Dinner, Lunch

CHICKEN AND VEGETABLE PIE WITH A SPELT CRUST

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Pie. I love all kinds of pie, but I’ve been looking for a way to make it a little bit healthier. It’s actually a great vehicle for all kinds of vegetables and fillings but the traditional crust doesn’t add a lot of nutritional value! I’ve used a super simple spelt and olive oil pastry here. I find it’s best if you pre cook the crust, it doesn’t rise much so there is no need to weigh it down. You don’t have to pre cook it but it tends to disintegrate a bit if you don’t! This filling is also great with mushrooms instead of potato if you want to cut down on the starch, but I love potatoes and my boyfriend hates mushrooms (he’s pathological about it, crazy man) so this is the version i went with. The kabana sausage is also completely optional, it adds a lovely smoky flavour.

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Dinner, Lunch, vegetables

MUSHROOM, PEA AND SPINACH RISOTTO

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Risotto is severely under rated, I promise it is more than ‘wet rice’ or ‘savoury porridge’ (although The Katering Show‘s episode about this is a hilarious must watch for any foodie, as are all their episodes ). Once you’ve made it a few times it also becomes pretty easy and you can totally multitask and don’t need to spend the whole time laboriously stirring the pot! The other thing they have going for them is that you can make an impressive meal for very little money. And I’m a teacher so being frugal is kind of important haha. The below recipe is for a basic mushroom risotto with spinach and peas. I’ve added thyme and sage as these are lovely with mushrooms, and lemon as this is so good with the peas. You could add chicken as well! Get stirring…

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Dinner, Lunch, Salad

ZUCCHINI, PEA AND MINT SALAD

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This salad tastes like summer. Eat it by itself. Eat it with a vegetable gallette. Eat it with barbecued lamb or chicken or fish or steak. Mix it with pasta. Just do yourself a favour and eat it. It’s super quick and simple to make, tastes great and looks pretty. It’s also full of stuff that’s good for you. Green stuff, good fats, great things. So stop reading these words and skip down to the recipe.

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Dinner, Gluten Free, Lunch, Salad, sides, vegetables, vegetarian

KALE, LENTIL AND POMEGRANATE SALAD

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For me, summer means salad and BBQs and this salad is delicious with barbecued anything! It has great flavours and textures and is full of a variety of nutrient dense ingredients. I think kale has such fantastic flavour and texture when it’s treated correctly… but sometimes big undressed pieces of it can seem grassy or have a bit too much bite. Whenever I use it raw in a salad I like to roughly shred it and allow it to soak up flavour, it keeps its great texture still but doesn’t over power other ingredients. The lentils and quinoa keep mean that it works as a whole meal as well as in smaller portions as a side.

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Dinner, Lunch

MIDDLE EASTERN INSPIRED BBQ CHICKEN

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I am by no means claiming that this is a traditional middle eastern dish but it was those flavours I was thinking of when I came up with this. This is super easy to do, and full of flavour. You can get your butcher to butterfly the chicken for you or do it yourself (it’s really easy to do and you can always find a tutorial online!). I have also cooked this in the oven and it works just fine, but you don’t get the smoky char of course! Delicious served with the KALE, LENTIL AND POMEGRANATE SALAD 😉

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Dinner, Lunch, Noodles, Sauces

ZUCCHINI NOODLES (COURGETTI) THREE WAYS

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Mushroom and Kale Stir fried Zucchini noodles
Mushroom and Kale Stir fried Zucchini noodles

I love pasta and stir fry. I also love vegetables and try to get as many of them in my diet as possible and a vegetable spiralizer is a fabulous way of doing this. The below recipes are some of my favourite ways to eat ‘zucchini noodles’ or ‘courgetti’ or spiralized zucchini if we’re going to be all honest about what food really is 😉

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Dinner, Lunch, Sauces

COCONUT POACHED CHICKEN SALAD WITH BLACK VINEGAR DRESSING

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Summer has hit Melbourne and I’m in the mood for salads and asian flavours. This dish combines those things. It packs a punch and feel free to adjust the chilli to your liking (i use the seeds as I’m a fiend but discarding them is always an option).

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Condiments, Sauces

KALE AND BASIL SUNFLOWER SEED PESTO

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This guy packs a lot of punch, both in nutrients and in flavour. It is fantastic added to pasta, pizzas, sandwiches, or with seafood or meat. It’s also good just with some avocado on toast or rice crackers. Seriously yum. I suggest you use a mortar and pestle for the sunflower seeds (or everything if you have a big one) as I find you end up with a better texture overall but I guess it depends on your food processor!

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