Archive

salads

a temporary goodbye + potato, quinoa and tuna salad

March 15, 2012
light meals, low fodmap, lunch, salads
5 Comments

WOW! I am one super busy girl at the moment. I’ve been meaning to blog for a while but I really haven’t had the time (or energy). This picture demonstrates my recent activities - a lot of eating on the go and a lot of reading. I’ve had some beautiful home cooked meals but nothing fancy; tonight was spelt pasta with a vegetable sauce that I made in minutes by throwing whatever I had on hand in a pot with some chilli and fresh basil.

University is going to be a super big commitment (yes, much more than I realised) and that means that for now, until I get into the swing of things, I won’t be visiting here all that much. I’m sure I’ll make an odd post here and there but has been a big change for me and a lot is out of order! You’ll see me back here within a couple of weeks/months.

Here is a simple lunch recipe that I made this morning to take to uni. Enjoy and take care. See you all soon!

Serves 1

 

INGREDIENTS

1 cup cooked quinoa

large handful of olives, chopped

1 carrot, grated

2 medium sized potatoes, boiled and cut into bite sized pieces

185g can of tuna (in springwater)

1/2 avocado (for garnish – i ate my bit before i took the picture!)

 

METHOD

Mix through and serve! Too easy!

quinoa, olive & parmesan salad

March 2, 2012
light meals, lunch, salads
3 Comments

I’m doing some sorting and reading at home today and thought I’d take a quick break to post this very simple quinoa salad recipe. Good on its own but you could also try putting it into a pita round with chicken or chickpeas, or serving with some grilled fish. I hope you all have a gorgeous weekend!

Serves 2 as a main, or 4 as a side salad

 

INGREDIENTS

1 1/2 cups cooked quinoa (or use cous cous if you like)

large handful of pitted black olives, chopped roughly

1 cup of parsley, chopped

large handful of capers

2 small-medium sized carrots, grated

1 small cucumber, chopped finely

a couple of tbs of olive oil

1/4 cup parmesan cheese, finely grated

pepper

 

METHOD

Mix all of your ingredients and season well. Serve!

prawn soba salad

February 1, 2012
lunch, salads, seafood
Leave a Comment

I can’t keep up with this weather! It is as moody as I am. This was a quick salad that I whipped up when it was too hot to bother with anything that took any longer than 10 minutes. It doesn’t look too flash but I thought it was worth sharing, for those days where you just couldn’t be bothered doing too much and wanted to eat lightly.

Serves 2.

 

INGREDIENTS

20 cooked prawns, peeled and deveined

1 zucchini, grated into large pieces

1 carrot, grated into large pieces

100g cos lettuce, washed and chopped

100g soba noodles (I used 100% buckwheat noodles)

1 sheet of nori, chopped into small pieces

2 tbs tamari

3 tbs olive oil

pepper

juice of 1/2 lime

small handful of parsley

 

METHOD

Cook soba according to packet directions. Drain and set aside.

Meanwhile mix lettuce, parsley and vegetables.

In a small container, mix the tamari, olive oil, pepper and lime. Toss through the salad, mixing in the soba noodles.

Divide salad between two bowls.

Add prawns and top with nori.

Enjoy x

roast pumpkin, tofu & soba salad

January 26, 2012
light meals, low fodmap, mains, salads
4 Comments

It’s been a huge couple of weeks. Lots to think about, lots of decisions and changes to be made and life has taken a big turn (to say the least). I’ll try to race through this as quickly as possible.

So, I got accepted into university. When I think about the last 12 years and all that has gone on, I could hardly believe that I got an offer to the uni of my choice. I am still a little shocked about it all. I’m proud and overjoyed but I’m also very scared about what this means for me financially. Coming from full time work with a loan strapped tightly to me, and supporting myself, I’m worried about whether I could handle it all for the next 4 years. I’m not the best to deal with stress and having no regular/firm income is going to be tough for me. Making sure I can put in the effort of doing 4 subjects full time, while having enough money to pay everything by the month is going to be a challenge. I really want to give it a go because I have worked so hard for it. So, I did enrol. However, I’m still thinking about deferring right now because it all seems too hard/expensive right now. I’m really happy I made it to this point though. Just having a choice is a wonderful feeling in itself. So I guess I have to do a lot of soul searching and thinking and then just roll with it and hope for the best. Fingers crossed I can take the plunge. It will be worth it. I wouldn’t have to drag myself to jobs I hate anymore for one. That would be quite nice.

While I have managed to turn my life around significantly (really only over the last few years), I still have a lot of work to do. Happiness is an ongoing journey after all, isn’t it? One thing I’ve been trying very hard to achieve is staying positive. Really challenging when you’ve had such a negative mindset for such a long time. I always strive to uplift others but I don’t put enough effort into my own happiness.  I have decided it’s time to put some real effort in. I’ve been completing exercises and reading books centred towards improving my ability to think rationally and remain happy and flexible in the face of challenges. I’m going with the idea of ‘what you think, is what you feel.’

I’ve also been trying especially hard to eat well and exercise. I’ve been doing a lot of cooking and walking a lot. I’ve managed to stick out drinking a lot of water too, which has been great. I certainly feel more energised when I’ve had enough water!

