GF Loaf On The Go

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Breakfast loaf

It was about 9 years ago when I moved to Perth by myself. I never lived overseas before and didn’t know what to expect. I was living in a share house with a couple of other people. Having to share a kitchen, fridge, and every other things out of my own room was very uncomfortable. But I had to deal with that for a couple of years as the tuition fee was ridiculously expensive as an international Uni student (about 3-4 times more than local students). I didn’t care much about what I ate back then, so I had a bit of weird addiction to one food, which I ate every day every single meal until I got bored of it. I used to live on breakfast cereal, Crunchy nut, at some point. Although it was so sugary and had absolutely no nutrition, it was quick and convenient to just fill up my stomach. After that, weet-bix, breakfast bars, frozen peas, etc. This bad eating habit continued after I finished Uni and got a job just because I was too busy to eat my lunch or dinner at work. I was working long hours without proper breaks and just had to shovel down something quick between patients. Thinking back now I deeply regret and feel sorry for not caring my health for years. I cannot blame anyone but me >.< So no excuses everyone and make this loaf!!!!

Great thing about making this awesome breakfast loaf is healthy, easy and has everything you need. So if you are going out somewhere, busy at work, traveling, getting on the plane, etc, take this loaf in your bag as a snack or even simple meal. You can be creative and put other ingredients that you like. To make one loaf (about 4-5 servings) I used 150g grated green apple, 1 knob of grated ginger, 1 tea spoon of cinnamon powder, 2 table spoons of maple syrup, 1 table spoon of coconut oil, 100g eggs, 1 tea spoon of baking powder, 75g coconut flour, 30g of LSA, 25g maca powder, 25g mequisite powder and a pinch of Himalayan salt. Simply combine all ingredients in a mixing bowl, transfer to a loaf tin and bake in the preheated oven (180) for 45 minutes or until it’s all cooked. I put these ingredients because I just love a combination of apple, cinnamon and ginger. But you can make your own recipes using different flavour combinations such as banana and chocolate, coconut and blueberries, cranberries and pecans, dates and apricot, strawberry and rhubarb, etc.

Posted in: Baking, Breakfast, Gluten Free, My recipes, Snack, Vegetarian

Black Bean Salad with Basil Pesto

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Black bean salad

Like many other legumes, black beans are an excellent source of the cholesterol-lowering dietary fibre good for cardiovascular system. They also contain a good amount of iron that gives you energy, antioxidants that protect you from cancer and a complete source of protein for vegetarians when combined with a whole grain such as brown rice. Their high soluble fibre, low GI and high protein stabilises your blood sugar level, which helps people with diabetes. This superstar is so versatile in cooking and baking as well. You can add into your soup, salads, taco fillings, hummus made of black beans, braised black bean casserole, vegetarian patties, even in your brownies…list is endless! Tips for cooking these amazing guys? You need to soak your beans overnight to reduce your cooking time. Don’t add salt or acidic ingredients while boiling them otherwise it won’t cook but gets really tough.

Black Bean Salad
Cook pre-soaked black beans. Pan-fry diced sweet potatoes with sage and cumin. Mix beans and sweet potatoes with chopped cucumber, celery, parsley and coriander in a mixing bowl. Season with Himalayan salt and ground pepper. Dress with vinegar, a squeeze of lemon and a drizzle of e.v.o.o.

Basil Pesto
Put a handful of basil leaves, a teaspoon of chopped garlic, 100g of cottage cheese, handful of pepitas, a squeeze of lemon into a food processor. Whiz up until all blended nicely. Taste and season with salt and pepper.

Beef Tataki

Posted in: Dinner, Gluten Free, Lunch, My recipes, salads, Vegetarian

Oven-Roasted Garlic

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Roast Garlic

You can taste garlic in almost all Korean dishes. We love garlic, ginger and chillies. Yes, it leaves you a bad breath after eating them or even next day, but it’s a tasty addition to other dishes and has many medical properties.

  • Strong immune system: fight against chest infection, coughs and congestion. Great for colds and flu.
  • Cardiovascular system: helps to lower LDL (bad cholesterol) and regulate blood pressure
  • Anti-inflammatory benefits
  • Packed with vitamins and nutrients: Vitamin A, B, B2 and C, calcium, zinc and many others
  • Cancer prevention
  • Control of diabetes: regulates blood sugar
  • Anti-bacterial and anti-viral benefits
  • Weight control

I bought a bunch of garlic from the local veggie market a couple of days ago. I use a garlic clove or two when I’m cooking, but there was no way I can finish 10 heads of garlic before it goes bad. So I decided to make some garlic pickles and roasted garlic. Peeling off these little guys can be tricky. Let me tell you I feel like I can still smell them in my fingers. An easy way is open up the cloves and put them in a bowl. Place the same size bowl on top to create a dome. Then vigorously shake them. Clean the peeled garlic in cold water with a squeeze of lemon.

