Pina Colada Doughnuts

Ok so these are actually kid friendly as they don't really have rum in them! Though I'm sure you could add some for an adult treat!  The term "Pina Colada" is known as that marvellous taste combination of pineapple & coconut!

And yes, these are marvellous! :-)

You'll need:
A small tin of pineapple pieces
1 cup self raising flour
1/2 cup coconut
1/4 cup raw sugar
1/4 cup soymilk

Put the whole tin of pineapple pieces into a bowl and mash - Don't drain the pineapple pieces. You can mash thoroughly til little pieces are formed or you can leave bigger pieces if you prefer.

In a large bowl combine the flour, sugar & coconut. Stir well then add the mashed pineapple pieces and soymilk. Combine well but don't overmix.
Pour into a oil sprayer doughnut pan & bake at 180C for 15 minutes.

They come out a lovely golden brown colour.

These are delicious just plain like this - or else for an added little treat you can add some glaze.
The glaze is really easy - just mix 1/4 cup icing sugar with approx 2 teaspoons of water - mix well, then drizzle over the doughnuts & top with coconut shreds.

Tofu Bacon

This is not really bacon....obviously!
It really is quite a delicious substitute.
Its very easy to make & super tasty.
It doesn't take too long & its very easy.

Heat a frying pan and add:
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon maple syrup
1/2 tablespoon molasses
1/2 teaspoon vegetable oil (can be omitted for fat free but it does work better if you use it. Note it does still work out if you omit it, which is actually my preference to keep food oil-free)

Swirl these around in the pan until they just begin to bubble and have blended together well.
Slice some firm tofu (must be firm, not hard tofu as it will fall apart) into long thin strips.
Gently place the strips into the frying pan.

After about 3 minutes, gently turn the slices over. Check they are lightly golden brown.

After about another 2-3 mins the other side will be done.
Remove from the heat & serve as you desire.
They are also really tasty plain.
I especially love these chopped into small pieces & added to a salad with sauteed mushrooms & avocado.

Day 13 - Friday

Fruit & nut rice pudding for breakfast

Brown rice with goji berries, vanilla soymilk, flaxseeds, sunflower kernels & a sprinkle of cinnamon.

Today's Lunchbox:
Look at all those leftovers!!!
Chocolate doughnuts (what a treat!), rice with sweet & sour sauce, banana, carrot sticks & an apricot.


For lunch I made "Tofu Bacon" Salad.
This is one of my favourite ways to have tofu.
It's quite easy to make & is very tasty.
A few simple ingredients turn tofu into an amazing addition to salads, sandwiches, fancy breakfasts and much more!!!

I love to chop the "bacon" into small pieces and add it to a salad.

Really really tasty. I especially love this with sauteed mushrooms & avocado.

Choc-Raspberry Mousse

Super quick & easy 'mousse'

I love this for a quick afternoon snack or as a dessert.

To serve one simply blend:
150g soft tofu
1/2 cup frozen raspberries
1 tablespoon cacao powder (or cocoa powder if you prefer)
1 tablespoon soymilk
1 tablespoon maple syrup

I use a mini food processor :-) I simply could not live without this magical little gadget! So effortless to get it out & use it and super easy to clean.

Day 12 - Thursday

Berry Oatmeal for breakfast :-)

This is my gorgeous little girl who wanted to make her own lunch today!
Vegemite breadroll she picked!

A very orange lunch day......

Her self-made bread roll! An orange, dried mango & cinnamon nuts.

This afternoons kitchen adventure was baking okara doughnuts :-) mmmmmm, so moist & tasty.

Of course, everything tastes better if it's coated in chocolate!

Take away dinner!

mmmmmm I love a good Chinese meal.
The lovely people up the road asked "you true vegetarian, no fish sauce?"
That's correct!!!!
And then I indulge in super yummy food!

YUMMY!

Day 11 - Wednesday

Breakfast was leftover zucchini bread.

Still quite tasty - I spread jam on it this morning.

It has definitely lost all its colour by the second day though!

Today's lunchbox:
Peach for crunch & sip, morning tea is pastry balls with strawberry jam. (I just cut strips of puff pastry and bake them for 20 mins - real treat for my little girl & she LOVES them!)
Lunch is gnoochi.

