If you’re trying to eat a clean and healthy diet, muffins may be on your off-limits list. The packaged varieties at the grocery store are often made with white flour and contain boatloads of sugar. Plus, a large three-inch treat has approximately 550 calories!

But your sweet tooth is bound to beckon for baked goods at some point. When it does, whip up a batch of muffins at home. Doing your own baking lets you control sugar and add in healthy ingredients, like wheat germ, fresh berries, and grated carrots. Follow one of the eight muffin recipes below and you’ll have homemade treats that clock in at less than 130 calories apiece, so you can indulge without bulge.

- Womens Health

Check the link!

http://blog.womenshealthmag.com/food/muffin-recipe/

A good introduction to nutrition. I have loads of docos on this matter..
All you need to know is avoid animal based proteins - reduce meat intake for health and the earth and for god sake rest meat to reduce HCAs which are chemicals caused frying and cooking meat ahhhh get educated please!
I’ve believed in this for years

Yoghurt Sauce

• Greek Yoghurt
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 1 red chilli
• generous handful of mint (or cilantro)

Now…

Chop and shake in an old jar.

Its better to add less to begin with

… and it does taste even better after a night of refrigeration :)

So good on falafel or in homemade burgers

$15 Budget Bottles of Goodness

I like to take pictures of bottles since I never remember names!

Purchased at Dan Murphys, August 2012

Dhal Makhani

1.5 cups dried lentils (black best, brown ok)
1 cup dried kidney beans*
1.5 tsp turmeric
big hunk of ginger (5cm diameter) (grated)
3 largish cloves garlic (crushed)
salt
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp fennel seeds
peanut oil (enough to fry with - 2 tbsp?)
1 onion (finely chopped)
1 can chopped tomatoes
2 Tbsp Garam marsala
1 fresh chili or chili powder
sour cream (about 3 tbsp)  —- the only fat in the whole dish!!!
4 cardamon pods
1 tsp yellow mustard seeds

* Soak kidney beans overnight and discard water, can be frozen after soaking.
** I have actually gone off dried kidney beans after many batches that would never soften, even after 3 days.  Canned is fine!

Now…
1) In a large pot with lid, cover with water and cook lentils and beans together with turmeric, half of the ginger grated, 2 tsp salt. bring to boil then turn down
to simmer. Takes a while, until beans are soft and edible.

2) For the masala (translation ‘mixture’) turn frying pan on high, toast cumin and fennel seeds in peanut oil, add onion, garlic, remaining ginger. Saute, add chopped tomatoes,
garam marsala, chili, cardamon and yellow mustard seeds. Turn down to medium. Cook until oil starts to leave the masala, i.e. the mixture has reduced a bit.

Add (2) to (1).

Then…
Add extra chili, salt, garam marsala to taste.
Add boiling water or reduce with lid off to correct consistency.
Allow to cool down a little, add 3T sour cream and stir through.
Serve, with a little basmati rice

There is about 6 meals in this little number, I double it as it freezes well!

• 6 tomatoes (or 2 cans of whole peeled)
• 1 onion
• 4 cloves of garlic
• 1 carrot (grated)
• 1 green chilli
• 1 red capsicum
• 1 T vegetable stock
• 1 tsp oregano
• 2 T basil or fresh basil
• 30 seconds of ground pepper
• large pinch of salt
• Approx 3 cups of water (less is better, add more after blending if req.)

- Saute onion, chilli, garlic in a little Olive oil to keep it moving

- Add all other ingredients

- Boil for a bit

- Whizz

I swear by this, often failing by eating two peices of garlic ciabatta with it :)

NB This soup is not supposed to be thick.

Thanks to all the people who ask me for my recipes and to my flatmates who keep telling me to open a cafe :)
Short answer is, NO WAY! However this blog will record some of the dishes I enjoy making for myself and others.  My inspiration for cooking was/is my ex-boyfriends mother, Elizabeth Latham.

Some of my goals in cooking are to:

• Eat meat rarely
• Protein in every meal
• Avoid processed foods
• Lower calories
• Create quickly
• Create intense flavour
  

…And to use cheap ingredients so there is more money left in your pocket for a nice bottle of wine on the porch!

What more could you want aye?!