Gimme Gimme!!!!

There's something about ice cream that makes everyone who comes into contact with it, love it.  Am I right?  

If there is a person that doesn't like ice cream, I'm yet to meet them.

And yes, plant based babes can enjoy their ice cream as well as non-plant based peeps, we just enjoy ours without a side of blocked arteries (no offence to my non-plantbased readers but this is just a fact of animal fats).

So, without getting all political on y'all, I'm going to give you a couple of recipes to get your ice cream on, or nice cream.  Whatever you prefer to call it, this frozen deliciousness will sure to keep your taste buds singing!

Sorry for the lack of photos, but I ate it all too quickly, yikes!

Vanilla Chai Ice cream

Makes about 750 mls

Ingredients

1 cup of unsweetened vanilla almond milk (I used Almond Breeze)

1/2 cup of soaked and rinsed cashews (soak for 30 min or overnight)

1/4 cup of coconut sugar

1/3 cup rice bran syrup

2 tsp of pumpkin spice mix

1/2 tsp of ground ginger

3 cups of chai tea*

1 1/4 cup boiling water

1/2 tsp xantham gum

Method

Place your tea bags into the boiling water and leave to steep for 10 minutes, the stronger the better.

Line a rectangular cake pan with baking paper.  Set aside.

Place all other ingredients in the blender and blend until smooth and creamy, then add the tea brew when ready.  Blend again for about 30 seconds.

Pour mixture into your prepared pan and cover with plastic film. Place in the freezer and leave for about 3 hours or just set.  Take it out of the freezer and cut it into chunks which you put in your food processor and process until it starts to look like soft serve.  This is basically just to break up the ice crystals and give you a smoother texture.  Once you've done this.  Place it in the tin again and leave to set again, and you're done!

*I used Celestial Seasonings Bengal spice tea because it's caffeine free and tastes better than any other chai tea I've EVER had. It's also naturally sweet without having sugar in it and will add some more sweetness to your ice cream.  I'm telling you, it's the business!

Chocolate Ice Cream

Makes about 750 mls

Ingredients

2 cups of unsweetened vanilla almond milk

1/2 ripe avocado

4 TBS raw cacao powder

4 pitted medjool dates

2 TBS of coconut syrup

3 drops of dark chocolate stevia (optional, you can use plain stevia too)

Method

Line a rectangular cake tin with baking paper.  Set aside.

Place all ingredients in the blender and blend until super smooth and creamy.  Adjust sweetness if needed.

Pour mixture into prepared cake tin and cover with plastic film.  

Place in freezer and leave to set for about 3 hours.  Once set, break into big chunks and process in the food processor.  This will make it creamy and break up the ice crystals.  Place in cake tin again and leave to set overnight.  Serve on it's own or with:

Banana Peanut Butter Ice Cream

Serves 1

Ingredients

2 large ripe and frozen bananas

2 TBS of PB2 or 1 TBS of natural peanut butter

1/2 tsp of vanilla extract

Method

Process all ingredients in the food processor and watch the magic happen!  All the ingredients will turn into soft serve, ready for you to devour.

Hope you get to try out the recipes and that you enjoy them as much as I do.

Thanks to everyone for being so patient with me with these recipes, I know it's been long overdue!

