Snow balls - Raw treats!

This is a very simple and delicious recipe for all sweet-lovers.. No processed sugar added and simple raw ingredients to take away the guilt of enjoying this sweet and tasty surprise.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup Raw cocoa
1/4 cup Extra virgin coconut oil
1 cup Coconut
1 Vanilla bean pod
A pinch of sea salt


Method:
1. In a big bowl mix all ingredients till it is mixed well and has a sticky consistency
2. take small amounts and roll into balls with the palms of your hands
3. Roll the ball in more coconut and put into a storage container
4. Place in the fridge or freezer for at least an hour

So delicious and easy to make!

Chicken Casserole & Smashed Kumara

It is my cooking night again and I have decided to go with one of my Dad's famous in-house recipes. It is so simple and tastes extremely good so thought it would be a handy one to share with all those who want to impress with their cooking skills without really doing too much work.

I was also asked today to write an entry for another blog on my crazy obsession for the super spice Turmeric so I thought that I could show an easy way to tie in a spoon or two into your diet without cooking a curry which people traditionally think of when using this wonder spice.

Check out link below to see what I wrote at The Mind Body Connect:

https://m.facebook.com/#!/profile.php?id=376248009126953&__user=611785351

Happy Face :)

As I mentioned in a previous post my boyfriend Juan is from Argentina and his English is better than mine, but there are a few words that pop up now and again which are quite cute and make me smile - And so for the reasoning behind calling mashed kumara 'Smashed Kumara'. He thought all this time I was saying I was going to smash the kumara - LOL anyway I thought it was cute.

Once again I am cooking for my monster family of 6 so adjust proportions as you see fit! AND of course once again this is a dairy-free, gluten-free, sugar-free meal :)

Ingredients:
1Kg Chicken thigh cutlets
5 rashers of bacon
3 Onions
3 cloves of garlic (crushed or smashed hehe)
Couple of handfuls of mushrooms (these can be as much or as little as you want and of any variety of mushroom)
1 can of coconut cream
1/2 cup of chicken stock
1 tsp of Rice flour (to thicken)
1 tsp of Thyme
1 tsp salt
Pepper for seasoning

3-4 large kumara
2 tsp turmeric
1 tsp salt
1 Tbsp sweet chili sauce
2 tsp whole grain mustard
1/2 cup of Rice milk

Method:
 - Preheat oven to 180 degrees celsius
1. Cook diced onions and crushed garlic with a little bit of oil (grapeseed is preferable)  in a large oven proof dish over the element on a medium-high heat.
2. Cut chicken to desired size (however if they are small enough cutlets I just put them in whole) and add with bacon to dish when onion has slightly cooked.
3. Also chuck in the mushrooms and cook everything until the chicken has seared lightly on the surface (you do not need to cook the chicken completely as this will be done slowly in the oven)
4. Add coconut cream and chicken stock so that the chicken and other ingredients are just covered by the liquid.
5. Add Thyme, salt & pepper and stir through all the ingredients.
6. Sprinkle the rice flour over top and mix through thoroughly and you will see the liquid thickens a little bit.
7. Take the dish off the element, place the lid on top and put in pre-heated oven for 2 hours. During the cooking time of 2 hours it is advisable that you take it out of the oven half way through and stir slightly.
8. While the chicken casserole is in the oven peel, cut and boil the kumara until soft.
9. Add all remaining ingredients and SMASH it all together!

I served this also with steamed beans & broccoli - Do NOT forget to eat your GREENS !

Happy Healthy Eating Everyone !

Blogged by: Megan

Wednesday BBQ Dinner

Hump-day woohoo! And Wednesday is also known as 'My Cooking Night AGAIN'. 

Tonight I decided with the awesome weather we have been having (minus today - so average!) that a BBQ was definitely in order. SO I whipped out a few favorites that abide the gluten-free, sugar-free, no simple carbs, dairy free combo that my family require - phew what a mouthful!

