Weekend Waffles

May 26, 2024May 25, 2024 ~ desertcook ~ Leave a comment

You can find waffles recipes pretty much everywhere.

They’re not new.

So why would I share my waffle recipe? 👩‍🍳

Well, my family LOVE them. But also, this is Itchin’ Kitchen version. I have worked at making them more nutritious and more filling. Plus giving you allergy friendly options.

Let me be clear – there is absolutely nothing wrong with regular waffles. NOTHING. If you love your waffles, then you keep going 👍

But I have big, super active teens and kids who are always hungry. So at the moment, my priority is working at ways to get my kids the nutrients they need to function well, to keep them full AND to do it in ways that will not break my budget (good luck right?!).

These waffles have more protein, more heart healthy fats, more fibre and are lower in sugar than your standard waffle, BUT importantly they still taste delicious!

1 1/2 cups self raising flour
1/2 cup almond meal
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/3 cup hemp seeds
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 medium banana, very ripe
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla bean paste
1 cup milk
25g butter, melted

Mix together all of the dried ingredients in a large bowl and set aside.

Into blender/bullet/thermomix, place the banana, eggs, vanilla and milk. Blend until very smooth (Speed 5, 8 secs).

Add the wet mix to the dry mix and mix until well combined (Speed 4, 12 secs. Scrape down and process again for 5 seconds if necessary). The mix doesn’t need beating.

Add in the melted butter and mix until well combined (Speed 4, 5 secs).

Into a preheated waffle maker, place approx 1/2 cup mixture of the batter, and cook until golden brown – this usually takes a couple of minutes, and I like to flip the waffle part way through to get an even colour … but that might just be my waffle maker!

Serve warm with your favourite toppings. Nut or seed better with berries is my favourite, and it will help to keep those tummies satisfied. Chopped banana and a drizzle of honey is great too

Makes 5-6 depending on size … I usually (ok, always!) make a double batch 😆

To freeze, allow to cool completely and then lay on a paper towel in a single layer inside a ziplock bag. A great solution for when a speedy school day breakfast is required.

Need Gluten free? Use the same amount of a one-to-one GF flour blend, or use 1 1/3 cups of a standard GF, SR flour mix.

Need Dairy Free? Use equal quantities of a plant based milk (look for high protein and calcium fortified – we use high protein soy or almond mostly), and a vegan butter.

Need Egg Free? Use an egg placement mix (the Orgran one is great), or use another 1/2 a ripe banana and 3 tbsp of aquafaba. Add the egg replacement mix or the aquafaba in at the same time that you would add the butter, not at the blending stage.

Need Nut Free? Replace the almond meal with a seed meal, or 1/2 cup of roughly blended oats.

Enjoy 🙂

Hemp Crusted Salmon

May 22, 2024May 21, 2024 ~ desertcook ~ 2 Comments

Sounds kinda fancy … but it is super simple!

Literally 4 ingredients and less than 15 minutes from start to finish. Woo!

This delicious meal with salmon, olive oil and hemp seeds gives you an incredibly nutritious meal that is high in protein, packed with heart, brain and skin healthy omega 3 fats, plus fibre and a whole slew of vitamins and minerals.

So if you need a simple week night meal that is quick to get on the table, allergy friendly, nutritious and delicious – this is your meal!

1 salmon fillet per person (we prefer skin on)
1 tsp lemon olive oil per fillet
1 tsp coconut aminos per fillet
1 tbsp hemp seeds per fillet

Lay the salmon on paper towel and pat it dry on both sides.

Mix together the oil and aminos and then place the salmon into the oil mix to coat the flesh surface.

Then dip the salmon into the hemp seeds so that they stick well to the oil.

Place the salmon skin side down (seeds up) onto a hot baking tray and place into a 200C oven, and bake for about 12-14 minutes.

Have an air fryer? Cook in air fryer, skin side down, on 200C for 8 minutes.

Serve immediately with;

*a fresh crunchy salad,

*steamed greens,

*boiled baby potatoes,

*potato wedges,

*grilled corn on the cob, or

*a lentil salad.

Want a little extra zing? Drizzle the finished salmon with some chilli olive oil, or add chilli flakes to the oil mix at the start.

Enjoy 🙂

Speedy Taco Soup

May 15, 2024 ~ desertcook ~ Leave a comment

Managing our food budget is a priority for our family …. but so is eating delicious and nutritious food. Which means we always pack lunches not just for the kids at school, but for the adults too.

