Veggie Lentil Cottage Pie

This is such a good hearty satisfying yummy dish.  And a good source of protein and fiber.
You can make this dish vegan by using a vegan butter and milk substitute in the mashed potatoes.

Filling:
250g brown lentils, cooked, drained & set aside
coconut oil for frying
1 leek, finely chopped
1 celery stalk, finely chopped
1 onion, finely chopped
1 carrot, finely chopped
1 cup steamed butternut (I pre steamed mine for about 15 mins)
1 cup sliced mushrooms (I used button but you can use others)
1 cup peas (not canned)
3 tomatoes, finely chopped
115g container tomato paste (heaped 1/3 cup)
1 tsp veggie stock powder
1 tsp cumin powder
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
2 bay leaves
1 tsp himalayan salt
1/4 tsp powdered pepper

Topping:
4 cups potatoes, steamed until soft (about 30 mins - I steamed them while filling was cooking so that mash is fresh & soft when I spread it on filling)
salt & butter to taste
a little milk to make it "fluffier"

• heat oil and fry onion, leek, salt, pepper, cumin, turmeric & stock powder until onion is translucent, about 5 mins
• add remaining ingredients with 1 1/2 cup water, bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat & simmer 15 mins
• while it's simmering, chop & steam the potatoes - when they're done, mash them with salt, butter & a little bit of milk - add little milk at a time and add more if you see you want the mash to be more fluffy
• remove cover and simmer until most of the liquid has been absorbed (it took me about 20 mins), but leave some moisture left, it mustn't be simmered dry
• place filling into a glass dish (remember to remove bay leaves) & gently spread mash potato over the top
• serve & enjoyyyy

Fruity Oat Bars

I was once again looking for recipes where I can use up bananas that I otherwise couldn't use in time before they turn totally brown & mushy, and came across this one.  They're good for snacking or lunch boxes, as well as part of a quick breakfast when you're in a hurry. 

3 large ripe bananas
2 cups oats (the gluten-free kind if you want to be sure it's gluten-free)
1 cup desiccated coconut
1/4 cup chopped dates*
1/4 cup chopped cranberries*
1 tsp cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

* You can add more of these fruits if you wish, or add raisins as well.  These bars were tasty but I would add some more fruit next time - it really "spices" up these bars.

• preheat oven to 180 degree C, line a 16 x 25 cm glass dish with baking paper (extend over the sides so you can pick it up easily) and grease baking paper really well, else it'll stick to the bars - as me, I know
• mash bananas until smooth, then add remaining ingredients and stir until well combined
• pour mixture into prepared dish and press down evenly
• bake for about 30 minutes (until it starts to turn a little golden), cool completely then cut into bars

Vegan Coconut Ice

Here's something to satisfy your coconutty cravings.  I love coconut ice but all the bad kind of sugar in there from the condensed milk and sugar makes me not want to make it anymore.  This one does contain some agave but in total much less sugar than the original coconut ice.  I found this recipe, but it was called white chocolate which is what tempted me to make it in the first place, but to me it's nothing like white chocolate and everything like coconut ice. 

3 cups desiccated coconut
1/4 agave nectar (I'm sure maple syrup will work as well, and honey)
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon salt

• place coconut into food processor and process for about 5 minutes until it's chopped up finely
• add remaining ingredients and process for about another 5 minutes
• press mixture into a glass dish and freeze for about 30 minutes so that it can set.  Aftewards it's fine if you keep it in the fridge, but if you keep it at room temp they're go soft 

Lucky for me my husband, who's not a huge desiccated coconut fan, didn't like this at all so it was ALL MINE, hehe.

How to Make Coconut Milk

I always thought making your own nut milk was a long process needing lots of special equipment, but I was happy to find out, when I actually looked up how to do it, how easy it is!  And the only equipment you need is a blender / smoothie maker and a nut milk bag - if you have a blender in the higher price ranges, the process will probably be a bit quicker, but you don't need anything expensive.

I used 2 coconuts to make close to 1 litre of milk.  I use mature coconuts because I haven't ever seen green ones around here, but it doesn't matter, mature coconuts are perfect.