Peas, love and mungbeans

xxb

Fruity offerings

I figure I should probably do a wrap up of the I Quit Sugar 8 Week Program.
I'll be honest, I caved after the 6 week mark.  All those beautifully ripe bananas where calling my name!  So essentially I didn't finish the program but I'm cool with that.
It was ok at the beginning, I felt really confident, and I had so much fun experimenting without fruit but it started to suck big time after week 5 for me.  Here's why:
I was eating a lot of cooked foods, especially for breakfast and it didn't really sit well with me.  Don't get me wrong, I don't think it's bad to eat cooked foods, but for breakfast?  Yummy, yes, but for me, long term, no.
Second thing:  I was eating a lot of nuts to make up for the calories I was missing from fruit.
Now I love nuts as much as the next person, but eating too many just makes me feel heavy and blocked up.  Not nice and not for me.
Thirdly, I dearly missed fruit.  
So, after thinking about the journey and reflecting back on how I was feeling throughout the challenge, I decided that I had given a pretty good go of it, so didn't feel terrible when I chose to stop after the 6th week.
Here are my thoughts on the program:  If you have no idea about nutrition, it's a good place to start.
If you are a vegan, there are some good options but the menu is heavy on eggs, dairy and fats.
If you are a low fat raw vegan, sorry but the menu doesn't really cater for you, apart from some juices, and smoothies.
Would I do it again, probably not.  Purely on the grounds that I already don't eat refined sugars, only fruit, and I don't see an issue with this.
Like I said, the program is great for non-vegans and I've even spoken to a few people at work who have noticed since giving up sugar, that their rheumatic pain has diminished.  
And, the most important lesson for me is this:  there are a million food philosophies out there, just like there is a million different individuals, therefore, research, try and stick with the one that makes you feel best.
Well, what makes me feel best is eating raw fruits and vegetables and I'm sticking with that!  As much as I can anyways, can't say I've given up cooked foods forever, just that when i do eat them I'll make sure that they are high carb and low fat.

Ok, enough of that.  

Now that I'm back on fruit heaven, I've been making lots of, you guessed it, fruity yummies!
I'm going to share my faves so far, hope you like them too.

Fresh Fig Tart with Banana Carob Cream
Makes 1x 12 cm tart

Ingredients

Base
4 medjool dates
4 sundried figs

Filling
1 large fresh fig
2 frozen bananas
2 TBS carob powder
1 tsp vanilla extract

Method

Line the tart case with some baking paper and set aside.

Base
Pulse all ingredients in the food processor until it's the consistency of a chunky paste.
Place onto lined tart case and flatten out with fingers, including around the sides.  You may need to wet your hands, it can be quite sticky.

Filling
Place all ingredients, except the fig in the food processor and process until it resembles soft serve ice cream.
Use this mixture to fill your prepared tart, level with the back of a spoon.
Cut your fig and place on top.
Serve immediately or place in the freezer without the fig and have it another day.

Did you know that the easiest thing in the world to make is ice cream.  You just need some frozen bananas, which you chop up and put in your food processor or blender.  Depending on quantity I use the food processor for 2 or less bananas and the vitamix for more, but you can use whatever works for you.

All you have to do is process/blend until it becomes thick and creamy, and gives the consistency of soft serve ice cream.

Next step is to eat it with glee OR add your desired flavourings.

If I'm not having a green smoothie, I'm having ice cream for breakfast.  That's just how I roll.

Vanilla and Mulberry Ice Cream with Fresh Fruit

Serves 1

Ingredients

4 frozen bananas

1 tsp of vanilla exact

1 handful of mulberries

1 kiwi fruit, chopped

1 cup of papaya, chopped

Method

Place the frozen bananas in machine of choice and process/blend until the bananas reach soft serve consistency.  Add the vanilla extract and process some more.

Take out half, that's your vanilla layer.

Add the mulberries to the left overs and process until they break up a bit but not completely.

Layer your fruit with the ice creams and your done. 

Didn't I tell you!

Dark Cherry, Carob and Coconut Ice Cream
Serves 1

Ingredients

2 frozen bananas
2 TBS carob powder
2 TBS coconut flakes
small handful of pitted dark cherries (I used frozen) + 5 for decorating.

Method

Place all ingredients in the food processor (except decorating cherries) and whizz away until magic happens and it turns to ice cream
Serve on top of some of the decorating cherries and with a cherry on top and some coconut and carob.

And here are some of the other stuff I've been stuffing my face with:

Spicy Cauliflower rice with pineapple, corn, tomatoes, capsicum, olives and guacamole.

