I had avoided making lasagna up until now because all those layers just looked like hard work to me.

Having finally relented I discovered that it’s about as simple to make as spag bol, with just one extra (easy) step in making the cheesy bechamel sauce! The mind can play tricks on you it can : )

I made the traditional lasagna healthier simply by reducing the amount of meat and increasing the amount of vegetables. I also cooked it in some homemade chicken stock.

Simply by doing these two things, I’ve increased the vitamin, mineral, phytonutrient and fibre content of the dish.  Also, cooking the meat in the chicken stock makes it more digestible, not to mention boosts the immune system and delivers all that gorgeous gelatin, collagen and glycine to the body.

Lasagna will be definitely making a regular appearance on my meal plans.

It’s hearty, filling and comforting, all the things my kids love.

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:

Olive oil
Tomato paste
Chicken stock
Dried thyme
Dried basil
Tamari sauce
Sea salt
Black pepper

Print

Healthy Lasagna

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 2 hours

Servings 8

Author Brenda Janschek

Ingredients

• 250-350 grams dried lasagne sheets
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 onion finely chopped
• 1 medium carrot finely diced
• 1 stick of celery finely diced
• 1 zucchini finely diced
• 1 cup mushrooms approx. three large, finely diced
• 4 garlic cloves minced
• 400 gms beef mince
• 200 grams pork mince
• 2 x 400gm can crushed tomatoes
• 1/4 cup tomato paste
• ½ cup red wine
• ½ cup chicken stock
• 2 bay leaves
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• ½ teaspoon dried basil
• 2 tablespoons tamari sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt and black pepper

Bechamel Sauce

• 3 tbsps butter
• 3 tbsps flour
• 2 - 3 cups milk
• 1.5 cup grated cheddar cheese
• Pinch of ground nutmeg
• Sea salt and pepper

Instructions

• Heat oil in a large heavy based pot over medium heat. Add onion and cook for 5 minutes, then add garlic, celery, carrots. Cook for another 5 minutes until softened. Add zucchini and mushrooms and cook for another couple of minutes.
• Add beef and pork mince breaking it up as you go.
• Once browned, add crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, red wine, chicken stock, bay leaves, thyme, basil, tamari, salt and pepper.
• Stir then pop lid on and simmer gently for 1 hour stirring occasionally. Remove lid and simmer for further 30 minutes until sauce reduces.
• Preheat oven to 180 C

Bechamel Sauce

• Make once meat and vegetable sauce is cooked.
• In a medium saucepan, melt butter over medium/low heat. Add flour and mix constantly for 1 minute and a smooth paste forms.
• Pour 1 cup of the milk in, mixing as you go to incorporate into the flour mixture. Once thickened add another cup of milk.
• Turn heat up to medium/ high. Stir occasionally, but when sauce starts to thicken, stir more regularly. If sauce is too thick gradually add in the last cup of milk, stirring as you go. Add in 1 cup cheese once the milk has thickened and stir.

Assemble

• Use a large baking dish.
• Smear a bit of the meat sauce mixture on the base, then cover with lasagna sheets. Tear sheets to fit if necessary.
• Spread over enough meat sauce to cover the sheets and pour over some of the béchamel sauce.
• Top with lasagna sheets. Spread with more meat sauce, then pour on more béchamel sauce. Top with lasagna sheets then repeat 1 more time.
• Top with a 4th layer of lasagna sheets, then pour over the remaining bechamel sauce.
• Sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup cheddar cheese, then bake for 25 minutes.
• Stand for 10 minutes before cutting and serving, serve with big Greek or green salad.

Notes

You could do only 3 layers if you don't have enough lasagna sheets, meat sauce and bechamel sauce

If you know someone who could use some healthy dinner inspo, please share this recipe with them.

If you make my recipes please take photos and send them to me, or if you share them on instagram, remember to tag me @brendajanschek. I get a total kick out of seeing you make my recipes.

And here are a couple other dinner recipe ideas you might love Summer Baked Meatballs with Kale and Juicy Tomato Sauce and Crispy Chicken with Garlicky Potato Cream Sauce.

