Summer Sweet and Sour Fruit Salad

Fruit of choice…

This recipe made two bowls of fruit salad

• 2 Green Kiwi fruit (sliced)
• 1 Black Plum (sliced)
• 1 Yellow Nectarine (sliced)
• 1 Ruby Red Grapefruit (segmented) 
• 2 handfuls of strawberries (halved or whole)

Sweet and Sour Syrup

• 8 mint leaves sliced
• 2 tbsp organic agave
• juice of one lime

Instruction:

1. Peel and put all fruit
2. Place in desired serving bowl
3. mix all sweet and sour syrup ingredients with a whisk
4. add syrup to fruit salad and let chill and flavours seep into the fruit for around 30 minutes.

This is a fantastic refreshing fruit salad that will cool you down on any hot day. I do hope your enjoy!

Low Carbohydrate Flame Grilled Salmon Nigiri Sushi…

Ingredients…

This recipe made around 28 pieces of Nigiri.

• 1 large piece of fresh salmon (cut into desired shape, against the grain)
• 1 tbsp black sesame seeds (garnish)

Parsnip “Rice”…

• 4 lg parsnips (peeled, and chopped)
• 100 gms macadamia nuts
• 1 tbsp rice wine vinegar
• 3 tsp white miso paste

Instructions…

1. Add the above “rice” ingredients into a food processor and blitz until cous cous shape. Form into desired shape and size. 
2. Place your sliced salmon on top of your formed “rice”, and garnish with the black sesame seeds.
3. With a blow torch flame grill your salmon (if you don’t own a blow torch you could always grill your salmon before you placed in on your “rice”).
4. Serve with desired condiments (We enjoyed ours with soya, ginger and wasabi).

This is a quick, fast, and low carb meal. You could also serve your “rice” with avocado, prawns, tuna, or anything your heart desired. I also make rolled sushi with this very same “rice” recipe! Endless options. 

Enjoy!!

Thai Inspired “Forbidden” black rice super salad with a pea-nutty and kaffir lime leaf Dressing…

Ingredients:

Serves as 3 main meals or 4 sides with your choice protein

Salad ingredients:

• 1 cup of uncooked (2 cups cooked) Black rice (cooked and cooled)
• 1/2 a large tele cucumber (sliced pretty for garnishing and set aside
• 2 sprigs of spring onion (green only, and sliced long)
• 25gm snow pea shoots (halved)
• 1/2 a medium egg plant sliced, grilled and cooled
• 1/2 one large chilli diced finely (whole chilli if you like it hot)
• 1 large bunch of coriander chopped (keeping the root set aside for the dressing)
• 1 medium carrot (julienned)

Salad Dressing:

• Juice of one lime
• Root of one large coriander bunch
• 1 large clove of garlic
• 1 tsp grated ginger
• 1/4 of a small red onion (chopped)
• 1/2 a tsp fish sauce (omit if vegetarian or vegan)
• 2 tbsp coconut cream
• 3 kaffir lime leafs (roughly chopped)
• 1 tsp lemon grass (sliced fine)
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp soya sauce (or tamari)
• 1 tbsp rice wine vinegar 
• 2 tbsp crushed peanuts
• 1 tbsp raw honey

Instructions:

1. Cook your rice and grill the egg plant, set aside and allow to cool while prepping the rest of your ingredients (I rapidly boiled my rice in excess water once cooked washed it to rid it of any stickiness).
2. Prep all of your salad ingredients and place in a large bowl with your now cooled rice and eggplant. Combine well with tongs.
3. Place all of the salad dressing ingredients in a blender or food processor and blitz until well combined.
4. Arrange your cucumber around your plate as a little fence to keep your salad up right and presentable.
5. In the bowl dress your salad to your desired liking (any left over dressing can be kept in the fridge for 4-5 days)

This is a fantastic natural wholegrain super salad. Filling yet satisfying on the taste buds. Would go great served with tofu tossed through it or a protein of your choice. 

Salad Bar Style Salad…

Serves 4 large dinner sized salads

Salad Ingredients:

• 6 medium ripe tomatoes (quartered)

• 1/2 one tele cucumber (sliced)

• 1 small red onion (sliced)

• 200 gm of your choice of cheese, I used strong aged cheddar (diced)

• 1 lg Iceberg lettuce (roughly chopped)

• 1 lg head of broccoli (steamed, cooled and broken into florets)

• 1x 400gm tin of red kidney beans (washed and strained)

• 1 lg avocado (diced)

• 1/4 one large japanese pumpkin (roasted and cooled)

• olive oil & seasoning for your roast pumpkin

Salad Dressing ingredients:

• 1 cup of thick greek style yoghurt

• 2 gms (one large handful) of fresh dill chopped

• 2 tbsp parmesan (grated with a microplane)

• 1 tbsp white balsamic

• 1 tbsp high grade olive oil

• 1/2 tsp ground black pepper

• 2 pinches of celtic sea salt

Instructions:

1. Firstly I made the salad dressing as I wanted the flavours to richen and infuse as much as possible. 

2. Place the yoghurt, olive oil, balsamic, finely grated parmesan, fresh dill, salt and pepper in a bowl mixing them together, and placing them in the fridge while preparing the rest of your salad ingredients.

3. Pre-heat your oven to 180c, cube your pumpkin, oil and season it.

4. Roast in the oven until just cooked, and cool.

5. Place a small sauce pan on to boil and steam your broccoli florets until they    have just reached that bright beautiful green colour. 

6. Remove from heat strain and cool.

7. Prepare all of the remaining salad items laying each out onto a plate so they are ready to assemble as desired. 

8. In a bowl add your roughly chopped Iceberg lettuce topping it with each of your salad Items.

9. Dress as desired.

This is a great “get your veggies in” kind of salad. You could add any choice of protein to this. For my meat eating man I added some pulled pork I cooked over 6 hours. So very simple but full of great colour, texture, and taste!