Made with sprouts, mango, capsicum, red cabbage, baby spinach and served with a side of papaya

Baby spinach with peaches, figs, strawberries and spanish onion

Cos lettuce with mango, blueberries, kiwi fruit and lemon juice and an orange & raspberry crush

Spiced pear & apple crumble with vanilla ice cream and caramel sauce

Berry banana smoothie with fresh fruit, homemade raspberry & lime chia jam and mint

Banana matcha smoothie

Raspberry & Pear chia jam folded through coconut chia pudding

This is typical of my work meals.  If I work in the a.m I take a breakfast smoothie and salad for lunch

Zucchini fettucine two ways:  sundried tomato sauce on the bottom, avocado & basil on the top

All the recipes are raw vegan, all of them are low fat.  Notice I'm not avoiding fats, just eating them in smaller amounts and good fats from avocado, never oil, and I've also added some chia to supply essential omega 3 fatty acids.  

Hey, we all need fats, just not in the amounts that you normally find in foods.

I should also tell you, I haven't been adding salt to my food still.  Funny, for such a salt lover, you do get used to it.  It's all a matter of changing your taste buds by feeding your body the good stuff.  Eventually, that's all it will crave.

If you want any recipes for the above dishes, let me know, but if you do a search, you'll find I've done similar recipes before.

Sending lots of good vibes your way!

Peas, love and mungbeans

xxb

disruptions and goings on

Oh my, it's been way too long since my last post, my sincere apologies!
We have now moved, and we, as in me, are slowly settling in.  The family has somehow slid into a nice little routine, and my girls have just bounced into the swing of life at the new digs like it aint no thing.  
Oh to be young again, and so bloody adaptable.  
I should really be glad, and I am, don't get me wrong.   Just a little bit envious of their innocence and non-attachment to their old life.
As you can tell, I'm having a harder time adjusting to the new space, so my head space has not been the best of late.  Really unmotivated, and just generally feeling out of sorts.  I don't know if I've ever told you this, if you know me, you've probably guessed, but I'm a stickler for routine.  
Like a true Virgo, I love order and everything in it's place.  In my head that is, my house is another issue!  But, let's end the rant there, I don't want to bore you with my current emotional sensibilities, this is a food blog after all.
So, for the sake of my sanity, I will do just a few recipes, mainly the ones that people have been screaming at me for on IG. Thank you if you are following my journey on IG, you keep me motivated and definitely push me to pull my finger out and get to it.
So, without further delay, here are the recipes.

Spinach and Chickpea Pancakes
Makes 2


Ingredients 

2/3 cup garbanzo and fava bean flour*
2/3 cup water
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1 tsp Himalayan pink salt or to taste
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
1 cup of spinach leaves

Method

Heat a medium-large non-stick frying pan on medium heat.
Place all ingredients in your blender and blend until smooth.
Pour enough mixture to cover base of frying pan once it's hot, turning pan to fully cover.
Flip pancake over when bubbles start to break the surface and the sides are cooked and can be handled without breaking.
Repeat with second pancake.
If you find the mixture too thick, just add a little bit more water.
These pancakes are a little dense so I found them to be quiet filling.
*I use Bob Red Mills

I served them with a tomato medley salad with coriander and lemon juice, and also some pan seared mushrooms with lemon thyme. 

I used the left overs the next night, toasted them and served them with a simple red lentil curry.  Here's the recipe for the curry.

Red Lentil and Kale Curry

Serves 2

Ingredients

1 tsp of grated ginger

1 clove of garlic crushed

1/4 cup brown onion chopped

1/2 TBS of curry powder (or to taste)

1/4 tsp dried chilli flakes (optional)

1/2 cup red lentils

5 very ripe tomatoes, blended (or 1 can of organic crushed tomatoes)

2 cups of pumpkin cubes

2 cups of chopped kale

Juice of 1/2 lemon

1/4 cup chopped coriander

Himalayan pink salt to taste

Method

Add the ginger, garlic, onion, chilli flakes, pumpkin cubes and curry powder to a large non-stick frying pan that has a lid.

