Healthy Recipes:

Who said food that is good for you can't taste good? Delicious and healthy recipes being added all the time!  If you have a recipe you would like to share with us - please send us an email, we'd love to hear from you.

Note: we recommend using organic ingredients and in-season fruit and vegetables whenever possible.

Sushi for Kids

Ingredients

• 2 cups short grain brown rice *
• 4 cups water
• 200ml sushi (rice wine) vinegar
• 1/3 cup soy sauce or tamari
• 1/3 cup reduced-fat mayonnaise
• 2 soft boiled eggs
• 1/2 cup grated reduced-fat cheddar cheese
• 2 tablespoons chopped chives
• 1 Lebanese cucumber, deseeded and finely diced
• 1 stick celery, finely diced
• 1 carrot, finely diced
• 1 tablespoon hoisin sauce
• 1 tablespoon honey
• Or try using avocado, tuna and mayonnaise, salmon, cooked chicken or tofu
• 8 sheets nori seaweed
• Bamboo sushi mat (available from supermarkets)
• Water bowl (to dip fingers in)
• Soy sauce or tamari to serve

Method

• Cook rice using the usual 2:1 absorption method.
• When the rice is just cooked, add vinegar and soy sauce.  Turn over and over to mix and allow rice to release its starch and become sticky.  Once the rice texture is gluey, place lid back on and cool completely.
• Combine mayonnaise, eggs and cheese in a bowl. Mash together, add chives and set aside.
• Combine vegetables with hoisin sauce and honey. Set aside.
• Place nori sheet on a sushi mat (shiny side down), wet fingers to stop rice sticking and spread with an even layer of rice, leaving a 2cm border at the top.
• Spread mayonnaise mix across the middle, top with vegetable mix. Lift the edge of the mat, slowly rolling it away from you. Use gentle pressure and roll until ends form a join, using wet fingers to seal nori sheet at end.  Remove mat and slice using a very sharp, wet knife. Repeat with remaining ingredients.
• Serve with reduced salt soy sauce or tamari.

* You can use white short grain or sushi rice, but brown rice is much more nutritious.

Vegan Rice Balls

Ingredients

• 1 small onion finely chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 1 tsp grated ginger
• 1 tsp organic coconut oil
• 1 cup of grated carrot
• 1 cob of corn (kernels only)
• 2 cups of cooked pumpkin (roughly mashed)
• 3 cups of cooked organic brown rice (preferably medium grain)
  (equivalent to approximately 1 cup of uncooked rice)
• ¼ cup organic hulled sesame seeds
• ¼ cup organic chia seeds
• ¼ cup organic sunflower kernels
• 150g basic marinated tempeh (chop finely)
• 1 tsp kelpamare
• 1 tsp dulse flakes
• 2 tbls tamari
• (1 cup of organic hulled sesame for rolling)

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180◦C. Precook the rice and pumpkin and set aside. Combine oil, garlic and onion in a saucepan and cook for 2-3 minutes. Add carrot and corn and cook for a further 3-4 minutes or until cooked through.
2. Place chia, sunflower and sesame seeds in a blender and blend for about 1 minute.
3. Combine all ingredients together in a large bowl and mix through well. Knead the final mixture really well. Roll into balls a little smaller than a tennis ball. Roll in sesame seeds and bake in the oven for approximately 30- 40mins or until golden.

(recipe courtesy of 'Honest to Goodness' www.goodness.com.au)

 Salmon and Sweet Potato Patties (great for pregnant women)

• 1 cup cooked, mashed sweet potato
• 200gm tin salmon
• 1 cup frozen peas
• 2 spring onions
• 1 x bunch fresh continental parsley
• Black pepper
• 1 free range egg
• Wholemeal breadcrumbs or oat bran
• Olive oil spray
• Baby spinach
• Cherry tomatoes
• Avocado
• Flaxseed oil
• 1 lemon

1. Combine 1 cup mashed sweet potato, 200gms drained tinned salmon, 1 cup of peas, 2 chopped spring onions, a pinch of black pepper and 1 cup of chopped fresh parsley.
2. Roll into 4 patties and dip each one into a beaten egg, followed by wholemeal bread crumbs or oat bran.
3. Cook patties in a non-stick pan for 3-4 minutes, or until each side is golden.
4. Alternatively, spray patties with a little olive oil and bake for 20-30 minutes in a 200 degree oven.
5. Serve with a mixed salad of baby spinach leaves, cherry tomatoes and avocados, drizzled with a dressing of flaxseed oil and lemon juice.


