thank goodness for december

Now that November is over, I can get busy in the kitchen again.

Going sugar-free made me realise that I just love making desserts.  Is that bad?  Maybe, but as the kids say these days, YOLO!

To welcome fruit in my life, I made the following pillows of goodness.

Oat and banana pancakes

Serves 13x10 cm pancakes (i know, weird number)

Ingredients

1 1/4 cup wholegrain oats

1/2 cup wholemeal flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp sea salt

1 1/2 cups unsweetened almond milk

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 ripe bananas + 1 to serve

coconut oil spray

Maple syrup to serve

Method

Place all ingredients, except bananas, in a large bowl and use a hand held blender to blend until smooth.

Add 2 bananas and blend until incorporated in to the batter.

Spray a large frying pan with coconut oil and heat on medium heat until hot.

Add batter and cook in two.  About 1/4 of a cup per pancake.

Repeat process until all batter is used up, spraying pan as required.

Serve pancakes with extra banana and maple syrup.

Or do as I do, eat them on their own or covered in almond butter.

YUM.

But it's not just the sweet life I love, I also love making new food discoveries.  I've recently discovered a little something called Slim Pasta.  I'd been looking at it for a while but wasn't too sure, but decided to try it out and it has proved quiet tasty and easy to use.  I just use it in place of noodles and pasta in meals and it's also easy and quick to prepare.

Here's a couple of recipes I've been making of late.

Spicy Curry Noodles with Spinach and Mushrooms

Serves 2

Ingredients

1 packet of slim pasta organic fettucini

2 cups of baby spinach

1 cup red capsicum strips

1/4 cup red onion, thinly sliced

1 cup enoki mushrooms, cut in half

1/2 cup zucchini julienne

1/4 cup coriander chopped

2 TBS unhulled tahini

2 TBS tamari

4 TBS water (or more depending on preferred consistency)

1/2 tsp chilli flakes (optional)

1 TBS curry powder

sprouts and sesame seeds to garnish

Method

Prepare pasta to packet instructions.

Combine tahini, tamari, water, curry powder and chilli flakes in a bowl, and whisk to combine.  Should reach a smooth consistency. Add more water at this stage if required.

In a large bowl, combine all your vegetables and pasta, add dressing, and mix throughly.  I use my hands as I like to get every single strand of pasta and vegetable covered in the goodness.

Divide into serving plate and decorate with sprouts and seeds.

 I like to eat this at room temperature or cold, it's refreshing and really filling.  It also travels well and is a favourite work lunch/dinner.

Roasted vegetable Pasta
Serves 2

Ingredients

1 packet of Slim pasta organic fettucini
2 garlic cloves unpeeled
3 grey zucchini
1/2 large eggplant
2 large flat mushrooms
2 cups spinach shredded
1/4 cup basil shredded
1 cup tomato pasta sauce
2 tsp nutritional yeast
4 kalamata olives sliced
2 semi-dried tomatoes sliced

Method

Preheat oven to 180 degrees celcius.  Line a baking tray with baking paper and set aside.
Cut your zucchinis in half lengthways and cut into 1 cm slices.
Cut your eggplant into 1 cm slices and cut each slice into quarters.
Slice your mushrooms and combine them with your other vegetables and garlic.
Lay flat on baking tray and dry bake them for apporoximately 20 minutes or until soft and slightly golden.
Cook pasta to packet instructions and place in a large bowl.
Add your cooked vegetables, shredded spinach, basil, and sauce to the pasta and mix thoroughly until sauce is incorporated and everything is coated.
Serve and decorate with olives, tomatoes and nutritional yeast.
Eat straight away!
You can have this cold or warm.  Up to you.

The beauty of this dish is that you can add any vegetable you want.  Baked capsicum would go really nicely too, with a bit of chilli flakes in the sauce.

