Gluten-Free Chicken Schnitzel

This is another recipe that I developed for my detox clients.

I love to eat food that is healthy but doesn’t feel like it! Comfort food is the best!

It gives me the greatest pleasure to sit down with friends and family to a meal that feels indulgent and naughty but is actually full of hidden veggies, healthy and guilt free!

My Gluten Free Chicken Schnitzel is one of those meals that tastes too good to be healthy.

I’d go so far as to say that it might just rival the traditional schnitzel. I don’t follow a 100% gluten free diet, but I do try to minimise my gluten intake and I believe that even non-coeliacs should try to be aware of how much gluten they are consuming. I think we eat too much gluten and that is why so many of us are suddenly finding ourselves intolerant.

Recipes like this help us to reduce our gluten intake while still enjoying delicious food.

So here it is, my Gluten Free Chicken Schnitzel

Ingredients

•   2 chicken breasts
•   1 egg, beaten
•   1/2 cup macadamia meal (made by processing whole macadamias)
•   ¼ pumpkin, chopped
•   Rocket, cucumber, red onion, capsicum for side salad

Method

1.       Place pumpkin on oven tray and roast for 20-30 minutes until soft (approx 180 degrees).

2.       Spread the macadamia meal on a shallow bowl or plate

3.       Dip the chicken in the egg and then roll in the nut meal

4.       Place the schnitzel on a tray lined with baking paper and bake for 7-10 minutes each side until cooked through

5.       Chop up salad ingredients and arrange on plate

Serve and enjoy!

Gluten Free Pesto chicken Pasta

I invented this one for my Burton Health Cleanse participants. Its dairy free, gluten free, quick to make, delicious and super healthy!

I use a Betti Bossi Veggie Twister to make my noodles but you can also do it with a julienne peeler, grater or normal veggie peeler for thick ribbons.

Ingredients:

•  1 large chicken breast
•   2 zucchinis
•   ½ bunch basil leaves
•   ¼ cup olive oil
•   ¼ cup pine nuts or almonds
•   1 clove garlic

Method:

1.       Place chicken in a pot of simmering water, simmer for 5 minutes then remove from heat, cover and sit for 20mins

2.       Process/blitz basil, pine nuts, garlic and oil to make your pesto

3.       Make noodles out of raw zucchini using veggie twister, grater or julienne peeler

4.       Fry noodles in small amount of oil approx 2 mins

5.       Remove chicken from water and slice

6.       Mix sauce though noodles and allow to heat through, mix chicken through or place on top

7.       Can serve with a little goats feta if desired.

Warm Quinoa Salad

This is a great easy midweek dish, left over chicken could be used if you have any hanging about in the fridge.Quinoa pronounced keen-wah, is a complete protein, packed full of macronutrients such as zinc, magnesium and iron. It’s wheat and gluten free so it’s a great alternative to couscous and it tastes great! Before cooking quinoa it is important to rinse it well, this will remove the saponin from the quinoa.

Ingredients

•   1 cup quinoa
• 1.5 cups gluten free chicken stock (no nasties)
• 2 chicken breasts
• 2 tablespoons macadamia oil (or olive oil)
•  ½ cup pepitas
•  Juice of 1 lemon
•   ½ cup basil pesto
•   1 bunch broccolini, trimmed
•   Fresh basil leaves

Method

1.       Place chicken breasts in a saucepan of simmering water for 5 minutes, cover and remove from heat, stand for 20 minutes until cooked through, remove from liquid.

2.       Meanwhile, place quinoa in a saucepan with the stock and bring to boil, cover and simmer for 15 minutes until tender. Remove from heat and stand, covered for 5 minutes, then fluff with a fork.

3.       Steam or blanch your broccolini.

4.       Shred the chicken and toss with the lemon juice and oil, then add all other ingredients and toss until well combined.

Serve and enjoy!

If you can't go 100% organic is it worth going organic at all?

Not everyone has easy access to organic food and I often get asked by my clients if it’s worth buying some foods organic and the rest non-organic.

The short answer is:

Yes.

The long answer is:

Organic food, in my opinion, is real food. It has been farmed without the harsh chemicals that are used in conventional farming. These chemicals might be pesticides, fertilisers, weed killers, hormones or antibiotics that if used in the farming process will undoubtedly result in us ingesting those chemicals with the food.

Filling your diet with as many organic foods as possible will lower your exposure to these chemicals, and reducing chemical load on your body has a great impact on your health and wellbeing.

Organic food contains higher levels of nutrients which will help to keep you well and reduce your need to take supplements such as multivitamins and minerals.

Organic food is happy food. This is relevant to vegetarians and carnivores alike. Organic vegetables have been grown in fertile soil, at the proper pace and are usually available seasonally (when they’re fresh). The welfare standard of organic meat is considered to very high plus the animals are not fed waste and genetically modified junk. Generally they are allowed to graze on grass, the way nature intended.

