Banana & Peanut Butter Protein Bircher

A few months ago I discovered a delicious bircher recipe from Two Raw Sisters. It’s very similar to the overnight oats recipes I have here on my website already, but I decided to give it a go for something new and loved it! In my opinion, it’s the raisins /cranberries and spices that make it. Because I have very specific protein goals, I’ve made a few tweaks to their recipe and wanted to share because it’s been a hit in our household.

I like to make up a double batch so that breakfast is sorted for 2 days running, and it’s just one less thing to think about in the morning. The below serving is for 1, just double it for 2 people or quadruple to make breaky for 2, for 2 mornings. You get the idea. If you don’t have protein powder, don’t stress, it will work just fine without, I just like to add more protein to breakfast to make me full for longer.

You can totally eat on it’s own as it’s super yummy as is, but I like to add some yogurt for extra creaminess, fresh banana and maybe a little PB or berries for some tang.

Protein Tips: I use the Vanilla protein powder from NZ Protein, it’s a whey based protein and is non grainy and delicious. The other option I always have is tasteless protein from Feel Good Protein which is a collagen base. To up the protein I use calci trim milk (as it’s higher than standard milk), but you can sub for a DF alternative or whatever milk is your fave. The peanut butter is also going to add some protein in there for you.

Serves 1

Banana & Peanut Butter Protein Bircher

Ingredients
1/2 cup oats (I used Scotch Oats)
3/4 cup calci trim milk
1 TBSP chia seeds
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/2 banana mashed
1 TBSP peanut butter
1 TBSP vanilla protein powder
handful raisins for cranberries

Method

Mix all ingredients together in a bowl, cover and pop in the fridge to thicken overnight. Top with your fave toppings or eat as is.

If you’re wanting something warmer for winter, try my Scottish Porridge or Baked Oats.


Mums Meatloaf

Meatloaf is one of my favourite dinners. It takes me back to being a kid on the farm when my Mum would make it. So yummy and comforting. This is my Mum’s old recipe that she’s been making for years, and now so have I!

The great thing about this recipe is it’s also super versatile, just use whatever veggies you have on hand. The other hack is to make mini meatloaves and freeze. Either make in muffin tins and top with bacon, or shape into a cylinder shape and wrap in bacon to cook, and then pop in the freezer and pull them out when needed.

Enjoy!




Meatloaf

Ingredients

500g beef mince
* or combine 250g lamb & 250g pork for different taste
1 onion – finely chopped
2 carrots – grated
1 Zucchini – grated
½ Red Capsicum – finely chopped
¾ cup breadcrumbs
2 Tbs BBQ Sauce
2 egg, lightly beaten
1 tsp garlic
Mixed herbs
Salt & Pepper to taste

Note: This meatloaf recipe is quite moist.  To make firm / easy to slice meatloaf, add more breadcrumbs and remove 2nd egg.

Method

  1. Preheat oven to 170°C. Line a 9cm x 19cm loaf pan with non-stick baking paper.

  2. Use clean hands to combine mince, onion, carrot, zucchini, capsicum, breadcrumbs, herbs, egg, BBQ Sauce and garlic.  Add salt & pepper to taste.

  3. Press the mixture into the loaf pan and smooth the surface. Brush on a thin layer of BBQ sauce.  Cover with foil. Bake for 30 minutes.

  4. Remove the foil and bake for 30 minutes or until the juices run clear when pierced with a skewer. Drain off the liquid. Rest in the pan for 5 minutes before serving.

Choc Banana Protein Shake

ohhhhh what to say. I love chocolate, and I love banana. I recently had an epic choc banana protein shake out and decided to recreate at home. It has become one of my fave go to's!

You can use vanilla protein or chocolate. I don't have chocolate in the house, so I use cacao to create the chocolately goodness.   If not thick enough, add more ice and get it tasting super creamy and just like a chocolate thickshake!

Enjoy!

