The way my whole family get excited for this Oven-Fried Chicken reminds me of when it was KFC night when I was a kid. But now we get mouthfuls of delicious flavour without that gross feeling afterwards. Blah.

And one of my biggest loves, no mess from frying either!

The mix of flour, spices and butter gives a fine crispy layer to the succulent chicken, and a burst of flavour with every bite. The little kick of curry is what makes this so delicious in my opinion.

Super easy to make, serve with oven-fried potato and sweet potato, steamed green beans and a green salad. Serve leftovers hot or cold the night after, or do as I do and pop in the kids lunchboxes the next day.

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:

Ground tumeric
Garlic powder
Dried oregano
Sea salt
Black Pepper
Extra virgin olive oil
Spelt Flour or Unbleached Plain Flour 

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

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Oven-Fried Chicken

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 45 minutes

Total Time 1 hour

Servings 8

Author Brenda Janschek

Ingredients

• 1.8 kg mix of drumsticks and wings
• 1/2 cup flour (I use spelt flour or unbleached plain flour)
• 1.5 teaspoons sea salt
• Lots of cracked black pepper
• 1 tablespoon sweet paprika
• 1 teaspoon turmeric
• 2 teaspoons curry powder
• 2 teaspoons garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon mustard powder
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 cup butter
• Extra virgin olive oil

Instructions

• Heat oven to 180 C.
• In a large bowl combine flour, salt, pepper, paprika, turmeric, curry powder, mustard powder and oregano.
• Place butter in either one large baking pan or two medium sized baking pans. Place the pans in the oven to melt butter.
• Coat the chicken with the seasoned flour mixture, putting 2-3 legs at a time into the bowl and making sure each piece is well coated before transferring to the prepared baking pans with the melted butter.
• Drizzle the chicken with a little olive oil.
• Bake the chicken uncovered in oven for 45 minutes - 60 minutes. Turn the chicken after 30 minutes and cook until tender and golden brown.

Notes

Serve with oven-baked potato/sweet potato fries, steamed green beans and large garden salad

If you make this recipe please 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. 

And remember, if you haven’t already, grab your copy of Easy Wholefood Lunchboxes here.

Other similar recipes you might like are Crispy Chicken with Garlicky Potato Cream Sauce and Easy Chicken and Vegetable Casserole. 

Bren x

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

Growing up in a Middle-Eastern family, one of those dishes was a popular cultural dish, mums delicious and comforting spinach, lentil and lemon soup.

Mum still cooks it for me. Well, to be honest it’s my kids she’s really cooking for these days. Every second week she’ll come around and stock my fridge full of foods to last up to three days, the selection based on the specific requests of my kids. Some of her popular dishes are za’taar, homemade pies, spanokopita and her cannelloni. It’s really special to see that they also love her lentil soup as much as I do.

It’s unassuming in in it’s simplicity, but manages to pack a truly delicious punch, and makes a perfect mid-week meal the whole family will enjoy and leftovers can be packed to take to work or school for lunch.

I’m often asked how to keep the food hot until lunchtime.

Well, it’s as easy as 1, 2, 3:

1. Boil the kettle and then pour the water into the thermoses, be sure to pop the lids on
2. Heat up the food
3. Pour out the hot water  add the warmed up food into the container,  then pop the lid on immediately.

Here are my fave insulated jars which have lasted me years:

Lunchbots Insulated Stainless Steel Container 470ml 16oz
In these containers I pack soups, pastas, any hot meals and also cold salads.

Kleen Kanteen TKCanister with insulated lid 8oz 237ml
I like this smaller size option to keep things cool like yoghurt, granola and fruit, overnight oats or to keep things warm like the chicken nuggets or smaller serves of things like soup, stew, pasta.

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

There’s even a delicious recipe for Kale and Cannelleni Bean Minestrone which my kids love taking to school in their insulated container.

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 or coconut oil
Lentils
Salt and pepper

Print

Spinach, Lentil and Lemon Soup

Prep Time 15 minutes

Total Time 45 minutes

Servings 5

Author Brenda Janschek

Ingredients

• Splash of olive oil or coconut oil
• 1 large onion finely chopped
• 2 cups red lentils
• 6 cups water or vegetable stock I throw in a couple of my frozen chicken stock ice-cubes too
• 1 bunch English spinach leaves washed and chopped
• 1/2 lemon juiced
• Sea salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

• Heat oil in a large saucepan or stockpot over medium heat
• Add the onion and gently fry for up to 5 minutes
• Add the lentils and water/stock and bring to the boil
• Reduce heat and simmer for 25-30 minutes or until lentils are tender and starting to fall apart, adding in spinach in the last 5 minutes of cooking
• Stir in the lemon juice just before serving and season with salt and pepper
• Ladle into bowls and serve with toasted buttery, garlicy sourdough and extra lemon juice to taste

Notes

You can blitz the soup until smooth if texture is an issue for little kids

On top of all the learnings of how to create, execute and cook a recipe, he’s learnt what’s involved in creating an eBook, as well as business concepts like costs, breaking even, profits and valuing your product. I’d love to think my kids are little entrepeneurs in the making!

