Apricot Chicken & Spinach Pilaf

This delicious one pot slow cooker wonder is so easy and quick to throw together. The chicken and rice go really well with the fragrant spices, sweet apricots and velvety super green spinach. I dolloped a tablespoon of fresh live yoghurt on the top and it worked really well. Plates were empty so I’m guessing it was a hit with the kids!

I like to use chicken thigh meat because I think it has better flavour, especially from an organic chicken. You could also use chicken breast if you prefer but the breast does create a slightly drier texture. I also like to use the unsulphured dried apricots which are darker in colour and sometimes brown rice for this recipe.

You will need the following ingredients:

    Ingredients

    1 tbsp of coconut oil or ghee

    1 finely chopped onion

    4 chopped garlic cloves

    2tsp of cumin seeds

    2 tsp of ground coriander

    2 tsp of tumeric

    1 cinnamon stick

    A small handful of chopped dried apricots

    1 1/4 cups of basmati

    3 chopped up chicken breasts or 6 chopped up thighs

    700ml of vegetable stock

    3 cubes of frozen spinach

    Live yoghurt to serve

    Set the slow cooker to high (2 -3hrs cooking time) or low (4-5 hrs cooking time) depending on the length of time you have to cook the meal. I like to prep my meals late morning or around lunchtime so that everything is ready for dinner around 5pm.

    Add the coconut oil or ghee to the slow cooker and let it melt. Add in the onion, garlic, spices and chopped apricots and give it a stir around to coat everything evenly.

    Add the chopped up chicken meat into the rice mixture and stir evenly to coat in the spices, apricots and rice. Add in the hot stock, frozen spinach cubes and stir once more.

    Pop the lid on and leave to cook for the required time as above – high setting (2 -3hrs) or low setting (4-5hrs).

    Serve with fresh greens or other seasonal vegetables and add a dollop of live yoghurt on top to serve.

    Apple Oat Bars

    These are such a great breakfast snack and make a perfect make ahead breakfast for busy families!

    I used the apple pie butter recipe for the filling but you can also use canned pureed fruit. The recipe is very simple and I hope you enjoy these fruity bars as much as we did!

    Love Angie x

    Ingredients

    1 cup of all purpose flour

    1 cup quick cook rolled oats

    2/3 cup of brown sugar or coconut sugar

    1/4 tsp of baking powder

    1/2 cup of butter

    1 1/2 cups of apple butter or other fruit filling

    Preheat the oven to 180, grease a baking tray and combine the flour, rolled oats, brown sugar and baking powder. Crumble and rub together in the bowl until it looks similar to the crumb topping for apple pie.

    Set aside half a cup of this mixture and press remaining into the tray. Spread the apple butter on top of the pressed in mixture and sprinkle the remaining oat mixture on top. Press down lightly.

    Bake for 30-35mins. Cool, then slice into chunky bars!

    Two week meal plan

    Another easy and affordable meal plan for two weeks!

    The kids are back at school this week so I made this meal plan with that in mind…hearty meals for hungry tummies, easy and quick to make with my new baby in the background and really affordable!

    I’ve also included a small tour around the larder cupboard (because its clean for once) and a peek at our bulk snacks order for school lunches and break snacks!

    Check out the food haul in the video below and the meal plan is at the bottom of the page! 🙂

    Meal Plan

    Below is our two week meal plan, I hope it gives you some ideas for new family recipes to make.

    Week 1

    (vegetarian) Monday – Broccoli & Cauliflower bake with Pasta

    (Fish) Tuesday – Fish Tacos

    (Vegetarian) Wednesday – Vegetable Stir Fry & Tofu

    (Meat) Thursday – Spicy Chicken

    (Vegetarian) Friday – Baked Potatoes – Tuna & Cheese, Chicken Mayo

    Saturday – Free

    (Meat) Sunday – Beef Brisket in BBQ Sauce

    Week 2

    (Vegetarian) Monday – Vegetarian Lasagne

    (Fish) Tuesday – Fish & Spinach

    (Vegetarian) Wednesday – Pad Thai Meal Kits

    (Meat) Thursday – Venison Stew

    (Vegetarian) Friday – Dhal, rice & naan breads

    Saturday – Free

    (Meat) Sunday – Lamb Stew

    With Love

    Aug – Family Breakfast Ideas

    1 Comment

    We are still in August but to be honest it feels more like September with the colder temperatures and rain we have been having. Below you will find my ‘week of breakfasts’ video which I created from our weekly breakfast meal plan.

    We decide on 5 breakfasts for Monday to Friday and repeat those throughout the month. This way I find we eat more variety (yes more!) and we are prepared for breakfast in the morning. Meal planning also helps a lot with budgeting and meal planning and has helped us stick within our budget and even save money from it too.