First pour the water out of the coconuts, you don't want to waste that because it's nutritious.  You're anyway going to use this water when making the milk, but if there's no water in them it's ok too, you just use filtered water instead.  My coconuts never have enough milk in them so I have to use filtered water in addition to the coconut water.

Remove the coconut meat, there's no need to remove the brown "skin", it'll make no difference to the milk. Rinse them in water to get them clean.  Break into smaller pieces and put in a blender.

I only do 1 coconut at a time otherwise the blender is too full and it takes longer to get everything chopped finely.

Add the coconut water you drained out before - pour it through a sieve to get rid of any coconut bits & hair.  If you need to add some more water, add filtered water.  Start with about 1 cup of liquid in total and add more if you see you would like a more diluted milk.  I usually add enough liquid so that it almost covers the coconut in the blender.  Blend until you have desiccated coconut, it only takes a couple of minutes.

Place a nut milk bag in a glass bowl and put everything in the blender into the bag - don't mess any coconut bits outside of the bag into the bowl because you don't want any bits in your milk.

Squish & squish the bag to get ALL the milk out, you wanna squish until no more milk comes out - all you want to have left in the bag is dry as possible desiccated coconut - you can use the coconut to make desiccated coconut.

Pour the milk into a glass bottle and refrigerate.  It keeps for about 3 days in the fridge.

See how to make your own desiccated coconut here (coming soon).

Vegan Lentil Carrot Burgers

These are a healthy alternative to meat or frozen burger patties.  Unlike most burger patties, these are actually nice when eaten just as is - I made these especially so that baby (well, 1 year & almost 2 month baby) can join us for our burger dinner.  :)

This makes about 9 small burgers.

2 1/2 cups cooked & drained lentils (about 1 cup dried), mashed (I blended them in a food processor - quicker than trying to mash 'em)
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
1/4 cup finely grated carrots
3 tbs tomato paste
3/4 cup bread crumbs (I used gluten-free bread)
salt to taste
coconut or sunflower oil for frying (coconut will give it a slight coconutty taste)

• put lentils in a bowl & add all remaining ingredients except oil
• mix well
• shape into patties & fry both sides in a little oil until heated through

Make your burger and munch away!

We didn't have burger buns so we had to use sliced bread, and the slices were way bigger than the burgers so I used a cookie cutter to make smaller pieces of bread (this is the only shape I had that was just the right size)

Yum, a good burger.

Soft Banana Coconut Cookies

These are pleasant little high-fibre cookies to snack on.

You know how you always have those extra bananas lying around, no longer in their prime, waiting for you to find something to do with them, and you swear you'll go google up on banana recipe ideas tomorrow . . . and how those same bananas always end up going black and then you're so relieved to be able to throw them away now and have that weight of finding a recipe finally lift off your shoulders? . . .  No?  It's only me then?

Well I've found another way to use up that banana before it expands the fruit fly population in my kitchen.

10 pitted organic dried dates
1 soft banana
1 1/2 cups desiccated coconut (not sweetened)

• throw all ingredients in a food processor & process until smooth
• the mixture should be a little moist, but not gooey or too dry - just right to shape into little balls & hold their shape - add more banana if too dry, or more coconut if too wet
• take large teaspoon sized portions & shape into little balls (or something resembling a ball), press slightly flat, place on a buttered baking sheet
• bake at 165 degree C for about 10 mins.  The cookies should be soft

Raw Chocolate Cookies

I'm completely addicted to chocolates & cakes and things, so I'm looking & searching & SEARCHING some more for healthy treats to satisfy my unhealthy cravings, and then I found these cookies - when I first tried them I thought "uhhhh, they taste like coco powder", but then the more I munched 'em, the nicer they became and now I'll definitely be making them again.  So bottom line, these may take a little getting used to, but they do satisfy a chocolate craving, and they ARE tasty.

