New improved Breakfast Smoothie!

Since having small human who is vegetarian and averse to swallowing solid food, we have come to rely even more on the sustenance of our BREAKFAST SMOOTHIES.

Further, we acquired a thermomix last year which increases our easy options with a good or decor and blender in one, though those two applicants could be used for this recipe.

Ingredients

1 TB oats

2 TB raw almonds

2 TB raw cashews

1TB chia seeds 

2 cups/handfuls English/baby spinach / silverbeet / kale leaves 

16 strawberries

4 bananas

1 or 2 apple or pear or stone fruit or other berry - whatever you prefer cored/ chopped into blend-able pieces

2 cups water

Method

Food process the nuts, oats and chia seed until fine (20 seconds on speed 10 on the thermomix)

Add all other ingredients and blend (1 min on speed 10 in the thermomix)

Enjoy!! 

This recipe is totally adaptable with other seeds, nuts, nutritional powders and other fruits that can be included or swapped, though the cashews and bananas are important to make it smooth and creamy :)

Serves 4 as a breakfast or more as a snack!

Chocolate Brownie - gluten free and vegan!!

Ingredients

BASE

1.75 cups almond meal

0.5 cup cocoa powder

0.75 cup brown sugar

0.25 tspn salt 

1/3 cup coconut oil (melted)

4 TBspns Aqua faba

1 tspn vanilla extract

TOPPING

4 TBspn brown sugar

2 TBSpn Cocoa powder

2 TBSpn coconut oil 

4 TBSpn soy milk

Method for base

1. Preheat oven. Combine dry ingredients and then add wet ingredients and mix thoroughly. 

2. Put into a small cake/ slice tin that's lined with baking paper. 

3. Bake 35mins on 160 degrees Celsius.

Method for topping

1. Combine ingredients in a small saucepans til bubbling constantly while being stirred

2. Pour over base to serve. 

 

Coconut & Sultana Rice Pudding

Everyone loves a good pudding as the ultimate comfort food and this one isn't too sweet to feel the guilts about nomming it down for dessert or a snack or any time you feel like delicious coconut-y, sultana-y rice-y goodness. Adapted to have sultanas instead of added sugar, from this Quirky Cooking Thermomix recipe: http://www.quirkycooking.com.au/2011/05/creamy-coconut-vanilla-rice-pudding , we cook it like so...

Ingredients

1. 1 whole vanilla bean, snipped in pieces or 1 tspn vanilla extract
2. 200g arborio rice (or 250g if you like it thicker)
3. 400g organic coconut cream
4. 60g sultanas 
5. 600g water

Method

1. Combine all ingredients in thermomix. Cook for 20 minutes at 90 degrees, reverse, speed 1 1/2. (If you're using vanilla bean, grind it up for 1 minute on speed 9 prior to adding all other ingredients).
2. The rice pudding will still be quite runny - don't worry, it thickens after a few minutes. You can pour it straight into a serving dish (a Thermoserver is ideal) and leave it for 5 minutes before serving, and it will be perfect.

Frankie's Pikelets

Feeding a 10month old banana porridge was proving to be messy and challenging, particularly because the little person is determined to feed himself. So I decided to turn his porridge into pikelets and let him munch on them on his own terms. 

To give him a bit more protein and omega 3 I've added a few extra nuts and seeds. This recipe makes about 12 little piklets so there's plenty to feed us too :) They're definitely worth eating even if you don't have a small human to feed!

Ingredients

1/3 cup of oats (could use quinoa flakes instead or as well but I haven't tried this yet)

1/2 tbs chia seeds (you could add some flaxseeds too)

10 almonds

10 cashews

1 banana

1/2 to 2/3 cup of water (could use a plant or nut milk)

Handful of blueberries 

Method

Put oats, nuts and seeds in a blender and wizz until fine - the consistency of almond meal or finer.

Add banana and water and blend until smooth - start with the 1/2 cup of water then add more if needed.

Add the blueberries and pulse through so they remain chunky.

Heat a pan with a little coconut oil or similar or nothing if your pan is super dooper nonstick etc. Once your pan is ready pour piklet sized amount of batter into your pan and cook until bubbles start to appear and they are getting brown on the bottom then flip and cook for maybe another minute or 2 until brown. My belief is that cooking pancakes and pikelets is all intuition and no science so good luck with the cooking process!

Vegan ANZAC COOKIES!!!

The ANZAC cookies are one of my favourite treats and many people avoid eating vegan because they think it'll mean forsaking their favourite treats or having inferior versions of them. THIS IS FALSE and this recipe is proof! The coconut oil in them makes them BETTER than the non-vegan version. So even if this is the only vegan thing you make, it's definitely worth it :)

This is based on this recipe but went easy on the sugar, used coconut oil instead of nuttalex, wholemeal self raising flour and added sultanas because I like my ANZACS with sultanas but you could leave them out if you don't/are ridiculous.

Ingredients

1 cup rolled oats
1 cup wholemeal flour
1 cup desiccated coconut
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup coconut oil or vegan margarine/butter
2 tablespoons golden syrup
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

1 tbsp boiling water

1/3 cup sultanas (optional)

Method

Heat oven to 180 C. Grease 2 baking trays.

In a large bowl mix together the oats, flour, coconut and sugar.

Melt the margarine and golden syrup in a saucepan over a low heat.

Place the bicarbonate of soda into a small bowl and mix with the boiling water. Add this mixture to the melted margarine and syrup.

