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Easy Healthy Recipes

Gluten-Free Prawn and Veggie Noodles

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Prawn and veggie noodles

If we’ve met, worked together, bumped into each other and especially if you know me personally you know I almost always carry a big bag. Why? It’s because I, without a doubt will have some sort of snack and water with me at all times wherever I go. So when I know I’ll be having a super long work day coming up I pretty much ALWAYS will pre-pack my lunch…..just in case we’re short on time, lunch isn’t provided on set or if my tummy doesn’t agree with what they’re serving. So I’ll whip up something simple, healthy and wholesome either the night before or, if I have time, that morning. I try to do the same for my super busy hubs, who, in most cases, will grab whatever is convenient and easy (usually on the not-so-healthy side) or will forget to have lunch altogether.

I made this SUPER EASY prawn and veggie noodle dish the other day for the hubs to take for lunch and he gave it a two thumbs up and totally loved it. Sorry the picture isn’t the best – I just did a quick snap so I could share it with you guys. 😛 It was soooo easy to make and the best thing is, it tastes just as good eaten hot or cold. So it makes it that much more of a great dish to take along with you for lunch, especially if you aren’t able to heat it up later. Here it is…..

What you need:

  • 10 prawns 
  • 1/3 packet of brown rice pasta noodles
  • 1/2 cup stock (I used garlic and herb but any stock will do)
  • 1/2 bunch of spinach
  • 5 mushrooms
  • 1 garlic clove
  • 1 onion
  • 1 red chilli
  • 1 TB sesame oil
  • salt/pepper to taste

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What to do:

  1. Prepare noodles following the instructions on the packet.
  2. While noodles are boiling, chop up your veggies.
  3. Heat half of the stock in a skillet and sauté onions until semi translucent.
  4. Add in garlic, chilli, mushrooms and continue to sauté.
  5. Gradually add more stock as needed while cooking (not too much to prevent from everything getting soggy).
  6. Add prawns to the veggies and continue to sauté until prawns turn pink and curl.
  7. Once the veggies and prawns are just cooked, add in chopped spinach at the end and turn off heat.   **spinach will cook immediately even with the littlest amount of heat. It’s important not to overcook them so you don’t kill away all of its nutrients 😉
  8. The noodles should be done at this point. We want noodles thoroughly cooked through but not too soft and mushy. (We’re going for “al dente”)
  9. Drain noodles and rinse slightly with filtered water. (I find rice pasta can become quite starchy so I like to rinse it a little before using it in a dish)
  10. Mix noodles with the veggies and prawns with a drizzle of sesame oil and toss together.
  11. Add salt/ pepper to taste if necessary

That’s about it! You can use any other vegetables or even chicken pieces if you’d like. It’s just a very simple dish that takes less than 30 mins to prepare – its a tasty, gluten and guilt free meal thats wholesome and hits the spot! 🙂

Easy Healthy Recipes

Oh So Gooooood Chickpea Muffins! (Gluten-free)

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Ok, so these muffins are so amazingly yumms that they have been a real hit in my house! I’ve made them 3 times in the last 2 weeks and every time I make them they’re gone as soon as they come out of the oven! They’re SUPER easy to make and are packed with protein, fiber, and a whole lot of Goodness. They’re great to have as breaky on the go, a quick snack between meals or even for lunch…..pretty much any time of day and guess what- every single ingredient is totally good for you!! PLUS, its so moist, savoury and absolutely delish! Here’s how to make it…..

What you’ll need:

  • 1 can of chickpeas (1.5cups)
  • 1 cup of chopped fresh spinach
  • 2 carrots – shredded
  • 4 egg whites
  • 1 Tbsp olive oil
  • 1 Tbsp greek yogurt or cottage cheese (optional)
  • 1/4 tsp baking powder
  • 1/4 tsp cumin (optional)
  • 1/4 tsp ground pepper
  • 1/4 tsp sea salt

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What you have to do:

  1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees
  2. Blend chickpeas with olive oil and yoghurt til smooth
  3. Add egg whites to chickpea mixture and continue to blend
  4. Add baking powder, cumin, salt and pepper to the mixture and blend
  5. Finally add in chopped spinach and shredded carrots to the mixture
  6. Spoon mixture into a muffin tray
  7. Place in oven and bake for around 20-25min depending on your oven

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That’s it!!! Super easy right? You can also make it with just shredded carrots or just chopped spinach- totally up to you. You must MUST give this a try! It’s great for the whole family. So ENJOY!!!! 🙂

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Easy Healthy Recipes

Yummilicious Superpower Pancakes!

