Simple Summer Spaghetti

A simple summer spaghetti, that is easy to make, and very tasty. The entire meal will only take you about 20 minutes to cook.

Ingredients:
1 clove of garlic (kept whole)
a splash of olive oil (plus a bit extra)
1 piece of pita bread, cut or torn into 2cm squares
2 punnets of cherry tomatoes, cut in half
a handful of spinach leaves (optional)
1/4 cup pine nuts
1 tsp salt
1tbsp sumac (this is a middle eastern spice, you can get it from your local deli)
1 packet of spaghetti or angel hair pasta
*As always, if you are cooking for adults, feel free to add a little more salt, and some freshly ground pepper

Method:
Place a large pot of water on the boil, meanwhile, in a large frypan or wok, heat up some oil and add the garlic clove (whole), pita bread, pine nuts, and roughly half of the salt and sumac.

When the water is ready, add the pasta, and cook until al dente.

Continue frying for about 2 minutes until the bread becomes crispy and golden brown, then add the tomatoes and spinach leaves, and continue frying until they are cooked.

Turn off, remove the garlic clove, and set aside until the pasta is ready.

Drain pasta, and add your bread/tomato mixture, the rest of the salt and sumac, and some extra olive oil, toss to combine and serve!

Lx

One Pot Wonder: Creamy Rice and Veg

This is a great mid week meal that is so easy to cook, and tastes delicious.

Ingredients:
1 tsp olive oil
1 clove of garlic, crushed
1 onion, diced
1 litre of vegetable stock (Cambell's Real Stock is safe)
about 3 cups of diced veg. I used carrot, zucchini and potato
2 handfuls of spinach leaves
1 and a half cups of white long grain rice
1/4 cup of soy or almond milk
2 tbsp nutritional yeast (you can get this from a health food store)
1/2 tsp mustard powder (add more if cooking for adults)
Dash of soy sauce (use kikkoman naturally brewed)
pinch of salt
**If cooking for adults add a generous amount of salt and pepper.

Method:
In a heavy saucepan or pot sauté the garlic and onion in the olive oil for a minute or two. Add all the other ingredients and bring to the boil, stirring regularly. Continue stirring, lower the heat, and simmer, uncovered for about 20 minutes, until the vegetables are cooked.

Take off the heat just before the rice is cooked, and cover and allow to sit for about 5 minutes - the rice should finish cooking during that time.

If your dish is too dry, stir through some extra milk.

Organic foods and Fruit Wellbeing

I believe that buying organic fruit and vegetables is so important for a number of reasons, your health being the first and most important.

When you get down to the brass tax of things, pesticides ARE sprayed onto the foods that we are ingesting. Nobody can dispute that, despite your standing on organic foods.

So what are pesticides designed to do? Of course, they are designed to kill insects, so why are we ingesting this poison?

The very food that is supposed to give us life is covered in a substance that is purposefully designed to do the opposite. 

Pay the farmer now, or the doctor later. 

Have you ever heard this saying? It should really say "organic farmer", but you get the point.

To save money on our organic produce I follow the dirty dozen/clean fifteen rule, where produce that uses very little pesticides can be purchased conventionally, and produce that requires higher amounts of pesticides I always purchase organic. *Buy corn organically, to avoid GMOs. **Buy organic tomatoes, to avoid bland tomatoes.

Washing your food will only get you so far, the pesticides are designed to withstand rain, and when sprayed numerous times on a growing organism, it must be within the fruit too. 

And don't get me started on GMOs! They don't even need to be sprayed! Why? Because the pesticide has been genetically grown within the food! No thanks.

You can learn more about GMOs by clicking here, or here, or even here.

Aldi have a large range of well priced, organic foods, including pasta, soy milk, pasta sauce, tomato paste, muesli and baby food. Unfortunately they don't have any fresh produce. 

We have been eating organic fruit and veg for a few years now, and the hardest part is sourcing good quality produce at a reasonable price. This is where Lachlan and Fruit Wellbeing come in. 

I recently discovered Fruit Wellbeing- an organic fruit and veg delivery company and haven't looked back! They stand ahead of anyone else in the game, for quality, price, and service. 

