Low Carb & Bariatric Friendly Lasagna

Low Carb, Protein Packed & Bariatric Friendly Lasagna

Pretty proud to say yesterday I made one of the best lasagna’s I’ve ever had! This is pretty big considering Lasagne is my favourite food, and I’ve had them a lot. BUT, I normally don’t make at home, seeing as my husband is allergic to dairy. Since having weight loss surgery I don’t eat a lot of pasta, so decided I would make a bariatric friendly version that I could portion out and store in the freezer for when I need an easy meal.

After having a bit of a look online at various ways to make a low carb lasagna, I decided to combine a few things I’d seen and come up with my own version. It’s a bit softer than a regular lasagne, and next time I’ll add another zucchini and wrap layer… but here it is, let me know what you think!

Ingredients

• 2 courgettes, thinly sliced lengthwise

• 1 tablespoon olive oil

• 800g-1kg ground beef / mince

• 1 small onion

• 1 pack keto / low carb wraps

• 1 Bottle Pasta sauce (I used a herb style one)

• 250g tub ricotta

• 1 tsp salt

• 1/2 tsp nutmeg

• 1/2 bag baby spinach

• 1 egg

• 2 cups grated edam cheese

Method

1. Fry off onions. Once clear add mince and pasta sauce, let simmer for 10 mins

2. Thinly slice courgette & dab with paper towels to remove excess moisture - set aside

3. Mix ricotta, egg, salt and nutmeg together to make a white sauce, season with salt

4. Cut wraps into smaller pieces to mimic pasta sheets

5. Layer courgette into bottom of baking dish, then add a layer of beef followed by a layer of the ricotta white sauce

6. Arrange wraps on top to cover, then add a layer of spinach, cheese, beef & white sauce

7. Top with cheese then cover with foil.

8. Bake at 180 degrees for 30 mins

9. Bake a further 10 mins with no foil and it will brown up nicely

Apple Crumble Baked Oats

Baked Oats, where have you been all my life. I’ve been making my Blueberry Cheesecake Baked Oats on repeat since sharing the recipe. They were such a hit with you guys, and so naturally I’ve been experimenting with new flavours… and this one takes the cake.

Quite honestly this is like eating apple crumble for breakfast, but with a lot more protein and less sugar. We have so much good stuff going on here - the goodness of oats which are a slow releasing carb, plus banana for potassium, apples and of course protein to help keep you full for longer. Honestly, try it at least once and let me know what you think! Keep in mind these quantities are specifically for meal prep that will last you the week. OR, you can share with your family and get a day or two out of it.

This recipe works out to roughly 30g of protein per serve if you make with the suggested ingredients below.

APPLE PIE Baked OatS

Ingredients

2 cups rolled oats (I used Scotch oats)
2 bananas
60g vanilla protein powder
I used NZ protein whey protein, gourmet vanilla
350ml milk of choice
I like calci trim as it’s higher protein than regular milk
1 tsp baking powder
1 cup frozen diced apple
1 tsp maple syrup
6 TBS high protein yogurt or greek yogurt
1 tsp cinnamon

For the ‘crumble’
3/4 cup oats mixed with 1-2 TBS smooth peanut butter

Method:

1. Mash bananas into bottom of a dish roughly 20 x 30cm (preferably one that has a lid)

2. Add oats, baking powder & protein powder

3. Pour in milk and mix everything together

4. In the microwave, heat your diced apples, maple syrup & cinnamon for 1 min to soften them up.

5. Place spoonfuls of the apples on top of your batter, and then do the same with the yogurt

6. Get a spoon and swirl together the yogurt, apples and yogurt - but don’t fully mix them together. You want it to be only just mixed so you can nice clumpy parts of yogurt and apples

7. Mix together your ‘crumble’ which is just peanut butter and oats, it kind of clumps together. Springle this on top of your oats batter

8. Place in the oven for 40 mins at 180 degrees.

9. Once out of the oven, let cool a little and cut into 6 serves. Pop your lid on and place in the fridge.

To Serve:

1. Take out one serve daily, warm in the microwave and add a little fresh yogurt on top. I also add a drizzle of peanut butter or some raspberries. SO GOOD!

