A collection of unprocessed meals

Busy weekend meant no time for blogging!

I largely kept to my unprocessed challenge even over this busy weekend. We did go out for sorbet on my daughters birthday - but other than that I've still been sticking to home-made meals & making the most of cooking up large batches!

Below is a collection of what I've had over the weekend:

Raspberry pancakes - same as my blueberry choc oat pancakes just sub raspberries in place of the blueberries.

Making a folded wrap!

Red kidney beans, spinach leaves, corn, tomato paste & some oregano. 

Tasty and easy - my kind of meal!

Oven baked eggplant and chickpea ratatouille served over brown rice.

Purple Mousse

Soaked oats with mixed berries.

Soaked oats with strawberries and nut/seed milo

Waffles with blueberries and maple syrup

I love how this meal looks so unhealthy & yet it really has nothing bad on it!
Home-made oven baked oil-free fries, with molasses tofu & eggplant, served with steamed veggies!

Chocolate soft-serve

Roasted sweet potato and cannellini beans served on a bed of spinach and topped with balsamic glaze.

Polenta with red kidney bean bolognese 

I have come to the conclusion that unprocessed food is NOT boring, or plain! And it doesn't have to be time consuming either!

Purple Mousse

Surely by now you know that I'm a fan of the colour purple!
But purple dessert!!! Mmmmm now that's got to be my favourite type of 'purple'! 

 
To make the mousse simply combine the following few ingredients in a mini food processor or blender:

100g soft tofu
1/2 cup frozen blueberries
one pitted medjool date
2 Tablespoons plant-milk (or more if your blender needs)

Blend until smooth and creamy.

Serve!

So easy & so delicious!

Try some of my other purple recipes:
Purple breakfast
Purple pasta

What's your favourite colour? Do you enjoy eating food that is your favourite colour?

Unprocessed - Thursday Week 3

Breakfast - 
Blueberry 'yogurt' with oats. 


Busy, busy, busy doing loooooooooooads of fun things for my daughter's party on Saturday!

Here's some my craft and cooking adventures for the day.

 
I just couldn't get over how gorgeous these little teapot party boxes were!


I'm all for individualism so each of them is slightly different! This purple one is my favourite!




Below is Oreo pops and what will become tea-bag crackers once they have a string and tag attached!

Lunch was thought about at 2pm! 
I rummaged through the fridge and tossed various odds and ends into a salad! Including leftovers which made for a tasty dressing!

I had an early game of netball tonight which meant that I ate after I came home. I wanted something that quick & easy to whizz up.
 

I used more of my massive container of pre-cooked brown rice. I love brown rice!
To accompany my rice (or perhaps the other way round!) I made a quick mushroom stroganoff. Its so easy! Sautee mushrooms, onion and garlic & add tahini and water :-) 

Done and delicious!

More party adventures to come!


FACT OF THE DAY:
The literal translation of the Chinese symbol for brown rice means "rough rice". 

Do you think that brown rice is 'rough'?
 

WIAW - The week that was verrrrrrrrrry busy!

Preparing for my daughter's birthday party on the weekend has made for a busy start to the week...... and I'm sure the end of the week is going to be even ~busier~.
I have been cooking each meal with enough for leftovers (for either breakfast, lunch or dinner) and it has helped.
I can't work out who's more excited for this party.... her or ME?!?!?!!!!!!
Its going to be a tea-party!
A vegan-tea-party :D
I made the first layer of the teapot cake last night.

Now onto today....
My usual morning rush out the door......
Brown rice with banana and flax seeds for breakfast. Thanks to the large batch of precooked rice in the fridge!

Lunch - more leftovers! Stir-fry

By the way.... how cool are these bowls we have at work!!!???
I think we 'need' some for our kitchen too!

Afternoon tea:
Had at 5pm lol - that's what a busy day in the office will do to you! But that was ok because I didn't leave work til 6.40pm! Thankfully by that time there was no peak-hour traffic to worry about, so leaving late does have its benefits too!

Dinner when I finally arrived home at 8pm - not a bad run up the freeway at all!
But by that time I was ~starving~ and wanted instant food. 
That's right - leftovers save the day again....
Soup!

And then to do more party organising.....
Here's the "tea-party bags" all finished and filled (with vegan goodies of course!).

I dipped the bottom of the bags into brewed tea to give them a very 'tea bag' look!
Stay tuned for more of our tea party adventures!


You can join in what-i-ate-wednesday at the peasandcrayons website!

Question of the day:
Parents out there.... Do you prefer to have your childrens parties at home and organise it yourself, or do you prefer to go somewhere and let the place do the organising?
 

Unprocessed - Start of Week 3

Monday

Breakfast was oats with 'blueberry sauce' - made by blending frozen bluberries with a date and enough milk to combine. Definitely one of my favourites!

Lunch was the leftover half of my burger from last night with some home-made chips. 
I simply cut one potato (skin on) and covered with paprika and sage. Baked at 200C, spread out on a baking sheet for 40 minutes. 

For afternoon tea I had an orange and a handful of prunes and 5 brazeil nuts! Dinner was a stir fry with peanut sauce, served over brown rice.

Tonight's dessert was a total indulgence!
Microwave chocolate cake with creamed coconut milk (difference from the linked recipe is no chocolate bits in the centre and no sugar!).

How to make creamed coconut milk:


Place a can of coconut milk in the fridge overnight (or longer).
When you are ready to use it, remove the top of the can and scoop out all the part that is 'set'.

Put into a bowl and add a teaspoon of vanilla and a tablespoon of sweetner of choice.
Whisk until light, fluffy and thick.

Tuesday

Breakfast was brown rice with raisins and cinnamon.

