Serves 6-8
Here’s a winning recipe the whole family can enjoy. Chia pods!
As always, involve the kids in the food selection and food preparation process. It is through involving our kids that we provide the foundation for them to take responsibility for their own health potential. And given the health status of our society and the how the future looks for our kids, I think this is the best gift we could give them. You may even find a new love, connection and appreciation for your food and yourself too.
Visit the blog page to watch me create the chia pods along my kids or scroll down below the video for the recipe.
This recipe is kid friendly, nut free, made with real food and preservative free. Chia pods work beautifully for breakfast or a snack.
3tbs Organic Chia Seeds
¼ cup coconut milk (or dairy free milk of choice. You can also use purified water)
Selection of your favourite fruits (My kids love; Blueberries, banana, and strawberries)
Additional Optional Toppings
Cacao Nibs
Nut butter (if no nut allergies)
Local organic honey
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Have a go at using lentils from dried, rather than tinned for this recipe. Brown lentils are a great choice for curries, stews and salads. They are one of the most common varieties of lentil, and probably the one that you’re most familiar with. They can range in color from khaki-brown to dark black, and generally have a mild, earthy flavor. They cook in about 20-30 minutes and hold their shape very well.
Lentils are super cheap and are also one of the most nutritious legumes. They’re high in minerals and help to assimilate protein and iron absorption. However, they can be pretty bland and boring and can upset your tummy and cause flatulence if not prepared correctly. The most important tip for lentils is to soak them. The longer they are soaked, the easier they are to digest. We suggest 24-48 hours. We have a wide range of lentils and legumes in the TWC pantry which includes red lentils, mung dal, black beluga lentils and mung beans.
Soak in a jar with room temperature, filtered water. Drain and rinse thoroughly before adding to recipes.
2 tbsp coconut oil
1 tbsp ground cumin
1 tbsp ground coriander
1 clove of garlic, crushed
400 g (1 can) crushed tomatoes
2 tbsp ginger, chopped
1 tbsp ground turmeric
2 tsp sea salt
1 cup pre-soaked green laird or french lentils, rinsed and drained
1 can coconut milk
1 cup cherry tomatoes
1 cup chopped cilantro
Recipe thanks to Rachel Morrow of Food Matters. Did you cook this up at home? Share it with us on Instagram for your chance to win a $50 voucher every month using our #myTWC tag!
I’m not sure there’s a more homely smell than soup cooking on the stove. This is my definition of comfort food and it’s now the PERFECT time of year to enjoy this food.
I’ve added pearl barley to this soup, instead of the traditional pasta – which makes it wheat free – a great bonus when you are looking to cut down on wheat.
You can replace the sliced bacon with a bacon hock and remove it when cooking is over, but for ease of ingredients – I used actual bacon in the recipe below. A nitrate-free bacon from free range pigs. It is heavenly. You don’t need much for a lot of flavour.
3 slices of the best bacon you can find and afford(naturally smoked adds an AMAZING flavour to this soup)
1 sliced onion
2 garlic cloves chopped
3 carrots chopped
3 zucchinis chopped
3 potatoes chopped
300g green beans chopped
2 tins chopped tomatoes
1 cup passata
1 litre chicken broth/stock
1.5 – 2 litres water
Dash of tamari
3 bay leaves
1 tsp heaped Italian herbs
1 cup pearl barley(or 1 cup gluten-free pasta spirals)
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These bubble bars are super easy, nut-free, dairy-free, gluten-free & vegan! They’re the perfect snack to have in the freezer for hungry tummies after school, or when that sweet tooth craving hits after dinner.
This recipe is perfect for customising. Try a mix of your favourite puffed grains like quinoa, buckwheat or millet. Add a scoop of peanut butter or your favourite nut butter for a richer treat, or melt some high quality, organic dark chocolate for a drizzle or drip. Like it fruity? Add in some roughly chopped dates, apricots or goji berries.
1. Mix together in a small mixing bowl the tahini, rice syrup, coconut oil and vanilla.
2. In a large mixing bowl combine all of the dry ingredients.
3. Oil hands with a little extra coconut oil, then pour the wet mixture over the dry mixture and use hands to gently crumble together until all ingredients are well combined.
