Menu Plan Monday - 31st August

This week I really need to concentrate on using up what I've got in the fridge and freezer (leftovers, cooked rice, frozen fruit, grains, berries, nuts, dry bread, meat...). My organic vege box has had lots of tomatoes, parsnips, kale, potatoes, herbs, carrots and lettuce. Unfortunately, no avocados this week, which we will miss. Our own little garden (in pots, as we're moving) is starting to grow again, since the horses devoured it one night. So soon we'll have plenty of lettuce, herbs, shallots, carrots, celery, etc - I hope! I'll be keeping it pretty simple, as I'll be busy with packing.

If you'd like some ideas to help you plan your menu for the week, check out Menu Plan Monday at "I'm an Organising Junkie". And there's also ideas for meals using your Thermomix at the Thermomix forum. Drop by and have a chat!

I'm also working on the steps outlined so far in Cyndi O'Meara's teleseminars - cutting down on tea and coffee (not that I drink coffee very often) and increasing water intake; making sure we use healthy salts; eating a good breakfast which includes protein and carbs and fresh fruit; and having at least four pieces of fresh fruit per day. (Cyndi is the Australian nutritionist who wrote the bestseller, "Changing Habits, Changing Lives.") Cyndi's seminars are SO helpful - I wish everybody could hear them. At the moment you can listen in for free, and even have your questions answered by her personally - just click on the link below and sign up on her site. The seminars are happening every second Monday night, at 8pm to 9pm. Hope you can join in!

Free Teleseminars with Cyndi O'meara

TMX = prepared with and/or cooked in my Thermomix.

Monday:

(lunch) Soup made with leftovers & veges (TMX); spelt bread (TMX).

(dinner) Roast beef, baked veges, gravy (TMX).

Tuesday:

(lunch) Lentil bolognaise sauce (TMX) on pasta, raw vege sticks.

(dinner) Beef & gravy (leftovers) on bean & parsnip mash (TMX), beetroot salad (TMX).

Wednesday:

(lunch) Tuna salad (made with homemade mayo - TMX) sandwiches on spelt bread (TMX).

(dinner) Colcannon (mashed potato & cabbage) TMX, steamed veges TMX, turkey mince patties.

Thursday:

(lunch) Salmon & potato patties with raw vege sticks.

(dinner) Stir-fry chicken winglets with steamed veges & rice (all TMX).

Friday:

(lunch) 'Fried' rice (TMX).

(dinner) Crockpot barbecue beef ribs with mashed potato (TMX) & salad.

Saturday:

(lunch) leftovers, tortillas, salad.

(dinner) Fish strips, tortillas, salad.

Sunday:

(lunch) Roast chicken, veges, gravy.

(dinner) Chicken soup (made with leftovers) with dumplings.

Other cooking using my Thermomix: pineapple sorbet, berry nougat, spelt breads, apricot/almond cookies, tomato sauce, mayonnaise, tortillas, chocolate cake, sundried tomato & cashew dip.

Crunchy Gingernut Cookies

The kids and I enjoyed these gingernut cookies today - and I'm sure when Daddy gets home from work, he'll enjoy them too! (Hopefully not too much - I want some left for tomorrow!)

In my quest for dairy-free substitutes, I decided to try lard instead of butter. Some of you may be throwing up your hands in horror, but if you're not vegetarian, you'll probably agree that some animal fat is okay, and even desirable, in your diet. In case you didn't know, lard is making a comeback after years of vilification by big food corporations eager to push on us their plastic substitutes. To read up on lard, and why it's better than margarine and vegetable oils, read this article. (I've used a mixture of lard and light olive oil - you could use butter or coconut oil instead of the lard if you like, but it may change the texture.)

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees C (350 degrees F). Place in your Thermomix bowl (or in a regular mixing bowl) and mix on speed 6 for 10 seconds (or by hand):
- 400g (2 1/4 cups) unbleached plain spelt flour (or mixture of plain and wholemeal)
- 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp ground cloves
- 1 tsp ground ginger (more if you like)
- 1/2 tsp fine sea salt
- 140g (1 cup) Rapadura

2. Add, and mix for 30 seconds, speed 6 (or until well mixed), using spatula to help mix:
- 100g lard (or butter or coconut oil)
- 80g olive oil
- 90g blackstrap molasses
- 1 egg
Mixture may be slightly crumbly - check if it can be pressed together and rolled into balls - if it falls apart, add a little more oil.