As you can see, I didn't use any oil in the cooking, so this is perfect for those watching their fat intake.  The pasta itself only has 11.8 calories per serve, so when you combine it with dry baked vegetables and a tomato sauce, you've got a really good, low-fat, low-calorie, nutrient dense meal.  You are getting some B group vitamins from the mushrooms and nutritional yeast, some iron from the spinach, and the vitamin c in the tomato sauce is helping with it's absorption.  Winner of a dish.  Really satisfying and won't leave you filling bloated and needing a nap like starchy pasta.

I've also been experimenting with some burger recipes I've found on the net.  The one I tried was from fatfreevegan and it was delicious.  I love this blog as most of her recipes are made using no added fats and they are really delicious.

I served them with a side of sweet potato chips which I dried baked and a lovely salad of spinach, carrots, sunflower seeds and capsicum with a simple lemon vinaigrette.


Inside my burger bun, i had avocado, baby spinach, and sprouts.  I also made some coriander cashew mayonnaise and pickled red onions.



Coriander Cashew Mayonnaise
Makes 1 1/4 cups

Ingredients

1/2 cup raw cashews, soaked overnight (4 hours minimum)
1/2 lemon juiced
1 cup coriander chopped
1/2 cup water
1 tsp sea salt
8 drops of tabasco (optional)
1/2 small clove garlic


Method

Place ingredients in a blender and blend on high until completely smooth. 
Season to taste. 
Store leftovers in a sealed glass container.  Keeps for up to 3 days.

Pickled onions

Makes approx. 1 1/2 cups

Ingredients

1 large red onion thinly sliced
3/4 cup white vinegar
2 teaspoons sea salt
3 tablespoons sugar
1 dried bay leaf
4 whole cloves


Method

Place your ingredients, except onion, into a medium saucepan, and bring to a gentle boil until all the sugar has dissolved.
Add the onion, and stir for a couple of minutes.  Take it off the heat, place it in a glass container, and put in the fridge to cool down.  Or you can let them cool down at room temperature but I couldn't wait that long!!

And whilst we're on the topic of add-ons, I have to say that hummus is one of my favourites.  It's full of fibre, and it's super tasty and nutritious.  I always wonder why people buy it when it's so simple to make.  You can add it to just about everything, and it's such a great protein rich snack to keep those munchies away.  Here' my fail proof recipe.

The best Hummus

Makes approx. 1 1/2 cups

Ingredients

1 400g can of organic chickpeas

1/2 lemon juiced

1 small clove of garlic

1 tsp sea salt

1/4 cup unhulled tahini

6 drops of tabasco (optional)

1/4 cup water (or more depending on preferred consistency)

Method

Place all ingredients in a food processor or powerful blender and whiz until smooth.

Enjoy with EVERYTHING!!

I don't know what it is but whenever I'm feeling a little out of sorts, I always turn to soup. It's also perfect for when I'm feeling cerebrally challenged after a long day at work as it requires minimal preparation or fussing over.  Chopping and blending is as hard as it gets.  Thank goodness for soup.

Green power cream soup

Serves 2

Ingredients

2 cups fresh spinach chopped

1 cup zucchini chopped

1 cup broccoli chopped

1/2 brown onion chopped

1/4 cup flat leaf parsley chopped

1/4 cup celery chopped

2 cloves of garlic

1 litre of water

1/4 raw cashews

1 vegan stock cube

2 TBS creamed corn (optional)

alfalfa sprouts (optional)

Method

Place water, cashews, stock cube and garlic in a saucepan and bring to the boil on med-high heat.  Lower heat add zucchini, broccoli, celery and onion and cook for about 5 minutes.  Add spinach and cook for a further 2 minutes.  Turn heat off and add parsley.  

Using a hand held blender, blend until smooth.

Check seasoning once blended and adjust as desired.

Serve with a TBS of creamed corn and some alfalfa sprouts.

Again, I didn't add any oil, and you will get some good fats

from the cashews, as well as a bunch of other good stuff.

But a meal is not complete without a sweet little treat!  Now that No-sugar-vember is over, I have been able to indulge in some fruit and indulge I have!

With the temperatures reaching crazy high 30's, here's a treat to keep you cool.

