Lentil and vegetable soup

Lentils have 9g protein per 100g cooked lentils so are a great vegetable based protein. 8g fibre, 3.3 mg iron and 1.3 mg of zinc.

They are also an excellent source of molybdenum and folate and very good source of copper, phosphorus and manganese.

Ingredients

4 cloves of garlic

1 onion

3 stalks of celery

2 carrots

1-2 zucchinis

¼ of a small cabbage

3-4 bay leaves

1300 ml vegetable or chicken broth

1 x 400g can chopped tomatoes

1 cup of lentils. I used ½ cup each of red lentils and French lentils. Near the soup section at the supermarket. Very cheap!

2-3 slices of bacon or pancetta, prosciutto (opt)

Method

Using a grater attachment on a food processor grate all your vegetables, or pulse with the food processor blade, until small. Or chop small by hand. I like small so my kids won’t be able to pick out bits.

If using bacon, fry off in a large pot in some olive oil, then add everything else. Simmer covered for 30-40 minutes or until the French lentils are soft. Take out the bay leaves if you can find them.

Italian baked meatballs with buffalo mozzarella

Serves 4- you can use 750g mince and serve 6

Ingredients

500g pork and veal mince

2 browns onions finely chopped

5 cloves of garlic finely chopped

1 carrot, ½ cm dice

1 stalk of celery ½ cm dice

1 cup of tomato passata

1 cup of beef or chicken broth

2 tsp dried basil- if you have fresh basil and oregano you can use that, just use a small handful of each and chop- or as much as you would like to use.

2 tsp dried oregano

250g tub of buffalo mozzarella, sliced thinly- you can find this in this nice cheese section at the supermarket, it’s a fresh mozzarella and is white in colour, will be in brine or most likely oil. If you can’t find it you can use normal mozzarella which is yellow and firmer or you can use grated mozzarella.

Method

Preheat your oven to 200c or 180 c fan forced.

Season the mince really well with salt and pepper, knead together until sticky and form tbsp sized balls and set aside. In a large pan heat some olive oil and fry off your meatballs for 1-2 minutes until browned. Then put in your onion, garlic, carrot, dried herbs and celery, passata and broth- simmer, stirring a further 1-2 minutes until the broth is hot. Transfer to an oven proof dish and bake for 30 minutes, uncovered.

When done-If you are using fresh buffalo mozzarella just slice and put on top of your meatballs and bake a further 5 minutes or until melted. This doesn’t take long.

If you are using the normal mozzarella which is more yellow in colour and firmer put under a hot grill on and cook for 5-8 minutes until melted and golden brown. This takes a little longer to melt than the fresh mozzarella.

Serve this with some nice crusty Italian ciabatta bread to mop up the juices, or some zoodles (zucchini/vegetable noodles) some thick cut pappardelle pasta, or pasta of your choice, or no pasta, you could even have with some creamy polenta. Also have with extra steamed vegetables or a nice big salad.

Roasted chicken drumsticks with balsamic vinegar, thyme and maple syrup

Serves 6

Ingredients

12 chicken drumsticks

600-800g potatoes, peeled or scrubbed, 2cm dice

3 carrots, cut into quarters

2-3 red onions, cut into quarters

1 tbsp fresh turmeric, finely chopped- if you don't have fresh you can use about 1-2 tsp ground turmeric

1 tbsp ginger finely chopped

1/3 cup of balsamic vinegar

1-2 tbsp maple syrup

1 x 10g pack of fresh thyme

2-3 tbsp olive oil

Salt and white pepper to season with

2 heads of broccoli, cut into small florets

Method

Preheat the oven to 200c or 180c fan forced

In a large oven proof dish or 2 small ones put everything except your broccoli in, and using your hands toss so the chicken is coated, don’t forget to season with salt and pepper. Bake for 30 minutes, and then give your chicken a quick toss and then add your broccoli and bake another 30 minutes (1 hour altogether). You can bake the broccoli in a separate dish if you don’t have room, or just steam it on the stove nearer to when you serve up. You can serve with more steamed vegetable if you like!

