Category MealPlanning

With our feijoa tree bursting with fruit that are dropping faster than I can collect, I had been on the hunt for a feijoa recipe when Nadia Lim’s instant feijoa ice cream showed up on my Facebook news feed.  Perfect timing!

I whipped this up in the weekend to take for dessert at an Easter family dinner with the relatives at mum’s house and it was a hit.

You do need a decent food processor to do this though.  I tried to use my little wand processor which was an epic FAIL (I kind of thought it wouldn’t work but I wanted to try anyway…..)  I ended up taking everything up to mum’s house in her Kenwood and it worked a treat.

My version is slightly modified from Nadia Lim’s version but whatever you make I’m sure they’ll both be equally delicious.

Ingredients:

500g of scooped out feijoa flesh
2 large bananas, peeled and chopped
1/2 cup of cream
3 tablespoons of the top of a coconut cream can (if you don’t shake it you’ll be able to scoop of the lovely creamy top layer)
3/4 cup of natural Greek yoghurt
3 teaspoons of honey
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla essence

Line a  tray or flattish baking dish with baking paper and place feijoas and banana on top in a single layer. Cover with glad wrap and freeze for at least 8 hours or overnight.

When you are almost ready to eat the ice-cream, start your blending process. Place frozen feijoas and bananas in the bowl of a large food processor with a strong blade. Mix cream, coconut cream, yoghurt, honey, cinnamon and vanilla together.

Add half of the cream mixture to the frozen fruit and turn on the food processor to blitz everything together until smooth and well combined – add the rest of the cream mixture as necessary, until you have achieved an ice-cream consistency.

If you’re ice cream is a little soft, pop it in the freezer for 15-20 minutes.  Don’t leave for too long though or it will be rock hard!

Scoop instant ice-cream into bowls and serve immediately, with sliced feijoas.

You can find the original recipe here

Years ago, when I didn’t have such a healthy relationship with food, snacking would be one thing that would play on my mind. Should I snack? Should I just ride out the hunger until my next meal? Would skipping snacks make me lose weight? I had so many questions, and there were lots of opinions on the answers, but the real answer came from within and could be answered with this question. Are you really hungry? If yes, then eat! But choose something that’s filling, nourishing and delicious.

Learning to listen to your body and eat a nourishing diet that works for you are two of the best things you can do for yourself. As a nutritionist, I work with my clients to do this and I’d encourage you to do it too. Following the latest fad diet, following strict food rules or cutting out whole food groups isn’t a sustainable way to be healthy and feel great (unless of course you have a specific food allergy or health condition).

Now I’m in tune with my body and have a healthy relationship with food, I trust my hunger. So if I’m hungry, and it’s a while till the next meal, then I’ll eat. And I’ll choose something delicious and nourishing that keeps me full in between meals.

Choosing healthy snacks can:

• boost your nutrient intake
• improve energy levels
• help you avoid going for those not so healthy food choices when you’ve avoided your hunger signals
• Choosing a snack containing protein and carbohydrate can also help your muscles recover after a workout if you’re not going to get a chance to eat for a while.

One snack I’ve recently tried that is super delicious is Anchor Greek. It’s a low fat creamy yoghurt that’s high in protein and taste. It’s thick and creamy, with a tasty fruity layer of either strawberry, passionfruit or pear. Being high in protein, it helps keep you nice and full, and the fruit layer adds such a delicious flavour. Basically it’s deliciously good for you!

It comes in perfect 180g snack sized pottles, or you can get bigger 450g tubs. If you prefer your Greek plain, there’s a bigger 900g plain tub. My favourite flavour is the passionfruit, but the others are also delicious.

You’ll find it at New World or Pak n Save supermarkets nationwide.

Join the #SnackChat on Facebook and Instagram.

This post was made possible thanks to Anchor Greek. All opinions are my own.

If you’ve been feeling a bit sluggish over winter, then now is the time to do something about it.  Summer is just round the corner and there is something super simple you can do to feel better, restore your digestive balance and improve your wellbeing . Get a good dose of probiotics with Symbio by signing up to the  Symbio Summer Feel Good Challenge.

Probiotics play a really important role in our digestive health, as well as in our overall wellbeing, providing a source of beneficial bacteria.  The easiest (and tastiest!) way to get your probiotic dose is through yoghurt.  But not just any yoghurt will do if you want to beat digestive issues.  Probiotics need to be the right type and at a high enough dose to make a difference.   Symbio contains Bifidobacterium lactis DR10™, a probiotic that has been studied in over 20 scientific studies, and remains live in the yoghurt in sufficient numbers to support your digestive balance up until the end of the best before date.