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IMG_4180Who doesn’t love pancakes right? Well, we are OB-SESSED! Recently, I’ve been testing out different ingredients to try to add some healthy goodness to the traditional pancake.  Then I whipped up this one using oats that came out totally YUMMS and thought I had to share!

Let me start by sharing how awesome oats are! Oats are loaded with body-loving goodness! They are great to have anytime of the day, but they are amazing for breakfast as it gets the body going on a good note. They are high in fiber so it keeps you full for longer. They are packed with protein, stabilise blood sugar levels, low in fat and get this……they aid the body in removing bad cholesterol! Pretty cool right?

So here it is……my super yummy, heart healthy and totally guilt-free recipe for oat pancakes! DELISH!!!IMG_4192

Prepare oats for your yummilicious pancakes by soaking them overnight! This step is important because by soaking the oats you decrease the amount of phytic acid in the oats. (I will be explaining more about this in detail in another blog post) 

  • 2 cups Warm water
  • 1 cup Whole rolled oats
  • 1 Tbsp Apple cider vinegar/lemon juice
  1. Combine all ingredients in a tupperware container and mix together.
  2. Keep the container in the refrigerator overnight.
  3. In the morning rinse and drain oats thoroughly. Make sure to drain as much liquid as possible because you don’t want your batter to be too runny.

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For the Pancakes:

  • Pre-soaked whole rolled oats (thoroughly drained-important)
  • 2 Tbsp Flaxseed meal
  • 1 tsp Baking powder
  • 1 Ripe banana (mashed)
  • 1 Tbsp Greek yoghurt or cottage cheese
  • 5 egg whites
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon (optional)
  • salt (optional)
  • coconut oil (grapeseed oil) for pan
  1. Blend (puree) pre-soaked oats with flaxseed meal in a food processor/blender until you get a smooth consistency.
  2. Add cinnamon, greek yogurt (cottage cheese), mashed ripe banana, egg whites and salt to the oat mixture and continue to blend.
  3. Add the baking powder to mixture.
  4. Lightly oil frying pan and scoop  the batter onto the pan and fry each side for around 2min. I find a ladle gives you the perfect amount of batter for one pancake.

Strawberry-chia topping –Blend the following ingredients and set aside. Best to prep this before pancakes so it thickens.

  • 1 cup Strawberries (if frozen remember to defrost)
  • 1 Tbsp Chia seeds
  • 1 Tbsp Honey

Other topping options: fruit yoghurt,  sliced fruit, honey, peanut butter, classic -maple syrup

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This recipe makes 4 large pancakes or 8 small pancakes. Here’s a little tip -I like to use the egg frying pan to make perfect lil’ mini pancakes! If you have any questions or comments I’d love to hear them so do drop me a line in the message box below! 🙂

 

Easy Healthy Recipes

Earthy Bean Dip

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IMG_3481Beans are high in fibre and protein and are a great piece of goodness to add to our diets! Here’s an incredibly easy bean dip recipe that you can whip up in less than 15min. Its so earthy and creamy that it’s almost evil. It goes great with carrots, celery, cucumber….you name it! Such a great way to include more veggies in your diet as well! So here it is….

Ingredients:

  • 1 Cup Cooked Beans (Any kind will do. I used a mix of 3 different beans for this recipe)
  • 3 Tbsp Tahini
  • 2 Tbsp Orange Juice
  • 1 Tbsp Olive Oil
  • 1/2-1 Tbsp Garlic Powder (can adjust depending on how ‘garlicky’ you want it)
  • 1 tsp Lemon Pepper (optional)
  • Salt
  • Pepper

What to do:

  1. Blend (puree) all ingredients above in a food processor (blender) thoroughly until you get a thick, creamy texture 
  2. Dish up and serve with any veggies or even rice crackers

That’s it! So easy right? Easy, but a totally yummy and guilt-free way to satisfy the munchies! 🙂

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Easy Healthy Recipes

Yogurt 2 Ways

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Yogurt is an awesome snack just in itself! It is loaded with good bacteria (probiotics) which offers many health benefits especially for your belly! It’s packed with calcium, potassium and magnesium, just to name a few. Nowadays there are so many different flavours and types that we can choose from. We can even find an entire aisle at the supermarket dedicated to just these yummy goodies.