3. Roll dough into walnut sized balls and place on greased or lined baking sheets, about 2 inches apart. Take a flat-bottomed glass, and dip the glass in a saucer of Rapadura, then press a cookie flat. Repeat with the rest of the cookies. (See picture below.)
- extra Rapadura for top of cookies

4. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until slightly browned and darker on edges - some ovens take longer than others, so check! (Swap trays around halfway through cooking so they brown evenly.)

Leave to cool on trays so they get nice and crisp. Store in airtight container in the freezer if not using straight away.

But I don't think they'll last long once the kids smell them... and someone else at our place was pretty keen to get a taste... ! (Must be all that molasses in them!)

Menu Plan Monday - 24th August

My life is very busy, and planning my menu for the week helps me keep ahead. If you'd like to start menu planning, and you need some tips, ideas and recipe suggestions, go to Menu Plan Monday at I'm an Organizing Junkie.

This week I'm trying out a few recipes from the Thermomix Varoma cookbook - I love that cookbook! Our favourite one so far is the chocolate filled steamed buns with cherry sauce... this week I think I'll try the Chicken Spelt Salad, steamed dim sims and Chinese buns, canneloni (with my homemade pasta dough) and the Chocolate Puddings. Yum!

We had a lot of fun last week making pasta with the kids (there were seven kids running around, helping off and on) - we made buckwheat and spelt fettucine and lasagne noodles. It takes a bit of time, but it's really worth it - there's nothing like homemade pasta! I'll be posting my pasta sauce recipe this week.

Have a great week!

[TMX = made or prepared in my Thermomix]

- Monday -

lunch: Corned beef, potatoes, sweet potatoes, carrots, broccoli and peas with dairy-free white sauce (TMX)

dinner: Hush puppies (or cornbread fritters - below) made with leftovers, with leftover white sauce

- Tuesday -

lunch: Fried rice (using leftover rice from breakfast), steamed dim sims (TMX) & Chinese buns (TMX)

dinner: Tuna noodle casserole (TMX) x 2, and salad

- Wednesday -

(Out all day - dinner prepared ahead for family)

lunch: leftover fried rice, buns, dim sims, salad

dinner: Tuna noodle casserole

- Thursday -

lunch: Chicken & spelt salad (TMX), vege sticks.

dinner: (home late) Crockpot creole bean soup.

- Friday -

lunch: Leftover soup and spelt rolls

dinner: Homemade canneloni (TMX)

- Saturday -

lunch: (out all morning) Crockpot baked potatoes & salad

dinner: friend's place for dinner

- Sunday -

lunch: (church) Crockpot roast beef & veges

dinner: leftovers

Chocolate-Filled Steamed Buns with Cherry Sauce

How's this for decadent, delicious and divine???

It is so quick and easy, and very, very yummy! If you love chocolate, cherries and bread, you'll love this! I learnt to make this at my Varoma training yesterday, and came home and made it again (my own, quirky way) for the family - they loved it. In fact, the leftovers kept calling us this morning, so we ate them for breakfast! (Hee hee) Don't worry, we had scrambled eggs with mince and mushrooms first, so we didn't only eat sweets. (Our meals tend to get a little back to front when my DH is working night shift!)

This recipe is adapted from the "Chocolate Yeast Dumplings with Cherry Sauce" recipe in the Thermomix Varoma cookbook... I just 'tweaked' it to make it more allergy friendly. (For those who don't have a Thermomix, the Varoma is a steamer - maybe you can figure out how to make it in a vege steamer - I'm not sure.)

