Pizza anyone....????

Saturday night was a "monumental" night for me....and thinking about it so was Sunday night! Imagine for the first time in 5+ years being able to eat the meal you have missed the most.....but this time around it's not going to poison you and make you sick and this time around it's actually good for you!!

Saturday night we had friends over for dinner for homemade Pizza and it was my challenge to create one that I could eat and as you have probably guessed from my "monumental" comment.....IT WORKED.....as for Sunday night......I can't recall the last time that I have had leftover Pizza for dinner! Naughty to have the leftovers the next night in a slight way I know, but it was OH SO GOOD I simply had to stretch the moment out as much as I could!

You see, for me, Pizza was not just a no no because its main 2 ingredients are Gluten and Dairy, I am also allergic to the "common" toppings of Pizza like tomato, mushrooms, pork & preservatives which rules out ham, bacon, salami and cabanossi.... then add being allergic to corn and soy and that rules out any "pre made" pizza bases! But as I say, this story ends well.....

A photo taken of my son a few months ago when we were out with friends....clearly the kind of Pizza I would years ago "enjoy".....I'm so glad I can't now.....and NO, neither did he! :-)

I simply had to come up with not so common pizza topping and with the encouragement of friends this is what I came up with....not one, but TWO, CUT OUT THE CRAP PIZZAS!!!!!!

I prepared a mixture of ingredients, you could vary it up slightly depending on your allergies....

* 1 x Satay Dipping Sauce from CUT OUT THE CRAP PAGE 38
* Chicken breast fillets, boiled, cooled slightly then shredded
* Roasted Sweet Potato
* Broccoli, snow peas, avocado, fresh oregano and coriander and raw cashews
* Baby Spinach
* Red Capsicum
* mixed Italian herbs (jar/packet)
* Olive Oil

BASES - I tried 2 different bases to see if there was a difference....

BASE 1 - 1 cup of Quinoa Flour, 1 egg, 1 tblspn sunflower oil, 3 tblspns water - mix and knead well
BASE 2 - 1/2 cup Quinoa Flour, 1/2 cup Potato Flour, 1 egg, 1 tblspn sunflower oil, 3 tblspns water - mix and knead well

* on both of these bases you may need to add a touch more water or flour depending on the texture

PIZZA ONE.....

1 x Base 1 (quinoa base) covered with satay dipping sauce then topped with chicken, sweet potato, red capsicum, snow peas, fresh oregano, mixed Italian herbs and a drizzle of olive oil

 

PIZZA TWO.....

1 x Base 2 (quinoa and potato) covered with satay dipping sauce then topped with chicken, broccoli, avocado, cashews, baby spinach and a drizzle of olive oil.

Once cooked I put some fresh coriander on top.

As our BBQ has a lid, we turn our BBQ into a "pizza oven" to cook them but they could be cooked in the oven also.

My opinion ..... I LOVED both toppings and couldn't really decide which one was my favourite, they were both SO tasty and fresh and the satay dipping sauce made it feel so gourmet! Next time I plan on making some chunky sweet chilli sauce or a guacamole to see what that is like also.....

As for the bases.....they both cooked beautifully and held together beautifully also.....the all quinoa base was softer, where the one with half potato had quite a crunch to it which was nice but it was slightly powdery.....next time I may try 3/4 cup quinoa flour and 1/4 cup potato flour to see how that goes....but really, you could make either of these bases and you wouldn't be disappointed......

Tired after a long day at work and I don't normally wear my "Cut out the Crap" tops around the house! Ah.....homemade Pizza that I CAN eat!!!!!!!!!

My friend who doesn't have allergies at all and is use to eating "real" pizza, enjoyed my PIZZA ONE better than the one he made himself with wheat flour, cheese, salami and all the traditional toppings.....as he is our Pastor I trust he would not lie to me!!!!!!

These are something we are going to do often now as they were truly delicious and healthy! The kids LOVE making their own pizzas and it's always something fun and relaxed to do with friends.......

there was one other element that made the whole experience complete and that was the fact that I really felt like I was eating pizza! For the first time in 5+ years.....it was AMAZING!

YUM!!!!!!!!!!!

Let me know when make them, would love to hear other creative topping ideas and as always I love seeing photos....feel free to post them on Facebook or if you can't you can email them to me at info@cutoutthecrap.com.au

Tonight for dinner I have used the leftover ingredients from the pizza along with leftover chicken from drumsticks and a little grated sweet potato to make a Frittata......thrown all together, no wasting food and yep, you guessed it, healthy, tasty and crap free!

