Banana Cake/Bread

Banana bread/cake. Sooooo yum and refined sugar free! 

Easiest recipe ever.... 

- 3 ripe bananas.
- 2 tablespoons of fresh apple juice (I use "nudie apple juice" which is pure apples from the local supermarket).

- 125g of unsalted butter.
- 2 eggs.
- 250g self raising flour (I use wholemeal).
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon.
- 2 tablespoons of honey (I use raw only).
- 2 tablespoons of white chia seeds.
- 50-100g pecan nuts chopped.

1) Preheat oven to 180C (350F). Grease a loaf tin with oil then dust with flour shaking out the excess.
2) Mash bananas with a fork so they are smooth and chunky then add apple juice mixing through.
3) In another bowl cream the butter then add one egg at a time until thoroughly combined.
4) Fold in flour, cinnamon, honey, pecans and banana mixture.
Don't over mix this.
5) Pour into loaf pan and cook for about 40 minutes or until cooked through. 

You can check it's cooked by placing a skewer into middle and if it comes out clean your banana bread/cake is done.
Cool in pan for about 15minutes then carefully tip out onto a wire rack. 

Eating your banana bread/cake warm is definitely the best or you can even toast it and have it with butter.

Save time when cooking dinner by pre-cooking.

This tip will save you time when it matters most. Not that we have much spare time as busy parents, but when you have half hour to set aside or even better.... set the kids up with one of the activity ideas on this blog to give you half an hour then follow this idea to shorten dinner preparation time.

This can be done with other vegetables also.
I made up about 20 bags - so for 20 meals. They are perfect to throw into a stir fry or casserole, or even just for steaming to have on their own. The cooking time is halved and all the prep work is done, making the crazy meal time of an afternoon a lot less stressful.

• Cut carrots into serving size, we wash thoroughly and leave the skin on.
• Blanche the carrots by cooking to approximately 50% cooked, we did about 5minutes steamed over boiling water.
• Immediately remove from heat and place carrots into a bowl or sink of cold water- this stops them cooking any further.
• Lay them out to dry on paper towel or a clean tea towel.
• Once dry, place into serving size in plastic zip lock bags or freezer bags.

                     

Cous Cous Salad

One of my favourite Salads /dishes to make anytime of the day and great for the typical Aussie Barbie.

You can really mix whatever you fancy, but I put:

• 1 cup of uncooked Cous Cous (follow instructions on pack to make).
• 3-4 Shallots chopped.
• 10 Mushrooms chopped (can be raw or cooked in a saucepan with some coconut oil first, then added).
• 1 red capsicum (or 1/2 red and 1/2 green) chopped.
• Bacon chopped (optional) If you are putting bacon, crisp it up in a saucepan first with coconut oil.
• Peas and Corn (optional)

Mix all together and ENJOY!!!!!! Can be served warm or cold.

Fridge organisation

Keeping your fridge organised seems to be one of the things people wish they could do better, or just do at all. For us, I use to start organising our fridge the day shopping arrived and then as things were returned to the fridge, they slowly hour by hour and day by day become cluttered, messy and then I'd lost where I had put the butter again.
I am now trying this approach and so far it seems to be working. It's been a couple of months and I'm happy to continue taking an extra 30 minutes after my shopping day to save hours through the week.

When I get the vegetables out of the shopping bag, I am immediately washing them and cutting them into cooking size and then popping into a big 7litre container. 3 of these fit perfectly along the bottom shelf of our fridge. I separate different things into these containers from vegetables, fruit, yoghurt's, and leftovers. I do leave certain vegetables whole as we all love carrots, just eating them raw and whole. We go through a bag each week just snacking on carrots, so I cut some and leave a lot whole. I also like to keep Kale in a bunch as I make Kale chips.

I now use the crisper for fruit. As we live in Queensland, our fruit doesn't seem to last long being out on the bench, so we put it in the fridge, specifically the crisper. This way, older children can easily grab out fruit anytime they want- be my guest kids! :-)

Doing this not only gives me more time during the week with my family and less stress at dinner time but it also means I use all of our vegetables up and I don't have waste anymore. These containers keep them fresh. You can also pop a piece of paper towel along the bottom to soak up excess moisture which will prolong the life of the vegetables too.

