Jamie Oliver is moving in!

Not literally - I wish though! How awesome would that be??!!
I LOVE the man, absolutely love him, his philosophy with food is amazing, his passion and energy is contagious. To be in one industry for his entire life and still at 40 years old be so passionate, so excited to share his knowledge and love of food and healthy eating is something to be admired.
I am the proud owner of the majority of his books, my husband buys me a new one for Christmas every year, I own many of the DVDs and the latest Sugar Rush documentary really opened my eyes. Since we have most of his materials and I am quite obviously a huge fan and have already incorporated "Food Revolution Friday" in our meal plans, I'm also a huge Julia Child fan although her food really goes against my healthy eating plans as everything has ssoooo much butter but I love the Julie and Julia movie and books and am sort of stealing the idea.

Sunday the 4th of August sees a new challenge. 365 days of Jamie. 365 days of eating from his books/shows. Now not every meal will be the amazing Mr O's but each day will feature something made by or inspired by him. One day it maybe breakfast, another dessert or something as simple as a snack.
Everything he has done with changing the way schools serve lunches in the UK is amazing, having grown up in the UK I used to love the lunches served out by the dinner ladies but it was something my parents only ever let me have as a treat, my favourites used to be the spam fritters with veggies followed by chocolate pudding and pink custard.
I haven't got as far as meal planning yet, I really wish I had a good camera to really boost this challenge but for now you will have to put up with photos taken on my phone because that's all I have! I have been dropping hints like crazy about a good camera for my birthday or Christmas, lets see by January if the husband actually listens ;)

Revamped meal plan

Forgive the layout of this post as i am using my phone and blogger on my phone is pretty basic!

I thought it would be fun and slightly more organised to have themes with our food.
So our weeks look like this now:
Meatless Monday
Taco Tuesday
Throwback Thursday (recipes from the UK)
Food Revolution Friday (inspired by Jamie Oliver)
Soup/Stew Sunday

I know there are a few days without anything but I'd go loopy if it was too structured.

This fortnights list is as follows.
Breakfasts:
Eggs with asparagus soldiers
3 ingredient pancakes
Banana bread
Omelettes

Lunches (these are great for school too):
Zucchini fritters
Blackened chicken amd strawberry salad
Chicken salad and raw veg
Eggs on toast

Dinners:
Sunday - German potato soup

Monday - Gnocchi with a twist

Tuesday - Pork belly tacos with pineapple salsa

Wednesday - Shepherds pie

Thursday - Beef wellington and mash

Friday - Roast chicken with cous cous

Saturday - mini meatloaf with sweet potato mash

Sunday - German potato soup

Monday - Pumpkin and spinach lasagne

Tuesday - leftovers followed by chocolate and fruit tacos

Wednesday - Pumpkin risotto

Thursday - Fish cakes and salad

Friday - Hit n Run chicken

Saturday - meatloaf and mash

A tasty fortnight ahead for us! I haven't done our groceries yet so im hoping i come in under budget! I will update when I've done them.

Mayonnaise and avocado mayonnaise

I really wanted coleslaw with dinner but now being dairy free and most coleslaw is so full of dairy and other nasties that I had to make my own.

It was a simple process to make.

Some olive oil and coconut oil blended together with some lemon juice to make the Mayo.

Then I felt like a twist I didn't want just mayo on my coleslaw, I will be experimenting with more dressings for coleslaw too as this was simple, refreshing and nice but it wasn't creamy which is what I miss.

To make the avocado Mayo I simply added an avocado to my already made Mayo, some chives, garlic and a bit more lemon juice. Gave it another blend and it was done ready to go.

Recipe (makes approx 1.5 cups Mayo)

1/4 cup of coconut oil

3/4 cup olive oil

Splash of lemon juice

Blend all ingredients together

Avocado Mayo

1 cup Mayo

1 avocado

Chives

2 teaspoons minced garlic

Splash of lemon juice 

Add all ingredients to your blender and blend together.

Frittata 2 ways

This recipe has been a favourite of mine ever since I first moved out of home. It is easy, quick and cheap and you don't even need to really follow the recipe, add whatever is in your fridge. For example usually I make this with spinach not kale but I have kale that needs using and it worked a treat.