Quick & Easy Meal Prep Ideas

Quick & Easy Meal Prep Ideas

I love a bit of a meal prep session on a Sunday. It definitely helps my week go better being that little bit more organised, and the time investment is not that big. I put together a reel of my latest meal prep routine and thought I would share the recipes here in one place, plus I’ve added in one or two more that are go to’s.

Strategy wise - my goal is to always prep:
- One Protein
- Baking for lunchboxes
- One breakfast for the week (for example, either granola or baked oats)
- Some snacks
- if time, chopped veggies

Here’s what that would look like for prep.
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Pulled Pork or Beef Brisket

Having a protein in the fridge that will last 2-3 meals is a game changer. Our faves are my pulled pork or brisket as both can be used in a variety of meals that are quick and easy. This week our one Pork Shoulder did 3 meals.

Night 1: Quessidillas done in the toasted sandwich maker (just add cheese)
Night 2: Pulled Pork Subs. I buy some of the long loaves of French or Italian bread from Countdown, add cheese, lettuce and tomato. Bingo! Delicious
Night 3: Pulled Pork with Mashed Potato and Steamed Broccoli. Part of my meal prep this week was freezing some mash (game changer) so we pulled out a serve of that and it just took 5 mins to steam some brocoli

MASHED POTATO

Yep, you heard me right. Freeze some mashed potato! While some of the other things are on, pop on some potatoes. When cooked, drain and completely cool before mashing. Store servings in zip lock bags to store in the freezer.

Blueberry or Raspberry Cheesecake Baked Oats

I can’t tell you how much I love this recipe. It’s a life saver for me, making mornings so much easier. I bake one batch on Sunday and it lasts me until Saturday. GOLD.

Muffins or Cookies

You can’t beat the good old Edmonds Sweet Muffin mix! They are very easy, economical and quick. I add a mashed banana and either blueberries or raspberries to ours and Aiden loves them. Store in the freezer and just get one out when making lunches makes them last longer.

HOME MADE GRANOLA

Home made granola is really easy and really yummy. I have two recipes you can try.

Date, Banana & peanut butter chocolate bites

I make these every week, mainly for me. When I want something sweet, I can grab one from the freezer. They are SO yum!

Lastly, if you have time, chopping up veggies for meals ahead if always a great idea. I even shred our lettuce to save extra time when making salads or sandwiches.

Happy prepping!

Justine

Butternut Pumpkin, Kumara & Carrot Soup

Creamy Butternut Pumpkin, Kumara & Carrot Soup

I’m not usually a soup person, but I love this one. I make it a lot during winter and the whole family loves it.

It’s really quick and easy, but the best thing about it is its pretty versatile and forgiving. As long as you have your main starch vegetables in there, you can really add whatever other veggies you have in your fridge that need using. It’s really yum if you add potatoes too. You can also change up the soup mix flavour. The only reason I add soup mix is for the protein and nutrition from the lentils, barley etc,

The other great thing about this is it’s a dairy free creamy soup, which are hard to come by. I love that it’s a smooth and creamy soup, so you do need a stick blender for this recipe.

So here you go!

Ingredients

• 1/2 butternut pumpkin

• 2 carrots, peeled

• 1 medium kumara

• 1 medium onion

• 1 cup soup mix
  (I use a Country style soup mix that is a blend of split peas, barley, lentils & seasoning)

• 8 cups chicken or vegetable stock
  (I love the little stock pots, works out more cost effective)

• 2 tsp Moroccon seasoning (optional)

• 2 tsp salt

• 1 cup coconut cream

Method

1. Chop all your vegetables and place into large saucepan

2. Make up stock if you’re making from cubes or pots and add to main pot along with soup mix & seasoning

3. Cook on a low temperature for 1 hr minimum. You want all the veggies and lentils, barley etc to be completely soft and falling apart.

4. Once cooked, blend with a stick blender and taste for seasoning.

5. Once mostly blended, add in your coconut cream and mix through

6. Serve with a little bit of extra coconut cream on top and some pumpkin seeds if you’d like some crunch.

Date, Banana & Peanut Butter Chocolate Bites

Here’s a really quick and easy recipe for if you want something sweet in the freezer that requires no baking or blending! Only takes about 10 mins and they are super delicious. It’s super basic, which is why I like it. There are a few renditions you can make, like these Chocolate Dipped Date & Peanut Butter Bites (which omit the banana) but I like having the creaminess of the banana in there. I will say the better quality the dates the better! Medjool are best.