I for one am a HUGE fan of yogurt! Sweet, creamy AND healthy….whats not to love?! One of my vices is that I love snacking as such, I am always on the lookout for healthy alternatives. So I thought I’d share with you two incredibly easy Goodness snacks that you can make from yogurt. Use flavoured yogurt or if you have a that extra bit of time, you can whip up your own concoctions by blending plain yogurt with different fruits. Using the same yogurt, the same preparation, but two different methods….you get completely different snacks! The difference in the turn out and taste is amazing! One is a creamy, ice-cold treat and the other is a sweet, chewy delight (almost evil to the palate!).

FROZEN YOGURT DROPS

What you’ll need:

  • yogurt
  • parchment paper
  • sandwich bag or teaspoon
  • cookie tray (you can use a plate if you don’t have enough room in the freezer)
  • freezer
  1. Stir yogurt thoroughly (If you are making your own flavoured yogurt, make sure to blend the plain yogurt with your fruit(s) of choice thoroughly. Both methods work perfectly however for this blog I’m using flavoured yogurt)
  2. Place a sheet of parchment paper on a cookie tray
  3. Scoop yogurt into the sandwich bag and cut a small bit off the corner (a teaspoon works great as well) and place rows of droplets on the sheetIMG_3441
  4. Place cookie tray in the freezer for several hours  (usually takes around 3-4hrs, depending on how big your drops are and how cold your freezer is)IMG_3357
  5. Once the drops are frozen, peel off from the parchment paper and place in a container

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They usually don’t last long in my house, but you can easily store them in an airtight container in the freezer for days! You can even make multiple batches of different flavours and just mix and match when you feel like a cooling treat! 😉

DEHYDRATED YOGURT DROPS/ ROLLS

What you’ll need:

  • yogurt
  • sandwich bag or teaspoon
  • parchment paper
  • dehydrator (If you don’t have a dehydrator, your oven will do just fine)
  1.  Stir yogurt thoroughly
  2. Place parchment paper on dehydrator tray **Depending on your dehydrator you may need to cut the parchment paper to fit accordingly** (If you are using your oven you can spread the parchment paper on a cookie tray )
  3. Scoop yogurt into the sandwich bag and cut a small bit off the corner (a teaspoon works great as well) and place rows of droplets on the sheet IMG_3432
  4. Or you can spread the yogurt onto the parchment paper into a thin layer
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  5. Dehydrate for around 5-6hrs. All dehydrators are different so probably best to check after several hours. If you are using an oven, just set the oven at the lowest temperature (~70-90C) and bake for the same amount of time but be sure to keep checking back. IMG_3437
  6. Once done, just peel off and enjoy! If you spread the yoghurt into a sheet you can roll it up for easy storing and to add a bit of fun when you snack. 🙂

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Health Tips & Raves!

The Awesomeness of Daikon!

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Daikon radish

Whenever we go to a Japanese Restaurant and order a plate of sashimi it will most likely come on a bed of  beautifully shredded white Daikon (Japanese radish). Sure it may be to make the dish look ‘prettier’, but the reason goes beyond aesthetics. There’s an incredibly smart, scientific, and healthy reason behind it!

Daikon radish has LOADS of health benefits!! Oh gosh, where to begin? How bout I list the awesomeness out for you….

  • First of all, it’s super low in calories so you can eat as much as you want without a worry.
  • It’s super high in antioxidants and vitamin C.
  • It helps in preventing cancer by fighting free radical damage
  • Aids the liver in eliminating toxins
  • It combats bacterial and viral infections (which is probably a reason why it comes with sashimi)
  • It is an anti-inflammatory
  • It is a natural diuretic (awesome for the kidneys)
  • It has enzymes that help our bodies digest proteins, fats, oils, and carbohydrates

Pretty cool right? The Japanese aren’t the longest living people in the world for no reason. They eat smart! So next time you order that sushi or sashimi plate why not nibble on that bed of shredded daikon? Your body will thank you for it! 🙂

Now daikon isn’t just to have whenever you’re satisfying your Japanese food craving. Here’s a quick recipe you can whip up easily at home!

Daikon salad