My usual Wednesday lunch of veggie sticks with dip. This weeks dip is mashed cannelinni beans with corn relish.

Tempting Tuesday

Ever feel like cooking first thing in the morning??
I often do - I love having the smell of fresh baking fill the house first thing in the morning.
This morning it was zucchini bread.

Today's lunchbox:
I made mini zucchini bread muffins at the same time as I was making breakfast - they are for lunch with a lentil dip (mashed leftovers from last night's meal!). Snacks are grapes, dried mango * sesame snaps.

For dinner I used the slow cooker.
I made a leek & soygrit pie.
It was sooooo tasty! Simple put chopped onion, chopped leek, a zucchini, tin tomatoes & 1 cup soya grits in the slow cooker. Add enough water to just cover the ingredients & let the appliance do all the hard work for you!!!!! I took the lid off one hour before serving just to let some moisture evaporate and give the top a "crust".
It looked like a mess when it came out of the slow cooker, I'm yet to master how to serve from the slow cooker!

A super yummy mess!

DESSERT!!!!!! Yay my favourite time of the day!!!

Crumbed Mushrooms

These are sooooooooo delicious.
A little time consuming but well worth the effort since they aren't that difficult.

You'll need:
1/4 cup soymilk
egg replacer to the equivalent of 1 egg (I use Orgran No Egg)

Make the egg replacer as per packet directions.
Mix the egg replacer in a bowl with the soymilk.

In a separate bowl mix together
1/2 cup wholemeal bread crumbs
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon ground sage
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast

I use the small size container of mushrooms. This makes just enough coating for them all. I think its 200g!

Pick a mushroom up using a fork & dip it first in the eggwash mixture & then in the crumbs. I find it just works easiest with a fork. I actually use 2 forks so I can then help the mushroom slide off the other fork and onto the baking tray.

Repeat til all the mushrooms are coated. Bake at 200C for half hour or until lightly golden brown. (Some of the crumbs may fall off!)

Delicious by themselves or as part of a salad.

Magical Monday

Does anybody get Mondayitis???

Knowing I'm waking up to a pumpkin smoothie makes Monday's magical!

 Put all this in a blender.

DELICIOUS

Today's lunchbox
"Chicken" & tomoato burger, hot cross bun, banana, dried apples & apricots with some cinnamon nuts.

Yummy salad for lunch. Mixed veggies with chick peas, almonds - dressing was one juiced orange & balsamic mixed together. Sounds funny but its really tasty!

Dinner was mexican lentils served over cauli-rice.

Cauli rice is a great way of getting some extra veggies into your day.

And so easy to make.

Just steam your cauliflower til tender then blend til its very small! Use in place of rice, or mix with brown rice for a nice addition to any meal.

Top with fresh basil leaves for a tasty dinner.

Day 7 - Sunday

mmmmmmmmmmm hot cross buns :-)

Perfect breakfast with no fuss!

Lunch was crumbed mushroom salad.
I love crumbed mushrooms so much.
They are a little time consuming but definitely not hard to make!
Simple mix egg replacer with a bit of soymilk in one bowl. In another bowl mix breadcrumbs, nutritional yeast & dried herbs.
Coat mushrooms first with milk & then coat in the crumbs.
 

Got experimental with dinner. Decided to make some gnocchi :-)

Its quite simple but yes it takes some time.

Peel a large sweet potato, cut into pieces & bring to a boil. Cook until soft.

 Once cooked til soft, then drain & put in a bowl. Mash well then add paprika & chick pea flour til a mixture is formed that is not too sticky but not dry either.

 

 Roll into long thin logs and cut into bite size pieces.

 Once cut into bite size pieces, put the pieces back into the pot & bring to the boil. Cook until the gnocchi begins to float. Then drain and keep aside to add later.

 Saute some onion, red cabbage & basil.

 Add the gnocchi to the mix & stir.

 Dinner - YUM

Day 6 - Saturday

So I didn't really get to take many photos today!
I did however get shots of breakfast.

Apple pie smoothie.

Blend pie apples, raisins, walnuts, cinnamon with vanilla soymilk.