Cookies and Cream Gelato

serves 2.....or 1 :)

Ingredients

For the cookies

1 cup raw almonds

1 cup raw brazil nuts

6 medjool dates

1/4 cup raw cacao powder

1 TBS coconut oil

1 tsp vanilla essence

For the gelato

2 frozen bananas

Method for Cookies

Place all ingredients in a food processor and process until you get a crumb that holds together when pressed into a ball.

Take about 3 TBS of the crumbs for your gelato.

Line a shallow tray with baking paper and press the rest of the crumb into it to make a slab.  Cover and place in the freezer for indulging at a later date.  Or you can get cookie cutters and cut out shapes, store shapes in a container lined with baking paper and keep in the freezer.  Take them out only as you are about to eat them otherwise you risk eating them all in the one go, and they will also return to their crumbly beginnings.  Don't say I didn't warn you!

Method for Gelato

Place frozen bananas in food processor and blend until it reaches a smooth, gelato like consistency.  Add your crumbs and pulse until it's incorporated into the gelato but not blended threw.

Serve and enjoy. 

A chocolaty hit without the refined sugars.  That's what I like the most.

With the festive season creeping upon us, I'm looking forward to trying out some christmas inspired recipes. I'm going to perfect a pumpkin pie, and also make some quinoa stuffed mini pumpkins for christmas dinner.  And you can't have christmas without vegan christmas pudding with lashings of vanilla custard can you?  No, that would be wrong!

Peas, love and mungbeans

xxb

week 7

So i now only have 5 weeks left of the challenge.  I feel like the time has flown.  I am really entrenched in this way of eating now, and I'm wondering how I'm going to give it up, if it is that I decide to do that at the end.

Whatever the case, I feel like eating to nourish your body is not always a 'be all and end all' type of scenario.  It's more about what works for you, your body and your morals/ethics regarding food and food production.

This is not an easy idea to accept, specially for people like me who are stringent followers of the rules.  I've chosen to eat a plant based diet, and I am enjoying the ride, however, I don't want my health to suffer as a result of developing deficiencies, so my hope is that I can work through this and maintain this way of eating.

Now that we've got the serious stuff out of the way, let's look at some delicious summer treats that I've been playing around with.

I can smell summer in the air, it just keeps getting warmer in gorgeous Sydney, and there's nothing I love more on a warm sunny day, than stuffing my face full of ice cream.  

That's right, I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream!!

These two recipes are sugar-free but feel free to add a sweetener of choice if you like things a little extra indulgent. Personally I don't think you really need it, so give it a go without it.  I dare you!

Berry-coconut gelato
serves 2

Ingredients

2 bananas frozen
1/4 cup berries of your choice (i used frozen raspberries)
1.5 Tbs coconut cream
1 tsp sweetener of choice (optional)

Method

Place all ingredients in a food processor and whiz until it reaches the desired consistency.

Banana Peanut Butter Gelato
serves 2

Ingredients

2 bananas frozen
1 Tbs natural peanut butter
pinch of sea salt
1 tsp of sweetener of choice (optional)
1 tsp crushed peanuts for topping

Method

Place all ingredients except crushed peanuts into food processor and whizz until you reach ice cream consistency.
Serve with a sprinkle of crushed peanuts on top.
You could add the crushed peanuts and stir it through the gelato, I think that would add a really nice texture.  Crunch Crunch Crunch :)

Do you get the picture now?  

This is the simplest, most easiest way to make delicious, healthy ice cream in minutes, so there's always a new flavour that you can whip up at a whim.

I always have bags and bags full of bananas in my freezer.  It's such a good way to store them if you have them turning brown.  

I use them to make banana bread, cakes, smoothies, and of course, ice cream.
I picked up 2 kilos of bananas the other day for $2.50!!  Just because the skin is spotted and a little brown doesn't mean the insides are dying.  As long as there's no soft bits and black bruises, they're as perfect as unspotted ones.

Now, as you can see, the banana peanut butter gelato is not alone.  Next to it is a delicious serving of vegan chocolate mousse.
This indulgent treat is delicious on it's own, and also makes a great filling for a chocolate tart.

