Rhubarb & Raspberry Tart

Rhubarb is really in right now. Especially since it's winter here in Australia. So I made a rhubarb and raspberry tart to celebrate (healthy style of course!). Here's how I did it.

Ingredients - Makes one delicious tart

Base 1 ½ cup oatmeal ½ cup shredded coconut ½ cup almonds or macadamia nuts 3 tablespoons coconut oil (or 2 ½ tbsp. almond/macadamia/olive oil) 2 tablespoons maple syrup

Filling 5 stalks rhubarb (chopped) 1 cup frozen raspberries 1 large pear (chopped) 3 tablespoons honey/maple syrup/agave (or stevia equivalent for sugar-free diets) 2 tablespoons arrowroot 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Topping ¼ cup shredded coconut 2 tbsp. coconut sugar 2 tbsp. chopped walnuts

Method Preheat oven to 200 degrees Celsius. Using a food processor, lightly process the oatmeal, coconut, and nuts until the nuts are just broken. Add the oil and syrup and pulse until the mixture is combined enough to stick together. Press the mixture firmly into a tart tin using clean fingers. Place in a hot oven and bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until slightly golden.Meanwhile, heat a saucepan on medium heat and add raspberries and chopped pear. Using a potato masher, squash the fruit to release juices. Stir in the syrup and vanilla until combined. Add the rhubarb and cook for approximately 10 minutes, stirring the contents to prevent it from burning. Once the rhubarb becomes soft and starts to disintegrate take off heat and add the arrowroot to thicken the mixture. Cool slightly.

Pour rhubarb mixture into tart base and spread evenly to cover pastry. Place in the oven and reduce heat to 180 degrees Celsius. Combine the ingredients for the topping and sprinkle over tart after 20 minutes of baking. Bake for another 5 to 10 minutes. Remove from oven and eat warm with coconut ice cream. Heaven!!

This one was eaten with Greek yoghurt, crushed berries and honey, but the flavours in your mouth turn into a party when paired with some homemade or store-bought coconut ice-cream.

Are you licking your screen yet? Go and make it NOW! :)

What I Ate Wednesday

A lot of my blends (blogger friends) have this thing where they post what they ate on Wednesday. I think it's genius. For one, we get to see what others eat (c'mon, I know we all secretly want to know this). And secondly, we get inspiration from others. Let's be honest there is nothing new under the sun, and all of us lose a little inspiration or creativity sometimes. "What I Ate Wednesday" is here to help us all.

So here's what I had.

Breakfast:

1/3 cup of rolled oats cooked with 1/2 cup of almond milk, 1/2 cup of water and 1/2 a pear. Topped with chia seeds, almonds, and walnuts with a dash of agave syrup. My favourite kind of breakfast for a cold rainy day.

Snack:

1 small banana cut into wheels and topped with 1 tablespoon of peanut butter. Sorry I didn't take a picture, I was in a hurry!

Lunch:

This is my new favourite. Two slices of the life changing loaf of bread topped with 1/4 of an avocado mashed, a handful of microherbs, 1 tsp of homemade almond dukkah and a drizzle of fresh lemon juice. I had a side of freshly chopped tomatoes and orange capsicum! So yum!

Snack:

As I said, it was a cold and rainy day. What is a girl to do in this kind of weather? Well, have chocolate of course! This was in the form of warm liquid chocolatey goodness! It is called my Hot Choconana, and is made from 1 teaspoon cacao powder, half a small banana, 1 cup of almond milk and a date! All you do is blend and then heat on the stove or with a coffee machine milk frother. Or, you can do both simulaneously if you have a thermomix (which is the coolest kitchen gadget you will ever use). Top with extra cacao powder and a few cacao nibs. Chocolate heaven!

Dinner:

This is such a quick meal to make if you had a long day and can't be bothered to spend a lot of time cooking a healthy meal. It's a Tomato, Kale, and Lentil Pasta topped with goats cheese fetta and fresh coriander. I made the sauce from organic canned tomatoes, freshly chopped onion and garlic, and lots of different spices (chilli, turmeric, coriander, sumac, paprika, cinnamon). Then added a whole bunch of washed purple kale and a tin of organic brown lentils. I then let it simmer for about 10-15 minutes while the pasta cooked (made from wholemeal spelt flour) and then combined with the pasta. Dinner time!!

Dessert:

Yep, I eat a lot. Dessert was a medjool date filled with a teaspoon of almond butter and a cup of rooibos tea. The perfect sweet end to a busy, cold and productive day.