So we agreed to share just one more recipe from our eBook, and based on a Facebook poll, the most popular recipe chosen from the options were these totally scrumptious SPICY CHICKEN WINGS.

Orlando pretty much created this recipe on his own and I have such fond memories of sitting together at the kitchen bench, sun streaming through the windows and foraging through the herb and spice box. From there he threw together a few flavours with a couple of other essential marinade ingredients and voila, spicy chicken wings were born!
It took him a couple of tweaks to get the balance right (he was initially a bit heavy handed with the cayenne pepper – ouch!) but the end result is sooooooo good and I’m one heck of a proud mum.

We hope you love this recipe as much as we do.

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:

Chilli powder
Oregano
Cayenne pepper
Paprika
Thyme
Onion powder
Olive oil or coconut oil

Print

Spicy Chicken Wings

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 55 minutes

Total Time 1 hour

Servings 3

Author Brenda Janschek

Ingredients

• 3 cloves garlic peeled
• 1 teaspoon chilli powder
• 1 teaspoon oregano
• ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
• ½ teaspoon paprika
• 1 teaspoon thyme
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 2 tablespoons olive oil or melted coconut oil
• Juice from half a lemon
• 700 grams chicken wings or around 7 medium sized wings (small drummies are also an option)

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 180 degrees celcius.
• Crush garlic cloves into a large bowl.
• Add all the herbs and spices.
• Add the oil and lemon juice and stir well.
• Pop the chicken wings into the bowl and massage the marinade in thoroughly.
• Place chicken wings onto a baking tray and cook in the oven for approx. 45-55 minutes.
• Serve with lightly steamed and buttered broccoli and green beans, or a side salad and homemade sweet potato and potato chips (these are seriously sooooo good, and also have a special herb and spice mix and can be found in the snack section of Real Food for Hungry Teens.

Real Food for Hungry Teens eBook

Created by certified health coach, Brenda Janschek, and her hungry, foodie son Orlando, this eBook contains a rich variety of over 20 nourishing, real food recipes designed to satisfy the tastebuds and growth requirements of developing teenagers.

Teenage years place a great burden on the body as it transforms into adulthood. These tasty recipes are designed to help our growing kids through this period of physical, emotional and intellectual upheaval with food that actually supports their accelerating growth, without simply resorting to a loaf of bread at each sitting.

Lucky for me, Kady is also an amazing recipe blogger and she immediately shot out two recent recipes she had created involving seafood, offering to share with me so I could try and blog it for others feeling fish-challenged. Clever girl that Kady!

I can honestly say that we all LOVED this dish, I wasn’t sure I’d get the kids over the line with the babaganoush, so I did mash potato (or as I like to do a cauliflower, sweet potato and potato mash) for them instead, but they tasted the baba and loved it too.

Kady recommends using the same recipe for the crunch, to make a granola – she keeps the mix in an jar and uses it on everything!

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:

Salt
Pepper
Coconut oil
Oats
Quinoa
Walnuts
Hazelnuts
Tahini
Parsley

Print

Crunchy Gemfish with Babaganoush

Servings 2

Author Kady O'Connell

Ingredients

• FISH
• 2 x fillets of gem fish or any other meaty white fish
• sea salt
• pepper
• CRUNCH TOPPING
• 1 tsp coconut oil
• 1 tbsp oats
• 1 tbsp quinoa
• 1 tsp walnuts crushed
• 1 tsp hazelnuts crushed
• BABAGANOUSH
• 1 eggplant choose a heavy dark one - they have less seeds
• 2 tbsp tahini
• 1/2 lemon juiced
• 1 small garlic clove
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 1 tbsp flat leaf parsley

Instructions

• Turn the grill on to the highest setting and put the whole eggplant under it. Leave for 5-10 minutes then turn sides - it should be completely soft and the skin starting to burst when its done.
• Take the eggplant out from the grill , cut off the top and peel away the skin.2. Place crunch mix in the oven at 180 degrees celsius for 10 minutes. Then add all crunch ingredients to food processor and blend to a crumb.
• Line a baking tray with baking parchment. Rub the gem fish with a little coconut oil on both sides and season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle the crunch mix on top of the fish
• Place the fish in the oven at 180 degrees celcius for 15-20 minutes depending on the size of the fillet. Use a knife to check if its cooked through.
• Place the eggplant meat into a food processor/ blender with the other babaganoush ingredients and blend until smooth.
• Spoon the babaganoush onto 2 plates and top with the gemfish.

Another seafood recipe the whole family loves which packs a power punch of goodness is this one for Sweet Potato, Corn and Wild Salmon Fritters.

Enjoy!

Bren x

With eggs as the hero of the dish providing the body with wonderful proteins, fats, vitamins and minerals, fritatta takes no time to whip up, is super nutritious, and oh-so-tasty. The carnivores were more than happy, and the the leftovers also make a great lunchbox addition. An added bonus is that frittata requires very few dishes to wash up (happily, for my husband!).

