Savoury Chickpea "Bread"

This is the first time I'm using chickpea flour, and it's resulted in an interesting flavour, I think I like it and will try more recipes with it.

1 cup chickpea flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tbs ground flax
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
1 cup milk (the recipe says not rice milk as it doesn't react well with the vinegar)
1 tbs water

• preheat oven to 200C and grease a glass dish (I used about 8x5 inch)
• combine flax with all wet ingredients and whisk very well
• in a separate bowl combine dry ingredients and mix well, then pour the wet into the dry and mix until well combined
• pour mixture into greased dish and bake for about 10-12 mins
• let cool and cut into squares

This is yummy on it's own as an accompaniment to a dish, or, my fave, served with apricot jam, mmmmm . . . 

Recipe credit to Chocolate Covered Katie

Tomato Rice Pilaf

This is just about a staple in our house, we all love it, not only because it's tasty but also because it's quick and easy to make (latter part is very important haha).

1 medium - large onion (sliced & roughly chopped)
1 tbs coconut oil
1 1/2 cups white rice
3 cups veggie stock
400g fresh diced tomatoes
1 1/2 tsp himalayan salt
1/2 tsp ground pepper
1/4 tsp ground coriander

•  fry onion in oil until it starts to become translucent
• add rice and spices and mix to coat
• add tomato and stock, bring to boil, then reduce heat and simmer until liquid is absorbed, about 20-25 mins

Good as a dish on it's own, or as a side-dish.

Greek Yoghurt & Chive Dip

I made some home-made chips (aka fries) - I use an air fryer for that, so no deep frying in oil.  Anyway, here is a dip I made to go along with the chips . . . yummy . . .

all is you need is:
greek yoghurt
fresh chives

• put some greek yoghurt into a bowl
• finely chop chives and mix into yoghurt
• dip a chip in and munch

 It's a lovely cool fresh dip.  I even tried it as a pasta sauce and that actually worked too.

Curried Potato Salad

This is really good, and I think a healthier alternative to ordinary mayo 'tato salad, 'cause I don't like lots of those weird ingredients in mayo's.  And it's nice & creamy too.

3-4 medium cooked potatoes (cut them into bite sized pieces & steam for 25 mins)
50g butter
1 tbs curry powder
3 tbs cake flour
500ml milk
himalayan salt & pepper to taste

• melt butter in pot
• add curry powder and stir about 30 seconds to release fragrance
• add flour, stir to dissolve, and add milk
• bring to the boil while stirring, until it thickens a little (to about a soup consistency)
• season potatoes with salt and pour sauce over potatoes and season with more salt as needed

I wouldn't mind having some more spice in here, so next time I'll try it with some chilli maybe?  Will see!

Cauliflower Mash

Yummmm . . .

1 head cauliflower
few tbs cream cheese
salt & pepper to taste

Steam cauliflower until cooked and soft
Mash with a potato masher
Season with salt & pepper to taste
Mash in a few tbs of cream cheese - see how much you prefer in there, add as much as you like

Best served right away, fresh and warm, mmmmm . . . :)

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. :)

Toasted Wrap with Hummus Dip & Salsa

I was in the mood to try something different today, so I made some hummus and a simple salsa as dips for a wrap that I cut into pieces and toasted in the oven.  It was tasty and filling. :)

I cut up a wrap and toasted the pieces in the oven for 5 mins at 180 C (could have gone a bit longer to make them crispier though --- next time!)

See my hummus recipe HERE.

And the salsa...it's just a really simple one - finely chopped tomato & red onion, salted with Himalayan crystal salt. 

(There's some pesto in the background which I got as a gift and never knew what to do with, so I finally opened it today and it actually smells yummy.  So I used it as a dip for the wrap chips too.)

 It was good, and more than enough left over for my lunch tomorrow too. :D

Broccoli & Carrot Slaw

I made this for the first time today, and it's also the first time I make a dish with raw broccoli...I had a small taste and I think I like it, the dressing is yummy.  And this is a new and different way to get some broccoli in - usually I just steam it and eat it as is (which is delicious!), but it's always nice to try something different once in a while.  So I may just make this again in future...I'll see how I feel about it after eating more. :)

1/3 cup sunflower seeds
+- 4 cups chopped broccoli (florets and stems)
2 medium carrots

Dressing:
2 tbs tangy mayonnaise
1 cup plain greek yoghurt
1/4 cup buttermilk
2 tsp mustard (not the powder)
3 tbs fresh lemon juice
1/2 tsp salt (I added 20 shakes of powdered himalayan salt instead)

Whisk to combine.