As I have small children at home with me, when I am about to do all this washing and chopping of vegetables I set up a game for the kids, something that hasn't been out already. Try keep a few things packed away so when you need to distract the kids for a bit, you have something "new" as a novelty. Or if it's been a busy day and they have been out, I will pop on a movie or play school. Anything to give me half an hour where I can get this done as it then saves me hours during the week, which means more time with the kids.

Yummiest Accidental Smoothie- now a favourite!

Just throwing a few ingredients I had which I thought may be nice, turned out to be sooooo yummy! Now a favourite recipe of mine and super healthy.

• Almond milk to suit your taste, I put about 2 cups.
• 2 really ripe bananas
• 2 tablespoons of Vanilla protein powder
• 1 tablespoon of Flaxseed meal

- As we do not eat refined sugar, this is more than sweet enough for us with the bananas as they are naturally sweet, but if you are a sweet tooth, you can add honey or maple syrup.

- Mixed in my blender and then served in a cold glass.

- I keep a glass in the fridge so when its smoothie time I can have it extra chilled, so good in summer, well great all year round when you live in Queensland :-)

Best Dip I have ever made!

Perfect anytime for any age. Easy to whip up when you need to take a plate to someone's house. I have made this nearly every day this week. Much healthier than bought dips from the supermarket.

Next shopping trip grab-

*2 large Avocados (you will be keeping skins to use as bowls)
* 500g tub of cottage cheese
* 4 shallots (thinly slice these)
* Juice of 1/2 lemon
* Salt and pepper to taste
* Pack of thin wraps (I use wholemeal mountain bread square wraps)
* Olive oil

1. Warm oven to about 180 Celsius (350 Fahrenheit).
2. Cut wraps into random shapes, the messier looking the better. Place roughly on a baking tray, doesn't matter if they overlap heaps.
3. Drizzle a little olive oil over the top and season with salt and pepper.
4. Heat in oven for about 10mins until they have gone crisp (keep an eye on them as they are easy to burn).

While you wait the ten minutes for the bread to cook, make your dip.

1. Slice avocado in half long ways and keep skins as these will be your bowls.
2. Mash the avocado then mix together with cottage cheese, shallots, juice and salt/pepper.
3. Scoop mixture back into avocado skin.  

This should be quick and easy to whip up, if not, your not being messy enough. ENJOY :-)

Super healthy home made muesli

This morning I woke feeling like muesli but of course we didn't have any. As we don't eat refined sugar in our house, buying a muesli is usually no good as they are nearly all filled with sugar and other ingredients we try to avoid. So I decided to make my own batch up, which I have done before but didn't seem to really hit the nail on the head and this time I was determined to make it yummy. Well I did it.... yah! I'm really happy with this so wanted to share with you all. It's super healthy but also tastes delicious.

These are the ingredients I added, you can alter it however you would like to suit your tastes. I also just threw all the ingredients in, not actually measuring anything but going by my own personal like of the food. Therefore use my measurements listed as a guide only.

• 1 cup raw traditional oats
• 1/2 cup bran (I have used the stick bran as pictured)
• 1/2 cup shredded coconut
• 1/4 cup sultanas
• 1/4 cup psyllium husk
• 1/4 cup flaked almonds
• 4 tablespoons of white chia seeds
• optional if kids will be eating too- 1/4 cup rice bubbles

I either eat with milk or yoghurt. Sometimes I also squeeze fresh orange juice over the top with some yoghurt.

RECIPE- Potato muffins - 4 ingredients

I just mashed potatoes with milk and butter and then added cheese. You could use grated cheese or creamed cottage cheese.

Scoop into a non stick muffin pan/tray.

Sprinkle with chia seeds or add chia seeds through the mixture. Click here to see the AMAZING BENEFITS OF CHIA SEEDS!

I also added a blob of butter on top and sprinkled some sesame seeds before popping them into the oven at about 180c for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown on top, yum!

You can add any of the following ingredients plus more to POTATO:

• Cheese -grated or creamed cottage cheese
• Chia seeds
• onion/shallots
• sesame seeds
• bacon (diced bacon grilled first would be beautiful)
• salmon pieces

If you have extra potatoes cut up that you don't need - Click here to see how to STOP potatoes going brown!