Pumpkin, Chickpea and Spinach Satay

Ingredients

• 2tsp peanut oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped
• 2 tsp grated fresh ginger
• 1 long red chilli, seeds and membrane removed, finely chopped (optional)
• 700g pumpkin, peeled and chopped into 2-3cm chunks
• 165ml can reduced fat coconut milk
• 1/2 cup vegetable stock
• 2 cups cauliflower florets
• 1/2 cup natural crunchy peanut butter
• 1 tbsp soy sauce or tamari
• 2 tsp brown sugar
• 400g can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
• 1/4 cup chopped coriander
• 60g baby spinach leaves
• boiled basmati or brown rice, to serve

Method

1. Heat oil in a large saucepan and cook onion for 4-5 minutes until soft.
2. Add garlic, ginger and chilli and cook for 1 minute, stirring to combine.
3. Add pumpkin and stir to combine.
4. Pour in coconut milk and stock, bring to the boil, cover and simmer for 8-10 minutes until pumpkin is just cooked.
5. Add cauliflower, cover and cook for 3-4 minutes until cauliflower is tender.
6. Add peanut butter, soy sauce (or tamari), sugar and chickpeas, stir to combine and heat through.
7. Stir in coriander and spinach leaves.
8. Serve satay with rice.

(recipe from Sanitarium - the Health Food Company)

Passionfruit Hummingbird Cake

Ingredients

• 440g can crushed pineapple in natural juice
• 1 cup white (or wholemeal) plain flour
• 1/2 cup wholemeal self-raising flour
• 1/2 tsp bi-carbonate of soda
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 3/4 cup brown sugar (or sugar substitute - honey, maple syrup, stevia, xyliotol, agave etc.) *
• 1/2 cup desiccated coconut
• 2 large ripe bananas, mashed
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 3/4 cup oil (try olive, rice bran or coconut)
• Pulp of 3 passionfruit

Method

1. Drain pineapple and reserve 1/4 cup juice
2. Sift flours, bi-carb soda, cinnamon and sugar (if using) into a large bowl.  Add coconut.
3. Combine bananas, eggs, oil, reserved pineapple juice, crushed pineapple and passionfruit.  Stir into dry ingredients.
4. Place mixture into a greased and lined tin.
5. Bake in a moderate oven at 180 degrees for 50 minutes.  Allow to cool before turning onto a wire rack.  Dust with icing sugar if desired.

* If using a liquid sugar substitute, be sure to reduce the amount of other liquid i.e. oil being used.  Also note other sweetners i.e. honey, stevia are sweeter than granulated sugar so amount needs to be adjusted accordingly.

(recipe from Sanitarium - the Health Food Company)

 Berry Yoghurt Pops (makes 8)

• 2 cups vanilla yoghurt
• 1/4 cup raspberries
• 1/4 cup blueberries
• 1/2 punnet strawberries, hulls removed and chopped (to get pink yoghurt pops, puree the strawberries)


Bliss Balls (makes 30 balls)

• 1 cup puffed rice or millet
• 1/2 cup desiccated coconut
• 1/2 cup sesame seeds
• 1/2 cup sunflower seeds
• 1/2 cup rice malt (or honey)
• 1/2 cup tahini
• 1 cup almond meal
• 1 cup chopped dried fruit (sulphur free if possible)

1. Place all the dry ingredients in a blender and mix together.
2. Gradually add the tahini and the rice malt.
3. Roll into balls and coat with either sesame seeds or coconut.


'Sunday Morning' Pancakes

Ingredients

• 1.5 cups wholemeal plain, spelt or buckwheat flour
• 2 TBS black sugar (brown or healthy sugar substitute i.e stevia, xylitol)
• 2 tsp baking powder (aluminimum free)
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1.5 cups low-fat dairy, soy, almond, oat or rice milk
• 2 free-range eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 TBS olive oil
• Pure maple or agave syrup
• Fruit i.e. blueberries, strawberries, bananas

Method

1. Mix all dry ingredients together in a bowl.
2. Make a well in the centre and add milk gradually, stirring as you go (to desired consistency).
3. Add the eggs, vanilla and oil - whisk until mixed.  Transfer to a pouring jug.
4. Heat a frying pan and spray with oil spray.
5. Add enough pancake mix to cover the pan in a thin coating.  Tilt pan to allow an even covering.
6. You can add fruit to the pancake now if you like, just sprinkle on top
7. Flip pancake when bubbles form all over the top and it is golden brown on the cooked side.  Cook until brown on both sides.
8. Serve drizzled with maple or agave syrup and topped with fresh chopped fruit.

* You can also use shape cutters to cut out different shaped pancakes, the kids will love it!