Creature of Comfort (Food)

I am taking my head out of the cookie jar for a minute to share a very yummy, and healthy dinner I made this evening. 

When it comes to Winter comfort foods I instantly revert back to my childhood favorites- chili (Mom was versatile, mixing it up with turkey chili, veggie chili and of course standard beef chili), Cheesy tuna noodle casserole, beef stew topped with fluffy dumplings, and green bean goop (family secret recipe, is MUCH tastier than name implies) just to name a few. 

Although my Mom’s Tuna casserole is nothing short of perfection, I wanted to put a healthier spin on this comfort classic. Doing a bit of standard Googling, I stumbled across Sarah Lynn Smile’s recipe for a Paleo version using cabbage as the noodles!  We had basically everything in the cupboard, (had to borrow the nutritional yeast from my awesome neighbor) so I decided to give it a go.

This was super easy to make, and so delicious! My picture does it no justice, but I promise it is wonderful. 

Here is Sarah’s Recipe, with my substitutions in parenthesis. I highly recommend doubling the recipe for the Magic Sauce, it is amazing! Would be great on any salad, dipping raw veggies, or as a sauce for roasted veggies or chicken.

Not Your Mama’s Tuna Noodle Casserole

Serves 2-4

2 cups cabbage noodles (Slice and roast cabbage until soft)

1/2 cup Magic Sauce (check Sarah’s Page for recipe, I didn’t have coconut aminos, but it tasted fine without, will definitely add the next time)

2 cans of tuna (I used Trader Joes albacore packed in water)

1/2-cup olive oil

1 white onion, chopped (I used red onion)

1 bell pepper, chopped  (I didn’t have so used marinated artichoke hearts)

1-2 tbsp bacon fat (I used Ghee)

1/4 cup sliced black olives  (I used celery)

Green onions, sliced for topping (I topped with 1 tablespoon of nutritional yeast and 1 tablespoon of almond meal because my mom always topped hers with a light breadcrumb for texture)

Prepare your cabbage and throw it in the oven. While that’s baking, heat your bacon fat in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add your veggies and sauté until cooked through. Remove from heat and set aside. When your cabbage is done, reduce the oven to 350 degrees and prepare a 9×9 baking dish with olive oil or bacon grease.

When your cabbage noodles are ready, combine all your ingredients in a large bowl and stir well. I add the olives last so they stay intact. Pour everything into your prepared baking dish and bake at 350 for 20 minutes or until it starts to brown on top.

Thank you Sarah for such a light, yet surprisingly filling recipe! 

Sweet Potato Chick'p Nuggets

We were up very early this morning, so I decided to do a bit of batch cooking to help move the morning along. These chick'p nuggets are quick, easy and super healthy!

You will need:

1/4 cup of organic whole wheat bread crumbs

1/2 cup organic whole wheat flour 

1 organic egg 

1/2 sweet potato (or 1 small one)

1 can organic chick peas (washed and drained)

1/3 cup shredded courgette

1 garlic clove

- steam sweet potatoes until soft, put in fridge to cool

- then add sweet potatoes, chick peas, courgettes, minced garlic glove and egg to food processor, mix till blended

- finish off by adding bread crumbs and flour, mix again until incorporated

- with wet hands, make patties and place on a parchment lined tray and refrigerate for atleast 30 mins ( patties will be very messy!)

- pan fry with about a tablespoon of organic raw coconut oil until golden on both sides

- enjoy immediately or freeze for future meals

Dipping sauce: 2 teaspoons of fresh lemon juice and rind of 1/2 lemon and Greek yogurt 

Notes: 

-Because these are for kids we didn't add salt/seasonings, but a bit of cumin or cayenne mixed in would be great, as well as fresh coriander or flat leaf parsley.

-When reheating, highly recommend using the oven, microwave can make them a little mushy. 

Super Smoothie

  It's basically a full time job keeping our toddler fed and happy. Lucky for us FJ is a great eater, she will try anything, but we do have our challenges getting in our 5 a day. Our solution is daily juices or smoothies. This kid will drink anything through a straw! We usually have mostly veggie juices with an apple or two for sweetness, but as an occassional treat, I'll whip up some fruity smoothies. There are so many great smoothie recipes out there, and the best ones are the random ones you can craft up with whatever is in your fridge.

Today we have 1/2 cup of cherries (grown by our neighbour 2 doors down), an organic banana, avocado and a cup of organic yogurt. Chock full of antioxidants, of vitamin C and healthy fat, this smoothie is a perfect sugar free treat to fuel the little one through the afternoon. 

  

Mix all ingredients in a blender for about a minute. And VOILA! A Sugar free super healthy super smoothie! If you fancy a thicker smoothie use frozen bananas for creamy, luxurious texture. 

For when we are out & about, I found these amazing reusable pouches from Koko. I fill them up and toss the mini smoothies in the freezer. They defrost slowly, so they are the perfect picnic treat, or in my case last week a keep-her-quiet-while-running-errands-treat. 

(You could use ice lolly molds as well)