This recipe is not only lip smacking tasty, but it’s versatile enough to prepare for a family lunch, dinner, bbq or I used to roll it out when I ran my kids cooking classes, where even I was taken aback by the kids raving about how gorgeous the beans were ‘done this way’. One little girl looked at me accusingly and said suspiciously, “I don’t know how you’ve done it, but you’ve got me eating and liking broccoli.”So cute! Happy days!

I have to admit, we rarely eat tofu. I’m not a massive fan of it from a health perspective, but every now and then I like to change things up, so we went for an organic tofu (meaning not-GM). Tempeh would be a better choice,  as the process of fermenting reduces the anti-nutrients and creates a natural probiotic food. Using prawns is definitely my favourite!

But really, you can leave it out if you so desire, increase the seeds, add some cashews, or whatever you favourite protein may be.

Many of the ingredients in this recipe can be sourced from my one-stop-favourite, organic wholefoods online store, The Wholefood Collective. They go to great lengths to ensure everything they source is amazing quality, they stock all my favorite products and I don’t even have to leave the house! Oh and the cherry on the cake is they donate profits to improve food security for vulnerable Aussies.

Here are some of the ingredients you’ll need:

Udon noodles
Salt
Sunflower seeds/pumpkin seeds/sesame seeds
Coconut or rapadura sugar
Olive oil
Apple cider vinegar
Tamari sauce
Sesame oil

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Asian-Style Vegetable and Noodle Salad

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Total Time 30 minutes

Author Brenda Janschek

Ingredients

• Noodle Salad
• 300 g broccoli cut into small florets
• 150 g green beans halved
• 270 g organic udon noodles or kelp noodles if gluten free
• Coconut oil
• 1 medium onion sliced
• 1 clove garlic
• 1 tablespoon ginger grated
• ½ tsp sea salt
• 1 cake firm organic tofu sliced thickly (or fried tempeh, seared sliced beef, sliced chicken or pork)
• 1/4 cup sunflower/ pumpkin seeds/sesame seeds I used a mix
• Optional: seeds can be dry roasted on frying pan to create a depth of flavour
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• Lemon or lime wedges for serving
• Dressing
• 1 teaspoon coconut or rapadura sugar dissolved in 1 tablespoon boiling water
• ¼ cup olive oil
• 35 ml apple cider vinegar
• 1 teaspoon tamari sauce
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil

Instructions

• For noodle salad, boil a saucepan of water and blanche vegetables for 2 minutes. Drain, and run under cold water to stop the cooking process. Set aside.
• Cook noodles according to packet in same water (full of alkaline goodness left from the veggies, strain and leave to cool.
• In a frypan, sauté the onion in a little coconut oil for a few minutes, add garlic, ginger and salt and continue cooking until onion is soft. Pour mixture into a bowl. Add more coconut oil to the frying pan and fry tofu, beef, chicken, pork or prawns until cooked
• For the dressing, In a jar combine all the dressing ingredients and shake well. Taste for seasoning.
• In a large bowl combine all the components and toss with dressing (use as much or as little dressing as you prefer) and serve with lemon or lime wedges.

If you make this please take photos and send them to me, or if you share them on instagram remember to tag me.

Other recipes you might like are Spicy Pork and Vegetable Nasi Goreng and Homemade Miso Ramen. 

Enjoy!

Brenda x

Having had some issues with wheat and gluten intolerances in the past, I set about creating a gluten-free alternative that would be just as tasty as the popular versions of tart bases. A brief flirtation with trial and error that included different ingredients and measures, and I was there.

I now make several variations of the crust and filling. It’s really hard to go wrong!

The recipe below is one my whole family loves, and as soon as my husband discovers this post, I’ll be making some more I’d imagine!

Many of the ingredients in this recipe can be sourced from my one-stop-favourite, organic wholefoods online store, The Wholefood Collective. They go to great lengths to ensure everything they source is amazing quality, they stock all my favorite products and I don’t even have to leave the house! Oh and the cherry on the cake is they donate profits to improve food security for vulnerable Aussies.

Here are some of the ingredients you’ll need:

Rolled oats or quinoa flakes
Raw almonds
Raw cashews
Maple syrup
Coconut oil
Ground cinnamon
Salt
Cacao powder
Honey or maple syrup
Vanilla powder

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Chocolate Mousse Tarts

Author Brenda Janschek

Ingredients

• TART BASE
• 1 cup rolled oats or quinoa flakes
• 1/2 cup raw almonds
• 1/2 cup raw cashews
• 3 tablespoons maple syrup
• 2 tablesppons coconut oil
• 1-2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• pinch of celtic sea salt
• CHOCOLATE MOUSSE
• 1/2 medium avocado
• 1/2 medium banana frozen if possible
• 1/4 cup raw cacao powder
• 1/4 cup raw honey or maple syrup
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• pinch celtic sea salt

Instructions

• BAKED TART
• Pre-heat oven to 180 degrees celcius.
• Grease a 12 hole muffin pan very well
• Blend the oats or quinoa flakes in food processor until they are fine and crumbly and then pour into a mixing bowl
• Add the almonds and cashews to the food procesor and blend until fine and crumbly
• Add the oats or quinoa flour back into the food processor along with all the remaining ingredients
• Blend until everything comes together, is sticky and holds together.
• Press 1 tablespoon of the dough into the greased hole and spread evenly & thinly around the base and sides
• Bake in a preheated oven for approx 10- 15 mins or until golden brown.
• Leave to completely cool down.
• CHOCOLATE MOUSSE
• Blend all ingredients in a food processor until smooth and spoon into the cooled baked tarts and serve.