I have tested this out on my non-vegan friends and told them the secret ingredient afterwards and they couldn't believe it.
Give it a go and see for yourself.

Chocolate Mousse
serves 6 on it's own or makes one 8 inch pie tart

Ingredients

2 cups of avocado flesh (about 2 1/2 avos)
2/3 cup maple syrup
1/3 cup non-dairy milk of choice (i used oat milk for this one)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 Tbs arrowroot powder
1 Tbs almond butter
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/4 cup raw cacao powder (you can use cocoa powder if that's what you have)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 block of dark chocolate (i used Lindt 70% as it doesn't contain any dairy)

Method

Place all ingredients in a food processor except for the chocolate.
Blend it until smooth, you will need to scrape the bowl a couple of times to make sure it's all incorporated.
In a double boiler, or in a bowl placed over some simmering water, melt your chocolate until smooth and there's no more lumps.
Add to avocado mixture and blend again until all mixed through.  Mixture will thicken into a delicious smooth blend.  Try not to eat it all!!

The mousse will harden somewhat when refrigerated, and if you are using as a filling for a tart, make sure you place it in the freezer for a couple of hours before you serve it.  It will make it easier to cut.

I have some recipes that work well for tart bases but I will post that up next week as I will be making some salted caramel and chocolate tarts this week.

I have made this as a tart before and it it delicious.  The best thing is that you can freeze the left overs and cut off a piece as you go.

It definitely is a rich chocolate flavour, so a small serving is really enough to satisfy your chocolate craving.

Now that we've had dessert, how about a main?

As I've said before, I HATE waste, so I made the following recipe with the left over risotto I put up in my previous post.  

I made a big batch of the sauce from my spaghetti veganese recipe, and used the left over to make a pasta for the family that included chorizo (they are NOT doing the challenge).

All you have to do is stuff your capsicum with the risotto, spread the pasta sauce on top and a little on the bottom of the baking  pan, and stick it in the oven at 180 degrees celcius and bake for about 30-40 minutes.

Once out of the oven, sprinkle some chopped herbs and some nutritional yeast flakes for some added vitamin B.

Add a side salad and there you have it!  

Now for another savoury dish. 

I was playing around with making some vegan pesto and this is what I came up with.

Tomato Pesto

makes approx. 2 cups

Ingredients

1 cup basil leaves

1 1/2 garlic cloves

1/4 cup semi dried tomatoes

1/4 cup evoo

1/4 cup walnuts

1/4 cup pine nuts

1/2 tsp sea salt

1 Tbsp nutritional yeast flakes

Freshly ground pepper to taste

Method 

Place all ingredients in your food processor and process until nearly smooth.  Now, it will be a little bit thick so I added about 1 Tbsp of water at a time until I got the desired consistency.  I ended up adding 3 Tbsp but it's personal preference.

This is good to have on hand when you are stuck and need to jazz up a meal.  Here's two I used it with.

Quinoa Topped Mushrooms

serves 6 as a light meal

Ingredients

1 cup of quinoa rinsed and drained

1 tsp of vegan stock powder

1 1/4 cup water

1 Tbsp coconut oil

1 garlic clove minced

1/3 cup brown onion diced

1/3 cup squash diced

6 sundried tomatoes cut into strips

1/4 cup fresh parsley

1/4 cup fresh basil

3-4 Tbsp water

6 large field mushrooms

pepper to taste

Method

Preheat oven to 180 degrees celcius.  Line a baking tray with baking paper.  Clean mushrooms by wiping with a paper towel to remove dirt.  Place clean mushrooms, caps down on lined baking tray and place in oven for about 30 - 40 minutes.

Whilst your mushrooms are in the oven, place the rinsed quinoa in a medium saucepan with water and stock powder and bring to the boil over medium heat.  Once boiling, reduce heat to low and simmer, covered for about 15 - 20 minutes, or until all liquid has evaporated and quinoa is translucent and cooked.  Turn heat off.

In a frying pan, add your coconut oil, garlic, onion and squash. Cook until squash is a little soft but still has some crunch in it.  Add to quinoa.