Pour about 1/2 cup of water and cook until onions are soft and translucent.  

Add the lentil and tomatoes, stir, and cover with lid.

Keep cooking and stirring, adding more water to prevent it from drying, until lentils and pumpkin are cooked.  Once they are ready, add the kale, stir until it wilts.

Remove from heat, pour in lemon juice and mix through.  Season with Himalayan pink salt to taste.

Serve with some of the toasted pancake on the side and top with fresh coriander.

Now here's an idea for when you get stuck for meal ideas, and you want something quick, filling and low-fat.

Make some delicious nori rolls!  Given, you do have to have nori sheets in your pantry but that should be on your staples list my friends.

The kids love it and you can get them to roll a few.  Yes it's messy, but they love it.

You don't have to make them raw of course, you can use lots of fillings, like left over brown rice, or quinoa.  You could also get super creative with other grains like millet or barley if you are not gluten sensitive.

I just love stuffing them with different veggies, it's like a salad wrapped up in some sea vegetable goodness.

I've got links to how to make these on the right hand side but here are some that I made using grated beetroot and grated carrot, and just adding whatever I had in the fridge, which happened to be some avocado, capsicum, zucchini and pickled ginger.

But seriously, the sky's the limit so let your taste buds guide you.

And here are some delicious treats I made last week.

The recipe is on the Facebook page but for my friends without Facebook (yes, they do exist), here it is.

Strawberry Cream Tarts

Serves 8

Ingredients

Filling

2 large strawberries, sliced thinly

1 cup raw cashews, soaked & rinsed (for at least 30 min or overnight)

1/4 cup liquid sweetener of choice

1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk (or water or any other non-dairy milk)

Base

8 pitted medjool dates

1 cup raw almonds 

1/4 cup shredded coconut

2 Tbs raw cacao powder

1/4 cup liquid sweetener of choice

(I used coconut nectar)

1 tsp vanilla extract

Pinch Himalayan pink salt

Method

Base

Line an 8 capacity muffin tray with patty cases and set aside.

Process all base ingredients in a food processor until it holds together, like when you make bliss balls.

Press about 2 large tbs into bottom of patty cases. Set aside.

You will have some left over, use this to decorate the top of the tarts & to munch on 

Filling

Blend all ingredients except strawberries, in a powerful blender, until smooth & silky.

Set aside.

Slice your strawberries into thin slices and place 1 slice into the prepared patty cases. You will have some left over to decorate the top.

Fill each case with cashew cream mixture and top with some more sliced strawberry & crumbs from base.

Place in the freezer to set. When ready, about 2 hours, take out & let thaw a bit before slicing. 

These will melt so you need to eat them whilst they are still a bit chilled. They don't usually last that long when they are out.

The beauty is, you can make a large batch & keep them in the freezer, ready to have whenever.

Here are some snack ideas for everyone in the family!  They take next to no time to prepare and you'll be surprised, you probably have all these things in your pantry and fridge already.

raw cacao nibs + peanut butter + frozen bananas = the best ice cream ever!

thinly slice some apples, add some homemade vanilla almond butter and top with a salsa made with kiwifruit and strawberries.

1 banana, homemade vanilla almond butter and your favourite yummies as toppings

Homemade hummus with your favourite veggies and pickles

And one last one that got a lot of likes on IG so I thought I'd better post a recipe for it although you can find recipes for chocolate mousse and vanilla chia pudding if you use the search option.  Anywho, here it is.

Chocolate Mousse and Vanilla Chia Pudding Parfait
Serves 1

Ingredients

Chocolate Mousse

1 ripe avocado
2 TBS raw cacao powder
1 frozen banana
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup maple syrup or to taste
1 pitted medjool date

Vanilla Chia Pudding

1/4 cup chia seeds
1 cup unsweetened almond milk or non-dairy milk of choice
2 tsp vanilla extract
4 TBS maple syrup

Layers

4 TBS shredded coconut
4 TBS activated buckinis
4 TBS puffed millet
1 cup raspberries (I used frozen and thawed them first at room temp)

Method

Vanilla Chia Pudding

Place all ingredients in a jar with a tight fitting lid and shake the beejebus out of it repeatedly until all ingredients have mixed through.  Pop it in the fridge whilst you make the mousse.