Your first order is 5% off and if you order more than $100, your delivery is free. Lachlan also offers a variety of fruit and veg boxes that he will deliver to you free of charge. 

Delivery is only on market days (Monday and Thursday), so the produce is guaranteed to be straight from the market- what is purchased that morning is on your doorstep that afternoon- you just can't get fresher! 

I can't recommend Fruit Wellbeing enough, I hope that you get the chance to enjoy fresh and delicious produce, the way its designed to be! 

Best Ever Spag Bol

This bolognaise is so delicious, and you could be fooled into thinking that it is made with real mince!

It is super quick to make, and can last in the fridge for a few days to make another easy meal.

The mince replacement is something called TVP (textured vegetable protein) which is completely additive free, and a really healthy and cheap alternative to mince. You really have to try it once, to see how lovely it is to work with. You can buy it from health food stores, and 500g will cost you about $8, but once you have prepared it for use, it will make 1kg of mince, which would roughly compare to 2kg of meat mince, because the TVP is a lot lighter.

Ingredients:

Dash of olive oil

1 onion, diced

1 garlic clove, crushed

1-2 cups of vegetables, chopped (I used eggplant, but you could use carrot, zucchini, peas, the list goes on)

2 cups of TVP, prepared as per package instructions.

1 jar Aldi's organic pasta sauce

1 can Aldi's organic tomato

2 dashes of Kikkoman naturally brewed soy sauce

1 cup Cambell's real vegetable stock

Pinch of salt and pepper

Method:

In a large and heavy saucepan sautée the onion and garlic in the olive oil until onion is clear, add the 1-2 cups of vegetables and allow them to cook for about 5 minutes, stirring. Add in the rest if the ingredients, and bring to the boil, and then simmer for around 20 minutes, stirring. Serve over pasta, or use in a lasagne. 

Additives- where do I start?

The curiosity surrounding additives is overwhelming. Almost every mother I speak to wants to know more, and wants to know how to cut these nasties out of their families diets. I wish I could go through everyone's pantry, or go grocery shopping with you, but unfortunately I just can't. So here are the ABCs of becoming additive free. 

A. Decide what you want for your family. Why do you want to do it, and what will you be looking for? Is it your son who is showing ADHD symptoms, or your daughter with athsma? 

These nasty additives can cause a myriad of nasty reactions, from tics, to anxiety, rashes, to tantrums, so your list could end up being quite long, but if you don't know what you are looking for, you won't know if it has worked. 

B. Choose when you will start your two week trial. 

Two weeks without any additives is long enough to see the difference (if any). You will have to plan for it, by letting grandparents and carers know what you are doing. Make the transition as easy on everyone as possible, by having meals and shopping lists planned, and plenty of back up foods.

Cutting everything out at once, instead of changing one thing at a time, will find you more success.

C. Time to memorise! 

Knowing what to look out for when reading ingredients will become easier as time goes on. In only a few weeks of being additive free I became an ingredient list speed-reader! I could point out a nasty from 20 feet away! Really. The first step is the hardest, it gets much, much, easier as the days go on. 

Below are the ingredients to watch out for. 

Flavours: 

Flavours are unregulated. Anything could be used to flavour a food. Steer clear of them, as usually they are nasty.

Flavour enhancers:

620-625 glutamic acid and all glutamates, MSG mono sodium glutamate

627 disodium guanylate

631 disodium inosinate

635 ribonucleotides

Yeast extract (most common) HVP HHP, hydrolysed vegetable/plant protein (most common)

Artificial sweeteners:

951 aspartame (found in diet and sugar free foods/drinks)

Maltodexrin

Colours:

102 tartrazine

104 quinolone yellow

107 yellow 2g

110 sunset yellow

122 azorubine, carmoisine 

123 amaranth

124 ponceau, brilliant scarlet

127 erythrosine

128 red 2g

129 allura red

132 indigotine, indigo carmine

133 brilliant blue

142 green S, food green, acid brilliant green

151 brilliant black

155 brown, chocolate brown

160b annatto, bixin, norbixin

Preservatives:

200-203 sorbic acid, potassium & calcium sorbates

210-213 benzoic acid, sodium, potassium & calcium benzoates

220-228 sulphur dioxide, all sulphites, bisulphates, metabisulphates

249-252 all nitrates and nitrites

280-283 propionic acid, sodium, potassium & calcium propionates

Antioxidants:

310-312 all gallates

319-321 (most common) TBHQ, BHA butylated hydroxyanisole, BHT butylated hydroxytoluene

D. Bonus round!

Don't worry if you mess up. If the kids eat something that slipped past your fingers, well, tomorrow is another day. But it gets easier. And as you begin to notice the difference in your children, you and the people around you will want to avoid these nasties, and then it doesn't seem so hard. 

Please email me your questions. I will also publish FAQs in a blog post to come... Leesa@cosentino.com.au. 

Lx

Busy Mama's enchiladas

Becoming additive free means so much cooking, that by the time it comes to my meal, I can't be bothered cooking anymore! I just want something for lunch that I can whip together. 

These enchiladas are spicy, and tasty and filling. They are perfect for grabbing a quick lunch that it still nutritious. 

I prepare the enchilada mixture on the weekend, and keep it in a container in the fridge, and assemble the enchilada and cook it when I am hungry. It is as quick as making a toasted cheese sandwich! 

**please note that the mission tortillas contain preservative 282, I am still searching for a tortilla that is safe**

2 cans of kidney beans, drained 

1 jar of Aldi salsa

Rice crumbs (or your own homemade bread crumbs)

2 tablespoons nutrional yeast (you can get this from your local health food shop)

Mission whole meal tortillas

Spinach leaves

*for best results prepare the enchilada mixture the day before.

Mash in a bowl the kidney beans, then add the jar of salsa and nutritional yeast. Stir in about a tablespoon of rice crumbs to dry the mixture out a bit.

Assemble the enchilada as follows:

Place in a snap lock bag to take to work if you like, 

And grill in your sandwich press when you are ready to eat.

Dessert cups

I put together these dessert cups using Pura Veda coconut yogurt and a few things lying around the kitchen. A clean, tasty and of course healthy dessert that the kids (and adults!) can have anytime.

Simply layer:

Banana,

Coconut yogurt,

Chia seeds,

Strawberry,

Maple syrup,

Shredded coconut,

In that order,

And top with a cherry.

You can prepare these ahead of time, and the banana won't go brown, as long as it is under the coconut yogurt. 

Lx

Some of my favourite safe products

Becoming additive free can be really daunting. I know that when I realised that we would become an additive free household, I stood back and looked at my pantry- feeling overwhelmed. Where would I start? 

I threw everything that had additives in the bin. I didn't even question it. The products, no matter how expensive, tasty, or useful had become a poison that was killing our son. 

Drastic? Maybe. But if you knew what we had been through with our son, then you would do it too. But really, should we be throwing our money at companies that put this crap in our foods, and then market them to our kids? I'd much rather support a company that has wholesome foods, even if it does cost more.

So below I have taken a quick series of photos of random products in my pantry that are additive free. As I find more great products, I will create new posts.

I'm also very interested in knowing about the great products that you have found. There is nothing better than a recommendation from a friend!

Jam. Good ol' raspry jam. You can get this from Aldi. 

Kidney beans and pears in juice. A great base for meals. These are also Aldi.

Fruit wise fruit straps, these are from Woollies, and only cost $5 for 10.

Rice crumbs. Next time you go to the shops pick up the "ordinary" bread crumbs and read the ingredients. It's like a novel. A novel written in another language. By a dyslexic author. These are from Coles or Woollies. 

Coconut water is great for smoothies and an alternative to juice for the kids. The natural sweetness means that you don't have to add a sweetener to your smoothie. This brand is available at Aldi, and is about half the price of coconut water anywhere else. 

Pure maple syrup, well this is really a no- brainer. It's so delicious. We have it everyday on our oats with a spoon of butter and some rice milk. You can buy pure maple syrup anywhere, but the cheapest is from Aldi.

Thickened coconut cream. I just discovered this in Woolies. I haven't used it in anything yet, other than my infant daughter's apple purée. I can't wait to try it on pancakes with jam. 

