57/365 Dinner Time

Tonights dinner was a pretty easy one especially after a day of shopping and baking and then back to school for debating.  So I chose a dish on the menu that I could make for her and it could sit in the fridge until it was time for the rest of the family to eat.  On the menu was Corn Fritters with sweet tomato, chilli sauce and a big plate of rainbow salad. I really love to be able to make a very quick and healthy dinner for my family, no need for takeaways here.

7/365 Pretty in pink

It was a warm Summer day today and I was craving something cold in the form of a smoothie.  My hubby obliged and brought home this 'pink forest' for me, yummo.  I have to confess,  I really love a good smoothie and probably spend a little bit too much on this habit! My other confession is that I am not too great at creating my own.  I do have a standard flavour I stick to and do well with but deviating from that I don't do too well.  Maybe I need to work on this, which won't be too hard and I'm sure my family won't mind either.

178/365

I was in the mood for some dessert tonight, a healthy treat for the official first day of holidays.

In the latest issue of Nature & Health I found the perfect recipe I had been wanting to try. It was very sweet and filling but knowing how good it was for me I was totally ok with that feeling.  Here's the recipe for you if you would like to give it a try for yourself one day.

2 ripe avocados, peeled and chopped

1/2 cup coconut milk

1/4 cup filtered water

1/4 cup cacao powder

1/2 cup raw honey

2 tablespoons psyllium husk (I omitted this as I didn't have any)

2 tablespoons maple syrup

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/2 cup melted coconut oil

Place all the ingredients in your blender and process until smooth.  Serve topped with berries or coconut or you could leave it plan. It served a small helping for our family of 4 and left us all feeling quite full.
Enjoy.

And a photo of my little Miss playing intently on her Dad's new toy.  She is growing so much and her little girl face is changing so I've been sneaking in few photos of her lately to capture this time before it's gone.

Wishing you a restful Sunday.

76-77/365

At the moment I am really enjoying smoothies except they can be a little expensive to buy.  So I decided to try and replicate the smoothie I have been buying for myself at home.  Initially it will cost a little more to buy the ingredients but I think it will end up being cheaper making it myself long term or that's what I'm telling myself anyway:)  This is my at home version of the store bought smoothie. 

 1 cup of mixed berries

1 banana

1 dessert spoon of protein powder (I used mesquite powder)

1 tablespoon of flaxseed oil

1/4 cup cacao powder

2 1/2 dates (chopped)

330ml coconut water

Makes 2 glasses
(The recipe also asks for cacao nibs but I didn't add them as I find them a little bitter but if you like them you could perhaps add a tablespoon)

With the cupboard bare and the girls wanting a snack after school, I tried these yummy chocolate cupcakes.  They were quick and easy to make and tasted pretty good with some icing on top.  I didn't make the healthy icing version found here, just my usual recipe of icing sugar, cocoa, butter, vanilla essence and hot water.

How has your Monday been?  I hope it's been a good start to the week. 

Saturday

I am very passionate about feeding my family natural, wholesome and mostly organic food having been inspired by lovely friends in real life and online. Knowing how much I enjoy learning and cooking my hubby surprised me with a cooking class at Mondo Organics called Super Foods, an early birthday present. I really enjoyed being around people who are passionate about cooking good, clean food, learning new techniques and trying new foods without grumbling;) I'm not sure whether the class convinced my meat loving husband to eat more of these types of foods but I'm convinced and will be trying out some of these new foods again. Thank you my darling for being so thoughtful and for a great time. xxx

A little visit to Nook, a sweet little shop selling handmade wears.  I managed to find a couple of little treasures, one for me and a little something for a giveaway to celebrate my birthday next week be sure to stop by.

We finished the day off with coffee for him, hot chocolate for me in one of my favourite Brisbane suburbs, Bulimba.  There are some beautiful character houses there, this one caught my eye today.