Symbio is also a good source of protein and calcium, making it perfect for a snack, to use in smoothies, as a yoghurt dip or for breakfast.

Since signing up to the Symbio’s Summer Feel Good Challenge. I’m eating Symbio each day, and following the little health and wellbeing tips I’m emailed each day.  With a stressful past few months,  the challenge has been a really useful way to keep me on track to improving my wellbeing.

If you’re keen to improve your overall wellbeing and digestive balance, it’s free, quick and easy to sign up to Symbio’s Summer Feel Good Challenge. Simply click here.  Once you’ve joined, you get a downloadable voucher for $1 off your yoghurt.  Plus if you don’t notice a difference, Symbio will give you your money back!  There’s nothing to lose, but lots to gain.

Here’s some ways I’ve been enjoying Symbio over the challenge:

Overnight oats:

1/2 cup rolled oats soaked overnight in 1/2 cup Symbio Vanilla Pouring Yoghurt served with more Symbio + fruit and sliced almonds

Smoothies:

There’s lots of smoothie options, but this one was super easy and delicious. Simply blend together 1/2 cup frozen strawberries, 1 cup Symbio Vanilla Pouring Yoghurt (this stuff is good!), 2 tablespoons chia seeds

Fruit with natural yoghurt:

I made this up to share with my husband – some fresh pineapple, kiwifruit slices and berries with natural Symbio.

Once you’ve joined the challenge, I’d love you to share with me some of your favourite ways to eat your Symbio in the comments below or on my Facebook page 🙂  You can get more wellbeing tips and Symbio recipe ideas at Symbio’s Facebook here

 Symbio comes in lots of flavours and sizes –

Apricot & Mango, Passionfruit, Vanilla, Rhubarb, Mixed Berry, Natural
Unsweetened (with no added sugar)
Pouring yoghurt is available in Strawberry and Vanilla
Symbio Wholegrains is available in Apricot and Blueberry flavours

I’ve seen lots of frozen banana dessert ideas but this breakfast idea got me more excited! Breakfast banana pops!

It’s such a simple idea  but it’s a yummy alternative to usual breakfast ideas and is especially nice in the warmer weather.  Banana dipped in Greek yoghurt and rolled in goodies of your choice.

These hardly need a recipe, but here’s what you need:

Banana (duh!)
Greek yoghurt
Coatings – I used the following
buckwheat
coconut
sliced almonds
Passionfruit
 

What to do:

On a piece of baking paper, sprinkle your coatings.  Cut your banana in half and slide a popsicle stick in the end of each banana piece.  Dip in the Greek yoghurt to get a good coverage.  Roll the banana around in your coatings.  Place on another piece of baking paper and put the bananas in the freezer.  Eat the next morning for breakfast.

There are so many ideas you could use:  chia seeds, muesli, cocoa nibs, linseeds, other nuts.  Use your imagination and come up with something delicious just for you!

What would you put on your banana breakfast pops?

If you’ve got celiac disease or are gluten intolerant then going gluten free makes such a difference to the quality of your life.   However, making the switch to a gluten free lifestyle can sometimes limit your options and leave you wondering what should I eat?!

Sovereign are all about empowering New Zealander’s to take charge of their health and well being, so I thought I’d share some of my favourite gluten free lunches that are delicious and packed with goodness.

One of my favourite gluten free ingredients is quinoa.  Quinoa  is a really versatile, nutrient rich food that’s great as a side dish or made into an array of yummy salads.  As well as being gluten free, it’s is a good source of phosphorus and is high in iron and magnesium.  Quinoa is also source of zinc, folate, thiamine, riboflavin, vitamin B6 and vitamin E.

Quinoa is quick and easy to cook too.  Simply rinse the grains under water in a sieve.  Place the quinoa in a pot with double the amount of water and simmer until all the liquid is dissolved.  1/2 a cup of uncooked quinoa will make around 1 cup of cooked quinoa.

Here’s my top four gluten free lunch ideas based around quinoa.

Roast pumpkin, carrot + quinoa salad. 

Make a batch of this salad in the weekend and have the left overs for lunch over the next day or two.  You could also freeze this in individual containers to grab on the go and defrost at work.  Serve with some salmon or chicken for added protein. Find the recipe here.

