Broccoli Salad

A quick, healthy Snack;

Nights when I go out dancing, I don't like to consume anything too heavy,

so a couple of hours before I am due to leave home I fix myself

a substantial, healthy and energising snack.

Anything goes really, it all depends what you like and have available.

Here I diced up some celery, cucumber, a tiny bit of red onion

(don't want to have onion breath when dancing up close),

halved cherry tomatoes, chopped raw broccoli, raw cashews

and some crumbled Lemnos feta cheese.

I also added a pinch of chopped fresh basil and mint,

a drizzle of avocado oil, verjuice and a squeeze of lime juice.

You may even like to add some diced capsicum,

avocado and/or a small can of kidney beans.

It's really just a matter of preference.

Stuffed Roast Butternut Pumpkin

Tonight I thought I'd creative and trial a couple of vegetable side dishes to add to our Christmas buffet.

Butternut Pumpkin

Butternut pumpkin is always a favorite, so I halved one lengthwise, scooped out the seeds, rubbed a little virgin oil and seasoned with salt and cracked pepper, before roasting for a little over an hour at 180 degrees (fan forced oven).

In a bowl, I combined:

1/2 finely chopped red onion
1 garlic clove crushed
1 tbsp fresh rosemary
1/2 tsp ground paprika
1/2 cup breadcrumbs (I use gluten-free)
1/4 cup chopped walnuts
1 tbsp wholegrain mustard
1 cup tasty grated cheese
1 egg lightly beaten

Mixed all ingredients, using only 1/2 the grated cheese.

Removed butternut pumpkin from oven, spooned mixture into hollows, then returned to oven for a further 15 minutes.
Removed once again, sprinkled remaining grated cheese over top, then popped back into oven for a few minutes until cheese melted.


I also had a zucchini in the fridge, so I halved it lengthwise, scooped out the seeds and filled it with the remaining breadcrumb mixture.

Having placed the halves on a tray, I popped it into the oven to roast for 25 minutes, then removed the tray, sprinkled a little grated cheese on top and returned it to the oven for a few minutes to melt.

Roast Stuffed Zucchini 

Whilst the pumpkin and zucchini were roasting, I roasted a small sweet potato, cut into 1 cm slices and remaining red onion, sliced, so it cooked nice and crispy for 40 minutes.







I also added a few halved cherry tomatoes during the last 10 minutes of roasting.

This made for a scrumptious, healthy gluten free, vegetarian meal and I will definitely cook the stuffed roast butternut pumpkin on Christmas day. 

Roasted Stuffed Butternut Pumpkin

Gluten Free Breaky

Following a good sleep in after a night out dancing... 

Chopped, sauteed field mushrooms, vine ripened tomatoes and red onion -
Served with chopped avocado and poached egg on a bed of baby spinach leaves.

I add to this a dash of balsamic, cracked black pepper and salt.

A couple of buttered slices of Helga's Soy and Linseed Gluten Free Bread -
and there I have a healthy Sunday breaky!