BBQ sauce. Of course, when you become additive free the first thing you throw out is all of your sauces. Which is a shame, because who doesn't love sauce? This BBQ sauce has a really lovely natural flavour, that is different to what I am used to, but I am really enjoying it. I have been using this in my cooking to add flavour. You can get this at Woolies or Coles.

The peanut butter is from Aldi and the soy sauce is from Woolies/Coles. Make sure you purchase the Naturally Brewed soy sauce. 

Our kids don't have cordial, but my husband and I love to have something sweet to drink from time to time (we don't have soft-drinks in the house), but the only cordial that I have been able to find without Aspartame has been Ribena. Until now. Not only is this lovely cordial aspartame free, but it is also additive free. It is sweetened with stevia, which I find has a strange aftertaste, but I am getting used to it. I got this from Woolies.

Well, there is my quick little pantry run around. I hope that you find this useful. Please let me know how your additive free journey is going, or for any blog requests!

Lx

Weetbix Slice

I made a weetbix slice this week, and the kids loved it, and friends are now asking me (little ol' me!) for the recipe, so here is it. 

Ingredients:

100g butter

1 cup coconut sugar

1/2 cup rice malt syrup

A handful of chia seeds

A handful of shredded coconut

2 weetbix, crushed

3/4 cup sultanas

1 cup rolled oats

3/4 cup self raising flour

Extra almond milk

Method:

Preheat oven to 170'c. Line a square cake tin with baking paper.

Place the butter, sugar and syrup in a saucepan over low heat, stirring, for 2-3 minutes or until the mixture is smooth and the sugar has dissolved. Set aside to cool slightly. 

Combine the remaining ingredients, except the almond milk, in a large bowl. Add the butter mixture and combine. If the mixture is too dry, add a little bit of almond milk until it is wet enough. 

Spoon the mixture into the tin and smooth the surface. Bake in the oven for 25 minutes or until golden brown. Set aside in the pan for 30 minutes to cool completely before cutting into slices. 

Hearty family pie

I have been a bit quiet lately. Things have been going down at home- child number 3, Henry, has proven to be intolerant to many preservatives, and nasty additives (such as msg). So, our house has had a big haul out of the pantry, and everything has been replaced with "safe" foods. 

These things are pretty nasty, for anyone, and so, when we experimented with H (who has had issues for a while now, but we couldn't figure out why/what) we also decided to experiment with the other kids. Who knew that my daughter, 5, Rosie, would immediately stop her daily oppositional, monstrous, defiant tantrums, and turn into a beautiful, caring, polite and compliant angel? Who knew that Georg, 4, who only seemed to know the language of whinging, and was always tired, to the point where he would beg (yes, beg) to go to bed at 5pm, suddenly become ummm, 'normal'? 

So, the benefits are amazing, and now friends are also experimenting with their kids, and noticing similar changes, they are more polite, they can play for longer periods, houses are quieter, families are happier... And so on. 

Our kitchen has been turned upside down, and so now I have had to change how I cook (no more fake meats), and what I cook with. Slowly I am figuring it out, and luckily tonight I cooked something that was a hit with the family. The ingredients that I list are all "additive free", which is really just a term for nasty additive free. There are about 60 or so to avoid, if you want some more information, please feel free to email me at Leesa@Cosentino.com.au.

Ingredients:

1 garlic clove, crushed

2 small/ medium onions, diced

Dash of olive oil

A cup of mushroom, diced

3 medium carrots, peeled and diced

1 smallish eggplant diced 

About 3 tablespoons of Kikkoman naturally brewed soy sauce

About 1 tablespoon of homemade veg stock paste (if you don't have this, then just add a little more of the other sauces/flavours)

About 1 cup of Cambell's liquid vegetable stock

About 1 tablespoon of Masterfood's traditional BBQ sauce

2 cans of kidney beans, drained and mashed

2 sheets of Pampas Puff Pastry

Method:

Heat oven to 180'c.

