Carrot Cake Cookies

I've had a hankering for carrot cake this week but really couldn't be bothered making a whole cake. Plus I've been meaning to make a big batch of something to stash in the freezer for after-kindy snacks and a cake doesn't really work.

I spotted some Sunflower Seed Cookies on Planning with Kids a while back and have had them bookmarked to try.

As always when I find a recipe I like I very rarely make it as written. Here I've switched around quite a few of the ingredients using wholemeal flour, carrot and pumpkin seeds which weren't in the original. I've also used dextrose instead of sugar to make them lower in sugar/fructose and added extra baking powder so they are more cakey. Think a not-too-sweet carrot cake but in cookie form.

My boys went nuts for these! They had 2 each with a glass of milk for afternoon tea desperately wanted more but mean mummy said no.

This recipe makes a huge batch so they will last for more than 5 minutes. Most of the batch is in the freezer and I'm looking forward to bringing them out for after-kindy afternoon teas. As they are nut-free they would also be suitable to pack in Oscar's lunchbox for kindy.

Carrot Cake Cookies
Inspired by Sunflower Seed Cookies on Planning with Kids
Makes 4 dozen

225 grams butter, softened
1 ½ cups dextrose (or white sugar)
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup plain flour
1 cup wholemeal plain flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ginger
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups rolled oats
½ cup sunflower seeds
½ cup pumpkin seeds
1 cup grated carrot (about 3 carrots peeled then finely grated)

Preheat oven to 180 degrees celsius /160 degrees fan-forced. Line 4 baking trays with non-stick paper and set aside.

Place the butter and dextrose a large bowl and beat with an electric beater until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time followed by the vanilla, beating well after each addition.

In another bowl add all the dry ingredients and stir to combine then pour over the butter mixture. When roughly combined add the grated carrot and enough milk to make a thick and slightly sticky batter.

Roll heaped tablespoons of dough into balls and place them onto the trays (12 per tray), leaving plenty of room for spreading.

Bake for approx 12 minutes, rotating the trays halfway through, until lightly golden brown. Leave the cookies to cool for 5 minutes then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely. Cookies will be soft but will firm up when cooled.

Makes approx 48. Suitable to freeze.

Christmas Rice Salad

I know I said I wasn't going to post any of my Christmas recipes but I made an exception for this salad. Because it is exceptional!

The original version was supposed to be made with quinoa rather than rice. We had the quinoa cooked on Christmas day but with all the other food we had, we totally forgot about it sitting there in the pot and ended up having to throw it away.

So a couple of days after Christmas I decided to make it with rice and use up all the yummy herbs etc that I had bought specially for it. While the nuts and cranberries do make it very festive and therefore perfect for Christmas, I guarantee it will be welcome at any BBQ anytime!

Christmas Rice Salad
Recipe by me

4 cups cooked brown rice
1 red capsicum, diced
1 green capsicum, diced
3 shallots/spring onions, finely sliced
100g cashews, roughly chopped
100g dried cranberries, roughly chopped
1 bunch mint, chopped finely
1 bunch parsley, chopped finely
zest and juice of 1 lemon
1 clove garlic, crushed
1/2 cup olive oil
2 tbs soy sauce

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and mix well. Serve warm or cold. Especially good served with leftover ham or roast turkey. Serves 8-10 as a side dish.

Pumpkin, Banana and Date Muffins

I've been on a real pumpkin kick lately, it's just such a versatile ingredient. Coming into summer here I foresee lots of roast pumpkin and feta salads, while from the northern hemisphere there is sure to be an abundance of pumpkin pie and cake recipes. Bring it on!

Ever on the hunt for healthy lunchbox ideas for hubby and the boys, I came across these muffins in a healthy lunchbox post on Fig & Cherry. I made a few small changes to the original recipe - using all wholemeal flour instead of half and half. I also added a mashed banana simply because I didn't have quite enough leftover pumpkin and wasn't keen to cook any more.

