Power Bars

These were an experiment and i tried to remember how much of each ingredient i used. Please let me know if you try this and whether it works out for you. They were so yummy!

Ingredients

• About 1 packed cup chopped dates
• 1/2 cup honey
• 1 Tbsp. ground chia seeds
• 1 Tbsp. ground flax seeds 
• pinch of salt
• 1 1/2 cups old-fashioned oats (dry, not cooked)
• 1 cup shelled pistachio nuts
• 1 cup dried cranberries
• 1/3 cup white chocolate chips (optional - but so good!)
• 1/3 cup egg whites (or 1 egg and 1 egg white)
• 1 Scoop of protein powder - vanilla or plain is best.
• 1/4 cup of wheat bran

Method

Preheat the oven at 190 degrees Celsius.

Combine the dates, honey, eggs, chia seeds, flax seeds and salt in a food processor, and pulse until smooth and combined. You should be able to stir the mixture. Transfer the mixture to a large bowl and stir in the oats, pistachios, dried cranberries, protein powder, wheat bran and white chocolate chips until evenly combined.

Pour into a baking paper lined 20cm by 20cm square tin. Press and spread evenly into the tin. Bake for about 20 mins or until golden brown - keep an eye on it and use your intuition - times will vary for every oven.

Store covered in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks. 

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Tasty Italian for One

If you are both single and a lover of pasta like myself...then this is the perfect recipe for you! A dish full of vegetables and lean protein. A simple and quick meal if you use left over chicken and jarred or leftover roasted peppers but is full of complex flavours.

This was my creation from what I had in my fridge...enjoy! Best enjoyed with a glass of wine ;)

Ingredients:

50-80 grams of whole wheat spaghetti or egg fettuccine (dry - but fresh would be even better)
1 cup of cherry tomatoes roughly chopped
1 roasted pepper (equivalent of jarred roasted peppers) roughly chopped
250 ml of hot stock or seasoned boiled water
1\8 cup of grated cheddar or  grated Romano/Parmesan
5 button mushrooms sliced thickly
two handfuls of fresh baby spinach
1\2 cup of leftover chicken or smoked chicken diced
1/8 cup of diced red onion (brown onion is fine too)
1-2 cloves of garlic (the more the better in my opinion!)
1 Tbsp of balsamic vinegar
1/2 Tbsp of Tomato paste
1/4 cup of red wine
dried mixed herbs and salt and pepper to taste
Finely chopped parsley

Method:

1. Get a saucepan full of well salted boiled water and get to a rolling boil.
2. Add pasta and cook until al dente - drain and set aside 
3. In a fry pan, saute red onion until it starts to caramelise
4. Add balsamic vinegar, garlic, tomatoes and red peppers
5. Cook until the chopped tomatoes start to break down then add half a cup of the stock/seasoned water and the sliced mushrooms
6. One the 'sauce' has begun to reduce and the tomatoes have broken down even more, add the rest of the stock/water, tomato paste and the red wine.
7. As you go add dried herbs and seasonings to taste
8. After a couple of minutes reducing the sauce - add the cooked/smoked chicken, spinach and cooked spaghetti/fettuccine - when the sauce is a few minutes from perfection.
9. Once the chicken is heated through, the spinach is just wilted, remove and dish onto a warm place or bowl.
10. Sprinkle with grated cheese and freshly chopped parsley.
11. Enjoy!

This was a lovely dinner that can be bulked out to impress crowds easily.

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Rocking it Asian Style - Super Soba!

Soba, the Japanese buckwheat noodles most often served in both hot and chilled broths, appear here in a salad. They are widely available, usually sold in boxes or plastic bags in the Asian section of the supermarket. I've kept the vegetable additions basic, but feel free to put in slivered radishes for more colour or to substitute slivered green beans for the snow peas.

Cook Time: 5 minutes

Serves: 4

• 1 teaspoon coarse salt
• 200-270g soba noodles
• 2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
• 
  

Dressing

• ¹/³ cup unseasoned Japanese rice vinegar
• ¼ cup mild-flavored extra-virgin olive oil or other vegetable oil
• 3 tablespoons tamari or soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon grated peeled fresh ginger
• 1 garlic clove, grated

Vegetables

• 
  
• 1/4 red onion thinly sliced
• 100g snow peas, cut into ¼-inch diagonals (about 1½ cups)
• 1/2 bag of mung bean sprouts
• 1 cup of shredded cabbage
• 1/4 capsicum julienne 

• 1 medium carrot, finely shredded (about ½ cup)
• ½ cup thin matchsticks of cucumber (seeds removed)
• 1/4 cup of toasted cashews/peanuts/sesame seeds

Meat

  

  200g pork mince

  1 Tbsp sesame/peanut oil

  2 Tbsp sweet chilli sauce

1. Heat wok with oil and stir fry pork mince with the chilli sauce until golden brown. Set aside.

2. Bring a medium saucepan three-fourths full of water to a boil. Add the salt and noodles to the boiling water and cook until tender, 3 to 4 minutes. Drain the noodles in a strainer. Rinse with cold water. Transfer the noodles to a bowl and toss with the sesame oil. Refrigerate until ready to mix with other ingredients.

3. To make the dressing: In a small bowl, whisk the rice vinegar, oil, soy, ginger, garlic and salt until blended.

4. Add the snow peas, onion, carrot, cucumber, mung beans, cabbage and half of the dry roasted nuts/seeds to the soba noodles. Add the dressing and toss to thoroughly blend. Top with the remaining nuts/sesame seeds.

Serve cold.

Substitutions

-Substitute diagonally sliced asparagus, 1-inch lengths of green beans and/or mixed mushrooms.

-You can use any meat on hand - diced chicken/pork/beef etc.

This was a big hit in my flat! A real crowd pleaser!

I also found a brilliant website that is straight forward and allows you to compare two foods' nutritional content:

http://www.twofoods.com/

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