Date, Banana & Peanut Butter Chocolate Bites

Ingredients

1 Banana
Medjool Dates
Peanut Butter
Sugar Free Dark Chocolate

Method:

1. Take your dates and flatten with the back of a spoon to make a base and lay out on some baking paper

2. Once flattened, top with 1/4 tsp of your favourite nut butter (I use smooth peanut butter but crunchy is also good to add in more texture)

3. Slice your banana and place 1 piece on top of the peanut butter. Squish it down a little so it sticks together

4. Take your dark chocolate (I use sugar free) and melt in the microwave in 30 second bursts, then drizzle all over the top of your bites

5. Place in an air tight container in the freezer and take one out whenever you need a sweet treat!

Meal Prep: Blueberry Cheesecake Baked Oats

Ok so we can all thank late night instagram scrolling for this one. Although I saw it, thought I saved the recipe and then didn’t and have struggled to find again and had HALF a screenshot of the recipe, but it’s ok as I just ran with my terrible memory (but also pretty good knowledge of baked oats) and think I nailed it first go. So, credit to the lovely lady with the British accent for the Inspo… and half the recipe 🤦🏻‍♀️

Quite honestly this is like eating cake for breakfast. But it’s HEALTHY cake. We have so much good stuff going on here - the goodness of oats which are a slow releasing carb, plus banana for potassium, blueberries with all their amazing properties and of course protein to help keep you full for longer. Honestly, try it at least once and let me know what you think! Keep in mind these quantities are specifically for meal prep that will last you the week. OR, you can share with your family and get a day or two out of it.

Blueberry Cheesecake Baked OatS

Ingredients

2 cups rolled oats (I used Scotch oats)
2 bananas
60g protein powder
I used NZ protein whey protein, gourmet vanilla
420ml calci trim milk
You can sub any milk alternative, I like calci trim as it’s higher in protein than regular milk
1 tsp baking powder
1 cup frozen blueberries
1 tsp maple syrup or honey
6 TBS high protein yogurt or greek yogurt

Method:

1. Mash bananas into bottom of a dish roughly 20 x 30cm (preferably one that has a lid)

2. Add oats, baking powder & protein powder

3. Pour in milk and mix everything together

4. In the microwave, heat your blueberries and maple syrup or honey for 1 min to soften them up.

5. Place spoonfuls of the blueberries on top of your batter, and then do the same with the yogurt

6. Get a spoon and swirl together the yogurt, blueberries and yogurt - but don’t fully mix them together. You want it to be only just mixed so you can nice clumpy parts of yogurt and blueberries

7. Place in the oven for 40 mins at 180 degrees.

8. Once out of the oven, let cool a little and cut into 6 serves. Pop your lid on and place in the fridge.

To Serve:

1. Take out one serve daily, warm in the microwave and add a little fresh yogurt on top. I also add a drizzle of peanut butter. SO GOOD!

Slow Cooker BBQ Pulled Pork

DROOL! This is the absolute favourite meat dish in our house, with the beef brisket being a close second… which isn’t surprising as it’s virtually the same recipe with a few tweaks. I decided to publish this one separately so that you can find it if you’re looking for a winning Pork dish.

The recipe is a winner in summer or winter, or if you have guests coming over. We love to pop on buns to make burgers with coleslaw and some roast potatoes. It’s also really cost effective and versatile. It lasts us several nights and we use for burgers as mentioned above but also quesadillas and pulled pork pie.

Slow Cooker BBQ Pulled Pork

I use a 2-2.5kg bone in pork shoulder for this recipe

Incredients for the Rub
1 tbsp brown sugar
2 tsp smoked paprika powder
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp cumin powder
3/4 tsp mustard powder
1 tsp salt

Ingredients for the BBQ Sauce
2 garlic cloves , minced
1/2 cup / 125 ml apple cider vinegar
1 small jar plain pasta sauce or passata
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 tsp EACH of onion powder, mustard powder
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

Method:

1. Prepare your rub ingredients in a small bowl by mixing together, then rub on the meat. If you have time, leave for 30+ mins to soak in, but I rarely do this.

