Chickpea Minestrone Soup

With the warmer months behind us and the cooler weather setting in, there is nothing better than a nice hearty bowl of soup to warm you from the inside out. The recipe below came together after pulling out of the fridge the bits and pieces that I had. It is a great basis for a vegetable soup that can be changed and altered to suit whatever vegetables you have on hand. I personally like to add some chilli flakes for that extra pow!

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 leek, sliced and washed
3 celery stalks, diced
2 zucchini, diced
½ cauliflower, cut into small florets
1 tin diced tomatoes
1 tin chickpeas, drained and rinsed
salt and pepper to taste
1 teaspoon cumin
500ml vegetable stock
100g baby spinach leaves

Method:
Heat olive oil in heavy based saucepan.
Add leek and celery and sauté for approximately 5 minutes.
Add the remainder of the vegetables, seasoning, diced tomatoes and chickpeas and toss well.
Pour in vegetable stock and bring to the boil. Once boiling, reduce heat to a simmer for approximately 30 minutes until the vegetables are soft and tender.
Add spinach leaves and simmer for a further 5 minutes.
Remove from heat and serve.
Can be served with toasted bread.

Serves 4-6

Tumeric Roasted Cauliflower Salad

I live for salads, but they can sometimes be quite time consuming to put together. So when I was thinking about this one, my aim was to come up with a salad that had little ingredients, was easy to put together but tasted amazing. In my opinion the recipe below has met the brief. This salad can be a meal on it’s own or used as a delicious accompaniment to the rest of your meal. Try it and let me know what you think.

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon olive oil
½ teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon turmeric
¼ teaspoon salt
1 cauliflower, cut into florets
1 tin lentils, rinsed and drained
½ cup green olives
handful fresh parsley, chopped
cracked pepper to taste
sprinkle chilli flakes

Dressing:
¼ cup tahini
½ garlic clove, crushed
½ lemon juiced
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ cup filtered water

Method:
Preheat oven to 180 degrees.
Mix oil, cumin, turmeric and salt together to form a paste.
Toss cauliflower florets in paste making sure all the cauliflower has been covered well.
Bake in oven for approximately 30 minutes until cauliflower starts to brown.
Whilst cauliflower is cooking, prepare dressing by placing all ingredients in a blender and mix until smooth consistency. You may need to add more water in small amounts to achieve the desired consistency.
Once cauliflower has finished cooking, transfer to salad bowl and combine the remainder of the ingredients.
Drizzle salad with tahini dressing.

Serves 4

Choc-Mint Smoothie

The flavour combination of chocolate and mint is a classic. This smoothie is rich in antioxidants, and provides so much nourishment, it will keep you feeling full for hours.

Ingredients:
1.5 cups almond or cashew mylk
½ frozen banana
2 pitted dates
2 tablespoons cacao nibs
1 tablespoon cacao
½ tablespoon flaxseeds
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
Few drops peppermint essence
Few fresh mint leaves
Handful spinach leaves

Method:
Place all ingredients in a high speed blender and blend until smooth.
If you prefer a little crunch, hold off from adding the cacao nibs until the end and then pulse them in for a few seconds.

Serves 1

Tamari Marinated Salmon

Over the past year I have found it increasingly difficult to eat Asian inspired foods out in a restaurant as all the sauces and marinades are packed with refined sugar and if you ask for adjustments to be made, the usual response is that they can’t accommodate as the food will be very bland and they prefer for me not to have that experience. However Asian food does not have to be bland at all without the inclusion of refined sugar. Try out this recipe and let me know what you think.

Ingredients

4 x 180g Salmon fillets
½ cup tamari
1 garlic glove minced
1-2 tablespoons raw honey (depending on how sweet you like it)
¼ teaspoon sea salt
2 tablespoons sesame seeds

Method:

Prepare marinade by combining tamari, garlic, honey, salt and sesame seeds.
Marinade salmon for up to 30 minutes prior to cooking.
Preheat oven to 180 degrees.
Prepare salmon by placing skin side down on tray lined with baking paper.
Bake for 15-20 minutes depending on how you like to eat your salmon.

Serves 4

Healthy Natural Muesli

For most of us, mornings are a rush to get out of the house. Whether it's to get the kids to school, or to get to work on time, breakfast - which is the most important meal of the day - needs to be a quick and easy meal. After a good night's sleep where our metabolism has slowed down, the first meal of the day needs to kickstart it and get us going for the day. That's why this muesli is such a great option. Once completed, it's sitting there waiting for you in the fridge. The combinations are endless depending on your taste, but here is a simple well balanced recipe to get you started.

Ingredients

250g organic oats
100g almonds, flaked
100g walnuts, chopped
100g sunflower seeds
200g dried fruit (I like to use a combination of mulberries, apple, jumbo raisins, & apricots)
2 tablespoons flaxseed meal
1 tablespoon chia seed
Pinch of cinnamon
Pinch of ground vanilla



Method:

Combine ingredients and store in a glass container in the fridge until needed.