I did 12 mini frittatas in the oven using a muffin tray and did a big one in the slow cooker, this is the first time I have attempted to make a frittata in the slow cooker but I was pleased with the results.

What I had to do first was roast my capsicum, for this I sliced it up and put it into a hot oven skin side up until the skin was blackened and blistered. When that had cooled I chopped it up after peeling the skin off.

While the capsicum was roasting I shredded some kale and put it in a frying pan and cooked slightly.

I put some in the bottom of my slow cooker (I had generously sprayed my slow cooker with coconut oil beforehand), I also placed some in each of the muffin holes in my muffin tray. Add the calpsicum and some spring onion too.

I whisked up 18 eggs and added some pepper. I separated this between the muffin tray and the slow cooker. Sprinkle feta on top and cook.

In the oven I cooked these at 180 degrees Celsius for 20 minutes.

In the slow cooker this cooked on low for 3 hours

Recipe:

Ingredients

1 red capsicum

Kale

50g feta

Spring onions

18 eggs

Pepper

Method

Roast capsicum in a hot oven until skin is blistered and blackened, cool and remove skin.

Chop capsicum into small pieces.

Cook kale over medium heat for 2-3 minutes.

Spray your slow cooker and/or oven tins with oil (I used coconut oil)

Add kale and capsicum to the slow cooker/oven tin

Slice some spring onion and add that to the slow cooker/oven tin.

Whisk up 18 eggs and add a dash of pepper.

Divide in half, pour one half into your slow cooker or oven tins and reserve the rest for your second frittata or do as I did and make some in the oven and some in the slow cooker.

Sprinkle with feta and cook.

Oven 180 degrees for 20 mins

Slow cooker low for 3 hours

Back on track meal plan

I admit it, I have been slack lately. I haven't been bothered, we have had foods we shouldn't and boy have we paid for it, the boys have been naughty and loud and fighting constantly, my depression has taken a very fast downward turn. It is time to turn around again. This is our new meal plan for the fortnight. It is school holidays too so lunches will be quick and easy like scotch eggs, frittatas etc so here is just dinners. Sunday - baked potatoes with chilli con carne topped with spring onion and avocado Monday - pork chops with coleslaw, sweet potato mash, corn cobs, grilled apples and pears Tuesday - pumpkins soup Wednesday - spaghetti bolognese Thursday - pumpkin soup Friday - taco bake Saturday - fish, chips, mushy peas and chip shop curry sauce Sunday - chilli and brown rice Monday - sweet potato and asparagus soup Tuesday - pumpkin risotto with bacon and feta Wednesday - beef casserole Thursday - sweet potato and asparagus soup Friday - chicken, broccoli and quinoa bake Saturday - leftover night I am also going to make an effort to get exercise back into our lives even if it's just a trip to the park. I want to feel good again and have energy. I have had people say to me that I don't deserve this blog because we fell off the wagon a little, but to that I say yes I feel bad but success cannot be achieved first without failure. When we slip up we learn, that is life. I am learning.

Meal Plan 29th June

I feel refreshed to be resetting my motivation and getting back into this, the world holds so many temptations especially when we have had a big day or are tired. As I said on my last post I am extremely tight with my budget for a while so have tried making a meal plan that fits in with this. Here it is: Monday: Breakfast - Breakfast muffins Lunch - Scotch eggs and veggie sticks Dinner - Maple roasted chili pork with sweet potato mash Tuesday: Breakfast - Banana bread Lunch - Frittata Dinner - Mexican chicken stew with cauliflower rice Wednesday: Breakfast - Breakfast muffins Lunch - Scotch eggs and veggie sticks Dinner - Roasted veg soup Thursday: Breakfast - Banana bread Lunch - Frittata Dinner - Crispy orange beef with stir fried veg and quinoa Friday: Breakfast - Breakfast muffins Lunch - Quinoa, spinach omelette bites Dinner - Seriously addictive nachos Saturday: Breakfast - Eggs and soldiers Lunch - Fish, chips, mushy peas and chip shop curry sauce Dinner - Beans on toast Sunday: Breakfast - Breakfast muffins Lunch - Quinoa, spinach omelette bites Dinner - Pumpkin risotto For a fortnight feeding 2 adults and 4 children this totals $288.44 according to Woolworths online shopping, I am going to reduce the cost by getting most of my fruit and veg at the fruit and veg shop not the supermarket. When I have done shopping I will update with what I saved.