2. Combine BBQ Sauce ingredients in a slow cooker. Mix then add the pork and squish it in if needed

3. Slow cook for 8-10 hrs on low, or around 5hrs on high if you’re shorter on time. Honestly the longer the better!

4. Once cooked, remove the meat onto a tray or board ready to ‘pull’, just make sure you remove the top layer of fat first, and any bones. To do this, get two forks and just start going at it to rip up the meat.

5. Pour liquid in slow cooker into a saucepan. Bring to simmer over medium high heat and reduce until it thickens to a syrup consistency (it thickens more as it cools). Usually around 10 mins. I often skim off the fat before serving.

6. Your pulled pork is ready to serve and store. Even better the next day for leftovers.

Best Beef Brisket Recipe Ever!

It’s about time I started sharing my slow cooker recipes, because they are staples in our house that we live on year round. This recipe is so amazing that my 13yr old son has dubbed it his favourite dinner. I originally found the recipe on a website called RecipeTinEats. Her original recipe has a few more steps than me, because I’m all about simplification. The ingredients are much the same though (although I lowered the sugar), so credit to her for this deliciousness!
She likes to add a few steps at the end which includes grilling & glazing the the finished beef in the oven a few times, but I find it’s delicious without those extra steps. The one step I wouldn’t miss at the end is taking out the liquid to make a sauce. The sauce is liquid gold, we like to pour it over the meat at the end (even though it’s already succulent) and on our vegetables… really anything in sight, it’s that good.

The recipe is a winner in summer or winter, or if you have guests coming over. We love to pop on buns to make burgers with coleslaw and some roast potatoes. So good!

The other great thing about this recipe is that beef brisket is a reasonable cut of meat, it’s not expensive, just takes slow cooking to make it good.

So here we go, enjoy!

Best Beef Brisket Recipe Ever!

Incredients for the Rub
1 tbsp brown sugar
2 tsp smoked paprika powder
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp cumin powder
3/4 tsp mustard powder
1 tsp salt

Ingredients for the BBQ Sauce
2 garlic cloves , minced
1/2 cup / 125 ml apple cider vinegar
1 1/2 cups / 375 ml ketchup
1/3 cup brown sugar
2 tsp EACH black pepper, onion powder, mustard powder
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

Alternate: If I don’t have tomato sauce I actually just use pasta sauce. It turns out just as good and actually lowers the sugar content as well.

Method:

1. Prepare your rub ingredients in a small bowl by mixing together, then rub on the meat. If you have time, leave for 30+ mins to soak in, but I rarely do this.

2. Combine BBQ Sauce ingredients in a slow cooker. Mix then add the brisket and squish it in if needed

3. Slow cook for 8-10 hrs on low, or around 5hrs on high if you’re shorter on time. Just keep an eye on it as the sauce can start to burn if you leave it in too long

4. Once cooked, remove the meat onto a tray or board ready to slice. If you’re wanting more of a ‘pulled’ brisket, I would just get two forks and break up the meat that way

5. Pour liquid in slow cooker into a saucepan. Bring to simmer over medium high heat and reduce until it thickens to a syrup consistency (it thickens more as it cools). Usually around 10 mins. I often skim off the fat before serving.

6. Your brisket is ready to serve and store. Even better the next day for leftovers.

Mums Meatloaf

Meatloaf is one of my favourite dinners. It takes me back to being a kid on the farm when my Mum would make it. So yummy and comforting. This is my Mum’s old recipe that she’s been making for years, and now so have I!

The great thing about this recipe is it’s also super versatile, just use whatever veggies you have on hand. The other hack is to make mini meatloaves and freeze. Either make in muffin tins and top with bacon, or shape into a cylinder shape and wrap in bacon to cook, and then pop in the freezer and pull them out when needed.

Enjoy!