Home Made FRIED RICE

4 cups of brown (or white) rice. The 4 cups is my rice measuring cup, its roughly the same as 2 cups (250ml cups) of rice.
1 onion chopped
400g bacon cut into small pieces
3 shallots sliced (keep one to garnish dish at the end once served up)
2-3 cups of mushrooms
2 carrots chopped
1 zucchini chopped
1 small sweet potato (optional, but we love it)
Small bok choy or pak choy
1 cup frozen peas
1 cup frozen corn
1 small tin of shrimps (I get these from supermarket where tins of tuna are)
Soy Sauce
Salt and Pepper (optional)
Olive oil (or coconut oil)

YOU CAN ADD ANY VEGETABLES OF YOUR CHOICE they don't need to be the ones above.

Cook your rice as normal - we use a rice cooker.

In a fry pan or wok I cook onion and bacon with a touch of olive oil or coconut oil.
Put onion and bacon aside in a bowl while you cook vegetables.
Add all the cut up vegetables and cook until they start to soften.
Add frozen peas and corn.
Add tin of shrimps.
Put a few shakes of soy sauce and stir through.
Add vegetables, onion and bacon to cooked rice and combine well but stir gently.
Garnish with the extra sliced shallot.

For us, this feeds 2 adults and 2 children plus a left over bowl for my husbands lunch the next day.

Banana Oat Cookies (refined sugar free)

2 large bananas

1 cup of oats

 

That's it!!!

 

You can add your own toppings..

- few drops of liquid stevia

- cinnamon

- mixed nuts

- raw honey

 

Preheat oven to 180c

Mash the banana and then stir through the oats and anything else you wish to add.

Roll into cookie sized circles and bake for 15 - 20 mins.

They are crunchy on the outside and soft in the middle.

YUMMY!!!

 

Enjoy...

 

I made a double batch for a family of 4. I kept mine in a sealed container in the fridge.

 

My sister gave me this great simple sugar free recipe and we love them. Thanks L xo

 

I added cinnamon to half my batch

We get our raw honey from Really Raw Honey an Australian family run company. Best honey ever!

 

I drizzled our raw honey over the top.



 

LUNCH BOX IDEAS for the kids

Sandwich – but to mix it up, cut off crusts and use a ROLLING PIN to flatten the bread and then once you have added filling, roll the sandwich like a wrap and hold closed by tying a piece of chive around it.

Don’t just make sandwiches every day, mix it up with wraps, rolls, different breads or even dried biscuits like cruskits where you can add your spread in between.

Vege sticks with dip – cut carrots, cucumber, celery and capsicum into small thin strips. If they like hummus, you can add a little in a small container as a dip. Or try mashing an avocado and mixing in some lemon juice to stop it going brown; this can be a yummy dip also.

Yoghurt – As low in sugar as absolutely possible. Yes spend the time to read the back labels- it's worth it. I personally would never even consider buying a yoghurt with over 10grams of sugar per 100g. Buy full fat.

Cheese – Slices, cubes, string cheese, pods.

Fruit – Apple cubes, orange cubes, pear slices, pineapples pieces, kiwi fruit, sliced banana, peaches, cherries, grapes and passion fruit.
Dried fruit (sulphur free) - Sultanas, currants, prunes, cranberries, apricots, dried apple.

Left over dinner - When making dinner, you can put aside a small plastic container for their lunch the next day with a spoon or fork. Obviously don’t choose messy, hard to eat foods as they are going to be busy chatting with friends and possibly eating off their lap.

Mini quiches are great. A simple egg and bacon quiche is so easy to prepare and cook. Try adding other veges to mix it up and make different shape quiches. Variety keeps children interested.

If your children like dried biscuits, you can add half a dozen like clix or jatz in a small container as a snack. Again check the back labels- go for low in sugar as much as possible. And yes, check the labels until you find the lowest in sugar.

TIPS

When cutting fruit up, try pushing it all back together into its original shape then put an elastic band around it, this helps keep it fresher for longer. An ‘apple peeler, corer, slicer’ is always fun as you can make springy curly apples.