What do you eat?

A common question when we go out for dinner or get invited anywhere and I go through the no dairy, soy, gluten, artificial colours/flavours checklist. It's not a silly question either, a few years ago I would have said the same thing. I have been a little slack with this blog lately I will admit, my computer died, my daughter got probable diagnosis with Dyslexia we confirm this in August, my oldest daughters father was released from prison after 2 years and has caused lots of anxiety for us as a family. Legal proceedings have began to get what is best for her in terms of spending time with him so we have been busy and my headspace has been all over the place. But time to get back on track. Many people are taken aback when they see we have cut so much from our diets (and I do admit I have not stuck to it all that well lately and paid the price!)By cutting all of this from our diets I have seen behavioural changes in my kids (slowly it does take some time for all of this to exit our systems, I have had more energy, we have had less eczema flare ups, sleeping better and just generally feeling a lot better. Since I have slipped we are back to not listening, not helping, not sleeping very well, poor behaviour and my head is fuzzy and a mess. I have to admit I doubted myself with the food changes but this has proved to me that there was a difference and reminded my why it was so important. There are many fantastic foods you can eat still and I am on a mission to recreate all of our favourites. Money is very tight at the moment, my car is still broken after 5 months and I have poured around $4000 into it and its still having the same problem so things will be simple food wise for a while but again I love that I will be able to show people that on a budget you can still eat in a way that will benefit and help you and your family. I am in the process of doing a meal plan at the moment and will post that up when I am done.

Cinnamon Rolls

These were delicious, I admit they didn't turn out how I wanted but they turned out great still.
They were the perfect size for lunchboxes or with a cuppa.
My twins helped me make them too so great for occupying little ones.

Here's the recipe.
It makes roughly 10 rolls.

Ingredients
1 1/3 cups almond flour
1 tbsp coconut flour
1/2 cup chopped dates
1/2 cup walnuts
1 egg
2 tbsp honey (for dough), extra for filling and glaze.
Cinnamon
Almond milk

To start with mix your flours together and add honey and your egg.
Lay a sheet of greaseproof paper down and place your dough on top. Place another sheet over your dough.
Roll it into a rectangle and remove the top layer of greaseproof paper.
Drizzle your extra honey over the dough and sprinkle your walnuts, dates and 2 tbsp cinnamon over the dough.
Roll into a log shape and freeze for 10 minutes.
Once the 10 minutes is up slice the log into about 10 sections.
Place your rolls on a baking tray and pop in a preheated (180°C) oven.
These only need approx 10 mins in the oven.
In the meantime mix your almond milk (i used about 3 tbsp you may need more), cinnamon and honey together to make your glaze.
When the rolls are done, drizzle the glaze on top and enjoy.
They are best served warm, fresh from the oven

Meal Plan June 1 - 14

It's that time again, meal planning time! I've come up with one that I think everyone will enjoy this time. The man-child has been missing his meat since I have had a lot of vegetable based dishes. The kids are loving their new and healthy school snacks. So here is the new meal plan. MONDAY Breakfast - Blueberry & Banana Bread Lunch - Mini Frittata & Salad Dinner - Vegetable Lasagna TUESDAY Breakfast - Blueberry & Banana Bread Lunch - Mini Frittata & Salad Dinner - Paleo Chilli WEDNESDAY Breakfast - Pancakes Lunch - Mini Frittata & Veggie Sticks Dinner - Beef Bourgignon & Cauliflower Mash THURSDAY Breakfast - Paleo Cinnamon Rolls Lunch - Grilled Chicken & Veggie Salad Dinner - Roasted Veggie Soup FRIDAY Breakfast - Eggs & Soldiers Lunch - Curry Chicken Stir Fry Dinner - Meatloaf with Sweet Potato Mash & Peas SATURDAY Breakfast - Pancakes Lunch - Curry Chicken Stir Fry Dinner - Coconut Crusted Chicken with Honey & Mango Sauce with Broccoli SUNDAY Breakfast - Eggs & Soldiers Lunch - Cauliflower Crust Calzone Dinner - Unstuffed Cabbage Casserole So there you have it, our food for the next 2 weeks (as I do 2 weeks in a row the same) I will be organizing the shopping tomorrow to see how much it will cost and fingers crossed it is within the $300 budget.