All my boys loved these. I think the banana upped the sweetness a bit and helped them to not be quite so pumpkiny (a bonus for my pumpkin-hating husband).

We took these for morning tea on our day trip to Underwater World last weekend and they felt like a real treat! Definitely made me feel better about the fish and chips we had for lunch later that day :-)

Pumpkin, Banana and Date Muffins
Adapted from Weight Watchers via Fig & Cherry

2 cups (300g) wholemeal self-raising flour (or 2 cups plain flour plus 4 ts baking powder)
2 ts ground cinnamon
1/3 cup (80g) brown sugar
1/2 cup (125ml) oat milk (or any milk)
1/4 cup (60ml) rice bran oil
1 egg
1 cup (250g) cooked mashed pumpkin
1/2 cup (100g) mashed ripe banana
1/2 cup (80g) dried dates, chopped
1 tbs raw sugar (optional)

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees (160 degrees fan forced). Line a 12 hole muffin tray with paper liners and set aside.

Whisk together the flour, cinnamon and sugar in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, mix the milk, egg and oil together. Pour the wet ingredients over the dry and stir until just combined. Fold through the pumpkin and dates being careful not to overmix.

Spoon the mixture into the prepared tray, sprinkle the tops with raw sugar and bake for 18-20 minutes or until cooked. Stand in the tin for 5 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack.

Makes 12 muffins.

Zingy Green Juice

After thinking about it for probably 6 months, I completed a 3 day juice cleanse last weekend and afterwards felt pretty damn good (longer post to come about the cleanse). In an attempt to keep that good feeling I have been detoxing my diet since then and just eating a bit lighter overall. Part of that process has been to keep up the juice.

I adore fresh juice and as we already had a juicer it's such an easy way for me to get a hit of nutrients in a tasty way. This green juice is really fresh and zingy and no one would ever know they were drinking 1/2 a cucumber and some lettuce leaves!

I watered some down and gave it to my boys who both loved it and wanted more!


Super Tasty Green Juice

3 large green apples
2 kiwi fruits
1/2 medium cucumber
6 large cos leaves
1 small lemon
2cm piece ginger

Juice all ingredients in your juicer. Serve immediately over ice. Serves 2.

The HULK Green Smoothie

Why the Hulk? Because it's green of course!

I know I am a little late jumping on the green smoothie bandwagon but it wasn't from lack of interest, rather from lack of equipment. While I am the queen of kitchen gadgets one thing I don't have is a blender (well actually I do have one that fits on top of my 35 year old Kenwood Chef mixer but it's pretty much useless so it doesn't count).

I saw this gorgeous green smoothie on The Healthy Chef blog and was immediately inspired to try it. I loved the tip she had about replacing the fresh spinach leaves and ice with cubes of frozen spinach. Genius!

I first attempted to make it in my food processor. It blitzed all the ingredients quite well but I was still left with lots of large spinach flecks. I then tipped the mix into a jug and tried to blend it with my stab mixer. It frothed up a bit more but still left lots of green specks.

Despite the fact it looked more like a herb bechamel than a smoothie I drank it anyway. It was AWESOME.

My 3 year old who watched me make it also had a taste and then begged to lick the spoon, the glass and anything else this smoothie may have touched. It was that good.

I took a pic of my now empty glass covered in spinach flecks just to have some sort of photo to accompany this recipe. Hopefully it doesn't put you off your breakfast.

Blender or no blender I will be making this again (and again, and again ...). Such a fantastic way to get in some extra greens and even better that it tastes so good. And no you can't taste the spinach at all!

Hulk Smoothie
Adapted from The Healthy Chef

As with most smoothie recipes this is very adaptable. You can use plain or flavoured yoghurt, any type of milk you like and any kind of sweetener. What you see here is what I used and really enjoyed but the possibilities are endless ...

1/2 cup almond milk
100g good vanilla yoghurt (I used Jalna)
1 ts rice malt syrup
1 ts white chia seeds
1 banana
3 cubes frozen spinnach
generous pinch of cinnamon

Combine all ingredients in a blender. Blend until smooth and serve immediately.
Serves 1.

