Friday, December 23, 2011

Some foodie inspiration

I read a wonderful blog called www.thevegiemama.com and found a great recipe for oven baked ravioli for the lil man.  It is a super quick and easy meal guaranteed to please. Click here for the recipe.

Another inspiration from this lovely blog was about a great magazine called Super Food Ideas, you can pick it up monthly for $3.25 per issue.  Crazy cheap and jam packed with recipes.



Today I made the Warm Tortellini and Broad Bean salad (above) for our lunch.....it was delicious and quick and easy to prepare.  I am all about convenient cooking. 

What inspires you in the kitchen?

Thursday, December 22, 2011

Fail Safe French Toast!!


This is my go to breakfast for the lil guy.  It is a huge hit, tastes great and is fantastic if you need to get on the move in the morning because you can take it with you.

You will need:

  • *One slice of thick sliced raisin bread (or regular bread)
  • *One organic egg
  • 1 heaped tsp Coconut oil
  • Blueberries
  • A sprinkle of love

Gently whisk one egg, dip bread into the egg and let it soak in on both sides. Heat coconut oil in small pan (you can use butter or another oil of choice if you prefer), then place the egg soaked bread into pan and allow to brown on each side.  Remove, allow to cool, cut up into fingers and serve with fresh blueberries (or which ever fruit you like).

Another version of this recipe is to add in a mashed ripe banana to the egg mix and then soak the bread.  This version is particularly popular in our house.  It is nourishing and filling for little tummies.

If your little one has any gluten allergies you can always use GF bread or try sprouted bread which is quite dense but very easy to digest.

Enjoy!!



Tuesday, December 13, 2011

Wake up to Gratitude


I stumbled across this wonderful TED talk today.  This is going to sound very "Dr Phil" but it is a wake up call....a wake up to gratitude.  I can put my hand up and honestly say that I am ungrateful on a daily basis, some may even say selfish or just living into being a victim etc etc.  Sadly I need someone or something to snap me out of my ungrateful funk, put things in perspective and then I can step back and say "well holy crap I really have nothing to complain about and everything to be grateful for....oh and by the way self....life is pretty frikkin amazing".

If you have 10 minutes to spare then watch this, if you woke up feeling grateful then this will just make your smile and your heart open more, if you woke up in an ungrateful funk then this will open your eyes and kick start your gratitude.

http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/en/louie_schwartzberg_nature_beauty_gratitude.html




Monday, December 12, 2011

Banana Berry Muffins



It is raining today and I felt like baking so had a crack at these delicious muffins.  I wasn't sure how they would turn out but rest assured....they are yummy.  I licked the bowl clean after I poured the mix into the muffin tin and then couldn't even wait for them to cool before I turned one out (evidence above) and gobbled it up.


makes 12 medium sized muffins

200 g almond meal
100 g desiccated/shredded coconut
1 large ripped banana
3 eggs
4 tbsp melted *coconut oil (you could also use butter)
1/2 cup yoghurt
10 medjool dates (seeds removed)
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla essence
1 tsp cinnamon
a pinch of salt

a sprinkle of love2 handful of berries (defrost first if frozen)

Set the oven at 180c
Add all the ingredients into food processor except the berries and mix for a minute.
Add the berries and stir around with a spoon.
Use a spoon to divide amongst muffin tin and bake for approx 15mins (or until golden on top and toothpick comes out clean).  Allow to cool slightly before turning out onto a rack.  



I don't know that I would freeze these muffins but I actually don't expect they would last long enough to even bother.


*check out this link to Sarah Wilson's blog for info on Coconut Oil
http://www.sarahwilson.com.au/2011/11/why-i-get-excited-about-coconut-oil/

Sunday, December 11, 2011

Raw Cacao Smoothie....


This has become a firm favourite of late, especially when the sometimes fussy 17mth old is refusing everything else.  I was inspired by two blogs I follow, www.greenkitchenstories.com and also www.mynewroots.blogspot.com I tweaked them to suit the lil mans taste buds (and mine).

*1 ripe banana
1/2 avocado
Handful of frozen berries (I use blueberries)
Handful of ice
1 tbsp raw honey
1 tbsp raw cacao
Sprinkle of cinnamon
1 tsp chia seeds
1 cup of filtered water (I have also used fresh coconut water which is delicious, you can also use coconut milk/cream)
**A sprinkle of love

Place all ingredients into a blender and blitz until smooth and creamy.  Pour into tall glass, sip and enjoy......you may even need a spoon to eat it.

*tip: when bananas are in season buy a few extra and when they are nice and ripe cut them into chunks and freeze, then you can use them in smoothies/baking etc

**please note that this ingredient can't be purchased in stores, it comes from the heart and a little is all you need as it is quite strong.

Thursday, December 8, 2011

What the books didn't tell me!


For as long as I can remember I wanted to be a mother.  I would quite literally stop strangers to goo and gaa over their little ones.  When we got pregnant I was happy as a kid in a cupcake shop, I read every book relevant to being pregnant, giving birth, babies first 12mths and more.  But here is what I have learned, there is NO book that can/will or does prepare you for pregnancy, giving birth or babies first 12mths.  I thought I had an idea of what it was all going to be like but somehow I totally underestimated just how hard it would be.  I struggled, I mean really struggled, in the beginning, the birth was difficult (my son was a giant 4.545kg) and I was not all glowy and overcome with happiness and warm fuzzy joy.  I was terrified, insecure and worried that I was going to totally screw up.  The realisation that I was suffering from post natal depression came whilst sitting with baby in my arms and watching the Melbourne Cup in 2010. As the winning horse crossed the line I burst into tears.....I promptly organised a doctors appointment. Yikes!!


The books don't seem to talk about the bad stuff, like how lonely and isolating becoming a parent can be.  The dynamics of friendships change and people fall away. But the upside is that it has also been an incredible learning experience for me, not only about how to be a parent but also about who I am.  Every day I learn something new about my son, myself and my relationships.  I have bad parenting days, bad girlfriend days (apologies to my very patient spouse) and bad "what the hell am I doing and who the hell have I become" days but they all allow me to dig deeper.  I am learning that I need to be more compassionate with myself and slowly let go of controlling everything.  Control is my safe place, structure allows me to function and hold it all together but  my son is a great teacher, he sees wonderment and joy in the simplest of things, his needs are basic and I have so much to gain from being his mother and spending time with him. 


So I choose to embrace the bad days, find the good in them, add a sprinkle of love, live with more joy and less control.  I will slip up along the way but that is ok, that makes me human.