The best chicken burgers

These started off as simple chicken and avocado burgers. My creativity overtook and they because something more.

Ingredients
500g chicken mince
spring onions, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1-2 avocado (I used 1 next time I'm thinking 2)
1/2 tin black beans
2 tomatoes, diced
1/2 cup corn kernels
1 cup gluten free breadcrumbs

Method.
Place all the ingredients in a bowl and mix well.
Take 1 tablespoon at a time and shape into patties and grill.
We served them with roasted pumpkin and corn cobs.
There were enough leftover for my lunch tomorrow, I am thinking of having it with some garlic aioli, spinach and red onion in a wrap.

Pulled Pork

Again I failed at taking photos for this one. It was one of those days where the kids are like wild animals on a rampage so it was a get in, get out mission!
It tasted great. Everyone loved it, there was leftovers which worked really well in sandwiches the next day.
Try it for yourself.
This is a little different to the traditional pulled pork because of our restrictions.

Ingredients
2kg pork loin
1 onion chopped
2 tsp chilli powder
2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp turmeric
2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
Salt and pepper
800ml passata

Rub all your spices on your pork. Place your onion in your slow cooker with your pork on top.
Pour passata over your pork and put on low for approx 8 hours.
You'll know it's ready when you can easily shred the meat.
That's how easy it is!

This served 4 children and 3 adults with heaps leftover.
We had side dishes of cauliflower and sweet potato mash and steamed broccoli

Curried Mince & Egg Burritos

I admit I forgot to take photos whilst cooking this but seriously make it, it's amazing!
Yes I was meant to have mango chicken but I felt like something different. It happens to us all!

So here's the recipe for this spur of the moment creation.
It was inspired by my father  who used to make us a curried Mince and wrap it in crepes.
So I made these egg burritos, no flour, no diary.

Serves 6 with enough left for lunch.

Mince
1 kg mince (i used beef)
1 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tin diced tomatoes
680 ml passata
1 zucchini, diced
2 cups mixed veg of choice chopped into small chunks (i used broccoli, carrots, sweet potato)
1 tbsp turmeric
1 tbsp cumin
3 tbsp curry powder
1 tsp cinnamon

Egg Burritos
12 eggs (i will experiment with egg white burritos this week)
1 cup almond milk
Salt and pepper
Spring onions, sliced.

Sautee onion and garlic.
Add spices. Once this is done add your mince and brown.
Add passata and diced tomatoes plus your vegetables and cook for 15-20 mins.
Season.

Whilst your curry is cooking, mix all the burrito ingredients together and add a label full to a frying pan and cook for a few minutes before flipping over. Cook again for a minute or so.

Wrap your meat up in your egg burritos and enjoy. Trust me they're awesome!

Meal Plan (Starting May 18)

Last fortnights meal plan was a huge success, the kids loved most of it, the husband barely realised he was getting fed almond milk and healthier alternatives. So I have just ordered our shopping for next fortnight.

I've been inspired by a friend of mine (in fact I'm pretty sure she's the only one who reads this!!!) to make omelettes in a morning, I love eggs so perfect for us.

Here goes this is what will be filling our plates and our bellies for the next 2 weeks.

Monday

Breakfast - omelettes with mushroom and spinach

Lunch - pumpkin soup

Dinner - mango chicken

Tuesday

Breakfast - cinnamon rolls

Lunch - chicken salad lettuce wraps

Dinner - egg rolls in a bowl

Wednesday

Breakfast - pancakes

Lunch- chicken salad lettuce wraps

Dinner - red lentil and root vegetable tagine with quinoa and almonds

Thursday

Breakfast - omelettes with mushrooms and spinach

Lunch - pumpkin soup

Dinner - chilli con carne

Friday

Breakfast - pancakes

Lunch - steak salad

Dinner - pulled pork sweet potatoes with salad

Saturday 

Breakfast - omelettes with mushrooms and spinach

Lunch - steak salad 

Dinner - nachos with a twist

Sunday 

Breakfast - cinnamon rolls

Lunch - mango chicken

Dinner - beef and broccoli with cauliflower mash

I will be adding the recipes to these as I cook them over the fortnight.