Pour the wet mixture into the dry ingredients and mix well.

Roll the mixture into 20 balls (about a tablespoon per ball). 
Place on baking trays and flatten slightly.

Bake in oven for approximately 15 minutes, until the biscuits are golden brown.

They will still be very soft when you remove them from the oven so let them cool slightly on the tray first before placing on a cooling rack.

Indulgent hearty salad

This salad has it all - sweet, sour, salty, protein, greens and creamy! It's a bit like a pasta salad without the pasta. So a chick pea salad. There you go. Can't type. Eating.

1 400g can of chick peas, 

Large handful green beans, steamed but al dente

200g cherry or grape tomatoes

1small red capsicum/bell pepper

A quarter of a large cucumber

1 spring onion

1 sprig mint

1 avocado

A dash of strawberry or red wine vinegar

Pepper

1TBS nads' homemade homegrown Rhubarb chutney (optional)

 

Use half the avocado mashed to mix with the vinegar, pepper and chutney as the dressing. 

Chop tomatoes in half, beans into bite sized pieces and dice cucumber, capsicum and other half of the avocado. Combine with washed chick peas and finely diced mint and spring onion.

It was so good we ate it before taking a photo. Maybe next time.

Fresh Bircher Mueslie / CADA

This fresh muesli or in the Thermomix world 'CADA' (coconut, almond, date and apple) is a delicious treat that can be had as breakfast, snack or healthy dessert. And has many nutrients and healthy ingredients too.

Ingredients

40g shredded coconut

40g dates

40g almonds (and/or you can add or substitute partially with sesame seeds, pepitas etc)

1 to 1.5 fresh apples

Method

Put the cored apple and other ingredients and pulse in a food processor until desired consistency- or see this Thermomix recipe for their version.

We have it with Alpine coconut yoghurt and it's DEVINE XD

Vegan Laksa! STAPLE

I LOVE a good laksa but it's hard to find a really good one in Perth, particularly a vegan one! Thankfully we found this stellar recipe on The Everyday Veggie that we just love and this meal has become a staple in out weekly menu :D

Everyday Veggie Laksa Paste Recipe

You’ll need:
(Makes enough to feed 8 )
3 red chillies
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon paprika

1 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1 white onion, chopped
2 lemongrass stalks, white part only, chopped
3cm piece galangal, peeled and chopped
1 small handful cashew nuts
3 garlic cloves, chopped
2 teaspoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 teaspoon brown sugar
2 tbsp lime juice

Method:
Heat the coriander, paprika, cumin and turmeric in a pan for several minutes until fragrant
Place the spices in a blender or food processor with all other ingredients and blend into a fine paste
Place into an airtight container, ready for use!

Everyday Veggie Laksa Recipe

I’ve been a little vague on the amount of tofu and rice noodles, as for me, this is very subjective. I love rice noodles and shove them in there like there’s no tomorrow, but I hang back a little on the tofu. You can either use those pre-fried tofu blocks you get in Asian grocery stores, or you can fry your own up before you start cooking; no matter, they both work great!

You’ll need:
(Feeds 4)
1 tablespoon sesame oil
4 tablespoons Vegan Laksa Paste 
3 cups veg stock
2 cups full-fat coconut milk
1 cup water
1 large head broccoli, chopped
1 large carrot, peeled and chopped
1 large tomato, chopped
enough fried tofu blocks for 4
enough dried rice noodles to feed 4
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 large handful bean sprouts
4 spring onions, sliced
1/2 cup mint leaves
1/2 cup fresh coriander leaves
slices of lime

Method:
Heat the sesame oil in a large wok, and fry the Laksa Paste until it is fragrant
Add in the coconut milk, water and veg stock and stir well
Add the broccoli and carrot into the mixture, and cook on high until mostly tender; about 5-10 minutes
While cooking, place the rice noodles in a bowl of hot water. If you’re using thicker noodles, heat them in a small pan over a medium heat
Add in the tomato and tofu blocks, and stir well
Stir in the brown sugar
When the noodles are soft and the vegetables are tender, divide the noodles out between the 4 bowls
Ladle the soup onto the noodles, diving it between the bowls
Top each soup with bean sprouts, spring onions, mint leaves and coriander, and serve with 2 slices of lime

The great thing, to me, about Laksa is that you can change it so much to suit your own taste. For example, I like my Laksa a little more limey, so I tend to throw a little lime in there with the coconut milk. If you prefer it thicker, you could leave out the water and replace it with coconut cream. The possibilities are endless.

You can use whatever veggies you want really - our faves are pak choy, kai lan, bean sprouts, broccoli and carrot. The tomatoe and bean sprouts are essential. We add the bean sprouts in at the very end of the cooking process rather than just on top after. And we often use sliced cabbage (along with the bean sprouts) instead of or as well as noodles to make it lower in carbs. Which may make it technically not a laksa, as laksa is usually a Peranakan (Malay and Chinese combo) spicy noodle soup, but whatevs - the sliced cabbage looks like noodles! And tastes better if you ask me. 

We also cheat sometimes and use Five Tastes Thai Red Curry Paste instead of making our own (fresh galangal is super hard to find!! Booooo! Plus it's quicker and easier XD ). We always use Beijing Soyabean products chilli and/or garlic tofu that is ready to use and isn't fried. You can find it in most Coles fridge sections. 

DELISH!!