mexican bowl

Serves 4

This dish is so quick and easy, and can all be done using just one pan, so less washing up! Feel free to add jalapeños if you like extra heat, or to omit the chilli powder and cumin like I do when cooking this for my toddler. This is quite a light meal, so great for summer. If you would like to bulk it up, then you can try accompanying it with grilled meat, gluten free flat bread or some sweet potato chips.

Poppy cooks...

1. Heat
   1 tablespoon coconut oil in a large pan and saute
   2 garlic cloves, minced.
   
   
2. Add
   1.25 cups quinoa,
   tin diced tomatoes,
   1.25 cups vegetable stock,
   tin black beans, drained and rinsed,
   1.25 cups frozen peas*,
   1/2 teaspoon chilli powder (optional),
   1/2 teaspoon ground cumin (optional),
   celtic sea salt and cracker black pepper to taste; bringing to the boil and reducing to a simmer with a lid on until quinoa cooked.
   
   
3. Serve topped with
   avocado,
   lime wedge and
   coriander.
   

* The more traditional option here is corn, but we are currently eliminating corn from our diet for health reasons. Feel free to google the pros and cons of corn.

butter chicken

Serves 4

We have nicknamed this dish butter chicken in our household as the consistency of the sauce reminds us of it. It is by no means a traditional butter chicken dish as we can't eat nuts and don't eat dairy in our house - just a little disclaimer so you don't have different expectations of this dish, haha.

Poppy cooks...

1. Cook
   2 cups of basmati rice and set aside.
   
   
2. Saute
   onion, diced in
   coconut oil.
   
   
3. Add
   4 garlic cloves, minced and
   2 teaspoons ginger, grated.
   
   
4. Add
   2 teaspoons garam masala,
   2 teaspoons ground cumin and
   1 teaspoon ground turmeric, stirring until fragrant.
   
   
5. Add
   400ml coconut cream and
   8 tablespoons tomato paste and bring to the boil.
   
   
6. Add
   500g chicken tenderloins, diced until cooked, stirring occasionally.
   
   
7. Add
   broccoli, cut into florets and
   1 cup corn kernels.
   
   
8. Add
   1 teaspoon cornflour and incorporate.
   
   
9. Season with
   2 teaspoons celtic sea salt and cracked black pepper.

As a summer version, omit the broccoli and corn but make a side salad of shredded cabbage, mango, cucumber and coriander. If you have young kids or toddlers, you can also omit the celtic sea salt and it still tastes amazing!

kedgeree

Serves 6

Poppy cooks...

1. Soak
   1 cup puy lentils for at least an hour, then drain.
   
   
2. In a saucepan, boil
   4 eggs with
   2 fillets salmon in a steamer insert above. Once the salmon is cooked through, flake; and once the eggs are cooked, cut into quarters; then set all aside.
   
   
3. Saute
   2 onions, sliced to your desired level of caramelisation, then set aside.
   
   
4. Melt
   2 tablespoons coconut oil in a large pan, then add
   1.5 cups basmati rice, lentils,
   2 bay leaves,
   4 garlic cloves, minced,
   knob of ginger, grated,
   sprinkle of chilli powder to your liking,
   1 teaspoon ground turmeric,
   2 teaspoons ground cumin,
   2 teaspoons ground coriander and stir until fragrant.
   
   
5. Add
   3 cups filtered water and bring to the boil then reduce heat to low and cover, cooking until the rice and lentils are done.
   
   
6. Stir through
   bag spinach, then add fish, eggs, onions and
   bunch parsley, chopped.
   
   
7. Serve with a
   wedge of lemon.

avocado hummus

Serves 2

Poppy cooks…

1. Blend together
   1/3 can chickpeas, drained,
   avocado,
   2 tablespoons olive oil,
   2 teaspoons tahini,
   1/4 lime, juiced,
   clove garlic,
   pinch of celtic sea salt and cracked black pepper and
   pinch of ground cumin for 3 minutes on speed 3 if you have a Thermomix.

egg + beetroot open sandwich

Serves 4

Whenever cooking with beetroot, I like to buy "Love Beets" beetroot which is already cooked and peeled into 250g portions. There are no preservatives, just 100% real beetroot, but it saves a lot of time and mess!

This recipe is great for lunch, or you can use smaller squares of toasted bread to make an interesting canapé when entertaining. You can even ditch the bread all together for a straight up salad.

