Recipe: Curried Quinoa Side Dish with Chickpeas

With just enough spice and packed full of nutrition, this Curried Quinoa and Chickpeas Side Dish is gluten free, vegan, healthy and seriously delicious. A great meal prep recipe to make ahead for lunch or dinner during a busy week.

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Life has been a little bit crazy lately.

Work has been crazy busy, we're in the final planning stages for our first floor renovations, I've been busy choosing finishes and going from one side of Sydney to the other searching for items, our kitchen design changed for the 4th time and we're trying to keep up with friends and family.

It's kind of left me feeling like I've been chasing my tail. So whilst last week it was great that I had HelloFresh and didn't think about dinner, I've been making big batches of make ahead lunches to freeze for busy days or a quick dinner when I don't feel like cooking.

And this is my new favourite!

Let me tell you about it >> 

Recipe: Mediterranean Quinoa (Gluten Free & Vegan)

Full of Mediterranean flavour and made in minutes, this Vegan Mediterranean Quinoa Recipe is full of vegetables and healthy ingredients but so delicious even the fussiest kid will love it! A real family favourite that is gluten free, vegan, nut free, dairy free and so easy.

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Life has been busy lately.

We're back to hectic work schedules, our free time is full of appointments with kitchen and tradespeople to work out our first stage of renos, our weekends are full of gardening and projects and we're trying to squeeze in time for family and friends too.

For me, busy times call for smart meal choices - so I've been making lots of quick and easy meals that can be made in big batches and frozen for an even quicker lunch or dinner later on.

This has been one of those meals that I can't get enough of. It's quick, easy and packed full of flavour.

So let me tell you more about it >> 

Recipe: Easy Italian Bean Salad (Vegan)

Easy Gluten Free Italian Bean Salad Recipe - The easiest salad recipe, this impressive side dish is perfect for sharing with friends. Enjoyed warm or cold, this salad includes four bean mix (or whatever beans you have on hand), celery, garlic, onion, chilli, bell pepper/capsicum, tomatoes, parsley and more. Simple, easy, healthy and SO delicious! Gluten free, vegan, nut free, clean eating friendly and grain free.

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I am all about simple and easy recipes, and this Italian Bean Salad definitely ticks those boxes. 

Impressive enough to share with friends but easy enough to enjoy for lunch or a weekday meal, I’ve been making up a batch on the weekends for a quick and easy lunch during the week.

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It’s packed full of flavour and nutrients and tastes anything but healthy.

Gluten free and vegan, it’s also the perfect recipe to shares with friends as it can be adapted to suit just about anyone’s dietary needs. 

So let me share the recipe with you >> 

Recipe: Easy Tomato Basil Rice (Gluten Free & Vegan)

Easy One Pot Tomato Basil Rice Recipe - This gluten free and vegan side dish is so easy to make. A copycat version of Uncle Ben’s Tomato Basil Rice, this delicious side dish is healthy, gluten free, low fat, sugar free and clean eating friendly. A great meal prep recipe and lunch or dinner addition.

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I don’t know about you, but I often find myself at about 3pm, struggling to work out what to make for dinner.

No one tells you when you’re a kid that when you grow up, you’ll spend 35938423498237492835982 hours of your life thinking about and then cooking dinner.

I try not to cook the same things over and over again because they get boring fast, so I am always coming up with new quick and easy dinner ideas.

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Quick and easy is key here, because after a day of work, there is no way I’m spending more than 30 minutes cooking dinner because all I want to do is sit and relax 😛 

This Tomato Basil Rice makes a great dinner side, or even a lunch option. Whether you serve it with grilled chicken or fish, a nice steak or your favourite veggies, the options are pretty much endless - but always delicious. 

So let me share the recipe with you >> 

Recipe: The Best Gluten Free Cornbread (Light & Fluffy!)

The Best Gluten Free Cornbread Recipe – Light and fluffy, this homemade Southern style cornbread recipe is perfect for summer side dish for barbecues, lunch, dinner and pot luck parties. Gluten free, low fat, healthy, clean eating friendly, moist, fluffy and so easy to make!). Why use a box mix when it can be made from scratch in minutes? 

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Cornbread totally weirded me out the first time I made it. 

You see, growing up in Australia, I just didn't know anyone who ate cornbread or made it... and whenever we were on holidays in the US, we never really came across it. 

But then I fell in love with a Southern guy and suddenly found myself making all these foods I'd never even thought of making before I met him. 

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I mean really. The first Christmas we spent together, I asked him what traditional Christmas foods his family would eat for Christmas and he said "dressing" and I was like "err.... on salad?". 

Nope, not salad. Jesse was talking about a cornbread concoction of vegetables and eggs and cornbread, baked up and served in big slices. 

