I love weekends, heading to the farmers markets in the morning, collecting fresh produce to prepare into delicious meals later in the day. I have been loving experimenting with new recipes and really prioritising nutrition and food as medicine.
This weekend began making almond croissant baked oats on Saturday morning. It's so good because it makes 6-8 serves and I can store some in the fridge or freezer and heat it up during the week saving so much time (and money).
Something that I am beginning to learn more and practice is batch cooking so instead of just making a dish that serves 2 making 6-8 instead. It has been working really well for me and I hope this inspires you to do the same.
All for saving time and money but still eating delicious nutrient dense meals.
Sunday was more of a slow cooking day, using our slow cookers for the first time I made an immune loving seasonal soup. Turmeric, ginger, garlic, chilli, oregano, paprika and thyme created a base for the flavours then I added diced celery, sliced carrots, suede, russet potatoes, corn from the cob, kidney and borlotti beans. I added bone broth for added nutrients and omega 3's and it really draws out all of the pigment from the turmeric and carrots and adds so much depth to the soup.
I think there is a huge misconception that eating healthy is expensive, when you learn to cook with whole foods and prioritise seasonal produce it is inexpensive. Using dried legumes is also very cost effective, I have just this week realised this! Lets get into the recipes below:
Almond Croissant, Baked Oats Recipe;
Oats are grounding complex carbohydrates, they contain beta-glucan which is a type of soluble fibre and is important for the gastrointestinal health. Oats are nourishing to the nervous system containing nutrients like B vitamins and magnesium. Oats are a great base to add to breakfast because they are filling and provide a slow release of energy due to those complex carbohydrates!
Combining them with the almond topping, protein powder, and banana's really creates an energy dense balanced meal that you can rely on for those busy days ahead.
For The Base Recipe:
3-4 Banana's
150g oats (organic, whole)
150g Oat flour (I just blended some oats)
90g protein powder, my favourites are the healthy chef pea protein in vanilla or the raw paleo protein in vanilla aswell!
You could also add a heaped tablespoon of collagen here if you have it.
1tsp baking powder
1tsp bi-carb soda
750ml coconut milk, or any milk of choice my fave is the co co quench brand.
For The Base instructions:
In a baking dish of your choice, mash bananas, add all ingredients and mix together until evenly combined.
Pour in Milk and mix well until all of the dry ingredients are mixed in.
For the Almond topping:
140g Almond Spread
3 tablespoons of raw honey
50g of almond meal
1tsp almond extract
Sliced Almonds
Icing Sugar
Almond Topping Instructions:
Combine almond spread, raw honey and almond meal in a bowl and mix well.
Spread over the base and mix it in gently.
Cover with sliced almonds before baking in the oven at 180 degrees celsius for 45-50 minutes.
Top with icing sugar, I sprinkle it over through a sieve and then leave to stand for 5-10 minutes before slicing into 6-8 equal chunks, its great to share if you're cooking for others or to enjoy and know that you have heaps more ready to be warmed up! Store in the fridge for up to 3 days, or freezer for longer.
Oh you can also top with greek yogurt and your favourite fruits, berries etc for the extra goodness, but it's also incredible on its own.
I hope you enjoy this as much as I do !🫶🏻
Immune Loving, Seasonal Slow Cooked Soup!
This is like a big warm embrace, packed with nutrients, colour, flavour and texture and it is sure to support your immune system as we very (slowly if you are also in Perth) transition to Winter.
The flavours of the turmeric, ginger, chilli and garlic are really brought together with the bone broth carrying the flavours and really bringing the soup together. I added seasonal veg from the farmers markets so feel free to mix up with what you have on hand!
This is a really cost effective dish that hits all the nutrient boxes, and I now have a nutrient dense meal that I can heat up in no time during the busy few weeks of this university semester. It's really important during these busy times that you really hone in on those foundational aspects of your overall health when we have lots of other tasks to focus on.
When the workload for work and study is high, it is crucial to prioritise optimising nutrition for brain health.
This is the perfect dish as it is high in fibre, protein, omega 3's and lots of other vitamins and minerals from the carrots, turmeric and veg making it a potent medicinal meal. The vitamin A in the carrots is crucial for immune health as vitamin A is known to support the mucous membranes, which are our first line of defense and needed to prevent any invading pathogen from getting into our systems.
Ingredients:
I kind of just made this intuitively, and it turned out really well, use your own judgement for how much turmeric/ ginger / chilli you like to add it makes around 6-8 serves depending on how large the serve is.
Garlic 4-5 cloves diced
Turmeric - as much as you like
Ginger - as much as you like
Red onion diced
Russett potatoes - cut into cubes
1 corn on cob (you could use canned corn)
1 cup dried kidney beans - washed and drained
1 cup dried borlotti beans - washed and drained
250g sliced carrot
250g diced celery
1 whole suede diced
1 chilli
Bone broth 2 cups
vegetable stock - 4 cups
Herbs;
2-3 bay leaves
big handful of parsley to top
sprig of thyme
Add all ingredients into the slow cooker and set to high leave to cook for 3-4 hours, whilst its cooking away you can sit back, relax and enjoy your sunday knowing you have a beautiful nourishing meal awaiting you. let it work its magic and Enjoy.
You could also serve with a side of garlic bread, I made a beautiful garlic butter and toasted it on some sourdough to serve. But it's hearty enough to eat without a side!
Enjoy, and I will see you in the next post!
Chloe x
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