I avoid most store-bought dips as they are full of processed oils, preservatives, sugar, and numbers.

Besides,, dips are so easy to make from scratch, literally taking no more than 10 minutes!

After receiving a massive pumpkin in my vegetable delivery box, I was determined to get inventive and spin a few pumpkin based recipes in ways I thought they might like #pumpkinhaters

I do love me a cooking challenge : – )

I’m happy to report big success with this pumpkin dip recipe, it went down as a perfect after school snack along side some vegetable sticks and wholegrain crackers and they loved it! It’s perfect to pack into lunchboxes too.

For 40 more scrumptious sweet and savoury recipes which are nut and refined-sugar free grab your copy of my Easy Wholefood Lunchboxes recipe book here. 

It pays to remember that even though kids may not like a particular vegetable one way, they may like it another. My kids are also happy enough to eat pumpkin when it’s this Pumpkin and Root Vegetable Soup, and paired with some garlic-y sourdough for dipping.

Print

ROAST PUMPKIN DIP

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Total Time 30 minutes

Author Brenda Janschek

Ingredients

• 500 grams pumpkin cut into 2 cm cubes
• 4 garlic cloves whole and unpeeled
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons plain or Greek yoghurt
• ¾ cup Greek feta cheese
• ½ cup raw or roasted cashews
• ½ teaspoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• cracked black pepper
• 1 tablespoon fresh coriander chopped

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 180°C.
• Place pumpkin and garlic on a lined baking tray, drizzle with 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil and toss. Roast for 20 minutes or until cooked.
• Place pumpkin, yogurt, feta cheese, cashews, cumin, paprika, sea salt, cracked pepper, and coriander leaves into a food processor. Process until a smooth dip forms.
• Spoon into a small serving bowl. Serve with vegetable crudités, wholemeal pita triangles, or seeded crackers

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. 

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

It contains 40 scrumptious sweet and savoury recipes which are nut and refined-sugar free.

Here are a couple of other dip recipes you might like – Auntie Helen’s Hummus or my Lunchbox Friendly Pesto.

Bren x

Fetch it out and transform them into this delicious, savoury snack.

Straight out of the oven they are crunchy and crispy. Once stored, they soften back up again, but follow my notes in the recipe section if you want your chickpeas to stay crispy for longer.

Serve them sprinkled over salads or soups, or eat them by the handful as a moreish snack.

Chickpeas make a great high fibre, high protein snack in your kids’ lunchboxes which they’ll just love munching on.

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:

Chickpeas
Extra virgin olive oil
Sea salt
Garlic powder
Paprika
Cumin
Chilli powder
Cracked black pepper

Print

Roasted Spiced Chickpeas

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes

Total Time 35 minutes

Author Brenda Janschek

Ingredients

• 400 gram tin chickpeas drained and rinsed
• 2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
• ½ teaspoon sea salt extra for taste
• ½ teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• ½ teaspoon cumin
• pinch of chilli powder optional
• Cracked black pepper

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 175 degrees. Prepare a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Dry chickpeas in a tea towel REALLY WELL. Remove any skins which have come loose. Leave the chickpeas to air dry for a few minutes.
• Place chickpeas in a medium bowl. Stir through olive oil to coat the chickpeas..
• Pour chickpeas onto the prepared baking tray. Roast for 25-30 or until golden and crispy. I like to stir them half way through.
• Remove from oven and toss with spices and salt while still warm. Allow to cool.
• Store in container for up to 3 days.

Notes

If you want your chickpeas to stay crispier for longer, switch off the oven and leave the chickpeas in there to dehydrate until the oven is completely cool. Even leave overnight.

If you know someone who could use some wholefood recipes please share this recipe with them. Feel free to share my FREE breakfast ebook below with lots of ways to “think outside the cereal box”

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 or #brendajanschek,  I’d love to see what you make!

Here are a couple of other easy savoury snack recipes you might like – Auntie Helen’s Hummus or my Taco Popcorn.

Bren x

I had to think quick and get creative before guns were a-blazing.

With some leftover chicken in the fridge and a couple tins of black beans in the cupboard, I saw a way of pleasing all the people and the idea for Tex Mex Burrito Bowl was born.

By simply throwing together a bunch of yummy things into a bowl, this dinner was an instant hit and you should see the smiles on the kids faces when they hear it’s Tex Mex Burrito Bowls for dinner. Sometimes feeding the family is just all about simple, fresh ideas.

