As I said in the post – I can have butternut every day of the week! Originally posted on the 19th of January 2015, this is still a firm favourite!
As I said in the post – I can have butternut every day of the week! Originally posted on the 19th of January 2015, this is still a firm favourite!
Oh my goodness! I am setting a dangerous precedent here! Three recipes in three days? 😉 I guess I am just really feeling inspired – and especially because we’re having quite a few dinners out this week, I MUST make an effort to make sure that the rest of my meals are relatively healthy. And it actually feels good to spend some time in the kitchen – lately it has become my Hubby’s territory! Not that I complain too much 🙂
To throw this dish together requires almost no cooking – except the bulgar wheat of course. I made a large batch (read – enough to feed an army), so I will freeze it in individual portions, so that it is easy to whip out and defrost when needed. I usually do the same with most grains and pulses. A true lifesaver on most days! Oh yes, and I oven-roasted the butternut! Nearly forgot about that! But it is really relatively effortless. Pre-heat the oven to 180C, arrange butternut chunks on a prepared baking sheet, drizzle with a bit of olive oil, and roast until golden brown and soft (but not mushy!).
So it feels weird to post a recipe for a salad bowl, or Buddha Bowl, as it is often called. I found this interesting post on Yuppiechef’s website – about mindful eating, etc. I think you will enjoy it! https://www.yuppiechef.com/spatula/what-is-a-buddha-bowl-and-how-to-truly-appreciate-your-food/
Quite cool huh? Often I just quickly finish my meal while either sitting at my desk or in front of the TV. Definitely not mindful! But I am working on it 🙂
So, I get distracted – as usual! I am actually supposed to focus on sharing what I had for lunch yesterday. Focus Roelia!
So, it is really just a few ingredients thrown together.
I started by layering the bowl with some chopped cos lettuce. So you will start ‘packing’ the bowl by visualizing it being divided in quarters, or fifths, or however many ingredients you’ve got to add.
The various sections consisted of:
The quantity used depends on the size of your bowl, as well as your portion allocations, if you are following a more structured eating plan.
Dress with curry yogurt dressing – 1/2 cup of yogurt, with 1/2 teaspoon of curry powder stirred in, a small pinch of salt, as well as a good sprinkling of turmeric, to give it the beautiful yellow colour! I make this dressing fresh every time I use it, and leave it to stand for a few hours, so that the colour and flavours can infuse a bit.
And that is it! Looks pretty hey? 🙂 Let me know what you think!
For WL portions: 90g cooked bulgar wheat (1 CC), 75g chickpeas (1 Prot), 125ml yogurt (1/2 – 1 portion Milk), the rest- just veggies 🙂
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!
I am, like most people, a little obsessed with spiralised veggies at the moment. I guess it is the fact that, by simply changing the shape of a veggie, it makes it a little more versatile and ‘fun’ to work (and play) with 🙂 And who doesn’t like pasta-shaped stuff! 😉
This is a super quick meal – honestly, it took about 10 minutes to prepare!
175g lean bacon (I used Eskort Weigh-Less Smoked bacon), cut into strips
5ml lemon infused olive oil (or plain olive oil with a dash of lemon juice if you don’t have infused olive oil)
200g Butternut Spaghetti (super excited about this new product from Woolies! But again, if you can’t get hold of it, make your own spiralised veggies. Spiralisers are widely available, I got a very cool one from Clicks, for R99. You can even use coarsely grated butternut)
20g chinese style noodles (we often make trips to Cyrildene, Johannesburg’s China Town. Very affordable produce and a very exotic and interesting range of products available. It is a treat! If you feel nervous to venture out on your own, join the Chef Ishvara’s group on Facebook – it is called “African Secrets – cultural walks in the inner city of Joburg” and he offers insightful and very interesting tours to the various cultural hotspots in Johannesburg. A true treat! Look out for his Cyrildene and Fordsburg tours) Okay, and after all that – you can use angelhair pasta as well! LOL!
Robertsons Masterblends – Garlic and Rosemary seasoning
Salt and Pepper to taste
Fresh basil to serve
Fry bacon strips in pan coated with non-stick spray – add a few mls of boiling water to prevent from sticking – it will take about 4 minutes. In the meantime, place the butternut spaghetti in the microwave (can just microwave it in the bag or with a little bit of water) for 2 minutes. Also cook the pasta in boiling water – the pasta is very thin, so it takes only 5 minutes to cook. Add a generous sprinkling of Garlic and Rosemary seasoning to the bacon strips. Stir in drained pasta and butternut strips and season with salt, pepper and infused olive oil. Fry at high heat for 1 minute (we don’t want the butternut and pasta to get soggy and overcooked)
Serve with fresh basil
Voila! 10 minute meal! And it is yummy!