And I am excited to have the second of my 2 new winter soups to share with you today

Welcome to Speedy Taco Soup! I crunched the numbers for you – this DELICIOUS batch, even including the oil and the seasonings, cost me a total of $16.80 to make. That is 6 lunches, each with 20g of protein and a great serve of gut loving fibre, for $2.80each. Yay!

500g lean beef mince
400g tin black beans
400g tin pinto beans
820g tin condensed tomato soup
1 medium brown onion
3 cloves garlic (or just measure if with your heart!)
2 tsp olive oil
1 1/4 soup tins boiling water
1 tbsp Mexican seasoning mix

Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan.

Dice the onion and add to the oil. Cook in medium heat, stirring occasionally until the onion is golden.

Add in the finely chopped garlic. Cook for 2 minutes.

Add the mince to the onion mixture, break it down well and cook until browned all over.

Drain then add the tins of beans, then stir in the seasoning and mix well.

Now add the soup and then boiling water.

Keep at a gentle simmer for about 15 minutes.

Serve warm or divide in to shallow containers and freeze.

Serves 6

Need a bigger meal?

-Double the beans for very little additional cost, but a good serve more of fibre and protein.

-Add a hand full of grated cheese at serving time to the hot soup to boost the fats and protein to help with satiety, or

-Divide the meal into 4. You’ll then get 30g of protein and it will still cost you only $4.20 for lunch.

Enjoy 🙂

Cereal Bars

May 9, 2024May 9, 2024 ~ desertcook ~ Leave a comment

Knowing that I am always on the look out for delicious, nutritious food to feed my crew, my awesome Mum saw a recipe for a cereal bar on Facebook and tagged me in it:

They did look good – but I needed to make it fit our needs (and likes), so 15 minutes after I saw her tag I had my version in the oven! 😆 You can find the original version here on Weetbix

It’s a great high energy, nutrient dense bar, that works really well (like you can see above) to fuel the biggest one who regularly does a day that includes school sport, 10km of bike riding, a game of footy immediately followed by an hour of parkour training. Yes. All in the same day. He is 15, 6 foot 2 and ACTIVE!

Mr Itchin’ Kitchen thinks they are delicious and has been happily taking them in his work lunchbox too.

The ingredients are all pantry staples for us and you can buy all of them at your regular grocery store.

3 Weet-Bix, crushed (we use the sorghum gluten free Weet-Bix)
50g butter/plant based butter
125ml honey/maple syrup
100g pumpkin seeds
2 heaped tbsp hemp seeds
2 heaped tbsp chia seeds
50g dried apricots, diced
50g medjool dates, diced
1 tsp vanilla bean paste
75g rolled oats*
75g self-raising flour (plain or Gluten Free)

Melt the butter, honey and vanilla over gentle heat. (Saucepan or microwave).

Add in the chia seeds, stir well and allow to sit for 5 minutes to thicken.

Mix together the remaining dry ingredients and dried fruit in a separate bowl.

Pour the dry mixture into the wet and combine until all of the dry mix is moistened. It will initially seem like not enough liquid, but keep stirring.

Place the mixture into a lined 20cm tin and smooth the surface, pressing down firmly with damp hands.

Bake in a 160°C oven for about 25-30 minutes or until golden. Leave in the tin for 20minutes to cool before slicing.

We cut this one into 10 bars.

Need it Gluten Free? Make sure you use a gluten free flour and use equal weight of either rolled quinoa or shredded coconut in place of the oats

Enjoy 🙂

Chicken and eggplant stew

October 17, 2020 ~ desertcook ~ Leave a comment

This is simple, delicious comfort food.

Packed with veggies and flavour. We love this dinner because we both leave it thick and chunky for the adults, and also put some through a quick spin in the food processor to give a ‘chicken bolognese style sauce’ for the less, ah, amenable kiddos!

It’s a pretty forgiving and flexible dish so the quantities are pretty rough!

5-6 Chicken boneless thighs, skin removed
1 tbsp garlic flavoured olive oil
1 medium brown onion, finely chopped
Fresh thyme, basil and rosemary, finely chopped (or about 2 tsp dried Italian Style herbs)
1/2 tsp dried chill flakes (optional)
1 large eggplant (about 800g), diced
1 tsp salt
12-15 button mushrooms, or 6-8 larger field mushrooms, diced
1 cup passata
1 heaped tbsp tomato paste
2 large handfuls of fresh spinach
ground black pepper to taste

Start with the eggplant – it needs some time to draw out the moisture to stop it going rubbery when you cook it.

