Home made bread doesn’t need to be a huge effort and this spelt, rye and seed bread is testament to that.  After having a big fail with sour dough a while back, I thought I’d just start with an easier bread version – bread made with yeast.  I’m still definitely keen to give sour dough another go and master the art, but for now, this is still delicious.   I brought my flours at Binn Inn bulk bins so I could just get what I needed.  It’s a handy thing to do if you’re not sure you’ll use a big bag of rye flour etc.   The recipe creates one large loaf, and it’s a dense, filling bread that slices well.

It keeps for around 3 days wrapped in a tea towel, and if you have left overs, slice and freeze in an air tight container or bag so you can grab out a slice when you want.

I based this on a recipe from Be Good Organics – her version was a sour dough rye and is available on her blog.

Here’s my version:

Spelt, Rye and Seed Bread

2 cups rye flour
1 cups white spelt flour
1.5 cups wholemeal spelt flour (you can also use wholemeal wheat flour)
1/4 cup sunflower seeds1/2 cup linseeds
1/2 cup pumpkin seeds
1/4 cup sesame seeds
1 teaspoon salt
8g instant yeast (this was one yeast sachet)
1.5 teaspoons sugar
2 cups luke warm water
2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil

In a large mixing bowl, add the flours, seeds, salt, yeast and sugar and mix well  to combine.  Make a well in the centre and add the warm water, cider vinegar and olive oil.  Mix well.  You can do this in a cake mixer with a dough hook, or by hand.  Knead for about 5 minutes.

Lightly grease a large loaf pan (mine measured 22.5cm by 9cm) and add the dough mixture to fit.  Cover and leave to rise in a warm place for approximately 2 hours.   Lightly score the top in three places with a knife.

Cook the bread in a preheated oven at 180 degrees Celsius for approximately 35-45 minutes, or until cooked in the middle.  To check readiness – insert a skewer and it should come out clean.

This is delicious toasted with avocado and egg or a classic favourite, crunchy peanut butter.

Basing our diet mainly around a variety of wholefoods is a simple way to ensure we’re fueling our body with the nutrients we need to feel and be well. While nuts and fruit are a go to for whole food snacking, sometimes it’s good to mix it up and have other options available to keep your diet varied and interesting. So I thought I’d share with you some of my favourite options made with wholefood ingredients that satisfy the taste buds and are great for you too!

Here’s some of my top options:

Natural yoghurt and berries:

This is one of my favourite afternoon snacks as it feels like such a treat.  When fresh berries aren’t in season, I use frozen berries and sprinkle over some chia seeds. The seeds absorb some of the berry juice as they defrost so the yoghurt doesn’t become too watery.  Plus of course they add beneficial fibre, vitamins, minerals and some omega 3 fats – functional AND nutritious – what a great combination 🙂  Sometimes I add a sprinkle of dried fruit/nut mix as well for some extra crunch and flavour.

Tasti Smooshed Wholefood Balls and Made Simple Bars:

Times are a moving and there are now some awesome products on the market for snacks that use wholefood ingredients.  Some of my new favourites for a sweet treat are the Tasti Smooshed Wholefood balls and the Tasti Made Simple bars.  I like to keep these in my drawer at work, especially on those days I’m out and about and may need a snack to keep me going. I just grab one and chuck it in my bag and I’m sorted.

The bars are a perfect snack size and have an amazing flavour.  My favourite Made Simple bar is the chocolate lamington.  It’s just the right combination of chocolate and coconut and has a nice amount of sweetness from dates.   The ingredients list is just dates, roasted cashews, cocoa powder, coconut and a hint of natural coconut flavour.

The Smooshed wholefood balls are also delicious – with 6 in each pack they’re a nourishing sweet treat made only from wholefoods.  All the products have a high health star rating too!

If you’d like to try them, I’m giving some away – keep reading for details at the bottom of this post.

Chia puddings

When I first saw chia puddings a couple of years back I wasn’t convinced they’d be tasty.  Then I made one and my mind was changed.   Chia seeds are not only highly nutritious, they absorb lots of fluid to form a soft, pudding like consistency, so you can use them to create delicious, healthy creations.  There’s so many recipes, but after you’ve made a few it’s pretty easy to freestyle it.  I like mine soaked in vanilla flavoured almond milk with raspberries and cashew nuts topped with some yoghurt.  Here’s a couple of recipes to get you inspired.