 

Take Care of You,

Coll x

"Super Food"

I have had some interesting chats recently on Facebook with CUT OUT THE CRAP FRIENDS about Chia seeds and alternatives to sugar and over the past few weeks I have heard the words "Super Foods" over and over again....so, me being me, I decided to do some research and find out WHAT EXACTLY ARE SUPER FOODS? Are they something I already know of? do I already use them?am I allergic to them? (let's hope not!) are they something I could use more often?
So I went to my reliable source (Google!) to see what I could find....WOW! I found lists ontop of lists ontop of lists about Super Foods! The first list I found was this list of top 10: Cashews, Brazil Nuts, Chia Seeds, Cacao, Agave, Coconut, Goji Berries, Maca, Sesame Seeds, Quinoa. I was pleasantly surprised. The only thing I can't have due to my allergies are Goji Berries & the only thing I have never heard of is Maca....more on that later.... I use Cashews, Agave, Coconut, Sesame Seeds and Quinoa regularly. Brazil nuts, Chia seeds and Cacao I use but not as often as I could. As I say, this is one list of many I found & all lists were different which was interesting, the nuts changed from list to list but Chia seeds & Cacao were on all of them. What I took out of everything I read was that Super Foods are clearly those little "diamonds" of food/ingredients that sparkle that little bit brighter then others and are full of oh so wonderful goodness for you like iron, Omega 3, antioxidants, they can help with weight loss, skin brightness & mental health...and this is just the super short list, I could go on forever with listing the benefits!
I also realized that the term Super Food is used quite loosy at times, which I guess happens with many things in life & then becomes questionable as to wether this is just a "fad" or "trendy".... There was one sight that listed almost 1,000 things as a Super Food!!!!.... And then there was one that wanted to find the negative in all the common ones - I would like to know what that creator the website ate when they found negatives in things so good, I wouldn't like to see their shopping trolley!!!! For me, I am one to look into products etc myself and do my own research and make up my own opinion and therefore choice.....anyway, I am side tracking again! I guess what I am trying to say is do what is right for your family, read what you can, research what you can and do what your "gut" feels is right...... for me, I loved the sound of this top 10 that I found and I believe that they are SUPER FOODS..... and as for that ingredient I have never heard of.....MACA....WOWZA! It's a root from Peru that can be bought in many forms, tablets, powder and flour....Jam packed full of vitamins and minerals and it assists with weight loss, fertility, depression and anxiety, low libido and energy levels.... I am off to get me some of that!!!!!! ha ha he he!!!!!!!

So, the other night I was laying in bed and thinking of the top 6 on the first list I found when I had this thought....imagine creating something that had them ALL in the one recipe and of course that was it, my mind was racing for hours, thank goodness I have my phone constantly next to my bed that has the trusty "notes" section for the me put down those 2am ideas that you simply don't want to forget! The next day I scooted to my local organic health food store and stocked up on goodies that I didn't already have and this morning I created! I have to say, sometimes I even amaze myself! Ha ha ha ha! I have tested them on 3 people today and they were a huge hit.....so here they are.....

SUPER BALLS

1 cup brazil nuts

1 cup cashew nuts

4 tblspns agave nectar

1/3 cup chia seeds

3 tblspns cacao powder

1 cup desiccated coconut

Place the brazil and cashew nuts in a bowl and cover with boiling water. Allow to sit over night.

Drain the nuts well.

Place the nuts in a food processor and blitz well.

Add the agave, chia seeds & cacao combine well.

Place the coconut into a separate bowl. Using your hands make balls out of the nut mixture (walnut/golfball size) and roll balls into the coconut mixture one at a time.

Place on a plate and refrigerate for 1 hour.

These are so very delicious and so amazingly good for you. Just remember though they are NOT sweet and will have a slight bitter taste because of the cacao. If you wanted to sweeten them up you could add a tablespoon or 2 of rapadura. I loved them just as they were.

SUPER FOOD LOG

2/3 cup sesame seeds - toasted

1/2 cup chia seeds

1 tblspn rapadura

1 tblspn cocao

1/4 cup agave

  8 dates (I used dried dates)

Place a 30cm piece of foil down on the bench and on top of that a piece of baking paper.

Place the sesame seeds and chia seeds into a food processor and blitz well.

Add the remaining ingredients and blitz again until well combined.

Place mixture onto the baking paper and using your hands form into the shape of a log.

Roll up the foil/baking paper nice and tight and fold over or twist the end.

