All the cooking video's!

Bircher Muesli Bliss Balls Chicken Stirfry Choc Banana Cake Choc Chip Cookies Easy Sausage and Veg Easy Veggie Side Lunch in a Frypan Minestrone Popcorn Roast Chicken Simple Smoothie

Bircher Muesli

Bircher Muesli (serves 4)

V, Veg, DF, P

The simplest Bircher Muesli recipe around. Pimp it with berries, nuts, seeds, extra milk, yoghurt or seasonal fruit the next morning.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups oats
• 1/2 cup dessicated coconut
• 1 level tsp cinnamon
• 1 apple grated
• small squeeze of lemon juice or a few drops of apple cider vinegar
• 2 cups milk (dairy or dairy free) + more if not completely covered with liquid

Method

1. Put all ingredients in a container and stir until well combined
2. Cover and place in the fridge overnight
3. In the morning add your choice of toppings - nuts, seeds, berries, fruit and extra milk if required

Bliss Balls

V, GF, DF, P, F, Veg

I always have a stash of these in the fridge for those moments when you want to curb your sweet craving!

Ingredients

• 200 g almond meal
• 10 medjool dates
• 30 g fine coconut
• 50 g sunflower kernels
• 20 g raw honey
• 30 g raw cacao or dutched cocoa
• 20 g chia seeds

Method

1. Add all ingredients to the blender and mix until a fine, crumbly texture is achieved. If you want the mixture wetter, add some coconut oil or a little more honey, but this amount should be fine.
2. Roll into small balls and keep in the fridge.

Chicken Stirfry

V, Veg GF, DF

A delicious stir fry sauce using four pantry staple ingredients - THE BEST! This has fast become one of the most popular recipes on my blog. Easily make vegetarian by leaving out the meat and adding tofu if you desire.

Ingredients

• 1 tbls olive oil or coconut oil
• 1 onion
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 500 g chicken thigh strips or beef strips
• 2 tbls peanut butter
• 4 tbls tamari (if you don’t have it use soy sauce)
• 1 tbls honey
• 400 ml tin coconut cream
• Veggies of choice – broccoli, carrot, peas, capsicum etc

Method

1. Warm the oil over medium heat in a wok.
2. Add the onion and garlic and cook until onion is translucent.
3. Then add chicken or beef strips.
4. Once cooked add peanut butter, tamari and honey to the wok and mix until meat is fully coated.
5. Add all vegetables (but if using peas only add them in the last two minutes of cooking) and coconut cream.
6. Simmer until reduced and thicker in consistency, and veggies are soft. Around 10 minutes.
7. Serve over rice or rice noodles.

Choc Banana Cake

Chocolate Banana Cake

V, GF, DF, Veg, P, F

A simple, low sugar cake. Pop all ingredients in your food processor and whizz!

Ingredients

• 2 cups white spelt flour (or wheat or gluten-free flour)
• 1 cup dessicated coconut
• 1/2 cup rapadura sugar (or raw sugar if you don't have it)
• 1 not-too-ripe banana
• 3/4 cup dairy or non dairy milk
• 1/2 cup olive oil or macadamia oil
• 1 tbls cacao or dutched cocoa
• 2 large eggs
• 2 tsp baking powder

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees.
2. Place all ingredients in a food processor and blend to combine - 20-30 seconds on medium.
3. Scrape down sides and repeat.
4. Pour mixture into a lined cake pan of choice - I love a loaf tin for this cake.
5. Cook in oven for 30-35 minutes or until cooked through when tested with a skewer.
6. Slice once cooled (if you can wait!) and eat with a dollop of whipped cream or on it's own.

Choc Chip Cookies

V GF, DF, P, F, Veg

These cookies are the BEST. You might need to double batch, as they are a little addictive!

INGREDIENTS

• 1 1/4 cup / 170g wholemeal spelt flour (or wheat, buckwheat
or gluten-free flour)
• 1/2 cup / 60g LSA (ground linseeds, sunflower seeds, almonds) *
• 1/2 tsp bicarb soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/3 cup / 70g maple syrup **
• 1/3 cup / 70g macadamia oil **
• 1 tsp vanilla (extract, vanilla bean paste or seeds of half a vanilla bean)
• 40 g dark chocolate chopped in large chunks (I like Green and Blacks or Lindt – both 85%)

Method

1. Preheat oven to 170 degrees.
2. Add all the ingredients, apart from the chocolate, to a mixer and beat until coming together.
3. Then add your chocolate chunks and mix through until distributed evenly
4. Place walnut sized round balls on a baking tray lined with baking paper and flatten gently.
5. Cook for 10-12 minutes
6. Remove from oven and leave to cool (if you can!) before eating.

Variations:

* Instead of LSA you could use – almond meal OR extra flour
** Instead of maple syrup and macadamia oil you could use raw honey and melted coconut oil

Easy Sausage and Veg

Easy Sausage and Veggies

V, GF, DF,

Put all ingredients in an oven dish, cook and serve. Couldn’t be easier! A firm weeknight favourite in this house.

