Chai chia pudding //

Chia puddings are all the rage, and it's not hard to tell why. Being packed with omega 3, protein and fibre, they easily fall into the category of "superfood" (alongside watercress, capsicum and kale).

There are gizillions of recipes out in the health world, but I still thought I'd share my take :)
I make it super confusing by using a chai tea in this chia pudding haha! But the flavour is really quite lovely and suuuper easy to whip up when using the tea bag as opposed to having to add all the different spices individually. And that's what we all need isnt it? A quick, easy, delicious and nutritious breaky.
The slight chai undertone marries wonderfully with the coconut and is beautiful served with raspberries :)

Chai Chia Pudding 

Ingredients 

3 tbsp chia seed 

chai tea bag 

1 cup boiling water 

3 tbsp coconut cream
Optional:

sweetener
macca powder
extra vanilla
tsp ground flaxseed
raspberries and shredded coconut to serve

Method 

Pop tea bag into the hot water and let seep.

Add coconut cream, chia seeds and desired sweetener and other add ins (if wanted) into the water.

Set aside for minimum 2 hours or overnight to set, then serve with berries or desired fruit. Delish! 

So super easy and healthy :)) 

xx  

Fruity tooty

So, my newest venture in my foodie career involves fruit (and lots of it) .
In fact, I'm almost doing the exact opposite of my sugar-quitting-fruit-limiting phase. I've adopted (for the most part) a "fit for life" philosophy and diet.  This consists roughly of:

Fruit until 12 

Heaps of veggies 

NOT combining a carb with a protein in a meal 

I've also been living with a self-loving and free choice mentality. I'm not restricting myself with what I eat. If I want a chocolate, I have some. If I want a mango, I eat one. If I want a carby sandwich, I make one. But for the most part, I ask myself if/how hungry I am.

Basically, I'm "mindfully eating".

I've been trialling this on and off for a few weeks and have found that I'm waaaay lighter and brighter in the morning. I don't get that bogged down feeling after a meal. My colon is loving it!
And surprisingly, my eczema is the best its been in a very long time.   

Nutritionally, this way of eating is quite sound. As a student of nutrition, I am eager trial a range of different eating patterns. This has been one of my favourites so far.

Bring on 2015!!

xx

protein pancakes

They're all the rage.



But now that I have experienced for myself the wonderful deliciousness of almond pancakes I'm willing to concede that they are incredible.
I don't usually go for the regular pancake. Too sweet and carby. But these bad boys leave the tummy totally satisfied.  They are light and fluffy, yet wholly satisfying. Win win.

Protein pancakes

Ingredients 

1/2 cup gluten free flour
1/2 cup almond meal*
pinch of salt
1 egg
1tbs rice malt syrup (or to taste)
1/2 cup almond milk

Method 

Combine dry ingredients together in bowl. Then add wet ingredients (the amount of milk depends on what type of consistency you like your pancakes).
Cook up like regular pancakes in a saucepan on medium heat.
Serves 1-2 people with bananas, butter and rice malt syrup.

*I used the leftover almond meal from my homemade almond milk. The stuff is the easiest thing in the world to whip up, and this recipe ensures the pulp is put to good use.

Verdict: 
AAAMAZABALLS! My sister said they were the best pancakes she had ever eaten. Would be incredible with greek yogurt for extra protein and blueberries for antioxidants.

Tips:
I make these up in a thermomix, whipping all the ingredients together. The result is incredibly light and fluffy pancakes. 

xx

Carob brownies??

I hadn't tasted carob before entering into this elimination diet adventure. From what I'd heard, it wasn't too crash hot on the humble taste buds. So I was pleasantly surprised when these "brownies" turned out delicious! Yeah its true.. "brownies" are not the best name for these little treats, instead a "caramelly carob cake slice thingo" would probs be a better name.

Ingredients

1/2 cup self-raising flour
1/2 cup cashew meal (or any type of nut meal)
1 1/2 tbs carob powder
125g butter, melted
2 eggs
250 ml rice malt syrup

Method

Preheat oven to 175 degree Celsius.
Combine dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl.
Mix in wet ingredients then pour into a brownie baking dish.
Cook for 30-40 minutes.
Take out of oven when skewer comes out dry and let cool completely.

Verdict:
Delish! but don't expect a brownie cause you'll be disappointed. These bits of yum lend themselves to caramel flavours of the food spectrum. The carob pairs brilliantly with the rice malt syrup to create a gorgeously mellow caramelly treat.

Tips: 
Pop into freezer to hasten cooling time (if your impatient like me) and only cut into squares when completely cool. They would be sublime served with cream/icecream for a dessert (if you dont think you can wait till they cool ;)

xx

Pearalicious loaf //

 Creating foods that are gluten free, sugar free, failsafe, nutritionally sound and palatable is not the easiest thing in the world. But! I did manage to create this loaf that even my brother enjoyed (he is the litmus test for all recipes). Although it isnt the most nutritionally dense morsel I've ever created, it is a total failsafe recreation of a lemon/walnut loaf my grandma used to make... and it turned out surprisingly great.