• toast sunflower seeds in dry pan over medium-high heat for a few minutes until they smell aromatic (don't let them burn or turn too brown)
• shred the broccoli & peeled carrots in a food processor
• combine everything with the dressing and mix to coat well.  

Jelly (Jello) Carrot Salad

This has *some* "healthy delight" aspect to it, buuuut the jelly kinda tips it over into the junk food category.  It's one of my favourite salads and it especially yummy on a hot summer day, say with a BBQ. :)

All you need is:

1 packet Jelly / jello (I use greengage because it's my favourite, but pineapple (or even peach) jelly works really well here too - so test it out with your favourite jelly)
3 cups finely grated carrots

First make the jelly according to packet instructions, then mix in the grated carrots.

If you'd like to, you can add pineapple chunks too.

The amounts don't have to be exact, of course.  For every 400ml of jelly that I make (ie 400ml of the liquidy end product, not 400ml of powder), I add about 3 cups of grated carrots.  You can add less carrots if you want more jelly in there, or even a little more carrots if you want the mixture to be firmer and denser.

Let it set in the fridge for a few hours until the jelly is fully set and no longer liquid - so make sure to make this dish WELL ahead of time.  It can stand in fridge overnight as well.

Mmmmmmm..........

Ok, so to be honest, the jelly I used is probably not strictly vegetarian because of the gelatine... :O  I have found a vegan jelly but I still need to try it out with this salad to see if it works.

Garden Salad with Feta & Mushrooms

I like to make this as a side-dish or as dinner if we've had a big lunch or late lunch that day.  It doesn't matter how much of what you throw it, so just use your discretion:

Salad:
mixed lettuce leaves
tomatoes
celery
cucumber
raw sliced white mushrooms
green pepper
plain feta cheese
sunflower seeds
pumpkin seeds

Dressing:
olive oil
himalayan crystal salt

Mix together all the salad ingredients, drizzle over some olive oil & sprinkle some salt and mix until everything is coated.  Mmmm. :)

Colourful Coleslaw

This is my new favourite version of coleslaw salad. :)  Not only because it tastes yummy, but also because it's so colourful and pretty. :D

I didn't measure the ingredients this time, but it went something like this: (it doesn't really matter how much of what you put in...)

2 1/2 cups chopped purple cabbage
2 cups grated carrot
1/2 large green pepper, chopped (add more if you like, this is just all I had in the fridge)
+- 1 cup tangy mayonnaise mixed with 20 drops liquid stevia (add more if you'd like it sweeter)
handful raisins
handful chopped walnuts

1.   Mix all ingredients (except mayo mixture) together in a large bowl.  Pour over mayo and mix until everything is coated.
2.   Refrigerate until ready to use. 

I forgot about sunflower seeds, so you can add a small handful of those as well if you wish - it's always nice to cram as many beneficial nutrients as you can into a dish. :)

This salad is also very alkalizing (besides the mayo and the walnuts).

Rosemary Butter Steamed Potatoes

One of my all time favourite ways to have potatoes is with rosemary butter. :)

3 medium potatoes, peeled & quartered into wedges
1 - 1 1/2 tbs melted butter
2 tsp ground dried rosemary
salt to taste

1.   Steam potato wedges until cooked (it takes 45 minutes in my steamer for them to be quite soft).  Once done, salt them to taste.
2.   Ground your rosemary to release the flavours:

Isn't this mini mortar & pestle too cute? :D

3.   Add rosemary to butter, mix to combine and pour over potato wedges to coat them.  After dishing up the potatoes, pour the remaining butter over them too.

Yummmmmm...... :)  I love steamed veggies.

Spicy Cinnamon Butternut & Cinnamon Baked Veggies

Another one of my favourites is baked veggies, especially the spicy butternut with cinnamon - and it's so easy and quick to make too.

