I’ve seen the lovely looking pre-made creamy icy poles in the shop … The ones you buy and freeze at home. But my goodness they’re pricey!
I would have needed to buy 2 packets for the tribe this afternoon so instead I got to work using the delicious goodies we already had at home.
Some cheap mangoes I bought from the markets ($1 each!), the over ripe banana in my fruit bowl and some of the slightly bruised apricots from our tree that we had frozen 2 months ago, plus the left overs of a can of coconut cream that was in the fridge and we had such a winner! Hope you like them too.
250g ripe mango (cheeks of 2 medium)
200g ripe apricots
1 large ripe banana
100g coconut cream
1tbsp honey/maple syrup
Blend, blend, blend until it is a very smooth mix.
We have made a conscious effort to reduce our meat consumption recently. And for us that has meant a boost in our bean intake … Good thing we love beans!
This recipe hits all the right marks for us. It is delicious, nutritious, budget friendly, fast and easy to make, fits all of our allergies and it is very filling and satisfying… Even for the biggest carnivore 😉
It is even one of those meals, made from regular pantry staples, that you can throw together in the morning and the flavors get even better when you reheat it in the evening. Wins all ’round!
2 x 400g tin black beans, drained and rinsed
350-400g gold sweet potato, small dice
2 tbsp olive oil
medium brown onion, diced
2 tsp minced garlic
1 tsp minced chilli
1 rounded tsp cumin
1/2 tsp paprika
2 cups (500g) pasata
1 cup hot veggie stock
Heat olive oil in a large, heavy based pan.
Add in onion and fry until golden.
Add in the garlic and chilli and fry for a further minutes before adding in dry spices.
Fry for about 2 mins, mixing well, before adding in the sweet potato. Mix well to cover in spice mix and fry for a couple of minutes.
Add black beans, pasata and stock, mix well and bring to a simmer.
Simmer gently for about 15 minutes.
We serve this one over either brown rice or roasted cauliflower and top it with slices of ripe avocado, drizzled with a squeeze of lime juice. Yum!
My baby started school yesterday. It just feels unbelievable to me, but he loved it!
I missed him so much, so today we had a special day doing his favourite things. We did blocks, trampoline tricks and cars and I surprised him with tickets to a kids movie. Of course he immediately requested that we make popcorn together …. How could I refuse?!
He is not such a sweet tooth, so he asked for ‘the cheesey ones’. As you wish my precious dude!
50g popcorn kernels
2 tsp vegan butter/coconut oil
1 tbsp nutritional yeast
1 tsp pink salt
1/2 tsp onion flakes
1/4 tsp garlic flakes
1/4 tsp paprika
Air pop the popcorn then lay in a baking dish.
Melt the butter/oil and drizzle all over the popcorn. Mix well for an even coating.
Place all the dry ingredients together in a blender/bullet/mortar and pestle and blitz until fine. You can also do it in your thermal cooker if you make bulk batches.
Sprinkle the dry mix over the popcorn then mix well to give an even cover.
Place in a preheated 200 C oven for about 10 minutes.
It really is all about the marketing with kids 😉 how to get them to eat something green and with bits that are all bumpy? Call it something gross!
Continuing on with my need to use up what we’ve got in the fridge, pantry and garden because I can’t get to the shops, today’s lunch was a favourite – Troll Scrolls!!
I use the base of my yoghurt dough then add lots of goodies to make these ones, green and bumpy (and extra nutritious).
470g Spelt flour (or 420g GF flour together with 1tbsp psyllium husk)
2.5 tsp GF baking powder
1/2 tsp pink salt
3 tbsp Nutritional Yeast
3 heaped tbsp seeds (I use pumpkin, hemp and flax)
Shredded Cheese of choice (we do both a dairy batch and a Bio Cheese Batch)
In your processor pulse the seeds until they are finely chopped.
Add in the other dry ingredients and process to combine (Speed 4, 8 secs). Then set the dry mix aside.
In your blender/processor/bullet/thermal cooker place the spinach and just 150g of the yoghurt. Blitz until very well combined (Speed 8, 10 seconds, scrape down and repeat) – it’ll look like a very unappealing milkshake at this point!
Add in the remaining yoghurt and process to combine (Speed 4, 6 secs)
Add the dry ingredients back to the wet and process until it forms a dough (Speed 5, 15 seconds), knead together, dust with flour and roll out into a rectangle.
If the dough is too sticky, add in 1 tsp of extra flour at a time and process to combine.
Top the dough rectangle with grated cheese, then roll into a cylinder.
Cut into rounds and lay on a lined baking tray and place into a preheated 200C oven for 18-20 minutes until well risen and golden.
Freeze in an airtight container if you have any leftovers.
For a number of years I have been making a version of my Vegan Sister in-laws “butter chicken” – I know …. butter chicken without the butter and without the chicken!!