Dice the eggplant, and place it in a draining sieve. Sprinkle it with the salt and leave to sit for 30 minutes. You will see lots of moisture on the surface and dripping down into the sink. Pat dry with a paper towel.

Heat the oil in a large frying pan, add in the onion and cook over medium heat until it starts to brown. Add in the diced chicken, sprinkle with herbs and chilli then cook over a medium heat until the chicken starts to brown.

Add in the eggplant and stir well to combine.

Now add in the mushroom and stir them through. Cook over a medium heat, stirring occasionally, for a few minutes until the eggplant and mushrooms cook down.

Now add in the passata and paste, stir well and allow to simmer for about 10 minutes. Then add in the spinach and stir well to combine.

You only need to cook down the spinach for another 2 minutes before you’re ready to serve.

Serve the stew on its own, over pasta or zucchini noodles. Our kids eat this best when we pop in in the food processor and roughly process it so it is less chunky and more of a sauce. They enjoy it with pasta and little bit of grated cheese.

Makes about 6 adult serves. It freezes and defrosts fairly well, but also keeps well in the fridge for a couple of days for left over lunches.

Enjoy 🙂

Lunchbox Apple Slice

September 7, 2020August 29, 2020 ~ desertcook ~ 3 Comments

I love this slice because it is fragrant and lightly sweet, uses only the things that I always have in my cupboard so it is inexpensive, you can have it in the oven in 5 minutes flat and it is really simple to make it allergy friendly.

And even better … my kiddo who has an Oral Allergy Syndrome reaction to raw apple can tolerate some cooked apple so everyone in our family can share!

**See below the main recipe for allergy friendly swaps and more options**

2 large apples
2 cups of flour (I use spelt and do half wholemeal)**
2 tsp GF baking powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 cup sugar (I like coconut sugar for the caramel taste)
3/4 cup rolled oats
185g melted butter

Mix together all of the dry ingredients.

Add in the melted butter, then core and dice (but don’t peel) the apples and mix them through.

Press them mix firmly into a greased 20×20 baking dish and place in a preheated 180C for about 25 minutes.

Allow to cool for 5 minutes in the tin before moving to a wire rack.

Cut into about 16 squares and serve warm or cold.

To change it up:

Gluten Free – replace the flour with 1 3/4 cup of a gluten free flour mix plus 1 tsp of psyllium husk. Then replace the oats with shredded coconut or puffed rice.

Dairy Free – use a plant based butter

Can’t do apples? Pears are a great switch

Want something a bit fancier? Crumble some chopped almonds over the top and sprinkle with a tsp of extra sugar before baking and serve warm, with custard.

Got a super sweet tooth? Add in 6 chopped medjool dates or 1/2 cup of sultanas

Not sending it to school? Replace 1/2 a cup of the flour with almond meal

Enjoy 🙂

Eggplant Lasagne (with killer cauliflower ‘cheese’ sauce!)

August 31, 2020August 11, 2021 ~ desertcook ~ Leave a comment

I did not grow up in a family that ate lasagne much – but my husband did! It was my lovely mother-in-law’s go to dish!

He has missed it since we were married, so I’ve worked hard at making a dish that we both enjoy AND fits all of our dietary needs. This one is also a winner with the kids – and the left overs taste even better the next day!

Heads up – this is in no way a traditional lasagne, I’m not event pretending it is … in fact I have had friends tell me that I am not allowed to call it lasagne if it doesn’t have either pasta or cheese … sorry … I’m going do it anyway!!

**Check out below the main recipe to see how I make this one completely plant based**

This is a meal that takes a little more time and fiddling in the kitchen than I normally like, but the end result is worth it and it does make 10 large and very filling servings, so I’ll allow it!