1. Grind spelt for 1 minute on speed 9:

- 100g spelt grain

2. Add, and mix for 6 seconds on speed 6:

- 1 sachet (1 Tblspn) instant yeast
- 30g honey
- 400g unbleached plain spelt flour
- 1/2 tsp fine sea salt
- 1 egg
- 30g macadamia oil (or ghee/butter)

- 200g rice/almond milk (or water)

3. Knead for 2 minutes on interval speed, adding more flour if needed. (Poke dough - if it's too sticky add some more flour through hole in lid while mixing.)

4. Leave the dough in the bowl and let it rise until doubled. Knead again on interval speed for a few seconds, then take dough out of bowl and divide into 16 pieces. Flatten each piece into a rough circle with hands (about 1 cm thick), and place a piece of chocolate in the middle of each one, folding dough around it to form a little bun:

- 16 fat squares of dark chocolate (you can use any chocolate you like - I prefer Lindt 70% cocoa as it's dairy free)

5. Place the buns in buttered/oiled Varoma bowl and tray, leaving some space between them so they can spread out. Leave them to rise a little for 10 minutes or so.

6. Pour room temperature water into Thermomix bowl, place Varoma on top, and steam for 20 minutes, Varoma temperature, speed 1:

- 500g water
Check to see if buns are cooked - add a bit more time if not. Note: Be careful when removing the Varoma lid - angle it away from you so the steam doesn't burn you, and remove it so the condensation doesn't drip down onto the buns.

7. Set Varoma aside, empty water out of bowl, and place in bowl the sauce ingredients:

- 1 jar pitted sour cherries (about 700g)
- 15g corn starch

- 30g Rapadura

8. Blend for 10 seconds, speed 4 for a chunky sauce, or 15 seconds, speed 8 for a smooth sauce. (Sometimes some pits are still in the cherries, so if you hear any in there, turn speed down and just mix briefly. You can continue with recipe, and pick them out when serving it up.)

9. Place Varoma back on top (to keep buns warm), and cook sauce for 8 minutes, 100 degrees, speed 2.

10. Serve buns topped with cherry sauce while hot.

I dare you to try and just eat one! :)

Thermomix 'Fried' Rice

This is a very easy, quick and healthy way to make a big batch of fried rice. It easily feeds our family of six, with leftovers. The rice, veges and egg are actually steamed - no oil is needed. You can use basmati rice and it will cook in about 20 minutes, or with brown rice it will cook in 35 minutes. And you don't have to stand there stirring! Thanks to my friend Nancy for teaching me this method years ago with bacon and veges - there's lots of possible variations, so be creative and make up your own versions too. You can use as much meat and veges as will fit in the Varoma - I've just given some suggestions, not definite amounts.

1. Place rice basket into Thermomix bowl, and weigh in:

- 400g of raw rice (or less if you want a smaller batch).

2. Remove basket, and pour into bowl:

- 400g coconut milk
- 500g water (for white or basmati rice) / 700g water (for brown rice)

3. Rinse rice under tap, then place basket back in bowl. Fasten lid onto bowl, place Varoma on top, and start cooking - Varoma temperature, 20 mins (white) or 35 mins (brown), speed 4.

4. While rice begins cooking, chop up meat and/or veges, placing it into the Varoma as you go.

(I do it this way, as it's quicker than preparing it all then starting the cooking. I put each ingredient in as it's prepared, replacing Varoma lid each time - meat, then hard veges, then quicker cooking veges - that way the hard and soft veges and the meat are all finished cooking at the same time.)

5.  Place the cubed meat in the bottom of the Varoma in a single layer, then top with the preferred veges:

- 100g - 200g of cubed chicken or fish and/or prawns (you can marinate it for a little while first in some soy sauce, curry powder, garlic, ginger, and honey, or whatever marinade you prefer)

  (or some chopped bacon, preferably organic)

- 1 sliced onion/shallots/leeks

- carrots, sliced or julienned

- celery, sliced

- kohlrabi, thin strips or julienned

- broccoli/cauliflower florets

- cabbage, shredded

- spinach/silverbeet, sliced

- frozen peas & corn

- cashews or slivered almonds (opt.)

6. Line the top Varoma tray with a piece of wet baking paper, and pour in:

- 4 to 5 eggs, whisked

Replace lid, and leave to steam.

