WIAW - A week worth of Breakfast!

Today is Wednesday.
On Wednesday I usually take a picture of what I eat for each meal.
I did that last week.
Last week I realised that nearly every Wednesday its oats for breakfast, salad for lunch, leftovers or slow cooker meal for dinner.
I realised that is boring to post the same thing each week.
So........
I decided that instead of doing that this week I would instead share with you.......

A week worth of Breakfast!

Since I'm such a big breakfast lover of course..... but that does not mean I'm a morning person! If it wasn't for breakfast then I think I could spend all morning in bed!
I also tend to have oats every weekday morning and pancakes every weekend.
This week I decided I would have some other types of breakfast.... ~some~

So here's a collection of all my breakfast's for the past week -->

A breakfast wrap:

Hmmmmm, that doesn't really show much does it - let's unwrap and try again.....

A wrap with banana, goji berries, macadamia spread & cinnamon.

Brown rice with blueberries, banana, flax seeds & cinnamon:

Wholemeal waffles with strawberry jam & passionfruit:

Wholemeal english muffin with fig jam & strawberries:

Blueberry banana pancakes with maple syrup:

Sometimes you just need the day to start with chocolate!

A smoothie always hits the point!

 

I knew I couldn't last a whole week without oats!!!

Last but definitely not least....... Oats with apple, strawberries and cinnamon:

Questions of the day:

Are you a breakfast person or not?
Are you a morning person or not?

Borlotti balls

Here's a great alternative to meatballs. I see no reason not to add extra veggies to any meal!!!

In a small bowl mash 1 can drained borlotti beans.
Finely grate in 1 zuchhini and 1 carrot.
Add 2 Tablespoons tomato paste and 1 teaspoon italian herbs.
Mix well.
Roll mixture into balls.
Place on a lined baking sheet and bake in a 180C oven for 20-25 minutes until lightly golden brown.

To make a basic sauce:
Finely chop 1 onion. Place in a sauce pan and add 2 crushed garlic cloves. Lightly dry-fry until you hear the onion sizzle. Add 1 cup passata tomato cooking sauce & 1/4 cup fresh oregano leaves.
Stir until bubbling. Approx 5 mins.

Serve balls and sauce over pasta. 

Shown here with spelt spaghetti.

Product Review: Macro Raw Food Bars

These are a fairly new product to come into Woolworths stores under the Macro Wholefoods Market brand.

They come in 2 flavours - Chocolate, and Chocolate & Mint.
Ingredients: Dates, Almonds, Cashews, Walnuts, Cocoa Liquor, Cocoa Powder (and Peppermint oil in the Mint flavour).

I LOVE these bars.
What I love about them:

• They taste absolutely DIVINE! (both flavours!)
• They are inexpensive.
• They are a great size for a snack/treat.
• Easy to transport in kids lunchbox or for keeping in the work snack drawer ;-) 
• Contains minimal ingredients & no added nasties (no sugar, preservatives, artificial colours or flavours).
• A money back guarantee is offered too - not that you'll need it!

There is only one downfall that I need to state - occasionally I get a bar that has a really hard bit in it. It must be part of the date pits, because its so hard that I can't even bite through it, it feels like I have bitten a piece of rock. It is only a tiny piece though so I just remove it. 

I make sure that I always have at least one in the cupboard for when a chocolate craving hits. I always beat my chocolate cravings with date products & this is great way of doing just that!
Seriously - it looks like a chocolate bar:

Available at Woolworths, Safeway, Food for Less and Thomas Dux Grocer stores - I definitely recommend adding these to your shopping list!

Gingered Date Banana Loaf

Making this cake somehow reminded me of being pregnant!!!!
Don't laugh - its true :-p
Ginger seemed to settle my churning tummy & I craved bananas soooooo much! I wish I had of thought of making this at the time!

This is so light & fluffy & deliciously tasty. I don't think the rest will last long ;-)

I would like to apologise in advance for the amount of bowls you will need to make this - hopefully you have a dishwasher! But if you don't- trust me when I say its well worth it!!!!

You'll need:
1 cup dried dates
1 cup boiling water

1 1/2 cups wholemeal flour
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 Tablespoon ground ginger
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 overripe banana
1/4 cup apple sauce
1 teaspoon vanilla

Place the dates into a bowl that has a lid. Pour the boiling water over the dates & allow to stand covered for at least 10 minutes.

In a large mixing bowl combine the wholemeal flour, brown sugar, ground ginger, baking powder & soda together. Stir until well combined.