On the Menu tonight:

Soy & ginger lamb kebabs with a spicy peanut sauce

&

Lentil & spinach salad

Soy & ginger lamb kebabs:

Ingredients

600g of Lamb leg steaks

3 tsp finely grated ginger (fresh)

1/4 cup of soy sauce

2 tsp sesame oil

1 Tbsp of Honey

1 Red pepper

2 Zucchini

1/2 cup boiling water

1/2 cup crunchy peanut butter

1 tsp chilli flakes

1 Tbsp Soy sauce

1 Tbsp Sweet chilli sauce

1. Cut the lamb into small pieces - cubes approx. 2 cm by 2cm

2. Put into a mixing bowl and add ginger, soy sauce, sesame oil and honey

3. Mix all together and put in the fridge to marinate for 4 hours

4. Once marinated long enough take out and prepare the kebabs by putting a mixture of diced red pepper, cubed zucchini and marinated meat onto skewers.

5. this recipe should make approximately 12 skewers.

6. Chuck on the BBQ on a medium to low heat and cook about 2 mins on each side.

7. Mix the boiling water, peanut butter, chilli flakes, soy sauce and sweet chilli sauce in a small bowel and mix till a smooth sauce forms.

8. Serve the kebabs and pour the peanut sauce on top - YUMMY!

Lentil & spinach salad:

Ingredients

Salad - 

1 x 300g of Brown lentils (drained and rinsed)

1 x 300g of diced beetroot (drained and rinsed)

1/2 bag of fresh baby spinach

1/2 red pepper

1/2 cup of cut dried dates

1/2 cup mixed seeds (pumpkin, sunflower & poppy)

Dressing - 

1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar

1 tsp Apple cider vinegar

1 clove garlic

1 Tbsp whole grain mustard

2 tsp honey

1/4 cup of grapeseed oil 

1. Mix all salad ingredients in a large serving bowl

2. Put all dressing ingredients in a small bowl and blend together with stick blender

3. Pour dressing over salad and toss to serve

Lentil & Kumara Pie

 
Happy Friday everyone !! I LOVE Fridays but they are also my cooking night at home.. This is never an easy thing in my house as I currently live with my family who are all on a Palaeo/Primal mix diet. This means they do NOT eat sugar & simple carbohydrates, PLUS on top of this my sister is currently breast feeding my handsome 3 month nephew and she is dairy & gluten free! PLUS just to keep on going we have been eating a LOT of meat all week so I decided to try do something vegetarian...

So I want to share will y'all my Kumara & Lentil pie (Kumara instead of potato because potato is not a primal vegetable, meaning it is not in its original form).

I have a family of 6 and we eat quite big portions so keep that in mind if you are going to try this recipe. Normally I just guess proportions of different ingredients but I tried my best to put them into metric amounts here!

There are really 2 parts to this recipe so I will put them separately...

Serves 6 - 8 Adults
Preparation time: 1 hour
Cooking time: 30 mins
Photos below to help instruction :)

Ingredients:

Tomato Sauce:
1 Big Onion
6 cloves of garlic
2 Tbsp of Rice Bran Oil (or Grape seed oil)
1 800g Can of crushed tomatoes
1 tsp salt
2 Tbsp of Honey
1 tsp Mixed herbs

Method:
1. Dice the onion & crush the garlic - Chuck in a pot with the Oil and saute lightly
2. Add the tomatoes and remaining ingredients and cook on medium temperature till bubbling lightly.
3. Take off heat and blend with a stick blender or whatever you have till it makes a smooth yummy sauce.

Set this aside and start on the pie!

Base:
1 Big Onion
3 x 300g of canned lentils
1 tsp Dried sage
1 tsp Salt
3 cups of the tomato sauce (above)
1/2 bag of baby spinach

Topping:
3-4 Large Kumara
2 Tbsp of sweet chilli sauce
1 Tbsp of whole grain mustard
2 tsp of Tumeric (My fav spice at the mo!)
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup Rice milk (Or any milk if your not dairy free!)

Method:
1. Peel and chop the kumara and put to boil till soft enough to mash
2. While the kumara is boiling, drain & wash the lentils and place into large mixing bowl
3. Dice onion very finely and place in mixing bowl
4. Add all remaining base ingredients to mixing bowl and mix till evenly spread
5. Once kumara is boiled, drain and add all topping ingredients to pot and mash till smooth
6. Add base ingredients in a large oven proof dish and carefully spread the kumara mash on top
7. Put in a pre-heated oven (180 degrees C) for 30 minutes.
8. SERVE!

NB: If you are not dairy free add cheese to the top for a yummy twist! I added some grated cheese on top of just half the pie and grilled it for 5 mins at the end :)

Blogged by: Megan