Apricot Coconut Balls




Apricot and Coconut Balls

The pending birth of a new baby is something that is really worth the wait.  It’s the last time the unborn child you have created will be so close to you and literally a part of you.  (And subsequently the last time you have your hands free for a while!)  I have 2 friends who are awaiting that special moment of meeting their babies in a few weeks.   One is a close neighbour and today we had the privilege of placing our hands on her beautiful belly and sharing the bond.  Summer kept going back for more while Finn had no idea what all the fuss was about.  For me it was special, a moment in time that will soon change forever, precious...

 

 

I needed a quick and healthy afternoon tea treat for the kids, something  the kids could help with.  We’ve made plenty of versions of data coconut balls so decided to go with apricots.  Simply delicious but a word of warning, if the kids help you roll them, don’t expect there to be many left for the plate!

Apricot Coconut Balls

1 tbls chia seeds

1 mc (1/2 cup orange juice)
100g almonds
200g sulphur free dried apricots
50g oats
50g dried coconut

• Place chia seeds and orange juice in mc or cup, combine then set aside
• Place almonds in Thermomix bowl and grind for 10 seconds on speed 9
• Add apricots and chop for a further 5 seconds on speed 9
• Add oats, coconut, chia seeds and orange juice and mix for a final 10 seconds on speed 6 or until well combined
• Roll into balls and toss in coconut and pop on a pretty plate

these are the hands of the unborn child in the belly above... love you Summer xxxx

Healthy Bean Nachos

It’s the middle of May and it was 25 degrees today ... in southern Victoria!

 

Even the kids were confused and asked for the slip and slide.  Somehow I was convinced but the results predictable... one sprinkle of icy water and they were shivering cold.  As it goes with kids it was an activity that lasted less than 5 minutes but worth the laughs it all the same.

It was then time for a quick and easy dinner and either the water play helped their appetites or this is just a sure winner for the kids.  Healthy bean nachos are flexible in ingredients, easy to make, much healthier than the traditional nacho versions, and most importantly a little fun to eat!

Tonight for the sauce I used some left over Mexican Beans and you could easily substitute with your own favourite beany tomato mix.  Even a tin of refried beans for a super quick or camping version.

Healthy Bean Nachos

2 pita bread sounds cut into pieces
½ onion
1 clove of garlic
1/2 a red or green capsicum
1 x 400gm tin of red kidney beans
1 x 400gm tin of diced tomatoes
4 medium mushrooms
1 medium carrot
½ of a zuchini
olive oil
½ tsp Cummin
½ tsp Coriander
½ tsp Paprika
1 handful of shredded lettuce
½ cup grated tasty cheese
½ avocado
½ cup yoghurt

Make Mexican sauce

· Place onion and garlic in the Thermomix bowl and chop for 5 seconds on speed 5

· Add a drizzle of olive oil with spices and cook on 100° for 3 mins

· Add roughly chopped capsicum, carrot, zucchini and mushrooms and chop for 3 seconds on speed 5

· Add tomatos and beans and cook for a further 10 minutes on speed 1 Reverse at 100°
 

Arrange Nachos

·  Layer pita bread pieces on a baking tray

·  Follow with mexican sauce and sprinkle with cheese

·  Bake for about 10 minutes at 180° or until bread is crisp and cheese is melted

· Top with lettuce and a mix of avocado and yoghurt

And magic, just like unseasonally warm autumn weather, watch it disappear!

 

Raw Strawberry Cheesecake

Raw Strawberry Cheesecake

We've been berry picking and are in berry heaven! I can't believe we've never been before especially when there are so many berry farms within an hours drive. Now we have and there's no turning back.

 

You can imagine little blueberry Finn when he stepped between the first row of blueberry bushes. Not many were making it to the bucket. But with some team work the bucket was soon full (and he finally said "no" to a blueberry!) so we moved onto the strawberries.  It was like finding plump red fairies under the gorgeous green leaves. I think veggie daddy was getting the most excited and the strawberry bucket was soon overflowing. The kids were all berried out and ready for a blueberry milkshake, blueberry ice cream and blueberry buckle. Time to balance with a little savoury so we popped into the veggie barn next door for plenty of locally grown supplies.  What a gorgeous way to spend the morning as a family. And we'll certainly be back.

So what to make...

I recently saw this gorgeous Raw Strawberry Cheesecake on the Thermomix Recipe Community so today I knew this was the was to celebrate all things strawberry.  It's delicious, quite rich and hard to believe it's not full of sugar and cream cheese.  In fact, I think's it's way better the alternative.


Raw Strawberry Cheesecake

250g macadamia nuts (I used 150g macadamia and 100g almonds)
100g dates
45g coconut
400g cashews soaked for at least 1 hour then drained
juice and pulp of 2 large lemons
50g Agave nectar
100g coconut oil
1 tsp vanilla
Pinch sea salt
80g water
1-2 punnets fresh strawberries

Base 

• Place macadamias, dates and coconut into Thermomix bowl and blend for 30-40 seconds on speed 6 until well combined and forming a moist dough
• Press into lined 20cm spring form cake tin and place in freezer

Filling

• Place all remaining ingredients into Thermomix bowl and blend together until smooth and creamy for 1 minute on speed 7
• Pour on top of base and set in the fridge over night
• Remove from cake tin and decorate as desired!