4. Press mixture into a lined loaf pan, small square baking dish or individual muffin tins.
5. Place in the freezer to set for two hours or overnight, then cut into bars and enjoy.
6. Keep in an airtight container in the freezer.
Optional: Once cut into bars, melt high-quality dark chocolate in a double boiler and drizzle over bars. Use remaining chocolate to dip the bottoms of your bars in.
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There’s nothing we enjoy more than getting into the Food Matters Kitchen and recreating old favourites. As requested by one of our Food Matters Team Members, we’ve taken the much loved Shepard’s Pie and done our own spin on it to create a vegan version.
800 g sweet potatoes
1 small onion, diced
1 carrot, diced
3 cloves of garlic, crushed
2 sticks of celery, diced
1 tbsp ground coriander
1 tbsp olive oil
½ a bunch of fresh thyme
350 g mushrooms, chopped
12 sun-dried tomatoes, chopped
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 cups organic vegetable stock
400 g presoaked lentils, drained and rinsed
400 g presoaked chickpeas, drained and rinsed
Handful of fresh, flat-leaf parsley
2 sprigs of fresh rosemary
1 lemon
30 g almonds, crushed
1. Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C).
2. Peel and chop sweet potato into rough 2cm chunks and place into a large pan of cold, salted water over a medium heat. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 10 to 15 minutes, or until tender.
3. Drain and leave to steam dry, then return to the pan a pinch of sea salt and black pepper. Mash until smooth, then set aside.
4. To a medium pan over medium heat, add diced onion, carrot, celery, 2 of the crushed garlic cloves and ground coriander with a good splash of oil.
5. Pick in the thyme leaves, then cook until softened.
6. Meanwhile, roughly chop the mushrooms and sun-dried tomatoes, then add to the pan along with the vinegar. Cook until soft.
7. Stir in the stock, lentils and chickpeas, then leave to cook for 5 to 10 minutes or until slightly thickened and reduced. Add parsley, salt and pepper to taste and stir through.
8. Transfer to a baking dish (roughly 25 cm x 30 cm).
9. Spread the sweet potato mash over the top, scuffing it up with the back of a spoon.
10. In a small bowl add the third crushed garlic clove, rosemary leaves and crushed almonds with a splash of olive oil. Crush and mix together then sprinkle over the mash.
11. Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown on top. Serve with seasonal greens.
Have a go at creating this tasty recipe at home and show us your work by tagging us #myTWC on Instagram for your chance to score a $50 voucher every month!
This recipe is made utilising the brilliant gluten-free flour by Monica’s Mixes, in a great 2kg bag, perfect for home bakers.
Wet
2 small sweet potatoes
¼ cup coconut oil melted
¼ cup of your favourite nut butter, almond/coconut/sunflower all work
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 tsp vanilla extract
Dry
⅔ c Monica’s Mixes GF flour
⅔ c coconut sugar
½ c cacao
½ c roughly chopped walnuts
½ cup roughly chopped dark chocolate pieces
½ tsp baking powder
¼ tsp pink salt
1. Preheat oven to 200 deg celcius.
2. Prick sweet potatoes with a fork and roast in skins for 20-30 mins until soft.
3. Remove from oven. Turn oven down to 180.
4. Cut potatoes in half and allow to cool.
5. While cooling mix remaining wet ingredients together in one bowl and mix the dry ingredients together in a separate large mixing bowl.
6. When potatoes have cooled slightly mash into wet ingredients.
7. Add wet ingredients to dry and stir to combine. If the mix seems to dry add a splash of water.
8. Pour mix into lined loaf pan and bake for 20-25 minutes or until slightly firm to the touch.
Serve up with a big scoop of cacao nice-cream.
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Too hot for hot tea? Still want the benefits of functional naturopathic tea without sweating it out? No sweat (see what I did there?).
Iced tea will be your friend.
Here’s how to make it, thanks to The Organic Merchant.
Cold brewed tea is our personal favourite type of iced tea, as we find the flavours come out more delicate.
And that’s all there is to making homemade ice tea. After brewing the base you can now put all your creativity in your next pitcher. For parties, we suggest serving it with a clear spirit to make a refreshing summer cocktail.