Meatloaf

Ingredients

500g beef mince
* or combine 250g lamb & 250g pork for different taste
1 onion – finely chopped
2 carrots – grated
1 Zucchini – grated
½ Red Capsicum – finely chopped
¾ cup breadcrumbs
2 Tbs BBQ Sauce
2 egg, lightly beaten
1 tsp garlic
Mixed herbs
Salt & Pepper to taste

Note: This meatloaf recipe is quite moist.  To make firm / easy to slice meatloaf, add more breadcrumbs and remove 2nd egg.

Method

1. Preheat oven to 170°C. Line a 9cm x 19cm loaf pan with non-stick baking paper.

2. Use clean hands to combine mince, onion, carrot, zucchini, capsicum, breadcrumbs, herbs, egg, BBQ Sauce and garlic.  Add salt & pepper to taste.

3. Press the mixture into the loaf pan and smooth the surface. Brush on a thin layer of BBQ sauce.  Cover with foil. Bake for 30 minutes.

4. Remove the foil and bake for 30 minutes or until the juices run clear when pierced with a skewer. Drain off the liquid. Rest in the pan for 5 minutes before serving.

Meal Prep Ideas: Roast Vegetable Salad with Chicken, Nut & Seed Chocolate Bark, Bliss Balls & Chia Jam

This week I extended meal prep to an hour and a half. And did 4 meals for lunches plus our treats for the fridge as well. We love bliss balls around here for snacks and lunchboxes, and I also decided to experiment and make a nutty chocolate bark full of goodness. It turned out amazing!

First up -

Roast Vege Salad with Chicken Breast & Lemon Mustard Dressing
Makes 4 meals

3 x chicken breasts
1/4 pumpkin
1 kumara
1 red onion
2 zucchini
2 x coloured capsicum (I used red and yellow - eat the rainbow!)
Corn kernals
1/2 bag baby spinach

To make the salad, chop all veges in similar size and line roasting tray in a single layer. Toss olive oil through veges and season. Bake for roughly 25 mins.

For the chicken, bake as preferred - I like to coat chicken breast with dukkah! Bake for 30 mins.

Once vegetables have cooled, toss through corn and spinach. Places equal amounts in your Tupperware and slice chicken evenly to place on top.

For lemon dressing, combine:

Juice of 1 lemon
1TBS whole grain stone mustard
2 TBS olive oil
1 TBS mayonnaise

Mix with a fork for a minute or until comes together.

Drizzle over salad before storing in fridge for up to 5 days, or freezer for 2 months

Chia Jam

Chia jam is one of the quickest and easiest things you can do to make a small change in your diet to reduce sugar for your family. Ditch sugar laden jams for this recipe which just uses natural sugars of the berries or fruit. This week I used plums from our orchard that had been boiled down, but raspberry is a firm fave in our house.

1.5 cups berries
1-2 cup chia seeds
*maple if sweetener needed

Heat berrris on stovetop in a pot until broken down, use a masher to squash them! Once heated, add your chia seeds and maple (if using), stir and place into a jar. Store in fridge to set. Keeps for up to a week.

Nut & Seed Chocolate Bark!

This delicious chocolate deserved a post all of it’s own, CLICK HERE.

Cacao Crunch Bliss Balls

This week I totally cheated and got a bliss ball mix from Clean Mixes. The wholesome co also have some great prep mixed blends you can buy. If you’re short on time these mixes are fab.

These are the Cacao Crunch flavour and I added in extra pumpkin seeds plus some crushed almond and buckwheat. Wherever possible I add extra bits and pieces that up the nutritional content of foods.

Meal Prep Ideas: Dukkah Crusted Chicken

Crunchy, crispy chicken paired with stir fried veges for the win! Super easy & filling. What’s not to love? You can mix it up with any veg that you love.

Shopping List to make 6 x lunches or dinners:

1 x jar dukkah
3 x large free range chicken breasts
2 x zuchini’s
2 x red capsicum
1 x red onion
2 x purple kumara
1/2 pumpkin
1 head broccoli
1 can corn kernals
Fresh baby spinach

Staples:
Olive oil, butter or olivani (if dairy free) plus seasoning

Prep:

1. Preheat your oven to 180 degrees & line a baking tray with baking paper

2. Prepare your chicken by slicing through the middle to make two x chicken steaks

3. Place your dukkah on a plate and crust your chicken with it, set aside

4. Roughly chop your kumara and pumpkin into 2cm cubes, place on a tray and bake in the oven for 25 minutes

5. While the root vegetables are roasting, prepare your remaining veges to be stir fried. You can opt to just roast everything if you want to save time.
   I stir fry the brocoli, onion, capsicum and zuchini.