Some of these are already our favourites that I am adapting to be dairy, soy and gluten free.

I will also be adding the following to lunch boxes and will be freely available between meals

Snacks

Roasted chickpeas

"Muesli" bars

Date and coconut balls

Fresh fruit and vegetable sticks

I still have to go to the fruit and vegetable shop but have ordered the groceries which with delivery came to $153.22

I am estimating the fruit and vegetable shop to come to approx $120 but I will update when I return! 

Date & Coconut Balls

Another school week is about to start and I am starting to make the lunch boxes healthy yet appealing still. This recipe was given to me by my friend Emma a few years ago and my kids love it so much I have to hide them so they don't disappear instantly! 

It is super quick to do, the kids can even join in (hence my date and coconut balls being various shapes and sizes!) 

Here is what you do

Get your dates and shredded coconut and whizz them up in a food processor

Then (I find it better with wet hands) take 1-2 tsp at a time and roll into balls and roll again in remaining coconut if desired.

Ta-da! It's that easy and they're super healthy and great for energy. The perfect lunchbox or even workout snack.

(My daughters creation above haha!) 

Excuse our not so brilliant photos we aren't photographers but love to cook and share it.

Recipe makes approx 40 balls

Ingredients:

500g pitted dates, chopped 

4 cups shredded coconut

Method

Place chopped dates and 3 cups of coconut in food processor and blend.

When you are happy with the consistency roll 1-2 tsp of the mixture and roll into balls.

Roll the balls in the remaining coconut.

Best stored in the fridge.

Mexican Inspired Lettuce Wraps

Today is Mother's Day here in Australia and I woke up feeling like something Mexican. So I raided the pantry and came up with this bunch of ingredients.

What I wanted was sort of a mix between a taco and a burrito, obviously using lettuce as my wrap.

So I started off by chopping my onion and mincing some garlic.

I sautéed this with some coconut oil and then cooked my turkey mince and returned the onion and garlic to the pan along with some corn kernels.

Then I added the beans I found in the pantry which happened to be black beans and a 3 bean mix, you can use what you like or even leave beans out. Kidney beans would work well I think.

I then made up taco seasoning (recipe to come) 

I added this along with some tomato paste to the pan and stirred it all through. At this stage I needed to put my rice on (probably should have actually done this earlier.

When your rice is cooked, stir it through your meat mixture.

Chop up your toppings and add it all to some lettuce.

Yum!

Recipe

Ingredients:

500g mince of your choice (I used Turkey)

2 onions

4 cloves garlic

1 can black beans

1 can 3 bean mix

Brown rice

Spring onion

Tomatoes

Cucumber

Taco seasoning

2 cups corn kernels

2 tbsp tomato paste

Method

Sauté garlic and onion.

Brown mince and return onion mix to pan with corn kernels, cook for a few minutes

Add beans and stir.

Add tomato paste and 3 tbsp taco seasoning and stir, cook for approx 2 minutes.

Cook rice according to pack directions and when cooked stir through meat mixture.

To serve place a scoop of meat and rice on some lettuce and top with spring onion, tomato and cucumber.

Usually I also dress with an avocado sauce but as it was a spur of the moment thing I didn't have any avocado. 

