Easy Colourful Roast Vegetable Medley

This is probably the most straight forward healthiest dish I'll post. Well..maybe.. we will see!?

One of my main focuses with food is to have a diverse and wide variety diet. And when I say 'diet' I'm not talking about losing weight or restricting calories. I'm talking about the food we eat daily.

The reason behind this is to be able to get as many essential nutrients, vitamins and minerals as possible from the food I eat every day.

I find vegetables are the easiest visual example and 'guide' for showing they have a variety of nutritional benefits. To sum it all up, I'm trying to say EAT YOUR COLOURS! 

You may be familiar with the saying "Eat your greens", but don't forget your whites, oranges, reds, yellows etc..

Roasting vegetables is definitely one of my 'go to' dishes in the winter. There are plenty of seasonal vegetables at this time of year that are great for roasting, and with the cold weather approaching it is the ultimate comfort way of cooking.
I don't like to add too much to this recipe as the flavours of the vegetables are good on their own.

Easy Colourful Roast Vegetable Medley

Pre heat oven to 200 C

Ingredients

3-4 garlic cloves - peeled
1 large or 2 small Orange Kumera - Sweet potato
2-3 onions
1 capsicum - I used green
3-4 potatoes
2-3  carrots
2 T oil - I use coconut oil
Salt and pepper

I garnished mine with Italian flat leaf parsley

Method

Roughly chop all vegetables into the same size for even cooking times.
Place in a roasting dish and drizzle with oil and season with salt and pepper.
Roast for 30-45 minutes

Serve as a side dish or as a complete meal

Enjoy!

Peach and Passion Smoothie

The good thing about smoothies is you can make it exactly how you like them. There are no 'rules'. You can change the liquid, fruits, vegetables, seeds, nuts or whatever you feel like!

You can easily make a smoothie that is gluten free, dairy free or vegan. Smoothies can be healthy or you can make them a special treat with ice cream. Personally I like to pack my smoothies full of fruit. 

Ingredients 

Method
Blend all ingredients up in a blender or smoothie maker

I garnished mine with chia seeds and a peach slice

Let me know what your favourite smoothie ingredients are!

Enjoy! :)

Peanut and Sesame Soba Noodles

Noodles, Noodles, Noodles!

I hardly ever eat noodles. But I wanted to try something different for dinner.
The good thing about this recipe is you can just add any vegetable you like to it. I chose soba noodles because they are quick to cook and I was in a hurry and hungry!
Soba noodles are made from buckwheat flour and are more of a grey colour compared to spaghetti noodles we are used to.
To be honest, the first time I tried to make this, it failed...I added too much peanut butter and it was just a cluggy chunky mess!...But I have changed the recipe so it works for you :)

 Peanut and Sesame Soba Noodles

Serves 3-4

Ingredients

1 T oil (I use coconut)
1 onion - thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic - crushed
1 capsicum - thinly sliced
1 large or 2 small carrots cut into julienne (long thin strips)
270 g Soba noodles
1 T sesame oil
sesame seeds to garnish

Sauce
1 T Sesame oil
1 T soy sauce
2 T Sweet chilli sauce
75 g crunchy peanut butter

Method

Mix all sauce Ingredients together.

In a fry pan, saute onion, garlic and capsicum in oil.

Prepare noodles according to packet instructions.
(I boiled a saucepan of water then added the soba noodles to the boiling water for 3 minutes.) Drain and refresh with water and mix through 1 T sesame seed oil to prevent from sticking.

Add carrots to the onion mixture and stir.
Add sauce and noodles and mix together.

Garnish with sesame seeds
Serve immediately

Enjoy!

Tropical Smoothie - Pineapple, Passion fruit and Banana

So it's coming to the end of the pineapple season with this colder weather approaching. But I'm not quite ready to say goodbye just yet...!!

Pineapple is a great fruit as it is sweet and juicy which makes for a delicious snack.  Pairing it along with passion fruit, it makes a tasty smoothie which is high in vitamin C. Vitamin C is an essential vitamin for our bodies and provides lots of health benefits such as, helping fight infections.

There are endless possibilities when it comes to smoothies. I love trying out new combinations and testing what works and what doesn't! I usually put banana in my smoothies to thicken it up and make it a bit more fulling. 

Recipe

Serves 1

1 banana

1/2 cup pineapple

1 passion fruit

approx 6 grapes ( I used green grapes )

1/2 cup any type of milk (I used whole organic)

Half the passion fruit and scoop out the flesh.

Blend all ingredients in a blender, food processor or any kind of smoothie maker you may have.

I garnished my smoothie with pineapple, mint leaf and with spare passion fruit flesh.

Enjoy!

Brit :)

Vegan Chickpea and Tomato Curry

Chickpeas are a great option for vegetarians or vegans who are looking for a good source of protein. The many health benefits of chickpeas make it a great option to add to a meal. I personally don't think chickpeas taste great on their own, as they don't have a lot of flavour. But the good news is there are lots of options and ways of incorporating chickpeas into your diet without them tasting too bland!

This recipe is packed full of nutrition. Don't be put off by the lengthy amount of ingredients. It only looks long because of the spices that are used! ;) Once you start making it, it is really easy. You only need one pot!

Vegan Chickpea and Tomato Curry Recipe

Serves approx 4

Ingredients
1 T coconut oil
1 onion sliced
2 cloves crushed garlic
Approx 3 cm of ginger
1 t ground cumin
2 t ground coriander
1 t tumeric
1 pinch chilli powder

4 (large) or 6 (small) tomatoes roughly chopped (you could use 1 can of tomatoes)
1/2 cup red lentils
3/4 cup coconut cream
1 can of chickpeas (drained)
1/2 head of chopped broccoli
a good handful of spinach

Salt and pepper to season
sesame seeds to garnish

Method

Sweat, garlic, onion, ginger and spices in oil in a large pot until onion is slightly softened.

Add chopped tomatoes and slightly simmer for 10 minutes to let the tomatoes thin out.

Add lentils, coconut cream and broccoli. Continue to simmer until broccoli is tender.

Add drained chickpeas and spinach. Cook out for 5mins

Season with salt and pepper. Served garnished with sesame seeds. Can be served with rice if you wish :)

Enjoy! 

Brit :)