Tag: Food

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#14DaysOfThermo

14 Days of Thermo

I wasn’t sure how I’d go with this, especially when hubby said he wanted a chook roast but we managed and we got to try some new recipes, so it’s always a win.

Day 1 saw me making the salmon in the Varoma.

Salmon Steaks with Cucumber & Spiced Yoghurt

Day 2 was homemade pizza dough from the EDC (Everyday Cookbook). I love this pizza dough recipe. I made smaller pizzas this time so had dough left over and have frozen it for quick pizzas for lunch or tea (or a late night snack). We had a garlic pizza to share, I had BBQ base, ham, onion and cheese, hubby & Miss K had tomato base, salami, ham and cheese.

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Day 3 – we were out all day but I whipped up the 5 second chocolate coconut slice. I love this slice and will often whip it up if we’re going somewhere and I want to take a little something.

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Day 4 – savoury mince (with a side of wedges, sour cream & sweet chilli). So yummy. Might add some more herbs next time. Made enough to feed 2 adults and a 4yo. Hubby had seconds and there was still heaps to freeze for another night.

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Day 5 – first time cooking a roast chicken in the Thermo. Used the recipe from the ThermoFun Cook Along. Super moist. Downside was, even with putting it in the oven for 15 minutes, no crispy skin. I can live with that.

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Day 6 – Chicken mornay with leftover chicken. Yes the recipe is tuna but we substituted chicken for tuna. Very  nice. Served with rice. Would be yum mixed with pasta and sprinkled with some cheese

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Day 7 – Sausage casserole from ThermoFun. Hubby thought this had too much tomato. I loved it, mixed with some sweet chilli sauce. Miss K loved it & has 3 helpings!!

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Day 8 – Yoghurt (using the ThermoFun recipe – this is one of the best I’ve tried and turns out nice and thick) & berry coulis (EDC). So much cheaper than buying it. And I forgot to photograph it :/

Day 9 – Ended up staying at Mum& Dad’s for tea but had made some brownies earlier in the day. LOVE these brownies

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Day 10 – Creamy tomato & bacon pasta. A quick, yum family favourite

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Day 11 – Bourbon chicken (a ThremoFun club recipes). Mixed responses. Was nice but not sure if we’d have it again.

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Day 12 –Honey Mustard Lamb roast (before cooking and served with roast veg)

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Day 13 – bread. The BEST every white bread (so far). Super crispy crust and soft bread in the middle. Delicious – especially strait out of the oven spread with butter *yum*

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Day 14 – Finally… curried sausages from the recipe community. Always yum. I added a bit of coconut this time and it’s yum.

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Would I give this a go again? Hell yeah. I’ve enjoyed trying new recipes and using my Thermomix more. Maybe I’ll make it a monthly project.

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A fortnight of thermo cooking

We’ve had our thermomix for just over a year now and I still don’t use it enough as I could/should. So for the next 14 days I am going to make myself use it everyday. I’ll be sharing photos and links to the recipes I cook unless the recipe is from the ThermFun recipe club. 

Tonight’s meal was a ThermoFun recipe – Salmon Steaks with Cucumber & Spiced Yoghurt

Salmon Steaks with Cucumber & Spiced Yoghurt

I’ve never cooked fish in the thermo and I know how touchy salmon can be so jumping in at the deep end LOL

The salmon was perfectly cooked and melted in your mouth. I’d change the sauce slightly next time I made it – less coriander – but that was very yum too and would make a nice refreshing dip. 

I’ll be back at the end of the fortnight to let you know how I’ve gone but you can follow along daily as I’ll be Instagraming what I make – follow me @nightwolfs_den

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Healthy lunches

This post originally appeared on From the Wolf’s Den.

This week (6th October) is Healthy Lunchbox Week. It’s about packing more healthy choices in kids lunchboxes and limiting treats and sometimes foods.
I love cooking and providing healthy meals for Miss K but sometimes I fall back on the easy, prepacked foods & snacks for her day care lunchbox. I do always pack at least 2 types of fruit though so yay for that lol

Anywho, today I thought I’d share our plan for her lunchbox this week on the two days she goes and also provide some ideas and links for you, my awesome readers, to help give your kids a healthy lunchbox (or pack yourself a healthy lunch).