6. Heat a drizzle of oil in a pan and stir fry your remaining vegetables (start with capsicum and onion, add the zuchini when the others are almost done). Set aside when done.

7. Heat a little more oil in your pan, and brown the chicken for 2 minutes each side

8. Once browned and sealed, place your chicken on an oven tray, they will need cooking for approx 10-12 minutes

9. In your lunch containers, place some roast veges in the bottom, plus some of the stir fry veges. Add some fresh corn, spinach and lastly your cooked chicken.

Meal Prep Ideas: Wild Salmon, Asparagus & Broccoli Bowls

Fresh, in season, simple and delicious. This is very easy and quick to prep.

For the Salmon

Shopping List:

3 fillets of salmon from the deli that will easily cut in half. Choose NZ deli salmon if you can, should be around $30 a kilo.
1 bag Israeli couscous (can be swapped out for rice or quinoa)
1 bunch asparagus
1 head broccoli
Fresh baby spinach
1 x lemon

Staples:
Olive oil, butter or olivani (if dairy free) plus seasoning

Prep:

1. Preheat your oven to 180 degrees & line a baking tray with baking paper

2. Dab your salmon with a paper towel to reduce moisture and drizzle with olive oil & season with salt and pepper. Cook in the over for 10-12 minutes, depending on the thickness of the salmon. It is done when it starts to flake and is no longer opaque inside.

3. Cook your couscous per the instructions, once boiling, cooks for roughly 7 mins.

4. Roughly chop your asparagus and broccoli

5. In a pan, heat a drizzle of oil with roughly 1 TBS of butter or olivani (the oil will stop the butter from burning), once getting hot, add your asparagus and brocoli.
   Pan fry for 5 minutes or until reached preferred tenderness

6. When the couscous is finished cooking, season well with salt and pepper, add some zest of a lemon and add a squeeze lemon juice as well to add flavour.

7. When everything is done, add your lemon couscous, spinach, green veges, salmon & a wedge of lemon into containers and store in fridge for up to a week.
   

This weeks prep also included
* roasting a mix of kumara, red onion & beetroot to add to salads for dinners or lunches
* Pita chips for Aiden’s lunch box (cut up wholegrain pita bread, drizzle with oil, season and
bake for 6 minutes
* blueberry chia jam

Egg & Vege Slice

We have a few staples in our house that have been around for donkeys years. We all have them, reliable family favourites that you make time and again. One of our favourites is Egg Slice. I started making it when I was pregnant as freezer meals as it freezes so perfectly and you can pack so much into it. Even when I make it now I usually double up and freeze one for when I can't be bothered to cook!  The vegetable content is dependant on whatever is in my fridge at the time, you can switch out any veggies for your family faves.  Usually added to the below I would have capsicum/peppers and zucchini as well.

You will get better taste if you use free range eggs. We are lucky to have 5 chickens on our property who lay the most amazing eggs, Aiden likes to go and collect the eggs before I make it and he often helps as it's a very quick and easy recipe.  It should take no more than 45 mins including the 30 min bake time.

As I'm trying to stay away from higher carbs, I decided to try making it with almond flour instead of plain white flour and low and behold, it was BETTER than the original. WIN!  I wrote down the winning recipe straight after dinner, here it is!

Really yummy served with avocado or fresh tomatoes, or side green salad.

Egg & Vegetable Slice

6-8 free range eggs
1/4 cup oil

Roughly 2 cups chopped veggies of any variety.
I used:
1/2 cup Brocoli
1/2 cup Cauli flower
1 grated carrot
1/2 tin corn kernals (no sugar added)
1/2 onion
1/2 cup almond flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
salt and pepper to season

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees celsius, line your dish with baking paper (no mess after!)

2. Whisk together wet ingredients

3. Combine veges with dry ingredients

4. Mix wet ingredients into dry, stir well

5. Pour into prepared dish and bake for 30 mins

Enjoy!