Dessert Spring Rolls

A great treat to throw into children's lunch boxes :-)

And very easy to make! They will enjoy helping you assemble these!

You'll need:
rice paper rolls
dried apples
dates
prunes
pepitas
cashews
cocoa

Use as much or as little of these ingredients as you desire. Blend in a food processor til smooth but with a few bite size pieces left.

Place about 2 tablespoons mixture onto a moistened rice paper roll.

Do not overfill or they are very hard to roll!!

Place assembled rolls onto a sheet of baking paper.

Place in a hot oven & bake for 20 mins or until lightly golden brown.

Allow to cool before eating.

Goes well with almond cream! :-)   (blend almonds & apple juice til creamy mixture is made)

Curried Cabbage

I'm a big fan of red cabbage.
Here's another delicious way to use up any leftovers that you might have!

Saute in a pan 1/2 red cabbage chopped into fine pieces and 2 sliced leeks.
Add a tablespoon dried basil.
Cook until wilted. Add a drop of water here and there as needed so it doesn't burn or stick to the bottom of the pan.
Add one tin drained lentils & 1/4 cup peanuts. Stir well to combine.

 Once all the ingredients are warm through, add to the fry-pan 2 tablespoons lemon juice, 2 tablespoons soy sauce & 1 teaspoon curry powder. Stir until well combined.

Place mixture into bowls & top with fresh or dried parsley.

This can be eaten as is, but is also really nice the next day once cooled on a bed of lettuce leaves.
It has such deep and delicious flavours!
Enjoy :-)

Soy-tella!

I decided that I wanted to make a healthy version of nutella! When I told my daughter this she asked what nutella was!!!! I was secretly very proud that I have lasted 7 years without my daughter finding out about nutella!!!! lol
Well now she's addicted - but I'm more than happy to put this on her school lunches!!!

I like the way this doesn't become completely 'smooth' - it reminds me a bit of crunchy peanut butter! And of course, it tastes divine!!!

You'll need:
1 cup roasted soybeans (if you want you can use cooked ones that haven't been roasted, they just won't taste as nutty)
1 tablespoon hazelnut spread
1 tablespoon cocoa powder
2 tablespoons warm water (more or less depending on consistency desired)

In a food processor combine the soybeans and cocoa powder. Process until the soybeans are quite broken down. (This will take some time - also if you have a mini food processor, it seems to work better for smaller amounts of food - it won't all fly off to the edges then!)
Add the hazelnut spread & continue to process until desired smoothness is reached!
(You can choose to add a touch of sweetner if your taste prefers a sweeter sweet - try agave nectar.)
Put into a container & store in the fridge.

Really great as a filling for ginger logs :-)

Tempeh Rolls

This recipe is really tasty.
I'm not the biggest fan of tempeh but I quite like it in these rolls.
You can experiment with various fillings to get different tastes.


Lightly fry til golden:
1 chopped onion
1 grated carrot
1 teaspoon minced garlic
150g grated tempeh
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon sage

Add to the pan:
1/2 cup tomato paste
You may need to use a little bit of water to thin it to mix it throughout the tempeh mixture.

Cut the puff pastry sheet in half & spread half of the mixture onto each side.
Roll the sides over & wet the pastry lightly with water (I just use my hands to do this - I just find the water helps the sides stick down better).
Bake in a 200C oven for about 20 mins until golden brown.

Salad ideas

So I've decided to start eating more salads at lunchtime!
The problem arose when I realised that I always feel like they never fill me up!

How many people think of salad as just vegetables???
Or how many people think of salads as something as bad as ceasar salad???

Well I have come up with a few never fail hints for how to make the perfect salad that will keep you full til dinner time!

--> always add at least half a cup of beans/legumes. Feel free to experiment here! I like to cook my own in the slow cooker if i have time
--> add 15-30grams of nuts
--> to add sweetness to your salad try adding currants or raisins
--> onions seem to really over-power the taste of the rest of the salad & leave us with onion breathe! Try using 1 or 2 spring onions instead! They add a lovely onion flavour without overpowering the whole salad.
--> as much as I love garlic, I never used more than 1 clove per salad or again it becomes overpowering
--> use freshly juiced fruit as dressing - I suggest orange, pineapple (pineapple with chili is a great combination)

Have fun munching on your salad :-)

Just a suggestion....

Ice-cream..... mmmmmmmmmmm
But my favourite way to have it is to mix in some peanut butter - crunchy of course - with chocolate ice-cream!
ENJOY!

I know this doesn't look too appetising - and its not the world's greatest recipe to have on a blog - but none the less I love it soooo much that I just had to share it!!!!!

Okara burgers

Another recipe created to use up okara after making soymilk!

These burgers are really tasty & very nutritious!
The vegetables can be changed to suit any leftovers you might have hanging around.

You'll need:
1 cup okara
egg replacer to the value of 2 eggs
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 teaspoon mustard
1/2 grated zucchini
1/2 tin corn, drained
3 tablespoons sunflower kernels
1 teaspoon dried oregano
2 tablespoons wholemeal flour

Prepare the egg replacer first. Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl til well combined. Add the egg replacer and stir.
The mixture is quite sticky but this helps the burgers stay moist & not fall apart.
Press the mixture into pattie shapes, even by hand (wet hands with water so mixture does not stick) or alternatively use a burger press.
Place patties onto a baking tray that has been lined with baking paper & bake in a moderately hot oven for 20 minutes turning once during cooking.