Choc Banana Protein Shake

1 cup almond milk
1 cup ice
1 banana
2 TBS vanilla protein powder
1.5 TBS cacao powder
1 TBS chia seeds
1 tsp maple syrup

Blend until completely smooth & top with some coconut shavings and cacao nibs for some crunch. 

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An Overnight Oats Recipe You Should Try!

One thing I love about winter, is hot oats / porridge in the morning when it's cold outside. With it getting a bit cooler in the mornings, I decided to start experimenting with overnight oats as I'd seen a few Instagram stories about how easy they are.  They actually couldn't be any easier!  Once you get the quantities right, they are also pretty hard to beat for creaminess and taste.

My absolute favourite thing is that these are made in advance, so in the morning you just grab them out of the fridge and heat if desired. You can actually make several days worth in advance if you like and have a weeks worth of breakfasts good to go.  The flavour combo's are also endless and kids love them.  This week we have had banana & vanilla, feijoa & pear (feijoa is a fruit found in New Zealand) and peanut butter with banana. All have been great.  The recipe I'm sharing with you today is a plain base that you then just add your fruit to it, or have it on it's own, it's great as is.

I suggest saving your jars and use a wider neck if possible.

Versatile recipes are the best, and you can adapt this one to suit your dietary requirements.  I make it dairy free (also vegan) by using plant based coconut or almond milk & coconut yogurt, but you can totally make it with full fat milk or yogurt.  To make itgluten free, use gluten free oats.

All the ingredients ready to mix - oats, almond milk, coconut yogurt, chia seeds, bananas, maple syrup & vanilla[/caption]

Simple Overnight Oats

1/2 cup rolled oats
2/3 cup coconut or almond milk
2 TBS pain or vanilla coconut yogurt
1 TBS chia seeds
1 TBS pure maple syrup
Protein Powder (optional)
Vanilla essence

For Banana & blueberry: add 1/2 chopped banana and a sprinkle of blueberries
For Feijoa & Pear: add 1/4 pear chopped and flesh of 2 feijoa's
For Peanut Butter & banana: add 1/2 chopped balance + 1 TBS peanut butter

Place all ingredients in a bowl or straight into the jar and mix. Place in fridge to set for at least 4hrs.

Nut & Seed Chocolate Bark

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Behold a genius creation! Ok so maybe I’m overselling it and I’m sure this is nothing new, but it’s new to me and I love it! Truth be known, I got the idea to do this because a nut mix I had in the car got overheated the other day and the little dark choc pieces melted to create one big piece of nutty chocolate - it was yum.

I can down half a bar of chocolate in no time, and although there are some great dark chocolates that are relatively low in sugar, I wanted to make the chocolate go further and up the nutritional content. I always have a supply of nuts and seeds so I decided to get creating with a healthy blend of nuts, and melt down the chocolate to bind it all together (combined with a little coconut oil to help). The result is delicious.

It was pretty easy, and you can mix it up depending on what you have in your pantry.

Ingredients

I used a variety of the following to line a baking tray;

Almonds
Cashews
Pecans
Pumpkin Seeds
Pinenuts
Buckwheat groats
Cacao Nibs
Dried Cranberries
Dried Apricots
1/2 block dark chocolate low in sugar like Whittakers
1 TBS coconut oil

Add some extra goodness like a seed blend (LSA for example) or some chia seeds. I added in 2 TBS of The Wholesome Co’s stress and mind blend.

Roughly chop all of the nuts, lay on a tray lined with baking paper. Add in seeds, buckwheat and cacao nibs. Chop apricots and add.

Melt down chocolate with coconut oil and pour over top. Make sure all of your nut mix is covered and place in fridge to set! Once hard, break up with your hands and place into air tight containers.