For lunch I made red lentil soup and had a bread roll with it.
In a pot combine 2 carrots, one potato, one onion & half cup red lentils. Bring to the boil and simmer for 30 minutes. Blend.
Delicious soup!

Dinner was another easy night. I am flat out this week organising my daughter's party that's coming up this weekend.
Gotta love an easy meal that taste good.
I chopped various veggies and sauteed with mixed beans and tomatoes. 

For dessert I had no pastry apple pie. I altered this recipe by using hazelnut in place of almond & rolled rye in place of oats, and omitting the raisins. Still delicious though! And topped with creamed coconut milk.

DID YOU KNOW?

A single serving of hazelnuts makes up nearly 20% of our recommended daily need of Vitamin E. Vitamin E doesn't occur naturally in our bodies. Vitamin E helps to fight free radicals that cause cancer.

Unprocessed Weekend #2

Saturday

Breakfast was waffles. Standard weekend breakfast for us is either pancakes or waffles.
Today's waffles were made with wholemeal flour and served with mango chunks, a sprinkling of coconut and a drizzle of pure maple syrup.

For lunch I balsamic roasted an eggplant and a sweet potato.
I made them part of my bean salad, using balsamic as the dressing.

For dinner I enjoyed a quick and easy dish that I whizzed up in less than 20 mins. I got several veggies out of the fridge, chopped and sauteed and added red kidney beans and tomatoes. Add a bunch of fresh oregano and YUM!

Dessert.... of course. 2 medjool dates with cashew butter. 
One of those amazing combinations that is sooo simple but is just divinely tasty.
Bad photo :-( From my phone....

 

Sunday
Breakfast was in the car on the way to church!!! Aren't Sunday's for sleep-ins afterall?!?!? Home-made muesli it was. Got to love little containers and husband's who drive for their wife! :-)

Lunch was leftovers from last nights dinner & an orange.
I had a really busy Sunday..... selling our car, and preparing for our daughter's birthday party. I had to do our grocery shopping too that afternoon and as I was already exhausted I decided to do it before our evening meal because I knew I wouldn't feel up to it if I left it til after dinner!
It was the ~first time~ since I started my unprocessed challenge that I felt down. 
I just sooooooooo badly wanted to buy pre-made veggie burgers for dinner and be done with. Nothing bad, I didn't feel like chocolate or chips or anything majorly unhealthy like that, I just wanted convenience.
Which reminded me of the importance of staying well organised and also, of making sure there are quick & easy meals in my plan.
I did find a great little local bakery that makes bread on hand using natural ingredients! Much to my delight. So I did have a treat of 'fresh' non-grocery store bread!!!!!!
I didn't succumb to my store-bought burger desire though..... 
Instead I came home and lounged on the couch while my daughter and husband prepared lentil and mushroom burgers for me. Without breadcrumbs or sauce to hold them together, the did fall apart a little and become a bit more like sloppy joes, but they were so delicious with leaves and beetroot and a few left over balsamic roasted veggies from yesterday! :-)
 

Dessert was chocolate mousse.
Made by my ever useful mini food processor simply by combining a frozen banana, 2 dates, 2 Tablespoons cacao powder and enough milk to make it all really creamy.

Unprocessed - End of Week 2

Wednesday - 

Breakfast was soaked oats with a grated apple and raisins

 

Lunch was leftover cauliflower fried-rice with a sweet potato pattie & rockmelon

For dinner I enjoyed yet another Wednesday outing :-) ~Lucky me~
This evening I went to a Japanese restaurant and enjoyed a vegetarian bento box

IT WAS AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!!!
This was my most enjoyable meal out in a long time! Everything was so deliciously tasty & it's nice to get a big meal.... and yet sooo affordable! Can you believe this whole platter was less than $20! :D

Thursday -

Breakfast was soaked oats with ground flax seeds, mashed pumpkin and raisins. 

I forgot to take a picture of lunch :-( I was out enjoying the beautiful sunshine with my packed salad with yet another leftover sweet potato pattie :-)


 
For dinner I sorted through out vegetable drawer in the fridge and pulled out everything that was green and threw together a simple stir-fry, served over brown rice.

Yes, I did have dessert ;-)
Will you be at all surprised if I mention it was banana soft-serve???

Sorry - awful picture.... Taken on my phone!

Friday - 

I woke up early this morning!!! I'm sure normal people do the washing or exercise when they wake up early..... but not me... I made cookies!!!!

I mashed 2 over-ripe bananas, added a cup of oats, a cup of chopped dried apple and a tablespoon of almond butter. Added enough oat bran to hold them together and baked at 180C for 17 minutes......

 

So I guess I should of really baked them for 12 instead :-/ 
Despite being ~slightly~ overcooked they were AmAzInGlY delicious :D
Very pleased with my morning creation.... and as such I spent most of the morning nibbling on quite a few of them :-/
I did have guests so I can honestly say that I didn't eat them all myself!!!!!

I did have breakfast before I had the grand test-taste tho ;-)
Breakfast was brown rice with raisins and cinnamon and an orange.
I have definitely been enjoying raisins this week! They are just so tasty and sweet!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After all my morning snacking I didn't really feel like lunch! Surprise, surprise....
So at about 2 o'clock I made myself a 'chocolate' green smoothie. Sooooooooooo tasty.....
 

 

For dinner I decided to make some tofu.
I sliced the tofu and fried it in a mixture of soysauce, maple syrup, rice wine vinegar and a touch of molasses.








I then added a tablespoon of natural peanut butter to the mixture. Using the moisture that was already there to make it 'saucy'.

It was sooooooooo delicious!
I was so pleased that something I could prepare so quickly and easily was so delicious. I will definitely make this again.


Served over mashed potato with steamed veggies.