Pear & strawberry crumble

Serves 6

Pear and strawberry with a sprinkle of optional chocolate chips topped with an oat and date crumble. The only sweetness comes from the fruit and dates (and chocolate if using)

Ingredients

4 pears, peeled, cored and 2cm dice (you could also use apples)

1 x 250g punnet of strawberries, hulled and cut in ½ or into 3 if really big

1/3 cup of chocolate chips (optional)

½ cup of spelt flour or gluten free flour

½ cup of oats

5 medjool dates, pitted

50g cold butter, small dice

Method

Preheat oven to 190c or 170c fan forced

Grease an oven proof dish with butter.

Blitz together your flour and dates until fine and put into a bowl. To that add your butter and using your fingertips blend the butter through the flour and date mix until it resembles biggish breadcrumbs, you still want to see some chunks of butter. Then add your oats and mix them through. Place your fruit and chocolate chips if using in your baking dish and sprinkle the crumble mix over evenly- bake for 30 minutes or until crumble is golden brown and the pears are tender. Check your crumble after 20 minutes and make sure it’s not getting too brown, cover with lid or foil if it is.

 Serve with double cream/ice cream/custard/whipped cream.

Cauliflower cheese fritters

Make 12 fritters approx

Ingredients

500g cauliflower, grated or blitz to a resemble bread crumbs

3 eggs

1 cup of grated cheese (100g) I used a mix of mozzarella, tasty and a little parmesan

1 tsp salt- I like this amount but you can half this

1 tsp paprika

½ tsp onion powder

½ tsp garlic powder

Method

Mix all together. Fry off in some oil in a large pan and using a spoon drop a tbsp of the mix and form a circle, press down slightly like a pancake. Have the heat low to medium so they cook without burning. Turn over when golden brown underneath. Serve up!

This could be an entrée, a veg side dish, or serve with salad or some poached or fried eggs for a breakfast. You could make mini ones and top with smoked salmon crème fraiche or sour cream and a sprig of dill, perhaps a couple of capers. 

Honey BBQ ribs

Ingredients

1.5-2kg ribs or a pork shoulder or lamb shoulder/leg

1 cup of tomato passata

¼ cup of apple cider vinegar or similar

1 tbsp smoked paprika

1 tsp celery salt

½ tsp ground cloves

1 tbsp molasses

1 tbsp honey

Method

Mix all the sauce ingredients and put your meat in an ovenproof dish and cover for 2 hours at 150c

Or you can cook in a slow cooker for the day.

If doing pulled pork or pulled lamb you can add 1-2 cans rinsed and drained legumes like butter bean or cannellini beans if you wanted, it’s like bbq baked beans.

I serve up with coleslaw, corn on the cob and some rice. The mayo for the coleslaw I used balsamic vinegar instead of acv and added in some wholegrain mustard at the end.

Here is a video of how to make mayo with a stick blender, it takes just 2 minutes!

click for a video on how to make mayo

Slow cooked satay miso beef

This is a slight variation of satay using miso paste, only a few ingredients in this too which is great! You can get miso paste in the asian section at the supermarket, you can also use it for miso soup, dressings and marinades, thanks to the glutamates it gives a nice umami flavor which is kinda savory/meaty feel to it








Slow cooked satay miso beef
Ingredients
1 kg chuck steak, cut into 6 even chunks
1 large brown onion, chopped
1 x 270ml can coconut cream
½ cup of peanut butter or other nut butter
Miso paste to taste. I used 2 tbsp in mine


Method
Mix your coconut cream and nut butter together, add a cans worth of water or broth and then add your miso paste, taste and add more as required.
Add this, your meat and onion to your slow cooker, low on low for the day.
I served this with rice and a stir fry of baby corn, green beans, cauliflower and snow peas.