By the way, do you follow me on Instagram and Facebook? I’m always sharing lots of ideas over there. Come say hi.

Bren x

If you’re not lucky enough to be soaking up some Fiji sunshine (hint: I’m not), you’re probably at home where kids can tend to get bored and Mums become chained to the kitchen.

So why not kill two birds with one stone without breaching any child labour laws? Go ahead and welcome the kids into the kitchen. It will give you a helping hand, keep them busy, and they’ll learn a thing or two at the same time. And I don’t even need to mention the bonding opportunities and memories this creates.

Kids learn so much when they chop, crumb, stir, roll, stuff, slice, measure and decorate. But remember to make it as much fun as possible. So, grit your teeth and be prepared for some, well, a lot of mess. Here are some fantastic recipes which may just help to unearth some new family favourites. Pick a few to make and instil confidence and the art and skill of cooking into your kids these school holidays.

Cooking with kids is one of the best ways to unfuss your fussy eaters too! It’s so important to help your kids have a healthy relationship with food from as young as possible. Involving kids in meal prep makes them active participants and gives them a sense of control from the very get-go. When your kids help with picking groceries, preparing food and setting the table, their curiosities are peeked, and they want to be part of the end result, which is eating the prepared meal!

TURN FUSSY EATING AROUND WITH THIS LIFE-CHANGING RESOURCE!
The Fussy Eating Bundle has you covered. Use our tried and tested strategies and solutions and help your children eat and love a wide variety of foods today!

You can source many of the ingredients in these recipes from my one-stop-favourite-shop, organic wholefoods online store, The Wholefood Collective. They offer amazing quality ingredients and value for money and they stock  all my favourite products and I don’t even have to leave the house!

Savoury

It’s oh so tempting just to make sweets when you are cooking with kids, but based on my kids cooking classes, I can promise you they love making (and eating), savoury dishes just as much.

Hearty Black Bean and Sweet Corn Quesadilla by Brenda Janschek Health and Lifestyle.

If you haven’t made this already, do yourself a favour, and get cracking on this recipe with the kids these school holidays.

It’s my son’s favourite recipe from the recipe ebook we wrote together Real Food for Hungry Teens, which has received rave reviews from kids of all ages. Such a super fun recipe to make and eat these holidays.

Avocado Brown Rice Sushi by Stace from A Healthy Mum.

Stace reckons her 3yr old loves mashing the avocado through the rice and popping it on the nori. Such a fab sensory experience for them!

Cheese and Seed Crackers by Georgia from Well Nourished.

Full of goodness , this recipe offers lots of opportunity for grinding, grating, rolling and cutting.

Perfect holiday fun!

Paleo Zucchini Bacon Bites by The Merry Maker Sisters.

With lots of opportunity for mixing, sifting and rolling, these delectable bites make for a perfect rainy afternoon activity for your toddlers or even your grumpy teens!

Baked Chicken Nuggets  by yours truly.

I love this recipe because kids of all ages can get involved in the cubing, peeling, dicing, rolling, coating and lining up on a tray…and who doesn’t love a chicken nugget? These ones are the bomb!

Stuffed Cucumber and Celery Boats from my recipe ebook, Easy Wholefood Lunchboxes

From experience in my kid’ cooking classes I know that kids just love to stuff food! From potato, to tomatoes, zucchini, celery and lettuce leaves. Look out for their faces beaming with pride when they serve the whole family their little stuffed boats : )

Baked Eggs by Lisa Corduff from Small Steps Living.

Now here’s an idea for the school holidays.

How about you have a sleep in, and let the kids make you this for breakfast? Often kids favourite meal of the day is breakfast, which means they love making it too.

Another great recipe for the tweens/teens to handle themselves, little siblings can help set the table, sprinkle the side with feta and herbs and a crack of salt and pepper.

Sweet

Oat, Seed and Date Bars by Brenda Janschek Health and Lifestyle.