7. Check meat, veges, egg and rice after 20 mins to make sure they're all cooked. (With basmati rice, it's generally cooked after about 17 minutes, but I just leave it for the full 20, and everything's usually done by then. With brown rice, just add the veges when there's only 15 minutes left to go, and add the eggs when there's 5 minutes left, and they should be done at the same time as the rice that way.)

8. Remove Varoma and place lid underneath.  Remove rice basket using spatula, and tip rice into Varoma bowl.  Add the meat and veges. Slice the egg up in tray (see photo) and tip into Varoma bowl with rice.  Season with some tamari sauce / soy sauce / sweet chilli sauce, mix together gently, and serve!

Slice egg in the tray and add to rice and veges.

Serve fried rice in the Varoma bowl with the lid underneath to catch any drips.

Baked Chicken with Cashew Satay Sauce

This is my favourite 'satay' sauce ever - it's so quick to make, and very tasty! If you don't have time to bake the chicken, you can just add the cashew sauce to stir-fried chicken and veges, or even just veges (and leave out the extra chicken stock).

1. Place chicken skin side up in roasting pan & brush with butter/oil:
- 1 large chicken, cut into pieces, or chicken thighs/breasts
- 2 Tbspns melted butter/ghee/olive oil

2. Bake for about 2 hours at 180° (350°) while preparing sauce.

Cashew Satay Sauce

3. Grind up in Thermomix for about 30 seconds on speed 7:
- 130g raw cashews
- 6 garlic cloves, peeled
- 2 inches fresh ginger, peeled

- 2 inch piece of fresh red chilli (or to taste)
- 1 large bunch cilantro / flat leaf parsley / coriander (or mixture)
- 1 Tbspn extra virgin olive oil
- 40g Tamari
- 40g rice vinegar

- 1 Tblspn chicken stock paste (or some chicken stock powder - eg. Massel brand)

4. Add and blend on speed 8 for 10 seconds:
- 400ml coconut cream/milk

5. When chicken is baked and golden, remove to a pre-heated platter and keep warm. Add to roasting pan and scrape bottom of pan to remove drippings:
- 2 cups chicken stock
- 1 Tbspn gelatin (optional)
6. Pour juices into Thermomix (with cashew sauce) and cook for 5 minutes at 90 degrees, speed 4. Season to taste.

7. Serve chicken on rice with cashew sauce poured over, and stir-fried veges, steamed veges, or salad on the side.

[Note: picture shows sauce which is not as green as usual as I only had a small bunch of coriander - make it as 'green' as you like!]

Menu Plan Monday - 17th August

When you plan your menu this week, don't forget to take into account all the lovely seasonal fruit and veges around at the moment. I've just found a wonderful website where you can check what's in season now, find out how to store, prepare, and use these fruits and vegetables, and even print out recipes for each one! It's called Market Fresh - Fruits & Vegetables - check it out. This is a very handy website to have bookmarked, especially for those of us who are part of a local CSA and sometimes receive veges in our boxes that we have no idea what to do with! (lol)

At the moment I'm getting a nice variety of veges in my vege box - chinese broccoli (has lots of edible leaves - very yummy), tomatoes, carrots, cabbage (various types), silverbeet, avocados, sugar snap peas, beetroot, zucchini, potatoes, and herbs. I've also got other varieties of organic veges and fruits coming from the markets down south, which will arrive tomorrow. Plus some lima beans from a friends' garden - yum! The good thing about having all these fresh veges arriving each week is we are eating more veges than ever - and the kids are learning to enjoy lots of different varieties. I still think the simplest preparation is the best - steamed (which we do in the Thermomix) or in salads - but I also use veges in lots of other ways, like in stir fries, pasta sauces, soups, pies, stews, etc.

If you need some menu planning inspiration, go to Menu Plan Monday at I'm an Organizing Junkie. And the Thermomix Forum members have started their own menu planning thread too - so if you're a Thermomix owner, check it out.

Here's our menu... Have a great week!

(TMX stands for 'cooked and/or prepared in the Thermomix)

Monday: (lunch) leftovers; (dinner) Green Cashew Chicken Curry (TMX) on rice (making lots so I have leftovers).

