I had a heap of sweet potato and found this awesome recipe on Rustic Kitchen. I followed it near almost perfectly, except I was sharing the food with someone who doesn’t like coriander so I used parsley instead. I also changed the spices and method slightly and omitted the salt. Perfect comfort food and I LOVE the addition of raisins. I served it with brown rice.

Serves 6

INGREDIENTS

2 tbs olive oil

2 medium brown onions, diced

1 tsp ground coriander

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp turmeric

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

2 tbs finely grated ginger

4 cloves garlic, minced

2 large sweet potatoes, diced

2 cups cooked chickpeas

1/2 cup raisins

800g can crushed tomatoes

1 cup vegetable stock

1/2 cup minced parsley leaves

METHOD

Heat oil and cook onions for about 5 mins, stirring occasionally. Add the ginger and garlic, give it a quick stir and add all the spices. Cook for a couple of minutes (until everything is coloured) and make sure you’re stirring it often enough so you aren’t burning anything.

Add everything that is left (except the parsley) and simmer for around 25 minutes. Remove from heat, stir through parsley and serve.

I just realised that although I make smoothies a lot (thanks to my housemate who bought me a great blender), I never post any! This is my favourite combination at the moment. It’s really simple and super tasty. I

What are your favourite smoothie combinations? Please share!

INGREDIENTS for 2

2 cups pineapple (1 if you want a thinner smoothie)

1/2 cup low fat milk

1/2 cup low fat yoghurt

large handful of ice cubes

2 tbs chia seeds

METHOD

Blend everything excluding the pineapple.

When smooth, add pineapple and further blend until smooth and frothy.

Serve in a tall glass, top with chia seeds and stir them through.

Enjoy!

I had a big day today! I did break it up a little with a midday tea with some girlfriends and a long walk, which was wonderful. After a 4 hour lecture this afternoon, I came home with very little energy and in desperate need of some comfort food. This was what I ended up with. Filling without being too heavy on the belly and super easy to whip up. The perfect mid week meal! I served this with spelt linguine.

Serves 2.

INGREDIENTS

1 small bunch of kale, roughly chopped

6 swiss brown mushrooms, halved

2 garlic cloves, crushed

400g tin of whole tomatoes

250g boneless skinless salmon, cut into large chunks

1/2 tsp crushed chilli

1/2 tsp dried thyme (use whatever you like, fresh is better – this is all I had!)

200g pasta of your choice

METHOD

Cook pasta according to packet directions. Drain and set aside, running hot water through just before serving.

Heat your tomatoes, garlic, herbs/spices and season well.

Add mushrooms, kale and salmon and cook around around 10 minutes on medium heat.

Serve and enjoy with a little parmesan!

Today was a truly wonderful day! I got my results back from an essay that I really struggled with and somehow ended up with a high distinction. I could barely believe it and was blown away all afternoon. I am proud as punch, as I worked so hard on it. Although I’m finding university tough (especially the bit where I’m a broke student), getting a result like this makes me feel as though it’s all worth it.

I had a fairly chilled afternoon and decided to bake this loaf, as I had some bananas and leftover buckwheat to use up. It’s tasty and not too sweet, which is just the way I like my cakes. Feel free to use a loaf tin if you don’t want a slice. Additionally, you could turn this into some yummy cupcakes. I was going to add raspberries and forgot all about it – someone give that a go! Pretty sure this is gluten free too. Please let me know if I’ve gotten that wrong!

Makes 8 large slices.

INGREDIENTS

1 1/2 cups buckwheat flour

1/2 cup flaxseed meal

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp ground nutmeg

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 cup raw caster sugar

1/4 cup macadamia oil (you could use coconut oil or olive oil)

2 mashed bananas

1/3 cup low fat yoghurt

1 organic free-range egg

METHOD

Preheat oven to 180 degrees celcius.

Mix all of your dry ingredients in one bowl and the wet in another.

Add the dry to the wet batch and mix through evenly. Place in a greased/lined baking tin and cook for 50 minutes.

Enjoy warm with honey on the top!