Not really too much else is happening but I’ve been kept busy and I have a lot of organising to do. I created this warm salad the other night and ate it at a park with some strawberries for dessert. It turned out really well and it was very easy to make. Budget friendly, as well.

Serves 2 hungry people.

 

INGREDIENTS

extra virgin olive oil

100g of 100% buckwheat soba noodles (use whichever type of soba you like)

quarter of a small pumpkin, cut into small cubes

250g tofu, cut into small cubes

2 tbs tamari

2 tbs grated fresh ginger

1 tbs chopped fresh rosemary

large handful rocket and baby spinach

 

METHOD

Cook soba noodles according to packet directions and set aside.

Preheat oven to 200. Pop your pumpkin on a baking tray, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with rosemary. Bake for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a medium mixing bowl, place your ginger, tamari, some olive oil then your tofu. Mix ingredients together. Place under the grill on low-medium heat for 5 minutes.

When everything is ready, place together with the rocket and baby spinach in a large bowl and toss. Serve warm.

soba mango salad with tofu & eggplant roast

November 15, 2011
light meals, lunch, mains, salads
Leave a Comment

 

This is a perfect Summer week night dinner. I’ve not baked tofu before and it’s gorgeous. I’m probably going to set the dressing recipe aside to use in the future for different dishes as well. I love toasted sesame! This recipe has been taken and tweaked ever so slightly from my favourite Australian blog, One Small Kitchen.

Serves 2.

INGREDIENTS

1 medium-sized eggplant (aubergine), diced
1 medium-sized mango, diced
180g firm tofu, diced
large handful of chives, chopped
180g soba noodles
splash of olive oil

Dressing
3 tbs toasted sesame seeds (just fry over a pan for a minute or so)
2.5 tbs mirin
1.5 tbs tamari
1.5 tbs lemon juice
2 tsp grapeseed oil
1/2 tsp crushed chilli
2 tbs water

METHOD

Combine dressing ingredients except water in a small bowl. Taste and adjust as required before adding water to thin out.

Slug a bit of olive oil onto an oven tray and arrange eggplant and tofu atop, mixing to roughly coat with oil. Drizzle half of the dressing over the lot and bake at 180 degrees celcius for 30 minutes, or until browned.

Cook soba noodles as per packet directions.

Plunge noodles in cold water and drain, and wait for eggplant and tofu to cool if serving chilled. Divide noodles between bowls and add tofu and eggplant mix, mango and herbs. Spoon remaining dressing over.

 

(Source)

chopped miso salad

August 4, 2011
light meals, lunch, salads
4 Comments

I am pretty much obsessed with anything miso at the moment. I’ll be having this for lunch tomorrow and I can’t wait. The dressing is really lovely. Makes 2 servings.

INGREDIENTS

3/4 cup spring onions, thinly sliced

splash of extra-virgin olive oil for cooking shallots

pinch of salt

1 tbs miso paste

1/4 teaspoon powdered mustard

1 tbs good quality pure honey

1/8 cup brown rice vinegar

1/6 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1/4 of a purple cabbage

1/2 cup slivered almonds

1/4 medium red onion, diced

200g tofu, chopped into small cubes

1 small head of broccoli, cut into florets

METHOD

Cook the shallots, olive oil and a touch of sea salt in a frying pan over medium heat. Let them cook, stirring occasionally, until they get crisp and brown (this will take around 10-15 minutes). Set the spring onions aside and cook tofu in the same pan for 5 minutes, or until browned.

Mix the miso paste, mustard powder, honey and rice wine vinegar until smooth. Whisk in the olive oil and set aside.

Boil some water and blanch the broccoli pieces for a couple of minutes. Drain and set aside.

Shred the cabbage, discarding the core. Gently toss all ingredients, covering them evenly with the miso dressing.

(Adapted from 101 Cookbooks)

green salad with purple carrot, miso and ginger dressing

July 26, 2011
light meals, lunch, salads
2 Comments


Well, I don’t have too much to say today. I’m working from home and really enjoying it. I love the idea of working from a home office. Why spend time travelling to work when I can just roll out of bed and onto my desk chair, ready to go?  At home I am undisturbed as well, which is a great thing. I also get to sit around in my pyjamas all day which is probably one of my favourite things to do.

Today I whipped up a tidy little salad for lunch. Took me all of around 10 minutes and I reserved a little of the dressing so that I can use it as a dip tomorrow. I used purple carrot – any carrot is obviously fine to use though. I’m going to try using beetroot next time, I think it would work really well. Serves 2 people.

INGREDIENTS

150g mixed leaves (I used baby spinach, cos and roquette)

1 avocado, diced

2 large purple (or orange) carrots, roughly chopped

2 spring onions, chopped finely

3 tbs fresh ginger, grated

2 tbs white miso paste

4 tbs rice wine vinegar

2 tbs roasted sesame oil

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

4 tbs warm water

large handful sunflower and pumpkin seeds

METHOD

Pop your carrot, shallots and ginger in a blender and pulse until it looks like a nice chunky paste.

Add your miso, vinegar, water and oils and blend together until smooth.

Garnish your greens with the dressing, avocado and seeds.

(Recipe adapted from GOOP)

Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.

Join 29 other followers