Favourites: Aubergine Caviar

#easyfoodcreations #healthyeating

This is my version of the Aubergine (eggplant) caviar. It is so simple yet a very healthy alternative to dips and bread spreads available in the supermarkets. I had been making it for years yet never thought of sharing this recipe with anyone...it always vanished too fast!

It is truly a 4 ingredients recipe and I hope you will enjoy it too!

Ingredients:

1 large eggplant

0.5 medium onion

0.5c finely chopped fresh cilantro 

1 tbsp olive oil

Salt, pepper 

1. Bake the whole eggplant at 175c for about 35 minutes. Set aside to cool offa little bit.

2. Scoop out the eggplant inside and discard the skin. Then finely chop the eggplant flesh.

3. Finely chop the onion. 

4. Mix eggplant flesh with onion, chopped cilantro. Add olive oil, salt and pepper.

5. Place in the fridge for at least 1 hour. 

6. Serve cold with crackers, chips, bread, or as a side to a main dish. 

7. Enjoy!

Eat your greens: all the goodness (salad)

#easyfoodcreations #healthyeating #eatyourgreens

This salad is going to satisfy even the most picky eaters. Combination of sweet beats, tangy apple and cranberries, and crunchy walnuts is simply irresistible. It is my go-to salad when I am in a rush.

Serves: 1

Ingredients:

3-4 handfuls of of mixed greens

1 medium beet, cooked

1 apple

2 tbsp dried cranberries

2 handfuls of walnuts (I like to soak them for about 30 min before using them; it helps eliminate the bitter taste that some of us taste)

Dressing:

1tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp balsamic vinegar

1. Wash the greens, add chopped beets and apples.

2. Top it up with cranberries and walnuts, and drizzle with the dressing.

3. Enjoy!

Colorfull world: Red slaw / bean cakes

#easyfoodcreations #healthyeating #healthyeyes #vegan

#easyfoodcreations #healthyeating

Many of us struggle with adding more cabbage to our diet even though we know its health benefits. In Poland, red cabbage is very popular however, usually it is cooked and I feel it does not have the colour, taste or texture that appeals to me in that form. I found that I really enjoy its bright colour, crunchiness, and sweetness in the raw form much more.

Here are two recipes in one - bean cakes and red slaw.

Red slaw Ingredients:

0.5 head of small red cabbage, grated

1 Apple, grated

4 tbsp pumpkin seeds

3 tbsp dried cranberries

Dressing:

1 tbsp apple cider vinegar

5 tbsp olive oil

Salt, pepper

2 tbsp dried thyme

Bean cakes ingredients:

1 can black beans, drained and washed

1 c broccoli, blanched 

1.5 c Scottish oats

6 tbsp ground flax

2 tbsp olive oil

1 cup of fresh herbs (basil, mint, dill, parsley, cilantro)

Salt and pepper

1. Prepare red slaw by mixing all ingredients.
2. Blend beans, broccoli, olive oil and herbs and spices, with flax mixed with 6 tbsp of water. Add oats and mix well.
3. Fry bean cakes on a medium heat for a few minutes on each side.
4. Enjoy!

Leftover chilli with a face lift

We had chilli for a couple of days, I don't think we would be able to handle another day of the same ... Too booting for us! Today we only had some left, which was not enough to feed even one of us. Usually that would most likely end up in the bin as it was not enough for anyone to bother with reheating it (we don't have a microwave) and no one wanting to eat chilli once again.

Since I starting paying more attention to what we throw away I noticed that number one reason is leftovers in smaller quantities. Since we cook on daily basis we do not tend to throw away as much in unused spoiled produce - we do inventory eve two days what has to be used within next 4 days - it seems to be working well.

I am going to share how the boring chilli received a facelift. For this recipe you can use any other one-pot dish that you are left with.

#easyfoodcreations #healthyeating #leftoversstation

Preparation: 5 minutes

Baking: 25 min

Serves 3

Ingredients:

6 slices of bread, for this recipe white bread works best as it has higher gluten content and will hold together better. I used Ezekiel and it was quite challenging to work with. 

Leftovers chilli or any other one-pot dish

2T cheese, grated

Some water

1. Preheat your oven to 177c. In a meantime prepare you muffin form by spreading a little bit of butter.

2. Cut out bread crust from your bread slices. Roll bread slices flat with a rolling pin. If you bread is not very fresh or if it not a white bread you will need to use some water.

3. Put rolled bread in the muffin forms. Make sure you don't have any major holes. Sprinkle a little bit of cheese if you have any holes. Place in the oven for 5-7 minutes.

4. Take muffin form out of the oven. Fill forms out with your leftovers and sprinkle some cheese on top. Put in the oven for another 15-20 minutes.

5. In a meantime prepare veggies to go with the dish. I prepared blanched green beans and some chopped tomatos with whole olives.

6. Enjoy!

Veggies time: Baked daikon

One of our grocery cost cutting strategies involves hunting for deals, which I am going to call "Food Deal of the Week" category.
During our last shopping we found daikon at a super low price. One smaller size daikon cost us $0.86, which is about 1/3 of the regular price. We also found leeks to be at 1/3 of their regular price, which is a great news however, we only managed to get one last bunch which won't be enough for experiments as we use a lot of leeks in soups.

I decided to try something new with daikon. Typically I would grate it or slice it and eat it raw in salads or on its own.

#easyfoodcreations #fooddealoftheweek #healthyeating

Preparation: 2 min
Cooking and baking: 25 min
Serves 6

Ingredients:
1 small dikon, peeled and sliced into 1 inch pieces
2-3T soy sauce
1T sesame oil
1t green curry paste
1T grated cheese

1. Cook daikon for about 5 minutes in boiling water or broth.
2. Dry daikon, coat it in the mix of soy sauce, sesame oil, and curry paste. Heat the pan with some oil and fry on a high heat for about 2 minutes on each side, until lightly brown.
3. Transfer daikon to the baking pan, top it with grated cheese. Bake in a preheated oven to 177c for 15-20 minutes, until cheese gets slightly brown.
4. Serve on a bed of spinach leaves.
5. Enjoy!