Pizzata: Pizza Frittata

Because - Why not?

I really want pizza.  But it blows my tummy up like a balloon and leaves me bloated and yuck.  So I thought I'd try something a little different as an experiment.  If the carby crust doesn't sit well with me, I may as well try another kind of crust.  I'm not going to pretend this is super healthy, but it could be if you made a few little changes. Plus it does have high protein and a few veggies.

Meatzza worked a treat! Sweet potato pizza base worked. Why not a pizza frittata? Even better - a pizzata! Badum tish!

Apple, Almond and Banana Smoothie

Who doesn't like a good green smoothie?  Here's another tasty option to add to your repetoire.  It is sweet yet tangy with the almonds and banana lending a comforting layer of flavour and soft texture.  I find it quite an invigorating, Summery recipe.  Apparently lots of people eat sliced apples with almond butter as a snack, so I must try this because I loved it in smoothie form.  I leave the skin on the apples for extra fibre, and because my Nutrininja can handle it, but peel yours if your blender doesn't like skin. If you are wondering about combining the flavour of spinach in there, don't - you can't even taste it.

As well as the general nom-factor, this combination is pretty healthy.  Bananas and spinach are both high in potatssium and bananas pack a B2 punch.  All the ingredients in this recipe are high in fibre (aside from the protein powder of course), almonds are rich in good fats, and the Vitamin E in almonds helps the body to absorb the Vitamin C in the apples. We all know that spinach is a good vegetarian source of iron, and Vitamin C has been shown to improve the body's ability to absorb it.  So overall this combo is a winner! Of course there is a fair bit of sugar and therefore carbs in here, but just factor that into the rest of your day and its all good! Just have a lower carb lunch or a lower carb dinner.  Plus, let's not get all crazy about this stuff - balance is the key and this is delicious :)

It is a great morning pick me up. Plus apples wake you up as well as a coffee. That doesn't stop my coffee addiction once I arrive at work, though.  Still - an apple a day and all!

Veggie Omlette

Mmmmm....Saturday morning with nowhere I have to be.....a rare and special treat.  I decided to take advantage by using up a bunch of leftover veggies and feta in my fridge/herbs from my balcony garden  and was incredibly happy with the healthy and delicious breakfast concoction that arose.  This breakfast is almost too easy.  We enjoyed eating it slowly while sipping coffee and chatting on the balcony.  Happy sigh.

Goats Cheese, Leek and Spinach Tartlets

My best friend had her baby shower recently.  She is an amazing woman who has brought so much happiness to my life.  So of course I wanted to bring something rustic, home made and delicious to share. I was really happy with what I created and they disappeared pretty quickly from the plate.  I think everyone had at least one. Tartlets are an instant win at parties, and this rustic style recipe is perfection.  From what I researched, goats cheese is fine to eat while pregnant as long as it has been cooked.

Sweet Potato, Asparagus and Feta Frittata

If you are looking for a quick and easy meal to throw together that will taste gorgeous, then look no further.  We've had too many eggs so I wanted a yummy main to use some of them up, as well as some other veggies I had in my fridge.  This balance of flavours is absolutely lovely.  The sage and the sweet potato make the dish hearty, the feta adds some tartness, red onion adds a peppery kick and the cayenne pepper brings a little spice to the table.  We used about double the amount of cayenne pepper than I've listed in the recipe because we just love spice.  This fed the two of us for three nights with side veggies or salad (pictured above with a side of quickly stir fried spring onion, asparagus, garlic and wilted spinach topped with a squeeze of lemon juice...nom).

Chickpea and Vegetable Curry of Dreams

We first made this slow cooker curry on a Sunday when we were home all day (such a rare treat!).  While technically a vegan dish, its original intention was to become a side dish for meat.  Bwahahahaha.  We had so much meat in the fridge, and I wanted to make up a big batch of side vegetables that could easily go beside any other meal we were serving up.  I'd had a lot of salad recently so wanted something that felt like carby comfort food but was really just veggies and beans.  We made a big batch and it lasted five nights for the two of us :)  As a main rather than a side dish, it serves three nights for two.  After bite one on night one, we were in love.  This curry is beautiful served over rice, as a side, or even as a stand alone meal.  It is creamy and healthy.  Even the most carnivorous person will love this vegan delight.

Paprika Polenta with Black Bean Salsa

The words that come to mind for this meal are "fresh" and "hearty" - not two words that you often put together.  The salsa is so fresh and delicious.  The polenta is creamy and full flavoured.  It is a match made in healthy vegetarian heaven.  Not only is it a rainbow on a plate, it is a divine meal after a good workout.   Polenta is quick to make and makes a beautiful base for all sorts of meals.  The spices in the polenta take it to another level.  Yummo.