Chocolate Mousse

Place all ingredients, except raw cacao powder, in a powerful blender and process until super smooth.   Add cacao powder and continue to blend.  Taste and adjust sweetness if needed.  You will probably need to scrape the sides as you go.
It should be fluffy and delicious.  It may also taste avlot like avocado.  If you don't like that, you may need to add more banana.
Place in the fridge.

When the chia is set, start layering.
Here's how I layered mine but feel free to do whatever your heart desires.

So there we have it, a rather late post but hope I've covered some recipes that people will enjoy. Will endeavour to be more contemporaneous with my future posts.
Thank you for your patience and on going support of the blog, IG and the FB page.  Deadset legends, the lotta ya!

Peas, love and mungbeans

xxb

New Beginnings

It feels like such a long time, even though it's only been just over a month.  I have to say, i've been feeling a little bit less motivated to do the blog, not because I don't enjoy it, it just takes forever to write up all the recipes.  For this reason, I've decided to change the structure a bit.  After this post, I will be posting recipes on a more regular basis.  

This will mean shorter posts but you will get the recipes sooner rather than waiting for me to get my ass into gear.

So much has happened since I last posted.  We sold our little home, we're in the process of moving to another (temporary) little home, which I've nicknamed the smurf house because it's tinie tiny, has blue windows and doors and a little picket fence.  Really reminds me of something out of the smurf village.  If you grew up in the 80's or were are raver at some stage in your life (i am/was both), you will know what I'm talking about.  

I always did want to live in those little mushrooms.....but I digress.  

Ok, so June was full on, but not full on enough to stop making delicious meals!

Here are some recipes that I hope you like.  Some are raw, some are cooked, some are a mixture.  Try what you like, experiment, and let me know how you go.  Been loving everyone's creations of the meals on IG, so awesome.  There's so many recipes so I will post some of the ones that I think people will like.  If you see a recipe on IG that isn't here and you want the recipe, let me know and I'll post it.

Pumpkin Pie Ice Cream

Serves 1

Ingredients

2 frozen bananas

1 cup cooked pumpkin 

1/8 tsp ground cloves, nutmeg, ginger 

1/2 tsp cinnamon 

Method

Blend in high powered blender until ice cream consistency.

I had this for breakfast with some fresh fruit and activated buckinis.

Pumpkin Pie Granola with Goji

Makes 2 cups

Ingredients

1 cup GF oats (or regular if you're eating gluten)

1 TBS pumpkin puree

1 TBS rice malt syrup

1 TBS maple syrup

1 TBS water

2 TBS goji berries

2 TBS pumpkin seeds

1 tsp coconut oil

1 tsp ground cinnamon

Method

Pre-heat oven to 160 degrees Celsius.  Place the syrups, coconut oil, water, pumpkin puree and cinnamon in a small saucepan and heat until combined and coconut oil is melted.

Pour over dry ingredients and mix well.

Place mixture on a tray lined with baking paper and place in over for about 10 minutes.  Turn oven off and let it cool in the oven.

Serve with your favourite milk or on top of ice cream.

Cherry Ripe Ice Cream

Serves 1

Ingredients

3 frozen bananas

1/4 cup of frozen cherries + a couple extra

1 TBS shredded coconut + 1 tsp

Raw chocolate(recipe here)

Method

Blend the bananas in a blender until it forms ice cream consistency.  Add some of the cherries and pulse.  Do this until you get the desired mixture.  I like to leave a few chunky and be able to see a swirl of colour.

Once done, stir through the coconut.

Top with extra cherries, melted raw chocolate (it will harden like ice magic!) and coconut.