    Click the video below to watch our week of breakfasts in August, I hope you find some ideas for your own family:

    Monday – Peanut butter bagels with bananas

    Tuesday – French toast sticks with berry topping

    Wednesday – Granola and yogurt bowls with fresh fruit

    Thursday – Omlette with spinach and cheese

    Friday – Granola with almond milk and fruit

    With Love

    Very Berry Smoothie Bowl

    2 Comments

    Very Berry Smoothie Bowl

    I made this super delicious Superfood smoothie bowl for a lazy Sunday breakfast treat. I topped it off with a crunchy coconut oat granola, some dates, a spoon of peanut butter, flaxseeds and a slice of blood red orange (my fave!)

    Check out the ingredients and instructions below to make your own delicious and nutritious smoothie bowl

    Ingredients

    Smoothie –

    2 cups of frozen mixed berries

    1 banana

    2 tbsp of live coconut yoghurt

    3-4tbsp of chia seeds

    Other Toppings –

    Flaxseeds

    Medjool Dates

    Peanut Butter

    Oat Topping –

    1 tbsp of coconut oil

    1 cup oats

    1/2 cup of shredded coconut

    3-4 tbsp of sunflower seeds

    1 tsp of Manuka honey or alternative sweetener


    This recipe is super easy all you have to do is blend up all the smoothie ingredients with just enough water to create a thick smoothie.  Heat the coconut oil gently in a small pan and add the oats, coconut and sunflower seeds.  Stir lightly over a medium heat until lightly browned.  Add in the honey and stir through (do not cook!). 

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    Pour the smoothie mixture into a bowl, top with the oat topping and the other toppings.  You can change the toppings and quantities to your liking should you wish to use other things.

    Enjoy! 😀

    If you enjoyed this recipe check out my other Holistic Health ideas on my YouTube channel.

    Sunflower Mince Chilli

    I loved this chili recipe made with the Sunflower Mince by ‘Just Whole Foods’ it was super delicious!  You can serve it up with a little cheese, rice and a side salad for a healthy meat free family meal.

    To make the recipe you will need the following –

    Ingredients

    1 Packet of Just Whole Foods sunflower mince

    Coconut oil

    1 large onion chopped

    1 red pepper chopped (optional)

    4-5 cloves of garlic chopped

    1 chilli seeds removed and chopped

    1 tin of chopped tomatoes

    1 tin of kidney beans

    2 tbsp of tomato puree

    2 tsp of ground cumin

    2 tsp of paprika

    1 tsp of chilli powder

    3 tsp of dried chopped coriander

    Cheese or dairy free cheese grated for the topping (optional)

    Re hydrate the mince as per the packet instructions.  Add a little coconut oil to a large pan and fry the onion and red pepper (if using) on a medium heat for five minutes.  Add in the garlic and chilli and cook for a further 3-5 minutes.  Add in the re hydrated mince and cook lightly for 5 minutes.  Add in the chopped tomatoes, tomato puree, ground cumin, paprika, chilli powder, dried coriander and season with salt and pepper.  You can add more dried chilli if you like it spicy! Cook on a low heat for 20 minutes until all the spices have infused well.

    You can serve up at this point with some rice and side salad but if using cheese or dairy free cheese, pour the chilli into a suitable oven container and top with the grated cheese, bake in the oven for 15-20mins on a medium heat until all the cheese is melted.

    Serve and enjoy!

    You can purchase the sunflower mince from their website at https://www.justwholefoods.co.uk/

    or directly from amazon by clicking on the product image below.

    If you enjoyed this recipe check out my YouTube Channel for further healthy living, healthy home videos.

    Take Care

    Love and Healthy Foods!

    Angie Milne

    Natural Living You Tube Channel

    Slow Cooker Weekly Meal Plan

    Check out my awesome Autumn weekly meal plan for some nourishing slow cooker family meals!  5 Days of warming meals for a busy week!  Pop your ingredients into the slow cooker in the morning and relax knowing that a healthy family meal will be ready by family dinner time.

     

    I love taking advantage of kitchen gadgets to take the pressure off now and again!  I would recommend the Morphy Richards Accents Sear and Stew Slow Cooker 6.5L 48705 Brushed Stainless Steel Slowcooker it has worked so well for us and one of my favourite slow cooker recipes books is the Superfood Slow Cooker: Healthy wholefood meals from your slow cooker there are some amazingly healthy recipes in this book and it is one of my faves for slow cooker family recipes.  Check them out if you need inspiration!

    Pinterest is also worth a search for ideas and I also love the BBC website search facility too.

    I hope you find some inspiration here in this video for your family slow cooking experiments!

    Enjoy my video below by clicking on the play button, if you have any questions or need any help drop me a line in the comments below.  What are your favourite slow cooker recipes I would love to know 🙂

    Love Angie x