Easy Broccoli Soup

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This soup is perfect for a post weekend detox. One bowl, a handful of ingredients and voila, a hearty and delicious bowl of soup that is super nutritious and delicious. And guess what, it’s oil-free too.

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Easy Broccoli Soup - 1Cuisine Companion

Easy Broccoli Soup

 

 

Easy Broccoli Soup

Ingredients

  • 1 large broccoli (about 650g), roughly chopped.
  • 1 liter vegetable stock
  • 4 cloves of garlic, chopped
  • Freshly ground sea salt and pepper to taste
  • Pepitas, Vegan Parmesan and Kinda Bacon flakes (optional but they’ll make your soup tastier by an exponential factor)

Equipment: Tefal Cuisine Companion (see note)

Method

  1. Put all ingredients in the bowl (use the chopping blade)
  2. If using the Tefal Cuisine Companion, press automatic program soup (P1 100C 30 min).
  3. Do some shopping while the machine does its thing.
  4. Serve.

Note: You can also make this on the stove by putting all ingredients in a big pot. Cook on medium heat for 30 minutes or until the broccoli is tender and then blend the mixture using a hand blender.

Thick and scrumptious… just like a good soup should be.

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Healthy Vegan Anzac Biscuits (Sugar-free and Gluten-free)

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If you’ve been looking for an easy, healthy and tasty recipe for Anzac biscuits, then let me introduce you to my gluten-free, and refined sugar-free version.

Anzac biscuits are traditionally made with rolled oats, sugar, golden syrup, butter, white flour and coconut. These healthy vegan Anzac biscuits, on the other hand, are made using coconut oil, nut butter and maple syrup and I must admit it’s pretty hard to stop at one.

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Why you will love these

These cookies are loaded with oats. Oats are low in calories (one cup gives you only 130 calories). They provide high levels of fibre and have a high satiety index which makes you feel full for longer.[1] Studies have also shown that oats can help lower your cholesterol levels,[2] reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes[3] and increase your appetite-control hormone,[4] which helps you lose weight.

I used a mixture of coconut oil and peanut butter, but if you want, you can replace these with macadamia oil, olive oil and your favourite nut butter such as almond or cashew butter.

 

Healthy Nutty Anzac Biscuits
Recipe Type: Baked Goods
Cuisine: Gluten free, sugar free, vegan
Author: Keren
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 20 cookies
A delicious healthy treat for the family
Ingredients
  • 2 cups gluten-free rolled oats
  • 1/2 cup desiccated coconut or coconut flakes
  • 1/2 cup flaked or chopped almonds
  • 3-4 tablespoons maple syrup or rice malt syrup
  • 2 tablespoons peanut butter
  • 2 tablespoons coconut oil (melted)
  • 2-3 tablespoon of hot water
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
  • a pinch of salt
Instructions
  1. Add all the dry ingredients (oats, coconut, almonds and salt) into a bowl or a food processor (I use the Tefal Cuisine Companion).
  2. Add the wet ingredients (oil, peanut butter, maple syrup, water and vanilla extract) into the dry ingredients.
  3. Turn on the food processor – I use Cuisine Companion (dough attachment P7) and mix for about 15 seconds or until the mixture sticks together.
  4. Take a spoonful of mixture and form into a small ball. Place onto a baking sheet lined with baking paper. Repeat with the remaining mixture.
  5. Flatten the balls using the back of the spoon with enough room around them so they don’t crowd into each other.
  6. Bake in a low 150 C (300 F) preheated oven for 20 -30 minutes or until golden brown. Cool completely before eating.
  7. Store in an airtight container for about a week.
Notes
If you don’t have a food processor or cuisine companion you can just throw everything in a bowl and use your hands to mix everything together. It will take about 10 minutes to mix everything through but the result will be so worth it.

 

References:

[1] European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, September 1995; 49(9): 675-90

[2] American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, August 2002; 76(2):351-8

[3] Experimental and Clinical Endocrinology & Diabetes, February 2008; 116(2):132-4

[4] Nutrition Research, October 2009; 29(10):705-9

Vegan Gluten Free Pumpkin Pancakes

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I love pumpkin, and I love pancakes. So when I had some pumpkin leftovers from making pumpkin soup, I thought of making pancakes with them. And since I’m trying to bake more gluten-free stuff in general, I thought I’d try to make the pancakes gluten free too. And it worked. I crafted the recipe based on by Vegan 8 Life Changing Pancake recipe which by the way, is on my ‘must try’ list.

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I used almond flour, tapioca and potato starch mix for my gluten-free flour mix and the combination seems to work quite well. You can just use potato starch if you don’t have tapioca starch but I won’t recommend using just tapioca starch on its own as it will make your pancakes a tad tough.

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These pancakes are a bit dense and not as fluffy as wheat pancakes but I kinda like the denser texture. You might be tempted to use a bit more pumpkin puree here (I did) but try not to overdo it as it will make your batter too wet and you won’t get properly cooked pancakes (1 – 2 tablespoon extra should be ok). I also added a heap of spices in my batter because I like spiced pumpkin (who doesn’t). And don’t forget the salt: it brings out the flavour of all the different ingredients and makes them taste just that much better.