Tuesday: (lunch) Vege & chickpea pasta sauce (TMX) on spelt fettucine; (dinner) leftovers/salad & spelt bread (home late).

Wednesday: (lunch) Crockpot Ragout; (dinner) Vege soup (TMX) and spelt rolls (TMX).

Thursday: (lunch) Free Form Vegetable Pie (made with my own spelt & lard rough puff pastry, TMX); (dinner) Fish strips with baked potatoes and salad.

Friday: (lunch) Tuna mornay (dairy free) (TMX) on rice & corn pasta (made ahead - I'll be out); (dinner) leftovers & salad.

Saturday: (lunch) Spaghetti bolognaise(TMX) on rice pasta & beetroot salad (TMX) & spelt rolls (TMX); (dinner) Lima bean stew & salad.

Sunday: (lunch) Beef pot roast (crockpot with veges); (dinner) Spelt rolls (TMX) and beef and vege soup (TMX) (made from leftovers).

Flourless Pecan Cake (GF, DF)

I'm so excited - I've come up with a really yummy version of my favourite flourless nut cake, and it's completely dairy free and gluten free and naturally sweetened... and very moist and delicious too!!! I've given it the ultimate taste test - I took it to a church supper and gave some to the teenage boys - they are VERY suspicious of anything 'healthy' - especially if it is dairy-free, gluten free and contains no refined sugar. They actually came back for seconds and thirds, and it dissapeared in no time! Afterwards I thought that was a pretty silly thing to do, because now they won't be so wary of my 'health food' and next time there won't be much left for the adults! :)

This is such an easy recipe if you have a Thermomix, or a very powerful blender - you just chuck it all in and blend it up! No mucking around with separating eggs, grinding up sugar, scraping out vanilla beans... a simple, idiot-proof recipe.

BTW, see my original recipe here, as well as some variations such as hazelnut chocolate/coffee cake.

Isn't that a lovely texture?

Okay, enough rambling... here it is!

Place all the ingredients in the Thermomix bowl (or in a powerful blender), and blend on speed 9 for 20 seconds (or until well-blended), scraping down sides if needed:

- 170g raw pecans

- 60g dates

- 60g Rapadura

- 100g coconut cream (just scoop off the thickest cream from the top of the tin of coconut cream, or make your own - it should be thick like thickened dairy cream)

- 1 whole vanilla bean, snipped into 3cm pieces (or use 1 tsp of vanilla extract)

- 4 large eggs

- 1/4 tsp fine sea salt

- 1 Tblspn arrowroot flour (or gf cornflour/cornstarch)

- 1 tspn gf baking powder

Tip into lined, 20cm round cake tin, and bake for about 40 minutes at 180 degrees, or until knife inserted in centre comes out clean.

Drizzle with pure maple syrup while still warm. Enjoy!

Changing Habits, Changing Lives

You've probably noticed that I use quite a few recipes from this wonderful cookbook, "Changing Habits, Changing Lives"... The author of this best selling book and cookbook is Australian nutritionist, Cyndi O'Meara. I have been to two of her seminars (where we Thermomix consultants demonstrate her healthy way of cooking using the Thermomix), and I highly recommend them!

Cyndi is inspirational - she shows that healthy eating is so much simpler and easier than people think, and that anyone can change their bad eating habits and regain their health, if they do it one step at a time. The key is to know why the habit needs changing, and then take it slowly, changing one habit at a time!

I found that when I really understood why something was bad for me, and exactly what it was doing to me, I was much more motivated to change. So if you'd like some encouragement and new information concerning the way you eat and how it affects your health, have a read of this book. (And if you can get along to any of Cyndi's seminars, they are well worth it!)

For the next couple of months you can actually buy Cyndi's book for $19.95 (it's usually $30) as she is running a FREE Teleseminar (worth $550!) starting this month, and you need to have the book to join in. This is a great way to get personal advice, encouragement and assistance from Cyndi. To find out how to join in the Teleseminar, click on the link above, or in the side bar.

I hope this will be a help to you all, as it has been to me.