Process your herbs and water with a hand held blender if you have it and add this mixture to you quinoa, along with the sun dried tomato strips.  Stir gently to combine.

Return the quinoa to a low heat and cook uncovered until there's no more liquid, this should only take about 3-5 minutes as there's not really that much water added.

By now, your mushrooms should be ready.

Take them out of the oven and place them on a plate, top with herbed quinoa and your tomato pesto.

Bon appétit!

Mediterranean Pasta

serves 1 

Ingredients

Wholemeal pasta or pasta of choice (enough for one person)

1/2 Tbsp coconut oil

1/3 cup of eggplant strips

1/4 cup brown onion diced

1 garlic clove minced

1 tsp dried oregano

1 tsp dried chilli flakes (optional)

4 sundried tomatoes cut into strips

6 kalamata olives chopped

3 Tbsp tomato pesto (or more if you like)

1 Tbsp fresh parsley chopped

2 tsp nutritional yeast 

Sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Method

Cook pasta to packet instructions

Heat coconut oil in frying pan and add garlic, onion and eggplant, cook on medium heat until eggplant turns golden.

Add oregano, chilli flakes, sundried tomatoes and olives.  Cook for a further 2 minutes.

Remove from heat and add to hot drained pasta.  Stir in pesto and parsley and mix until well incorporated and covering every inch of pasta.  Add your seasoning at this stage if you feel it needs it.

Plate it up and sprinkle with nutritional yeast.

Serve with some crusty bread and a basic salad.

I also use the pesto as a spread on my sandwiches, and stuff them with salad and baked pumpkin. Yummo!

On the body front, I am still losing hair :( but I have started taking the supplements and it's early days so I'm hoping it will stop soon.  I guess I have to give it some time.  I think about 4 weeks should be long enough to start to see some difference.  Fingers crossed!

Otherwise, energy levels are good, my sleep is still great, give or take a few nights when work has been really hectic, or my girls have a bad night.  But these are normal everyday things that would happen regardless of eating habits.

I've started doing some meditating, just small 5 minute intervals at this stage.  Trying to find a regular time to do it is the only problem as you can imagine.  At this stage, I can only do it at night after the family are all tucked in and asleep.

I know it's best to practice first thing in the morning but alas, it's a rare occasion when I wake up before everyone else.  I'm usually woken up by my youngest poppet calling out 'maaamiiiiii!' from her cot!!

But never fear, I will persevere.

Peas, love and mung beans

xxb

half way mark

Before I go into what's been going on, I should point something out.  Maybe I should have clarified this at the beginning, my apologies but here it is.

When I use the word vegan, I am not by any means stating that I follow a vegan way of life.  I love shoes way too much.

I use the word vegan to describe a plant based diet that I am currently following.  That is not to take away from those individuals who live the vegan lifestyle, it is just to simplify my life and so that I don't have to write 'plant based diet' all the time.  Hopefully, I haven't offended anyone and I'm sure that who ever owns the word vegan, will not mind.  I think this because I imagine that most vegans are non-judegemental, loving, peaceful humans.

Phew, ok, is anyone else getting annoyed by that word?!

So, the last week and a half have been rather eventful.  I had a birthday, I worked a lot, I got really sick and I tried to squeeze as many new recipes as possible into one day so that I had something new to give you.  

I should also inform you that I finally went to see my doctor, figured I needed a blood test so they were probably the best bet.  Plus, I've got a really good relationship with my G.P and he's a very open individual.  Didn't even bat an eyelid when I told him of my challenge. I really thought he might try to talk me out of it as some non-vegans (there we go again) do.

I get my results next week so will keep you posted (unless it's super embarrassing than I might not).

Ok, so my birthday was awesome although I did leave my party after only an hour of getting there.  No dancing with my girls as planned, no hangover the next morning, just in bed by midnight like cinderella (although I had my prince with me, bonus).

That wasn't the bad part, the bad part was feeling like something was not-quite-right for four days before it hit me.  The worst nausea and many trips to the loo.  Had to leave work early because it was THAT bad.  Who would've thought a tinie tiny little bug could cause so much grief?  But it eventually got better and here I am.