So what is a healthy lunchbox? A healthy lunchbox should aim to include at least one food item from each of the Australian Guide to Healthy Eating food groups in your child’s lunch box every day. That is:

  • Vegetables & salads
  • Grain (cereal) foods, mostly wholegrain and/or high cereal fibre varieties
  • Fruit
  • Dairy
  • Lean meats and poultry, fish, eggs, tofu, nuts and seeds and legumes/beans

This week’s lunchboxes for Miss K:

Day 1

 

  • 2 mini egg & bacon pies (meat, eggs and grain)
  • apple (fruit)
  • banana (fruit)
  • carrot sticks (vegetables)
  • fairy dip (YIAH Beetroot dip)
  • yoghurt rice cakes (dairy, grain)Day 2
  • pasta salad (grain, vegetables)
  • banana muffin (grain, fruit)
  • watermelon (fruit)
  • cheese (dairy)
  • tuna & biscuits (fish, grain)

 

Lunchbox Ideas from around the web:

What’s your favourite go-to healthy lunchbox treats?

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Foodie post ahead

I’m often posting recipes here on the blog so have decided to create a list so you have an easy way to access them. So up there in the menu bar there is now a Recipes tab and you can pick what section you are interested in. Or you can just use the search feature 😉

I’m slowly adding to the list so not all the recipes will be there. Another thing I’m doing is re-writing the recipes to make them easier for you to print out.

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Winter Warmer Soups

With winter in full swing here in Tasmania I thought I’d share some of my favourite soup recipes – Mum’s Pumpkin Soup & Mum’s Carrot Soup

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14 days of cooking with the Thermo #2

The current challenge (9/6-22/6) is

Who has an enormous “TO DO ” list – or a folder of recipes you have printed off to try one day …….or heaps saved to the computer somewhere ?

Your next 14 day challenge is to work through that list !!! Go on …. give some new recipes a try – and don’t forget to share a pic – and where the recipe was from .

For all of our very new owners – just keep working your way through your EDC ( everyday cookbook)

I have a huge list saved of recipes to try and my Thermo Pinterest board is growing daily AND this fortnight falls during the ThermoFun Week Cook Along so there are some new recipes to try there too.
I will be totally honest, I’ve had my Thermo nearly a year and I still haven’t made everything in the EDC cause a lot of it we wouldn’t eat so therefore not cooking it 😉

Lemon Butter Teacakes Confetti Cookies Shepherd's Pie Cinnamon scrolls Yoghurt Best ever chocolate milkshake 002 003

Monday 9/6 – Lemon butter tea cakes – converted from this recipe & using ECD Lemon Butter (p47)*
Tuesday 10/6 – Confetti Cookies
Wednesday 11/06 – Shepherd’s Pie
Thursday 12/06 – cinnamon scrolls
Friday 13/06 – yoghurt (this is my second time trying yoghurt, last time was a failure)
Saturday 14/06 – best ever chocolate milkshake (so rich but soooo yummy)
Sunday 15/06 – mayo from EDC (p40) + curried eggs

Pikelets Sweet & Sour chicken with vegies  Honey Lime Chicken Mars Bar Brownie Raspberry Cheesecake Choc chip cookies

Monday 16/6 – Pikelets (for the Thermomfun Cook Along)
Tuesday 17/6 – Chocolate-Orange Shortbread Pinwheels (forgot to take a pic but where yum)
Wednesday 18/06 – Sweet & Sour chicken with vegies (Thermofun Cook Along recipe)
Thursday 19/06 – Honey Lime Prawns & noodles (done with chicken) (Thermofun Cook Along recipe)
Friday 20/06 – Mars Bar Brownie (Thermofun Cook Along)
Saturday 21/06 – Passionfruit cheesecake (except I made mine with raspberries)
Sunday 22/06 – Choc-chip cookies (Thermofun Cook Along)

Really enjoyed the Thermofun Cook along and am looking forward to the next one in July. I’ve also enjoyed trying some new recipes – there are a few that will go in our favourites book, some need to be tweaked to our tastes and others, not so much for us. That’s the joy of trying recipes out.