1 tbsp garlic olive oil
1 small brown onion, diced (about 125g)
OPTIONAL: 1/2 tsp dried chilli flakes
1kg beef mince
400g tin brown lentils, drained and rinsed
1 medium zucchini (about 1.5 cups chopped)
150g fresh spinach
200g button mushrooms
400g tin red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
70g tomato paste,
1 tsp dried oregano
salt to taste
Large egg plant (about 1kg)
spray olive oil
125g grated cheese (dairy or vegan)

For the Sauce:

1 large cauliflower (approx 900g-1kg), roughly cut up
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp dried onion flakes
1/2 tsp dried garlic flakes
1 cup high protein almond milk (or soy or dairy milk if they suit you)
1 cup hot veggie stock
4 heaped tbsp nutritional yeast
Salt to taste

Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan. Add in the onion and garlic flakes. (Steam Temp, speed 1, set for 15 minutes)

Then add in the cauliflower and stir well to coat in the oil. (Turn up to speed 2)

Add in the milk and stock and cover, allowing to come to a gently simmer. (Leave in Steam temp, speed 2 with the m/c off)

Simmer for 10-15 minutes or until the cauliflower is soft and you can easily pierce it with a fork.

Add in the nutritional yeast and then use an immersion blender to mix until smooth – you can transfer to a blender if you need to but be VERY careful! (Start by turning off the temperature function and gradually build to speed 8 until very smooth).

Taste the sauce and add a little salt to taste (dairy cheese is quite salty and when you remove it you need to add in a little salt to help with flavour). Set the sauce aside.

Onto the meat mix:

Start by creating the veggie mix you’ll stir in to the meat.

In your food processor or thermo cooker, add in the zucchini, spinach, mushrooms, kidney beans and tomato paste, then blitz until quite fine. (Speed 6, 8 seconds, scrape down and repeat until you get your desired consistency). Set aside.

In a large frying pan heat the olive oil then add in the diced onion and cook, stirring until translucent.

Add in the beef mince and herbs/spices. Break it up well and when it has roughly browned, add in the lentils and mix well.

Now add in the whole processed veggie mix to the meat mix and stir very well.

Bring to a gentle simmer for about 15 minutes.

Now the egg plant while the meat is simmering:

Slice finely. Lay on a baking tray, spray with a little olive oil, sprinkle with a little salt and place under the grill in your oven.

Once the top side is golden brown (it only takes a few minutes), turn over and cook the other side.

The remove from the oven and set aside.

Now build the layers:

Lightly grease a large baking dish (I actually use 2 – awesome for freezing one too!)

Layer half of the meat mix into the bottom, then lay down half of the egg plant, then half of the cheese sauce and then repeat.

Then sprinkle either dairy or vegan grated cheese over the top.

Pop into the preheated 180C oven (fair warning …. you’re best to place it on a baking tray to catch any drips or bubbling sauce!) for about 30 minutes or until golden and bubbling – a quick minute under a grill at the end really helps to give you golden cheese, especially if you are using a plant based cheese.

Slice and serve…. and Enjoy!

**If you want to make this meal completely plant based: I use my lentil bolognese recipe but I omit the pasata (other wise there is too much liquid)**

*Of course, if you just want dairy free but you still love your pasta, then go ahead and use whichever lovely, fresh sheets suit you.

*And if you are not an eggplant fan but you still need a Gluten Free option, then I have used both of these Orgran and San Remo Lasagne sheets in the past.

If Macros are important to you here are the details for 1 serve – that is 1/10th of the meat based meal (I have kept the cauliflower ‘cheese’ sauce separate as I know people like to use it in other dishes!). You will just need to additionally factor in whichever cheese you use on top.

Simple Pumpkin Soup

August 10, 2020August 9, 2020 ~ desertcook ~ Leave a comment

Hooray for soup weather!

This is a soup-er simple meal, really inexpensive and delicious. A pretty mild soup, so it is very kid friendly too.

400g Cauliflower (1 medium size), roughly chopped
1.2kg Butternut pumpkin roughly chopped
1/2 small brown onion (about 60g), diced
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1 tbsp garlic infused olive oil
2 tbsp veggie stock paste
10 cups boiling water
225g cream cheese (*dairy, soy or nut based – you can even use a light silken tofu here)

If you don’t have stock paste you can use 3 cups liquid stock and then only 7 cups water.

Heat the oil in a large saucepan then add in the onion and cook, stirring, until it is soft and golden.

Add in the cauliflower and pumpkin plus the stock paste and stir well. Cook down for about 3 minutes then add in the boiling water.

Cover and simmer for about 20 minutes or until the veggies are very soft. *If you need a quicker cooking time you can give the veggies a quick blitz in your food processor first.