Peel and mash the banana into a small mixing bowl. Add the apple sauce & the vanilla.
Drain the date water into the mash banana mixture. Mix well.
Mash the dates with a fork - they will be very soft after soaking.

Pour the banana/date water mixture into a well made in the centre of the flour/sugar mixture. 
Spoon in the mashed dates.
Stir until everything is well combined & dates are evenly distributed.
Pour batter into lined loaf tin. Bake in a preheated 180C oven for 40 minutes.

Allow to cool before slicing.

Optional:

Sweet & Sour Spread/Icing
1/2 cup tofutti cream cheese
juice of half small lemon
1/2 teaspoon brown sugar


Mix all ingredients together until well combined.
(This will be easier if the cream cheese has been left out of the fridge for about an hour first.)

Spoon over the cake as icing, or serve on the side to be a spread. For decorative purpose be sure to sprinkle the top with grated lemon rind.

If you're not a fan of banana bread - you can always convert this tasty cake into a gingered date loaf by replacing the mashed banana with 1/2 cup silken tofu instead.

WIAW - Back to school.....

I hate school.
I always have.
I hated it when I was a child & now that I have my own child, I still hate it!!!
So it was with a very sad face that I set my alarm last night to make sure that I woke up in time to do the regular chaotic prepartion that is a regular school morning.

However, I am not here to complain about the day that was inevitably going to come regardless of how much I dreaded it!
I'm here to share with you What-I-Ate-Wednesday!
Thanks again to Jenn from the peasandcrayons blog for being such a fantastic host! Add your link to join in the fun :-)

Breakfast was polenta porridge with berries:

My daughter informed me this morning that this was her "favourite breakfast". I was quite surprised by this remark because I'm sure I haven't been told that before! Not to mention that it isn't particularly a regular in our home. Then again, kids say anything is their favourite if they are enjoying it at the time. Isn't that right?!?!? ;-)
 
Of course there's always my morning coffee (though I don't usually take a picture of it!).
It tastes better out of a Jemima Puddle Duck mug you know ;-)



Lunch was a wrap with leftover lentil bolognese & lettuce.....

.......accompanied by a brown rice salad with spinach.

 My husband often jokes about my 2nd, 3rd or 4th lunch! ;-) Today there was only 2 lunches!

In the afternoon I put my juicer to work on celery, kale & apples.

For dinner I had spaghetti with aduki bean & veg bolognese..... and totally forgot to take a picture! ~shame~ 
I even had the camera sitting right next to my cooking area!


And last but definitely not least was the delicious dessert that I shared with my hubbie - waffles with chocolate banana soft serve!

Proof that even days that start out bad can have a good ending!

Apple Sponge Cake

Everyone loves apple sponge cake right?!? 

This is a light and fluffy cake with delicious soft apple pieces on top 

- that's fat free! :-)

So enjoy...

You'll need:
1 1/2 cups wholemeal spelt flour
1/2 cup raw sugar
1/3 cup apple sauce
3/4 cup ricemilk (or other plant milk of choice)
2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 cup pie apples
2 teaspoons cinnamon

In a measuring jug combine the milk & vinegar. Allow to sit for 5 mins.
Meanwhile, combine the flour, baking powder & sugar in a large bowl. Mix well.

Make a well in the middle of the flour & add the milk mixture, apple sauce and vanilla. Fold dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. 

Put the pie apples into a small mixing bowl. Chop any large pieces into small pieces. Stir in the cinnamon and mix well. 

Line a 20cm round baking tin with baking paper. 
Pour the cake mixture into the base. Top with the apple mixture focusing on the middle of the cake as shown:

Bake in a preheated 180C oven for 45 mins or until cooked through when poked with a skewer.

Cool in tin for 10 minutes before serving.

Note: You can reduce the sugar if using sweetened applesauce.

Miso Eggplant and Kale

You know I'm a fan of simple dishes right?!?

I swear it doesn't get any easier than this!

And yet the flavour combination is just so delicious you'll feel like it should of taken you hours to prepare ;-)

In a large frying pan combine:

• 1 medium size eggplant, cut into thick fry size strips

• 1/2 bunch of kale, stem removed, leaves torn

• 2 Tablespoons miso paste

• 4 cloves garlic, crushed

• 1/2 cup water

Put a lid over the frying pan & leave for 15 minutes.

Come back to a delicious smell, softened eggplant, & slightly wilted kale leaves.

Serve over brown rice or other grain of choice.

Join Healthy Vegan Fridays at the veggienook.