Black Bean and Mango Cous Cous

Black Bean and Mango Cous Cous

This was such a delicious lunch I had to share it with you before I go back to work…

Soak a cup of cous cous with a cup of boiling water (add a stock cube if you want more flavour) and cover for as long as it takes to prepare the rest of the salad. I find cous cous works best when you steam it in a shallow dish. Rake with a fork once you’re ready to use.

Chop up capsicum, mango, spring onion and corriander, then add that to a large bowl with some rinsed black beans and oven-dried cherry tomatoes (see my previous blog on how to make them)

Shake up a dressing of olive oil, lime juice, red wine vinegar, honey, salt and pepper in a jar, so that the dressing emulsifies.

Now combine everything together and enjoy!

(This salad actually tastes better the next day after all the flavours have had time to develop)

Oven Dried Cherry Tomatoes

Step1: Rinse Cherry Tomatoes

Step 2: Slice in half and place skin down on tray

Step 3: Sprinkle with sliced garlic, rock salt and dried Italian herbs

Step 4: Bake in oven at 90-100 celcius for 4-5 hours

Step 5: Store in a nice jar covered with olive oil

Mango with Yogurt and Almond for Breakfast

Mango Yogurt Almond Breakfast

I woke up suffering the consequences of eating a very spicy Red Duck Thai Curry last night, so opted to counter balance that with a nice healthy and light breakfast this morning. I cut up a fresh mango, added a few tablespoons of plain yogurt and spinkled some chopped almonds on top. Looks more like dessert than breakfast but definitely tasted delicious and did the trick.

Tofu and Vegetable Stir Fry

Tofu and Vegetable Stirfry

Tonight’s dinner was a quick and easy tofu and vegetable stir fry.

When my partner Rodney goes away on business, I take the opportunity to go vegetarian and eat all the ingredients he doesn’t like.

Start by boiling some water, place noodles in a large ceramic bowl, cover with hot water and a plate, leaving to steam until you need them.

I then like to prepare all my ingreidnets before I start cooking as you don’t want to overcook your stir fry or your veges will not be crunchy.

Slice an onion, cut ginger into match sticks and garlic into slithers – stir fry on the hottest setting with a splash of vegetable oil until soft.

Add Shiitaki mushrooms, chunks of asparagus and the ends of chinese broccoli (Gai Lan) – stir fry for a another couple of minutes.

Cut up your tofu into squares – I used a firm tofu with seaweed that I find retains its shape nicely when cooking – and add to the pan with some soy sauce, oyster sauce and a splash of sesame oil for flavour.

Then add your remaining ingredients of Gai Lan leaves, drained noodles and Enoki mushrooms for the last few minutes, to combine the flavours and whilt the leaves.

And you’re done. Serve and eat immediately. Enjoy!

Fruit Balls – Nutritious and Delicious Snack

Fruit Balls

While cruising through the latest FoodGawker.com recipes, I came across Mehans Kitchen recipe for Coconut Date Energy Bites. They instantly took me back to my childhood of buying 1 cent fruit balls from the school canteen with my pocket money.

Feeling a little peckish I decided to give them a go. Looking in my cupboards I discovered I had most of the ingredients already, so simply substituted a few of the others to add my personal twist to the recipe.

These fruit balls are actually really quick and easy to make…

In a blender pulse together:
1 cup of oats (quick or rolled)
1 cup of shredded coconut
1 handful of chopped dried fruit (I used dried apricots, Mehans used dates but anything similar would work)
1 tablespoon of almonds (or whatever nuts / seeds you prefer)

Transfer to a bowl and mix in:
1 splash of vanilla essence (or try almond essence like Mehans)
1/2 cup water

You want the mixture to start coming together so you can shape into balls. Add more water if you need but don’t let it get too sticky. Then put them on a tray lined with grease proof paper, cover with cling wrap or put in a plastic container and pop in the fridge to set.

What you have is a delicious and healthy snack to eat between meals or for a quick energy boost before the gym.

I’m definitely going to try some different variations of ingredients once this batch have disappeared and would love to hear how you add your twist to this recipe too.

Enjoy!

Vegetarian Pizza – Quick Lunch Recipe

Today’s lunch was just a matter of seeing what I had leftover in my fridge and cupboard, popping down to the mini-mart to grab a few extra ingredients and then knocking together a tasty meal.

I found some leftover wholemeal wraps, sun-dried tomatoes and spinach, so with the addition of some tinned mushrooms and grated cheese I thought this would make a nice quesadilla.

Once I got home though I found some left over tomato puree and decided to change it into a vegetarian pizza instead with the addition of some dried Oregano, salt and pepper to finish it off.

Vegetarian Pizza – Uncooked

Cooked in the over at 160 degrees celsius for as long as it took to empty the dishwasher, my lunch was done. Quick, easy, healthy and delicious.

You can do this too with whatever ingredients you have lying around in the fridge or cupboard. All you need is a base, sauce, toppings and cheese. What you choose is up to you, so get creative and use up those leftover ingredients. You’ll be surprised what you can create.

Vegetarian Pizza – Cooked

What are your favourite leftover meal creations?