In fact, my husband does our shopping every week, and he'll always get us a slab of chocolate for the weekend, and this week I told him not to get me one, 'cause I'm gonna make me some 'a these cookies instead.  A proud moment for me.  :)

1/2 cup coconut flour
1/2 cup raw cacao powder (I'm using normal store bought cocoa powder for now, but I'll be making the switch to the raw one soon)
2 tbs liquid sweetener (maple syrup, honey, agave, I used organic rice syrup)
4 tbs + 1 tps organic coconut oil, melted

• put all ingredients in a mixing bowl and mix to combine well
• take teaspoon sized portions, roll into little balls and squish em flat to form a cookie shape
• place in a glass dish & refrigerate for about 1 hour until "set"                                              

NOTE: if you use coconut oil in it's semi-solid state, the recipe will still work, but the batter will be reeeeally crumbly - just take teaspoonfulls of mixture and press into shape, it will hold together.

Red Lentil & Veggie Dahl

This turned out really good, BUT . . . only because we added chutney to it - without that it was nice, but it seriously lacked *something*, and chutney filled the gap perfectly. I'm talking about Mrs Ball original chutney.

coconut oil for frying
1 1/2 cups onion, chopped
2 tbs grated fresh ginger
1 tbs garam masala
1 1/2 cups red lentils
3 cups cauliflower, cut into small pieces (about 1 1/2 inch) (I used broccoli)
2 1/2 cups carrots, roughly chopped
1 1/4 cups potatoes, chopped into 1 inch chunks
1 tsp turmeric
1 1/2 tsp himalayan salt

•  in a LARGE pot, heat coconut oil & fry onion & ginger for a minute, then add garam masala & stir
• add lentils & stir to coat, then add cauliflower, carrots, potatoes, turmeric, 5 cups of water &1 1/2 tsp himalayan salt
• bring to boil then reduce heat to a simmer and cover.  Simmer until veggies are tender, stirring occasionally, about 30-40 minutes
• add chutney to taste before serving

Can be eaten as is, or served over rice.

Spiced Date Balls

These are SO yummy, and what's even better is that they're absolutely healthy so you don't even have to feel bad no matter how many of 'em you munch.  :)

They're sugar-free, gluten-free, vegan, and raw, so NO nutrients were harmed in the making of this healthy delight.

1 cup (packed) organic dates, pips removed
1/2 cup gluten-free oats (not the instant kind)
2 small carrots, peeled & roughly chopped
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
unsweetened dried desiccated coconut for rolling in

Throw all the ingredients (except coconut) into a food processor and blend until mixed but not totally smooth or pasty.

Roll teaspoon sized portions into little balls, roll in coconut to cover, and they're good to go!  You can chill them in the fridge first if you like but it doesn't make that much difference in the end.  You get out about 24 balls.

I've actually been looking for healthier foods & treats that I can make for baby (and ultimately the rest of family too!), so I'm chuffed at having found something that I find divine too (and extra happy that it's so much healthier than cake hehe).

Butternut Soup

This is a really yummy & easy soup to make.  Butternut is one of my FAVE veggies, so I love this dish.

1 butternut, peeled & chopped into large chunks
1 onion, chopped into chunks
veggie stock
sunflower or coconut oil
cinnamon
nutmeg
cayenne (optional)

•  place chopped veggies on baking tray, drizzle generously with oil, sprinkle over lots of cinnamon, a pinch of nutmeg, and if you want to add cayenne for some kick, sprinkle just a light layer over (or add more if you like it hot)
• bake at 180 degree C for 1 hour, until tender and cooked
•  place in a food processor and add veggie stock - blend and add more veggie stock to get the soup a consistency that you like - you can make it chunky or smooth

Easy peasy.  :)

Red Lentil & Butternut Curry

This is good on it's own or served on couscous.  I loved it.

I added a few tbs cake flour at the end because it was quite saucy, but it would be nice served on couscous with the extra sauce, and better with less sauce if you were to munch it on it's own with no couscous to absorb the sauce.

coconut oil for frying
1 onion, chopped
1 tbs curry powder (or more to taste)
4 cups veggie stock
1 cup red lentils
3 cups cooked butternut, cut into bite-sized cubes (I steamed mine until cooked, about 25 mins)
1 cup greens of choice (I wanted to add spinach but couldn't find that day)
himalayan salt to taste

• fry onion in oil for about 5 mins on low-medium heat
• stir in curry powder & cook another few mins
• add stock & lentils, bring to boil, reduce heat & cook for 10 mins
• stir in butternut & greens, cook over medium heat for about 5-8 mins
• season with salt and serve

Banana Cinnamon Smoothie

3 large bananas
1 cup rice milk
2 dessert spoons greek yoghurt
few shakes cinnamon (however much you like)

Blend together, enjoy.  :)

Cottage Cheese Salad

This is a quick & healthy lunch option on it's own, or it can be used as a side dish.