Fruit-Filled Breakfast Brioche

This morning I made a filled brioche for breakfast. There's nothing like steaming hot fruit encased in a sweet bread to make the kids get out of bed! It was supposed to be filled with the leftover cooked apples and cinnamon I had in the fridge, but when I went to get them, they were gone... (My kids love cooked apple - they eat it on toast.) So in the absence of anything else, I used a tin of peaches. It was still yummy!

This is an easy breakfast if you're an early riser - it took an hour and a half from beginning to end (but only about 10 minutes of actual work). If you're not an early riser, have it for morning or afternoon tea! (I use my Thermomix, which makes it very quick. If you have to make it by hand it will of course take longer.)

1. Place in Thermomix bowl and mix for 10 seconds, speed 6:

- 400g unbleached plain spelt flour

- 2 tsp (or 1 sachet) instant dry yeast

- 60g honey

- 40g oil (or butter)

- 1 egg (optional)

- 1/2 tsp fine sea salt

- 150g rice/almond milk (or other milk) (approx. - check as you mix to see if you need more milk or more flour)

2. Mix on interval speed for 3 minutes, wrap in breadmat (or place in oiled bowl and cover), and rise in cold oven for 20 - 30 minutes with a shallow pan of boiling water in the bottom of the oven to create steam.

3. Remove from oven and roll dough into a circle, about 1 cm thick. Place dough on pizza tray lined with baking paper. Spoon cooked/tinned fruit onto centre of dough, and fold dough over it into the centre, leaving a hole so you can still see some of the fruit.

4. Place tray back in cold oven and turn it on to 180 degrees C (less if fan-forced). (Leave the pan of hot water in the oven.) Leave to rise and bake for about 25 minutes, checking towards the end and turning tray so it browns evenly. May need a little more time - lift brioche up a little to check if it's browned underneath.

5. Slip onto a large plate, slice like a pie, and serve hot!

Sunny Scalloped Eggs & Broccoli (or Silverbeet)

This is an easy, light meal that is handy for using up all that lovely fresh broccoli or silverbeet that's in season right now. We like it for lunch, as it's got lots of protein from the eggs and the broccoli/silverbeet, and protein is very helpful for keeping you awake and energised! We're dairy free, so I make my own rice & almond milk, which saves us lots of money, but you could use regular milk if preferred. We're getting lots of eggs from our chickens right now as well, so all round, this is an very inexpensive meal for us. Serve with raw vege sticks.

1. Chop up and place in Varoma

- 2 cups of broccoli (or silverbeet)

2. Place in steamer basket in bowl:

- 6 eggs

Fill bowl with 500g water. Put on the lid, and place Varoma on top.

3. Steam eggs and broccoli (or silverbeet) for 15 mins, Varoma temperature, speed 1. (If the veges need more time, take the eggs out, and keep steaming until done.) Tip water out of bowl, set eggs aside.

4. Add to bowl, and chop for 5 seconds on speed 5:

- 1/2 onion

- 1 stick of celery, quartered

- a few mushrooms (optional)

5. Add oil and saute for 2 minutes, 100 degrees, reverse speed 1:

- 20g olive oil

6. Add remaining ingredients and cook for 7 minutes, 90 degrees, reverse speed 3:

- 500g rice/almond milk

- 4 Tblspns plain flour (I use spelt, but rice or other flour would work)

- 1 tsp sea salt (or to taste)

- pepper

7. While white sauce is cooking, peel eggs and slice in half. In a baking dish, spread greens, then place eggs on top in two rows. When sauce is cooked, pour and spread over eggs.

8. Without cleaning out bowl, add and mix on speed 6 for a few seconds until made into crumbs:

- two pieces of wholemeal bread (use your day old bread that's getting a bit dry)

- 2 tsp of olive oil or butter

- a handful of fresh parsley

9. Sprinkle crumbs over white sauce. Place casserole dish under hot grill to brown slightly, and serve.

Chocolate (or Carob) Almond Smoothie

We often have smoothies for either breakfast or morning tea - they're great for energy, and a quick way to fill up hungry tummies. We don't use milk, just nuts and seeds with water to make nut milk, plus either fruit and ice, or chocolate or carob powder. The kids asked for a chocolate milkshake this morning, so here's my healthy version.