From top right:
Berry chia pudding with Greek yoghurt
Simple mango chia pudding
Banana Coconut chia pudding
Raspberry, almond and coconut chia pudding

Pimped up vegetables!

A good way to boost your vegetable intake during the day is to include them in your snacking.  Vegetables are such a powerhouse of goodness – vitamins, minerals, dietary fibre, antioxidants and phytochemicals – we all know that eating AT LEAST 3 serves a day is necessary for wellbeing.  By themselves they’re not that filling, but there are lots of ways to make them more satiating and interesting.

Here’s a couple of ideas for yummy vegetable snacks:

• Celery and carrot sticks with peanut butter, hummus or cottage cheese
• Cherry tomatoes and cheese cubes on toothpicks
• Left over roast kumara and pumpkin pieces
• Cucumber rounds spread with pesto and topped with a little cheese

I’d love to know what your favourite wholefood snack options are. Let me know in the comments below.

WIN!

I’ve got a Tasti pack to give away containing:

• Three packets of Tasti Made Simple Wholefood Bars (Cocoa Orange, Forrest Berry and Chocolate Lamington)
• Three packets of the Tasti Smooshed Wholefood Balls (Orange zinger, brazen berry and mocha macchiato)

To be in the draw, simply comment below with what flavour you’d try first and share this post by hitting the Facebook button at the top or bottom of the post.   Winner will be drawn on Sunday 21 August and published on this post and notified by email.  Open to NZ residents only. Good luck!

Congratulations to Lara Croll who won this prize pack.

This post was made possible thanks to Tasti.

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This salmon, leek and pesto tart is a delicious way to boost your omega 3 intake.  Lately I’ve been thinking of more ways to get oily fish into my diet as opposed to just eating salmon for dinner (which my husband isn’t a huge fan of) and this was one of those ideas. It turns out this tart it is quite delicious and makes a satisfying, tasty lunch served alongside some greens.  The other great thing is you can freeze the left overs in single portions to use if you want at a later date – which is exactly what I’ll be doing with my last portion 🙂

Part of my inspiration for this came from Annabel Langbein.  She has been one of my favourite NZ cooks for a long time now and I recently purchased her Winter Annual for some recipe inspiration. I wasn’t disappointed – there are some really yummy recipes.  One of her recipes is for an olive oil pastry which I was keen to try out.  Olive oil is a healthy fat that’s high in antioxidants and vitamin E, so replacing olive oil for butter in pastry as well as switching some of the white flour for wholemeal flour makes a healthier alternative.  I slightly altered the recipe and used the pastry to create this delicious salmon, leek and pesto tart which I’ve been enjoying for lunch over the past few days.   Here’s the recipe:

Salmon, Leek and Pesto Tart

Olive oil pastry

3/4 cup white flour
3/4 cup wholemeal flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon mixed herbs
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 cup water

Mix together the dry ingredients in one bowl.  In another small bowl, mix together the olive oil and water.  Pour this mixture into the dry ingredients and mix together with a knife until combined.  Leave to rest for 10 minutes.

Grease a small size tart dish.  Roll out the pastry to the shape of your tart dish and press in evenly.

For the salmon, leek and pesto tart filling:

1 large leek, finely chopped
1 teaspoon olive oil
180g boneless salmon fillet, skin removed.
5 eggs
2 tablespoons basil pesto
1 tablespoon milk
1/4 cup parmesean cheese
Salt and pepper
Rosemary leaves, to garnish

Preheat oven to 180 degrees celcius.

In a fry pan, heat the olive oil over a medium heat and add the finely chopped leek.  Cook, stiring regularly for around 5-8 minutes, until the leek begins to soften.  Once the leek is cooked, sprinkle evenly over the pastry base and set aside.

Next add the salmon fillet to the pan and cook for around 3 minutes each side.  It will cook in the oven anyway, this is just so it’s easy to break apart.  Set aside.

In a bowl, beat together the eggs, pesto, milk and cheese. Add a grind of salt and pepper.  Pour the egg mixture over the pastry base.  Break the salmon into chunks and sprinkle evenly over top.

Cook for 30-40 minutes, until the pastry is crisp and the filling is set in the middle.  Garnish with rosemary leaves.

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