Light Meals

“Mexican” Butternut Hummus

| roeliaschoeman

 

Okay, I know – hummus isn’t Mexican! But I wanted to make a hummus that is just a little more spicy than the norm.

I have made Butternut Hummus before – see “Roasted Butternut Hummus” posted on Life is Too Short to Eat Lettuce and it being butternut season and me simply loving butternut (see all my Butternut Recipes), I thought I’ll whip up another batch!

So, here goes

150g cooked, mashed butternut

1 tin of chickpeas, drained

5ml sesame oil (my shortcut instead of tahini)

1 tablespoon jalapeno slices (more or less according to your taste)

A squirt of lime juice

1/4 teaspoon crushed garlic

1/4 teaspoon crushed chillies

Salt and Pepper to taste

Blend it all together with a stick blender and voila!

Good to let it stand for a few hours for the flavours to develop.

Obviously I’m craving HEAT because I added few jalapeno slices when serving!

Pumpkin and Apple Soup

| roeliaschoeman

I am a big supporter of cooking using season ingredients! And at the moment, what is more seasonal than soup, pumpkin and apple??

I must admit, the last time I posted on that blog is a good couple of months ago, simply because

1) I am really lazy,

2) I have a very short attention span,

3)  I haven’t been eating very healthy recently

Okay, on most days, but then I fall off the wagon over the weekend and at functions – which spoils all my efforts.

Damn you wine.

But I commit to keep trying!  🙂

I will post this recipe on there as well – as soon as I remember the login details!  *facepalm*

Anyway!  Moving on swiftly!!

 

Ovenroast at 180C for 45 minutes on a baking tray lined with foil, prepped with non-stick spray:

3 medium apples – cut into wedges.  I didn’t peel it because I normally liquidise my soup, not a fan of chunky bits in my soup 😛

500g pumpkin – cut into chunks

1 large onion – peeled and sliced

A generous glug of olive oil

A good sprinkling of salt – at the Fire and Feast Festival I bought some smoked sea salt, amazeballs!

Transfer to a larger saucepan/pot – adding 2 cups of chicken stock (or veggie stock for vegetarian option!), a sprinkling of chili flakes and cinnamon, some white pepper and garlic salt.

Simmer for about 20 minutes – and voila!

Liquidise with stick blender thingy and serve with fresh wholewheat rolls.

I served it with toasted coconut flakes (thank you Woolies!)

The ideal meal to have on #MeatlessMonday!

Pea and Herb Spread for Meatless Monday!

| roeliaschoeman

Here’s another #MeatlessMonday recipe!  I am always looking for vegetarian options (no, I am not a vegetarian, but really enjoy veggie meals).  And to find some that doesn’t have spinach and aubergine and celery in (bleh!) can be challenging.  But we manage quite well on most days!  I really try to make an effort on Meatless Monday, for health reasons and purely out of habit!

So, here goes:

280g peas (I used frozen peas, and just poured some boiling water on, and leave to stand for a bit – then it retains the beautiful, fresh green colour!)

2 tbs plain fat free yogurt

A big handful of fresh herbs – used basil, thyme, rosemary and sage

75g chopped cucumber

A bit of fresh garlic

Salt and pepper to taste

Mixed everything together with a handblender (or food processor)

Served on crackers (RyVita), topped with 60g of fat free feta.

Quick and easy!

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Asparagus, couscous and feta salad

| roeliaschoeman

Especially for #WellnessWednesday!

Trying my best to get into this healthy living thing again!  Sigh… undoing the ‘damage’ of the past year is taking much longer than I thought.  And yes, patience is apparently a virtue.  And yes, apparantly you need to have more than just 1 healthy meal once in a while. #Denial #TheStuggleIsReal

Lunches are normally okay, and then I fall off the wagon a bit in the evening.  Is that what they call ‘balance’?  I tried, okay!  🙂  #OneMealAtATime  Will not give up!  🙂

entire-kitchen

I ALWAYS go for quick and easy – prepared a batch of couscous Monday morning – a little too much, it was in fact enough for 3/4 people, so we may have another couscous salad for lunch tomorrow 😉

Anyway!  Here we go – no ‘real’ instructions needed, salads are easy like that 🙂

Serves 1

90g couscous prepared + 40g crumbed fat free feta

90g (or a bit more – don’t let asparagus go to waste, it is expensive enough as it is!) steamed fresh asparagus

100g mixed variety tomatoes (love the beautiful colours of these ones I got from Woolies)

Lettuce to serve

Salt and Pepper

You can of course just mix everything together, but I like the look of a ‘layered’ salad – first lettuce, then tomatoes, then couscous and feta mix, and top with steamed asparagus. Season to taste – I just drizzled it with a bit of garlic-infused olive oil.

And voila!

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Couscous Chickpea Salad with Herby Yogurt Dressing

| roeliaschoeman

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Serves 1

 

90g couscous (prepared)

1/2 tin chickpeas (drained)

50g cherry tomatoes, halved

1 Granny Smith apple, chopped

Salt and pepper to taste

Lettuce to serve

Dressing:  120g plain, fatfree yogurt.  1/2 handful chopped fresh mint and coriander

 

Mix the couscous, chickpeas, cherry tomatoes and apple together and season.  Serve on lettuce leaves and drizzle with dressing!

 

How easy is that?? 🙂

#MeatlessMonday

 

Omelette in a Wrap!

| roeliaschoeman

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Quick n healthy omelette

1 egg plus 2 egg whites, salt and pepper to taste and a sprinkling of Chipotle seasoning (Woolies), lightly beaten.  Pour in small non-stick pan on a medium heat.  Turn over once set at bottom. And that is it!