Refrigerate for 1 hour. Cut into 1cm pieces and devour!
These are quite sweet because of the agave, rapadura and dates. Next time I try them I might leave the rapadura out & see how they go...although in saying that, my hubby doesn't have a sweet tooth and loved it as is. He said it reminded him of quince paste and could imagine eating it with crackers and cheese.....for me it will either be eaten just as is, or perhaps with a rice cracker and a slice of Nashi Pear?

I hope you love both of these recipes as much as I do.....one thing is for certain.....your body will love you for eating them!!!!!

Take Care Of You,
Coll x

Some ideas...

When I am not rushed I really do find cooking enjoyable...almost as much as I love eating! I still recall how devastated I was when I found out I was allergic to so many things I loved eating. Although I was sick so often I still ate anything and everything, clearly I had no idea what I was doing to my body, filling it with the things it hated, and I obviously didn't listen to my body either which is crazy, knowing how much it was screaming at me, how could I not hear it, or was I simply ignorning it??.....WOW I have changed since then! My body and I have a nice relationship now!!!! I'm kind to her and she is kind to me!!!!

I have said it before and I have no issue with saying it again daily and even hourly if needed, I feel so blessed now to have my allergies, as helping others in the same, or similar situation warms my heart so much and makes me feel overwhelmed with happiness. I never EVER thought when I wrote CUT OUT THE CRAP that I would be helping so many people in this way....I have been getting some beautiful and touching emails lately from people (who I like to call my new friends) who have bought my book, I wanted to share some with you.....

I just want to let you know that what you have done is absolutely brilliant. I applaud you. I accidently stumbled onto your page after seeing it on someones fb page as a "like". I went to have a quick look and an hour later, here I am. Dying to buy your cookbook. I have read some of your blog and I think you are so kind to have shared your love for natural cooking with the world. I can only imagine the process in making a cookbook. Well done. As a Personal Trainier I am always trying to get people to stay on track with their nutrition. They always seem to think that healthy food is boring. Well from just reading what I have today I have my ammo to hopefully encourage them to think again! Anyway enough bogging you down with my speil. All the best with what you do and I can't wait until Cut the Crap for Children book is available.

I was diagnosed with food allergies 13 years ago & with ulcerative colitis 2 years ago. Because of this, my food choices are limited. But since I've been introduced to your book... I can't explain how happy it's made me. To have found a recipe book that I can find not only one or two recipes in it that I can cook & eat, but almost all of them. Your recipes are not only easy & straightforward to make, they are so incredibly tasty. Thank you so much for all of your hard work in putting this book together. I can't wait for the second one to come out!

I also wanted to share with you a few recipes I have cooked this week from CUT OUT THE CRAP and a few changes I have made to them, spur of the moment......yummo yummo yummo.....

Cooking Walnut Pesto Chicken for dinner PAGE 204

Chicken is stuffed with freshly made Pesto and ready to cook......

I had some left over Pesto so I added it to some diced pumpkin and roasted it......

End result #1 - a gorgeous meal! Walnut Pesto Chicken (page 204) and a salad of English Spinach, Pumpkin roasted with Pesto, Avocado and toasted pinenuts.

End result #2 - Miss 9 and Miss 7 eating a healthy dinner that they love! (and I know its good for them!)

Macaroons a la "lets just see what happens if we throw these ingredients together"

Preheat oven to 150oC

2 egg whites - beat until stiff peaks form
 gradually add 1/2 cup icing sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, whilst you continue to beat it
Add zest of 1 lime
Add 1 cup desiccated coconut
Add 1/2 cup finely chopped dates
Mix gently but thoroughly.
Place even shaped amounts onto a baking tray lined with baking paper.
Bake in preheated oven for 10-12 minutes (until just golden)
TURN OFF OVEN AND LEAVE MACAROONS IN THERE....until cool....or until you can't wait any longer to try one (or two....or three!)

Enjoy with a cuppa.....I sure did!

I love cooking, I love creating recipes, I love sharing my passion for healthy food and that doesn't come direct from a packet, I love helping those with allergies eat "normal" food, I love it when I am in the mood to create a recipe and it "just works", I love the support I am given, I love being inspired to keep on creating, I love that I KNOW, even with my masses of allergies, I CAN still LOVE eating!

Take Care of You,
Coll x

Had to share this with you....Master 17months hinting to me not so subtly that he wants some milk!

Using what you have.....