Combine this with making my first ever pumpkin pie (and being so confused as to how a pumpkin pie could actually taste good as I'd only ever eaten pumpkin as a savoury food - oh, how wrong I was) and my brain was pretty much imploding...

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And let's be real, I was in serious foreign territory. 

My pumpkin pie may have been delicious, but my first ever batch of cornbread was flat and grossly crunchy and resembled more of a hockey puck than an edible delight.

But I was determined to conquer it.... and after many, many, many failed batches I did - and I've been keeping it from you.. 

Not on purpose, just because it felt a little too plain and boring... but sometimes boring things are actually the most delicious - so let me introduce to you The Best Gluten Free Cornbread Recipe. 

It's light, fluffy and seriously, ridiculously good. Whilst cornbread was a foreign concept to me 10 years ago, it's now one of my all time favourite foods - and it's all thanks to this recipe. So even if cornbread sounds strange to you, give this recipe a try and let me know what you think!

But first, let me share the recipe with you! >> 

Recipe: Garlic & Parmesan Butter Roasted Corn on the Cob (in the Air Fryer!)

Garlic and Parmesan Butter Roasted Corn on the Cob Recipe - made in the oven, air fryer or grilled over the fire or the grill! Inspired by Mexican Street Corn, this simple recipe is the perfect healthy side dish for a summer BBQ, but it's so delicious you'll want to eat it year-round. 

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This is the kind of recipe that needs to come with a warning label because it is that good. 

In fact, when I made it to photograph, I ate six of the nine pieces I made on my own in like 0.5 seconds. Poor Jesse got 2 pieces and my Mum just managed to snag one. 

Even if you're not a big veggie lover, this corn will totally change your mind. It's full of flavour and SO easy to make.

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In the past, I've made it in the oven or grilled it on the barbecue - but this time I tried it in my new Air Fryer and was totally impressed. It cut the cooking time by half and before I knew it, I had flavourful crispy corn ready to devour. 

This is the perfect recipe for summer barbecues - or to serve as a side dish with just about anything. 

The smoked paprika adds a slightly smoky flavour that you won't be able to stop eating.... and you'll probably want to smother everything you eat from here on out in the smoky parmesan butter 😜

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But don't think you have to wait for summer to enjoy this recipe! If you're like me and hate the cold, turn on your air fryer or oven, crank up the heating and whip yourself up a batch of this corn to enjoy inside, pretending like it's summer 😝

What should you serve it with? We love it with grilled chicken and salad, steak or a Southern, Tex Mex or Mexican inspired dish (as the flavours work really well together!).

But let me share the recipe with you first! >> 

Recipe: Garlic and Parmesan Roasted Potatoes (in the Air Fryer!)

Air Fryer Garlic Parmesan and Herb Roasted Potatoes Recipe. Crispy seasoned potatoes don’t get much more delicious than this! Full of flavour and so quick and easy to make, this recipe can be made in the air fryer or oven and is perfect for breakfast, lunch, dinner parties or a vegetable side dish to add to the Thanksgiving or Christmas table. Gluten free, grain free, healthy, clean eating friendly and made in 15 minutes!

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My oven takes hours to heat up... and even then, it rarely reaches the temperature I want - so anytime I want to bake something I have to make sure I plan ahead and turn the oven on in advance.

But sometimes you just want something quick. 

Years ago I bought my Mum an Air Fryer for Christmas for that very reason and it is hands down the best gift I’ve ever given her. She uses it at least three times a week and was so surprised when that was what was inside the big box under the tree. 

But, being a coeliac and having her air fryer always used for gluten foods, I stuck to persisting with the ever-slow oven - until last week!

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My friends at Philips were kind enough to gift me with my very own air fryer - and let’s just say I might turn into a roasted vegetable by next week because the poor air fryer hasn’t stopped running since it landed on my bench! 

If you’re looking for a great Mother’s Day gift idea that will actually get used, I highly recommend surprising your Mum with one of these! The one pictured is the regular, smaller version - but think about upgrading to the XL if your Mum cooks for more than 2 people or wants to use it for things like roasting a chicken etc. 

These Garlic and Parmesan Roasted Potatoes can also be made in the oven, but the air fryer cut the cooking time down from 30-45 mins to just 15! 

Regardless of whether you cook them in the oven or air fryer, these potatoes are sure to be a hit as they’re full of flavour and so easy to make! 

Let me share the recipe with you! >> 

Recipe: Easy Garlic & Herb Sauteed Vegetables (Paleo & Vegan!)

Thanks to Gourmet Garden for sponsoring this recipe!

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I love vegetables. 

And no, I'm not saying that in a I'm so healthy look at me #clean #eattherainbow kind of way. I really do love vegetables. 

