Cheesy Kale & Walnut Pasta

We love pasta in this house and this comforting cheesy dish is a favourite family meal in the colder months. I have used delicious garden fresh kale, runner beans and spelt spinach pasta. Its a comforting but healthy dish!

The recipe can also be made dairy free by using olive oil and dairy free cheese.

You could also use spinach instead of kale and mix up the green vegetables a bit to create a variety of different meals. The walnuts add additional healthy fats and crunch but pine nuts would work well too.

I have used oat cream for the sauce because it is my fave cream but you can also use plain single cream for this recipe too.

I hope you enjoy experimenting with this dish!

Ingredients

2 tbsp of butter or olive oil

2 handfuls of chopped fresh kale

2 cloves of chopped garlic

2 small cartons of Oatly oat cream (about 2 cups) or single dairy cream

Grated cheddar cheese (about 2 handfuls)

Nutmeg (about 1tsp)

S & P

Pasta

Green beans or other green vegetables

Gently heat the butter or oil in a large pan and add the chopped garlic. Stir in the chopped kale and cook lightly for around 5-10 minutes.

Add the pasta to boiling water with the chopped green vegetables, I used runner beans because that’s what was in season at the time but use whatever you fancy here, green beans or broccoli also work well.

Add the oat cream to the sauce and heat gently. Add in the grated cheddar, around two handfuls, but please use more or less if you prefer. It really does depend how cheesy you like it. My kids like a cheesy pasta and if it means they will eat more green vegetables then I am happy with that.

Heat the cheesy creamy sauce until all the cheese has melted. Add the walnuts and season with salt, pepper and the nutmeg.

Drain the pasta and vegetables and add to the cheesy sauce, mix through and serve.

My kids like to add extra Parmesan to the top but I prefer it without. A green salad on the side goes really well too with some cucumber, tomatoes and other salad items.

Enjoy! x

Malaysian Prawn Soup

I love this recipe its one of my absolute faves! It is so super easy to make, you can follow the recipe below or click on the video link below to view it in video. The instructions are really simple and easy to follow.

Click the image for the full recipe video. 🙂

Ingredients

1 medium bowl of small prawns (about 300-400g) Tofu for a vegetarian substitute

4 noodle nests

1 can of coconut milk

1 liter of vegetable stock

2tbsp of coconut oil

small bowl of garnishings (chopped cucumber, spring onions, fresh chilli)

salt & pepper

1tsp of paprika

1tsp of ground cumin

1/2tsp of ground coriander

1/2tsp of tumeric

1tbsp of lemongrass puree

1 small piece of ginger

5 peeled shallots

5 cloves of garlic

5 fresh chillies of choice

1 red pepper chopped

1 head of broccoli chopped

Blend the chillies, garlic, shallots, ginger lemongrass and all spices in a small blender with a little water. Heat the coconut oil in a non stick pan and add the blended spice mix, brown lightly. Add the stock and vegetables and cook the vegetables on a medium simmer. Add in your prawns or tofu and stir through and cook through for a few minutes.

Add the coconut milk and cook through until dissolved. Serve on top of the cooked noodles and garnish with the chopped cucumber, spring onions and chillies.



Melanzane alla Parmigiana

1 Comment

Vegan friendly if you use dairy free cheese!

I love grilled aubergines, my kids are not big fans though I’m afraid but they usually manage a little of this dish due to the creamy cheesy texture. They also love a classic Italian tomato sauce so it tends to go down pretty well because of the flavours. You could also add in some sliced courgettes and perhaps roasted red peppers but I like it simple.

I’m afraid after slicing it up and serving it didn’t look as photogenic as I had hoped for ha ha ha but I can assure you it was delicious! 🙂

I made this dish as part of my monthly shopping meal plan which seems to be working pretty well to keep us well fed and organised. Check out my video in the video section or click the YouTube header at the top of the page. I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I did.