Organic food tastes better. Do the taste test, you’ll see what I mean. If you want strawberries that make your taste buds tingle, apples that taste like an orchard and milk that tastes like your childhood – go organic.

What about the cost? The second most common thing I hear when it comes to organic food is “but it’s so expensive”. My thought on this is that organic food represents the real price of food. Obviously if a carrot has to be left in the ground longer to grow without chemicals, it means that the farmer has a slower rate of production and therefore needs to charge more to cover costs and make a living. I’m cool with that.

Choosing to buy organic is about prioritising your health and quality of food over things like getting your nails done and buying new clothes every week. I choose to spend my money on organic food and to be honest I don’t think the price is that different. Organic fruit and vegetables generally last longer so there is less waste and eating food that makes you healthier means that you potentially will spend less on health care and medications in the future.

So if you’re wondering if you should venture down the organic route when you’re at the supermarket, give it a go! Your meals will be tastier, more satisfying, healthier and fresher and there is no harm in mixing a bit of organic with a bit of conventionally farmed food if that is all that’s available. At the end of the day no matter how your food is farmed, fresh is best and we can just take baby steps from there 

Quinoa and sweet potato balls

Posted on November 4, 2013 by Laura

These balls are great with zucchini pasta for a main meal or with tzatziki for a snack. The quinoa and almonds make them high in protein so a great vegetarian dish and carnivores won’t even notice that the meat is missing!

Ingredients

•  1 sweet potato

•  1 cup quinoa (uncooked)

•   ½  bunch basil

•   1 cup raw almonds

•   1 clove garlic

•   ½ tablespoon coconut flour

•   ½ teaspoon salt

•   Olive oil

Method

1.       Peel sweet potato, cut into 4, place on a lined baking tray and bake at 180 for 30 mins, turning once. Set aside to cool.

2.       Rinse quinoa then place in saucepan with 1.5 cups water. Bring to boil then simmer with lid on for 10 minutes, return to strainer and drain out excess water (push quinoa with back of spoon to get water out).

3.       In your blender, blend the almonds then add the quinoa, sweet potato, garlic, salt, basil, coconut flour and olive oil until all combined.

4.       Form into golf ball sized balls (approx. 16 balls) and place on lined baking tray, drizzle with olive oil.

5.       Bake on 180 for 25 minutes, turning twice.

Serve with raw zucchini pasta (use a grater or peeler to make your pasta), tzatziki, lemon juice and olive oil for a meal or, dip into tzatziki at a party or picnic. Enjoy!

Roasted Pumpkin Soup

The weather has turned a bit chilly, grey and rainy in Sydney today and it’s making me fancy soup!

This recipe came from my friend Kristen and the first time I made it I had to keep texting photos to her because it just felt too easy! If you like pumpkin soup then you should really give this one a go. Roasting the veggies gives it such a rich and delicious flavour.

Ingredients

  1 butternut pumpkin, roughly chopped

  1 onion, whole

  ½ bulb garlic

  Approx 500ml chicken or vegetable stock

  Black pepper

Method

1.       Preheat oven to 180

2.       Place pumpkin, onion and garlic on oven tray (skins on)

3.       Roast vegetables until soft, approx 45mins

4.       Remove from oven, scoop pumpkin out of skin and squeeze onion and garlic out of their skins (use tongs, not your hands!).

5.       Blend or stick mix the vegetables together with chicken stock until you have your preferred consistency

6.       Add black pepper to taste

7.       Heat in saucepan and serve

A note about stock:

I often have homemade chicken stock in my freezer but if you need to use a bought stock try to go for one with as few nasty ingredients as possible and a low salt option. A good rule is to look at the ingredients list and choose the one with the least ingredients and the least numbers and names you can’t pronounce (additives, preservatives, MSG etc).

The most amazing organic breakfast bowl in the world!

I have fallen in love… With breakfast!

One of my clients shared her breakfast recipe with me and I just can’t believe how amazingly delicious and satisfying it is! The recipe I was given was quite summer themed so I’ve made some changes to it to include winter fruit and have also upped the protein and nutrient content.

I pretty much change this recipe every day depending on what I’ve got in the cupboard or what I remember to put in so don’t be scared to experiment.

Using oat bran (ground up oats) means that it cooks really quickly so you only need to set aside 5-10 minutes to make it and its quicker to eat than oatmeal and more filling. When I’ve had this for breakfast it keeps me going way past lunch time and its so good that I wake up craving it!

Want to know the health benefits of having this for breakfast?

• Its full of fibre and great at keeping your bowels regular (a daily bowl of this should result in a daily bowel movement)

• Oats are great at nourishing the nervous system to help you cope with stress and they also help to lower cholesterol absorption

• Almond meal and almond butter along with the seeds provide protein to help balance blood sugar and keep you fuller longer

• Flaxseeds are a great source of essential fatty acids, b vitamins, antioxidants, magnesium and manganese. They are also a source of lignans which are beneficial for fertility and menopause.