Question:

What do you think of "What I Ate Wednesday" blog posts. Yay or Nay?

Link of the day: Creamy Almond Milkshake - perfect for breakfast, a snack, or dessert!

Maximising your nutrient intake

I often get asked by my clients what the best way is to make sure that they achieve their requirements for their vitamins and minerals. There are two answers -

1. If you want to make 100% sure, see an accredited practicing dietitian who can analyse your diet in detail.

AND

2. Eat a wide variety of different foods (at least 20 different foods per day) and eat them in lots of different colours!!

Why? The more colour a fruit or vegetable has, the more concentrated the vitamins or minerals! This is almost always an indicator that it will be more nutritious.

Here are some examples of colourful fruit and vegetables and how they can benefit your health:

Red - strawberries, tomatoes, radishes, beetroot, rhubarb, pomegranate. These contain lycopenes and anthocyans, believed to help reduce the risk of certain cancers, improve heart health, and help fight off infections.

Orange & Yellow - sweet potato, mango, carrots, pumpkin, oranges. These contain carotenoids and bioflavonoids which help improve vision, fight off cancer, slow ageing, and maintain a healthy immune system.

Green - kiwi fruit, avocado, spinach, kale, asparagus, broccoli, zucchini. These contain phytochemicals that help antioxidants fight carcinogens and strengthen our bones!

Purple & blue - blueberries, raisins, eggplant, figs, plums. They contain anthocyans and resveratol that may reduce cancer risk and slow down ageing.

This is more than enough reason for me to eat colourful! So that's what I did for lunch today...

Sprouted Buckwheat Granola

ooohhhhh granola...

...there's something about the crunch that makes you want to go back for more. And why wouldn't you? This one is super duper nutritious with loads of flavour!

 

Buckwheat is a wonderous little grain-like seed that is not related to wheat at all so its naturally gluten-free and wheat-free (yay for all our gluten intolerant friends)!

It is really high in fibre and has a low Glycaemic Index (GI) which means you have sustained energy throughout the day and you'll feel fuller for longer - great for weight loss or maintenance!

 

Ingredients: 2 cups buckwheat groats (soaked and sprouted) 2 bananas 1/4 of a cup chia seeds 2/3 of a cup almonds 2 tbs acai berry powder (optional) 2 tbs agave syrup 1/2 cup of shredded coconut 1/3 of a cup goji berries 1/2 cup macadamia nuts 1/4 cup sultanas

Method: Soak 2 cups buckwheat groats and let them do their magic by sprouting! There is a really helpful tutorial on how to sprout buckwheat here.

Next, combine the chia seeds, almonds and acai berry powder in a blender and blend to a fine consistency. Add the banana and agave syrup and blend until a paste is formed. If the mixture is too thick you can add a little water to make it thinner (you dont want the consistency to be too thin, but it needs to be thick enough to hold together when mixed with the buckwheat to form clusters when dried). Scoop mixture into a bowl and add sprouted buckwheat, shredded coconut and goji berries. Mix well.

 

Spread evenly onto an oven tray and dehydrate the mixture in a food dehydrator or in an oven (set at the lowest temperature) for around 8-10 hours or until the mixture is dry to touch. Let cool and add the macadamia nuts and sultanas. You're done!

 

You're set for breakfast for the next 2 weeks! Hooray!

 

These little clusters are of course delicious with some fruit and yoghurt for your morning food! A perfect start to the day.

 

How much do you want to dig into this? yummmm

 

What is your favourite morning food?

Food prep for the week!

I recently showed you (here) part of my food prep and organisation that I like to get done on the weekend so that I’m ready to go for the week. Part of that routine is to go to the fruit and veg markets to get all my supplies for the week at a reasonable price. I also like to prepare a few foods on the weekend to make the process of creating meals easier. Here are a few of my favourites! Breakfast: It’s a real treat to wake up in the morning without having to think what you’re going to make for breakfast. That’s why I like to make a big bowl of homemade granola to last us a week or two. I like to do gluten-free sprouted buckwheat or an oat-based granola mixed in with various goodies. Perfect with almond milk and fresh chopped banana. Watch this space - recipes to follow!

Dips/sauces/spreads: I get so much use of out making these and they are so versatile! They’re perfect as a spread on a lunchtime sandwich, a dip with veggies or a few wholegrain crackers for a snack or to mix through quinoa or steamed veg for a main. - Hummus - Tahini Yoghurt - Chargrilled capsicum relish - Pesto

Here I made a baked sweet potato, radish and tahini yoghurt lentil salad topped with chargrilled capsicum relish.

