancakes).

4.     Place on plate and top with the stewed pear and remainder of your apple puree.

5.     Enjoy!

*P*I will post a picture once my internet speed picks up again.  My net is that slow at the moment that it's taking forever for the upload box to come up! My apologies. *

Mediterranean Veggie and Lentil Soup

Because I'm living such a healthy lifestyle, Easter has completely destroyed me this year.  In previous years, I've gone through enough chocolate to stock a shopping trolley.  This year however, I did eat a lot of  chocolate on Friday and Saturday, but come today, my body had a massive chocolate tanty. So between some fruit, and a detox juice, I was keen to really stock up on the veggies for dinner tonight.

So fridge raid it is.

Very simple recipe with most of the time taken in preparation.  I chopped up 2 small zuchinis, 2 small yellow squashes, 1 carrot, 1 lebanese eggplant.... all while I had one shallot bulb (1/2 onion is fine as well) and a tablespoon garlic and a dash of olive oil frying in the saucepan.  

I then added the veggies, 1 large tin of tomato paste, 1 tablespoon of Italian herbs, 2 tablespoons of tomato paste, 1 veggie stock cube and 1 full tin of water (add more to thin out as required), and about 1/3 cup of red lentils.  Bring to boil then simmer for about 30 mins.  

Puree and serve.  I love it with parmy cheese.  But I love parmy cheese on anything. 

Om nom nom! 

Haloumi, Asparagus and Spinach Salad

A few days back when I was grocery shopping, I stumbled across some asparagus in the veggie section and felt inclined to make something up as it's been a while since I've cooked anything with asparagus.  It was also coincidental that day that a packet of haloumi caught my eye.  In all seriousness, I've never taken notice of the stuff nor have I tried it!  I did a small google search for recipe ideas and figured a salad was on the cards! This dinner was going to be a small gamble because I'm hopeless at cooking asparagus and I wouldn't know what to do with a stick of haloumi.... soooo flying blind!

Anyways, earlier in the day I marinated my asparagus (the whole bunch!) in a marinate of garlic, tamari (no salt soy sauce for those who don't know), ginger powder and tabasco.  

When it was time to cook, I did an egg mix of 1 egg white, a pinch of curry powder, some garlic and a pinch of paprika.  I dunked the haloumi in this mix then into a crumb mix (polenta, LSA, wheatgerm, chia seeds, paprika and curry powder.  I fried the asparagus in a non-stick pan first with a small amount of olive oil. As the asparagus was finished cooking (when it was starting to soften), I added the haloumi and cooked it until it was golden brown around the outside.

I served it in a bowl with a handful of raw spinach, a layer of asparagus, the haloumi. Then topped it with a light drizzle of balsamic vinegar, olive oil and very light sprinkle of parmy cheese.

TOTAL DECADENCE! 

Quinoa Stuffed Mini Capsicums

A few weeks back I came across stuffed mini capsicums at Woolies and was keen to try something with them.  So I worked my magic with some red quinoa, veggies, parmy cheese and ta dah! A delicious finger food to eat on the run!

Sorry this particular photo
has beef in it, but the veggie
one looks very similar.

All you need is a packet of mini capsicums (make sure you deseed them), 1/2 cup mix of veggies (I use red onion, zuchini, yellow squash and tomato), 1 tbs tomato paste, 3/4 cup of water, garlic, a dash of olive oil, assorted Italian spices (I use basil, oregano and thyme) and about 3 tbs parmy cheese.

Set oven to about 200 degrees and start boiling your red quinoa according to directions (I use 1/4 cup of quinoa to 3/4 cup of water).  In the meantime, fry up your veggie mix, garlic, tomato paste, Italian herbs and olive oil in a pan.  Add a dash of water if required.  Once quinoa is cooked, stir through mix you just cooked. Spoon mix into the capsicums and place in an oven dish.  Top with parmy cheese and place in the oven until capsicums are starting to burn slightly or cheese is melted. Serve with salad and polenta sticks.

My favourite Breakfast in the WHOLE WORLD!!!