Whilst sick, I hardly ate.  This is not good.  I love food and the sight of it made me sick sick sick.  Not to mention it was the prelude to many uncomfortable situations.

But, one must nourish the body in order for healing to occur so this is what I made.

Save Me Soup

serves 4

Ingredients

1 zucchini 

1 carrot 

1 brown onion diced 

2 garlic cloves crushed

1 parsnip

1 sweede

2 stalks of celery

2 cups of spinach shredded

1 handful of vermicelli noodles

1 cup of creamed corn (i use fresh corn, kernels removed and whizzed with some water)

1/4 cup fresh parsley

1 litre of water

1 tsp of vegetable stock

Method

Chop vegetables roughly (except those as above).

In a medium saucepan, add the water, vegetable stock, onion, garlic, carrot, swede and parsnip.

When the water starts boiling, reduce heat to simmer and add the rest of the vegetables except parsley and creamed corn.

When the carrot and swede are soft but not mushy, add vermicelli, spinach and corn.  If it's too thick, add more water at this stage.

Cook for another 5 minutes, then turn off heat and stir in parsley.

I don't have a photo for this and it doesn't actually look very pretty but it tastes delicious and it was the only thing I could keep down.

I had it with a slice of organic sourdough spelt toast.

Yum.

I have also been trying new ingredients and one that's been interesting me of late is buckwheat.  Now, I am trying to eat less gluten (very hard, I love bread) and buckwheat actually has NO wheat in it.  Sometimes they just really get the names wrong don't they?

Anywhoo, here's a recipe that I came up with for lunch today.

Buckwheat and Kale Salad with Ranch Dressing   

Serves 3 as a light meal

Ingredients

1/2 cup buckwheat

1 1/2 cup kale shredded

1 1/2 cup tuscan cabbage shredded

1/4 cup char-grilled capsicum* chopped

1/3 cup baked pumpkin cubed

1/4 cup fresh coriander chopped

1/4 cup ranch dressing

Method

Soak the buckwheat for 20  minutes, rinse and steam for another 20 minutes.

Fluff with a fork when it's done.

In a large bowl, add all ingredients and toss gently to coat.

Add more seasoning if required.

Easy peasy japanesy.

*To char-grill your capsicum, place whole washed red capsicum over your gas stove element and cook until black and charred on all sides.  Once done, place in a bowl of cold water and leave for a while until cool enough to handle.

The blackened skin will peel off easily.  Remove seeds and store left over in a container with olive oil and add some peppercorns for later use.

But you can't have a salad without the dressing, and I got this beauty from here: http://www.yumuniverse.com/2012/01/11/creamy-dairy-free-soy-free-ranch-dressing/

It's a great recipe but next time I will change a few things.  I'll repost the updated version once my stock runs out.

I should also report that my man has decided to go on a bit of a health kick.  No, I have not been able to convince him to go meatless but it does mean that he's happy to have more than one meat free night a week.  Good for him and good for me because I get to try out some more recipes.

As a family with two young kids, spaghetti bolognese is a favourite at our place and the lover is usually in charge of making it so I thought it might be a good time to introduce my version.

Spaghetti Veganese (he he he) 

Serves 4

Ingredients

1 large eggplant

2 zucchini

1 carrot

1 brown onion

2 cloves garlic

3 stalks celery

1 Tbs coconut oil

1 can organic diced tomatoes

1 Tbs tomato paste

1 Tbs dried oregano

1 tsp vegetable stock

2 Tbs fresh basil

Savoury yeast flakes

Cracked pepper to taste

1 handful of dried spaghetti (about half a pack)

Method

Make pasta to packet instructions and whilst that is cooking, make the rest.

Place all vegetables into your food processor until finely chopped (or looks like mince).

In a large frying pan, heat your oil and add minced vegetables.  Once soft, about 3-5 minutes, add your oregano, paste and vegetable stock.

After 2 minutes, add your canned tomatoes.  If too dry, use a little water to rinse your tomato can and add that to the mixture.