Oaty Pancakes with Strawberries

I am the early riser in the family. Morning is my favourite time of the day and my alarm goes off at 5.30am every day. When the mood strikes I get up and exercise, or I'll just have a cup of tea and enjoy some peace and quiet, mentally preparing myself for another busy day with my 2 little people.

After yet another long week of illness in the food.baby household a yummy Sunday breakfast was definitely in order so that's what I spent my early morning doing.

Usually after having a breakfast of pancakes made with white flour and loads of sugar I will crash a few hours later, starving and with a headache. Recently though I've been making simple changes to our diet, swapping white rice for brown, always buying wholemeal or multigrain bread, reduced fat cheese and the like. So my challenge was to make some pancakes that the kids would actually eat while still being pretty healthy.

Oats are my breakfast of choice most days so that's what I used here and I was really happy with how these turned out. The batch of 12 disappeared in record time and with the strawberries on top it was the perfect start to our Sunday!

Oaty Pancakes with Strawberries
Makes 12 pancakes, serves 4.

1 1/2 cups self-raising flour
1/2 cup rolled oats
1 tbs sugar
1 ts vanilla extract
2 eggs
1 cup almond milk (or whatever milk you like)
1 punnet of strawberries
1 tbs orange juice
1 tbs maple syrup

Wash, de-stem and halve the strawberries and place them in a bowl. Pour over the orange juice and maple syrup and toss well to combine. Leave to macerate while you make the pancakes.

In a large mixing bowl stir together the flour, oats and sugar. Add the eggs, milk and vanilla and mix until well combined.

Lightly grease a large fry pan with butter and cook pancakes over medium heat 4 at a time (or whatever will fit in your pan). You should get 12 pancakes from this mix. Cook on the first side until you see lots of bubbles start to form then slip over and cook until golden brown. Continue with the remaining batches.

Serve warm with a big spoonful of strawberries and syrup. Yum!

Sunday Baking - Apple and Cinnamon Muffins

I've been thinking a lot about healthy lunchbox ideas recently. My husband takes his lunch to work every day (saving us literally thousands of dollars a year!) and always likes a little sweet something to have with his morning coffee. It's now also only a matter of months until Oscar starts kindy next year when having interesting and healthy treats will become even more important. 

These apple and cinnamon muffins are something I've been making for awhile and are a bit of a twist on what can be a sugar and fat-filled indulgence. They stay really moist and are perfect to freeze for lunches.

Apple & Cinnamon Muffins

Recipe by me

3/4 cup self-raising flour

3/4 cup wholemeal plain flour

1/4 cup rapadura or brown sugar

1 ts baking powder

1 ts cinnamon

1 cup rolled oats

1 cup low fat milk

1/4 cup coconut oil

1 ripe banana, mashed

1 large apple, washed and grated (skin and all)

1 egg

Preheat oven to 180 / 160 degrees celsius. Line a 12 cup muffin tray and set aside.

In a large bowl add the flours, baking powder, cinnamon, oats and sugar and whisk to combine. 

In a smaller bowl place the milk, egg, coconut oil and banana and whisk together. 

Add the grated apple to the dry ingredients then pour over the wet ingredients. Using a fork, stir until only just combined.

Spoon the mix into the prepared tray and bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown and a skewer comes out clean. Makes 12. Suitable to freeze.

I was pretty happy with this batch but they did stick to the paper cases a bit. Not a huge problem though and Oscar loved eating the extra 'cake' on the paper!

Super Toasted Muesli

I have a love-hate relationship with breakfast. If I have toast/pancakes/waffles etc by mid-morning I feel light-headed and stuffed from a carb overload. I know I need protein but I don't have time for a cooked breakfast and I am trying to stay away from just cereal and milk which I am heartily sick of. What to do?

Lately my breakfast of choice is a freshly made fruit and veggie juice, using some combination of apple, carrot, celery, beetroot, ginger, lemon, pineapple and spinach. Absolutely delicious and packed full of nutrients. Then an hour or so later I will have either porridge with LSA or toasted muesli with yoghurt.