It’s versatility means that it is equally appropriate when served either hot or cold, and is perfect for breakfast, lunch or dinner. What can’t the frittata do? Well, it can’t be vegan, I guess!

Experiment with flavours you love and you can’t go wrong. Here’s the one we all loved.

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:

Basil or parsley
Salt and pepper

Print

POTATO FETA AND SPINACH FRITTATA

Cook Time 40 minutes

Total Time 1 hour

Servings 4

Author Brenda Janschek

Ingredients

• 2 potatoes peeled, cubed and parboiled
• 7 eggs
• 1 cup of feta chopped
• 1 cup cheddar or parmesan cheese grated
• 2 big handfuls of baby spinach
• 1 handful of basil or flat leaf parsley finely chopped
• 1/2 cup cream
• 1 red onion sliced
• salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 180 celcius
• Lightly grease a baking dish
• Whisk eggs with cream in a large bowl, pop in both cheeses, herbs, baby spinach (rip into smaller pieces), potato, salt and pepper and gently stir
• Pour into the baking dish and top with the red onion slices
• Pop into oven and bake for approximately 40 minutes
• Sprinkle with some extra herbs, cut into wedges or squares and serve with a dollop of hummus and a big garden salad

Notes

Serves 4 but I recommend doubling the recipe for a larger group or if you want leftovers

If you’re looking for more delicious lunch 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!

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 vegetarian dinner recipes you might like are Tex-Mex Burrito Bowls and Vegetarian Pasta Bake.

Do you have hungry kids who are bottomless pits too?

With my ‘planning ahead’ hat on, I thought about all the ways we could get more than just a meal out of them that day. I didn’t really have to think that hard either! Because of their size, they are perfectly suited for the kids’ school lunchboxes. And because they’re ready to go, they save oodles of time in the morning helter skelter. Or, you could simply heat up some of your stash for a quick heat-it-up-dinner with a scrummy salad for the kids if you’ve made plans to be out with friends (as I did that week!).

After a long Sunday of work, chores and cooking, I was incredibly grateful when the kids eagerly jumped up to take over the cutting of the pastry rounds, scooping the meat into the pastry, glazing with the egg wash, and sprinkling with sesame seeds. I was even more relieved when they gave the finished product the double thumbs up! (I’m always a nervous wreck waiting for their ratings!)

Because the pies are so little, they are a little time consuming to make, so I highly recommend making them as a school holiday activity and getting the kids involved in helping out. There are so many benefits to getting the kids in the kitchen, and it’s such a lovely way to connect with them too. You could also just make them into the bigger sized pies for a heartier meal or I’ve been known just to pop some pastry into a dish, fill it up with the meat mixture, top it with pastry and shove it in the oven!

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:

Oregano
Cayenne pepper
Curry powder
Tomato paste
Tamari
Salt and pepper
Spelt flour
Milk
Sesame seeds

Print

Mini Meat Pies

Author Brenda Janschek

Ingredients

• 1 brown onion finely chopped
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 3 garlic cloves finely chopped
• 1 medium carrot finely chopped
• 1 small zucchini finely chopped
• 5 mushrooms finely chopped
• 400 gms beef mince
• 1 teaspoon oregano
• 1 pinch cayenne pepper
• 1 heaped teaspoon curry powder
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 2 tablespoons tamari
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1 cup beef stock
• 1 tablespoon spelt flour
• 3 - 4 sheets butter puff pastry
• 1 egg
• splash of milk
• Sesame or poppy seeds

Instructions

• Gently cook onions in the butter in a large frying pan. Add garlic after a couple minutes and saute for a minute.
• Add the carrots and continue to cook until soft, then add zucchini and mushrooms and cook for a further couple of minutes.
• Add the beef and cook until it is well browned, then add the oregano, cayenne pepper and curry powder and saute for 1 minute.
• Stir through tomato paste, tamari, salt and pepper and then add the beef stock and simmer for a few minutes.
• Add the spelt flour, mixing well, and allow to simmer for 15 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 200 degrees C.
• Grease 2 x 12 hole muffin tins.
• Whisk together the egg and splash of milk.
• Using a cookie cutter or empty glass jar, and while the pastry is still cold but malleable, cut out circles to fit into the muffin holes and for lids (noting I stretched out the pastry circles a little further with my hands for the bottom of the muffin holes).
• Spoon in approximately two tablespoons of mince mixture into each hole (be careful not to overfill) then top with the lid and press sides down gently to seal the pie.
• Brush the top of each pie with the egg wash and sprinkle with sesame or poppy seeds.
• Bake in the oven for about 20 minutes or until golden.

Here’s my boy having fun helping out while my daughter continued cutting out rounds…then they swapped roles for the second batch.

Do you have any plans to cook with your kids these school holidays? What are you going to make? Check out the recipes on my blog for some easy and fun dishes you can create!

Enjoy!