Food - Family - Wellness

The kids and I had a blast testing recipes in the kitchen. This is one of our creations 'gluten-free, oil-free sugar-free vegan baby pancakes' If you would like a recipe video let me know in the comments section and tag someone who would love to try it out.

This didn't last very long, I had to be quick to get a photo before they got polished off 😆

pancakes food

Today I got the opportunity to demonstrate my gluten-free, oil-free Crispy Samosa recipe on the Chef AJ live show.

Chef Aj has personally taught me so much and it was a humbling experience to be able to share one of my recipes with her.

Just a few highlights from Chef AJ’s impressive experience:
She has been devoted to a plant-exclusive diet for over 44 years.
Is the host of the television series Healthy Living with CHEF AJ airing on Foody TV.
Is a chef, culinary instructor, and professional speaker, she is the author of Unprocessed: How to Achieve Vibrant Health and Your Ideal Weight and the best-selling books The Secrets to Ultimate Weight Loss: A Revolutionary Approach to Conquer Cravings, Overcome Food Addiction and Lose Weight Without Going Hungry and Own Your Health.
Chef AJ was the executive pastry chef at Santé Restaurant in Los Angeles where she was famous for her sugar-, oil-, salt- and gluten-free desserts.

To see the episode check out Chef Aj’s YouTube channel. I’ve also released the recipe video on my YouTube channel https://youtu.be/Rw4eKpfW7dI

Black-Eyed Bean Curry

This recipe is simple, it's humble, satisfying and good honest cooking, something I would get served at my grandmother's house in Fiji. Served with fresh roti, it's my idea of a perfect meal.

The recipe serves 12-14 adults. I use this recipe when I’m doing batch cooking to store in the freezer. If you would like to make enough for 6-7 people, halve the measurement provided below. As an accompaniment, especially if you’re gluten-free, check out my recipe for Red Rice Roti’s on my youtube channel and website.

Ingredients:
Dried Black-Eyed Beans, 1 kg (2.2 pounds)
Cumin powder, 1.5 tablespoons
Coriander powder, 2 tablespoons
Turmeric powder, 1.5 tablespoons
Chilli flakes, 1 tsp (mild) add according to your taste
Red onion, large
Ginger (fresh - 2-inch piece with skin removed
Garlic, 10 small/medium-sized cloves
Curry leaves - 12 fresh leaves/15 dried leaves
Salt to taste
Water - a total of 2.6 litres (5.5 pints), 1.1 litres(2.3 pints) to soak the beans and the further 1.5 litres(3.2 pints) to cook the beans in your pressure cooker.

Method:

Soak your dried black-eyed beans in 1.1 litres (2.3 pints) of water - It’s best to soak your beans, preferably overnight - this helps the beans to cook faster and have a more consistent texture.

Rinse your soaked beans in water, this removes any grit and impurities that may be present from the harvesting and packing process.

Roughly chop your onions and grate your garlic and ginger into a paste. Drain your beans and add to your pressure cooker, along with all your other ingredients, mix well to coat the beans then add your water.

If using a Crock-Pot Express cook on the Beans/Chilli option add an additional 10 minutes for a more tender result. Otherwise use the cooking device based on the instructions provided.

Serve with roti or rice and enjoy 😊

Both our kids, Alia and Darian turned 4 and 1 on the 19 of July. It still amazes me that my little Darian decided to come 3 weeks early and share his birthday with our Alia. They have an incredibly close bond - at times they share similar moods and even similar sleep patterns, often finding that if one is awake, the other is just as awake even though they sleep in different rooms.

They have, and continue to fill our lives with teachings and blessings beyond our wildest dreams. I’ve learned so much since having kids, mostly about myself. I’ve become more aware of how they sense, energetically, EVERYTHING - if you’re feeling on cloud nine, then often, so are they! If something is not quite right with you, they know this too.

It’s not that we have to be happy all the time - contrast is important. It provides the perspective we need so we can consciously shift back to a desired emotional state. It’s also important for your child to see that experiencing a range of emotions is normal. To a child, we are role modeling, how we process and manage these emotions. They file away these teachings in their subconscious and use them when presented with their own experience of a similar emotion in the future.

It’s a matter of observing our own reactions, if they’re not quite what we want them to be - be kind to yourself, and remember it’s a process. Just be mindful to take a deep breath before you react in the future - breathing before you react to any situation will give your mind an opportunity to respond in a more rational way, rather than to simply have a knee jerk reaction. Also, raising kids, although rewarding, is hard and can test you in so many ways so, remember to celebrate your wins. A few weeks ago I broke something in the house and it was messy - Alia, at 3 years old came over and said “It’s ok mummy, everyone makes mistakes and gave me a hug”.

I would love to hear about a parenting win you’ve had 🙂

These cookies are so so easy to make and both kids and adults love them :)

Ingredients:
All-purpose self-raising gluten-free flour - 1 ½ cups
Almond meal - 1 ½ cups
Baking soda - ½ teaspoon
Peanut butter - 1 teaspoon
Soft brown sugar - ¾ cup
Vanilla essence/extra - teaspoon
Ground Ginger - ½ teaspoon
Water - ½ cup (+1-2 tablespoons depending on the gluten-free flour used)

For the full recipe check out the link in my Bio, or DM me.