If you child doesn’t like a certain food, DON’T GIVE UP TRYING it again in a few days, weeks or even a month later. Their taste buds change as they grow, so what they turn their nose up at today, they may enjoy a few weeks later.

Adding it into other foods can also help children acquire a taste for it. So when you’re making casseroles, pasta dishes, stir-fry’s, salads or even cake mixes… try adding the food they aren’t sure about or dislike, into a bigger mix and it won’t be so strong in flavour.

Macaroni & Cheese Muffins :-)

A GREAT RECIPE TO TRY - perfect for the kids lunch box! A sneaky healthy version.

Served in patty pans just like a cupcake

2 cups elbow pasta or macaroni
2 cups grated cheddar cheese
1 tablespoon white chia seeds
½ cup grated pumpkin
½ cup grated carrot
2 tablespoons whole meal self raising flour
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
¼ cup milk
3 eggs
125g can corn kernels (drained and rinsed)
2 tablespoons finely grated parmesan cheese
4 tablespoons of water
 

1. Boil macaroni for 10 minutes until al dente and then drain.
2. Steam pumpkin and carrot until soft, then lightly mash with a fork. If you are using a microwave safe steamer, add 2 tablespoons of water and steam for about 3 minutes, letting stand for 2 minutes before lightly mashing with fork.
3. Whisk flour, milk, mustard and eggs together in a large bowl.
4. Mix in corn, cheddar cheese, mashed veges, 2 tablespoons water, chia seeds and macaroni until combined.
5. Place patty pans (paper cases) into a 12 hole muffin tray then add mixture to patty pans and sprinkle with parmesan cheese.
6. Bake at 180c for 20-25 minutes until golden brown. Cool for at least 15 minutes before serving.

Muffins can be served warm at room temperature or eaten cold.

These can be frozen.

Healthy homemade BREADCRUMBS

I have made up a mix of my own breadcrumbs for when I home make chicken nuggets (click here to see my recipe post) for my kids. These are a BIG favourite in our household for everyone- hubby included. You can use your own quantities depending on how many nuggets your making. I start with this for 2 chicken breasts cut into nugget size pieces and sometimes I will make extra and double-crumb.
 These are my favourite nuggets when made with this recipe, yum!

Ingredients:

• 1 Cup of Multigrain breadcrumbs
• 1/2 Cup LSA mix (linseed, sunflower seeds and almonds all ground)
• 3 Tablespoons of Chia seeds
• 1 Tablespoon of Dried Italian Herbs
• 1 Tablespoon of poppy seeds (optional)

Mix all together in a bowl and your ready to use.

# You can buy a pack of LSA mix from the supermarket in the aisle with nuts.

Kids Rice that they will LOVE

My 14 month old and 3 year old loved this, try it out, make your own variations depending on likes and dislikes. WARM OR COLD!

• 2 cups brown rice
• 1 large sweet potato (peeled & diced into cubes)
• 1 shallot (spring onion) sliced finely
• 1-2 cups sliced mushrooms

To make....
I cooked the brown rice in a rice cooker.
Stir-fried (with a little extra virgin olive oil) the sweet potato
After 5 minutes add mushrooms and shallot
Mix it all together.
OPTIONAL - Add lemon / lime juice over the top!

Make your own SEMI DRIED TOMATOES

These were a hit with our entire family....

You will need-

• 1.5 kilos of Tomatoes
• Extra Virgin Olive oil
• 2 Garlic Cloves finely chopped
• Thyme 2-3 sprigs (stems)

1. For each tomato, cut the core a couple of Cm's out of top and then put a cross with a sharp knife across the bottom of each tomato.
2. Put the tomatoes into a pot of boiling water for 20 seconds then lift them out into a bowl of cold ice water (you can put ice cubes into a big bowl of cold water).
3. Now you can pull the skins off easily- the hot/cold water trick helps this.
4. Cut the tomatoes in half through the centre- so horizontal if tomato is sitting upright.
5. Place on a non stick tray and drizzle some extra virgin olive oil over the top of all tomatoes, sprinkle on salt and pepper to season.
6. Finely chopped garlic cloves.
7. Roughly tear apart a couple of sprigs of thyme and sprinkle over last.
8. Cook on low heat in the oven at 120 degrees Fahrenheit (50 degrees Celsius) for 3-4 hours. They will cook down to about half their size.
9. Once you take them out of oven, leave them to totally cool and then place in a jar or container and drizzle over some extra virgin olive oil.