Ingredients: tomato, cucumber, plain chunky cottage cheese, himalayan salt to taste, (and pepper if you like, or spices if you prefer).

Add as much of each ingredient as you like, but more salad & less cheese would probably be more favourable for weight loss if that's what you're after. :)

Fruity Ice Pops

I thought I'd try make some healthy ice pops - actually my first ice pops too! 

I made watermelon & pineapple ice pops.  I juiced the watermelon in a juicer because I didn't want any seeds in the pop, but for other fruit I would use my blender/smoothie maker.

I did the watermelon first and let it freeze for about an hour before I added the pineapple.

I must say the fruit loses a bit of their flavour when frozen, mostly the watermelon but even the pineapple too, so next time I'd substitute watermelon for other fruits with stronger flavours, like mango or kiwi and see how they turn out.

These are good for a hot day. :)

After making banana icecream, I would even try a layer of banana in the ice pops, and the banana doesn't lose any of it's flavour at all when frozen.

Chickpeas in Spiced Tomato Sauce with Couscous

I discovered another keeper last night, a tasty spicy chickpea dish, and I can't wait to make it again. :)

3 tbs organic coconut oil
1 cup finely chopped onion (I added at least 1 1/2 cups - I love onion)
1 tsp finely grated fresh ginger
3/4 tsp ground cumin
3/4 tsp ground coriander
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (or 1/2 tsp if you like it uber spicy)
1/4 tsp ground turmeric
1 cup finely chopped fresh tomato (I added maybe 1/2 tomato more - I love 'mato)
1 tsp salt
2 1/2 cups cooked drained chickpeas
1/2 tsp curry powder
1 tsp fresh lemon juice

• heat pan, add oil, and when hot, fry onion until soft
• add ginger and stir once
• add first 4 spices and stir once
• add tomato and stir for a minute
• add 1 cup water and salt, bring to boil, cover, reduce heat and simmer for 10 mins
• add chickpeas, bring to boil, cover, reduce heat and simmer for 15 mins
• add curry powder and lemon juice, stir, cover and simmer another 5 mins
• serve on couscous (or rice if you like)

It only serves about 2 large or 3 smaller portions.

Banana Ice-Cream with Banana Whipped Cream

It's Aidan's 1st b'day next month and I've been searching for a healthy birthday cake idea for him.  I haven't introduced any sugar to him yet and am trying to give him the healthiest meals I can.

Well, I just couldn't find a cake that met my criteria - either they had sugar in them, or I tried to substitute the sugar for something else healthier and it didn't work out, or I tried a sugar-free cake and it didn't turn out good, so I was disappointed that I couldn't find a healthy b'day cake!

Then I found someone online who made banana ice-cream - I tried it and it turned out really well. :D  And then elsewhere I found another recipe for banana cream - all I changed here was to sub stevia for sugar and leave out vanilla essence because I didn't have one without some nasty ingredients in it, and it's so tasty. :)

So here's my practice round for Aidan's b'day "cake" . . .

How cute is that? :D

All you do is freeze a ripe banana - just don't use an overly ripe one whose skin has already gone black - the ice-cream will taste bitter (I used such a banana 'cause I was so impatient to try out this ice-cream to see if it works, that I used the only banana I had on hand).  The recipe also said not to use a green banana, because it will make for a "green" tasting ice-cream.

• peel banana, chop banana into bite size chunks (I used 1 1/2 banana for this single size serving)
• freeze for 2 hours
• put in a food processor and blend until it turns creamy

When you start blending it will look all crumbly, but eventually (less than a minute) it suddenly turns creamy and ice-cream texture-y.  If it sticks to the sides of the food processor, just scrape it down back onto the blades and keep blending.