Lunch Poops

Vegetarian Lunch Poop Wrap

I started making bean wrap filler's years ago after learning Gillian McKeith's Chickpea Burger recipe. Since then I've been tweaking the recipe depending on what I have in the house at the time, and I'm happy with my version.  I find them to be easy to throw together and a filling healthy lunch.  I suppose they are similar to a baked falafel in many ways.  Its good to eat vegetarian from time to time.

You can bake them however you like - in little rounds, or in longer segments like I do in order to fit nicely into wraps for lunch.  The Dragon looked at them the first time I made them and asked "why are you baking poops?"  From then on they were called Lunch Poops and I can't call them anything else.  I've been making them again recently in line with my goal of getting healthier so I decided to share them with you.  It's fool proof cooking and does just over 2 weeks of lunches for one or one week for two :)  I freeze whatever is unused, and they defrost absolutely fine.  I recommend these as an easy high protein, high fibre lunch wrap filler.  They taste good and I feel good after I've eaten them.

My Favourite Side Salad

This has been my favourite side salad for years.  It has a great mix of flavours that I love, I don't end up picking out anything, and it is enjoyable to eat.  It goes with pretty much anything - steak, chicken, fish, skewers, burgers, small serves of pasta or rice dishes - you name it.  Plus you can always pre chop the veggies at the beginning of the week and throw it together each night with minimal fuss. Salty, peppery sweetness.  Yum.

Roast Pumpkin, Goats Cheese and Chorizo Risotto

Our friend made us the most beautiful risotto we have had in ages a couple of weeks ago.  He  also happens to be a professional chef, so we felt pretty spoilt.  He made it for us while we watched and chatted over a glass of wine.  I kept asking him questions - how much of this are you putting in? How long for that? And he kept saying "there's no set amount, just what feels right".  I took three big take aways from that chat and from watching him create. 1) Rather than add white wine as an ingredient to be soaked into the rice as I have historically done, use it to de-glaze the goodness in your pan before you add your stock.  More details on this in my recipe below.  Nom. 2) Make your stock from scratch.  It is actually really cheap and easy to do if you take the time on the weekend and it tastes so much better when you do. Here is my recipe  3) Bring your stock to the boil before adding it to the aborrio rice - it absorbs better.

My first experience of risotto was a beautiful simple pumpkin risotto at a dinner party I was late to (and got in trouble for) at my best friend's place when I was a young frivolous 18 year old.  I got distracted talking after work as 18 year olds do and arrived late and made everyone wait.  Thankfully I have better manners now and am a bit more considerate of others.  The meal was creamy and sweet.  I wanted to make a beautiful pumpkin and sage risotto as a homage to both risottos.  Pumpkin is sweet, so I wanted to complement that with some roasted capsicum, and cut through the sweetness with the tart flavour of goats cheese and the saltiness of chorizo.  In a recipe I can't exactly say "use the amount that feels right" of X Y or Z, so I will give a general gist but I invite you to play with your own measurements.

Also - this is not diet food. It is divine comfort food.  This seems to be a theme for me of late, I must post some more healthy options again soon.  But for now, enjoy the deliciousness.

Easy Vegetable Stock

A good quality vegetable stock makes all of the difference to vegetarian food.  A good stock will take an OK soup to a beautiful soup.  My chef friend recently extolled the virtues and simplicity of making stock instead of using stock powder or buying stock when cooking us a risotto ... omanomanom.  I had never even tried to make one myself because I assumed it would require too much effort and cost too much.  I was wrong.  The following is a very basic mirepoix based vegetable stock that makes SOOO much. It freezes well for 4 - 6 months so you are set for a very long time when you make this.  My perception that it is too expensive went out the window as well. I've been purchasing pre-made stock for a while now because I thought it was better than the powdered variety.  But my local supermarket sells 1kg bags of carrots for $1, and onions and celery are cheap as chips too.  The rest I have in my pantry at home.

Provided that you make it on a day when you plan to be home for a few hours it is pretty low maintenance.  The only time required is to roughly chop the veggies, boil the water, then check it occasionally until it is ready.  I recommend reading the potential spins section of this post, as what I am making is a very basic version which you could jazz up all sorts of ways to make something even more spectacular.  The smaller you chop the veggies the more flavour they will give to the stock.

Green Super Food Smoothie

In case you haven't noticed yet, I'm a little bit in love with smoothies. I love their creamy sweetness.  I don't eat much fruit so they are also a nice way to get some of the nutrients that I would otherwise miss out on.  I tend not to order them at cafés, though, because they usually pack them with ice cream as if a smoothie is a milkshake and it is too sweet and not really that healthy. If I want sugary deliciousness I'll just order a milkshake and not fool myself.

