Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 25 minutes

Total Time 30 minutes

• 1/2 cup amaranth
• 1 cup water
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla paste or extract
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 tbsp maple syrup
• Fresh fruit to garnish (peach, passionfruit, pomegranate)

• Rince and drain the amaranth.  Add to a saucepan with the water, vanilla, cinnamon and salt.  
• Bring to the boil, cover and then simmer for 25 minutes or until cooked through, stirring occasionally. Add more water if required.  
• Once cooked stir through the milk and maple syrup.  Top with fresh fruit.  I have used sliced peach, passionfruit, pomegranate, coconut, bee pollen, and extra maple. 

Suitable for babies if you omit the maple syrup

• 1 ripe mangos;
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh pineapple
• 1/2 cup cooled rooibos tea
• 1 tablespoon of your sweetener of choice (maple syrup / honey / brown rice syrup)
• Handful of ice-cubes
• 1/4 cup black large tapioca pearls

• Add a few cups of water to a saucepan and once boiling add your tapioca pearls. Simmer until the pearls are tender. About 10 minutes. Drain and rinse under cold water. Leave to sit in cold water until you prepare the remaining ingredients.
• Add the mango, pineapple and ice to a blender along with the rooibos tea and blend until smooth. Add sweetener to suit your taste.
• Drain and add tapioca pearls to the bottom of your two glasses and top with the smoothie mixture. Serve cold.

Black tapioca pearls are available from asian grocersRooibos tea is available from supermarkets and is a great options for kids. Caffeine free

Add extra sweetener to suit your taste

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 35 minutes

Total Time 45 minutes

• 2 tablespoons olive oil ,or enough to cover the base of your frying pan
• 1 large onion ,finely chopped
• 4 cloves garlic ,or garlic paste
• 1 teaspoon turmeric
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar
• 1 large bunch coriander ,finely chopped
• 1 heaped tablespoon tamarind paste
• 500 ml water
• 600 grams ling fillets ,or any firm-fleshed white fish
• rice and shaved cucumber to serve

• Add olive oil to a frying along with the onion and cook until tender and the onion begins to colour. Add flour and cook stirring for a coupe of minutes. Add garlic, turmeric, ground coriander and sugar.
• Combine tamarind and water to a bowl an stir to dissolve.  Add to the pan and combine.  Partially cover and simmer for 15 minutes. 
• Dice fish into 2 inch sized pieces.  Add to pan and spoon some of the sauce over the top.  Season well with salt and pepper. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes or until the fish is cooked through. 
• If the sauce is still quite runny, remove fish and increase heat to high; reduce until it has thicken a little.  About 5 minutes. 
  Serve wth rice and a simple salad of shaved cucumber

Loosely based on a recipe from Sabrina Ghayour’s book Persiana 

• 1 cup dried apricot
• 1/2 cup traditional oats
• 1/4 cup desiccated coconut ,unsweetened
• 2 tablespoons hemp seeds
• 2 tablespoons chia seeds
• 1 tablespoon coconut oil ,melted

• Add all ingredients to a food processor.  Process until the mixture resembles a fine crumb.  Press together with your hands to see it will stick together once rolled.  If its too dry add a little extra coconut oil. 1 teaspoon at a time. 
• Roll into 1 tablespoon sized balls and coat in extra coconut, hemp seeds or chia seeds.  

Best kept in the freezer.  

• 1/4 cup olive oil + extra for roasting pumpkin
• 1/4 cup uncooked quinoa
• 1 large quince
• 1 Lebanese eggplant , chopped into 1/2 inch dice
• 1/4 jap pumpkin , pealed and chopped into small 1 inch dice
• 1 green capsicum , chopped
• 1 small onion , diced
• 1 tomato , diced
• 3 bay leaves
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 1 teaspoon cumin powder
• pinch of salt
• Handful of chopped parsley
• Pomegranate seeds to garnish

• Preheat oven to 180 degrees C (350 degrees F). Cook the quinoa according to the packet directions and then spread on a tray to cool; refrigerate until ready to use.
• Wash and dry quince and place on a baking tray, bake for 1 hour, or until soft. While that is cooking, spread pumpkin on a baking tray and drizzle with olive oil, toss to coat, and bake for 20-30 minutes, or until tender (you want it to hold its shape)
• Heat the 1/4 cup of olive oil in a large frying pan over high heat and cook the eggplant until golden and tender. Using a slotted spoon, scoop out eggplant and drain on paper towel. Now add the onion and sauté for 5 minutes or until soft. Stir in the capsicum, bay leaves, and cumin and reduce heat to low-medium; cover and cook for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Meanwhile, peel and dice the roasted quince and cut into 1 inch dice.
• Add the tomato and tomato paste to the capsicum mixture and cook for a few minutes. Add the roasted pumpkin, quince, eggplant, quinoa and parsley and gently mix together. Season to taste, add to a large bowl and garnish with pomegranate seeds