Garlic and Mushroom Spaghetti

Firstly I have to apologise for the absence of photographs for this one, I will add them next time I make this dish, which will be soon since my kids loved it and have asked if we can have it again really, really soon. Yesterday was a horrible day, there was a fire at my house in the morning (no it wasn't my cooking!) but it was extremely scary and destroyed a portion of my daughters bedroom including her bed, mattress and bedding, oh and her beloved beanie boos which she had only got for her birthday a few weeks ago. Anyway to better news, the food, which as I said was a hit all round and it is super, super simple. I didn't feel like cooking after the events of the day and was going to caved for packaged, convenience food but I didn't, I thought of the garlic, mushroom spaghetti on my meal plan, 4 ingredients, let's do it! Here's the recipe. Serves 6 8 cloves garlic, chopped really finely or minced if you prefer 300g mushroom, sliced finely 500g brown spaghetti (a little tricky to find, just use normal if you don't have dietary restrictions) 1 cup stock Splash of white wine (optional and I didn't use it) Method In a large pan of water boil your spaghetti Sautée your mushrooms and garlic with a little coconut oil, add stock (and wine if using) and let this dissolve by about 2/3 Drain spaghetti and mix through the mushrooms and garlic. Serve and enjoy Don't be put off by how simple this is, I was skeptical, I thought it had to be bland and not enjoyable with so few elements. I was wrong, it was good and my kids loved it so this will be made again and when I am feeling creative I will do a fancy version of this.

Mushroom, asparagus and spinach risotto

Risotto, everyone loves risotto right?

I haven't made risotto on the stove for a very long time and a day where all 4 kids were home probably wasn't the best but we survived (the toy box didn't!)

I went to a cafe not long ago and on the specials board was this amazing risotto filled with parmesan and topped with enough butter to feed a small army but it was delicious.
Now with our new eating style I wanted to try and recreate this recipe.
This is how I went:

Start off by chopping up your onion, mincing your garlic (or finely chop if you prefer) and chopping up your asparagus.

In a large saucepan with some coconut oil sauté these for roughly 5 minutes until the onion is nice and soft.

In the meantime slice up your mushrooms, then add to the saucepan.

Cook for another few minutes to soften up your mushroom, add a splash of white wine if you're using it, I didn't so just added a splash of stock, I also added some Italian herbs (Marjoram, Rosemary, Thyme, Sage, Oregano and Basil)

Next we add our arborio rice and stir it all together, wait a minute or 2 to add your stock, you should hear your rice crackle first, then add your stock, 3/4 of a cup at a time and stir, wait a few minutes before adding the next lot, you want to make sure the stock has been soaked up by the rice first.

Don't worry that your risotto isn't creamy for a while, it will be I promise! Keep going adding the stock until you have only a little left, at this stage add your spinach, the remaining stock and season.

Cook for a further few minutes while your spinach wilts and the last of the stock is soaked up,your risotto will be nice and creamy at this stage and certainly doesn't need oodles of butter, if you don't have dietary restriction and want to use butter though that is fine!!

Nothing left to do other than serve now.

I have to admit the photo does it no justice at all, this risotto was amazing!

Recipe: serves 6 or 12 as a side dish

Ingredients:

1 tbsp coconut oil 

2 onions, diced

4 garlic cloves, minced

3 bunches of asparagus, chopped

Splash of white wine (optional)

2 cups arborio rice

9 cups vegetable stock

500g mushrooms, sliced

A tbsp Italian herbs

Pinch salt and pepper

3 good handfuls of fresh spinach 

Method:

Melt coconut oil in a large pan and add onion, garlic and asparagus, sauté for approx 5 minutes.

Chop mushrooms and add to the pan. Cook for a further few minutes.

Add arborio rice, wine, herbs and seasoning and stir.

Wait for a few minutes until the rice crackles and add 3/4 cup stock.

Wait until stock is soaked up by the rice stirring occasionally.

Add more stock, repeat this until there is only approx 3/4 cup left.

Tear up spinach and add to the pan with remaining stock.

Stir and allow the stock to be soaked up.

Serve and enjoy with a nice glass of white wine (again the wine is optional!)

There is so much experimenting that could be done here, if you eat meat you could add some chicken, next time I'm going to use baby spinach instead of English spinach and a variety of mushrooms instead of just your standard mushroom. Or it's super yum just the way it is.

This served 2 adults and 4 children and left enough for a spare lunch and should freeze well. I will update on that when I defrost the spare lunch down the track.

The first meal plan

I'm very excited to be writing this, the first meal plan to fit with all of our new dietary restrictions!
I am writing one week here but I buy for 2 weeks at a time, for example Sunday night is a broccoli and cashew cream soup we will have that the following Sunday too.
I find it cheaper to shop this way and I get paid this way so it works for us, it may not work for others.
It also fits in with my goal of not spending over $600 a month on groceries.