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VEGAN GLUTEN FREE PUMPKIN PANCAKES
Recipe Type: Breakfast
Cuisine: Vegan, gluten free
Author: Little Green Habits
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 15
These are tasty, gluten–free, tender vegan pumpkin pancakes which are healthy, simple and easy to make. Perfect for chilly winter mornings.
Ingredients
  • 1 cup almond flour
  • ¾ cup non-dairy milk + 1 tbsp of lemon juice
  • 1/3 cup packed pumpkin puree
  • ¼ cup tapioca starch
  • ¼ cup potato starch
  • 4 tablespoon maple syrup
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
  • 1 tablespoon coconut oil (melted)
  • 2 teaspoon baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon bicarbonate soda
  • 1 teaspoon allspice/pimento
  • ½ teaspoon cinnamon
  • ½ teaspoon salt
Instructions
  1. Combine 3/4 cup milk and lemon juice and let rest for 5 minutes to curdle. Then add melted coconut oil, maple syrup, pumpkin, vanilla extract and whisk to combine.
  2. Add flour, tapioca and potato starch, baking soda, baking powder, salt and all spices into Cuisine Companion equipped with the mixing blade. Mix using P9 for 5 second.
  3. Add the wet ingredients and mix using P7 for 10 second.
  4. If you don’t have a Cuisine Companion, sift flour, tapioca and potato starch, baking soda, baking powder, salt and all spices together into a large bowl. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and stir well until smooth.
  5. Let the batter sit for 15-20 minutes before cooking the pancakes. This gives time for the baking powder and starch to soak up the liquid, which in turn produces a fluffy, well cooked pancake.
  6. Heat up a non-stick pan over low heat. Your pan needs to heat up for ten minutes, so there is even cooking with each pancake.
  7. I used a 4.5 inch round cookie cutter to produce perfectly round and evenly cooked pancakes. If you do this, place the cookie cutter on the hot pan and then spray the whole of the inside with non-stick spray. You must use non-stick spray, or the pancakes will stick to the pan. Once ready, add about 1/4 cup of batter to the pan and quickly smooth out the top with the back of a spoon. Let it cook for 3-4 minutes, or until the top is looking dry and the edges are dry and firm. Flip over and cook another 2 minutes. Let the pancake to cool down a little before serving to improve the texture.
  8. Serve with maple syrup, additional pureed pumpkin or whatever else you desire. The pancakes reheat well the next day in the microwave.

Cuisine Companion Launch and How to Make Whole Wheat Oat Dinner Rolls

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What’s the first thing you do when you have a cooking robot? Get it to knead you some bread, of course.

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A few weeks ago I went to a VIP event as one of the founding members of the Tefal Cuisine Companion Cuisine Club (Hello Bizzylizcook and Vegetaraian :o) . At the VIP event I got to play with this wonder machine and made a delicious vegan risotto and apple crumble effortlessly.

Cuisine Companion

It’s such a versatile machine. It chops, whips, mix, kneads, cooks, steams, blends, stirs, emulsifies, whisks, sears, crushes, mills and heats food. In the beginning I was afraid that it might be a bit complicated to use but it turns out to be quite easy and straightforward with an intuitive user interface and six automatic functions.

That first weekend I decided to test-drive my demonstration model, making one of my favourite breads, Maple Oat Bread. I use a combination of whole-wheat flour and oats which help lower the gluten content of the bread and increases its nutritional value. Though I’m trying to eat less bread, I’ve never been a fan of complete deprivation, so rather than stop eating it altogether I’d rather try making it healthier and better for me (and maybe eat a bit less of it). So when I discovered you can turn oats into flour and make bread with it, you could imagine my excitement.

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Why I love it:

This bread is quite easy to make so you can certainly make it by hand if you want. However, the Cuisine Companion makes it even easier as you don’t have to knead it. The machine does all the work, including maintaining an optimum proofing temperature. Once I had put all the ingredients in, the only thing I had to do was to wait and then shape the dough into bread rolls. Too easy.

What’s good about it:

In my book, oat is superfood. Here’s 5 reasons why you need to make oat bread, not that you need any.

5 Reasons Why You Need To Make Oat Bread

  1. Oats are high in fibre and are a good source of antioxidants, vitamins and minerals
  2. Oats help you control your appetite [1]
  3. Oats help regulate blood pressure [2]
  4. Oats are rated no. 1 for breakfast, in satiety index [3]
  5. Oats may improve insulin sensitivity [4]

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Whole Wheat Oat Dinner Rolls

Ingredients

  • 300ml warm water
  • 1 packet of dry yeast
  • 1 tbsp maple syrup (you can add up to 3 tbsp if you like it sweeter)
  • 1 cup of whole-wheat flour
  • 1 cup of rolled oats, plus a few tablespoons, divided

Methods

  1. Place the yeast and 300ml of warm water in the bowl fitted with the kneading/crushing blade. Launch the P1 pastry program. After 30 seconds, open the lid and add the flour, oat and salt. Note that this program will knead the dough for 2 minutes and then it will stop for 30 minutes while maintaining the temperature at 30C.
  2. After 40 mins, remove the dough using a spatula and knead for 5 mins or so by hand until it forms a loose ball.
  3. Place the remaining oats on a small bowl. Pick up the dough ball and gently roll it over the oats.
  4. Leave on a tray lined with baking paper. Leave to rest for 1 hr 30 mins.
  5. Preheat the oven to 200°C.
  6. Place a bowl of water on the lower rack in the oven (this will help achieve a nice crust). Bake for 25 mins. Lower the oven to 180°C and cook for an extra 15 to 20 minutes.

Disclosure: I received a complementary Cuisine Companion from Tefal both to play with and for editorial purposes.

You can find out more about the Tefal Cuisine Companion at https://www.cuisinecompanion.com.au/. It is now available at select Harvey Norman stores across Australia.

References:

[1] Nutrition Research, October 2009; 29(10):705-9

[2] Journal of Family Practice, April 2002; 51(4):369

[3] European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, September 1995; 49(9): 675-90

[4] European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, June 2007; 61(6):786-95