Sweet Sunday - ANZAC Biscuits

ANZAC day is observed each year in New Zealand and Australia on the 25th April. It is a day for remembrance for all the NZ and Australian soldiers who served during wars. 

The ANZAC biscuit has become a bit of a tradition here in NZ which is named after 'Australian New Zealand Army Corps' 

These delicious biscuits can be made chewy or crunchy 

Recipe

Makes about 24 biscuits

Preheat oven to 150 degrees Celsius

Ingredients

1 C flour

1 & 3/4 C rolled oats

1 t cinnamon

1/2 C sugar

1/4 C brown sugar

1 C coconut

125 g butter

1/4 C golden syrup

2 T water

1 t baking soda

Method

Sift flour into a bowl. Mix in rolled oats, cinnamon, both sugars and coconut.

In a small saucepan heat butter, golden syrup and water over a low heat until butter is melted.

Remove from heat and add baking soda. Stir.

Add liquid mixture to dry and stir well to combine.

Roll 2 heaped Tablespoons of mixture into a ball and place on lined baking tray.

Continue to roll balls onto the tray placing them about 5 cm apart.

Once you have a tray of biscuits, gently press each ball flat ( about 1 cm thick)

Cook in oven for about 18 mins. If you prefer a crunchier biscuit, cook for about 22-24 mins.

Leave to cool on cooling rack.

Enjoy!

Pear and Walnut Salad

When I'm making any salad I try to get as much flavour in as possible.

This salad is simple, healthy, tasty and keeps the hunger satisfied. 

Walnuts can go off quickly due to their high level of omega oils. The best idea is to store them in an air tight container away from any heat and light. You can even freeze walnuts or leave them in the fridge. If you are lucky enough to get them whole, you can crack them yourself and eat fresh from the shell.

Pear and Walnut Salad

Serve 1

2 cups baby spinach

1 pear sliced

4-5 cherry tomatoes

1 rasher bacon

1/4 C walnuts 

Vinaigrette

5T olive oil

1 clove garlic - crushed

2T balsamic vinegar

1t Dijon mustard

salt and pepper to taste

Prepare vinaigrette by whisking vinegar, garlic and mustard in a small bowl. Slowly whisk in oil. Season with salt and pepper

Grill bacon for 2-3 minutes each side. 

Slice pear, tomatoes and bacon.

Toss all ingredients into a bowl and mix vinaigrette through.

Serve immediately 

Baked Kidney Beans in home style basil tomato sauce with Parmesan eggs

It is coming into comfort-food season here in New Zealand. I have been craving food that will warm me up and completely satisfy my hunger.

I can guarantee that this protein packed recipe will take those tummy rumbles away and leave you feeling warm and nourished.

This recipe is an 'all day' recipe. Try eating it for breakfast, lunch or dinner!

Baked Kidney Beans in home style basil tomato sauce with Parmesan eggs

Pre heat oven to 180 C

1 T coconut oil
1 sliced onion

2 roughly chopped tomatoes

1 can chopped tomatoes

1 can red kidney beans

2 t paprika

approx 8 basil leaves chopped

4 eggs

4 T grated Parmesan
1 t cracked pepper

In an oven safe fry pan, saute onions in oil over a moderate heat.

Once onions are cooked, add all tomatoes, kidney beans and paprika.

Leave to simmer at a moderate heat stirring frequently for about 10-15 minutes.

Mix through chopped basil and cracked pepper.

Crack eggs randomly on top of everything.

Sprinkle Parmesan on top of eggs.

Place in oven for 6-8 minutes to cook the eggs.

Remove from oven. Serve while still hot.

Enjoy! 

Easy Chicken and Spinach Wrap

I have to admit this wrap was made from the left overs of last nights dinner!

I crumbed the chicken last night and served it with seasonal roast vegetables.

I wanted something for lunch that was fresh, quick and nutritious. So I quickly made these wraps with the leftover chicken :)

Preparation to me is key. Being prepared for your meals makes life so much easier for when you just don't have the time.  Making lunches the night before work can be a good idea to avoid missing out on lunch or buying your lunch. Which can be expensive and sometimes not nutritionally rewarding. 

Chicken and Spinach Wrap

Ingredients

500g Chicken breast ( approx)
2 eggs - whisked

2 C bread crumbs
2 T coconut oil

filling
baby spinach
cucumber
tomato
avocado
mayonnaise
wraps ( I used spinach wraps)

Method

Place eggs and bread crumbs in two separate small sized bowls.
Slice chicken breast(s) into thin strips ( goujons ). It is best to keep your sizes as even as possible to insure they cook at the same time.

Heat oil in a fry pan to a medium to high heat. While it is heating, crumb your chicken.
Dip each chicken strip into the whisked eggs then place them to the bread crumb bowl and coat them until fully covered with bread crumbs.
Handy Tip! - Use one hand for the eggs and your other hand for the bread crumbs to avoid bread crumbing your hands too much! :P

Place chicken in the fry pan and cook for about 3-4 minutes then turn over to finish cooking and allow crumbs to turn golden brown. Check one piece of chicken to be sure it is fully cooked by cutting it in half.

Once your chicken is cooking drain on a paper towel.

Get all your wrap ingredients and assemble!
Use as many or as little of the ingredients you like. There are no measurements for this as it depends on how big you want your wrap to be!

Gluten free version - Use gluten free bread crumbs and gluten free wraps

I hope you enjoy these wraps as much as I did. What else do you eat for lunch?

 Keep an eye out for more lunch ideas on my blog

Brit :)

Gluten Free Homemade Muesli

Hey everyone!

I have always loved muesli for breakfast. Unfortunately a lot of muesli that you can buy from supermarkets are full of hidden sugars that decrease the nutritional value.

Making your own muesli at home is so easy and you can make it taste great, which makes it so much more satisfying when you're eating it. This muesli doesn't last long in my house, so I have been making it quite a lot lately! 

This recipe can easily be changed to how you like it. You can use any seeds, nuts and dried fruit that you like. Some examples are sesame seeds, pumpkin seeds, chia seeds, sunflower seeds, flax seeds,  almonds, cashew nuts, walnuts, pecans and brazil nuts.

Recipe

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! :)