Roughly once a month I decide to live out of our pantry, fridge and freezer and not get groceries until I have to. Generally Fridays I would get groceries delivered, so besides milk, bread and fruit I don't buy anything else. I do it for many reasons. It's like a mini challenge for myself, I love to see what I can come up with and create and how many nights meals I can come up with. I also do it to use up all those "bits and pieces" and things I gather along the way during the months, and of course I save a few dollars too.....not having to do a full grocery shop! A lot of the time we end up with Vegetarian meals as I don't always have any extra meat or chicken in the freezer. It's interesting to see what items I always manage to have in my pantry beside the normal "basics".... I always seem to have tin tuna, rice pasta of some sort, rice paper rolls (great for lunches) & coconut milk. Friday night I made Tuna Mornay.....then entire family loves this, and I love how quick and easy it is to make.....I have a beautiful recipe for this in CUT OUT THE CRAP FOR KIDS! Saturday night we ended up doing a last moment Pizza night with friends.....for me it was leftover Tuna Mornay which I certainly didn't complain about! Pizza is something that I would dearly love to be able to have from time to time, however, it has pretty much everything on it that would make me violently ill! It's something I am going to work on.....anyway.....I am getting side tracked.....

Sunday was Mothers Day :-) A HUGE HAPPY (although late) MOTHERS DAY TO YOU ALL!!!!!!! I hope that whatever you did, you were spoilt and had a relaxing day.
I was completely spoilt by my hubby and 4 kids. I must say that a highlight is what the big girls (almost 10yrs and almost 8yrs) come up with, with the couple of dollars they are given to spend at the school Mothers Day stall. Miss almost 10 bought me some beautiful candles, as she knows I light them daily and I love the relaxing atmosphere they offer. Miss almost 8 bought me a nail file set and made me the most precious little candle holder that I am worried will catch on fire with the amount of glue she has used on it to hold on a tonne of glitter! Hubby surprised as all by taking us to Taronga Zoo for the day....we packed picnic food and he directed us with suitable weathered clothing....(lucky I threw in extra jackets such incase as it was SSSOOO cold!) it was such a surprise, the kids were just as excited as me and thankfully none of us (besides hubby) know our way around Sydney that well, so we didn't know where we were going until we saw a huge sign with 10 minutes to go.....

Me with my 4 kids at Taronga Zoo for Mothers Day

A beautiful relaxing day wandering around the Zoo

I could have sat and watched the Gorillas all day......

Enjoying the view......

Having fun......

Me and Josh......

I love the views from this Zoo......



Up close with the Giraffes......

For our food we packed wraps for hubby and the kids and I made a huge frittata which was demolished by us all....it was so delicious.....once again, I used "bits and pieces" that I had in the fridge......

Our "throw together frittata" - not a great photo as it was taken at the Zoo & couldn't get the lighting right! ha ha!

THROW TOGETHER FRITTATA

Line a lasagne dish with baking paper and preheat oven to 180c.

In the lasagne dish place:

1/4 cauliflower - finely sliced

1 red onion - finely sliced

1 zucchini - finely diced

1 carrot - shaved into ribbons with a potato peeler

1/2 red capsicum - finely sliced

1/2 bunch corainder - roughly shredded

1 tspn dried parsley flakes

1 tspn dried oregano

pinch salt and pepper

In a medium bowl place 6 eggs and a "splash" of rice milk. Using a hand whisk, beat until fluffy. Pour egg mxiture over prepapred vegetables.

Bake in oven for 30 minutes or util cooked and golden.

I then wrapped in foil and went to the zoo with it! Miss 8 loved it so much and asked if she could have it for lunch at school! I used these vegetables as its the "bits and peices" that I had in the fridge that I didn't want wasted :-) You can get creative with what you have leftover in the fridge.....

Monday night I made Chermoula Fish Parcels, roast potato and a side serve of broccolini (all recipes are in CUT OUT THE CRAP)......

Chermoula Fish Parcels (Photo from CUT OUT THE CRAP)

So last night I was almost out of "bits and pieces" and think I may need to order groceries for tomorrow.....I threw together a vermicelli noodle dish.....last week I sent hubby a message to pick me up some rice vermicelli noodles on the way home from work, which he did, he also picked me up some made on MUNG BEAN FLOUR! I have never seen these before and remembered I had them in the pantry so I worked with that......

86% MUNG BEAN FLOUR 14% WATER

With a few more ingredients it was a really delicious meal....that I WILL do again! I really liked the texture of them and found they didn't go as soggy as the rice flour ones can. Why not try it yourself.....and don't forget to use whatever you have in the fridge like I did.....

I love this brand of Coconut Milk and Coconut Cream as it has no extras

My ingredients, all prepared and ready to go.......