Failsafe pear loaf

Ingredients

125g butter, melted
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1 1/2 cups organ self-raising gluten free flour
1 cup rice malt syrup (or brown rice if not sugar free)
1 tsp salt
3 pears, pealed and diced
1/2 cup oats

Method 

Preheat oven to 160 degrees celsius and grease and line a loaf tin.
Combine melted butter and rice malt syrup in a large mixing bowl, then add eggs and milk and stir.
When they're all combined add 2 of the pears and remaining ingredients.
Pour into prepared tin and pop into oven.
After its cooked for 40 minutes, take out and top with  remaining pear and oats.
Place in the oven for a further 20 minutes or until skewer comes out clean.
Let it cool completely before serving.





Verdict: I made two batches, one with sugar and one with the rice malt syrup. The sugar one had a better texture, but they both tasted delicious! Even the notorious brothers loved them.

Tips: My oven is a little fiddly, so keep an eye out for how long yours takes to cook. Letting it cool completely before eating is essential.

xx

Potato and leek soup // totally failsafe

My diet is crazy at times, mostly because of the eczema that has plagued me for over four years and the numerous attempts to cure it.

At the moment I'm trialling the "failsafe elimination diet".

I've been on it for a week and its been a slight challenge (although it doesn't come close to being as hard as GAPS). Finding the incentive to make appetizing meals for myself alone has been low. But tonight I took my mothers advice and whipped up a delicious soup! Inspiration came from numerous different sources online that I adjusted to make failsafe. Thanks Google (:

Super quick and easy failsafe leek and potato soup 

Ingredients: 

1 leek, roughly chopped
4 garlic cloves
30g butter
5 potatoes, roughly chopped
1 (and a bit) litres of chicken stock
salt
Cream (optional if you're not dairy free)
chives

Method:

Chuck leek and garlic into thermomix and chop on speed 6 for 5 seconds.
Add butter and cook for 5 mins on speed 1 at 100*C
Pop potatoes in and again cook for 5 mins on speed 1 at 100*C
Then throw in the stock and cook for 20 mins on speed 2 100*C
When cooked, purée for 45 seconds gradually increasing speed to 8 (to avoid spillage)
Add salt to taste and serve with chives

That easy! Super satisfying on these cold winter days :) This isnt a sure and fast recipe. Play around and use what you've got.
Traditionally, leek and potato soup includes onion and cream, but with being failsafe I wasnt able to include them and happily didn't seem to notice to much.



xx

coconut goodiness // banana and raspberry muffins

I'm currently experimenting with coconut flour.

(coconuts are a not-so-secret obsession of mine)

Its heaps different from what I'm used to working with in baking because of its extreme dryness. Searching google for recipies, I havent been able to find a decent one that is gluten, dairy and sugar free. So I have finally come up with my own variation that I declare is delicious. Here it is:

banana and raspberry coconut muffins 

Ingredients 

1/2 cups coconut four
1/2 tsp baking soda
pinch of salt
6 eggs
1/4 cup rice malt syrup
100g coconut oil (or substitute with butter)
1 tsp vanilla
1 large over-ripe banana mashed
1 cup raspberries (or your berry of choice)

Method

Preheat oven to 180C  and prepare nine/ten muffin tins with paper pattys.

Combine eggs, syrup, oil and vanilla in a bowl with a bar mixer. 

Then pop in the dry ingredients and wizz until all blended nicely. 

Add the mashed banana and berries and spoon into muffin tins.

Bake in oven for appox 30mins (my oven is a little whacky so not sure of the exact time just keep an eye on them)

Set on a wire rack to cool and them consume. 

That's it! Super simple and scrumptious.

xx

little silver fishes

My newest obsession:

sardines.

Stuffed with protein, omega-3 and vitamin D they are the ideal seafood eats. Plus! because they are small and on the lower end of the food chain, mercury is pretty much non-existent in these little fellas.

These little munchkins are crazy good for you. 

But I hated them at one point.
Why?
The taste. The smell.

Growing up, Dad would eat them straight from the can although Mum has always been revolted by even the mention of the word "sardine". Mumma's distaste for them rubbed off on me and I could not understand how anybody could think of consuming them, let alone enjoying the flavour.

But I have now been converted. Researching healthy dishes, particularly those involving seafood that do not contain high percentages of mercury, sardines kept popping up again and again. Realizing that these little nuggets were packed full of nutrients, I though I may as well give them a shot... and what do you know, I didn't actually mind the taste. Ok, so maybe I didn't die from delight in the overall experience, but they weren't anywhere near as bad as I remembered. (perhaps knowing the absolute goodness they contained helped my taste buds on a little)

They are now an integral part of my diet and I eat them at least twice a week either in salads or with avo on toast.

I buy mine canned in either extra virgin olive oil or simply water. I've found that the slightly more expensive brands to be significantly nicer than the homebrands. I'm keen to buy some fresh to experiment with.

These are one of my favouritest foods at the moment, mainly because of their extreme goodiness for the body, but now I'm actually partial to the taste! I never thought I would admit that.

xx