Butter chicken would have to be one of my favourite curries, so I was delighted to try out her recipe.
I have adapted her recipe to avoid the things we are are unable use – sometimes I also add in the meat that my husband and daughter so love (you can find that addition below the main recipe). I love being able to use lots of our garden produce in this – home grown onion, garlic, chillies and broad beans! It makes a large batch – enough for 2 meals for all 6 of us. It freezes and thaws well so we have an easy ‘take away’ meal on hand for crazy nights!
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp coconut oil
1 medium brown onion, finely diced
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp tumeric
1 heaped tsp paprika
2 tbsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground cumin
1/3 tsp ground cloves
2Â cloves crushed garlic
3 tsp finely grated ginger
1 1/2 tsp very finely diced red chilli
500g tomato pasata
150g sliced button mushrooms
2 x 400g tins butter beans, drained and rinsed
270ml coconut cream (plus the tin filled up again with hot water)
In a large, heavy based frying pan, heat the oil over a medium heat and add in the onion. Fry until the onion beings to turn translucent.
Add in all of the dry spices and fry for a further minute.
Add in the garlic, ginger and chilli and fry, stirring well, until all combined and fragrant.
Add in the pasatta, deglaze the pan and stir well to combine.
Add in the mushroom and beans, stir well.
Add in the coconut cream, water and seed butter and stir until the mixture is well combined and smooth.
Bring to a simmer for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Serve over rice.
If you would like a meatier version of this meal you will need:
1 tbsp garlic infused oil
4 skinless chicken thighs, diced
1/2 tsp paprika
pinch of salt and pepper.
Before the above steps, heat the oil in the pan and add in the chicken. Season and fry until golden brown and cooked through. Remove from pan and set aside.
Return the chicken to the pan in the last minute or 2 of the simmering time.
Each month when I sit down to write out our menu I ask the kids for input.
Invariably Ellie says ‘Calamari’, George yells ‘Pizza’, Harry yells ‘Everything Mexican’ and Will suggests Fried Rice and lots of veggies.
But this time Will surprised me.
He asked for ‘those long, fat, hollow noddles that you put stuff in and have sauce on top’ 🙂 So here … with the more fancy name of Cannelloni…. was my interpretation of his request!!
800g butternut pumpkin
400g tin chick peas, drained and rinsed
cannelloni tubes (we used the San Remo GF ones)
2 tbsp garlic olive oil
2 tsp fresh chopped rosemary
1/2 tsp pink salt flakes
1/3tsp ground nutmeg
400ml tomato passata
1/2 cup warm veggie stock
2 large handfuls spinach
2 tbsp nutritional yeast
2 tbsp coconut cream
2 tbsp pumpkin seeds
Peel and dice the pumpkin and place in a large baking pan. Drizzle with the olive oil, sprinkle with the salt, nutmeg and rosemary.
Bake in a pre-heated 200C oven for about 40 minutes.
Remove tray from oven and add in the chick peas, toss them with the pumpkin and return to the oven for a further 15 minutes.
Remove from the oven and turn oven down to 180C. Mash the pumpkin and chick peas and then place into a piping bag.
Fill the cannelloni tubes with the pumpkin mix an then lay in a baking dish.
In a blender/processor/bullet/thermal cooker, place the passata, spinach, nutritional yeast, stock and coconut cream and process until smooth.
Pour the tomato sauce over the top of the filled cannelloni and sprinkle with pumpkin seeds and return to the oven to bake for 30 minutes.
You already know how much we enjoy Mexican inspired food here …. And now, as we seek to reduce the meat in our diets, we have added these Nachos to our favourites.
These are totally plant based … And yet, the biggest carnivore says they are better than the ones we had out the other night …. Winner!
They are easy to make, inexpensive and pack a serious veggie punch!
At the moment our lives are so very busy and although I hate to admit it, I am really stretched beyond my capacity … so there is not a lot of room in my head for thinking about complicated food.
Today I am thankful indeed for meals like this – it is one of those filling and satisfying meals that comes with very little actual effort! Everything dumped in the slow cooker and dinner is pretty well ready at 5.30am. Phew! It’s not fancy, but it is nutritious, yummy, filling, allergy friendly and budget friendly …. everything we need it to be!
4 chicken thighs, skinless and boneless
1kg pumpkin
1 400g tin chick peas, drained
500g tomato passata*
1/2 cup hot chicken stock
1 tsp minced garlic
1 heaped tbsp Moroccan Seasoning (I make this one)
Juice from 1 small lemon
2 cups green beans, chopped
Optional: 4 medjool dates, diced
rice or corn cous cous to serve.
*If you don’t have passata, you can replace it here with a 425g tin diced tomatoes and 2 tbsp tomato paste.
