Nut free muesli bars
Ingredients
1 cup rolled oats
1/4 cup pepitas
2 tablespoons sunflower seeds
2 tablespoons chia seeds
1/2 cup shredded coconut
3 tablespoons coconut oil
1/3 cup honey or rice malt syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
Preheat oven to 160C.
Line tray with baking paper and set aside.
Mix oats, pepitas, sunflower seeds, chia seeds and coconut in a bowl and set aside.
On stove top or in microwave, add coconut oil, honey and vanilla and bring to the boil, then remove from the heat.
Combine both mixtures and mix until well combined.
Press firmly into a 20cm x 20cm tin.
Pop the bars into pre-heated oven and bake for approx. 15 minutes or until starting to turn golden brown.
Remove from oven and allow to cool COMPLETELY on tray before moving them. This allows them to set.
Cut up into 12 bars and then store in an airtight container
Bliss balls – Nut free
Ingredients
30g preservative free desiccated coconut
30g sunflower seeds
30g flaxseeds
30g chia seeds
30g pepitas
8 medjool dates (deseeded)
1 tbsp raw organic cacao powder
1 tsp quality vanilla extract
2 tbsps quality full fat coconut cream
Pinch of salt
Extra desiccated coconut to roll bliss balls in
Instructions
Place all ingredients into food processor or Thermomix and process until smooth
Roll into balls, coat in extra coconut if desired and place in the fridge to set
Pear, coconut and raspberry spelt muffins
Ingredients
280g (2 cups) white spelt flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
35g (1/2 cup) shredded coconut
140g (2/3 cup) coconut sugar, plus 1 tablespoon extra
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
125ml (1/2 cup) milk, could be any milk eg coconut, almond
80ml (1/3 cup) vegetable oil
1 small firm ripe pear, cored, grated
85g (2/3 cup) frozen raspberries
Instructions
Preheat oven to 180°C or 160°C fan forced. Line a 12 hole 80ml (1/3 cup) capacity muffin tin with paper cases. Sift the flour, baking powder and cinnamon into a large bowl. Add the coconut and sugar, stir to combine.
Whisk the eggs, vanilla, milk and oil together. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, stir until just combined. Stir through the pear and raspberries.
Divide mixture between prepared muffin holes. Sprinkle tops with a little extra raw sugar. Bake in pre-heated oven for 20 – 25 minutes or until golden brown.
Lunch ideas
Corn, spinach and feta muffins
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups (225g) self-raising flour
1 cup (160g) wholemeal self-raising flour
1/4 cup (40g) cornmeal (polenta)
310g can corn kernels, drained
100g baby spinach leaves, finely shredded
150g feta, crumbled
1 1/2 cups (375ml) milk
100g butter, melted
1 egg, lightly whisked
Cornmeal (polenta), extra, to sprinkle
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 200C. Line 12 x 1/3-cup (80ml capacity)muffin pans with paper cases.
Place the combined flour, cornmeal, corn, spinach and feta in a large bowl and combine.
Whisk the milk, butter and egg together in a jug. Pour into the flour mixture and gently stir until just combined (don’t over-mix). Spoon evenly among the prepared pans. Sprinkle with extra cornmeal.
Bake for 20 mins or until a skewer inserted in the centres comes out clean. Turn onto a wire rack to cool.
Chicken and vegetable sausage rolls
Ingredients
1 large chicken breast, chopped into chunks
1 carrot, roughly chopped
1 celery stalk, roughly chopped
1/2 zucchini, roughly chopped
1/2 green capsicum, roughly chopped
40g baby spinach leaves (use less if you dont want a green colour to these. Id suggest 20g or just slicing the spinach by hand)
4 spring onions, roughly chopped (or leek/onion)
2 garlic cloves, peeled
Pinch of parsley
1 large tablespoon of vegetable stock concentrate
3 sheets puff pastry, thawed
Instructions
Preheat oven to 180 degrees.
Place everything except chicken, pastry and stock into bowl.
Blitz in a blender until desired consistency is achieved. You want some consistency to the vegetables.
Add chicken and stock, blitz until you have a nice smooth mixture without large chunks. It will be a slightly wet mixture.
Layer chicken mix on puff pastry. I get two long rolls out of each sheet and cut into a total of twelve rolls. I get 36 rolls in total with this recipe.
Brush with milk and top with sesame seeds.
Bake for approximately 30 minutes on 180C or until golden brown in colour.
Sushi style sandwiches
Ingredients
4 slices high-top bread
2 tbsp whole-egg mayonnaise (optional)
95g tin tuna in springwater, drained
½ avocado, sliced
½ medium carrot, grated
Instructions
To prepare the bread, cut off the crusts and place the slices on a chopping board. Flatten using a rolling pin.
Spread mayonnaise over one side of each bread slice.
Leaving a 1cm gap from the edge, place a quarter of the avocado slices in a line along the bread (parallel to the short edge). Do the same with the tuna and grated carrot.
Once the fillings are arranged, roll the bread slices up ‘sushi style’. Seal shut with extra mayo if required. Cut each roll into two to three rounds, and serve.Nicole Haak is an experienced Melbourne Naturopath whose gentle approach and warm nature enable her to be an empathetic and supportive practitioner who takes a genuine interest in her clients’ needs. She has a deep passion for what she does. This is evident by her holistic approach to helping her patients find solutions to their health concerns and improve their quality of life.