Notes

Be sure to grease the muffin tins well.
I love these with a dollop of pure cream on the top, some raspberries, sliced strawberry or banana.
Leftover chocolate mousse can be stored in the fridge for two days and be added to leftover tarts when ready to serve.

Bren x

Kale chips are a big hit with my kids and, evidently, their friends, who come around and hoover them down before returning home demanding their mums make them too.

The teacher at school has her doubts, however, explaining to the kids (who are starting to ask for kale chips to be packed in their lunch boxes) that chips are bad for your health. Good on the teacher, because eating conventional chips every day is clearly not good for your health, but kale on the other hand is an incredibly nutritious food.

Keeping up with the demand is the real struggle. Luckily, the kids enjoy helping me make these moorish, healthy snacks so we can have them in constant supply.

Many of the ingredients in this recipe can be sourced from my one-stop-favourite, organic wholefoods online store, The Wholefood Collective. They go to great lengths to ensure everything they source is amazing quality, they stock all my favorite products and I don’t even have to leave the house! Oh and the cherry on the cake is they donate profits to improve food security for vulnerable Aussies.

Here are some of the ingredients you’ll need:

Coconut or olive oil
Himalayan rock salt

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Kale Chips

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes

Total Time 25 minutes

Author Brenda Janschek

Ingredients

• 1 bunch of kale
• 2 tablespoons of coconut or olive oil
• Celtic sea salt or Himalayan rock salt

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 150 degrees
• Place coconut oil into oven for 1 minute to melt
• Cut/pull kale off the stem & wash well
• Spin in a salad spinner to dry then place on tea towel to absorb any extra moisture
• Put coconut oil in a bowl and using your hands, circulate the kale in the oil until well covered
• Lay strips of kale onto large flat pan (I usually need 3 pans) and put in oven for approx 10-12 mins
• Check kale at 10 minutes to make sure they are becoming crispy and not turning brown
• Spin the tray around (to ensure even heating).
• Remove from oven and sprinkle lightly with Celtic sea salt or Himalayan rock salt
• Don’t forget to make sure they are completely cool before storing in glass mason jars or plastic container

Why you should be eating kale?…

Kale is a dark leafy green (we all know we should be eating more of these), full of health benefits and nutrients. Like? Kale:

– is loaded with vitamins, especially vitamin A, but also vitamins C and K and folic acid;

– is rich in calcium, potassium, copper and iron. These nutrients are necessary for healthy bones, skin and eyes;

– contains important anti-oxidants such as carotenoids & flavonoids which can help to prevent cancer;

– is low in calories & high in fibre, so it’s great for digestion;

– is an anti-inflammatory food with lots of omega-3 fatty acids, which help to fight inflammatory and autoimmune disorders.

Kale is a very versatile plant that can be cooked in many ways, including steaming, stir-fries and salads … oh, and chips!

If you’re looking for more recipe inspiration take a look at my ebook, Easy Wholefood Lunchboxes.

It’s packed with 40 delicious nut-free, refined sugar free sweet and savoury recipes which have all been kid-tested and approved and take the guess work out of what delicious, healthy food to pack your kids for lunch!

Other snack ideas you might like are Chewy Choc-Banana Biscuits and Raw Caramel Slice.

;

Sweet potato:
Sweet potato is full of important vitamins like B6 vitamins which is great for our hearts, Vitamin C which wards of colds & flu’s, Vitamin D which is critical for our immune system, iron which gives us energy, magnesium which relaxes us and potassium which helps to lower blood pressure.
It is also high in fibre which helps us to burn energy more slowly and efficiently.

Coconut Oil:
Coconut oil boosts HDL cholesterol (our good cholesterol), it’s high in anti-oxidants, anti-microbial and increases satiety. This oil stays stable (and therefore safe for our health) when cooking at high-temperatures.

Many of the ingredients in this recipe can be sourced from my one-stop-favourite, organic wholefoods online store, The Wholefood Collective. They go to great lengths to ensure everything they source is amazing quality, they stock all my favorite products and I don’t even have to leave the house! Oh and the cherry on the cake is they donate profits to improve food security for vulnerable Aussies.

Here are some of the ingredients you’ll need:

Coconut oil
Salt and black pepper

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Sweet Potato Chips

Author Brenda Janschek

Ingredients

• 2 large sweet potatoes
• 2 tablespoons of melted coconut oil heat in a ramekin in the oven for a couple minutes
• Salt (I prefer Himalayan rock salt or Celtic sea salt)
• Black pepper freshly ground

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 175 degrees C
• Peel the sweet potato and cut into wedges or thick fries
• Place in a bowl and toss with melted coconut oil, salt and pepper
• Place the wedges on baking paper on a large pan
• Bake for approx 45 mins
• Check after 30 mins and spin tray and sweet potato around

Notes

Add ¼ teaspoon of smoked paprika, cinnamon or nutmeg or add rosemary to sweet potato wedges for variety.
Making double the recipe means busy parents have a healthy snack on hand for lunch-boxes and after school.

Bren x