These little biscuits are so delicious, I strongly recommend making a double batch! They have all those lovely Christmas flavours while still being pretty good on the nutrition front - enjoy
Makes 12 bisciuts Ingredients: 1 1/4 cup oat flour (grind your own in a food processor or with a mix stick. Whole oats would work fine too) 1 teaspoon baking powder 1 tablespoon ground flaxmeal 1/4 cup desiccated coconut 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon 2 teaspoons ground ginger 1/4 cup sunflower seeds 1 large carrot, peeled and finely grated 1/2 an orange, juice and zest 1 tablespoon honey 1 tablespoon coconut oil, melted *Optional 1/2 cup of dark chocolate melted Method: Preheat an oven to 180 degrees. In a large mixing bowl combine oat flour, baking powder, flaxmeal, coconut, cinnamon, ginger, carrot , sun flower seeds and orange zest. Stir well to combine. In a small mixing bowl combine coconut oil, honey and orange juice. Stir vigorously to combine and pour into oat flour mixture. Mix well until all ingredients are well combined and sticking together. Spray a baking tray lightly with oil. Roll 1 tablespoon sized balls of the mixture, press flat and arrange on the tray. Once all mixture is arranged on the tray, place in preheated oven for about 30mins or until biscuits are lightly golden. Allow to cool and serve. *If desired, dip the edge of each biscuit into melted chocolate to coat. Arrange on a plate and refrigerate until the chocolate has set before serving
0 Comments
Ingredients: 3/4 cup self raising flour 5 Weetbix, crushed 3/4 cup dried dates, chopped 50g butter, melted 1 orange 1/4 cup of milk 1/4 cup desiccated coconut 1/4 cup ground flaxmeal 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon *1 - 2 tablespoon of sugar to taste optional (I didn't use any) Method:
Pre-heat an oven to 160 degrees and line a slice pan with baking paper. In a large mixing bowl combine flour, crushed weetbix, dates, coconut, flaxmeal and cinnamon. Stir well to combine. Remove the zest from the orange and set aside. Cut the remaining peel from the orange and place the flesh into a food processor and puree. Combine the pureed orange with the melted butter and milk in a small mixing bowl. Add the wet mixture to the dry mixture and combine well. Once combined press into the prepared slice pan and bake in pre-heated oven for 30mins or until lightly golden. Allow to cool before slicing. A great alternative to packaged snacks in lunchboxes The 21st of each month is Recipe Redux time and this month it also happens to be my (and my husbands) wedding anniversary. Even more coincidentally, this months Recipe Redux theme is about those thankful food memories that we share with those special people in our lives - so how could I not do a soft and sappy sentimental recipe tribute to my husband. Why Sourdough Bruschetta? On our first date, my now husband agreed to order Bruschetta despite hating tomato (oh isn't he sweet? well no, he scraped all the tomato off and just ate the bread - but you'll be happy to hear that since getting married he now eats tomato). The tomatoes and basil I used in the recipe are also from our own little veggie garden - I am thankful for the wonderful little home we have and our 3 children who help me in the veggie garden. The sourdough part is not so sentimental but a bit of a fad of mine at the moment (you can check out my starter and bread recipe here), and of course it helps to add the healthy twist to this recipe - enjoy! Ingredients: 1 loaf of sourdough bread 4 tomatoes 8 basil leaves 1 green onion 2 cloves of garlic 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar Pepper to taste Method: Pre-heat on oven to 180 degrees. Slice 8 pieces of sourdough bread, drizzle with 1 tablespoon of oil and place on an oven. Also place the unpeeled cloves of garlic on the oven tray next to the bread, and place in the preheated oven until the bread is lightly golden and the cloves of garlic feel soft (about 5 - 10mins). Once cooked set aside to cool. In the mean time, heat a pot of water until it begins to it begins to steam. Score the skin of the tomatoes with a sharp knife and place in the pot of simmering water for 1 minute then remove