Hope everyone is having a lovely Sunday. These fibre-filled berry pancakes were a great breakfast to start the day with. Berries are unbelievably expensive at the moment so I thawed out some frozen berries and used them. This batter makes around 12 smaller sized pancakes.

INGREDIENTS

1 cup buckwheat flour

1 banana, mashed

1 tsp cinnamon

1 cup rice milk

2.5 tsp gf baking powder

4 tbs chia seeds

1/2 cup blueberries

1/2 cup raspberries

(extra berries to serve)

METHOD

Mix flour, baking powder, chia seeds and cinnamon together.

Pour in the rice milk and banana mash and mix well.

Fold the berries in gently.

Put a lightly oil pan on medium heat and pour large tablespoons of the batter in. Cook for about 1-2 mins each side, flipping halfway through. They will be a lovely medium brown colour when done.

Enjoy topped with honey and more berries!

(Inspired by Blueberry Hill)

This laksa is wonderful! I bought some pumpkin and tofu this week and had no idea what I was going to do with it. I found a bunch of green curry recipes but none of them really stood out. I then stumbled upon this amazing recipe and was immediately sold. PLEASE do yourself a favour and make it, whether it is the original version or mine. The pumpkin in this recipe melts in your mouth and it is really awesome.

I have changed the recipe around and I thought it turned out beautifully – I used 100% soba noodles because I try not to eat wheat and I wanted more fibre. I also swapped the fish sauce for salt-reduced tamari, as fish sauce generally tends to be quite high in salt and I left the coriander out altogether. There is a couple of other small differences but overall it still tasted quite like a restaurant bought traditional laksa soup base. I garnished mine with parsley but I recommend using coriander. The best thing about finding this is that I now have a go to recipe for laksa paste.

This serves 2 hungry people (or makes 3 modest sized servings).

INGREDIENTS 

Laksa paste

1 1/2 tsp crushed chilli

2 cloves garlic

3 pieces of ginger, grated

2 lemongrass stalks, sliced

2 tbs olive oil

Laksa

500g pumpkin, diced into big pieces

200g firm tofu (use a good quality organic tofu if possible)

4 cups salt-reduced vegetable stock

1 1/3 cup low-fat coconut milk

2 tbs salt reduced-tamari sauce

juice of 1 lime

180g 100% buckwheat soba noodles

METHOD

Steam pumpkin for 25 minutes, or until really soft. Set aside and cover with foil, to keep it warm.

Cook soba noodles according to packet directions. Rinse, drain and set into bowls.

Blend all laksa paste ingredients in a food processor until it becomes a nice thick paste.

Cook the paste for 2 mins or until aromatic. Add the stock, coconut milk, tamari, lime juice and simmer for 10 minutes, chucking the tofu in after 5 minutes.

Ladle the soup out over the prepared noodles and top it with the pumpkin and parsley (or coriander). Serve immediately!

A quick hello from me! Still keeping busy, still cranking out a heap of uni work.  I had a bit of a stress attack this morning and decided to calm myself with some baking. A very good call – I put these muffins together, bought a coffee, ate 2 while I sipped away and my mood seems to have improved drastically! These bad boys were a bit of an experiment and I think a rather successful one.  If you’re living in Australia, I recommend using Barambah Organic Yoghurt. It is seriously the most beautiful, creamy yoghurt I think I’ve ever had. Ive been hooked on it for ages.

This recipe will make 15 smaller sized muffins.

INGREDIENTS

1 1/4 cup rolled oats

3/4 cup oat flour (just blend some rolled oats until fine)

1/4 cup ground flaxseed meal

1/2 cup buckwheat flour

1/2 cup organic low fat yoghurt

1/2 cup low fat A2 milk

1/2 cup dark brown sugar

1/3 cup macadamia oil

2 large bananas, mashed well

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1 egg

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 cup mix of raisins & chopped walnuts

METHOD

Preheat oven to 205 degrees celcius.

Mix the milk, yoghurt and rolled oats and set aside for 10 mins.

Add the oat flour, flaxseed meal, buckwheat flour , sugar, spices, baking powder and soda and mix well.