These Tex-Mex bowls are fun, filling and delicious and can be served hot or cold, so it’s a great one to prepare ahead.

The Tex Mex Burrito Bowl is also a great example of packing as much nutrition into one delicious meal as possible. Here’s are the ingredients which help to upgrade this dinner into a powerhouse of goodness:

Bone Broth

In this case chicken broth is added to cooking the bean mix and is used to cook the rice in too.

Bone broth is loaded with nutrients that many people lack, and in a form our bodies can easily absorb and use like calcium, phosphorus, and other minerals, like silicon and other trace minerals, amino acids like proline, glycine, and glutamine (which have anti-inflammatory effects).

• It’s exceptionally healing for your gut,
• It treats leaky gut syndrome
• Helps to overcome food intolerances and allergies
• Improves joint health
• Reduces cellulite
• Boosts immune system

The benefits are endless.

Garlic

Garlic is loaded with vitamins like B & C, and minerals like calcium, potassium, copper, manganese, and selenium.

It also contains the active ingredient, Allicin, which is released when the garlic clove is sliced or minced or chopped. To take full advantage of the health benefits you should eat garlic within 1-2 hours of cutting into it. If you are going to cook chopped garlic let it sit for 15 minutes before cooking it. This allows for the allicin to be activated.

Allicin is anti bacterial, contains high levels of anti-oxidants, which helps to prevents cancer, has antimicrobiral properties so it’s great for skin, fights cold and flu symptoms. Lowers bad cholesterol and improves good cholesterol (HDL)

Kale

In terms of nutritional density, kale is virtually unparalleled among green leafy vegetables.

It’s got the highest level of protein out of all the vegetables.

Like beef, it also contains all nine essential amino acids needed to form the proteins within the human body, plus nine other non-essential ones.

It contains omega-3s in a beneficial ratio to omega-6, and is really rich in vitamins A, C, and K1.

It’s loaded with minerals including more calcium per gram than whole milk, and in a more bioavailable form.

Black Beans

They’re packed with protein and iron, they’ve got crucial minerals like copper, manganese, thiamine, phosphorus, and magnesium. So if you don’t use these in your Mexican dishes already, try to scatter them through.

Dulse flakes –which is a sea vegetable that has a strong umami flavour

 In many cases, seaweed is even more nutritious than vegetables from the land. Dulse, rich in proteins, vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. High in iodine which is a mineral that is used to make thyroid hormones, make efficient metabolism. It’s also crucial for breasts, skin, brain, stomach, salivary glands.

By seeking out a supplier with high standards and ethics, you’ll receive a true superfood without any risks of contamination or environmental harms.

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Olive oil is an essential fatty acids which provides the basic building blocks of fats and they have many roles within the body and they play a critical role in supporting your child’s physical, emotional and mental growth. They’re the fats that we can only get from our food, namely Omega 3 (which is the primary fatty acid found in the brain and Omega 6 (helps to support a healthy immune system). They help to …

• Promote heart health
• Protect your brain
• Fight depression
• Relieve inflammation
• Reduce joint pain

They are so important when we’re talking child development and in many of the nutritional diseases that arise later in life.

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:

Tinned Black Beans
Basmati Rice
Cumin Powder
Chilli Powder
Passata
Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Print

Tex Mex Burrito Bowl

A fun and filling family friendly dinner the whole family will enjoy.

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Total Time 40 minutes

Servings 5

Author Brenda Janschek

Ingredients

• Splash of extra virgin olive oil
• 1 small onion chopped
• 4 cloves garlic chopped
• 2 teaspoons Mexican seasoning or a mix of cumin paprika and chilli powder
• Two big handfuls chopped kale
• 2 x tins black beans
• 1 cup tomato passata optional: add if you know your kid prefers their Mexican with a tomato base
• ½ cup of homemade bone broth I used chicken broth
• Handful fresh coriander leaves chopped
• Squeeze of lime juice
• 1 cup cooked rice
• 1 corn on the cob steamed and kernels sliced off
• 1 avocado smashed up with lime juice
• 1 cup cheddar cheese grated
• Sour cream to serve
• Cucumber lettuce and tomatoes, chopped
• Leftover roast chicken optional
• Olive oil for drizzling
• Extra lime for serving.