 

Immune Boosting Green Soup

It’s that time of year when everyone in the house has a bit of a running nose and is feeling a bit run down.  Time for some immune boosting and what better way to do that than with a yummy soup, filled with nutrients and goodness.  And even better it’s easy to make and easy to eat.  It’s one of those things that the Thermomix does best.


Immune Boosting Green Soup with homemade Tortillas

 

Any of your favourite bread such a some ciabatta would be delicious but today I served this soup with some cheesy toasted homemade tortilla – my latest bread discovery!

Lemon and Silverbeet

 There are heaps of ways to boost your immune system and this soup contains just a few:

• Garlic is a powerful immune booster that stimulates infection fighting white cells, boosts natural killer cell activity, and increases the efficiency of antibody production.
• Vitamin C increases production of infection fighting white blood cells and antibodies especially interferon, the antibody that coats cell surfaces and prevents the entry of viruses.
• Vitamin E is found in sources such as sunflower seeds and has anti-inflammatory and antioxidant benefits.
• Zinc plays an important role in the immune defence system and can be found in legumes and seeds. Soaking them increases their bioavailability which is important for vegetarians.  Dulse and other sea vegetables also contain Zinc and Vitamin E.
• Omega-3 fatty acids such as those found in flax seed oil act as immune booster by increasing the activity of phagocytes, the white blood cells that eat up bacteria.

Fresh Broccoli and Silverbeet

So make you and your family a big pot of this immune booster to keep the chills away or at least reduce their stay.

 
Immune Boosting Green Soup
250g green lentils
800g water
1 onion
1 clove garlic
1 tbls olive oil
1 large or 2 small potatos cubed
1 stick celery roughly chopped
1 small or ½ a large broccoli roughly chopeed
1 bunch of silverbeet with stalks removed and well rinsed to get rid of any grit and any crawling friends
1 tsp vege concentrate
1 tbls fresh thyme
Juice of half a lemon
Pinch of nutmeg
2 tbls flaxseed oil

• Soak lentils in  water for 4-6 hours
• Place basket in Thermomix bowl and pour in soaked lentils and enough water to cover and cook for 20 minutes on speed 1 at 100°
• Remove basket of lentils and set aside stock water for later
• Place onion and garlic in Thermomix bowl and chop for 5 seconds on speed 6
• Add oil and sauté for 3 mintues at 100° on speed 2
• Add potato and sauté for an additional 5 minutes at 100° on speed 2
• Add celery, broccoli, lentils, thyme, vege stock and water and cook for 10 minutes at 100° on speed 2
• Add silverbeet and lemon juice and cook for a final 5 minutes 100° on speed 2
• Add flaxseed oil and blend for 10 seconds on speed 4

Serve with a dollop of yoghurt and a sprinkle of sunflower seeds

Immune Boosting Green Soup

Enjoy!



Healthy Wholesome Muesli

For the first time since having my 2^nd child (over a year ago) I had the day at home to myself.  Veggie daddy took the kids to the inlaws for the entire afternoon.  I spent the morning baking cheese and pesto scrolls, cutting up fruit, packing homemade banana biscuits and other snacks to keep their tummies happy not to mention spare clothes and nappies.

I had a list of things to do while they were gone but my main purpose of staying home was to get some posts written for you all to read… Well they’ll be home soon and I haven’t written much, but I have done plently of baking!

I have to admit that I struggled being on my own in the peace and quiet of home.  It was different than being at work which has a sense of purpose and I know the kids are home happily playing with Grandma or daddy.  But I managed to get those jobs done that can be more challenging with the kids, wash the floor, dusted their rooms, even went for a quick run.  But most importantly I cooked.  I made some gourmet muesli, high protein nut butter, prepared jars for my curing olives (didn’t get around to filling the jars), then finally dinner for tonight, a hearty vege shepherdless pie.

So lets start with the muesli first...

For many years I tried different types of gourmet muesli.  Sure most are delicious but they’re not something that can be eaten daily as often have added sugar or fats (and often cost the earth!).  Finding that perfect combination of grains, fruits and nuts which you won’t get bored with is the next challenge, not to mention the cost.  So in the past few years I’ve been making my own gourmet muesli.  The blend varies depending on what I have or feel like.  And if you like you could add coconut butter or honey before toasting to increase crunchiness or sweetness but I prefer without.

The muesli I made today was something like this…

Healthy Wholesome Muesli

3 cups rolled oats

½ cup amaranth flakes
½ cup quinoa flakes
½ cup chopped nuts (eg; almonds, hazelnuts)
½ cup shredded coconut
1 tbls cinnamon
½ cup seeds (eg; sunflower, pepitas)
1 cup chopped dried fruit (eg fresh dates, inca berries, goji berries, cranberries)

• Preheat oven to 180°
• Spread oats and cinnamon on a tray (drizzle with melted coconut butter or honey if desired) and bake for 10 mins
• Spread nuts, seeds and coconut on another tray and bake 5 mins (be careful not to burn coconut which I was close to today – but I actually like it well toasted)
• Cool before transferring to an airtight container to store

Serve with fruit, yoghurt and choice of milk.

Also great soaked overnight in apple juice Bircher style which makes the grains easier to digest.

Enjoy!