Healthy and Balanced Family Recipes

'My recipes are colourful, pretty, balanced and designed to inspire happy & sustainable eating habits'

Photo by S O C I A L . C U T on Unsplash

slow roasted tomatoes

Tomatoes are so beautiful at the moment.
Quarter 6 truss tomatoes, drizzle with 2tbs each of balsamic vinegar and olive oil, salt & pepper.
Place skin side down on a lined baking tray in the oven at 130 degrees for 1.5 hrs until semi-dried.
Toss through a simple pasta with tuna, lemon, olive oil and spinach leaves and you have yourself a simple and fresh dinner.

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8/20/2019 0 Comments

rainbow veg meatballs & spaghetti

My friends and I always joke that cooking for kids requires 1000 ways of reinventing minced meat. What’s your go to mince recipe? Here’s a new one to add to your repertoire as the weather cools:

Ingredients:
500g lean mince
1 carrot, grated
1/2 red onion, finely diced
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 small beetroot, grated.
Rice bran oil, for cooking

Method:

1. Combine ingredients in a bowl, mix well with your hands (wear gloves to avoid the beetroot staining).
2. Roll tablespoons of mixture into balls. 3. Heat a pan on high, add 1-2 tablespoons of rice bran oil and brown meatballs. Remove from pan.

Tomato sauce:
I made a tomato sauce with 2 cans crushed tomatoes, 1 onion, 2 cloves of garlic, 1 tb tomato paste and 400mls of boiling water. I added the browned meatballs, a can of drained kidney beans and 200g of @vettapasta spaghetti to the pot to make a soup. Cooked for a further 10-12 minutes. Seasoned and served with fresh basil and parmesan.🌿

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8/19/2019 0 Comments

sumac beef &lentils with pine nuts & tahini

Sumac beef and lentils with pine nuts and tahini:
A one pot meal that delivers iron, B12, zinc, vitamin C, protein, as well as plant-based nutrients and prebiotic fibre. Oh and big taste.
This is a good meal prep option, it will last a couple of days.
Serve options:
1. brown rice and salad
2. wholemeal pita pockets with salad and hummus.

Ingredients:
Olive oil
1 red onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
500g lean beef mince
1 teaspoon sumac
1 teaspoon cumin
2 tb tomato paste
1 can brown lentils, drained
3 tomatoes, sliced thickly
1/2 cup water
2 tb toasted pine nuts
2 tb Tahini paste
Juice of 1 lemon
Method:
1. Heat olive oil in heavy based pan. Sauté garlic and onion until soft
2. Add spices, toast, stirring, 30 seconds.
3. Add meat to pan and brown on high heat.
4. Add tomato paste, stir 1 min
5. Add lentils, tomatoes and water to pan, bring to the boil and simmer 10mins.
6. If mixture is too wet, take the lid off and cook on high heat until moisture evaporates.
7. Mix tahini and lemon juice, drizzle half over the top. Scatter with pine nuts .
Reserve the rest of the tahini for serving. Season dish to taste.
8. Serve with a simple green side salad

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8/19/2019 0 Comments

sweet potato, corn & black bean salad

Flexitarian eating is a diet that promotes both our health and our planet’s health. It is based mainly on plant foods, includes some lean meat, fish and other proteins (e.g eggs, dairy), whole grains and good fats.

Try this fresh and vibrant sweet potato, corn and black bean salad for meat-free Monday, it’s a great way to obtain phytonutrients, reduce meat intake and your environmental footprint:
2 medium sweet potatoes, cubed (skin on)
2 corn cobs
1 red onion
2 cloves garlic
1 can tomatoes
1 can black beans
1 can red kidney beans
1 capsicum, chopped
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon paprika
1 tablespoon olive oil
To serve: avocado, coriander, lime wedges, feta cheese, fresh chilli
Method:
1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees, place sweet potato on 1 tray, corn cobs on another. Drizzle vegetables with oil and roast until golden brown.
Whilst veg are roasting, sauté onion and garlic until softened, add spices and toast, 30 seconds.
Add tomatoes, drained beans, capsicum and a splash of water to loosen mixture if needed.
Cool until capsicum softens.
Chop corn into a mixture of small cob pieces and shaved kernels. Fold roasted vegetables through bean mix.
Scatter with coriander, diced avocado, lime wedges, feta, chilli and serve.

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8/19/2019 0 Comments

raspberry & pear tea cakes

Hands up if you like pretty, sparkly things? My philosophy is that the food we eat should be as beautiful as the clothes we wear. These raspberry and pear muffins hit the spot with their little bursts of pink yumminess (and are a healthy option too).

Ingredients:
1&3/4 cup wholemeal flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate soda
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/3 cup olive oil
1 cup low fat Greek yoghurt
2 eggs
1 small pear, sliced (skin on)
3/4 cup raspberries

Method:
1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees. Add dry ingredients to a mixing bowl.
2. Whisk together vanilla, egg, oil and yoghurt.
3. Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients, add the wet mixture and fold through.
4. Gently fold through pear and berries.
5. Place into a greased 12 half cup muffin tray and bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown.

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Nicole is a specialist Paediatric and Family Health Dietitian and Lactation Consultant, in private practice. She provides evidence-based, sustainable nutrition and feeding advice that supports optimal health and growth, and meets a family at their unique needs. Nicole graduated from Monash University in 2003 with a Bachelor of Nutrition & Dietetics, and worked as a Clinical Dietitian at a large metropolitan tertiary hospital, with Melbourne’s most critically ill, for over 15 years, before a career change to infant and family feeding.

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Healthy and Balanced Family Recipes

Categories

slow roasted tomatoes

rainbow veg meatballs & spaghetti

sumac beef &lentils with pine nuts & tahini

sweet potato, corn & black bean salad

raspberry & pear tea cakes