PS: You can make this a vegetarian option by replacing the bacon with feta. Cook butternut and pasta as above, mix together, season and serve with basil 🙂
2 Prot, 1 Fat, 2 Veg, 1 CC
Another dish from Christmas Lunch 2015! Lovely colours, isn’t it? 🙂 (Pictured on the right – apologies, not a good photo!)
Serves 6
600g cooked barley
500g butternut cubes (raw weight), oven roasted
60g dried cranberries
100g chopped red onion
30g mixed seeds and nuts
Freshly ground sea salt and black pepper to taste
Dressing:
75ml balsamic vinegar
20ml olive oil
20ml honey
Mix all the ingredients together, serve dressing on the side
Per person: 2 CC, 1 Fat, 1/2 Fruit (actually less, not sure if we need to count it?), approx 1 Veg
I felt like trying something different for lunch – and boy, this was delicious and filling! 🙂
250g roasted butternut (cut into cubes, roast on medium heat oven for about 35 minutes – until soft) – cooled down
Roasted Apple (100g apple, cut into thin slices, roasted on medium heat for about 25 minutes – before to release the flavour and crisp it up a little bit) – cooled down
140g cooked barley – cooled down
30g low fat feta
Dressing: 5ml olive oil with red wine vinegar (about 20ml – but you can adjust to taste – enough to stir mix with barley so that it isn’t too dry), alternatively you can use 30ml low fat mayonnaise
Salt and Pepper
Lettuce to serve
Mix dressing with barley
Place lettuce at bottom of the salad bowl/dish
Stir butternut into barley mix, season to taste
Place butternut and barley mixture on to of lettuce bed
Top with crumbed feta and apple slices
Serves 1: 2 CC, 1 Protein, 1 Fruit, 3 Veg, 1 Oil
200 g oven roasted butternut cubes (I only used non-stick oven spray when roasting it)
75g chickpeas cooked/tinned
5ml sesame oil
10ml lemon juice
1/4 tsp chopped garlic (to taste)
1/4 tsp groud cumin
Sprinkling of smoked paprika
Salt and Pepper to taste
Blend it all together, add a few drops of water if needed.
Serves 1 – 2 Veg, 1 Protein, I fat
Serve with crudites, or on melba toast/Ryvita, etc
Serves 1 – 2 CC, 1 Prot, 1 Fat, 2 Veg
200g baby potatoes, quartered and parcooked
50g yellow pepper cored and cut into quarters
50g red onion, peeled and quarterd
100g butternut cubes
5ml olive oil
Lemon Juice
30g low fat feta
Salt and Black Pepper
Balsamic Vinegar
Line baking tray with foil and coat with non-stick cooking spray. Arrange veggies and potatoes on baking tray and sprinkle with olive oil, and a generous squirt of lemon juice. Season. Oven roast at 160C for about 40 minutes until peppers blister.
Toss together and serve with crumbed feta and balsamic vinegar.
400g butternut chunks
2 chopped leeks
Cup a Soup Lite Chicken and herb (made up with 125ml boiling water) flavour
Sage
Salt and Pepper
Preheat oven to 180C.
Spray ovenproof dish with non-stick spray
Layer butternut and leeks.
Pour over soup, season with salt & pepper and sage leaves.
Ovenbake until butternut is soft – about 40 min.
A light and tasty Sunday dinner!
Serves 1 = 1 CC, 1 Veg, 1 Prot, 1/2 Fat
1 Weigh-Less wrap (plain)
50g butternut, roasted, cut into small chunks
10g finely grated carrots
25g zucchini strips, cut using veggie peeler
1/2 tsp peanut butter
1/4 tsp ginger and garlic paste
Salt and pepper
30g feta; crumbed
Fresh coriander to serve
Spead wrap with peanut butter and ginger and garlic paste
Layer with carrots, then zucchini strips, then butternut chucks. Season with coarse seasalt and freshly ground pepper. The base is quite thin, and we want it to crisp up in the oven, so ensure not to add too many toppings. Bake at 180C for about 10 minutes. Take out of oven and serve with feta and coriander.