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Moroccan Spiced Cauliflower Salad

I’m a crazy for cauliflower kind of girl. I love it steamed, roasted, pan fried, riced, mashed… you name it, I’m all over it. Last summer I wanted to create a Cauliflower salad that used Cauliflower rice because since cutting back on carbs, I missed having couscous or rice in a salad. I also love Moroccan flavours so decided to combine the two. This is an easy and cost effective salad that is easy to throw together and it looks great on a bed of spinach or greens. Perfect if you need to take a plate or for a dinner at your place.

This recipe was featured in Issue 4 of Mood Magazine. Enjoy!

Moroccan Spiced Cauliflower Salad

Moroccan Spiced Cauliflower Salad & Quick and Easy Raw Salad

Moroccan Spiced Cauliflower Salad & Quick and Easy Raw Salad

1 head of cauliflower

2 tsp olive oil

1 + ½ tsp ground coriander

1 tsp cumin seeds

1 tsp paprika

¼ tsp ground cinnamon

Zest of 1 lemon

5 tbsp dried fruits ( I used dried cranberries + apricots)

4 tbsp nuts (I used chopped almonds + pine nuts)

Pomegranate seeds, coriander and mint to serve

  1. Cut cauli roughly into florets and place into blender

  2. Pulse until the cauliflower takes on a couscous like appearance.

  3. Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan and add the couscous, allow to cook for 5 to 7 minutes stirring frequently.

  4. Transfer the couscous to a large bowl and set aside to cool.

  5. Once cooled add the spices, lemon zest, dried fruits and nuts.

  6. Add finely chopped herbs 

  7. Stir well and season

  8. Top with pomegranate seeds, fresh mint and drizzle of tahini & lemon dressing

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Banana & Dark Chocolate Loaf

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Another favourite recipe from my friend Caralee Fontenele’s latest cookbook Nourishing You, I have adapted these Banana and Blueberry Muffins into a Banana & Dark Chocolate Loaf. It is so delicious and a firm favourite in our household for lunchboxes or an afternoon tea treat.

If you want to swap out the dark chocolate (although Im’ not sure why you would), it is also really yummy with diced apple.

The best part about this recipe? It’s made in a blender and is so quick!

Ingredients:
1 cup almond meal
2 tablespoons coconut flour
1 cup dried dates
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon mixed spice or nutmeg
pinch of salt
2 eggs
1 ripe banana (plus another for on top)
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons melted coconut oil
Dash of vanilla
5 square dark chocolate chopped roughly

Preheat oven to 180 degrees and prepare your loaf tin by greasing with oil.
Place all of your dry ingredients (except for chocolate) into the food processor and process until the mix resembles a breadcrumb. Depending on your blender you may have to do this in a few batches.
Once done, place the dry mixture in a large bowl.

Now add all wet ingredients to food processor and blend well. Once processed, add to your dry ingredients and fold in the chocolate as well.

Bake in the oven for 25-30 mins or until a skewer comes out clean.

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Coconut Granola

3 cups rolled outs
1/4 cup coconut oil
1/4 cup coconut (flakes or desiccated)
1/2 cup chopped almonds
1/2 cup chopped raw cashews
1/3 cup pumpkin seeds
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup maple syrup or honey

  1. Preheat the over to 180 degrees and line baking tray with baking paper.

  2. In a large bowl, mix the dry ingredients together

  3. In a separate bowl, mix the coconut oil, honey or maple syrup and vanilla

  4. Pour the wet ingredients over the dry ingredients and mix well to combine

  5. Place on the baking tray evenly and bake for 20 mins until golden brown

  6. When cooked, take out of the oven and leave untouched for 45 mins, then add cranberries. Store up to a month in an airtight container.

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Banana & Cinnamon Muffins

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This recipe comes courtesy of Caralee Fontonele’s Real Food Pledge Cookbook, it’s a new favourite in our house!  These muffins are moist and delicious! They are is DF / GF & Refined Sugar free. Best of all they are SO quick and easy as they are made in the blender, perfect for baking with kids too,.

