Roast veggies with Grains, Greens & Tahini

Happy Dietitian Day everyone!! I'm sure that this is probably the first time you've ever heard that there is an actual day to celebrate Dietitians. Well if that is you, all the more reason to fimiliarise yourself with what Dietitians do, where to find your nearest Accredited Practicing Dietitian, and more importantly, how we can help you! Take a look at the Dietitian's Association of Australia website!

But first...let's celebrate Dietitian's Day with a salad...boring??? Not at all!! This one is so delicious, you won't even know that you're eating a salad - I promise!

Ingredients (makes 4 to 6 serves):

1/4 large japanese pumpkin 3 medium sweet potatoes 2 large beetroots 1 tbsp Olive oil 2 cups of cooked 4Grain Protein Rice (for this recipe I substituted the brown rice with wild rice and buckwheat) 1/2 head of broccoli 4 cups Spinach leaves 2 tbsp Tahini 1/4 cup Almond Milk Juice from 1/2 a lemon 1/2 a tsp Chilli powder 1/2 a tsp Garlic powder

Step 1: Roast veggies for approximately 30-40 minutes in a moderate to high oven with olive oil.

Step 2: Prepare the 4Grain Protein Rice

Step 3: Steam broccoli for 2 to 3 minutes or until cooked but still slightly crunchy.

Step 4: Combine the tahini, almond milk, lemon juice, chilli powder and garlic powder in a small glass jar and shake to combine until it forms a creamy sauce consistency.

Step 5: Mix together the spinach leaves and broccoli. Top with grains, roast veggies and tahini sauce. Enjoy!

The tahini sauce and creamy roasted pumkin is a match made in heaven!

This provides at least 3 out of the recommended 5 serves of veggies for the day.

It is also gluten free, vegetarian and vegan friendly, and a great choice if you're watching your waistline!

The high fibre content will keep your insides healthy and regular and help with weight management and blood sugar control. The tahini sauce packs a good dose of calcium and omega-3 fatty acids!

Sold yet? Give it a try this week and let me know how you liked it!

What is your favourite way of having roast veggies?

Saturday Sandwich

Weekend lunches are the best...

...we had lunch on our sunny balcony enjoying some relaxing Saturday tunes, an icy cold drink and the perfect open sandwich (even better than a steak sandwich - trust me)!

My local fruit and veg markets sell a delicious organic 9-seed sour dough bread from their bakery. This is my treat for weekend! This sandwich was so yummy that there was almost no exchanging of words as we gobbled up every last crumb.

Ingredients: (makes 4 servings)

- 4 slices of good quality bread - 1 large Spanish onion - balsamic vinegar - 1 handful fresh basil - 1/2 a teaspoon agave syrup - 1 handful cherry tomatoes - 3 cloves garlic - olive oil - 1/2 a cup of low fat Greek yoghurt - 1 tablespoon tahini - 1 lemon - 1/2 avocado - handful chives

Method:

Chop the onion into strips. Heat the pan on medium and add a splash of olive oil. Add onion and cook for 5-10 minutes until translucent. Add 2 to 3 good splashes of balsamic vinegar and continue to cook until the vinegar evaporates into a reduction. Tear the basil into small pieces and add to onion. Cook for another 1-2 minutes. Add agave syrup. Combine cherry tomatoes, a good splash of olive oil, balsamic vinegar and 2 roughly chopped garlic cloves in a bowl. Once well coated, pour the tomatoes onto an oven tray and cook under a hot oven grill for 5-10 minutes or until their skins are blistered. Take them out of the oven and squash them gently with a potato masher to release their juices. Stir and combine well with surrounding juices.

Combine the yoghurt, tahini, 1/2 lemon's juice and 1 glove of crushed garlic. Assemble the sandwich - spread tahini yoghurt onto a slice of bread, top with sliced avocado, roasted cherry tomatoes, caramelized onions and chopped fresh chives.

I paired it with a baby spinach, chive and green apple salad dressed with some lemon juice. It would go great with some baked sweet potato fries if you're trying to impress or have some friends over for the weekend.

What is your favourite Saturday sandwich?