***drum roll***
We've been waiting and it's here!!!
The plan -
SATURDAY
Breakfast - Raspberry & coconut smoothie
Lunch - Ham and egg cups
Dinner - Garlic mushroom pasta

SUNDAY
Breakfast - Breakfast casserole
Lunch - Moroccan carrot soup
Dinner - Broccoli and cashew soup

MONDAY
Breakfast - Eggs and Soldiers
Lunch - Cashew chicken lettuce wraps
Dinner - Lemon pepper chicken with asparagus and sautéed mushrooms

TUESDAY
Breakfast - Tropical smoothie
Lunch - Moroccan carrot soup
Dinner - Mushroom, asparagus and spinach risotto

WEDNESDAY
Breakfast - Breakfast casserole
Lunch - Tomato, kale and white bean soup
Dinner - Meatloaf, sweet potato mash and corn cobs

THURSDAY
Breakfast - raspberry and coconut smoothie with a piece of fruit
Lunch - Cashew chicken lettuce wraps
Dinner - Chicken fried rice

FRIDAY
Breakfast - eggs and soldiers
Lunch - Tomato, kale and white bean soup
Dinner - Italian meatballs with zucchini spaghetti

Wow look at all that soup! Can you tell we have hit our colder months (and I love soup!!)
It may look a little repetitive here and it will get better I promise, whilst we adapt I'm keeping simple, cooking bulk and hoping it all works out!

A whopping 93 items at checkout (including some nappies/diapers) I was dreading it at this stage thinking I had blown budget horribly!
To my surprise it came to $283 (my budget was $300)
This included delivery since my car is currently out of action. When that is repaired I'll be saving even more by buying my fruit and veg and the green grocers rather than the supermarket.
During the week I will post up some recipe links too.
Enjoy

A New Prescription

Bipolar - I'm just learning about all of this but so far I know I need to increase my omega 3 and magnesium intake. Reduce alcohol and processed foods, limit but not cut out salt, reduce sugar intake.

Autism - eliminate gluten and caseins, increase vitamin C and magnesium.

Anxiety - increase tryptophan rich foods such as Whole grains like brown rice, legumes like lentils and chickpeas, protein foods such as chicken, fruits such as mangoes, bananas and dates. Decrease fried foods and dairy products, increase magnesium rich and omega 3 rich foods.

Borderline personality disorder - eliminate white sugar and flour, ketogenic diet (high in fats and protein but low in carbs)

Allergies - Soy and CMPI

So what can't we eat?

Soy

Dairy

Gluten

Processed foods 

What can we eat?

Lots of fresh fruit and vegetables

Omega 3 rich foods

Magnesium rich foods

Protein rich foods

This will take some learning and experimenting in the kitchen. I think regular blood tests for a while too to make sure the balance is right in our diet though this will hopefully be evident in behaviours and moods.

Welcome to The Expanding Table

A new blog for a new venture. I'm a little bit of a blog addict I have to admit and in trying to organise my life I'm trying to organise my blogging. One for each "topic" so here is everything food and home decor related.
For those of you who haven't visited my pages on Facebook or blogs before here is a little about me.

My name is Nicole and I live in Victoria, Australia but I am originally from West Yorkshire, England.
I have 4 amazing children. 2 girls and twin boys.
I work as a doula (birth, postpartum and bereavement ),  a childbirth educator,  breastfeeding counsellor and placenta encapsulation specialist. I'm about to begin studying again to expand my knowledge and assist my clients better.
I am also married to a wonderful man. We have our moments but I love him and I'm pretty certain he loves me!

Our house is full of adventure, my oldest had anxiety and PTSD from trauma in her early years, my second daughter has aspergers, my twins are asthmatic, have allergies/intolerance to dairy and soy and one of them has sleep apnea. Now onto me, I'm a whole bucket of fun, I have PTSD, Bipolar and borderline personality disorder.  Because of my medications I am also struggling with weight gain.

So why is our table expanding? No I'm not pregnant. Our table is expanding as we gain knowledge about better health and food choices and grow as a family.

So enjoy as we discover a better life for ourselves and share it with you.