When I used to work at a drinks booth in an eatery many years ago I had a customer who ordered a thick shake and asked for skim milk in it, because she was "watching her weight". I said to her "Just so you know, there are five scoops of ice cream in this".  She cocked her head to one side, looked at me oddly and said "Exactly. That's why I want skim".  I just died a little on the inside and sold her the "healthy" beverage.  She walked away happy.  Now don't get me wrong.  I love a good thick shake.  But let's be honest with ourselves about what we are ordering, people.

For me - smoothies are about healthy tasty goodness.  I have found that you don't need any ice cream to make it taste sweet and creamy.  Freezing your bananas helps, and you can add frozen berries and frozen spinach cubes to thicken it up while packing a nutrition punch.  If you want it sweeter, just add a natural sweetener like honey.

Below is the recipe for one of my favourite smoothies that I make a lot. I keep supplies in my pantry so I can make it whenever I want it.  I got the fibre cleanse, chia seeds, LSA and fruit/veg from the local supermarket, the protein powder from a sports supplements shop and the Super Green powder from a health food shop.  This smoothie makes for a good breakfast.  It is choc-a-block full of super foods so it's mega healthy and feels good.  I'm relaxing and having this on my balcony while the Dragon is out having breakfast with a mate.  It is some good healthy me time.

Haloumi Tomato and Balsamic Glaze Brunch

It tastes as good as it looks

This meal was inspired by a delicinom breakfast I had at a local cafe.  It is my go-to brunch order at my local so I was nervous about making it at home, but I decided to take the risk.   There are quite a few other tasty options I can go to instead if I start making this at home more often.  Haloumi, tomato and balsamic are a beautiful combination.  This recipe has inspired me with other ideas of cooking with these flavours, which is always a good sign.  Haloumi is a Greek cheese which maintains its shape and does not melt when you fry it in the fry pan.  Cooked well, it should be just slightly crispy on the outside, and have a squeaky consistency when you eat it.  If you haven't tried haloumi before, then you are in for a pleasant surprise.  If it is your first time, I recommend cooking a little on its own to try on the side of this meal to understand its perfection in isolation of the other flavours.

This meal is simple and guaranteed to impress your friend, family or significant other.  You can purchase balsamic glaze from most supermarkets nowadays, but if not check your local deli.  It comes in a nice squeeze bottle that allows you to be artistic with its presentation.  If you want to make it from scratch, then here is an exceptionally simple recipe. You will feel like the cafe breakfast queen when you make this.  I did!

Banana, Blueberry and Coconut Skinny Smoothie

Nom smoothies :)

Years ago when I was at university I used to work at an overpriced milkshake, smoothie and cake booth.  One of our more popular smoothies was banana, blueberry and coconut.  We would use a banana, a scoop of frozen berries, two big scoops of ice cream, a scoop of milk and a squirt of coconut milkshake flavouring.  It was incredibly tasty but bad for the waistline.

I wanted to make my own healthier, lower fat/sugar content version to enjoy at home.  Here is a regular contender for a Saturday morning at our place.

Koshari - My take on an Egyptian national dish

Koshari - Egyptian bliss

It is always fun to experiment with completely different flavours from what you usually eat. I used to make Koshari (an Egyptian vegan dish) years ago but forgot all about it until I stumbled upon an old recipe.  I've spun this so it is a little less traditional but should be delicious nonetheless. Traditional Koshari (aka Kushari, Koshary) is a combination of rice, lentils and macaroni topped with a spicy tomato-garlic-vinegar sauce and caramelised onions, with or without chickpeas.  Sounds odd I know, but trust me it is delicious and a  fun departure from flavours you may be used to.  In my recipe below, I've added persian feta  as well. Leave it  out if you want a more traditional vegan version of this meal.  Since we don't have any macaroni I've used up some risoni I had leftover from another meal instead.

Koshari is a staple in Egypt - you can purchase it from vendors on the street who serve it from huge metal cauldrons, from restaurants, and it is eaten in homes around the country. The dish purportedly originated in the mid-1800s.  Some think that koshari originates from khichri - a rice and lentil mix.  The ingredients reflect its multi-cultural origins and it can be made a few different ways, so I feel free to take a few liberties and personalise it a bit.   Reportedly rice, lentils and macaroni were easily acquired and kept in bulk in most pantries around the country.  Mixing them together was a way to use up food.  The British troops occupying Egypt found that this was a budget friendly and safe option to consume and the locals took a strong liking to it.  Its popularity only grew and Egypt has never looked back.  It is also commonly consumed by Coptic Christians during lent and meat/dairy fasts.

This meal makes for good comfort food. It takes a few pots and pans on the go at once but I think it is worth it.  It is a weekend recipe because the onions take a long time to cook. I recommend using a nicer dicer or the like if you have one to make the slicing easier on the old eyes. I realised that I could have done so about 3/4 through chopping and face palmed it. Oh well - next time!  Despite the longer cooking time, it is quite simple to make and we had fun cooking something different.