Increase the cumin to a couple of teaspoons if you enjoy the taste. I kept it very mild for the little dude…

• 150 g Sole Fillet (approximately 2 fillets with skin off and bones removed)
• 2 cups roughly chopped cauliflower
• 1 witlof
• a few sprigs of parsley
• zest of one lemon and a little squeeze of lemon juice

• Add all ingredients to a steamer basket except the lemon juice and cook until the vegetables are tender and the fish is cooked through. About 15 minutes
• Once cooked add to a blender with a squeeze of lemon juice and puree until smooth
• Serve warm, freeze remainder

Makes approximately 8 x 60 ml portions

• 1 large carrot;
• 1 large cucumber
• 4 small radishes
• 3 tablespoon of pickled ginger; finely sliced
• handful of mint or coriander; finely chopped.
• 100 ml rice wine vinegar
• 2 teaspoon sugar
• sesame seeds to garnish

• Using a vegetable peeler (preferably one that cut into long matchsticks) slice the carrot and cut into matchstick size pieces. Do the same with the cucumber and discard the middle once you get to the seeds. Thinly slice the radish and also chop into matchsticks. Add all to a bowl along with the ginger and coriander.
• Combine the vinegar and sugar in a saucepan and simmer for a couple of minutes. Cool slightly and add to the veggies. Toss well and refrigerate. Give the veggies another couple of turns when you think of it. Serve cold garnished with sesame seeds.

Pickled ginger is available from most supermarkets or you will find it at an asian supermarket

• 1 kg natural yoghurt
• olive oil
• salt (*optional)

• Place a few layers of cheese cloth or muslin over a bowl add add the yoghurt. Gather up the edges and secure. Hang the yoghurt over a large bowl so it can drip in the fridge for 2 to 3 days.
• Discard the whey*. Add the salt to the labneh if using and mix to combine. Rub olive oil into your hand and roll balls about the size of golf balls with the mixture. Place the balls into a jar and cover with olive oil.
• Refrigerate and use within about a month or so

I used a clip to secure my cheesecloth and then chop stick to hang it over the bowl. Alternatively place a strainer over a large bowl and place the cheesecloth in the strainer to allow it to drip through.
*As one of my lovely readers has pointed out – the whey that has been strained is no longer required for this recipe but you can most definitely keep it and add it to other recipes, such as making bread, fermenting foods, soaking nuts/beans/grains, add to smoothies, etc.

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 45 minutes

Total Time 55 minutes

Wet Ingredients

• 6 dates
• 1 1/2 cups mashed bananas ,about 4 medium super ripe spotty bananas
• 1 tsp vanilla bean paste ,or essence
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 2 eggs

Dry Ingredients

• 2 cups Spelt wholemeal flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 heaped teaspoon baking powder
• 1 heaped teaspoon cinnamon
• pinch salt

• Pre-heat oven to 180 degrees C (350 degrees F).Add dates to a small bowl and add boiling water to just covers the dates.  Allow to soak for a few minutes and then mash with a folk to form a paste. 
• Combine all the wet ingredients in a large bowl and mix to combine including the date paste.  
• Combine the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Add the wet ingredients and stir until just combined.  Don’t over stir. 
• Add to a lined loaf tin and bake for 45 minutes.  Test with a skewer, if it comes out clean it is ready.  Allow to cool on a wire rack and serve. 

This recipe is sweet but not super sweet like the brown sugar varieties.  Feel free to add extra dates or maple if you like.  I found it tasted sweeter the next day.  Cut into lunchbox sized portion and freeze.  Pop into lunch boxes frozen and it will defrost in the lunchbox before lunch time. 

• 2 blood oranges
• 1 orange
• handful of cumquats (optional); sliced
• 1 baby fennel
• 1/4 cup walnuts
• A couple of sprigs of chervil to garnish (or use the fennel fronds)

For the dressing

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 teaspoon maple syrup
• 1 teaspoon orange blossom water
• Salt and pepper

• Cut the top and bottom off the oranges. Run your knife down the sides to remove the remaining skin so there is no white left on the oranges. Slice the oranges.
• Using a mandolin to slice the fennel as fine as you can. Alternatively use a sharp knife to slice as fine as possible.
• Arrange the fennel on a plate and top with the oranges, cumquats, walnuts, and garnish with the chervil.
• For the dressing, combine all ingredients in a small bowl and combine. Drizzle over the salad. Serve, or refrigerate until ready to serve.

Serves 4 as a side. I prefer it served cold from the fridge, it allows everything to marinate and the fennel under the oranges to take on the other flavours.