Banana & Strawberry Ice Cream Parfait

Serves 1

Ingredients

2 frozen bananas + 1 extra

1/2 punnet of strawberries + 2 extra 

1/4 cup activated buckinis

cashew cream (recipe here)

goji (optional)

Method

Place bananas and strawberries in blender and process until it looks like ice cream. 

Layer with fresh banana, strawberries and activated buckinis. 

Add some cashew cream on top and a sprinkle of goji or any other little deliciousness you want.

The following recipe calls for horchata.  I fell in love with horchata on my trip to the states last year.  As I love everything cinnamon, this was totally up my alley.

Basically, it's a drink made from almonds and rice, and flavoured with cinnamon.  It's deliciously served cold and is very refreshing.  It originated in Spain but is very popular in Mexico, to the point that it's basically recognised as one of their national drinks.  Apart from tequila that is!

I made my version using brown rice but you can use white rice if that's all you have.  I don't recommend using basmati rice as this is quite strong in flavour.

Horchata

Makes 1 L

Ingredients

2/3 cup brown rice

1 1/4 cup blanched almonds

1 cinnamon stick

4 1/2 cups of water

4 medjool dates, seeds removed

Method

Place all ingredients in a jar and leave in the fridge over night for the flavours to develop.

The next day, place all the contents of the jar in a powerful blender and blend until it's as smooth as it's going to get (there will still be some grit).  Adjust sweetness by adding some more dates if required, or sweetener of choice.

Strain through a milk bag (or clean stocking) and place contents into a container.  Keeps in the fridge with a tight fitting lid for about 3 days.  Serve cold.

Horchata Chia Pudding Parfait with Papaya, Caramel Pears & Cinnamon Buckinis

Serves 1

Ingredients

1 cup of horchata

3 TBS chia seeds

1/2 cup pear cubes

1/2 cup papaya cubes

1 tsp of mesquite powder

2 TBS activated buckinis

3/4tsp ground cinnamon

Method

Make your chia pudding by mixing the chia seeds and horchata in a jar with a tight fitting lid and placing it in the fridge.  Leave for 30 minutes or overnight if possible.

Place the pear in a bowl, sprinkle wit mesquite powder and stir until all the cubes are coated.  Set aside.

Mix the buckinis and 1/2 tsp of the cinnamon and set aside.

One your pudding is set, you can build your parfait.

I put the papaya on the bottom, added 1 TBS of the buckinis, added the chia on top, pears, chia, papaya, more buckinis and the left over cinnamon.

Vanilla Pudding with Spiced Quince

Serves 2 (pudding) 2 cups (quince)

Ingredients

Pudding

1/4 cup chia seeds

1 cup unsweetened almond milk (or milk of choice)

3 TBS of maple syrup

1 tsp vanilla extract

Spiced Quince

2 medium sized quinces

2 cups of water

1 stick of cinnamon

10 whole cloves

1 star anise

5 pepper corns

1 piece of lemon peel

2 TBS of sweetener of choice (i used coconut sugar)

Method

Pudding

Place all ingredients in a jar with a tight fitting lid, shake it well to combine and leave to set in fridge over night or for at least 30 minutes.

Once ready, blend until smooth and fluffy, adjust sweetness if required.

Spiced Quince

Place spices, lemon and water in a heavy based saucepan.  Bring to a gentle boil.

Add the quince as soon as you peel and cut them into wedges, to prevent from discolouring.  Don't worry about removing the seeds, this is what gives it the red colour you see.

Cook on a soft boil with lid off until they are soft and the liquid has reduced to make a bit of a syrup.  It won't be as syrupy as if you used sugar, but you can take the lid off and reduce it that way.

Stir in the sweetener and adjust to taste.  Place in a glass jar with a tight fitting lid.  Should keep for about a week or a little bit more.

To make the dessert, just spoon pudding into desire glasses and top with quince wedges and a little bit of the syrup.