First, grind up in your Thermomix on speed 9 for about 10 seconds:

- 80g raw almonds

- 20-30g of seeds - pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, linseeds, chia seeds (opt)

Add dates and grind again on speed 9 for 10 seconds:
- 80-100g dates (depending how sweet you like it)

Add ice and grind another 10 seconds on speed 9:
- 2 trays of ice cubes (or more if you want it thicker)
 

Add other ingredients to the bowl, and blend on speed 9 for a minute:

- 600-800g water

- 30g raw cacao or carob powder

You'll probably end up with some chewy bits of dates at the bottom, so just scoop them out with a spoon and eat them - delicious!

For a chocolate (or carob) 'green' smoothie, add a couple of handfuls of baby spinach or butter lettuce, and some pieces of frozen avocado... I make this for the kids and they have no idea it has spinach in it! ;)

To make a chocolate (or carob) banana smoothie, you just use frozen chunks of banana instead of the ice - no other sweetener needed.
 

Meatball, Vege & Bean Soup

I made up this recipe today, and it's delicious! (If I may say so myself!) I made it completely in the Thermomix, but if you want to make it on the stovetop, just chop the veges and saute in oil, add stock & water & beans, bring to boil, and drop in meatballs and simmer til cooked. Yum!

1. Grind bread into crumbs and set aside:

- 2 pieces wholemeal spelt/gluten free bread

(Also grind meat into mince if making your own, then set aside.)

2. Place in TMX bowl, and chop on speed 5 for about 5 secs, or until consistency desired:

- 2 cloves garlic

- 1/2 onion

- 1 large leek, chopped in chunks

- 1 carrot, quartered

- 1 celery stick, quartered

- 2 ripe juicy tomatoes, quartered

(or any other combination of veges you prefer!)

3. Add oil and saute at 100 degrees for 5 mins, reverse, speed 1:

- 2 Tblspns olive oil

4. Add and cook for 25 minutes, Varoma, reverse speed 2 (while making meatballs):

- 2 Tblspns vege stock concentrate (or to taste)

- 2 Tblspns tomato paste

- a couple of handfuls sliced mushrooms

- 1 tsp Italian herbs (dried)

- water (up to 2 litre mark)

5. Meanwhile, mix together in a bowl and make into bite-sized meatballs, and place them in the Varoma (both trays) spread slightly apart for the steam to get through:

- 500g beef / turkey / chicken mince

- breadcrumbs

- 1 large egg

- dash each of ground cumin, ground sage, cayenne pepper, oregano, salt & pepper

- dash of tamari sauce

(As soon as they're made, take the MC off the TMX bowl and place the Varoma on top - try and get it done before the steaming begins!)

6. Remove Varoma (put lid underneath to catch drips) and add to bowl:

- 1 tin cooked cannelini beans, drained

- water to top up soup to 2 litres again

7. Replace Varoma, cook for 5 more minutes at Varoma, reverse, speed 1. Make sure meatballs are cooked!

8. Serve soup into bowls, add a few meatballs, and enjoy! (You could sprinkle with some grated parmesan if you can have it.)

Menu Plan Monday - 10th August

If you're wondering how a family of six uses a Thermomix to save time and money on their food, read on!

This week I really need to use up things in the freezer, fridge and cupboards, as we're getting ready to move! I have so many veges in the fridge - mostly greens, carrots and capsicums - as last week was so busy I didn't get all the cooking done that I'd planned to do. This week is going to be just as busy, if not worse, so I'm going to try and keep it simple. I love cooking so much that sometimes I go a bit overboard with my plans, and end up spending most of the day in the kitchen... so this week I'm trying to implement the K.I.S.S. method - 'Keep It Simple, Stupid!'