Serve in a wrap with lots of lettuce and a dash of mayo, Tabasco or sriracha!

PS:  If you dont have Chipotle seasoning, add a sprinkling of cayenne pepper and smoked paprika!

Mushroom Burger – made with…. mushrooms!

| roeliaschoeman

First post of 2017!  Yippeee-ka-yaayyy!  Here’s to a much healthier year!

After the overload of meat the past month or so – my body is actually CRAVING veggies!  And as you all know – I do believe I am an undercover vegetarian!  😉  So, our last ‘braai for lunch during the week’ before we go back to work.

Here goes!  VERY experimental!  LOL!

2 medium onions

1 green pepper, cored

4 tsp olive oil

125g mushrooms

100g breadcrumbs

2 eggs

Salt and Pepper

Liberal sprinkling of Garlic and Herb Seasoning

 

Finely chop the onions, green pepper – I used the food processor, quick and easy!  Fry in olive oil until cooked through.  Add mushrooms, chopped (also short cut – food processor!)  Fry for a few minutes for mushrooms to cook through.  Remove from heat and cool until easy to handle.

Add the rest of the ingredients – and form hamburger patties – I got 4 out of this batch.  Okay, here’s the tricky part, the consistency was slightly mushy, so I was afraid that it will all fall apart on the grill!  Grilled it on foil first, but then I changed my mind and popped it in the over to oven-bake.  So I KNOW that it works well if baked in the oven! 🙂

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Looks yum, not so?  And it was!

WL – serves 4, 1 serving = 1 CC (actually a bit less), 2 veg, 1 fat, 1 Prot

(WL portion breakdown does not include the bun!)

Sweet Potato Salad #MeatlessMonday

| roeliaschoeman

Although I really love Sweet Potato, I seldom managed to cook it without it being mushy.  And mushy is absolutely fine – but not in a salad!  Also, I’m so used to it being served with lots of sugar/honey/butter, etc.  So I was keen to try a ‘healthier’ option. So with this one I actually didn’t do too bad!

So here is a lovely Meatless Monday salad!  It is based on a recipe I saw in the Ideas Magazine a while ago, but I did tweak the quantities and ingredients a bit.

 

160g cooked sweet potato cubes (soft but not mushy!), kept aside to cool

50g grated carrots

2 – 3 sundried tomatoes, cut into strips

30g low fat feta, crumbed

1/4 red onion, chopped

Mix all these ingredients together

 

Dressing – mix 30ml low fat mayonaise, 30ml white wine vinegar, about 1 ml Worcestershire Sauce

 

To serve – lettuce and chopped fresh parsley

 

Putting it all together for serving:

Place sweet potato mix on a bed of lettuce, drizzle dressing over and top with some freshly chopped parsley

 

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WL breakdown:  2 CC, 1 fat, 1 Prot, 1 Veg

 

 

 

Halloween Stuffed Peppers

| roeliaschoeman

How cute is this!  Just HAD to make something for Halloween!  🙂

I got the idea from a photo I saw on the internet, so it is by no means original!  LOL!  I did make up my own ‘stuffing’ though!

Serves 2

1 yellow pepper per person

 

Stuffing

10ml olive oil

1 onion, chopped

Crushed garlic and herb

A sprinkling Woolies Puttanesca seasoning

A handful cherry tomatoes, halved

Salt and Pepper to taste

50g cooked spaghetti

About 50g cooked butternut, mashed and seasoned

  1. Fry onions in olive oil until opaque.  Add chopped cherry tomatoes and seasoning, lower heat and cook until tomatoes are soft.  Stir in cooked spaghetti and keep aside.
  2. Cut tops off the peppers and clear the pips and other ‘flesh’.  Use a pairing knife to cut ‘jack o lantern style’ eyes and mouth.  Use your own initiative. dsc_1304
  3. Boil in water for about 5 minutes and carefully remove (hot!) and drain and leave aside to cool a bit
  4. Mix mashed butternut and all the other ingredients and carefully stuff the peppers.
  5. Place carefully on an ovenplate – I put the peppers in the corners so that it ‘stands’ on its own without topping over – put the pepper tops back on and bake for 15 – 20 minutes at 180C
  6. Carefully remove and serve!

    1 serving = 1.5 veg, 1/2 CC, 1 Fat

Egg Fried Rice with Fresh Pineapple

| roeliaschoeman

I’ve been craving Egg Fried Rice for a while now – the healthier option of course!  So here we go, fresh pineapple for extra flavor (without adding too much sweetness) and a  bit of crunch.

100g fresh pineapple

5ml olive oil

50g chopped onion

1 small red pepper, chopped

1 small green pepper, chopped

1/4 tsp chopped chili

1/4 tsp crushed ginger and garlic

140g cooked brown rice (firm, but not soft)

1 egg

1ml chinese 5 spice (or according to taste)

Salt to taste (or low sodium soy sauce)

 

Fry onion in olive oil until soft. Add garlic, ginger and chili – and fry for a minute for flavors to develop a bit.  Add chopped peppers and fresh pineapple (and a little bit of water if needed).  Fry for a few minutes until peppers are soft.  Stir in cooked rice, egg and rest of ingredients and cook until egg is set.  Serve with fresh coriander or spring onions.

TERRIBLE photo!  Apologies!

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2 CC, 1 Prot, 2 Veg, 1 Fat