I'm the kind of person who at Thanksgiving or Christmas, has to sit away from the vegetables because I will eat them all on my own and the second I get home from vacation, you'll find me at the grocery store filling my cart with vegetable after vegetable, anxious to get home to cook/chop/eat them all. 

But I realise not everyone is like that... especially my husband. 

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You see, Jesse never really grew up eating vegetables, so ever since he moved here, I've been trying to convince him to love them. Sometimes I win, other times... not so much. 

But my mission to get my husband to eat more vegetables has lead to some seriously delicious recipes... and I promise you, these vegetables will be loved by even the biggest vegetable haters. 

Best of all? It's a side dish that takes just minutes to make... and there's two secret ingredients that make this recipe even simpler!

So let me share the recipe with you! >> 

Recipe: Rice Paper Roll Salad with Creamy Peanut Dressing

I love rice paper rolls... but Jesse? Well, I think it’s safe to say he errs on the side of caution hating them. 

The list of reasons goes on and on... they’re chewy... they taste like plastic... the texture... they’re just plain weird. 

But I’m not a short order cook and I'm not cooking a bunch of different dinners - so when I feel like rice paper rolls, I’ve got to get creative.... and that’s where this rice paper roll salad comes in. 

You see, I’ve found a loophole. While Jesse hates rice paper wrappers, he’s okay with rice noodles - and this salad has been a huge favourite since the very first time trying it. Best of all? It’s so much easier than making rice paper rolls too!

And now that daylight savings has given us a little more light in the evenings? I had a chance to photograph it for you too. I suppose you could call it a Vietnamese Rice Noodle Salad - but we're sticking to what we call it at home.

So let me share the recipe with you >> 

Recipe: Healthy Baked Pommes Frites

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Quick Note: We're currently in beautiful Hawaii soaking up the sunshine - but luckily I did plenty of cooking and baking before we left to share a few recipes with you! Keep up with our adventures while we're away by following us on Instagram or Facebook!

When you marry a guy who has grown up on fried food and fast food, you've got to get creative. 

When Jesse first moved here, I had the toughest challenge to face; trying to convince Jesse that healthy food could actually taste good. Luckily, I succeeded and Jesse happily ate what I cooked and lost a heap of weight.

But does that mean fries were gone forever? 

Not in my books!

I'm all about balance and this Pommes Frites Recipe (just a fancypants name for fries, friends) is the perfect healthier option that we absolutely love. 

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I'm not a fan of plain fries as they're pretty boring - but the addition of herbs and garlic in this recipe makes for a delicious side dish that you'll find yourself making again and again. 

This recipe was inspired by trips to Disneyland where you can find pommes frites right by the water at Cafe Orleans. They're a little bit different - but only because I've tweaked them to make them even more delicious.

My favourite thing about this recipe? It's CRAZY simple to make - but your friends and family will think you've gone to a heap of trouble. Why? Because herbs make everything fancier 😂

So let me share the recipe with you! >> 

Recipe: Moroccan Carrot, Raisin and Quinoa Salad (Gluten Free & Vegan!)

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I don't do boring salads. 

If I'm eating a salad, you can guarantee it's filled with every ingredient possible. 

A little bit of lettuce? Some cucumber? Carrots? Tomatoes? Boring. A huge mixing bowl filled with ALL the things?! Sign me up. 

This salad is one of those salad recipes. It's filled with lots of different flavours and textures to make a main or side dish that is seriously delicious - and packed full of nutritional goodness too. 

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It's a great way to use up leftovers - and a great meal prep recipe as you can make it up in advance and add the final touches when you're ready to serve.

I know it might sound a little bit odd (carrots, raisins and almonds together?) but trust me - it's a salad you'll find yourself making again and again! 

So let me share the recipe with you! >> 

Recipe: Fiesta Salad (Gluten Free & Vegan!)

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We love Mexican inspired meals in our house.

There's always taco shells and corn tortillas in the pantry and at least two cans of black beans, we have special taco plates and burrito bowl tins and every Tuesday is Taco Tuesday - without fail.

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This potato salad recipe was inspired by our love of Mexican food - but also created as the perfect way to use up the leftovers from our Taco Tuesday dinner the night before. 

I had leftover black beans, a bag of sweet potatoes and half an avocado so I decided to combine them, add some pilfered shallots from the herb garden and a can of corn kernels and hey whaddayaknow, I had a delicious lunch.

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Lately, this salad hasn't just been a way to use up leftovers - it's become a meat-free meal that we absolutely love - and it's so simple to make (and easy to make your own!). 

And as for the name... I don't really know why I first called it a fiesta salad, but the name stuck! 

So let me share the recipe with you! >>