Spicy Cinnamon Butternut
butternut chuncks sliced to about 1/4 inch thickness
olive oil
cinnamon
cayenne pepper

Coat the butternut with oilve oil, place in baking tray and sprinkle with a generous amount of cinnamon and a little bit of cayenne (if you're not familiar with cayenne pepper, it's quite hot so only sprinkle on a tiny bit if you don't want it too spicy).


Cinnamon Baked Veggies
sweet potato, peeled & sliced to about 1/4 inch thickness or just less
onion, chopped into big chunks
olive oil
cinnamon
nutmeg

Coat the veggies with olive oil, place on baking tray and sprinkle with cinnamon and a little bit of nutmeg.

Bake all veggies for about 45 mins (or until tender) at 180 C / 350 F on the lowest rack  If it's on the higher rack mine seem to be baked to a crisp.

Yum yum. :)

Mixed Avocado Salad

This is my husband's favourite salad - he loves salad and most of all salad with avo.  For me, avo or feta complete a salad.  :)  We have this with dinner several times a week - it's fresh, easy, quick to make and so healthy (also alkalising).  The more ways you can find to add raw fresh foods to your diet, the better.

2 tomatoes
1/4 cucumber
2 leaves lettuce
1 stick celery
1/4 large green pepper
1 avocado
2 tbs sunflower seeds
2 tbs pumpkin seeds
drizzle olive oil
Himalayan crystal salt, to taste

Dice, slice and chop the veggies, sprinkle over the seeds, olive oil and salt, mix and serve. 

I don't particularly like celery actually, but it's so healthy that I include it anyway - it's good for the kidneys, helping them to eliminate waste; it helps cleanse the body of toxins; it contains a lot of nutrients such as Vit. C, fibre, folic acid, potassium and compounds known as coumarins and acetylenics which help prevent free radicals from damaging cells, aids in cancer prevention and has also been show to stop the growth of tumors. 

I grow my own basil, so when I have that on hand I love to add it with this salad. 

I also sprout mung beans, alfalfa seeds and chickpeas, so when I have these on hand as well I add them to salads.  They're extremely nutritious - I'll post some info on them soon.

Mashed Potato Salad

This is one of my all time favourite things EVER!  This is where I decided to combined 2 of my favourite dishes (mashed potato and potato salad) into 1 delicious 'tato dish that's now even better. :)

This isn't a precise recipe, you just add everything depending on your taste.  But I usually make as big a batch as my largest cooking pot can hold, and even then it only lasts no more than 2 days with me and my husband.

+- 6 medium potatoes, peeled and sliced into 1/4 inch slices for quicker cooking
at least 2 tbs butter
salt to taste
5-6 dessert spoons full tangy mayo
1 small to medium onion, very finely chopped

1.   Add potatoes to pot, fill with water to just cover them, add a glug of olive oil on top to help control the foam, and boil until potatoes are very soft and ready for mashing.  Pour out any left over water
2.   Add salt and butter to taste, and mash those 'tatoes with a potato masher until mixed well
3.   Add the onions and mash again until mixed well
4.   Finally add the mayo (again, to taste) and mash some more until it's mixed well and creamy-looking

And after that arm workout, you get to be the first privileged one to taste your amazing potato creation.  I like it best when it's still warm....it's almost better than chocolate.  I said almost.

I like the onion very finely chopped so that you don't get big chunks of onion in one bite, and no onion at all in the next. 

Enjoy!!  :D

Mashed Cinnamon Sweet Potato

I had some coconut milk left from the 'tato, lentil & coconut curry, so I decided to try something new (for me anyway) - I made some sweet potato mash with coconut milk.  I only made a small portion because I didn't think my husband would have any since he's not a big fan of sweet potatoes unless I bake 'em along with a bunch of other veggies...oh well, his loss. :)

I think it turned out good, and would make a nice sweet side dish with....well, some savoury main meal.

1 cup mashed sweet potato
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
6 tbs coconut milk
small pinch powdered Himalayan crystal salt

Mix all together.  Use more or less coconut milk depending on how you want the consistency of the mash to be.  And it really doesn't need any other sweetening as it's quite sweet already.

I don't often invent recipes from scratch, so I'm glad this one turned out nice (at least I think so). :)