These will keep for 2-3 weeks in the fridge.

They are perfect for-

• a snack on their own
• on some dried biscuits
• thrown through a salad
• on toasted Turkish bread with brie and rocket
• added to a pasta dish.

Hint: The skin is removed to stop tomatoes from being tough.

 PLEASE NOTE: THIS RECIPE IS FOR ADULTS TO COOK, not children.

My favourite family food - CHIA

We all want our children to be healthy and live the longest lives possible. While our children are young it is our responsibility to provide nutritious and healthy meals. Now whether you have a good eater or a fussy eater, we still cant provide every essential food needed daily. I finally found my favourite family food......
Chia seeds is one superfood I have found that I love and wanted to share as its so easy to include and has extremely high benefits for our bodies and health. Chia is the richest plant based source of Omega 3, dietary fibre, protein and antioxidants. 1 tablespoon for adults and 1/2 - 2 teaspoons for children. I use it everyday by adding to any of our meals. Literally you can add it to anything, I even put the white seeds in my kids peanut butter sandwiches or black seeds in vegemite sandwiches. I add to all breakfast foods (porridge, weetbix, smoothies) and any dinner (stirfries, salads, casseroles, pastas). Chia has no taste or smell and is easy to include in any meal.

They recommend the following daily consumption of Chia.
Babies - 4 - 6mths - 1/2 tsp daily
Mix chia with vegetable & fruit Purees, yoghurt & custards - chia helps to thicken runny purees.
Babies 6 - 12 mths 1 tsp (5g) daily
Mix in food or sprinkle on cereals
Toddlers 12 mths - 5 year 2 tsp (10g) daily
Mix in food or sprinkle on cereals
Mums 1 tbsp (15g) daily
Sprinkle on cereal & salads, mix in smoothies or use as a fat replacer in baking.


Chia as Nature’s Complete Superfood because it is very high in nutrition that is essential for a healthy diet including Omega 3, dietary fibre and protein as well as vitamins, minerals and antioxidants.
It contains:

• 37% Dietary Fibre
• 20% Omega 3 ALA
• 20% Protein
• High in antioxidants (ORAC value of 10,000 vitamin E equivalents)
• High in Vitamins and Minerals (Calcium, Potassium, Magnesium)

Chia is a gluten free Wholegrain

Yummy FRITTERS

We made these on the BBQ

Ingredients:

• 6 potatoes, peeled & grated
• 1 tin corn, drained (or 1-2 cups frozen corn)
• 2 small onions, finely chopped
• 4 eggs
• 1 zucchini, grated
• 1 carrot, grated
• salt and pepper
• 1 tbsp parsley or a herb of your choice
• 1 tbsp flour (I use wholemeal) optional

This quantity makes enough for the whole family plus leftovers!

Method:

1. Mix everything together in a large bowl
2. Spoon into frypan or on BBQ, size is up to you

Mixture will have liquid in bowl from vegetables and eggs. This is fine and will keep frtters moist once cooked. If you think its too much liquid - use the flour to thicken it a little.

Easy homemade CHICKEN NUGGETS - yummo!

My kids LOVE these, my toddler asks for chicken nuggets often, so I wanted to make my own knowing they would be a healthier option, cheaper and more convenient.

With a few quick steps, you & your little ones can be enjoying your own style nuggets.
You will need:

• 2 eggs
• breadcrumbs (1-2 cups) Click here to see my healthy homemade breadcrumbs
• 2 chicken breasts
• 1 tbsp of poppy seeds                       

Thats it... 4 ingredients....

1. Whisk 2 eggs in one bowl.
2. Pour a cup of breadcrumbs into a bowl or deep tray.
3. Cut 2 chicken breasts into small bite size nugget pieces.
4. Dip chicken into egg then roll in breadcrumbs.
5. Heat a tbsn of olive oil in a non stick fry pan.
6. Cook chicken for about 5 minutes on each side or until cooked through and golden brown                

                  ENJOY.....