• Chia seeds also contain essential fatty acids and antioxidants as well as calcium, vitamin c, iron and potassium. They are also a good detoxifier.

• Pears are a delicious winter fruit and according to Traditional Chinese Medicine very important to include in your diet during the colder months. Kim from Kim Gatenby Acupuncture says “Pears are a great natural treatment for coughs during winter. They are a Yin tonic which is nourishing, especially for our delicate lungs. As a preventative, you can enjoy pears regularly throughout the cooler months, and as a treatment eat as many as you can tolerate to clear your cough!”

So I guess the real question is, why wouldn’t you eat this for breakfast?

Here’s the recipe

Ingredients:

• 1 cup water

• ¼ cup oat bran

• ¼ cup almond meal

• 1 tablespoon coconut flakes

• ¼ cup sultanas/raisins/currants

• 5 freeze dried strawberries (or fresh in summer)

• 1 pear

• 1 tablespoon flaxseed (linseed)

• 1 tablespoon chia seeds

• 1 teaspoon almond butter

Method:

1. In a small saucepan bring the water with dried fruit and coconut to boil then turn heat down to a low simmer.

2. Add strawberries, oat bran and almond meal and stir

3. Grate one pear and add to the pan

4. Add flaxseeds and more water if needed

5. Just before serving stir through the chia seeds and almond butter

Serve with a little milk or yoghurt, a sprinkle of cinnamon and some fresh banana if desired.

Healthy Muesli Bars

A client recently asked me to help her modify a Muesli Bar recipe to make it healthier. We took out the refined cane sugar and replaced it with coconut sugar, making the bars lower GI and higher in essential nutrients, replaced the butter with coconut oil so it won’t impact cholesterol levels and won’t turn rancid when heated. I also threw in some chia seeds for omega 3, calcium, antioxidants, protein and iron.

I’ve made two batches of these delicious bars now and they are a hit! I thought I should share the recipe in case you want to do some lunch box baking this weekend!

You will need:

• 1 cup rolled oats

• 1 cup coconut flakes

• ½ cup almond meal

• ½ cup chia seeds

• ½ cup sunflower seeds

• ½ cup pumpkin seeds

• 1 cup currants/sultanas

• 1/3 cup coconut oil

• ½ cup raw honey

• ¼ cup coconut sugar

• Method:

• Line a 3cm deep 16cm x 28cm baking pan with baking paper.

• Dry cook the oats, coconut and almond meal in a frying pan over medium heat stirring for 8-10 minutes or until golden. Add the dried fruit and seeds and set aside to cool.

• Heat coconut oil, honey and coconut sugar in a small saucepan over medium heat, stirring until sugar dissolves. Bring to boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer without stirring for 7 minutes. Add to dry ingredients and stir to combine.

• Spoon mixture into the pan and press down with a large spoon. Allow to cool, cut into 16 squares and store in an air tight container for up to 7 days.

Kale Chips

Kale is packed full of nutrients including iron, vitamin k, calcium, vitamin c and antioxidants and it goes really crispy in the oven so it’s a nutritious and yummy alternative to potato chips.

You will need:

• 1 bunch of kale

• 1 tablespoon coconut oil (melted/runny)

• 1 teaspoon Himalayan crystal salt

To make the chips:

1. Wash your kale and dry in a salad spinner or pat dry

2. Pull the leaves off the stems and tear into rough pieces

3. Put kale in a bowl and coat well with the oil then grind on some salt

4. Spread evenly on a baking tray and bake on 160 degrees for 10-15 minutes

That’s it! So super easy and so delicious you won’t be able to stop at one!

Vegetarian Cauliflower Curry

I love this curry. It’s very easy to prepare and I use it as my mid-week fall back if I need something quick to make after work.

I serve it with brown rice, which combined with the chickpeas, provides all of the amino acids to make a complete protein so this is an ideal vegetarian meal.

Ingredients:

• 2 Tbsp olive oil

• 1 onion, diced

• 2 cloves garlic, crushed

• 1.5 teaspoons fresh ginger, grated

• 1.5 teaspoons cumin

• 2 teaspoon turmeric

• 2 teaspoons curry powder

• 1 cauliflower, cut into florets

• 800g of tomatoes (In jar or tin)

• 1 cup frozen baby peas

• 1 tin chickpeas, drained and rinsed

• 1⁄2 cup coconut milk

• 1 Lime

Method:
1. Heat oil in large pan and sauté onion, garlic and ginger until soft. Add spices and sauté for one minute.

2. Add cauliflower to pan and combine. Then add tomatoes and bring to the boil, reduce to a simmer until the cauliflower is tender.

3. Add the peas, chickpeas and coconut milk and simmer for a couple of minutes.

4. Serve on brown rice and squeeze ¼ fresh lime juice over the top.