Walnut & Basil Crusted Salmon on Sweet Potato & Pine Nut Salad

There were a few requests for this recipe when I posted a photo on Facebook earlier in the week so here we go :-)

Ingredients for Salmon:

1 cup of Walnuts

1/2 cup of Fresh Basil Leaves

3 Tbsp Olive Oil

1/2 cup of Rolled Oats

Sprinkle of Sea Salt & Black Pepper

1 Cup Salt Reduced Chicken Stock

2 pieces of Atlantic Salmon 

Ingredients for Salad:

Spinach Leaves (as much as you like)

Kale (as much as you like)

400g sweet potato (cut into bite size cubes)

Tbsp coconut oil

1/2 tsp of Parika

1/2 tsp of Cinnamon

1/3 cup Pine Nuts

2 tsp sesame seeds

Salad Dressing:

1 part Olive Oil

1 part Apple Cider Vinegar

Sprinkle of Sea Salt & Pepper

Method: Salmon

1. Preheat Oven to 180degrees Celsius

2. Place first 5 ingredients in a food processor (I used a blender because I don't have a food processor)

3. Blend until smooth(ish)

4. Place Salmon in a non-stick tray or line a tray with baking paper 

5. Spread the mixture on top of each of your pieces of Salmon

6. Pour 1 cup of Chicken Stock into tray

7. Place in oven for about 20 minutes or until crust is crispy and Salmon is cooked

Method: Salad

1. Place Sweet Potato Cubes in a lined baking tray

2. Drizzle Sweet Potato with Coconut Oil

3. Sprinkle Sweet Potato with Paprika & Cinnamon

4. Place in oven for 15-20 minutes or until soft and golden

5. When ready to serve add Sweet Potato, Pine Nuts and Sesame Seeds to Spinach & Kale

6. Combine dressing ingredients, then drizzle over salad and mix all ingredients , evenly coating leaves with dressing.

Once the salad is complete, place a piece of Salmon on top. Basil to garnish.

For the Kids dinner I chopped it all up and mixed in some avocado.

Let me know how you go if you give this recipe a try! If you like this recipe, please share with your friends! 

Sophia xo

Healthy Chocolate Crackle Bars!

Today I tried out this recipe from Naughty Naturopath Mum and the result was healthy deliciousness!    

I am currently on a mission to find more healthy foods that my 3 year old son will actually eat and these looked like a good bet.

Ingredients: (I made a big batch so I doubled the original recipe because it just didn't seem like that much)

4 cups of puffed brown rice

2 cups of dessicated coconut

1/4 cup of chia seeds 

1/4 cup of natvia

1/2 cup coconut oil

1 1/2 cups rice malt syrup

1/4 cup organic cacao powder

Note: I made changes to the sweetener and chocolate powder compared to original recipe.

Method:

Place all dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl

Place coconut oil and rice malt syrup in a microwave safe bowl and microwave until melted (about 60 seconds in my microwave). Keep an eye on it as you don't want it to get too hot, just enough for it to turn to liquid. This is what mine looked like before and after microwaving.

Mix the dry ingredients with the wet ingredients until well combined...

Place mixture into a lined baking tray so that it is about an inch thick

Put the finished product in the fridge for a few hours before slicing into bars and serving...

They were a hit! Yey!!

 Yes, Mason has a bandaid on his head. No, he did not get hurt. He just wanted to put a Transformers bandaid on his head and I'm the kind of Mum that allows these things to happen :)

In these photos Mason had just come home from hanging out with 'Peepa' (The name he has given his Grandpa) and he had a blast so he was very hyped up and wouldn't sit still for a photo! haha

Let me know if you give these bars a try. I would love to hear from you :)

Hope you've had a lovely weekend! 

Sophia xo

My Top 5 Tips for Clean Eating!

Sticking to a clean eating plan can sometimes sound difficult to do. Below I have listed my top 5 tips for successfully eating clean :-)

1. Remove all 'unclean' foods from your house! Willpower will only get you so far. Eventually a craving will come on at a moment of weakness and if there are still unhealthy foods in your fridge and pantry you are so much more likely to indulge. To prevent this from happening you need to commit to clean eating and get rid of all processed foods. This doesn't mean eat every unhealthy food in your house and then start 'clean eating'. Give the foods away and start straight away!

2. Meal Planning & Prep: This is the biggest one for me! If it is just as easy or easier to grab your clean, healthy meals than it is to grab/make something unhealthy you will be so much more likely to stick to clean eating. Put aside a few hours once a week to prep your meals for the week. Not only will this help you stick to clean eating, but it will also save you so much time during the week. I love not having to cook every evening!

3. Keep it Interesting! Try new clean eating recipes often. There are so many great websites, blogs, magazines and books with amazing clean recipes. Make sure you don't get stuck in a food rut and keep eating the same thing until you get bored and then give up. Its okay to eat your favourite clean foods but try to incorporate new recipes as well and you may stumble upon a new favourite!

4. Replace your favourite unclean foods with clean versions! If you have a favourite food that isn't clean and you think you just couldn't live without it then look for or come up with a clean version! You can google all sorts of clean alternatives for different foods. For example, clean pizza, clean ice-cream, clean chocolate cake, clean biscuits etc. and most of them taste absolutely amazing. You wouldn't believe they are actually good for you!

5. Get your whole house involved! Eating Clean will be so much easier if everyone in your house is on the same page. If you are cooking for a family, then cook clean meals for everyone. Don't make a clean meal for yourself and something different for the rest of the family. This will result in a lot of extra temptation and why not get everyone in the house on the healthy bandwagon :)

Good Luck! If you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment below :)

Sophia xo