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! :)

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 :)

March Favourites!

This month I have few favourites I want to share with you all,

Favourite Food

Blue river Halloumi

This stuff is seriously amazing. I'm not usually into cheeses, but this is one of a kind.
If you aren't familiar with Halloumi, it is the cheese you can fry or grill and doesn't melt away like you would expect most cheeses to do because it has a higher melting temperature.  I always hear people say that Halloumi is the 'squeaky cheese' because it can kinda squeak around your teeth, a bit like chewing gum...
But this is the one Halloumi that doesn't. It crisps up with a nice golden brown colour when you fry it and it tastes great!

I usually add it too my salads or as a side with dinner. I think is a great idea for anyone looking for a non meat alternative in their diet since it is high in protein.

Favourite Treat

Watermelon cake

 This was actually made in February, but I just wanted to share it because I was pretty happy with how it turned out.

I saw a watermelon cake on pinterest a few year ago and I had always wanted to make one ever since. I was never really sure how it would turn out and thought the cream would just run off the watermelon and it would just be a big watery mess. But I tried it for my birthday and it worked! It is definitely the quickest and easiest cake I have ever made. I'm sorry for the rushed looking photos, but everyone was in a hurry to eat it so I took a quick few snaps to show you. 

I used a whole watermelon with the skin off. Then decorated it with whipped cream, strawberries, blueberries and grated dark chocolate.  So if you want to make a 'cake' that is flour-less and refined sugar free, here is your answer! 

Favourite Read

This year I'll be doing a bit of travelling - I can't wait! So I have been doing a bit of research on some of the places I will be visiting. The lonely Planet Travel guides are great if you don't know a lot about the places you are visiting! I'm bit of a beginner when it comes to travelling, but these books are helping me a lot!

Update!

Brit Bakes is now on facebook!

Check out Brit Bake's facebook page here and give it a bit of a like if that's your thing :)

What were your favourite things in March? Hope everyone enjoys April!

Brit :)

Sweet Sunday - Oaty Ginger Crunch

I have memories as a kid making ginger crunch with my dad. We would make it after I finished school, and the sweet ginger smell would fill the house.
I think we used to make it because it was always so quick and easy, and tasted great! 

This is the best recipe for ginger crunch that I have found.

This particular recipe has an oaty, chewy base, and a soft smooth icing

This recipe works perfectly if you are wanting to double the recipe too!

Recipe

Oven Temp - 180 C


Ingredients

150g Butter
3 T golden Syrup
1/2 cup brown Sugar
3/4 cup flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
2 cups oats
1/2 cup coconut

Icing
150g butter
3 cups (approx) Icing sugar
4 Tablespoons golden syrup
4 Teaspoons ground ginger


Method
Melt Butter, Golden Syrup and brown sugar over a low heat until all melted together.
Remove from heat
Sift in flour, baking powder, ginger.
Add oats and coconut.
Mix well until all combined

Press into a lined tin
Bake for 15 mins

Once cooked leave in tin.
Heat icing ingredients in a saucepan (except icing) over a medium heat,
 once melted, sift in approx 3/4 of the icing.
Stir well. Add small amounts of the remaining icing until you get a smooth but slightly thick consistency.
Pour over warm slice.
Leave to cool in tin. Then slice to your preferred sizes.

Enjoy!

Let me know if you enjoyed this recipe in the comments!
If you have any other sweet Sunday recipes that you enjoy, let me know :)

Brown rice and Lentil salad

If you have been following my blog, you might have noticed I like to keep things simple.

I like to keep things quick and easy but only if they are going to taste yummy!

I was introduced to "Sun rice - Brown rice and lentils" (you can also get Brown rice and quinoa)
I find these great for a good salad base. They are full of fiber and essential vitamins and minerals.
Lentils are a great source of protein, especially for vegetarians or vegans.

I quickly made this recipe up as I was making it one night. Just using ingredients in the fridge and fresh herbs from the garden!

Brown rice and Lentil salad
Serves approx 4

Ingredients

3 cups brown rice and lentil mix ( if you don't have this available, any brown rice and lentils will be fine and mix them yourself, with most of the mix being brown rice)
  6 cups water
1 cup chopped salami
1 cup chopped black olives
1 cup chopped sundried tomatoes
fresh chopped herbs ( I used - Italian parsley, curly parsley and mint )
Salt and pepper to season

Method

Rinse rice with cold running water
Place the 6 cups water and rice in a saucepan and bring to the boil.
Stir so the rice doesn't stick to the bottom
Reduce heat and simmer covered for approx 25 mins - stirring occasionally.
Remove from heat.
Transfer rice into a large serving bowl.
You can leave to cool in the fridge or rinse with cold water and drain if you are using it straight away.
Mix in remaining ingredients.

Enjoy!

Brit :)

In no way am I sponsored in this post
All opinions are my own :)

October favourites!

Wow hasn't the year flown by! I still feel like I'm only just getting used to writing 2014 on dates and in 2 months it will be 2015!

This month is based around breakfasts, workout gear, getaways and a wedding!

Breakfast is my favourite meal of the day. I'm a huge fan of them. There are so many options for breakfast, but this month I had had two favourites, muesli and poached eggs.

Summer is coming here and I was so excited to see strawberries back at the supermarket at a good seasonal price.

Strawberries + Banana = Best fruit combo

My favoutite workout gear are these 3 pieces from NIKE. My boyfriend brought these for me and I just love the colours! 

My favourite getaway
Central Otago NZ

I've mentioned this place in a previous post.
This place is beautiful all year round. 

Last weekend my boyfriend and I went to a beautiful wedding. The weather hasn't been great here at the moment but the day of the wedding was sunny, warm and perfect!
My dress is from Emerald Boutique. I loved the colours of this dress, perfect for a warm summer day! 

I hope you all have had a great month! Bring on November!
What were you're favourite things this month?

Brit :)

Honeyed Glazed Pumpkin

Hey Everyone! 

I love trying out new recipes with different vegetables to try mix things up a bit.

It can actually be so easy to enhance flavours of vegetables to make them not only taste amazing but so you can still get all the important nutrients from them.

It's well into spring here now (not that the weather is showing us that at the moment!) but we still had a couple of pumpkins to use up. 

I love pumpkin because it is so versatile. It can be sweet or savoury. Baked, roasted, boiled or steamed. You can eat it in pieces or it can make a really yummy puree. 

This recipe is inspired from a recipe I found in the My petite kitchen cookbook. She is a blogger from NZ who comes up with the most amazing nutritious, wholefood recipes! My copy of the book has post it notes in nearly every page for recipes that I want to try! Check out her blog here 

Honey Glazed Pumpkin

( Serves 3-4 side dishes )

Ingredients

1/4 pumpkin

1T Runny honey

Small handful of chopped coriander and Italian Parsley 

1/4 cup Chopped Olives( I wanted to use black olives but we only had stuffed green olives but they still tasted great!)

1T coconut oil melted

Salt and pepper

Method

Pre heat oven to 180 degrees Celsius 

Carefully slice the skin off the pumpkin. Using a sharp knife and a chopping board that is not wobbling around ( place a wet cloth underneath your board to help ).

Cut pumpkin into thin slices, roughly 10 - 5 mm thick.

Place pumpkin into a roasting dish.

Drizzle honey and coconut oil onto pumpkin.

 Season with salt and pepper.

Bake for 20-30 minutes or until pumpkin is cooked right through.

Place into a serving dish and sprinkle with chopped herbs and olives.

Serve while still warm.

Even my cat was trying to get in on this!

Enjoy!

Brit xo