*I’ve blogged this recipe if anyone is interested 🙂

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Soft drinks while pregnant? You bet! {review}

Being pregnant means you should watch what you drink. I had gestational diabetes last pregnancy and really wanted to do whatever I could this time around to reduce my chances of getting GD again this pregnancy.
One of the things I did when I first found out I was pregnant was to stop drinking Coke, well to tell the truth I had to stop because it was making me sick – hello morning sickness!!

Thanks to the morning sickness I was a bit limited to what I could drink without feeling ill – water, sometimes juice, the occasional water cordial. No milk and nothing of the fizzy variety.

Enter the 2nd trimester and the end of morning sickness (yay!!) and I slowly introduced milk back into the diet and was ok. There was a definite craving for something fizzy but the amount of sugar in soft drinks is a bit frightening – 28g per 250ml in lemonade and 27g per 250ml of cola. Before you ask no I don’t do diet drinks or no sugar drinks, for one thing I’m not convinced that fake sugars are good for us and secondly I’m not a huge fan of the taste.

When I was offered the chance to try a low sugar, organic alternative I must say I was extremely curious. BIONADE (pronounced Bee-oh-nah-deh)  is a range of organic fermented and carbonated beverages from Germany.

On first glance, you could be fooled into thinking it’s a trendy new post-mix alcoholic drink but no it’s a tasty low sugar drink that looks as good as it tastes.

BIONADE-Flaschen-Wasser

So what is BIONADE and what makes it different from your average soft drink?

  • it’s 100% certified organic
  • it’s low in sugar (15.5g per 330ml serve)
  • Brewed like beer, but non-alcoholic
  • No colourants! No preservatives! No artificial flavours!
  • Gluten free. Suitable for vegetarians and vegans.

There are 4 flavours – ginger & orange, lychee, elderberry and herbs.

First up in my trial was the ginger & orange. Ginger is meant to be pretty good when you feel ill, be it from morning sickness, travel sickness or maybe just feeling a little seedy after a night out. I thought it might taste a little similar to IronBru (it’s a Scottish citrus, slightly gingery, soft drink, often described as “Scotland’s other national drink” (after Scotch whisky) and is the number 1 selling soft drink there closely followed by Coke) but it was more gingery with an nice orange aftertaste. Quite nice. I imagine it would make a good mixer.

I tried the Herb flavour and really wasn’t sure. Don’t think I would drink this one again.

Now I’m not a fan of lychees at all so was pretty hesitant about trying this flavour. Pleasantly surprised! It was sweet and a little tangy. Again it would probably make a good mixer.

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I’ve left my favourite til last – Elderberry. It is super yum, sweet, fizzy and very moreish.

Hubby wasn’t taken with any of them but he’s pretty fussy. Miss K loved all of them and they are something I’d be happy to give BIONADE to her as a treat over lemonade or cola.

At this stage BIONADE is available online from http://www.drinks-logistics.com.au/ and selected retailers

And cause I love my readers I have a mixed case of 24 bottles of BIONADE to giveaway to one lucky Nightwolf’s Den reader. Leave us a comment with what you loved to drink when you were pregnant OR what you’d miss drinking if you were pregnant. Entry is open to Australian residents only. Winner will have 1 week to respond once the giveaway is drawn. Giveaway closes 26th March 2014

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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From the Den Kitchen – Christmas goodies

One has to love Pinterest at this time of year. Food ideas galore!! I thought I’d share with you some of the foodie things I’ve pinned plus a few other foodie bit & pieces.

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Christmas Pizza shapes

Christmas kabobs (mini marshmallows, slices of banana, strawberries, grapes)

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Candy Cane Ice cream (Thermomix)

Christmas sugar cookies
(Thermomix)

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Christmas Choc chip cookies
(Thermomix & non- Thermo)

Christmas cheese board
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Mint Chocolate truffles Peppermint fudge

Some of the things I have linked to before but still have some great foodie ideas:

What’s your favourite thing to make over Christmas?

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It’s nearly summer

and that means it’s nearly warm enough to stock up the freezer with yummy ice cream treats.