Speaking of gluten free bread, my favourite so far is Lifestyle Bakery's Soft 'n Light Chia + Quinoa Bread - it is packed full of goodness and super tasty. As the name alludes to, it is light and fluffy unlike many other gluten free breads which are either really dense and strangely sweet in an attempt to disguise the bland taste with sweeteners.

Poppy cooks…

1. In a medium bowl, combine
   250g beetroot, cooked, peeled and diced,
   5 hard boiled eggs, peeled and chopped,
   zest of 1/2 an orange,
   1 teaspoon ground cumin,
   3 tablespoons Norganic mayonnaise,
   1 tablespoons coriander, chopped and
   1/4 teaspoon celtic sea salt.
   
   
2. Serve on toasted
   gluten free bread.

sausage, vegetable + bean stew

Serves 4

Poppy cooks...

1. Cook
   1 packet of sausages and set aside.
   
   
   
2. In a large pot, saute
   1 onion, diced in
   olive oil.
   
   
   
3. Add
   300g carrots, cut into bite sized pieces,
   300g potatoes, cut into bit sized pieces,
   1 tablespoon garlic, sliced,
   1 teaspoon cumin,
   1 400g tin of cannellini beans,
   500ml chicken stock,
   1 cup water and
   1 bay leaf; and bring to the boil.
   
   
   
4. Reduce to a simmer; then add
   2 cups pumpkin, cut into bite sized pieces,
   2 tablespoons parsley, chopped and sliced sausages.
   
   
   
5. Cook until vegetables are tender and season with
   black pepper.
   
   
   
6. Remove bay leaf before serving and garnish with extra parsley.

Notes
If you have a large dutch oven, you can cook the sausages in it and use it for the remainder of the recipe, which will incorporate the flavours from the cooked sausages into the dish. It also makes this a one-pot-wonder!

yoghurt chicken with a broccolini, beetroot + seed salad

Serves 4

Ingredients: chicken

1/4 cup coriander, finely chopped

1/4 cup parsley, finely chopped

garlic clove, crushed

1 teaspoon smoked paprika

1 teaspoon ground cumin

2 teaspoons finely grated lemon rind

1 cup coconut yoghurt

500g free-range chicken tenderloins

Ingredients: salad

250g broccolini, diagonally cut into 5cm lengths

250g cooked beetroot, chopped

1 tablespoon sunflower seeds

1 tablespoon pepitas

1 tablespoon sesame seeds

gluten-free soy sauce

1 tablespoon olive oil

juice of 1/2 lemon

celtic sea salt + cracked black pepper

small handful chives, chopped

Method

1. Combine chicken ingredients (except the chicken) in a bowl. Add chicken and thoroughly coat in mixture and allow to marinade for as long as you like
2. Blanch broccolini
3. Combine seeds in a bowl and mix together with a dash of soy sauce
4. Whisk together olive oil, lemon juice and seasoning
5. Serve broccolini and beetroot with seeds sprinkled and lemon dressing drizzled on top
6. Grill chicken on both sides until cooked

Notes
You can bulk up this meal with a small bowl of jasmine rice. Any leftovers can be turned into wraps for lunch the next day too!

cumin spiced chicken on a beetroot rice salad

Serves 4

Poppy cooks...

1. Cook
   2.5 cups of jasmine rice.
   
   
   
2. Boil
   300g beetroot.
   
   
   
3. Preheat oven to 180C.
   
   
   
4. Mix together
   4 tablespoons olive oil,
   2 tablespoon ground cumin,
   4 garlic cloves, minced,
   1/2 teaspoon of celtic sea salt + cracked black pepper and
   1kg chicken thigh, diced in a large baking dish and bake for 30 minutes. This can be done up to 24 hours ahead of time to marinade.
   
   
   
5. Once the rice is cooked, stir through
   2 spring onions, diagonally sliced,
   handful coriander, roughly chopped,
   2 mint leaves, roughly chopped and the beetroot, peeled and diced.
   
   
   
6. Make dressing by mixing together
   orange, juice + zest,
   1 tablespoon white wine vinegar,
   2.5 tablespoons olive oil,
   celtic sea salt + cracked black pepper, to taste. Stir through rice salad.
   
   
   
7. Serve salad with chicken on top.