Muesli can be stored for 1 month.

Serves 10

Acai Bowl

Acai berries are considered one of the healthiest berries and one of nature's superfoods. They are low in sugar, anti-oxidant rich, and high in calcium, fibre, iron and vitamin K. The properties contained in acai berries are linked to the prevention of health problems such as arthritis, inflammation, obesity, heart disease, oxidative stress and cancer. With each mouthful you get that burst of chocolate, berry flavour, so no wonder why people question whether it actually is healthy!

Ingredients

1 cup coconut water / almond mylk
1 packet frozen acai
½ frozen banana
¼ cup blueberries
1 handful spinach
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon macca (optional)

Method
Place all ingredients in a high speed blender. Blend until smooth.
Pour into a bowl and serve with toppings such as shredded coconut, fresh berries, cacao nibs, granola or chia seeds.

Serves 1

Baba Ganoush

Middle Eastern Cuisine has always been a favourite of mine. The food is so fresh and bursting with flavours. I will always have a freshly made dip in the fridge ready as an option for a snack. A little extra time is needed to make my baba ganoush dip due to the initial roasting of the eggplant, but at the end of it, you will be thankful that you made it.

Ingredients

2 large eggplants, roasted
½ lemon, juiced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon cumin
2 tablespoons tahini
salt and pepper to taste

Method
Preheat oven to 200 degrees. Pin prick the eggplant and place on a baking tray in the oven, roasting for 35-45 minutes until the eggplant begins to look sunken.
Place eggplant in a bowl of cold water once removed from oven and wait a few minutes.
Once eggplant has cooled slightly, peel the skin away and add the flesh to a blender.
Add all other ingredients and blend until nice and smooth. Adjust seasoning as required.

Makes approximately 1.5 cups

Chicken Bruschetta Style

Italian meets Greek in this one pot wonder. The flavour combination of the oregano seasoned chicken cooked in a classic tomato and basil sauce will make you want to go back for seconds. This dish can be prepared one day ahead to allow the flavour to be absorbed, and is also a dish that freezes well (if there are any leftovers!).

Ingredients

8 chicken steaks
2 tablespoons dried oregano
salt and pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil
8-10 Roma tomatoes, chopped
6 cloves of garlic, crushed
½ cup fresh basil, chopped

Method

Prepare chicken steaks by cutting them in half and seasoning with oregano, salt and pepper.
Heat the oil in a heavy based saucepan that can be also transferred to the oven.
Brown the chicken steaks on each side for 3-4 minutes. Whilst the chicken is cooking, prepare your tomatoes, garlic and basil, mixing them together in a bowl and seasoning with salt and pepper.
Remove the chicken steaks and keep aside.
Pre-heat oven to 180 degrees.
In the same saucepan, place your tomato mixture and simmer on low heat for 5-6 minutes, stirring constantly.
Return chicken to saucepan, cover and place in the oven to cook for 35-40 minutes until chicken is tender. Check regularly to ensure that chicken is covered in sauce.

Serves 8

Kale and Papaya Salad

This recipe was inspired by my visit to the local fruit and vegetable store. It’s simple with only a few ingredients, but exotic. This is the first time that I have used papaya in any of my dishes, but now that I have found it, I think it may become a regular. The sweetness of it really balances out the bitterness of the kale.

Ingredients

1 bunch kale, de-stemmed and washed
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon lemon juice
½ teaspoon salt
¼ papaya, deseeded and thinly sliced
1 carrot, peeled and grated
2 spring onions, sliced diagonally
1 tablespoon sesame seeds

Dressing
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon sesame oil
2 tablespoons brown rice vinegar
1 tablespoon miso paste
1 teaspoon honey
1 garlic clove, minced

Method
Prepare dressing by placing all ingredients in a small jar and mix well. Set aside.
Place kale in a bowl and massage in the oil, lemon and salt until kale is soft.
Add the remainder of the salad ingredients.
When ready to serve, drizzle with dressing and mix well.

Serves 4

Cherry Ripe Smoothie

Who doesn’t like a little indulgence in the morning? This recipe brings me back to my childhood days where I used to enjoy the odd cherry ripe every now and again. There’s no guilt in this “guilty pleasure”, as the creation of this smoothie enables me to still get the flavour combination that I love (chocolate and cherries), whilst nourishing my body from the inside out.

Ingredients:
1 cup frozen cherries
1 cup almond mylk
1 large ripe or frozen banana
1 tablespoon cacao
2 pitted dates
1 tablespoon almond butter
1 tablespoon cacao nibs

Method:
Place all ingredients except for the cacao nibs into a high speed blender and blend until smooth.
Add cacao nibs and pulse one or two times. This adds a great crunch to the smoothie.

Serves 1

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