Caralee’s 3rd cookbook is out soon and is available for preorder, pop onto her website for details!

Ingredients

1 cup dates
2 ripe bananas
4 eggs
1/2 cup coconut flour
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp baking soda
Pinch salt
2 TBS coconut oil
1/2 cup water

Preheat oven to 180 degrees celsius and line your muffin pan with liners.

In the food processor, process the dates and coconut flour until it is finely blended. Add the bananas, cinnamon, baking soda and salt ; process until combined. Then add the eggs, coconut oil and water and process until well combined. Pour the batter into the muffin pans and place in the oven.
Bake for 20 mins or until they spring back when you press on the top of them.

Variation: add some frozen blueberries or dark chop chips!

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Meal Prep Ideas: Roast Vegetable Salad with Chicken, Nut & Seed Chocolate Bark, Bliss Balls & Chia Jam

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This week I extended meal prep to an hour and a half. And did 4 meals for lunches plus our treats for the fridge as well. We love bliss balls around here for snacks and lunchboxes, and I also decided to experiment and make a nutty chocolate bark full of goodness. It turned out amazing!

First up -

Roast Vege Salad with Chicken Breast & Lemon Mustard Dressing
Makes 4 meals

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3 x chicken breasts
1/4 pumpkin
1 kumara
1 red onion
2 zucchini
2 x coloured capsicum (I used red and yellow - eat the rainbow!)
Corn kernals
1/2 bag baby spinach

To make the salad, chop all veges in similar size and line roasting tray in a single layer. Toss olive oil through veges and season. Bake for roughly 25 mins.

For the chicken, bake as preferred - I like to coat chicken breast with dukkah! Bake for 30 mins.

Once vegetables have cooled, toss through corn and spinach. Places equal amounts in your Tupperware and slice chicken evenly to place on top.

For lemon dressing, combine:

Juice of 1 lemon
1TBS whole grain stone mustard
2 TBS olive oil
1 TBS mayonnaise

Mix with a fork for a minute or until comes together.

Drizzle over salad before storing in fridge for up to 5 days, or freezer for 2 months

Chia Jam

Chia jam is one of the quickest and easiest things you can do to make a small change in your diet to reduce sugar for your family. Ditch sugar laden jams for this recipe which just uses natural sugars of the berries or fruit. This week I used plums from our orchard that had been boiled down, but raspberry is a firm fave in our house.

1.5 cups berries
1-2 cup chia seeds
*maple if sweetener needed

Heat berrris on stovetop in a pot until broken down, use a masher to squash them! Once heated, add your chia seeds and maple (if using), stir and place into a jar. Store in fridge to set. Keeps for up to a week.

Nut & Seed Chocolate Bark!

This delicious chocolate deserved a post all of it’s own, CLICK HERE.

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Cacao Crunch Bliss Balls

This week I totally cheated and got a bliss ball mix from Clean Mixes. The wholesome co also have some great prep mixed blends you can buy. If you’re short on time these mixes are fab.

These are the Cacao Crunch flavour and I added in extra pumpkin seeds plus some crushed almond and buckwheat. Wherever possible I add extra bits and pieces that up the nutritional content of foods.

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Raw Lemon & Raspberry Mini Cheesecakes

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I have absolutely saved the best for last team! This is a recipe I created from scratch and it’s my all time fave. These perfect little cheesecakes are delicious – you will never want to eat regular cheesecake again!  It is perfect for a summer treat and made with wholesome ingredients. They are gluten free, vegan and refined sugar free.   Just remember to soak your cashews the day before, but otherwise a very easy recipe.

Male these for your family for Christmas and they love you for it!

Ingredients

Base:

1 cup cashews

1 cup almonds

½ cup coconut

½ cup soaked dates

1 TBS maple

Lemon Filling:

2 cups of cashews, soaked overnight

400 grams coconut cream

½ cup pure maple syrup

½ cup cacao butter, melted

Juice of 1 lemon

Zest of 1 lemon

1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste

Pinch of salt


Method:

For the base, soak your dates in boiling water for 10 mins. 