Quinoa salad with chickpeas, feta and apples

With crunchy apples and walnuts plus the tangy feta, this salad is a really yummy combination of tastes and textures. Find the recipe here.

Feta, pumpkin, mushroom and quinoa frittatas

Made in texas muffin tins, these frittatas are easy to make and are a filling lunch and can be eaten hot or even cold.  I freeze these and reheat at work for a quick easy lunch.   Serve with a salad.  Find the recipe here

 Quinoa sushi

Switching out refined white rice for quinoa turns it into a low GI, higher protein lunch.  Plus it tastes great too!   Find out how to make it here.

What are your favourite gluten free recipes? 

This post was made possible thanks to Sovereign.

These feta, pumpkin and spinach frittatas make an easy breakfast on the go or a perfect addition to the lunch box.  In fact, the humble frittata is perfect for any meal!  Made with feta, pumpkin and spinach plus brown rice they are both nourishing and sustaining and they taste treat too.

Ingredients:

140g pumpkin, peeled and cut into cubes (around 1 cup)
1 cup of brown rice or quinoa (this equals about 2 cups of cooked brown rice/quinoa)
2 cups vegetable stock
1/2 tablespoon olive oil
7 button mushrooms, cut into quarters
1 leek, finely sliced
4 cloves of garlic, crushed
1/2 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 cup spinach, finely sliced
5 large eggs
100g feta cheese, cut into small cubes
handful of Italian parsley, finely chopped
salt and pepper, to taste

Method

1.  Cook the pumpkin. You can do this one of two ways – either microwave for 7 minutes, then pan fry with a little oil to crisp up, or bake in the oven at 180 degrees Celcius for 20-30 minutes, until golden brown and soft to bite.

2.  Cook the rice or quinoa in vegetable stock.  I cook my rice in the microwave – simply add the rice/stock in a large microwavable bowl and cook for 15-20 minutes.  Check at 15 minutes, you may need to add an extra 1/4 cup of liquid.  If you use quinoa, rinse 1 cup of quinoa under cold running water. Place rinsed quinoa in a pot. Pour over the 2 cups of stock and bring to the boil. Reduce heat and simmer until all the stock is absorbed. This will take about 12-15 minutes.  If you want to save time, then you can buy the quick cook microwave bags – ready in a minute!

3.  While the pumpkin and rice or quinoa are cooking, add the olive oil to a pan and place over a medium heat.  Add the sliced leek, garlic and mushrooms and cook for approximately 5 minutes, until the mushrooms are soft. Add the chopped spinach and cook for a minute.

4.  Beat the eggs in a medium sized bowl.  Add the cooked rice/quinoa, vegetables, feta and parsley and season with salt and pepper.

5.  Spoon the mixture into greased texas muffin tins and bake at 180 degrees for 30 minutes, or until cooked through. Test by placing a skewer in the middle – it should be clean and free from liquid eggy mixture.

Keep in the fridge for no longer than 2 days.  You can freeze the left overs.

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Quick and easy smoothies – chop  your ingredients, pop in the freezer and blend when you want one!

I’m not a morning person.  No matter how much I want to be one of those people that jump out of bed smiling and full of energy,  I take a while to properly wake up.

For this reason I have to confess I’m a lazy breakfast maker.  Oats, home made museli, toast are pretty much the staples as I don’t have to think about it and it takes very little prep.  The most effort I’d go for during the week would be scrambled eggs.

I do love a good smoothie and have wanted to have smoothies for breakfast, but I just simply can’t be bothered in the morning.  All that peeling, slicing, dicing and then cleaning up afterwards just puts me off.  For morning people reading this, I probably just sound lazy, but I promise I’m not – it just seems too much to think about in the morning (sad but true!).

So anyway, this weekend I thought of a super simple solution to solve my problems – peel, slice and dice later in the day and freeze.  Quick and easy smoothies with smoothie bags! I thought this simple idea was rather genius so this weekend I made up smoothie bags so in the morning all I have to do is pull it out of the freezer, chuck it in the blender with a bit of fluid of choice ( I use milk or sometimes almond milk) and volia- a smoothie in less than a couple of minutes!!  Breakfast on the go, here I come!

Here’s what’s in my smoothie bags:

• Kale, kiwifruit, banana, strawberries
• Raspberries and banana (simple but yummy)
• Kale, banana, blackberries + blueberries + strawberries
• Mango, 1/4 avocado and raspberry (I add yoghurt and chia seeds in the morning, and you can’t taste the avocado)
• Kale, 1/4 avocado, banana and kiwifruit (avocado makes it nice and creamy!)