Almond Butter and Chocolate Brown Rice Crispy Treats…

Ingredients:

• 5 cups of either crispy brown rice or just puffed brown rice cereal (I don’t mind them either way all depends what your into)
• 1/2 cup firm almond butter (peanut or what ever floats your boat)
• 1/2 cup creamed honey (or brown rice syrup)
• 2 tbsp coconut oil (or dairy free margarine)
• 2 tbsp cocoa powder
• 5 tbsp chocolate protein powder (I used a raw organic brown rice protein)
• 1/2 cup almond milk

Topping ingredients:

• 375gms 80% cocoa dark chocolate 
• 3 tbsp coconut milk or almond milk
• 12 whole raw almonds sliced for garnish

Instructions:

1. Measure out five cups of puffed/crispy brown rice and place in a large mixing bowl.
2. In a small sauce pan add the nut butter, honey, coconut oil, almond milk, and cocoa. 
3. On medium heat whisk until all ingredients are smooth & combined.
4. Remove from heat & whisk in your protein powder.
5. Once all wet ingredients are combined fold mix through the rice puffs.
6. In a greased slice tray press out your crispy mix firmly to ensure later when hardened you have a nicely packed & shaped slice.
7. In a small bowl add chocolate & coconut milk on medium heat in a microwave melt slowly taking the bowl out every 20sec, and stirring to ensure you don’t burn your garnish mix.
8. Once melted decorate the top of your slice with your chocolate mix as desired, and top with your sliced almonds.
9. Place your slice either in the freezer for an hour or the fridge for 3 depending on how much you want to consume!
10. Once firm portion to desired shape.

These are a fantastic way to get that much needed protein in with out gaging over those sometimes not so fantastic protein shakes. There full of complex carbohydrates, good fats and yummy chocolate to keep you going!

Beetroot Infused Quinoa Greek Salad…

Makes 3 salad portions or 4 sides served with a protein

Ingredients:

Quinoa ingredients:

• 1 cup of quinoa (uncooked)
• Juice of one beetroot (measured out to around 3/4 cup)
• 1 1/4 cups water 
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1/4 tsp celtic sea salt

Salad Ingredients:

• 200 gms sweet grape tomatoes (halved)
• 20 gms fresh basil (roughly chopped)
• 1/2 one medium red onion (finely diced)
• 80 gms pine nuts (toasted)

Salad dressing Ingredients:

• 1/2 tsp dijon mustard
• 1 1/2 tbsp olive oil
• Juice of one medium lemon
• 1 tbsp white balsamic vinegar 
• 1/2 tsp cracked black pepper
• 1 pinch of celtic sea salt (not too much as you have already salted your cooked quinoa 

Instructions:

1. Juice your beetroot.
2. Add your quinoa, beetroot juice, water, olive oil, and salt to a small sauce pan to a hot plate on high heat.
3. Bring your quinoa to boil for five minutes.
4. After five minutes bring the temperature down to low and cover your quinoa with a lid and allow to simmer for a further 15 minutes. 
5. When 15 minutes is up take your sauce pan off the heat leaving the lid still in-place and allow to stand for 5-10 minutes.
6. Spread your cooked quinoa on a plate, and place in the fridge uncovered to allow it to cool while you prep the following of your salad ingredients.
7. In a large salad bowl add your chopped basil, halved grape tomatoes, finely diced red onion, and toasted pine nuts.
8. In a food processor add all your salad dressing ingredients and pulse until well combined. 
9. Now dress the ingredients in your salad bowl.
10. When the cooked quinoa is completely cooled fold it through your dressed salad ingredients (don’t over mix as you don’t want to dye all out your ingredients with your quinoa).

Cooking the quinoa in the juice of the beetroot gives the salad this fantastic depth and earthy flavour. Not to mention a stunning vibrant look. If I wasn’t pregnant I would add a chèvre goats cheese to finish it off perfectly (I know its a french cheese to a greek styled salad but it would just be a match made in heaven).

Fresh salmon, broccolini, and vine ripened tomatoes Intwined in zucchini noodles and accompanied with a rich raw avocado, basil and lemon sauce…

Ingredients:

Makes 3 servings 

• 1 bunch of broccolini (sliced long ways)
• 100gms rocket
• 2 cooked and flaked salmon portions (cooked was 1.5 cups)
• 1 red capsicum (sliced to long strips)
• 1 lg red onion (chopped in large chunks)
• 20 vine ripened small tomatoes (kept whole)

Noodles:

• 4 Large zucchini (spiralled in a veggie pasta machine or julienned)

Sauce:

• 1 Medium avocado
• 4 cloves of garlic
• 1 cup of fresh basil
• juice of one lemon
• pinch of celtic sea salt
• 1/4 almond milk

Instructions:

1. Prep your ingredients as this meal is very quick to prepare
2. Blitz your sauce ingredients in a food processor or blender
3. Heat a non stick pan medium to high heat with a small amount of your choice of oil (I like to use either coconut or cold press organic olive oil)
4. Stir fry your red onion, capsicum, broccolini and cherry tomatoes only enough to bring that bright beautiful green colour out of the broccolini and before your tomatoes burst
5. Add your zucchini noodles or strips, and cook just until al dente 
6. Lastly toss your cooked salmon, and rocket through just to heat 
7. You can either stir your ready sauce through your pasta our drizzle it around the plates ( I like to run my noodles through the sauce with each bite, but its up to you)

Well I loved this its quick, fresh, full of flavour, and low carb! Wont leave you feeling heavy like a normal bowl of pasta would. I do hope you enjoy!