  

Stir fry time......quick and easy.......

I LOVE my lemon/lime juicer

MUNG BEAN NOODLE DINNER

1 x packet of Mung Bean Vermicelli Noodles

1 tspn sunflower oil

2 cloves garlic - grated

3cm x 3cm fresh ginger - grated

zest of 1 lime

juice of 2 limes

1 small (birdeye) chilli - finely sliced

2 carrots - sliced

1 1/4 red capsicum - sliced

8 shallots - cut into 2cm peices

1 zucchini - diced

1/2 bunch coriander - roughly shredded inlcuding the stems

approximately 1/2 tin of Coconut Cream

pinch salt

Prepare Vermicelli Noodles as per packet (mine said soak in warm water for 15 minutes)

In a large wok place the oil, garlic, ginger, lime zest and juice, and chilli and stir fry until fragrant.

Add the carrot, capsicum, shallots, zucchini and stir fry for 2-3 minutes.

Add coriander, coconut cream, salt and prepared noodles. Mix thoroughly, stir fry until warm and serve immediatley.

Tips- when using vermicelli noodles, once they are cooked and still soaking in the water, I roughly chop them with scissors. This makes them easier to eat (especially for kids) and I find the vegetables and sauce also mixes through it better, as the noodles are not it one big clump!

So quick and easy and great to use the bits I had hanging around in the cupboard and fridge.....and of course it was super tasty......I even had a little left over for lunch today....yum!

Would love to hear from you when you cook either (or both!) of these....I don't think you will be disappointed at all......and don't forget.....I LOVE seeing photos of your cooking on Facebook!!!!!!

Take Care Of You,
Coll x

Footy Food :-)

One of the hardest things about going out to places for the day, like the markets, fairs, the Easter Show, shopping for the day and the Footy is what to eat....something that most people wouldn't give a single thought about....but for me, it takes preparation and a little bit of planned thought and preparation.....after all, I am yet to find somewhere that will cater for me.....not that I blame them really.....I simply have way too many food allergies to list & in all honestly even if they said they could cater for me I would be a little hesitant and scared that I would get sick.....I try and have something in the freezer for those moments of "hey let's go out" when I don't have time to prepare something.....I generally have Turkey and Spinach Rissoles and Carrot Cake in the freezer for times like this....the Rissoles thawed out and thrown together with a simple salad is truly beautiful!

TURKEY AND SPINACH RISSOLES - FROM CUT OUT THE CRAP - DELICIOUS!

CARROT CAKE FROM CUT OUT THE CRAP - YUM YUM YUM YUM!

  This weekend we headed to the footy. (A great win for Manly!)....and you guessed it, there was not going to be any hotdogs or pies for me! I felt like making something new, but easy, that would travel well and more importantly I wanted something that was going to taste amazing as I didnt want to be sitting there eating something boring and tasteless whilst everyone arond me was munching away on Footy Food! This is what I came up with.....

Hope you enjoy it as much as I did.......oh, and there was enough for me for lunch and dinner AND for hubby for 2 meals too....

FOOTY PASTA SALAD!

1 x packet rice pasta
2 medium carrots - diced medium
1 telegraph cucumber - diced medium
1 Spanish onion - diced small
1/4 wombok cabbage - finely shredded
1 avocado - diced small
1 x medium tin of salmon - drained (200-300g??)
1 bunch coriander - finely shredded
1 small hot Chilli - finely sliced
1 tblspn sesame oil
1 tblspn fish sauce
1 tblspn brown sugar
Juice of 1 lime
Good pinch salt and pepper

Cook pasta as per packet, drain and set aside to cool. Prepare all other ingredients and mix well in a LARGE bowl. Add pasta and mix thoroughly. Serve immediately or refrigerate until ready to eat!


Yummo! Enjoy!

MY TASTY AND HEALTHY LUNCH AT THE FOOTY - TRULY SCRUMPTIOUS!

Take Care Of You,
Coll x

FRONT COVER OF THE SFI MAGAZINE I HAVE AN AD IN THIS MONTH :-)

MY AD :-)

CLOSE UP OF MY AD :-)

HAVING FUN MAKING BREAKFAST WITH THE GIRLS - EVEN MORE EXCITING THAT I COULD EAT THEM!

HAD TO SHARE JOSHS DINNER - MY HUBBY WITH NO ALLERGIES - TOASTED STEAK, TOMATO, CHEESE AND BBQ SAUCE SANDWICH WITH A MASSIVE GRILLED MUSHROOM ON TOP! REAL MAN FOOD :-)