Tag: healthy

Menu planning has its advantages

[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ admin_label=”section” custom_padding=”0px|0px|2px|0px”][et_pb_row admin_label=”row” custom_padding=”0px|0px|27px|0px”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ parallax=”off” parallax_method=”on”][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text”]

So today I’m going to write about menu planning.

Towards the beginning of this month, I wrote about memory loss. I shared that I found the use of a calendar, a diary and my phone calendar essential.

Well, I have also found menu planning very useful. We have been a bit slack over the last month or two, so I decided to get back to it. On Saturday morning, drinking a cup of coffee, with a few of my favorite recipe books.

Menu planning, in our view, has many advantages.

Using my recipe books to choose the meals, we find we eat a wider variety of meals.

Without a menu, we found we tended to eat the same types of meals every week.

There are many books available with recipes for quick, easy, healthy meals. I find it inspiring to look through them and get ideas for an interesting dinner.

When creating the menu, I don’t choose what we eat on what day. Instead we found that creating a list of 6 different meals works best. This leaves 1 evening open for dinner out or with friends.

I bookmark the recipe books, so that either one of us can make a start on the evening meal. I’m lucky in the fact that Scott also enjoys cooking.

Planning the week’s meals means that we buy less groceries.

No more buying something that we ‘might’ use and have it sit in the pantry for weeks, or go bad in the fridge. We only buy what is required for the recipes on the list. Usually we manage to choose meals for the week that have some common ingredients.

Doing the weekly shop this way actually saves us money. As our food is always fresh and we buy very little foodstuffs in boxes.

My favourite Recipe book at the moment is a vegetarian one called ‘A Modern Way to Eat’.

So this week’s menu is full of interesting, tasty meals, mostly vegetable based.

Looking forward to some tasty dinners.

Till the next post,

Live clean n Prosper.

[/et_pb_text][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][/et_pb_section]

A Crunchy Brown Rice Salad recipe

[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ admin_label=”section” custom_padding=”0px|0px|0px|0px”][et_pb_row admin_label=”row”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ parallax=”off” parallax_method=”on”][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text”]

Hi. This weekend I was able to spend time with treasured friends up at beautiful Peregian Beach on the Queensland Sunshine Coast. The weather was lovely and we had a fabulous couple of days.

It was really great to spend some quality time, relaxing. Life is short and I think that it is essential to take the time to de-stress. It’s even better when you do it by spending time with people who are important to you.

With no research to share this week, I thought I would share another recipe.

I came across this Rice Salad recipe some time ago and adapted it to suit our tastes. I have made it several times for barbeques and parties and it always gets rave reviews.

It is really simple, quite tasty and nutritious.

 Crunchy Rice Salad – serves 4 to 6

3 cups cooked rice, cooled – I like to use a Mountain Blend as it has a nice tasty mix of rice

300 grams of Pumpkin or Sweet Potato (cooked and cut into small pieces)

½ cup chopped Parsley

2 green shallots finely sliced

½ cup finely sliced Snow Peas

½ cup Bean Shoots

1/3 cup toasted Pepitas/Pumpkin seeds

3 tbsp toasted Sunflower seeds

Dressing

1 clove of garlic crushed

1 tbsp sesame oil

1 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp soy sauce

2 tbsp lime juice

Method

I like to cut my sweet potato or pumpkin into thick slices and cook them under the grill so it gets a bit of dark caramelisation for added flavour.

While the potato or pumpkin is cooking – put the rice into a large salad and mix the dressing ingredients together in a jug.

Chop the cooked slices into small cubes and put it into the bowl with the rice and other ingredients.

Combine the ingredients gently with a large spoon.

Pour the dressing over the salad and give the salad another mix to incorporate the dressing.

 

This is great as a side dish or you could even have it as a main meal.

Enjoy.

Till the next post,

Live Clean n Prosper

[/et_pb_text][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][/et_pb_section]

My Zucchini Bake or Slice recipe

[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ admin_label=”section” custom_padding=”1px|0px|2px|0px”][et_pb_row admin_label=”row”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ parallax=”off” parallax_method=”on”][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text”]

Today I’m going to share another recipe. Last night Scott and I got together with a group of friends and I brought along a Zucchini Bake, sliced to share. I received a number of requests to post the recipe today, so here we go.

This Zucchini bake can be made gluten free, it is a healthy meal option and is great for lunch boxes.

The recipe is easy to make and is one way to get children (or fussy adults) to eat vegetables. You can substitute or add different vegetables depending on your preferences. However, I think Zucchini should always be included for the bake to work.

Nutritionally, the Zucchini is one of the very low-calorie vegetables and its peel is an excellent source of dietary fibre. Zucchinis are an excellent source of potassium, and also contain moderate levels of the B-complex group of vitamins.

Ingredients

3 x medium sized zucchinis

2 x medium carrots

1/2 onion or 2 spring onions finely chopped

2 x rashers of bacon finely chopped

(alternatively, I have made this using chicken and also tuna)

1/2 cup grated tasty cheese

1 x tbsp mixed herbs

a little bit of chilli or peppers gives a nice bite

1 x garlic clove – crushed

1 x tbsp olive oil

1/4 cup flour (I use coconut flour)

5 x large eggs

extra grated cheese to sprinkle on the top

 

Method

First preheat your oven to 180c

I use a grater attachment on my food processor to quickly grate the zucchini and carrots. If I don’t have grated cheese, I put  a small piece of cheese in as well.

Put the grated ingredients into a large mixing bowl and add the bacon, onion, garlic, cheese, herbs and mix together.

Add the eggs, oil and flour and mix to combine. Transfer the mix into a baking dish and bake for 40 minutes.

At the 30 or 35 minute mark, sprinkle the extra grated cheese on the top of the slice and return it to the oven.

This bake works really well as a main meal. We cut it into 6 large pieces and serve it with a salad. It also is great as a slice to share , as it tastes equally good cold. Just let it cool a bit before cutting it into squares.

It’s really easy to swap out the meat ingredients or add extra ingredients. Mushrooms and cauliflower also work well. If I add cauliflower, I only put in 1 carrot. The trick is to get the right balance of vegetables and eggs, otherwise it won’t hold together. I have found this out by experience.

I hope that you enjoy this recipe and have fun putting your own spin on it.

 

Until the next post,

 

Live Clean n Prosper

[/et_pb_text][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][/et_pb_section]