Instructions

• Heat olive oil in a big pan on low heat and saute the onion for five minutes
• Add the garlic and kale and saute for a couple of minutes, then add the Mexican spices and saute for another minute
• Stir through the black beans
• Add chicken broth and passatta if using
• Stir and simmer for 5 - 10 minutes
• Assemble the plate with rice, bean mix, chicken if using, chopped lettuce, tomatoes and cucumbers, corn kernels, avocado smash, a dollop of sour cream and a sprinkle of grated cheese
• Drizzle the lot with olive oil and a good squeeze of lime

If you make this recipe let me know if your family loves it as much as we do, and please take photos and send them to me, or if you share them on instagram, remember to tag me @brendajanschek

You might also like these other family-friendly dinner ideas Potato and Zucchini Slice or Chicken Leek and Mushroom Pie

Bren x

It explains why some of the more cumbersome foods in their lunch boxes keeps coming back.

So much for teaching them to sit down when they eat and engage in mindful eating!

So I’ve started to focus on filling their lunchbox with bite sized bits and pieces that they can eat with one hand whilst slamming a hand ball with the other : )

These mini-quiches work well and boy do my kids love them! There was a lot of begging for a quiche from other kids too. So they seem to be a popular option for kids.

They are easy to make too, especially if you get your kids involved.

With over 200 lunchboxes to tackle every year per child (!), my Easy Wholefood Lunchboxes recipe ebook was  created for the parents dreaming up a constant supply of delicious options  to keep their children happy and satisfied, while ensuring they are receiving vital nutrients as they grow physically, emotionally and intellectually.

The Easy Wholefood Lunchboxes eBook is split into 3 sections

1. My recommended lunch boxes, containers, drink bottles; my easy lunchbox system; and preferred ingredients
2. 20 sweet recipes
3. 20 savoury recipes

Plus a gorgeous photography to accompany each recipe. Check it out here. 

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:

Milk
Salt and pepper

Print

Mini Quiche

Prep Time 30 minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes

Total Time 1 hour

Author Brenda Janschek

Ingredients

• 3 sheets butter puff pastry
• 6 eggs
• 180 grams feta cheese
• 100 grams cream cheese
• 1/2 cup milk or cream
• Sea salt and pepper
• 300 grams spinach chopped
• 1 big handful mint finely chopped
• Red onion thinly sliced
• Cherry tomato halved

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 175 degrees celcius
• Grease 2 x 12 hole muffin tins with butter
• Thaw butter puff pastry as per packet directions
• Pop eggs, feta, cream cheese, salt and pepper into a food processor and blend for a few seconds until mixture is smooth (ie feta isn't still in lumps)
• Pour into a measuring cup with a spout and mix through spinach and mint
• Using a glass, cut holes in pastry ( I used a cup with 9cm diameter) and place into muffin holes
• Pour the egg mixture into the pastry
• I alternated the topping with half a cherry tomato and thinly sliced red onion
• Pop into the oven for 20-30 minutes, or until quiches are golden brown
• Leave to cook in trays for 5 minutes then remove to a cooling rack

Notes

Delicious hot or cold

If you know someone who could use some lunch box inspo, please share this recipe with them!

And please take photos and send them to me, or if you share them on instagram, remember to tag me @brendajanschek

You might also like these 10 Savoury School Lunch Box Ideas and these 17 Sweet and Easy Lunch Box Recipes.

Bren x

This week I threw together this tasty Potato and Zucchini Slice for lunch and it was massive tasty hit for the whole family! Make a double batch and voila, you have lunchboxes set for the next day!

If you’re looking for more recipe inspiration take a look at my popular 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 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:

Spelt flour or gluten-free flour
Salt and pepper
Olive oil
Dried rosemary

Print

Potato and Zucchini Slice

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 35 minutes

Total Time 45 minutes

Servings 10

Author Brenda Janschek

Ingredients

• 2 large zucchini grated and moisture squeezed out
• 6 cooked chat potatoes skin removed and cubed (slice some for the top) OR 2 medium raw potatoes, peeled, grated and moisture squeezed out
• 1 cup parmesan grated
• 1 cup cheddar cheese grated
• 6 eggs lightly beaten
• 3/4 cup spelt flour or gluten-free flour
• ½ cup butter melted
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Olive oil
• 1 tablespoon dried rosemary

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 180C
• Grease and line a 20 cm x 20 cm baking tin
• Mix all the ingredients together until well combined.
• Pour into the baking tin, pop slices of potato on the top, brush with olive oil and sprinkle over rosemary.
• Bake for 30 – 35 mins until golden or when eggs are firm.
• Serve with your favourite salad or cut up vegetables

Notes

This slice would be dee-lish with some chopped ham or chopped cooked bacon!