We make our own ice cream but I am very partial to a Drumstick (has to be peppermint), Eskimo Pies and when I really want to spoil myself, a Magnum. And now can spoil myself with the new Limited Edition Magnum Strawberry White Crumble.

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OMG talk about delish. The white chocolate and biscuit coating is crunchy and rather yum. The strawberry ice cream inside – where do I start. It tastes like real strawberries, not fake pink ice cream like some strawberry ice creams. It’s creamy and smooth. It’s YUM! and it’s helping a good cause.

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How you ask? The new limited edition ice cream was developed to mark Magnum’s partnership with the National Breast Cancer Foundation (Australia) (NBCF) and New Zealand Breast Cancer Foundation(NZBCF), and its support of Breast Cancer Awareness Month this October. Unilever, Streets’ parent company, have long been a supporter of Breast Cancer Awareness Month and have contributed around $700 000 to NBCF and NZBCF over its 7 year association with the campaign. Through the extension of support from Streets’ Magnum and Blue Ribbon brands, Unilever hopes to bring total contributions to the cause to $1 million in 2012.

Strawberry White Crumble joins the Magnum range as a limited edition from August 2012 –
March 2013, and will be available in both single serve and multi-packs.

Disclaimer: I received a voucher to purchase some Magnums. All opinions are my own.

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The Tastes of Winter

This post is a Product Talk by Nuffnang. I was provided product to sample & review. All opinions herein are my own.

Ah winter, you have joined us with a vengeance this year, well at least in Tasmania. It’s been cold and windy, perfect weather for staying inside by the fire. One of my other favourite things in winter, apart from sitting by the fire, is a huge mug of steaming hot soup.

Homemade soup is a staple in our house each winter but when I can’t be bothered we often grabbed the single serve quick packet powdered soups for a warming lunch. My biggest concern with these is sometimes you really aren’t sure what’s in them. Enter Heinz with their new Squeeze and Stir soups.Heinz Squeeze & Stir soups Heinz Squeeze & Stir sachets are a thick and rich soup concentrate paste, and unlike powdered cup soups, are made from fresh ripe tomatoes. Heinz Squeeze & Stir is low in fat and contains no artificial colours, flavours and no preservatives.

We were sent the Rich Tomato with Basil and Ripe Tomato & Vegetables to try and it was a fight for who would try which flavour.

Squeeze & Stir set

Heinz Squeeze & Stir are super easy to prepare. Just squeeze into a mug, add boiling water, stir and if you’re like me, add a swirl of cream on top.

Squeeze & Stir 01Squeeze & Stir 02Verdict – I had Ripe Tomato & Vegetables and wasn’t sure what I would think. I’m a Big Red girl, just plain big red. This was a nice surprise. It had all the tomato flavour I expected plus an extra kick from the vegetable pieces. Hubby had the Rich Tomato with Basil. When I asked him what he thought, “it’s ok but not something I’d rush to buy”, was the answer. Hubby, for the record, isn’t a big fan of what he calls ‘fancy soups’ much preferring pumpkin, plain tomato, Chinese chicken & corn or potato & leek. If it’s homemade all the better. Meh, I tried a small bit & I though the touch of basil was a nice flavour. Miss K is a huge soup lover and I’m yet to find something she won’t eat (am yet to try her on Scottish broth – I don’t eat it or cook it so she’ll have to wait til my Mum makes it for Dad). She had a small amount of both and came back asking for seconds so I’ll call that a win!

Overall, I’m not sure if I’ll be adding these to our shopping any time soon. Maybe as a treat (or so I can try the Big Red one). They would great for chucking in your bag before work for a winter warmer at lunch or great for camping trips or even the footy (nothing beats watching sport in winter, rugged up and a hot mug of soup – unless it’s watching sport, inside, in front of a fire, with a hot mug of soup)

Heinz Squeeze & Stir will bring Australia’s number one wet soup flavour, Big Red Tomato*, along with Mediterranean Vegetable, Ripe Tomato & Vegetable and Rich Tomato with Basil into the convenient pack format. Individual Heinz Squeeze & Stir 70g sachets are now available for RRP$1.25 from all major supermarkets and independent retailers.

* Source: Nielsen Scan Data in Season 2011