Brown Rice & Beans with Ginger & Lime

Below serves 3-4

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• medium onion (diced)
• 1 cup brown rice
• 1/4 C Parsley
• 1tsp ground coriander
• 1tsp cumin (heaped)
• 1 14oz can black beans
• 1 C chicken broth
• 2 red chillies (diced)
• 2 garlic cloves (finely chopped)
• 1 tsbp grated fresh ginger
• Zest & juice of 1 lime
• 1 Avocado
• 1/4 C crumbled feta
• 1 14oz can tinned tomatoes (strained of juice)
• Additional lime quarters (for serving)

• Set the rice to cook in a rice cooker or pot
• In a pot, over medium heat, add the onion & garlic, stir occasionally until softened, around 5 min
• Add the ground coriander & cumin, stir for 1min
• Add the beans, broth, chillies & tinned tomatoes, bring to boil & reduce to simmer for 10min
• Mash beans down and stir in the grated ginger, lime juice & lime zest and let sit for another 1-2min
• Serve rice with the beans & top with the parsley, avocado, lime quarters & crumbled feta on top.

Thai Curry Noodle Soup with Garlic Shrimp

Adapted from a recipe by Heather Christo

Below serves 2

• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• Tiger Shrimp 10-12
• 1 tbsp fresh ginger
• 1 1/2 tbsp red curry paste
• 2 tbsp oil
• 2 C chicken broth
• 1 1/2  C lite coconut milk
• Fish sauce (dash)
• Rice noodles (enough for 2!)
• 6 white button mushrooms thinly sliced
• 1 red pepper thinly sliced
• Fresh cilantro
• 3 green onions thinly sliced

 

• Combine the ginger, curry paste & 1tbsp oil in a small bowl and mix well.
• In a pot, heat the curry paste/ginger mix over medium heat, frying the paste gently for 1-2 minutes.
• Add the chicken broth & lite coconut milk with the dash of fish sauce.
• Add the mushrooms & red peppers, bring to the boil and reduce gently to simmer (for around 5 mins.)
• While this is happening in a separate pan pour boiling water onto the dry noodles, let them soften, rinse well & set aside (portioned off into the 2 bowls.)
• In a frying pan heat the garlic with the remaining 1tbsp oil over a medium heat, add the shrimp and cook till lightly pink, but not overcooked! (this can happen alongside the noodles)
• Once cooked add the shrimp to the broth, remove from the heat and allow to stand for 1-2min.
• Pour over the noodles in the bowl and garnish with the coriander & spring onion.

Prep & cooking time – less than 30 minutes total.

Spicy Garlic Shrimp

Based on a recipe from RunnersWorld

• 3/4 – 1lb shrimp
• 2tbsp olive oil
• 1tsp smoked paprika
• 3 cloves garlic
• 2 dried bay leaves
• 2tbsp tomato paste
• 1 can white beans
• 1 large can tinned chopped tomatoes
• handful chopped fresh basil
• A few chipotle peppers (canned) add more if you want it spicier!

Heat a pan over medium heat. Add shrimp with 1 tablespoon oil and paprika (fry for 1-2mins). Add half the garlic in the last few seconds of cooking. Set aside in a bowl.

Return the pan to the heat; add 1 tablespoons oil, bay leaf, and remaining garlic. Cook till garlic is golden. Add tomatoes, chipotle peppers & tomato paste; cook till tomato mixture darkens. Add beans and simmer for 5 minutes. Stir in shrimp and basil, cook till heated through.

Serve with a baguette.

Quinoa Salad – With a bit of a kick.

Quick & easy!

• 3 C cooked Quinoa
• 3 Carrots (peeled & diced)
• 1 Zucchini (diced)
• 1 Red Pepper (diced)
• 1 can Black Beans (rinsed well)
• 1/2 – 1 C chopped fresh Parsley
• 2 – 4 tbsp minced Jalapeño ( I used ones out of a Jar)
• juice of 2 Lemons.
• 1/4C (or slightly less) Olive Oil
• Salt (to taste)
• 4 tsp Cajun Spice

First combine all the ingredients listed above into a large bowl and stir well (apart from the Quinoa, Olive Oil & Salt) .

Lastly add the Quinoa & Olive Oil into the same bowl, stir in well and then season to taste with Salt.

I’ve found this keeps OK in the fridge for up to 2 days without drying out too much as the Olive Oil helps keep things moist.

Carrot, Apple, Raisin & Pumpkin Muffins

Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees. This recipe makes 14 muffins.

In one bowl combine all the dry ingredients.

• 2 1/4C Spelt Flour (or any regular flour)
• 1/2C Oats
• 2tsp baking powder
• 1/2tsp baking soda (although i forgot to add this and it turned out ok!)
• 1tsp cinnamon
• 1C slivered almonds (can sub for any other nuts)
• 1C raisins (can sub for any other dried fruit)
• 1/2C Pumpkin seeds (can sub for any other seeds)

In another bowl combine all the wet ingredients.

• 1/3C Butter OR Margarine OR Coconut Oil
• 1C Apple sauce
• 2 Eggs
• 1/2C Maple Syrup
• 3 small carrots (grated)
• 1 apple (grated)

Combine the wet & the dry ingredients together in one large bowl. Use a non-stick cooking spray in your muffin tin. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 mins then remove and cool. Wrap the muffins individually in plastic wrap and store in the fridge as they dry out easily.

Recipe lightly adapted from here

Pea & Mint Soup

Frozen peas are fine to use with this one. Don’t be afraid to be generous with the mint & goat yogurt

• 1TBSP Olive oil
• 1 leek chopped
• 2 cloves garlic chopped
• 3 cups stock (veggie or chicken)
• 1 packet frozen peas (3 cups fresh if in season)
• 1/4 cup fresh mint ++
• 1-2 TSP fresh squeezed lemon juice
• 1/2 cup goat yogurt ++

• Over a medium heat warm the olive oil.
• Add the leek, garlic & some fresh ground pepper – 5 mins.
• Add the broth, bring to the boil then add the peas – cook for 10 mins.
• Remove from the heat, add the mint leaves and let stand for 10 mins.
• Blend the soup, stir in the lemon juice and goat yogurt.
• Add salt to taste

Salad Jars

Jars will keep for 4-5 days, just keep them upright and only shake in the dressing when you’re ready to eat them. The idea is the ingredients at the bottom (Sugar Snap Peas & Red Peppers) will sit ok in the dressing for several days.

Dressing. Amount of dressing used per jar is down to personal preference, below was enough for me for 2 jars (I used 1L Mason Jars.) I think you could easily sub in any vinaigrette based dressing here instead.

• 2tbsp Olive Oil
• 3tbsp Rice Wine Vinegar
• 1/2 tbsp freshly grated ginger
• 1/2 tbsp honey
• dash sesame oil

Salad. Put the dressing in first. Ingredients are then layered in, in the order shown from the bottom up. I think the ingredients used here are pretty flexible based on personal preference; just be sure to use ingredients in the bottom that can sit ok in the dressing for a few days.

• Sugar Snap Peas
• Sliced Red Pepper
• Edamame (shelled)
• Carrot Ribbons
• Vermicelli Noodles
• Red Kidney Beans
• Tofu Slices (lightly fried in canola & sesame oil, then doused in a mix of sweet chilli & soy sauce)
• Diced Cucumber
• Spinach

Shake jars when ready to eat! (you may want to add additional dressing on top like sweet chilli just before you eat it)

Recipe adapted from one originally by Lynda Diamond in Impact magazine.