I'm also trying to work on having more protein at breakfast and lunch, and more carbohydrates at dinner, as protein gives you energy and wakes you up, while carbohydrates make you sleepy (see Cyndi O'Meara's book "Changing Habits, Changing Lives" for more information). I really notice this when homeschooling my kids - the last thing I want is sleepy, floppy kids who can't concentrate on their work in the mornings, then wake up and go balistic at night when you're trying to get them to bed! So for breakfast we've been having things like fruit or fruit smoothies, and...

- mince (beef/turkey) in white sauce gravy (dairy free) on spelt toast;

- poached eggs and mince patties with toast;

- porridge with fruit and finely chopped nuts;

- boiled eggs chopped up in a white sauce (dairy free) on spelt scones;

- bean & vege patties;

- scrambled eggs on toast;

- wholegrain pancakes with pecans and apple sauce/pure maple syrup (I only have one or two with syrup - too sweet!) ...

This kind of breakfast keeps you going for a while, and gives you heaps more energy. This is how I was raised, and is the kind of breakfast I prefer - I've never liked sickly sweet breakfasts, or cereal out of a box - it makes me feel a bit ill, and my blood sugar sinks very low by about 9.30am if I eat like that. Try having a higher protein breakfast and lower protein dinner, and see if it helps your energy in the day, and sleeping patterns at night! (Note: I can't completely cut out protein at night or my husband would miss out on meat meals, so I'm cutting down on the meat and adding more carbs at night.)

Have fun cooking for your family, and remember, if you need inspiration, check our orgjunkie.com's Menu Plan Monday. You'll also get some great ideas from the recipe blogs at thermomix.com.au, and the thermomix forums. Have a great week!

(TMX) - prepared and/or cooked in Thermomix.

Monday: (lunch) Meatball & bean & vegetable soup (TMX); (dinner) Vegetable curry (TMX) on brown rice.

Tuesday: (lunch) Stir Fry veges & beans (TMX) with quinoa (TMX); (dinner) Marinated chicken wings (crockpot) with basmati rice and leftover stir fry veges (for the family - I'll be at a TMX demo).

Wednesday: (lunch) Scalloped eggs with broccoli (TMX); (dinner) Salmon patties (TMX), mashed potatoes (sweet & regular) (TMX), lots of steamed veges (TMX).

Thursday: (lunch) Savoury lentils (TMX) on rice (TMX) with raw vege sticks; (dinner) Crumbed steak, baked potatoes, steamed veges (TMX).

Friday: (lunch) Chilli Taco Salad (dairy free version); (dinner) Creamy vegetable soup (TMX) (dairy free).

Saturday: out for lunch (demo); (dinner) Potato wedges, dairy-free 'sour cream', tuna patties & veges.

Sunday: (lunch) Roast chicken & baked veges; (dinner) Soup (TMX) & spelt bread rolls (TMX) using this recipe.

Menu Plan Monday - 3rd August

Here we are again at the start of another week - here's my menu plan, what about yours? Pop over to Menu Plan Monday and post what you're cooking this week! (This week's 'Menu Plan Monday' is being hosted by The Happy Housewife.)

TMX stands for 'cooked or prepared in the Thermomix'.

Monday: (lunch) Chicken a la King TMX on rice; (dinner) Vegetable pasta TMX, broccoli & corn on the cob.

Tuesday: (lunch) Leftover Chicken a la King on spelt scones TMX; (dinner) Latcham Pie (beef and mashed potato (TMX) pie, from Cyndi O'Meara's cookbook, "Changing Habits, Changing Lives") and steamed veges TMX.

Wednesday: (lunch) Soup TMX & leftovers with spelt bread rolls TMX; (dinner) Lamb & Spinach Curry (from Cyndi's cookbook) on brown rice TMX.

Thursday: (lunch) Baked potato wedges & salad TMX; (dinner) Crockpot Pot Roast with veges.

Friday: (lunch) Leftovers/soup made from leftovers TMX; (dinner) Fish sticks & raw vege sticks.

Saturday: (lunch) Picnic at the beach (if weather's good!)... Tuna salad sandwiches on spelt bread TMX, fruit, homemade lemonade TMX; (dinner) Who knows? Something on the way home!

Sunday: (lunch) Crockpot steak and vege bake; (dinner) Pumpkin soup TMX and spelt rolls TMX.