with a slotted spoon and set aside to cool. While the tomatoes are cooling and the bread is toasting, chop the basil and the green onion. When the tomatoes have cooled, peel the skin off (it should come off easily), quarter the tomatoes and remove the core, seeds and pulp. Once the seeds are removed, continue to dice the tomato. Place the diced tomato into a medium mixing bowl with the onions, basil, 1 tablespoon of olive oil, and balsamic vinegar. Once the garlic has cooled, squeeze the end of the clove and the soft garlic should come out like a paste. Add the garlic to the tomato mixture and gently stir to combine. Arrange the tomato mixture onto of the toasted sourdough, serve and enjoy Now that you've got your sourdough starter is bubbling away happily (see recipe here), you can try your hand at making your own loaf of sourdough bread. Ingredients: 1.5 cups of flour (ideally use the same flour you used to make your starter) 1 cup of sourdough starter (see recipe) 1/3 cup of filtered water A pinch of salt Method: In a large mixing bowl combine all ingredients. Turn out onto a well floured surface and knead well for about 10 mins. You now need to let the dough rise for 8 - 12 hours. I have experimented with letting it rise in a bowl and then shaping it for baking, as recommended by some, but have found it far easier to just let it rise in the dish I plan to bake it in. You can use either a loaf tin (provided you have another dish that you can cover it with when baking), or a ceramic casserole pot with a lid (provided the opening of the pot is not smaller than the base - otherwise you wont get the bread out). Place the dough in the well floured tin or pot, cover the bowl with a clean, damp tea towel (secured with a rubber band if possible) and leave for 8 - 12 hours. During this time, the dough should rise to about double its size and have formed lots of bubbles. If you need to slow the rising down (because you ran out of time), you can just pop it in the fridge then return it to room temperature when your ready for it to keep going. The time frame I use for instance, I'll make the dough at lunchtime Saturday, pop it in the fridge when I go to bed Saturday night (this has given it 8+ hours), pull it out of the fridge Sunday morning, give it a few hours to get back to room temperature and then finish the process (this gets it in the oven and cooked in time for Sunday lunch; also note that I live in a very hot, humid climate, it will take longer in a cooler weather) When ready to bake, remove the tea towel and place the lid on. Pre-heat the oven to 200 degrees and bake for 20 mins, remove the lid and bake for a further 40mins before turning the oven off and allowing the loaf to sit for a further 10mins before removing from the oven and allowing to cool before slicing.
Let me start with the disclaimer that I am in no way an expert in making sourdough, in fact I am a complete novice but it was pretty easy and it turned out pretty well - it is a little time consuming but it will definitely save you from forking out the big bucks for a loaf at the bakery. Sourdough Starter Ingredients: 1 cup flour (I used rye, but strong, wholegrain/meal flours are usually recommended - use whatever you will use when you make the bread) 2 cups of filtered water, at room temperature (yes it must be filtered or at least boiled and completely cooled) 1 teaspoon of lemon juice (but I have also seen orange, pineapple and yoghurt used) Plus extra flour and extra water to keep feeding the starter Equipment: 1 or 2 glass jars (I found a smaller jar works better than a large one) 1 piece cheese cloth per jar 2 rubber band per jar 1 small mixing bowl 1 mixing spoon Sourdough Starter Method: Use boiling water to sterilise the glass jars, mixing bowl and spoon. Once the equipment is cleaned and dried thoroughly, mix together the flour, water and lemon juice in the small mixing bowl. Spoon the mixture into one of the glass jars, cover the top with a piece of cheese cloth and secure with a rubber band. Place a second rubber band around the jar to mark the level of the mixture so as to gauge if the mixture is rising properly. Place the jar in a warm place (I put mine on the kitchen