Remove from the heat and add in the cream cheese. Use an immersion blender to blend until the soup is very smooth. If you are using a blender/thermo cooker/bullet machine to blend – BE VERY CAREFUL! Allow it to cool quite a bit first and then do small batches.

I love to serve mine topped with roasted pumpkin seeds and pine nuts (switch hemp seeds for nut free) …. Just pop the seeds in a hot, dry frying pan and cook, stirring, for a couple of minutes until they are golden brown. Sprinkle on the soup and if you want a little extra kick … sprinkle on a little pinch of chilli flakes!

Serves 12.

If Macros are important to you, here they are for 1 serve (roughly 2 ladles of soup) , worked out for the dairy based cream cheese – not including the seed topping.

This will last several days in the fridge, or it freezes and defrosts well.

Enjoy 🙂

Lamb Koftas

July 25, 2020December 29, 2020 ~ desertcook ~ Leave a comment

We don’t heat a huge amount of red meat, but a few months back, my biggest boy was reading and the characters in the book described the Lamb Koftas they were eating.

Will had never heard of them before so he asked me about them and then asked me to make them.

They were very simple to make and a winner of a meal with 6 empty plates, so they have been added to the menu and we hope you like them as much as we do!

500g lamb mince
120g chick peas, drained and rinsed
1 small brown onion
2-3 clove cloves garlic
1 tsp tahini
1 tbsp hemp seeds
1 medium carrot
1 large handful spinach
1/2 tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp dried paprika
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2-1 tsp dried chilli flakes (depending on the amount of bite you like)
2 tsp finely grated lemon zest
good pinch salt

Optional: Dressing of Minted yoghurt (see below the recipe) and crunch of toasted pine nuts or pumpkin seeds

Into your food processor/thermo cooker, place the onion, garlic, chick peas, lemon, seeds, tahini, carrot, spinach and all of the herbs and spices.

Process until they are finely chopped (Speed 4, 8 seconds, scrape down and repeat)

While the machine is still processing, add in the lamb in through the top opening and process until the mixture is very well combined and quite smooth.

Place the mixture into a bowl, cover and place in the fridge for at least an hour (over night is fine). This will help the mixture to hold together without egg as a binder.

Divide the mixture into 12 and form in to small fat sausage shapes.

Place on a lined baking tray, spray or brush with a little olive oil and bake at 180C for about 40 minutes, turning them over after 30 minutes.

We like to serve ours with ribbons of carrot and cucumber.

We also used minted yoghurt as a dressing (you can used which ever kind of unflavoured yoghurt fits your dietary needs). About 4 tbsp mixed with 2 tsp of finely torn fresh mint.

Top with toasted pine nuts (or pumpkin seeds).

If Macros are important to you here are the details. Each serve is 1 kofta (that is 1/12 of the mix)

Enjoy 🙂

Baked Veggie Omelette

June 24, 2020June 24, 2020 ~ desertcook ~ Leave a comment

A little while ago I posted my Salmon Tart and I have had a few requests for a vegetarian version.

So, here is a my baked veggie omelette – you’ll need a frying pan that can transfer from the stove top into an oven.

I tend to make tarts like these so I have them on hand work work lunches – delicious cold or warm . Or if you’re in a rush, grab a couple of slices out of the fridge and steam some extra greens – speedy and filling dinner!

8 medium eggs
1 large zucchini
12 swiss brown mushrooms, finely sliced
250g spinach
1 tsp olive oil
1 tbsp nutritional yeast
salt and pepper to taste
Optional: 50g grated tasty cheese

Heat the oil in the frying pan, then slice the zucchini into rounds and place into the frying pan.

Fry for 1 minutes until the first side is golden, then flip over the zucchini before adding in the mushrooms to the pan. Cook, stirring for another minute until the mushrooms start to soften. Then add the spinach to the pan.

20200621_112148 — it’s a LOT of spinach!

Add in the salt, pepper and nutritional yeast and stir through to make sure the veggies are evenly coated.

Whisk together the eggs and then pour evenly over the veggies.

Turn the frying pan to a gentle heat and allow to cook until the side of the omelette just start to pull away from the sides of the pan – the top of the omelette will still be very wet at this point.

Sprinkle the top with cheese if you wish before popping it in a pre-heated 180C oven for about 10 minutes or until the top just stops wobbling … Remember that the eggs will keep cooking while it is warm so if you leave it in the oven for too long you’ll get a rubbery omelette.