Cook until it starts to boil, then turn heat down and simmer for 10 minutes.

Once cooked, turn off heat and add fresh basil and cracked pepper.

Once your pasta is cooked, rinse and add to sauce.  Mix well until all pasta is covered.

Serve with a sprinkling of yeast flakes and season if desired.

I added some raw fresh spinach also but that's just because I love it so much.

What was the verdict?  Empty plates! And that's good enough for me :)

And here's another meal that I cooked for them.  You can make it meat friendly by serving it with a side of free range grilled chicken.  I marinated the chicken in mexican spices.

Black Bean Chilli   

Serves 4

Ingredients

1 Tbs coconut oil

2 cloves garlic

1/3 cup brown onion diced

1/2 cup carrots diced

1/2 cup red capsicum

1/2 cup zucchini

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp ground coriander

1 tsp smoky paprika

1 Tbs dried oregano

1 tsp chilli flakes*

1 tsp vegetable stock

1 can organic black beans rinsed

1 can organic diced tomatoes

1 Tbs fresh coriander chopped

Freshly cracked pepper

Method

In a large fry pan, add your coconut oil, garlic, brown onion and carrots.

When onion is translucent, add the rest of your vegetables, stock powder and spices and cook until fragrant.

Add canned tomatoes and add a little water if too dry. 

Turn down heat once it reaches a boil and simmer for 10 minutes.

Add your beans and cook for a further 3 minutes.

Turn heat off and add fresh coriander and cracked pepper.

I served it top of some left over rice that I had and topped it with a basic avocado, red onion and tomato salsa with a lemon and evoo dressing.

*Omit the chilli flakes if your children don't like it.  Mine don't so we just add some once on our plates.  I don't think it compromises the taste.

  

After my terrible hiatus from food, albeit brief but terrible none the less, I was craving the baked goods I missed out on those few days.

So what's a girl to do?  

Well bake of course!

I revisited a fond friend in the pumpkin cake and this time I used a recipe I found here:http://joythebaker.com/2010/11/vegan-pumpkin-cranberry-apple-pecan-everythinbread/

This recipe is to-die-for delicious and results in the moistest, crumbliest, most delicious bread you'll ever sink your teeth into.  If you love pumpkin, you will love this.  The only change I made was that I used 1/2 cup of raisins and 1/2 cup of dried cranberries as I didn't have any fresh ones.  I also added 1 tsp of ground ginger.  Still delicious in my opinion.

My girls loved this as an afternoon treat which always makes me happy.

This bread is still high in sugar so as a random treat it's ok. 

I'm mindful not to feed my girls too much sugar (and I'm trying to cut down also) so I've had to play around with recipes to come up with something they like.  There has been plenty a time when my nearly 4 year old has told me "mum, it's a little bit yum but not very yum".  She's so sweet, always trying to let me down gently.

Here's a recipe that they both loved, phew!

Bananut Cake Bars

Ingredients

2 medium bananas mashed

1/4 cup sultanas

1/4 cup dried cranberries

3/4 cup almond milk

1/3 cup unhulled tahini and sunflower oil mixture (half and half)

2 Tbs maple syrup

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 1/3 cup wholemeal self-raising flour

Pinch of sea salt

Handful of flaked almonds

1 tsp chia seeds

Method

Line a brownie pan with baking paper and set aside.  Pre-heat oven to 170 degrees celcius.

Carefully mix bananas, dried fruit, tahini/oil mixture, syrup and cinnamon.

Fold through flour and salt but don't over mix, this will result in a tough cake.

Spoon into prepared tin and spread out evenly.  Mixture will be thick, that's cool, it's meant to be.

Sprinkle with almonds and chia seeds and gently press into the batter.

Bake for about 35 minutes but start checkin at around 25 minutes as all ovens are different.

It's ready when your skewer comes out clean.

Cool on a wire rack (if you can wait until then).

Store in an airtight container.

Can be warmed up and served with freshly made coconut custard.

And I'm spent!

Peas, love and mung beans

xxb