window), for 20 - 30 hours, depending on the temperature (cooler weather will need longer, but don't let it get too hot either). After it has been left to sit, the mixture should have formed bubbles and have risen above the level of the rubber band used to mark the start level on the jar. It should also smell yeasty or sour - but not bad. If it smells bad it may have gotten too hot, been left too long or been contaminated (my mum said hers smelt like nail polish after she left it too long) - if it smells bad throw it out, resterilise your jar, clean your cheese cloth and start again. Once you have a nice bubbly, sour smelling mixture, remove about half of it and place it in the second jar, cover with cheese cloth, secure with a rubber band, mark the new level on both jars with the other rubber bands to start the process again (if you don't want to make so much just through out the portion removed from the initial jar, or use it in baking). You will now have 2 jars both containing your basic sourdough starter which needs to be fed to continue to grow and fully establish a yeast culture. Feed both jars with 50g of flour mixed with 50g of filtered water. Leave these jars again for 20 - 30 hours, they should again bubble, smell sour and have risen above the level of the rubber band marking the jar. Remove (and discard) only about 2 tablespoons of the mixture this time, and continue to re-feed with 50g of flour and 50g of water, remark with the rubber band around the jar and leave to sit for 20 - 30 hours. After 3 or 4 days of following this process you should 2 jars of well established sourdough culture and enough to make a loaf of sourdough bread. If you keep feeding it everyday, remembering to remove and use or discard a few spoonful's of the starter each day so as it doesn't get too acidic, the starter will continue to grow well. If you don't want to feed it as often or use it regularly you can keep your established starter in the fridge and simply take it out once a week to reefed it. You can also freeze excess - when you want to use if simply remove from the freezer, defrost it on the bench and re-feed, but allow it a few extra days to get going again. The to check if your starter is ready to use, drop a teaspoonful into a glass of water - if it floats, its ready, if it sinks, its not ready yet so keep feeding it. Sourdough bread recipe is on its way! Makes 12 muffins
Ingredients: 1 cup self raising flour 1/2 cup whole meal flour (this could be replaced with almond or hazelnut meal) 1/2 cup sugar 1/2 teaspoon baking powder 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 5 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (coconut oil would also work well and give a great flavour) 1 cup water Juice and zest from 1/2 - 1 lemon, depending on flavour preference 1/2 cup desiccated coconut 1/4 cup ground flaxseed Method: Preheat an oven to 180 degrees and line a muffin tray with patty papers, silicon cases, or spray lightly with oil. Mix all ingredients together in a large mixing bowl and stir well until combined. Spoon the mixture into patty cases and place in preheated oven for 30min or until muffins are firm in the centre. Perfect for lunchboxes and freezer friendly It's Recipe Redux time again and this month is all about spooky spices - you know the ones that haunt your pantry because you have no idea what to do with them. Well I have a few... Firstly there is some Turmeric, which I have had for a while and am really keen to use but, other than in curries, I'm really not sure what to do with it. Next, thanks to my beautiful Mum who loves to buy in bulk, I have a life times supply of cinnamon - this cinnamon is not only going to haunt my pantry but it will be haunting pantries for generations to come! So what to do with all these spooky spices?? - Mix them together, toss in some chickpeas and hope for the best... the result, a really tasty and healthy little snack - enjoy. Ingredients: 2 teaspoons ground Turmeric 2 teaspoons ground Cinnamon 1/2 - 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1/2 teaspoon honey 1 tablespoon olive oil 425g can chickpeas, rinsed and drained Method: Pre-heat and oven to 180 degrees (fan force is preferable).