Then in the morning, you can add your extras,  like a spoonful of nut butteror some linseed/chia or LSA.  Linseeds/chia seeds and LSA add omega 3 fats as well as fibre to help keep you feeling fuller for longer.  I also add a good serve of natural yoghurt and occasionally I’ll add some protein powder.

My current favourite combination is raspberry, banana, a few cashew nuts, chia seeds, natural yoghurt and milk.

Get busy on Sunday, and make a weeks worth of smoothie bags and your week ahead is sorted.

What’s your favourite smoothie combos?

There’s nothing like a yummy piece of chocolate slice with a cup of tea.  Unfortunantly, the traditional chocolate fudge slice is made with refined flour and lots of fat and sugar!  And while a piece of the traditional slice is ok every now and again, I felt like making something I could enjoy that was also nutrient rich, so I came up with this version – a healthy chocolate slice.

By looking at this slice you would never guess it’s packed with healthy ingredients.  It’s made with ground almonds, cashews, oats, sunflower seeds and cocoa, then topped with a little antioxidant rich dark chocolate. The nuts and seeds provide a source of healthy monounsaturated fats,  vitamin E, calcium and B vitamins. The recipe also contains a little cinnamon which not only adds a yummy flavour, it helps reduce blood sugar levels.   Healthy Chocolate slice is quick and simple to make too – no baking required.

Here’s how:

1/3 cup ground almonds
2 tablespoons sunflower seeds
70g raw cashew nuts
1/3 cup oats
1 tablespoon coconut oil
1 1/2 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
1.5 teaspoons cinnamon
1 to 2 tablespoons cocoa nibs (optional but nice)
dark chocolate, for topping.

Place the ground almonds, sunflower seeds and 1/2 the cashews in a blender. Pulse until the nuts turn dough like.   Add the oats, coconut oil, honey, cinnamon and cocoa.  Mix again until combined.  Take out the dough and roll out until it’s thin.  Press into a small tin lined with baking paper. Or you can just shape into a rectangle with a knife on baking paper.  Place in the fridge for a few hours, until hard.

Melt dark chocolate, and spread over the top.  Cut into slices while the chocolate is still warm.  Store in the refrigerator.

Enjoy! But remember, just because it’s made with healthier ingredients, it’s not licence to eat the whole lot! One slice is a perfect portion.

I’m quite a fan of the Healtheries tea range – it seems that every few months I find a new favourite even tastier than the last.  My new favourite is Tropical with Mango, Pineapple and Passionfruit.  It’s as delicious as it’s name sounds. In the afternoon, when I feel like something sweet, I reach for one of these. It has a fruity, sweet flavour without high levels of sugar.

This would be delicious as an iced tea as well.

What’s in it?

Hibiscus (Hibiscus Sabdariffa)
Rosehip (Rosa Canina)
Orange Peels (Citrus Aurantium)
Acidity Regulator (Citric Acid)
Nature Identical Flavours
Mango Fruit Juice Concentrate Powder (1%)
Pineapple (1%)
Blackberry Leaves
Liquorice Root
Passionfruit Juice Concentrate Powder (0.5%)

You can read more about the tea over at the Healtheries website here

I’ve probably said before that oats are one of my favourite breakfasts.  They’re a nutritious way to start the day and there are lots of ways you turn them into a delicious meal.  Oats are a good source of soluble fibre and the beta-glucan from oats has also been shown to reduce cholesterol levels. Oats are also a source of B vitamins thiamin, riboflavin and B6 and also contain small amounts of minerals including magnesium, iron and zinc.

Compared to other grains, oats are also higher in protein which can help keep you feeling fuller for longer. Can you see why I love them?!   This week I thought I’d share some of my favourite oat combinations, starting with blackberry and coconut.  During the cooler months, I buy big bags of frozen berries as a cheaper way to still get my berry fix.

Ingredients for one serve:

1/2 cup oats
1 cup of water  (and a bit extra if desired)
1/2 cup blackberries
1/2-1 tablespoon coconut milk
1 tablespoon coconut threads
1 tablespoon sliced almonds
Greek yoghurt

Cook the oats with the water, add extra water as needed/desired to get the consistency you like. Mix in the berries and coconut milk and top with some threads of coconut and sliced almonds.  I also like to top with some Greek yoghurt. Enjoy!