My kids are teens now, yet they still love making simple recipes like this.

It’s a great way to show them how easy eating tasty, healthy can be and they love the quick result.

Healthy Chocolate Crackles by Sonia from Natural New Age Mum.

You won’t find large amounts of refined sugar or hydrogenated copha in this version. No siree!

Your kids will see for themselves what goes into the healthy version when they get stuck into making this easy, simple treat.

Rowdy Roll Ups by Amy from The Holistic Ingredient.

The kids will love seeing how all this comes together from scratch, with so few ingredients no less to get this delicious result.

Berry Smoothie Bowl by me is a great one to prove to kids that maximum deliciousness doesn’t need to come with a truck load of sugar and additives, just simple ingredients for the kids to whizz up before devouring it.

Coconut Rough by Ness from Becomingness reinvents a childhood favourite.

With your guidance, let older kids learn how to turn on the stove, and get their confidence up doing all the stove top bits (with your watchful eye), while the younger kids can stir and pour.

No Bake Peanut Butter Balls by Brenda Janschek Health and Lifestyle.

Enlist the kids and stock up the fridge with these power-packed goodies perfect for snacks.

Younger kids get to practise their motor skills with the rolling, older kids love measuring out just the right amount and ensuring all the balls are the same size (they do in my family anway).

My Favourite Home made Granola by Brenda Janschek Health and Lifestyle.

Great for breakfasts or snacks on the go, lots of opportunity to talk about the goodness in nuts and how fruit is dried.. Remember, cooking with our kids allows opportunities for learning all about food too.

There you have it, 14 fantastic recipes to make from scratch during school holidays. Remember, surrender to the inevitable mess and you’ll find so much joy in passing on the lifelong skill of cooking onto your children.

If mealtime is always a struggle in your house check out The Fussy Eating Bundle where our tried and tested strategies and solutions have helped thousands of parents help their children develop a healthy relationship with food. 

Bren x

I’ve been keen to find ways to use sesame seeds in my recipes because why not always try to add in some tasty nutrition.

Here’s a snapshot of why we want to try to include them:

• they provide a fantastic source of calcium
• they include a high supply of energy
• they offer the liver protection
• sesame seeds helps in healing wounds faster
• they are a great source of antioxidants
• provide a great source of fat for the brain

These biscuits are inspired by my favourite Middle Eastern biscuit my Mum makes called ‘Klecha’ and if you ask my kids, you won’t be one bit sorry you made these! Into the lunchboxes they go!

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!

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 of 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:

Whole Spelt Flour 
Rapadura Sugar
Baking Powder
Salt
Cinnamon
Ground Cardamon
Nutmeg Powder
Cloves
Sesame Seeds
Medjool Dates

Print

CHAI, DATE AND SESAME BISCUITS

Total Time 20 minutes

Servings 15

Ingredients

• 125 grams butter softened
• 1/4 cup rapadura or coconut sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 egg
• 2 cups wholemeal spelt flour (or any plain flour) or buckweat flour for gluten-free
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• pinch of ground cloves
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon ground cardamom
• tiny pinch of sea salt
• 3/4 cup Medjool dates, seeded and chopped
• 1/4 cup sesame seeds

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 180 degrees C.
• Line a baking tray with baking paper.
• Using electric beaters, cream the butter, sugar and vanilla in a medium bowl until light and fluffy (around 2-3mins)
• Add egg, beating until just combined.
• Sift in the flour and baking powder and add all the spices and stir until combined.
• Stir through chopped dates.
• Put sesame seeds into a small bowl.
• Shape tablespoons of dough into balls and dip one side into the sesame seeds and place sesame side up on the tray. Continue until all the balls are lined up on the tray.
• Using the back of a fork gently press down on each biscuit to flatten slightly.
• Place in oven for 10 - 15 minutes, turning tray once, or until lightly golden brown.
• Remove from oven and cool on tray for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack.

