Reverse Salad Wrap

This is what happens when your wrap is not big enough 

to contain all the salad leaves that you want inside it!!!!

I promise you its just as tasty.... and far more refreshing!

In a large mixing bowl or salad bowl combine:


2 cups mixed salad greens
1/4 cup chopped red capsicum
kernels cut off one corn cob
1 chopped spring onion
4 chopped sun-dried tomatoes
1/2 cup red kidney beans
1 wholemeal wrap, torn into bite size pieces

Top with 2 Tablespoons red wine vinegar & 1 Tablespoon sweet chili sauce

Mix all ingredients together well.

 Sit on couch and enjoy the large bowl of delicious and nutritious food all to yourself ;-)

Why not join healthy-vegan-fridays yourself? :-)

WIAW on a Monday

~This is my first week back to work after my Christmas break~

So back to routine means back to WIAW posts! I can't believe that I totally forgot about it while I was on holidays! lol - for once I had the chance to post something other than my usual portable meals & I didn't! 
I feel like my regular Wednesdays are so plain - simple breakfasts, always boxed lunches and quick, easy meals or leftovers for dinner so that is why I decided to post my Monday's meals this week instead!

Breakfast -->
Pancakes with mango

Lunch -->
I had a wholemeal wrap with all these yummy sauteed veggies on it. I just tossed them in the frying pan with cumin & a bit of sweet chili sauce. Yum!

And a side salad of mixed leaves, purple carrot, spring onion, cucumber and balsamic vinegar.

 









Afternoon snack -->
Dragon fruit smoothie

Dinner -->
Lentil burger with cauli, spinach, tahini and couscous.

Gimme a C, Gimme an S, Gimme a T

What's it spell????
Hmmmmm, well I guess I'll never make a cheer-leader....

Cauli, Spinach, and Tahini does make an awesome meal though ;-)

Very versatile, this dish can be served on top of potatoes, pasta, rice, couscous with salad or even as a side dish.

Why not double the recipe and take it to your next pot-luck!!!

For 2 large servings you'll need:
1/2 head cauliflower
1 1/2 cups spinach leaves
1 onion
2 garlic cloves
1 Tablespoon tahini
1 Tablespoon tamari
1/2 teaspoon ground sage
cracked black pepper to serve

Chop the cauliflower into little florets. Chop the onion and garlic. Place into a frying pan. Dry fry for approximately 10 minutes, stirring frequently, until the edges of the cauliflower and onion are browned.

Reduce the heat to low and add the spinach leaves. Gently stir to combine and the leaves will begin to wilt.
Add the tahini and the tamari along with 1/4 cup of boiling water (this will help the tahini to spread). Add the sage. Stir well so the tahini has just covered all the cauliflower pieces. 

Serve topped with freshly cracked black pepper.

Shown here with wholemeal couscous, and lentil burgers.

Dragon Fruit

Last week I tried Dragon Fruit for the first time!

Although commonly called dragon fruit, its proper name is pitaya. Its the fruit of a type of cactus called Hylocereus. They contain vitamin C, calcium & fibre.

I was quite surprised when I cut into the dragon fruit to find that the flesh was red!
I had never seen red flesh in pictures before - only white. To be quite honest, I did wonder if it wasn't ripe yet or something?!?!? Then upon further investigation I discovered that its just another variety of dragon fruit. There is also yellow skinned dragon fruit available!

I spooned out the soft flesh (the skin is not edible) and was expecting a massive flavour hit to accompany the amazing vibrant colour...... and yet found it to be very plain to taste. It was quite a delicate taste and only mildly sweet. The texture is quite smooth and the seeds were not disturbing at all, quite small and a bit crunchy like the black seeds found in kiwis.

I didn't really enjoy eating it plain so I decided to turn it into a smoothie.
It made an amazing colour that any little girl would surely love to have at a princess party ;-)
I added a frozen banana, frozen strawberry pieces & soymilk.
Delicious.

Question of the day:

Have you tried any exotic fruit lately?
Have you tried dragon fruit? What did you think?

Best Ever Shepherd's Pie

I love making a shepherds pie using lentils.
This has got to be the most tasty version that I've ever made yet!


Peel 3 large potatoes and place in a pot with water. Bring to the boil & simmer til very tender. Mash with plant milk of choice.

To prepare the lentil base-
Combine in a frying pan:
1 drained tin lentils
1/2 chopped red capsicum
1 small brown onion
4 cubes frozen spinach
6 chopped button mushrooms

Saute until the spinach has completely defrosted & the other vegetables are warmed through.

In a small measuring jug combine 1 Tablespoon cornflour with a quarter cup of cold water. Stir until cornflour is dissolved. 
Pour over the lentil mixture and stir well. Stir in 2 Tablespoons BBQ sauce. Add 1 teaspoon dried oregano and 1 teaspoon sage.
Mix in well amongst the vegetables. The mixture will thicken as it warms.

Place the lentil mixture down the bottom of a baking tray and press in gently.
Top with the potatoes and bake at 200C for 30 minutes until lightly golden brown on top.

 Serve and enjoy!

Easy Lentil Pizza

I'm a big fan of vegan pizza!

This is a non-traditional version of pizza that just tastes amazing!

As much as I LOVE my pizza cheeze sauce, sometimes I feel like its too much work (and washing up) when I want a quick pizza.

This pizza is easy to prepare, which is always an added bonus....

Simply top a pizza base (either store bought, or home-made) with:

- tomato paste

- dried oregano 

- heaps of spinach leaves

- a drained tin of lentils

- roasted sweet potato (can omit if you don't have any pre-made!)

- roasted eggplant (I used store-bought from a jar)

- sliced spring onions

Place in a preheated 200C oven for 20 minutes.

Slice, serve & enjoy!

Who knew a cheese-less pizza could taste so good ;-)

Kinda Black-forest Trifle

Here's an idea for a dessert using some Christmas leftovers!
 

You need:

Leftover okara fudge - remember my little Santa hats? I had all the cutouts from them (any chocolate cake really - even a fruit pudding would work!)

Custard - I just made some from custard powder

Cherries







Use any type of long large glass that you have.

Chop pieces of the cake & put on down the bottom of the galss. 

Follow with a layer of chopped and pitted cherries, then a dollop of custard. 

Continue layering in that order until you reach the top of the glass. 

Chill before serving. Best left in the fridge for a few hours as the cherries will blend into the custard!