I love seeing you create my recipes, so please send me your photos.  And if you share on social please tag me on instagram @brendajanschek or facebook.

Other recipes you might also like are my Mini Quiches and Healthy Lasagna.

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

It’s not every day you can just go and strike up a conversation about Tahineh (a delicious breakfast spread) or Mann al-Sams (Iraqi Taffy and my all time favourite sweet). Ta-what? Ma-who? So it was was a real thrill to be able to discuss these dishes with a real foodie after my own heart!

I don’t really cook traditional Iraqi food that much for my family. I leave that to my mum who visits every second Tuesday night with a truckload of Cooba bil Leben (Arabic meatballs in yoghurt soup), Fasoulia (white beans with lamb in tomato sauce) and Baklawa (Lebanese sweets, which she forgot this week, and is now in the bad books!).

Mjaddra is a wholesome, tasty vegetarian dish of lentils, rice and caramelised onions that I have always looked forward to when visiting my Lebanese Aunties and cousins. Having a fair idea how this simple recipe would go, I checked with my foodie Auntie (who made my favourite version … sorry mum …!) to get the benefit of her experience, and tweaked it to make it right for me (and you!).

Apparently this is an ancient dish that has roots in the Old Testament, being mentioned in Genesis as the dish Jacob gave up his inheritance for. He clearly had good taste, if not financial matters!

The recipe is inexpensive, easy to make and delicious. You could try to soak your lentils in an acidic medium and rinse off well before cooking (I did my rice too) the night before. This makes them both more digestible and quicker to cook. Don’t stress though if you don’t have time. It’s delicious served with Fatoush (a beautiful Arabic salad, which I will blog for you at some point) or a Cabbage salad and minted yoghurt.

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:

Lentils
Basmati rice
Extra virgin olive oil
Salt
Cumin
Parsley

Print

Lentils and Rice (Mjaddra)

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 35 minutes

Total Time 5 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 cup brown lentils
• 1/2 cup basmati rice
• approx 2.5 cups water use home-made chicken stock if not vegetarian
• 3 medium onions diced
• 2 tablespoons ghee or Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1 tsp celtic sea salt
• pinch of cumin
• Parsley chopped

Instructions

• Soak lentils and rice overnight and rinse well before cooking.
• Heat ghee or olive oil n a skillet and fry the onions on medium heat until golden-brown (approx 15-20mins). Pop in a splash of water to the pan if the onions start to stick to the bottom. Make sure the onions don't burn. Reserve half of the onions for garnish.
• Meanwhile, place the lentils and rice together in a saucepan, along with half of the caramelised onions and the water (or stock).
• Bring to the boil, then simmer gently with no cover, add cumin and mix.
• Stir occasionally until the mixture starts to thicken (10-15 mins)
• Add the salt at the end of cooking and stir.
• Serve on a platter and garnish with the onion set aside earlier and a sprinkle of parsley.

Notes

Mjadra can be eaten hot or at room temperature with a side salad and some natural yoghurt mixed with mint, lemon juice and some ground coriander. You could even add some Lebanese bread if you like. We ate it with a thinly sliced raw cabbage salad with some salt, lemon and olive oil drizzled on it.

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!

If you make my Mjaddra 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.

Other recipes you might like are Roasted Spiced Chickpeas and Mediterranean Buddha Bowl.

Bren x

Last Saturday I had one of those days. I was unstoppable! Which is another way of saying I was in a snowball-like frenzy. Yes, we’ll mash anything in this house, whether it’s food or grammar! Anyway, while Master 10 and his dad were doing the cricket and golf run, Miss 7 and I had the kitchen production line set to 11, churning out a variety of beauties.

While I like to create my own recipes, I adore discovering, trialling and sharing recipes by other wellness mums. As a result, we had lots of nourishing goodies to see us through the week, which dramatically reduced the drama of ‘what should I cook today?’

Here’s what I made:

Nectarine sorbet

Thermie made this delicious icy treat with only 4 ingredients – nectarines, coconut sugar, egg white and ice cubes. We had it as a special after dinner treat over a few nights. Mr 10 is desperate for a mango version so I’ll get onto that this weekend.

Choc-Mint Fudge

This one was made specifically for the lunchboxes, but has been gobbled down by guests on two occasions for afternoon tea. I love the extra boost of nutrition with the addition of pepitas. Pepitas are full of goodness like magnesium, zinc and Omega 3’s.