Poached chicken: It works really well to poach a few pieces of lean chicken breasts, shred them and flavour them with lemon juice, pepper and herbamare. This can be kept in the fridge for up to 2 days, or I like to freeze them in portions. When you make your salad for lunch in the morning you can take it out of the freezer, pop it on top of your salad and it will be thawed and ready to eat by lunch time!

Quinoa: This is my absolute favourite staple as mentioned before. It behaves like a grain (so you can substitute it for rice/couscous/pasta) but it is actually a seed and a complete protein source. This beauty is perfect tossed through salads or to bulk up soups and curries. I also like to make quinoa pilaf and use it as a foundation for my meals. Here I mixed quinoa with pesto and brocolinni.

Frozen fruit: I love to freeze ripe bananas and mangoes. Whenever I feel like a healthy frozen treat during the week I throw them into my thermomix to make 100% fruit ice cream! They’re also really handy for making smoothies. I love to freeze grapes for a cool summer snack.Frozen yoghurt blocks: I take this as a perfect opportunity to use up the last bit of my yoghurt from the week before it goes off. I like to combine it with honey/agave/maple syrup and any kind of chopped fruit.

Snacks: Trail mix - I like to combine raw almonds, walnuts, goji berries, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds and some chopped dried apple. You can leave this in a jar and grab as you go, or you can make them into little snack packs.

Super snack balls – these are one of my favourite snacks. So easy to make and very tasty!

Remember, 80% of your success is going to be nutrition - whether it is to tone up, bulk up, maintain or improve your general wellbeing. Exercise is vital, but eating the right foods is going to be the secret key to unlock the door to that level you're aspiring to! And being organised forms part of the key.

Question: What kind of foods do you like to prepare to be organised for the week?

Maple Peach Brown Rice Pudding

Need new inspiration for breakfast, late-afternoon snack, or dessert? Look no further than here!!! This is quick, healthy and delish.

Fruit is my favourite food on earth. If I could I would have it for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Although as a dietitian and a foodie, I feel it is my duty to try other foods as well…*sigh*…tough life! But today I didn’t feel any such obligation when I started to think about my afternoon snack.

I let my love of fruit guide me to the way of a Maple Peach Brown Rice Pudding! Even if you don’t love fruit…you will love this!

Maple Peach Brown Rice Pudding Ingredients ½ cup cooked brown rice ¼ cup coconut cream* 1 tsp pure vanilla extract 1 peach Maple syrup to taste – I used 1 tsp

Combine all ingredients and ¾ of the peach in a blender and blend until smooth. Serve with remaining peach and a drizzle of maple syrup.

*for low fat version use reduced fat coconut milk/soy/almond/oat milk instead.     

If you feel you want something creamy and luscious on top...I recommend this vegan cream recipe! It's the perfect accompaniment!

This pudding is also great for our vegan friends and those that need a gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free or soy-free option!

And for those interested in the nutritional info, here it is:

Energy: 974 kJ Fat: 5.3g Carbs: 39.7g Fibre: 3.8g Sugar: 13.9g Protein: 4.1g

Fill in the blank: My favourite food is ________

Maple Peach Brown Rice Pudding

Need new inspiration for breakfast, late-afternoon snack, or dessert? Look no further than here!!! This is quick, healthy and delish.

Fruit is my favourite food on earth. If I could I would have it for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Although as a dietitian and a foodie, I feel it is my duty to try other foods as well…*sigh*…tough life! But today I didn’t feel any such obligation when I started to think about my afternoon snack.

I let my love of fruit guide me to the way of a Maple Peach Brown Rice Pudding! Even if you don’t love fruit…you will love this!

Maple Peach Brown Rice Pudding Ingredients ½ cup cooked brown rice ¼ cup coconut cream* 1 tsp pure vanilla extract 1 peach Maple syrup to taste – I used 1 tsp

Combine all ingredients and ¾ of the peach in a blender and blend until smooth. Serve with remaining peach and a drizzle of maple syrup.

*for low fat version use reduced fat coconut milk/soy/almond/oat milk instead.     

If you feel you want something creamy and luscious on top...I recommend this vegan cream recipe! It's the perfect accompaniment!

This pudding is also great for our vegan friends and those that need a gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free or soy-free option!

And for those interested in the nutritional info, here it is:

Energy: 974 kJ Fat: 5.3g Carbs: 39.7g Fibre: 3.8g Sugar: 13.9g Protein: 4.1g

Fill in the blank: My favourite food is ________