Heat the olive oil in a heavy pan ( I use my Dutch oven), and sautée the onion and garlic until just soft, then add the mushrooms, continuing to sautée, and the add the eggplant, carrot, and soy sauce until eggplant becomes mushy. When the mixture becomes dry add the BBQ sauce, and homemade veg stock, and a couple of dashes of the liquid stock. Stir until the mixture dries out again, and then add some more stock. Repeat this process until the veges are soft and cooked. The amount of liquid stock you use is up to you, I used about a cup. 

Turn off the heat, and add the mashed kidney beans, and stir to combine. 

Line a pie dish with the pastry, pop in the mixture and add another sheet of party to make a pie. Using a knife cut a big V (for vegan if course!) into the centre of the pie to allow any steam to escape, and bake for about 20 minutes, or until the pastry is crispy and golden. 

This pie should be hearty, and very tasty, with a meaty flavour. 

Enjoy.

Whoops Soup

Last night I accidentally made one of the best soups I have ever tasted. It was just divine.

I was doing that thing you do when you really need to go grocery shopping, but can't find the time, so you clean out everything in your fridge, and try to make something edible with it.

I had some celery and a can of tomatoes.

Hmm.

The beginnings of Minestrone maybe? Ok, lets give this a go. Whats the worst that could happen?

Well, it turned out delicious! Please try this next time you want something warm and nourishing.

Whoops soup.

Ingredients:

1 onion, diced
1 clove of garlic, crushed
1 litre of veg stock (I like Cambell's liquid stock)
About a cup full of celery, sliced
A dash of soy sauce (Kikkoman Naturally Brewed)
1 can of crushed tomatoes
about a handful of soup pasta

Sautee the onion and garlic in a heavy pot until soft. Add the stock, and when it starts to boil add the celery, soy sauce, tomatoes and pasta. Continue to simmer until the pasta is cooked.

Croutons.

Ingredients:
Sliced wholemeal bread (not fresh if possible)
olive oil
Italian herbs
Garlic powder

Put the oven onto 180 Degrees. Dice the bread, and place into a salad bowl, drizzle oil, and sprinkle herbs and garlic powder on top. Cover the bowl with cling wrap, and shake the croutons. If you want, repeat the process. Place onto an oven tray and bake until golden brown - about ten minutes.

Crispy BBQ Chicken Pizza

Yep, that's right- Crispy BBQ Chicken pizza...

Crispy BBQ Chicken pizza...

Crispy BBQ Chicken pizza...

Crispy BBQ Chicken pizza...

Crispy BBQ Chicken pizza...

Crispy BBQ Chicken pizza...

It was even more delicious than it looks... Even better heated up the next day!

To make:

Pizza bases,

Tomato paste,

BBQ sauce,

Pineapple pieces,

Bio life cheese,

And mushroom (optional- not pictured)

For the chicken pieces:

You will find these in your local Asian grocer, you can get any vegan crispy chicken.

To prepare for the pizza, just fry it until crispy, cutting the pieces in half if they are too big.

Slap it all together, chuck it in the oven and ENJOY!!!

Mexican Bolognese

As I write this I am sitting on the couch at my In-laws' beach house, with my sick 2 year old cuddling me. It really doesn't get much better than this! 

And here is my view

It has been a long while since my last post- I had baby number four in February, a girl called Minnie, and things have been a little bit busy since then! 

As things get easier I will be able to post more- and have I got some good recipes to post! 

Today's recipe is a super easy bolognese, with Mexican flavours- not a sprinkle of oregano in sight!

I get my burrito seasoning from the burrito kits in Aldi. I use the salsa for burgers, the tortillas for Mexican wraps, and the seasoning on anything, really. I use barely any, so one packet lasts me a couple of recipes.

Ingredients;

1 pack Linda McCartney's mince

1  large onion, diced

1 clove garlic, crushed

1 large carrot, grated

2 cans crushed tomatoes

8 button mushrooms diced

2 cups (roughly) of veg stock

Burrito seasoning to taste (I used about 1 tbsp)

Sea salt to taste 

1-2 packs of your favourite pasta, depending on how many people you are feeding. The bolognese will feed about 6 people, possibly with leftovers. 

Method:

Boil a large pot of water for the pasta, meanwhile-

Pour a small amount of stock in a large pan, add onion and garlic, and sauté until onion is soft, and mushrooms and carrot and a splash more of the stock and sauté  for about 5 minutes. 