The recipe is by Cut Out the Crap and you can find it here

Gluten-Free Banana bread

I am mindful of reducing the wheat and gluten load when cooking for my family, and this recipe by Alexx Stuart is a total gem. It’s the second time I’ve made it, but this time I included the ginger. The whole family enjoyed it toasted for breakfast with a side of cinnamon yoghurt and frozen berries.

Mayonnaise

This is the best recipe ever! Another thermomix recipe from the awesome Quirky Cooking. I didn’t add the shallots cause I didn’t have any, and raw shallots don’t really agree with me anyway. Also, I used a mix of Avocado, Macadamia and mild Olive Oil. We dolloped it over fried barramundi one night and chicken schnitzel the next and dipped our vegetables in it both nights. Mr 10 has requested some chicken schnitzel for his lunchbox and demonstrated the (huge) size of the container to be filled with mayonnaise to dip his schnitzel strips into!

Pizza

Thermomix sure got a work out today! Next on the list was pizza dough, which Thermie conjured in a flash. I use Quirky Cooking’s spelt flour pizza dough recipe. We made the dough for pizzas to have the following night and topped them with home-made pesto, lightly fried garlic, red onion and kale, fresh mushroom and goats cheese. And there were leftovers galore for the kids lunchboxes. Yipeee!

 

Huevos Rancheros and Vegetarian Nachos Sauce with Kidney Beans

I was exhausted by the end of the day, but had two hungry men heading home and Miss 7 starting to bug me about dinner. Somewhat ironically, I couldn’t think of a thing to make! A deep breath and a quick search later, and Quirky Cooking saves the day again. This recipe is sure to become a family staple, it took 10 minutes to make and hit the spot after a long, but productive, day in the kitchen.

I also had some brown rice soaking to cook the next day so I could make the kids some sushi rolls for their lunch boxes.

The next day I spent lazing about the beach and swimming in the ocean – it’s all about balance, after all!

Do you ever have the urge to cook all day? What do you like to make? I’d love to hear from you.

If you are keen to learn about how you can create nutritious real food lunchboxes and how to make some of my favourite lunchbox recipes, check out my next workshop here.

Bren x

She has been an advocate for healthy, organic, clean living for as long as I can remember & we love sharing recipes and ideas!

Being of Middle-Eastern descent I am no stranger to hummus and I just love this recipe from my Auntie’s kitchen.

Hummus is a great idea because it’s high in protein, and is also a good source of fibre, heart-healthy fats and essential vitamins and minerals.

It’s so versatile and makes a great addition to lunchboxes with some vegetable sticks, it’s a quick and easy dip to make when you have guests, and is a delicious accompaniment to many meat dishes ( I particularly love it with lamb).

For 40 more scrumptious sweet and savoury recipes which are nut and refined-sugar free grab your copy of my Easy Wholefood Lunchboxes recipe book here. 

Now here’s a few reasons why hummus is so good for you!

Chickpeas

Chickpeas are naturally low in fat, high in dietary fiber, and rich in vitamins and minerals.

It’s a fibre-rich prebiotic food that can help promote a healthy intestine.

Tahini

Tahini is very easy to digest, and many of its nutrients find their way into the bloodstream within about half an hour of consumption.

Has high nutritional value, especially B vitamins which help prevent anemia and are an essential part of the running of the body and is a great source of fatty acids

Lemon

Vitamin C is an antioxidant and gives your body protection from free radicals, which damage your body and contribute to diseases. Vitamin C also helps strengthen your immune system.

Print

Auntie Helen's Hummus

Prep Time 5 minutes

Total Time 5 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 400 gms tin chickpeas
• 1 clove garlic
• 1/4 cup tahini
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 1/4 tspn sea salt
• 2 tbsps extra virgin olive oil
• 1/4 cup warm water extra if you like a thinner consistency

Instructions

• Place all of the ingredients  into a food processor and blend to a smooth paste. If the dip is too thick add some extra warm water bit by bit and blend until you reach your desired consistency.

If you share this 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 my Easy Wholefood Lunchboxes recipe book here. 

It contains 40 scrumptious sweet and savoury recipes which are nut and refined-sugar free.

Other dips you might like to try are Roast Pumpkin Dip and check out a bunch more delicious dips in this post, Dip-a-licious.

Enjoy!

Bren x