Dice the pumpkin and place it in the bottom of the slow cooker, then drain and rinse the chick peas and place them on top of the pumpkin.
Place the chicken on top of the veggies and sprinkle over the seasoning.
Cover with the passata, hot stock and garlic and place on the lid.
Cook on high for 4 hours.
Remove lid and use forks to shred the chicken. Stir through the dates, if using, and beans, the return the lid and look on low for a further 45mins.
Stir through the lemon juice and serve with rice or cous cous.
Makes about 8 adult serves and the left overs freeze and defrost well.
Hotcakes are a regular feature on our breakfast menu – especially on the weekend when we have a little more time together.
I have made lots of different versions over time, Vanilla Almond hotcakes have been our standard, but these one are free of any oil or butter and the mild sweetness comes only from fruit. A great source of fibre and they’ll fill you up and keep you fuelled for ages!
The kids love them and they freeze really well, so they are great to pop into lunchboxes.
This recipe makes a large batch …. I have given up on making batches that are any smaller since they are so quickly demolished here and I never wind up with any left overs to freeze. This makes 45-50 hotcakes. But go ahead and halve the recipe if you don’t have quite as large a hungry hoard to feed!!
3 cups, wholemeal spelt flour OR 2 1/2 cups plain GF flour mix
2 3/4 – 3 cups milk of choice (we like unsweetened vanilla almond)
1/2 cup boiling water
1 tsp vanilla bean paste
butter of choice to serve
Place the dates in a small container, cover with the boiling water and add the vanilla. Set aside.
In your processor/blender/bullet/thermal cooker, place the seeds and oats and blitz until fine (Speed 9, 10 seconds).
Add in the baking powder and flour and mix again until well combined (Speed 5, 12 seconds).
Pour out dry mixture into a large bowl and set aside.
In your processor/blender/bullet/thermal cooker, place the dates and water, banana, seed butter, milk and blend, blend, blend until very smooth (Speed 7, 10 seconds, scrape down and repeat). Start by using the smaller amount of milk.
Pour the wet mix into the dry mix and whisk together until smooth*, if the mixture is too thick, add in the remaining amount of milk and whisk in.
*This whole mixture is too much for the bowl of a thermal cooker. But if you are making a half batch, at this point just add the dry mixture back into the wet mixture that is still in the bowl and mix on speed 4, scraping down every 10 seconds until it is well mixed and smooth.
Pour the batter into a hot, lightly greased frying pan, wait until bubbles appear on the surface, then flip and cook until both sides are golden brown.
These are the go to chocolate fix in our house. They are miss Ellie’s absolutely favourite and she usually pinches a couple of balls worth of mix from the machine before I even get to roll them! And mister George has learned how to find them in the fridge very quickly when mummy goes out to the washing line 😉
Quick and easy to whip up and they are actually a satisfying choc fix that won’t lead to a sugar crash later down the track!
See below the main recipe for my Christmas variation too!
200g natural almonds OR roasted sunflower seeds
50g pepitas
30g hemp seeds*
30g cocoa powder (or 20g cacao)
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla bean paste
12 medjool dates, pitted (roughly 300g)
Mixed spice coconut sugar for dusting (optional).
*If you aren’t using hemp seeds, just use 80g pumpkin seeds.
If you are using sunflower seeds in place of the almonds, toast them first, either in a dry frying pan or under the grill in the oven until they are golden. Watch them carefully – they don’t take long!
Place almonds, seeds, cocoa and cinnamon in the food processor and process until fine and crumbly. (Speed 10, 10 secs)
Add dates and vanilla beans  through chute at the top whilst processing and continue until well combined. (Use speed 4 whilst adding the dates then increase slowly up to speed 6 for 15 sec on bursts)
The ‘wetness’ of the mixture hugely depends on the moisture content and size of the dates you use, so test the mixture – when squeezed together it should easily form into a ball. Mine was slightly too dry so I needed an addition of 1 tsp water and another quick blitz.
Tip – if your dates are really cold from the fridge they won’t be as sticky. Either allow them to come to room temperature, or pop them in the microwave for just a few seconds until they are at room temperature – they’ll bind much more effectively!
Form the mixture into small balls and then roll in a covering if you desire. We mostly leave these plain, but occasionally we make up a mix of coconut sugar and mixed spice (about a 5:1 ratio) and sprinkle it over.
Makes about 20. Store in an airtight container in the fridge. They can keep for 2 weeks … not likely in my house 😀
If you’re in a hurry and don’t have the time to roll balls, press the mix firmly into a baking dish and pop in the freezer for half an hour begged cutting into squares.
For a Christmassy flavoured bliss ball: Remove 1 date and replace it with a small handful of dried cranberries. Replace the vanilla with the finely grated zest of half an orange  and replace the cinnamon with 1/3 tsp of ground cloves.
Itchin' Kitchen 