THERMOMIX INSTRUCTIONS

• Place the sugar into mixing bowl and mill 10 sec/speed 9
• Place butter and vanilla into mixing bowl and mix 2 min/speed 3
• Add egg, flour, baking powder, spices and salt and mix 10 seconds S 3.5.
• Add dates and mix 10 sec/reverse speed 3.
• Follow the rest of the instructions above.
• These are a fantastic addition to school lunch boxes.
• Enjoy!

If you make this recipe and share on instagram, remember to tag me @brendajanschek.

Otherwise feel free to pm me your photos via Facebook.

Some other delicious healthy lunchbox friendly treats you might like are these delicious Fig Bars and Raspberry Coconut Squares.

1) My friend Kristin Cosgrove who used to have a recipe blog when she posted a recipe for Apricot, Almond and Oat Slice on her gorgeous blog, which itself was inspired by…

2) Jude Blereau’s recipe from Wholefoods for the Family, and…

3) My son who, 9yrs old at the time, suggested that using apple instead of apricot just might actually make it taste like apple crumble AND that if I left out the nuts we could put it in the school lunchboxes.

When you are open to it, inspiration is everywhere!

This recipe is also perfect to take to picnics, or to have for dessert with a lovely helping of thick, rich cream!

If you’re looking for more recipe inspiration, take a look at my new recipe ebook which is getting rave reviews, 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

Print

Apple Crumble Slice

This slice is choc- ful of wholsemome goodness and is one is for the whole family to enjoy!

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 25 minutes

Total Time 40 minutes

Servings 10

Author Brenda Janschek

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups pureed apple *
• 1 1/2 cups plain spelt flour
• 1 cup of rolled oats
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 cup desiccated coconut
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/3 cup rapadura sugar
• 125 g unsalted butter melted
• 2 tsp natural vanilla extract
• *To puree apple place in small saucepan with small amount of water and a tablespoon of honey and bring to a simmer for 10mins. Remove from the heat, add 1 tablespoon of lemon juice and allow to cool. Mash the water and apples together with a fork.

Instructions

• Pre- heat oven to 180C and line a 20cm square tin
• Put flour, oats, cinnamon, coconut, baking powder and sugar in a bowl and mix well. Add the butter and vanilla essence and mix again.
• Spread 2/3 of this mixture over the base of the tin pressing down with your fingers.
• Spread and top your slice evenly with apple pureed apple.
• Top your slice evenly with remaining crumble mixture and gently press down.
• Bake for about 25 minutes or until slightly golden brown.
• Allow to completely cool in the tin before slicing into your preferred size pieces.
• The slice will continue to set in the fridge and therefore become more portable for school lunchboxes.
• Store in an airtight container in the fridge.

This slice is choc- ful of wholesome goodness and is one is for the whole family to enjoy!

If you’re looking for more recipe inspiration, take a look at my recipe 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!

If you make this recipe please do take photos and send them to me.

If you share them on instagram, remember to tag me @brendajanschek. Otherwise feel free to pm me your photos via Facebook. I get a total kick out of seeing you bring my recipes to life.

Other similar recipes you might like are Pear and Ginger Crumble and Raspberry Coconut Squares.

Bren x

Enjoy!

While my son’s friend gleefully munched on the chocolate, he explained how much he hated dark chocolate, even though he was eating dark chocolate right in front of our eyes!

What they don’t know won’t hurt them : )

This recipe was adapted from Sarah Wilson’s Sugar-Free Raspberry Ripe

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.

Ingredients:

1/4 – ½ cup Canadian maple syrup or organic honey

½ cup cacao

1/3 cup coconut oil, melted

a few drops of vanilla

frozen raspberries, handful

shredded coconut, handful

Preparation:

Melt maple syrup or honey, cacoa, coconut oil and vanilla on stove until mixed together and smooth.

Place a piece of baking paper on a plate or small tray and scatter with raspberries and coconut then pour the chocolate on top and freeze for an hour.

Once hard, break into shards and keep stored in the freezer or fridge and eat to your hearts delight!

I reckon it would also be nice with flaked almonds, mmmmmm!

Bren x