Combine the nuts and coconut in a blender and blend until fine.
Drain the dates and add to the blender along with the maple syrup and blend until combined.  The mixture should hold together well and be sticky.

Spoon one table spoon at a time into silicon cupcake trays, press down with the back of the spoon and then pop in the fridge while you make the fillings.

Make the filling:
To make the filling, add all of your lemon filling incredients into the blender and blend until smooth and glossy, approx 3-5 minutes.

Pour into molds to about half way, leaving room for the raspberry layer on top. Return to fridge.

To make the raspberry layer, add 1 cup fresh or freeze dried raspberries to your lemon filling and blend for a minute, or until completely blended.  Pour into your molds, filling to the top. Sprinkle freeze dried raspberry on top. 

Set in the freezer up to 4 hours, or overnight. 

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Halloumi, Asparagus & Avocado Salad

This week I went over to my friend Annalee’s house to teach her this amazingly delicious and super easy recipe. Annalee is a makeup artist & vlogger from New Plymouth, her kitchen is honestly heaven! It makes me so excited to build our house and my dream kitchen! Asparagus is still in season, and so is avocado - and I’m pretty sure halloumi is Annalee’s favourite food, so, match made in heaven!

Halloumi, Asparagus & Avocado Salad

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1 small block halloumi cheese
1 bunch asparagus
1 avocado
1 bag spinach
2 free range eggs
Cherry tomatoes
1/2 red onion

Heat a pan over medium heat with a drizzle of olive oil and 1 heaped tsp butter, when heated, add in slices of halloumi cut approx 1/2 cm thick. Pan fry until browned on each side - watch while it cooks as it will burn easily.

Add a little more oil and butter to the pan in order to pan fry your asparagus. Fry for approx 3-4 minutes. Should be nice and crunchy. Season well.

Hard boil your eggs in boiling water for 10 mins and then put in cold water to cool.

Once everything is cooked, lay a bed of spinach in a bowl and then add in all of your other ingredients on top.

For the dressing mix together:
Juice from half a lemon
3-4 TBS olive oil
1 TBS wholegrain mustard
1/2 TBS mayonnaise if you want to make it creamy

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Meal Prep Ideas: Dukkah Crusted Chicken

Crunchy, crispy chicken paired with stir fried veges for the win! Super easy & filling. What’s not to love? You can mix it up with any veg that you love.

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Shopping List to make 6 x lunches or dinners:

1 x jar dukkah
3 x large free range chicken breasts
2 x zuchini’s
2 x red capsicum
1 x red onion
2 x purple kumara
1/2 pumpkin
1 head broccoli
1 can corn kernals
Fresh baby spinach

Staples:
Olive oil, butter or olivani (if dairy free) plus seasoning

Prep:

  1. Preheat your oven to 180 degrees & line a baking tray with baking paper

  2. Prepare your chicken by slicing through the middle to make two x chicken steaks

  3. Place your dukkah on a plate and crust your chicken with it, set aside

  4. Roughly chop your kumara and pumpkin into 2cm cubes, place on a tray and bake in the oven for 25 minutes

  5. While the root vegetables are roasting, prepare your remaining veges to be stir fried. You can opt to just roast everything if you want to save time.
    I stir fry the brocoli, onion, capsicum and zuchini.

  6. Heat a drizzle of oil in a pan and stir fry your remaining vegetables (start with capsicum and onion, add the zuchini when the others are almost done). Set aside when done.

  7. Heat a little more oil in your pan, and brown the chicken for 2 minutes each side

  8. Once browned and sealed, place your chicken on an oven tray, they will need cooking for approx 10-12 minutes

  9. In your lunch containers, place some roast veges in the bottom, plus some of the stir fry veges. Add some fresh corn, spinach and lastly your cooked chicken.

