MEAL PLAN #15

So, how about this weather we've been having?! Swimming and ice cream are definitely the two things to be enjoying at the moment. Lets hope the warm weather continues, although a few puffs of cooling breeze would be nice here and there!

Meal Plan #15:

Vietnamese Pho - A good Thai style soup has been my go-to lately. I love my Tom Yum soup recipe, but have decided to broaden my horizons and try a few different recipes. I love a good Pho, and although I can't say I've found a brilliant recipe as of yet, the few adaptions I made to the recipe that this soup is based on, makes it pretty damn good in my opinion!

Fish Burgers - The best kind of burgers to make in a hurry.

Brown Rice Salad - You can prep the rice, make the dressing and roast the vegetables in advance but I advise you to assemble the salad just before serving.

Butter Chicken - Butter Chicken isn't my favourite curry, in fact I've never, ever ordered one before. This recipe however, is de-lish! We made a double sauce recipe and chucked half of it in the freezer for another night.

Pot Roast Meatloaf - The classic meatloaf. Yum. I experimented with a chickpea version, but it needs tweaking. Hopefully I'll get around to it soon, and get it on a future meal plan for you.

Falafel Platter - Did you know that falafel is really easy too make? I didn't realise just how simple they were until I made some over the Christmas break. I think these will become a regular for us.

Download Meal Plan #15 here.

MEAL PLAN #14

Gosh, I'm having one of those weeks where I keep losing track of what day it is. I didn't realise it was Wednesday today, and almost forgot to post Meal Plan #14!

This weeks plan consists of the following six recipes:

Frittata Loaf I love how easy frittatas are to make. You can mix them up by adding any combination of vegetables you like, and they are just as good served cold as they are warm. The frittata is a great recipe for making in advance.

One pot chicken & lemon rice This is my favourite dinner this week. For a simple dish, it packs a lot of flavour.

Chickpea burgers We made enough patties for two burgers each, but could only manage to eat one! It meant we had lunch the next day, so I wasn't complaining :)

Vietnamese meatballs with noodles There is only one word for this dinner, and that is YUM! I love Thai flavours.

Zucchini & kumara skillet hash Breakfast for dinner?!

Thai quinoa salad We have two Thai flavoured dishes this week, simply because I wanted to try and finish my bag of mung beans before they went off!

Download Meal Plan #14 here.

MEAL PLAN #13

Welcome back! I can't believe how quickly the summer holidays have come and gone. I hope you all had a nice time off.

Our first meal plan for 2016 includes a few heartier dishes than we would perhaps normally eat during the summer months, but with the wet weather we've been having I've been in the mood for some more comforting meals.

This weeks menu is as follows:

Japanese meatballs in a lovely broth

Pulled pork. This is my favourite recipe for the week. I made it up as I went and think I absolutely nailed it :) Serve with tortilla wraps as an alternative to kumara mash.

Roast potato & asparagus salad

Dutch stampot

Friday night pizza. I have included the cauliflower pizza base recipe, but feel free to buy pre-made bases if you're feeling time poor. If I'm making enough pizza for lunch the next day then I tend not to make a cauliflower base as it goes a little soggy overnight.

Vegetarian bolognese

Download Meal Plan #13 here

DARK CHOCOLATE 'PLUMBLE'

Inspired by my friend Suzy's breakfast crumble, I made mini 'DARK CHOCOLATE 'PLUMBLE' which can be enjoyed for breakfast or dessert.

I used 10cm round ramekins per person.

Ingredients below are per ramekin. The great thing about making crumble is that the ingredients can be easily adjusted to suit any dish size - I usually make put the quantities as I go.

BASE:
3 medium sized plums, halved and pip removed
A sprinkle of vanilla essence
1/2 tbsp rice malt syrup, maple syrup or honey (add more sweetener if you like your plums to be less tart)

TOPPING:
2 tbsp shredded coconut
3 tbsp almond meal, or oats
2 squares of 85% Green & Blacks chocolate, thinly chopped
2 tbsp slivered almonds
1 tbsp sesame seeds, or other seeds of your choice
1 tbsp coconut oil, melted

Preheat oven to 180c

Arrange plum halves in your ramekin/dish. Sprinkle with vanilla essence & drizzle with rice malt syrup.

Mix topping ingredients in a small bowl until lightly coated with the coconut oil. Press into ramekin on top of plums.

Bake in oven for 10–15mins or until golden.

Serve with a little coconut cream or yoghurt.

Plums & dark chocolate = a match made in heaven
x