Mix all ingredients together in a small mixing bowl until the chickpeas are well coated. Lightly spray a baking try with oil. Place the chickpeas in the baking tray and spread them out evenly. Place the tray in the pre-heated oven for about 30mins. Every 10mins remove the tray and toss the chickpeas to help them cook evenly. Once cooked remove from the oven and allow to cool, serve warm or cold. Store in an air tight container for several days. Makes 8 big burritos Basic Burrito Bread: (it’s so much simpler than you thought) 1 ½ cups plain flour 1 cup plain wholemeal flour 1 teaspoon baking powder 3 tablespoons olive oil 1 cup of water *optional flavours herbs, spices, crushed garlic ** extra flour for rolling Bean & Corn Mix: 2 x 420g cans of kidney beans, rinsed and drained 2 large corn cobs, husks removed and cut from the cob (or replace with 2 cans of canned corn, drained) 1 tablespoon olive oil 2 teaspoons smoked paprika Tomato Salsa: 4 tomatoes, roughly diced 2 spring onions or ½ a red onion, chopped 1 bunch of parsley, washed and chopped Other ingredients: 1 avocado, mashed 1 cup low fat tasty cheese, grated Method: Combine Burrito bread ingredients in a large mixing bowl, combine well and turn out onto a well- floured surface and knead for about 10mins until the dough is smooth and elastic. Divide into 8 small balls and set aside to rest for at least 1 hour (this helps prevent the bread being tough). Combine bean and corn mix in a bowl and set aside. Prepare the tomato salsa by mixing all ingredients together in a small bowl. Once the dough has rested, lightly spray a fry pan with oil and place it over a medium heat. Spread out 2 clean tea towels, one on top of the other – this is to place the burrito breads in once they are cooked to help keep them warm and flexible. Re-flour a surface a roll one of the balls of dough out as flat as you can get it. Place it in the fry pan and cook on each side for about 30 seconds or until very lightly golden. While one bread is cooking roll out the next bread. Place the cooked bread between the clean tea towels. Repeat the process until all 8 breads are cooked and placed between the tea towel. Keep the fry pan over the heat and add the bean and corn mix. Cook for several minutes until the corn is tender and the paprika fragrant.
Spread the mashed avocado over each burrito bread and place a small portion of cheese over the top. Place under a grill until the cheese has melted. Once the cheese is melted, place 2 – 3 big spoonful’s of the bean and corn mix in the centre, top with tomato salsa, fold all the bread into the centre to form a pocket and serve. Ingredients:
2 tablespoons (90g) Reduced fat Plain Yoghurt 1 tablespoon Olive Oil 2 eggs 1.5 cup self-raising flour 1/2 cup oats 1 teaspoon Vanilla extract 1/3 cup Brown sugar 1 teaspoon Cinnamon 1 teaspoon nutmeg 2 Medium Bananas, roughly mashed Method: Pre-heat an oven to 160 degrees. In a large mixing bowl, use a hand mixer to combine yoghurt, oil, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon and eggs. Add mashed banana (I like to leave a few good chunks) and mix through well. Fold through flour and oats without beating. If the mixture is a little dry (which it might be if your bananas are small), add a little milk. Place the mixture in a greased loaf tin and place in pre-heated oven for 20 - 30 mins. So a few weeks ago you may remember me being super excited to receive this beautiful little package from Holly, aka Healthy Mumma Healthy Bubba. Holly has put together this great book full of beautiful healthy, kid friendly recipes, plus a whole bunch of really useful information about health and nutrition to look after bub and look after mum. She has been so kind to let me share with you all a few recipes from this book AND has given me a copy to give away! All you need to do is leave a comment on this post telling us your best tip to look after bub or mum (it could be anything - hiding veggies for bub, taking time for a long bath for mum, getting out to run around at your favourite park...). Don't forget share the competition with friends on Facebook, check out the Healthy Mumma Healthy Bubba website and download the free App. Keep an eye out for more of Holly's recipes too. Competition opens August 1st 2014 at 6.00am and closes August 31st 2014 at 5.00pm. A random winner will be announced via Facebook and Instagram and notified via email. Competition winner has 48hours to claim prize via reply email or an alternative winner will be drawn. (full T&C's here) Green-Monster Smoothie Green-Monster Smoothie ½ Glass Almond Milk ½ Glass Chilled Filtered Water 2TSP Natural/Greek Yoghurt 1 x Banana Handful of Baby Spinach Leaves, washed 1/3 Cup Organic Quick Oats 1TSP Chia Seeds 1TBSP Organic Desiccated or Shredded Coconut (optional) ½ TSP Local/Raw Honey 3-4 Pieces of Ice Blend & enjoy! Leave your comments below & Good Luck |
Categories
All
|