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Meal Prep Ideas: Wild Salmon, Asparagus & Broccoli Bowls

Fresh, in season, simple and delicious. This is very easy and quick to prep.

For the Salmon

Shopping List:

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3 fillets of salmon from the deli that will easily cut in half. Choose NZ deli salmon if you can, should be around $30 a kilo.
1 bag Israeli couscous (can be swapped out for rice or quinoa)
1 bunch asparagus
1 head broccoli
Fresh baby spinach
1 x lemon

Staples:
Olive oil, butter or olivani (if dairy free) plus seasoning

Prep:

  1. Preheat your oven to 180 degrees & line a baking tray with baking paper

  2. Dab your salmon with a paper towel to reduce moisture and drizzle with olive oil & season with salt and pepper. Cook in the over for 10-12 minutes, depending on the thickness of the salmon. It is done when it starts to flake and is no longer opaque inside.

  3. Cook your couscous per the instructions, once boiling, cooks for roughly 7 mins.

  4. Roughly chop your asparagus and broccoli

  5. In a pan, heat a drizzle of oil with roughly 1 TBS of butter or olivani (the oil will stop the butter from burning), once getting hot, add your asparagus and brocoli.
    Pan fry for 5 minutes or until reached preferred tenderness

  6. When the couscous is finished cooking, season well with salt and pepper, add some zest of a lemon and add a squeeze lemon juice as well to add flavour.

  7. When everything is done, add your lemon couscous, spinach, green veges, salmon & a wedge of lemon into containers and store in fridge for up to a week.

This weeks prep also included  * roasting a mix of kumara, red onion & beetroot to add to salads for dinners or lunches * Pita chips for Aiden’s lunch box (cut up wholegrain pita bread, drizzle with oil, season and  bake for 6 minutes * blueberr…

This weeks prep also included
* roasting a mix of kumara, red onion & beetroot to add to salads for dinners or lunches
* Pita chips for Aiden’s lunch box (cut up wholegrain pita bread, drizzle with oil, season and
bake for 6 minutes
* blueberry chia jam

Raw Chocolate Tart

And we have a winner. When I think about yummy Christmas food, I think of chocolate. Am I right? I have always loved baking for my family at Christmas time and usually something with chocolate is in the mix. When coming up with my menu for this baking series, I knew there needed to be something in there for chocolate lovers everywhere.

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This recipe is gluten free, dairy free, vegan & refined sugar free. Oh, and also surprisingly easy.
Remember to soak your cashews at least 4hrs in advance of making! The longer you soak them, the creamier the mixture will be.

Serve with fresh strawberries or raspberries.

Ingredients:

Base
2 cups natural cashews
1 cup almonds
1/2 cup pitted dates
3 TBS cacao
2 TBS pure maple

Chocolate Filling
2 cups (250g) raw cashews (soaked for minimum 4 hrs)
1 teaspoon vanilla paste
1 tablespoon lemon juice
½ cup coconut oil, melted
50g cacao butter, melted
1 teaspoon maca powder (optional)
1/3 cup pure maple syrup
100ml (about 7 tablespoons) nut milk of choice
¾ cup raw cacao powder

Method:

The cashews for the filling need to be soaked for a minimum of 4 hours (recommend longer).

To make the base, place all of the dry ingredients (nuts and cacao) into your blender and blitz until crumbly. Add your drained, soaked dates and maple and blitz again until the mixture is combined. Mixture will be sticky. Pop your base into a tart tin and press into the base and up the sides. Place in the fridge while you make the filling.

To make the filling, place all ingredients back in your blender and mix until smooth, this will take anywhere from 3-7 minutes depending on your blender. Pour the filling over your base and place in the freezer to set.

Serve with strawberries or raspberries along with some plain coconut yogurt.

Can be stored in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 3 months.

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