Add pasta to the pot of boiling water and cook until al dente.

Add the mince, tomatoes, seasoning, and remaining stock to the pan and allow to simmer for about 15 minutes, stirring regularly, and adding more stock if the mixture dries out. 

Pour bolognese over cooked pasta and serve immediately. 

Perfectly Cooked Quinoa

A huge shout out to my good friend Gwyneth Paltrow for this recipe...

Here is a photo of her on one of our coffee mornings (decaf, soy, of course) in Venice.

1 cup of quinoa

1 3/4 cups of water

Coarse sea salt

Rinse the quinoa thou roughly in a fine mesh strainer (although this may sound like an unnecessary step, it really makes a huge difference in flavour, since quinoa's natural coating tastes like soap).

Place it in a pot set over high heat with the water and a pinch of salt. Bring the quinoa to the boil, lower the heat, cover the pot, and cook until all the liquid is absorbed and the quinoa's germs look like lots of little spirals, 12 to 15 minutes. Turn the heat off, place a dry paper towel between the pot and the lid and let the quinoa sit for at least 5 minutes before giving it a fluff with a fork.

Shallow fried vegetable fritters

This week I have learnt a valuable lesson in feeding my family, particularly my husband, vegetables; SHALLOW FRYING!!!! 

Anything, rolled into a ball and shallow fried WILL BE EATEN!!! 

Quinoa and veg fritters.

These ones have mushroom and asparagus, but you could substitute any vegetables. 

Ingredients:

3 cups of cooked quinoa - you can refer to my perfectly cooked quinoa post 

1 onion, finely chopped (the smaller the better) 

Almost one cup of chopped veges (again, the smaller, the better)

3/4 cup spelt flour

Some sea salt (how much you put in is up to you, I put about 5 shakes of my grinder. You can add more if you are cooking for adults, less if cooking for kids)

About 1/4 cup of almond milk- this amount may vary, depending on your mixture

The juice of half a lemon

Oil for frying

Method:

Mix the quinoa, onion, veges, flour and salt in a large bowl until the mixture is consistent.

Add the lemon juice and milk, a small amount at a time, and mix with your hands, until the consistency is thick and moist when you squeeze it in your hand. If the mixture is too runny, add some more flour.

Roll into balls, footballs, patties, fritters, or shape you like, cover, and refrigerate for 15 minutes.

Heat up some oil in a pan, and add your fritters. Turn over after a few minutes, the cooked side should be quite solid, and golden brown.

When both sides are cooked, (it should take about 8 minutes, depending on the size) place on some paper towel and allow to cool slightly. This is the hard part! 

Enjoy by themselves, or with a sauce, we love it with soy sauce, or tomato sauce (ok, it wasn't my most creative moment- I was hungry ok?) you could experiment with any sauce though.

These can be kept in the fridge for a few days, in a container wrapped loosely in paper towel, but I can assure you, that unless you make a double batch, there won't be any left overs! 

People are actually reading my blog!

Wow, I never actually thought it would happen to me, I am almost treating this blog as my own favourites recipe book- do you remember the one your grandma had, with magazine cut outs, handwritten recipes, notes, and looked about a million years old? Well, this is the modern version! 

Being 6 weeks off having a baby, I don't have much energy for much really, but I think I had better give you my latest favourite meal.

Sun-dried tomato Alfredo fettuccine, or as my son calls it:

The Best Pasta in Town! 

This is not my recipe, I wish it was, though! 

I put a cup of vegetable broth, as I found it was too thick, and I don't put the basil leaves in - kids don't generally like whole basil leaves. 

My tip for making a great meal in only half an hour for the whole family- start soaking the cashews, boil the water for the pasta, and whilst waiting for the pasta to cook and cashews to soak, add all of the ingredients into your blender (or if you are lucky, thermomix). Your cashews and pasta will be ready at the same time. Blend, and add to the pasta- and you are ready to go! 

My husband loves this, as well as my mum, brother and mother in law. So far, 100% of people that have tried it love it! 

Let me know what you think!