To make garlic pickles, I peeled off about 5 heads of garlic. Rinse off any dirt or skin. Boil vinegar, water, peppercorns, bay leaves and dried chilli in a pot. Add garlic cloves into the pickling liquid for a few minutes. Then transfer to the steralised jar. Cool down and put it in the fridge. It should be ready to eat in a week or so.

Then I made oven-roasted garlic with the remaining. Simply cut the top of the cloves with a sharp knife, Drizzle a couple of teaspoons of coconut oil and add a sprig of rosemary. Put it in the preheated oven (180) for about 40-50 minutes until the cloves are soft and tender. It smells amazing while cooking in the oven and tastes so beautiful and sweet. It just melts in your mouth. You can easily mash with a fork. Spread on the slice of bread, add to the potato mash, hummus and soup, or  eat just by itself.

Because I usually put my lunch in a bowl and eat (less dishes!), I don’t normally decorate my lunch plate unlike dinner that is more a shared affair. But looking at beautiful roasted garlic out of the oven, I had to make myself a pretty looking lunch today.  A semi-boiled egg on the quinoa nest, braised leeks and zucchini, and of course garlic on the side! Yum yum yum..

Posted in: Gluten Free, Lunch, My recipes

GF Berry Pancakes

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Fotor020575144Beautiful Summer morning. I woke up craving for some sweet breakfast this morning. My usual breakfast muffin didn’t seem that sweet enough for some reason. I can be like that (blame my hormones whenever I have a sweet tooth >.<) So I decided to make some pancakes. Crack one egg, pour a bit of almond milk, add 100g buckwheat flour and a splash of soda water as you whisk. Same as when you make batter for fried food, this bubbly water adds a lightness to the dish. To satisfy my sweet tooth, I filled and topped with honey, frozen berries and nectarine compote that I made last week. It is quite handy to have a jar of home-made fruit compote in your fridge so you can use on desserts and baking or….just straight out of the jar. I boiled and simmered nectarines with honey, chia seeds and acai powder in a pot with a bit of water. After fruits lose their shape, use a stick blender to whiz up until smooth. Taste to see if you need additional honey. Pour into a steralised jar and keep refrigerated. You can use seasonal fruits – nectarines, apples, plums, berries, figs, etc. I like adding something like ginger, cinnamon or cardamom to spice it up. Yum! I was thinking a dollop of yogurt would be nice on the side. Great for breakfast or dessert! Happy tummy now..
Pancakes2

Posted in: Breakfast, Gluten Free, My recipes, Snack

My Weekend Lunch

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Tofu lunch

My weekend comfort food is tofu just by itself. I know some people will frown on me, but I don’t care I like them so much. What I’m about to write is the reason why I try to indulge myself with tofu only on the weekend. I’ve written health benefits of having soy in blog before. I don’t want to confuse you, however, there are some bad news. There is some evidence showing that isoflavones in soy can interfere with your endocrine system and hormone balance. It can possibly reduce fertility in women, contribute to premature puberty, link to some cancers when consumed in large amounts. Don’t worry I’m not talking about fresh tofu and the fermented ones like miso, tempeh and tamari. I am talking about more packaged and processed soy products that you consume even without knowing such as protein bars, cereals, soy milk, vegan substitute products, etc. These bad guys have high phytic acid which can interfere with mineral absorption. The bottom line is that soy has a good source of plant-based protein and fibre. So enjoy in moderation and avoid processed soy products.

My lunch was steamed tofu and bok choy with home-made chili capsicum chutney. It looks seriously red and spicy, but the sweetness from red capsicum actually calms down the heat of the chillies. I made a big batch and put it in a sterilised jar which can last up to weeks. You can adjust how hot you want your chutney to be. My ingredients are red capsicum, birds eye chillies ( I used five!!!), garlic, ginger, maple syrup, cinnamon powder, ground nutmeg, coconut oil and balsamic vinegar. I could use some more cayenne pepper for a challenge >.< You need to cook them until all ingredients are softened and sticky. Then whiz up in a food processor. I left all the skin of chillies and capsicum for a source of fibre, but get rid of them if you don’t like that texture. This chutney comes really handy for me as a chilli lover. A great addition to melted cheese, warm soup, steak for Daniel, stir-fry, or even on raw veggie sticks. Enjoy x

Posted in: Gluten Free, Lunch, My recipes, Snack, Vegetarian