I have this one meal that I get so excited about eating EVERY TIME! So simple and quick to make.... My stewed pears with Israeli Pearl Cous Cous.  Now I've tried it with apple and I've tried different cous cous and I'm sorry but IT'S JUST NOT THE SAME!!! Anyways....

All you need is 1 pear, 1/4 cup of Israeli Pearl Cous Cous (I suggest buying it from a health food store), 3/4 cup of water, 1 tsp of mixed spice, 1 tsp of cinnamon and 1 tsp of chia seeds.

Simply bring your chopped up pear (chop it how you want) to boil in the water and mixed spice.  allow it to boil until the pear is soft.  Remove pear from water and put in bowl.  Place cous cous into the water and boil until cous cous is cooked and water is reduced.  Stir pear back in and scoop into a bowl. Top with cinnamon and chia seeds..... ENJOY om nom nom!

Breakfast Quinoa

I have never been much of a porridge fan, in fact I find porridge quite boring.  Anyway, I came across this recipe on the Committed to Get Fit page and put my own twist on it.  This particular recipe serves four, so you can either make to 1/4 batch or divide into four portions and reheat each morning. This is fast becoming one of my favourite breakfast treats.



Ingredients: 1 cup almond, rice, or skim milk; 1 cup water; 1 cup quinoa/amaranth mix, rinsed (you can get it from Sprout or any health food store); 1 pear (which has been stewed with mixed spice) or 2 cups of berries; 1 tsp vanilla; 1 tsp. ground cinnamon; 1 tsp LSA; 1 tsp Wheat germ; 4 tsp honey or rice syrup (optional).
Combine milk, water, and quinoa in a medium saucepan.  Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium low and simmer for about 5 minutes (being sure to stir occasionally). Stir in berries/pear and vanilla; transfer to 4 bowls and top with LSA, cinnamon and wheatgerm. If desired, drizzle 1 teaspoon preferred sweetener over each serving.

Clean Eating Coconut French Toast

I came across this recipe on the "Committed to Get Fit" blog (http://melaniemitro.blogspot.com.au/).  She has some awesome clean eating recipes which I have begun to enjoy myself in recent weeks, some of which I have adapted to suit my personal tastes.  Worth checking out her recipes and fitness tips! Anyways, I am totally LOVING this coconut French Toast at the moment.  It's totally decadence without the guilt! (Oh and I got lazy and just copied the recipe from her page, so please forgive me lol!)

Ingredients

• 3 egg whites
• 1/2 cup light coconut milk- you can find this at giant eagle.
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 4 slices clean, whole grain bread such as Ezekiel bread
• 1/4 cup dry coconut flakes
• Honey for topping

Directions
Step 1 – In a medium size mixing bowl, whisk together the egg whites, coconut milk, vanilla extract and cinnamon.

Step 2 – Submerge the bread in to the mixture, being sure to turn it several times to get all sides coated and wet.

Step 3 – Using a non-sick pan and a very light coat of olive oil from a sprayer, cook on medium heat until the bread is cooked through, paying special attention to being sure that the egg and the middle of the bread slices are cooked through.

Step 4 – Put the toast on a plate and sprinkle each piece with 1 tbsp. of the coconut flakes.

Step 5 – Add a little honey to taste and serve.

A little something quick :-)

When I went vegetarian, I made it my goal to try a new vegetable every week.  To everyone's surprise, I tried leek for the first time! Eeek! I can't believe what I've missed out on! Anyways, I've made a couple of awesome recipes over the last couple of days that I wanted to share, all quick, simple and TOTALLY DELICIOUS!!!  And my apologies, I forgot to take photos, but I will add photos when I make them up again.... I'm sure it will be sooner rather than later :-D


Recipe 1: Garlic mushroom broth


Now I'm a bit fussy with mushrooms, but on this particular day, I saw some mushrooms at an organic store and was craving them.  This is soooo quick, it only took me about 15 minutes to prepare, make and serve.  I got a mix of mushrooms (aim for a different variety - and fresh preferably. fry up with a tiny bit of olive oil, garlic, leek and red onion. pour 1 cup of veggie stock over the top, bring to boil then lower temp slightly and allow to reduce.  I served mine with quinoa, but you can have it on toast or polenta. Easy peasy! 