Then it's basically ready to eat!  It's so creamy, and really good actually.  This must be one of the healthiest ice-creams ever!

I put the ice-cream into a mini silicone mould though, 'cause I wanted something that looks more like a "cake" with some shape instead of a bowl of ice-cream, so I froze it for another few hours - I accidentally forgot about it and so don't know how long it was in the freezer for, but I froze it until it was quite hard.

To get it out I loosened the edges of the mould and ran the bottom of the mould under warm water to get it loose, and it came out easily.

Next time I'll just make sure to press the ice-cream down nicely into the mould, but it doesn't matter, it's getting covered by cream. :)

As for the cream, here's what you need (this is WAYYY more than you need for a little baby dessert, so use less if you don't like to eat the cream throughout the day). :)

1 cup fresh cream
15 drops liquid stevia
1/2 banana, mashed REALLY well until it's almost liquid with no chunks in it (add more banana if you want it more banana-y)

• add stevia and whip until stiff - make it as stiff as you like it
• mix in banana by hand, or for just 1 second mix it with your blender - you don't want to over-whip the cream
• scoop into ice-cream

Serve immediately.  Hope it turns out this good on his b'day!

A cute little "cake" that baby can make a yummy mess with. :)  You'll probably have to feed the ice-cream to him with a spoon though.

Granadilla (aka passion fruit) Tropical Smoothie

I had granadilla (passion fruit) flavoured yoghurt this time instead of greek, and so thought I'd try it in a smoothie.  Here goes!

3 bananas
3-4 pineapple rings, cored
2 heaped dessert spoons granadilla yoghurt (or more according to your taste)
1 cup orange juice
3 tbs ground flax seeds

Blend together.  Yum-ums.  Makes 2 large smoothies.

Banana Oat Tahini Smoothie

I have tahini to use up and I'm trying to find interesting ways to use it other than in hummus, so I put it in a smoothie.  I think it's alright and adds a slightly nutty flavour to the smoothie.

2 bananas
1 cup rice milk
1/4 cup water
4 tbs ground raw oats
3 tbs ground flaxseeds
3 tbs tahini

Blend it all together.  Add more rice milk if you don't like it too thick.  Makes about 2 medium servings.  I added some acai berry powder to mine, which is why it's purple.

Carrot & Beetroot Juice

Freshly juiced raw veggies and fruits are a great way to assist your body in detoxing, and besides that, it's so healthy too, since juicing the food makes it more easily assimilated by your body.  Plus it's refreshing and tasty. :)

This morning I added beetroot to the mix and it turned out really well - it's sweet and tasty and the beetroot gives it a slightly earthy flavour too.   And the colour is gorgeous! :D

For this one I used 5 medium carrots and 3 medium beetroot - all peeled and then juiced (in a juicer, not blender) - here's what it looked like:

Then I mixed it before pouring into glasses - makes 2 medium servings:

How pretty is that? Yummmmmm.....

Ginger Honey Lemon Ice Tea

This is nice and refreshing, and best of all it's sugar-free and it's actually a healthy treat. :)

Ginger honey syrup:
1/3 cup honey
2 cups water
1/2 inch roughly chopped, peeled fresh ginger

Add all 3 to a pot, bring to a boil, turn down the heat and let simmer for 5 mins on low heat.  Remove from heat.

To finish the tea:
6 "white tea" tea bags (* see below)
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
6 cups water

Throw the tea bags into the "syrup" immediately after removing pot from heat, and let steep for 30 mins.
Strain the syrup, add lemon juice & 6 cups of water & stir to combine.

*  If you can't find white tea, just use ordinary green tea - according to google, white tea is a milder flavour of green tea, so I thought green tea would make a suitable substitute - I used green tea (jasmine green tea actually, just has a more pleasant flavour for me), and because it has a stronger flavour than white tea, I only used 5 tea bags.

Serve over ice and with some mint leaves (I didn't have mint available, booo).

The first time I tasted it I thought it's a little too lemony and a little not-honey-y enough, but then I got used to it and I wouldn't change the recipe now, I like it as is.  If you do want to add more honey though, I think do it in the beginning, maybe increase it to 1/2 cup, or use less lemon juice instead.