I found this muesli recipe on Scandi Foodie and it ticks all the boxes for me in terms of what I want to be eating at the moment. I made a few changes based on what I had in the pantry and also made a double batch so I don't have to make it so often.

Super Toasted Muesli

Recipe slightly adapted from Scandi Foodie

200g rolled oats

200g rolled quinoa

1/2 cup dessicated coconut

100g raw buckwheat

200g seed and nut mix (mine had pepitas, sunflowers, sesame and pine nuts)

200g raw almonds

2 tbs cinnamon

100ml rice bran oil

2 tbs rice syrup

Yoghurt and dried fruit of your choice to serve

Preheat oven to 180 degrees celsius (160 degrees fan-forced). Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl. Add the oil and rice syrup and mix until well combined. Pour into a large baking dish and bake for 30-40 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes, or until the muesli is well toasted and golden brown. Remove and allow to cool on a wire rack before storing in an air-tight container. Serve with yoghurt and whatever dried fruit you like. I use sultanas and dried apricots. Yum!

Tuesdays with Dorie - Great Grains Muffins

This week I was delighted to have another muffin recipe. And even more delighted that they seem somewhat healthy. Now that Charlie is 12 weeks old I don't really have any excuses for not losing the baby weight, so these Great Grain Muffins chosen by Christine of Happy Tummy sounded perfect!

As with all muffins you simply tip the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir a few times and you're done. Mine baked for the full 18 minutes and I used both prunes and dried apricots.

The taste test ...

Straight out of the oven these were amazing! Moist and flavourful, not too sweet. As for the healthy part I worked out there are 221 calories and 9.5 grams of fat per muffin*. So a little high in fat but with all the grains and dried fruit you do feel full after just one. I think they would make a great quick breakfast and I have most of the batch stashed in the freezer for just that purpose.

Thank you Christine! A great pick and definitely one I will be making again. You can find the recipe on Happy Tummy.

* I used the recipe calculator at Spark Recipes to work out the nutrition info. This is a great tool to find the fat and calories etc in everything you make from scratch. That's if you actually want to know!

Tuesdays with Dorie: Oatmeal Breakfast Bread

This week's Oatmeal Breakfast Bread was another hidden gem. Well not hidden exactly, but I had certainly never noticed it until it was picked by Natalie of Oven Love!

It also falls into the ugly but delicious category because try as I might I could not get a decent photo.

Let me just say that I loved this bread. Made without any butter it is incredibly moist from the apple puree and buttermilk and the house smelt amazing while it was baking. Because it was so moist it was a little hard to tell when it was done but in the end it was perfect. I used raisins and dried apple in mine and it was fabulous.

I found the streusel topping a little hard to manage, as in most of it fell off every time a slice was cut. Next time I might skip the topping altogether so that I can toast a piece straight from the freezer.

Thank you to Natalie for hosting this week. Wonderful choice! Make sure you check out her blog Oven Love for the recipe.

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

Wow, 2 posts in 2 days! What is the world coming to?? Continuing yesterday's theme of wheat and dairy free treats, I made these Oatmeal Raisin Cookies a while back. Oscar is now at the age where it's really difficult to eat in front of him ie. he throws a bit of a tantrum if he can't have a bite! So having something safe for him to eat as well makes life a little easier.

Rather than start from scratch I adapted the Oatmeal Raisin Cookie recipe on Simply Recipes here. The changes I made were:

• swapped out the wheat flour for a 50:50 blend of white and wholemeal spelt flours along with a pinch of xanthum gum
• used a dairy free spread instead of butter
• left out the nuts
• cut back on the sugar (I used just 1/2 cup brown and 1/2 cup white and they were still really sweet)

The taste test ...

Chewy, spicy, sweet and completely addictive! I got 24 huge cookies and they make a pretty substantial snack. I froze most of the batch and they are delicious straight from the freezer. These are a definite winner and will be made again and again.