Ingredients

2 aubergines sliced length ways

Olive oil

1 Tin of chopped tomatoes

3 cloves of garlic

2 balls of fresh mozzarella or dairy free equivalent

Parmesan or dairy free equivalent (roughly 100g)

Grated breadcrumbs

Chopped basil (optional)

Salt & pepper

Instructions

  1. Start by slicing and grilling the aubergine under the grill or in a George Foreman type grill with a little olive oil and seasonings. I love my Foreman I use it for so many things. Once all the aubergines are grilled set aside on a plate.
  2. Next you want to prepare the Italian tomato sauce. I would usually cook up my tomatoes and garlic etc. in a pan for this type of sauce but for super time saving prep I’m using my blender (Vitamix). Put the tinned tomatoes, garlic, a dash of olive oil and salt and pepper into a blender and blend until smooth. Set aside in a jug.
  3. Slice up the mozzerella or dairy free equivalent and set aside on a plate.
  4. That’s all the ingredients prepped now its time to assemble together lasagna style.
  5. Using a small lasagne dish pour a little tomato sauce into the bottom of the dish and place a layer of aubergine slices on top. Cover with a layer of mozzerella slices and a layer of tomato sauce. Repeat with the aubergine, mozzerella and tomato sauce until finished and top off with grated parmesan or dairy free equivalent and grated breadcrumbs. You can add some fresh chopped basil on the top here if you have to hand.
  6. Cook in a medium oven about 140-160 for 35 minutes or until completely browned and golden on the top. Serve up with some fresh salad or greens on the side. Enjoy and love!

If you enjoyed this recipe please pop over to my YouTube channel for more recipes and holistic health ideas for you and the family.


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

Sainburys Healthy Food Haul

I’ve been doing a bit of shopping at Sainsburys lately, I absolutely love the healthy dairy free products they are stocking at the moment! Especially the ones with all of the live cultures. 🙂

Natural Living You Tube Channel

Check out my quick shopping haul below for a look at what I’ve been buying for my food shops!  I do small food shops now and usually plan meals when I am organised, it doesn’t happen every week and in the school holidays my good meal planning often falls to pieces lol 🙂

Enjoy, love Angie xxx

Spaghetti Bolognese

I love this dish, the sauce is light but with a good flavour, you could also use this recipe to make a speedy lasagne!  I like to top mine with chopped chilies for some heat and some red onion or other salad ingredients but you could add chillies into the main cooking stage if you prefer.  I added some beans into this recipe but they are not essential, I was just using up some fridge ingredients.

Ingredients

Wholewheat pasta

Garlic

Chilies (optional)

Onion

Carrots chopped into small cubes

Celery chopped into small pieces

Green Pepper chopped into small cubes

Vegetable Stock

Lentils

Beans (optional)

Tomato Puree x 4 tbsp

Tinned Tomatoes

Oregano (dried or fresh or parsley)

Chill powder (optional)

Salt & Pepper

Cook the wholewheat spaghetti in boiling salted water for around 15 minutes until cooked through.  Meanwhile cook up the chopped garlic, onions and chillies (optional) for a few minutes then add in the rest of the chopped vegetables and a little vegetable stock to simmer away until cooked.  Add in the lentils, tomato puree and tinned tomatoes and simmer away for a few minutes then add in the herbs (oregano).  Add in a little chilli powder to spice it up if you wish at the end.  Add in extra stock to create enough sauce and simmer to thicken.  Serve with the cooked pasta.

If you enjoyed this recipe please feel free to subscribe to my youtube channel where you’ll find cooking videos and other holistic health and wellness tips and ideas.

Natural Living You Tube Channel

If you have any questions please feel free to drop me a line in the comments below.

Love and Bolognese!

xx Angie xx

spaghettibolognese

 

 

Chickpea Tuna Wrap

Approx Calories:

This is one of my favourite lunch items at the moment I just love it!  🙂  I’m always on the look out for new sandwich and wrap ideas for lunch and this one just hits the spot.  It’s light and you can also mix it up a bit by adding spring onions or perhaps some chopped celery into the mashed chickpeas.  You could also add a little mayonnaise or sweet chilli sauce for a different flavour.

Ingredients:

A carton or tin of chickpeas

A good squeeze of fresh lemon juice

Salt & Pepper

Optional (chopped celery, chopped spring onions)

Salad ingredients – chopped tomato, cucumber, red onion, lettuce etc.

Wrap of choice – I used an Italian flat bread

Mash the chickpeas together with the lemon juice and optional ingredients.  Season well and add into the wrap, top with the salad ingredients of choice and wrap and serve!  Enjoy!

chickpeatunawrap2.jpg

If you have any questions please drop me a comment below.

Love and chickpeas!

xx Angie xx