Add the banana, egg and oil in and combine well. Then add your nuts and raisins and fold until evenly distributed.

Pop in muffin cases and bake in the oven for 20 minutes.

Best served warm!

(Inspired by Honest Fare)

I know, the picture is pretty dodgy. But the food is tasty. I’ve been working on my assignment all day and I couldn’t be bothered doing too much else now. I nearly bought take away tonight but felt too lazy to even leave the house, so I ended up with this curried vegetable bowl. It’s a bit of an experiment but it worked. The bonus is that it doesn’t take too long to cook. Hope everyone is enjoying the weekend.

Serves 2.

INGREDIENTS

1/2 tbs coconut oil

2 large potatoes, cubed

1 carrot, cut into half moons

1 large celery piece, cut into half moons

1 small red onion, diced

200g green beans, chopped into bite sized pieces

200g kidney beans

2 tbs tomato paste

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp ground coriander

1/2 tsp garam masala

1/2 tsp ground turmeric

1 tsp freshly grated ginger + small dash of ground ginger

1 clove garlic, crushed

1/2 tsp crushed chilli

1/4 cup water

METHOD

Bring a large pot of water to boil. Add potato and carrot, boiling for around 5 mins. Remove and add beans for around 1 minute. Remove and rinse under cold water to stop the cooking process.

Heat oil in a pan over medium heat. Add onion and stir for a couple of minutes. Throw in the tomato paste, spices, water and mix well. Put in the potato and carrot and simmer for 5 minutes. Add green and kidney bean selection and stir well again. Cook for around 2 minutes. You still want your green beans to be crunchy.

Remove from heat and serve!

(Inspired by this post)

Makes 4 large pieces or 8 sides.

INGREDIENTS

2 tbsp ground flax seeds

6 tbsp boiling water

1 tbsp olive oil

1 onion, diced

1 clove garlic, minced

1 cup swiss brown mushrooms, diced

2 cups fresh baby spinach & rocket

1 tbsp fresh thyme, roughly chopped

3/4 cup BBQ sauce (i used a nice store bought organic sauce, free of nasties)

pepper, to taste

2 cups cooked green lentils, cooled

1 cup rolled oats, run through a food processor quickly (use gluten free oats for a gf loaf)

1/2 cup almond meal (i just threw some almonds in a blender – too easy)

METHOD

Preheat the oven to 190 degrees Celsius. Add the ground flax  to a small bowl, pour the boiling hot water over and stir to combine well. Set aside.

Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan, add the onion and garlic and sauté until the onions are tender. Add the mushrooms and cook until the mushrooms are tender, adding in the thyme and spinach. Cook until the spinach is wilted. Add in 1/2 cup of the BBQ sauce, stir to combine and turn off the heat. Add pepper if necessary.

Mash the oats and lentils together well. Spoon the mixture into a large bowl with the flax mix, almond meal and vegetable mixture. Stir well to combine. Mash it up well with your hands, so it’s sticking together nicely.

Spoon the mixture into a parchment paper lined pan of your choice. Press the mixture in well, smooth it out and brush the remaining BBQ sauce over it.

Bake uncovered for 40 minutes. Cool in the pan for a couple of minutes, pull the loaf out by grabbing the sides of the parchment paper and lifting up and allow it to cool for another 5 to 10 minutes on a cooking rack.

Slice and serve.

Recent life highlights: I saw my mother for the first time in AGES, my friend kindly made me a batch of ‘get well’ soup, I fostered and re-homed a beautiful pound puppy, I got taken out for a nice dinner with a really lovely group of people, friends came to visit me and I finally got some proper sleep today. I slept until 2pm (lazy). I also found out that a friend is pregnant, which is super exciting for the family involved. It was a bit of a surprise but everyone is right on board and I know that baby is going to be well loved and well looked after. I really enjoy seeing other people happy.

For the first time in ages, I made myself a comforting meal and it has cleared out my stuffy nose a little. I found this recipe and thought it might help to kick my cold in the butt. I’m looking forward to feeling better and getting my uni work out of the way, so I can enjoy some relaxing ‘me’ time.

Serves 4.

INGREDIENTS