Ingredients

• Enough sausages to feed your family
• Vegetables for roasting any of these work beautifully – sweet potato, potato, beetroot, broccoli, zucchini, tomato, onion, pumpkin, parsnip. Add enough portions to pack the plates of your family!
• Olive Oil/tallow/bacon fat/duck fat
• Salt or Herbamare

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees.
2. Cut vegetables into cubes – make sure they are cut in a similar size for even cooking.
3. Add vegetables to a baking tray or roasting pan. Coat with the olive oil, or animal fat, and sprinkle with salt or herbamare (herb and salt sprinkle found at supermarket).
4. Place into oven for half an hour for ‘just cooked’ as in photo, or 45 minutes to one hour for a crispy and caramelised effect.
5. While the vegetables are cooking away, there are two ways you can cook your sausages. You can either add them to a baking tray and cook in the oven along with the vegetables or cook on a pan on the stove top over a moderate temperature. I use a little olive oil to coat the pan but ensure that it doesn’t get too hot.
6. There you go. It was that hard. Dinner – done!

Easy Veggie Side

V, GF, Veg

This is my go-to way to serve crunchy greens. Is there a better combo than butter, garlic and parmesan!?

Ingredients

1 tbls butter
1 clove garlic diced finely or crushed
4 handfuls of vegetables choose your own adventure - sugar snap peas, snow peas, green beans, zucchini slices, mushrooms, broccoli
1 handful grated parmesan
zest of half a lemon

Method

1. Warm pan over medium heat on your stove
2. Add butter and garlic
3. When melted and cooking (but not burnt - don't burn the garlic!) add the vegetables
4. Stir the vegetables every few minutes
5. Remove from pan once cooked to your liking (I enjoy when the veggies are still crisp) and place in a serving bowl
6. Add the parmesan, lemon zest and salt and mix through and serve!

Lunch in a Frypan

Lunch in a frypan

Ingredients

Handful baby spinach
1/4 red onion thinly sliced
1 rasher of bacon slice
6 mushrooms sliced
1 tomato diced
1 egg
1 tbsp butter
feta
Dash of balsamic vinegar (optional)

Method

1. Warm butter in a pan over moderate heat
2. Add bacon and onion and cook until onion is soft
3. Add mushrooms and tomato and cook for 3-4 minutes
4. Move ingredients in the pan to the side and crack your egg in the other side
5. When vegetables and egg are cooked to your liking, remove from heat

Minestrone

Minestrone Soup (serves 4)

V, DF, GF, P, F

This minestrone soup is warming and hearty. Get it boiling away on a Sunday and enjoy a premade lunch during the week.

Ingredients

• 3 slices of the best bacon you can find and afford
(naturally smoked adds an AMAZING flavour to this soup)
• 1 sliced onion
• 2 garlic cloves chopped
• 3 carrots chopped
• 3 zucchinis chopped
• 3 potatoes chopped
• 300 g green beans chopped
• 2 tins chopped tomatoes
• 1 cup passata
• 1 litre chicken broth/stock
• 1.5 - 2 litres water
• Dash of tamari
• 3 bay leaves
• 1 tsp heaped Italian herbs
• 1 cup pearl barley (or 1 cup gluten-free pasta spirals)

Method

1. Cook bacon, onion and garlic in 2 tbls olive oil over a medium heat for 3-5 minutes in a very large sauce pan.
2. Then add all other ingredients.
3. Bring to boil them simmer for 1.5 hours
4. Add 1 cup of pearl barley and continue cooking for half an hour until soft. Enjoy x

Popcorn

V, GF, Veg

Popping your own corn is so satisfying! A brilliant snack for all the family.

Ingredients

• 1 cup organic popcorn
• 100 grams butter (or coconut oil for dairy free)

Method

1. Heat butter in a saucepan on high heat
2. Add the popcorn once the butter is bubbling and the pan is hot and place a lid on - keep the temperature on high.
3. When you start to hear the popping stop, take the pot off the heat
Add any desired toppings (butter and salt, melted chocolate!?)

Roast Chicken

Roast Chicken with Roast Veggies

V, GF, DF, P

It’s a life-skill. Learn how to roast a chicken and you will always be able to whip up a super simple dinner.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 roast chicken
• 1 whole lemon
• Olive Oil
• Pinch of salt
• Vegetables of choice (Potato, Sweet potato, carrot, onion, pumpkin)

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees
2. Pierce the lemon with a skewer or knife all the way around
3. Place the lemon inside the chicken cavity
4. Drizzle olive oil over the chicken and sprinkle generously with salt
5. Pour some water into the base of the pan (amount will depend on the size of the pan - but make sure it’s fully covered by around 1cm)
6. Place into the oven - As a guide, a 1.5kg whole chicken takes about 30 minutes per 500g of weight to cook in an oven preheated to 180°C
7. Baste about 45 mins into cooking with the water from the pan to keep the skin moist. If the water has evaporated, add a little more to keep the base covered.
8. To test if the chicken is cooked pierce deeply with a skewer - if the juices are pink keep cooking until you see clear juices.
9. Remove from the oven and let is rest for 10 minutes before carving.

Roast Veggies:

1. Peel and chop your veggies
2. Place in an oven tray and drizzle with olive oil and salt
3. Roast at the same time as your chicken, turning part way through.

Download the 10 Easy Ways with Roast Chicken PDF here.

Simple Smoothie

V, GF, DF, Veg

It could not get simpler than this! This often goes in my kids bellies as soon as they get home.

Ingredients

• 2 Frozen Bananas
• 2 handfuls of cashews
• 1 avocado
• 2 glasses of water (or coconut water or milk of choice)

Method

1. Place all ingredients in a blender and whizz it up for 60
seconds or until smooth.

Optional additions: Spinach, strawberries, cucumber or any other fruit you desire