Banana Peanut Butter Loaf with Choc Chips

Makes 1 loaf (about 8 slices)

Ingredients

2 1/2 cup gluten free oats ground to flour

3 small ripe bananas + 1 extra

1/2 cup natural peanut butter

1/2 cup coconut sugar (or brown sugar)

2 tsp gf baking powder

1/2 cup dairy free choc chips + 1 TBS extra

Method

Pre-heat oven to 180 degrees Celsius and line a loaf tin with baking paper.  Set aside.

Blend bananas, peanut butter, sugar & baking powder together, than add flour and mix until smooth (or throw it in the blender). Add some water if too thick, I added about 1/2 cup. It was still very thick but it produces a beautiful dense loaf. 

Stir in 1/2 cup of vegan/dairy free choc chips to the batter and put in baking tin. Top with the extra banana and choc chips. 

Bake in moderate oven for 45-50 minutes. I started checking it after 40 mins, remember all ovens are different.

I served mine with some blueberry and chia jam.

Matcha Ice Cream Cookies

Makes 2

Ingredients

Ice Cream

4 frozen bananas

1 tsp matcha green tea powder*(or more to taste)

Cookie

6 dried figs

6 medjool dates

1/3 cup shredded coconut

Method

Process cookie ingredients until it resembles fine crumbs and mixture can hold together. Spread on to a flat surface covered with baking paper. You want it about 1 cm in thickness. If you don't have enough, just make some more.

Place in freezer to harden whilst you make the ice cream.

Place bananas into the blender and process until resembles soft serve. Add powder, adjust to suit taste. Place in a bowl and stick it in the freezer.

Get your cookie base out, cut it into circles using cookie cutters. Top with ice cream, and then another cookie.

Roll them in whatever you want or leave them as is. I rolled them in buckinis for some added crunch.

Ok, enough of the sweetness!! NO never enough!  But seriously, let's get our savoury ON.

Spanish Cauliflower Rice

Serves 2

Ingredients

Rice

500g cauliflower florets

1/3 cup red capsicum diced

1/4 cup coriander chopped

1/3 cup celery diced

1/3 cup zucchini diced

1 tomato diced

4 olives, pitted and sliced

Dressing

Flesh of 1 medium avocado

1 lime juiced

1 TBS fresh basil

1 TBS paprika

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp onion powder

1/4 tsp ground cumin

1/2 tsp chilli flakes

1 tsp Himalayan pink salt

1 garlic clove

Method

Rice

Place cauliflower in food processor and pulse until it resembles rice grains.  Place in large bowl and toss through the rest of the ingredients.

Dressing

Place all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth.

Add to cauliflower mixture, stir through to mix and serve.

I've also been making lots of simple but delicious meals so here are some that take little to no time to prepare.  Just using fresh ingredients and minimal fuss.  No extensive recipes required.

Just grate/chop your fave veggies and serve with quinoa and a tahini/lemon dressing

Cos lettuce wraps filled with mango, kiwi, capsicum and celery

Vietnamese noodle salad:  sliced cucumber, mushrooms, bean sprouts, herbs and other veggies with rice noodles, almonds and a lime/tamari dressing.

simple lunch: rocket with strawbs, capsicum, avocado, zucchini & sundried tomatoes.  Drizzled with coconut vinegar and dates for dessert!

Kale, broccoli & raspberry salad with coconut vinegar and a side of beet, parsnip and sweet potato chips

Lettuce sushi:  iceberg lettuce filled with my mango, enoki, tomato and avocado

Radicchio boats filled with mango, strawbs, spinach, avocado and macadamia nuts

Snake beans with roast pumpkin, kale, crunchy asian slaw and topped with homemade cucumber pickles

There you have it friends, hope you like and please, if you want any more detail regarding how to make any of the above dishes, please contact me.

Now with July here, I'm putting myself through a fitness challenge.  My aim is to build some lean muscle, get strong and increase my stamina.  Have  you set any goals?  If you have, good luck achieving them and remember, where the mind goes, the body will follow.  So, think positive and go out and kick some ass (in the nicest possible way)!

Peas, love and mungbeans

xxb