What did you get up to this Saturday?  I hope you had a wonderful day♥

Iron Booster Bikkies

First came iron booster balls then iron booster bikkies.  Yet another healthy recipe out of Feeding Fussy Kids book I've made to try out on my family. I am hoping to hit the jackpot with my little girl one day with a recipe that doesn't have too much sugar and  although they are not her favourite she is eating them.  I know that doesn't sound like a good rap but my little one is a bit fussy. These bikkies are really tasty, the big girl loves them and they are very healthy.  With this cooler weather around and lots of snuffles around I really want to give them an extra boost to help them stay healthy so I think these are worth a try.

2 tablespoons sesame seeds

2 tablespoons sunflower seeds

2 tablespoons sunflower oil or vegetable oil

⅓ cup room temperature butter or nuttelex

½ cup raw sugar

1 egg, lightly beaten

1 cup wholemeal self raising flour

⅔ cup white self raising flour

½ teaspoon orange rind, finely grated

50 grams dried apricots, finely chopped

50 grams dried peaches, finely chopped

Preheat the oven to 180℃. Line 2 large baking trays with non-stick baking paper.  Dry fry the sesame seeds and the sunflower seeds in a non-stick frying pan until golden.

Cool slightly, then grind in a coffee or herb grinder.  Combine the seeds with the sunflower oil to make a paste, alternatively grind them in a mortar and pestle with the oil to make the paste.  Set aside.

Using electric beaters, cream the butter and the sugar in a mixing bowl.  Beat in the egg.

Add the flours, seed paste, orange rind, dried apricots and peaches and bring together to form a soft dough.

Roll teaspoons full of the mixture into balls and place onto the prepared trays.

Bake for 15minutes, then turn the biscuits over and bake for a further 5 minutes or until golden brown.

Leave on the trays for 5 minutes to become firm, before transferring to a wire rack to cool.

I hope you enjoy these bikkies too.  Happy Wednesday♥

Healthy Lunchbox Treats

I've really been enjoying experimenting with the new recipe book that I showed you last week. Finding things to pack into a lunchbox is always hard when you have to make them so often so as a little extra something healthy I made some of these Iron Booster Balls. I made Muscle Power Balls last week and they were a hit in the lunch box so I made something different for their lunch box this week. Your Iron Booster Balls will probably turn out to be more orange in colour than mine because instead of putting peaches in mine I accidentally put pears but they still taste nice just the same.

Ingredients
1/2 cup dried peaches
1/2 cup dried apricots
1 tbls boiling water
1/4 cup almond meal
1/2 cup desiccated coconut
1 tbls orange juice
2 tbls wheat germ
1/4 cup skim milk powder
1/2 cup desiccated coconut extra

Place the dried fruits into a food processor and pulse until finely chopped.
Add boiling water and leave the fruit to soak for 10 minutes.
Add the almond meal, coconut, juice, wheat germ and skim milk powder.
Blend until it forms a firm paste. Add an extra tablespoon of juice if it is required to bring the dough together.
Roll the mixture into small balls and roll in the extra coconut.
Keep in an airtight container in the fridge.

Enjoy:)

Banana Milkshake

My little Miss 6 loves bananas, they are her all time favourite fruit so there is always plenty on hand for morning and afternoon tea as well as on our cereal. Sometimes when they haven't been eaten we make them into a milkshake. Bananas have lots of great health benefits including:

*reducing depression. Bananas contain tryptophan, an amino acid that can be converted to serotonin, leading to improved mood.
*helping to restore normal bowel function due to it's fibre content.
*because they are high in B vitamins, they are said to help nerve function.
*assisting with stress relief. Bananas are high in potassium, which helps normalize the heartbeat and regulate the body's water balance. During periods of high stress, our body's potassium levels tend to be rapidly depleted: eating bananas is a healthy way to rebalance them without using drugs.

If you have lots of bananas but not a lot of time to cook, here is our favourite Banana Milkshake Recipe, family approved!

2 ripe banana, chopped into pieces
1 dessert spoon of honey
1 scoop of vanilla ice cream
a dash of vanilla
1 litre of milk

Put all of the ingredients into a blender and whizz until smooth. Serves 4.

Enjoy:)