Recipe 2: Sweet potato and leek soup


I was in the mood for a good soup and seeing as I had a leek to work with, potato and leek soup seemed like a natural choice.  Honestly, I couldn't be stuffed eating starchy white potatoes, so I searched for for an alternative... and sweet potato it was!  Sweet potato, leek, shallot bulb, garlic and veggie stock, bring to boil then simmer until sweet potato is soft. Blend to serve. I didn't make the bread, I just got a toasted piece of quinoa bread and put a small spread of butter with a sprinkle of mixed herbs, and parmy cheese. Put it in the grill for about 30 seconds.... Done!




Recipe 3: Clean Mushroom and Leek Carbornara


Gotta love the old school carbornara (my favourite pasta sauce if done right), but who can turn down a clean option that still tastes great?  Simply fry up a mix of mushrooms, spinach, leek and onion, butter (or an alternative), garlic and a dash of olive oil until wilted.  Turn your stove off and add 3 egg whites and a dash of light coconut milk and stir quickly until eggs are mixed through.  Stir through pasta (rice, brown or quinoa pasta) and top with parmy cheese..... YUMMY! 

Having your cake and eating it too.... Enjoy your favourite chocolate cheesecake guilt free!

Ok so the other day I stumbled across a recipe for 'chocolate cheesecake'.  This particular recipe called for the use of polenta in the base.  Taking into account that polenta is one of my favourite foods and the fact I've been experimental with food, it seemed like a perfect idea to give it a go! It's such a straight-forward recipe with most of the work coming in preparation and setting. I do warn however, that if you can't appreciate the delicious taste quality of dark chocolate, then you may not enjoy this recipe.

So basically, all you need is: 1 block of dark chocolate, 1/2 cup polenta, 3/4 cup of water, 1 medium tub of greek yogurt, 1 cup of raspberries and 1/2 cup of crushes hazelnuts.

Polenta base: Bring 3/4 water to boil.  Once boiling, turn off stove and stir in 1/2 cup of polenta and 2 rows of dark chocolate until mixture thickens.  Stir through 1/2 cup hazelnuts then transfer/spread evenly on the base of a desert dish.  Allow to cool in the fridge.

Filling:  melt 6 rows of dark chocolate.  With a beater, mix the melted chocolate with 1 medium tub of greek yogurt until blended evenly.  Add 1 cup of raspberries and blend for about a minute.  Transfer and spread evenly to top of polenta base.  Place in the fridge to cool further and set.

Homemade Moroccan Lentil, Veggie and Red Quinoa Patties

In the past I would do a 'burger meal' at least once a month.  When looking at vegetarian options, I was shocked and disgusted at the ingredient list (not to mention the sodium levels!) so I decided to give the recipe a go! These patties tasted awesome in a burger with salad, lemon mayo and pesto.... om nom nom!  

1tsp morrocan seasoning

1/2 cup of a mix of red lentils, french lentils and red quinoa

1 1/2 cups of water

2 tbs low fat natural greek yogurt (purely for protein boost)

2-3 tbs oat flour 

1/2 - 3/4 cup of mixed veggies (I used zuchini, capsicum, yellow squash and red onion)

1 tsp crushed garlic 

1. Place Moroccan seasoning, lentil/quinoa mix and water in a saucepan.  Allow to boil then simmer for 15 minutes. Turn of stove and allow to 'cool down' for a minute or two.

2. Place in a blender or food processor with the greek yogurt, mixed veggies, garlic and 2 tbs of oat flour. Blend thick, yet gooey consistency.  Add the third spoon of oat flour if required.

3. 'Fry' in a non-stick pan with a small drizzle of olive oil on a medium to lower heat setting.  It should take about 5 minutes on each side.

4. ENJOY!