– Can be stored in the fridge for up to 3 days.
– Our homemade iced teas are fantastic as a cocktail mixer or non-alcoholic mocktail base.
– You can speed up the cooling process by stirring in some ice cubes until melted or putting your homemade iced tea in your fridge or freezer for a while. But watch out to not store the hot beverage in there directly; it would just heat up your fridge. We recommend to let it reach room temperature before putting it in.
– Keep refrigerated and whenever you want a refreshment, serve in an iced tea jug and put some freshly cut fruit slices or a couple of mint leaves in to give it the final touch to your liking.
Jazz it up however you like to create your own version.
That’s basically all there is to know about how to make iced tea!
Check out our amazing flavours of organic naturopathic-grade functional tea, at ah-mazing savings.
Angela of 180 Nutrition: “Nourish your cells and get a fresh breath at the same time! This is a great way to indulge on your sweet tooth without feeling guilty afterwards. Mint has numerous health benefits such as easing digestion, ability to break down fats and has a cleansing effect on the body as well.”
1/2 cup raw organic (unsalted & shelled) pistachio
9-11 fresh mint leaves
water as needed (about 1/2 to 1 cup)
2 ripe frozen bananas
3-4 dates
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 scoop 180 Supefood Coconut
pinch of himalayan sea salt
ice (add ice last and enough to make your shake as thick and frosty as you like it. We add almost a whole tray)
1. Blend all ingredients together and enjoy.
2. I personally like to use a spoon to scoop
3. Good for 1 – 2 serves.
Show us your tasty wholefood smoothie creations on Instagram by tagging us #myTWC to go in the draw to win a $50 voucher every month!
Stu from 180 Nutrition: You will NOT believe how good these taste! My wife and kids made them for me on Saturday and I’ve been devouring the slices every single day. They tick all of my boxes (yes I’m fussy), with no gluten or added crap, it is actually healthy and I’ll be requesting another batch this weekend 🙂
2 cups of white quinoa (rinse it first)
1 cup of water
4 large eggs
1/2 cup of full-fat coconut cream
1/2 cup of psyllium husk
1/2 cup of 180 Natural Protein Superfood (chocolate)
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
3/4 cup coconut oil
1/2 cup of rice malt syrup
3/4 – 1 cup Cacao powder
1 & 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp pink/sea salt
1. Rinse the quinoa first, then bring the quinoa and water to the boil in a medium saucepan.
2. Cover, reduce to a simmer and cook for 10 min. Turn off the heat and leave covered for another 10 min.
3. Fluff with a fork and let it cool down. Pre-heat your oven to 180 degrees celsius. Get a large sized brownie tray/tin ready for the mixture.
4. Combine the coconut cream, water, eggs, vanilla in a blender or food processor.
5. Add the quinoa, the coconut oil and continue to blend it all up.
6. Whisk the other dry ingredients together then add the wet ingredients to the dry and combine. If the mixture seems too dry add a little more water.
7. Pour into a shallow brownie tray/tin and bake for about 35 min.
8. Check the brownie at 25 min (put a dry knife int the middle, it shouldn’t be wet when you take it out) and then add another 10min if needed. Keep an eye on it!
9. Slice it up, take it to work and make your friends jealous 🙂
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1 cup besan
1 cup water
1 tbsp olive oil + 1 tbsp extra for frying
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp smoked paprika
Salt
Pepper
Chili powder if desired
1. Whisk all ingredients except the frying oil together in a small bowl. Leave to rest while you preheat the oven to 200 degrees c and prepare the topping.
2. Heat the oil in a non-stick skillet over medium heat. Pour in the batter and cook for 1 minute over medium before placing in the oven for 8 minutes to finish cooking.
3. Check to ensure the mixture is cooked through before flipping onto a serving plate and topping.
Top with our Spanish topping mixture and a dollop of cashew cheese. This is best eaten hot fresh from the oven.
1 tomato diced
¼ avocado diced
⅛ spanish onion diced
1 tsp capers
1 tsp olive oil
1 tsp white wine vinegar
1 tbsp parsley chopped
Salt
Pepper
1. Combine together in a small bowl.
Set aside until pancake is ready.