These are delicious and very versatile. I use black beans which are my favourite, but they are hard to find in a can, so I have to cook dry beans beforehand. Cooking instructions for the beans are at the end of the page, if that’s what you want to do, otherwise, canned beans are fine: cannelini, kidney, navy or a mixture.

Ingredients:

• 2 onions finely chopped
• 4 cloves of garlic
• 1 Tbsp each of ground coriander, cumin, smoked paprika, paprika
• 1/8 tsp chilli powder (optional, I don’t always put it in)
• Macadamia oil/ghee/clarified butter
• Cooked black beans, see below, or 2 x 400g cans of beans of your choice (if you like extra beans add another can)
• 2 x 400g tins of crushed or chopped tomatoes
• 1 tsp vegetable stock paste (or 1 tsp sea salt and finely chopped celery)
• 1 tbsp tomato paste

Method:

1. Heat oil in a frying pan, add onion garlic and spices, cook till soft.
2. Place all the other ingredients into the slow cooker then add the onion/garlic/spices mix.
3. Cook on low for about 6-7hours or high for about 3hrs. just check your liquid levels.

Thermomix method:

1. Put onion and garlic in the TM bowl, speed 6 for 5 seconds.
2. Scrape down bowl and add oil and spices and cook at 100°, speed 1 for 2 minutes.
3. Add all other ingredients to TM bowl (EXCEPT BEANS) and cook for 100°, speed 1 for 10 minutes.
4. To break down the tomatoes, hit turbo once or twice. If you want a really smooth sauce blend on speed 6 for 8 seconds or longer.
5. Place beans into the slow cooker then add the sauce and cook for 7-8 hours on low.

Sometimes I cook them overnight and have them for breakfast, other times I put them on in the morning ready for an early dinner. If you want them quicker you can cook on high for about 3-4 hours. The longer you cook them the thicker the sauce will be.

If you don’t have a slow cooker you can cook on a stove top with a lid until thick or bake in the oven in a casserole dish with a lid for a couple of hours on around 180°C. If you want to cook it quickly just double the tomato paste to make it nice and thick (2 tbsp).

Cooking dry beans:

1. Soak 2 cups dry black beans overnight in 6-8 cups of water.
2. Drain, rinse and cover with fresh water.
3. Bing to the boil and cook for approximately 1 hour or until beans are tender.
4. Drain and use.

Variations:

• For a milder flavour, leave out the smoked paprika and chilli.
• Add some cooked bacon chopped.
• Add 2 bay leaves.
• Add 25g rapadura/panela/muscavado sugar, rice malt syrup or black strap molasses.

Where to buy these sugars:

Rice malt syrup from the supermarket in the health food aisle (Pure Harvest, is a good brand)
Muscavado/panela/rapadura are now available in Coles and Woolworths in the sugar aisle and in some health food aisles. You can also buy them at health food stores.

Whatever you want to call these egg dishes, I love making them. I find it hard to eat eggs on their own but I will happily eat them mixed with veges and lots of flavour. These are especially easy and healthy because there is no pastry base required, which is great because making my own pastry is a little hit and miss.

You can add whatever you want to a frittata, just be mindful of the liquid content as you don’t want to add too much otherwise it won’t set properly. Other than that, you can experiment with different flavours and ingredients. I don’t eat a lot of cheese but I do love strong flavours (or as I like to call it, stinky cheese!) and you could add parmesan, fetta (another favourite of mine), or what you like.

Ingredients:

• 1 onion finely chopped (quartered for TM)
• 2 garlic cloves crushed (peeled for TM)
• Oil or ghee for frying (I use macadamia oil)
• 5 large eggs
• 1 grated carrot (roughly chopped for TM)
• 1 grated zucchini – squeeze out excess liquid (roughly chopped for TM)
• 1 tbsp veg stock paste (if you don’t have any just add 1 tsp sea salt)
• 1 tbsp mixed herbs
• ½ cup plain flour (rice, buckwheat, quinoa or spelt flour, which contains gluten)
• 1½  cups grated full fat cheddar cheese – half in the recipe and half to sprinkle on top. (Or cheese of your choice, a mixture of parmesan and tasty cheddar is delicious).
• ½ cup sun-dried tomatoes chopped or sliced (optional, but yummy)
• ½ cup peas
• Cooked bacon chopped (again,optional, but yummy)
• Roast pumpkin/sweet potato (pre-cooked)

Method:

1. Place onion, garlic and herbs into a fry pan and fry until onions start to go soft.
2. Whisk eggs and flour in a large bowl.
3. Add fried onions, ½ the cheese and all other ingredients, except the roast vegetables, and mix well.
4. In a lined baking dish place roast pumpkin & sweet potato to cover the bottom then pour mixture into the dish.
5. Sprinkle remaining cheese on top.

Thermomix method:

1. Place onion & garlic in Thermomix speed 6, for 5 seconds.
2. Add herbs and oil and fry 2 mins, 100°, speed 1.
3. Add carrot & zucchini roughly chopped, speed 5 for 5 seconds.
4. Add eggs, stock paste (or salt), ½ the cheese, sundried tomatoes, flour & mix speed 4 for 10 seconds.
5. Add (extras) peas, bacon, etc and mix on reverse, speed 2, 5 seconds or until all combined.
6. In a lined baking dish place pumpkin & sweet potato to cover the bottom then pour mixture into the dish.
7. Sprinkle remaining cheese on top.

Cook at 190° C for approx. 40 mins or until browned on top and cooked in the middle. I usually push down gently in the middle to see if its firm, or dip a skewer.

Cool in the dish for about 5 mins then turn out onto a wire rack.

Cut into squares and serve with a salad or cooked vegetables (my favourite is broccoli). I also keep leftovers and have them for breakfast or lunch with a salad the next day.

This recipe has been adapted from an original recipe Protein-Packed Flapjacks by Jenny Tschiesche aka the Lunchbox Doctor.  I really like this recipe as it’s nut free, which is suitable for kids to take to school, and it’s full of protein and healthy fats.

I have added some ingredients and used some different sugars because that’s all I had in the cupboard, but essentially it’s very similar.  The ingredients that I used are in blue. My kids aren’t big fans of dried fruit so I only used currants and halved the amount.

Ingredients:

• 75g (30z) mixed seeds (pumpkin and sunflower work well, but any seed will do)
• ¼ cup chia seeds (makes it a little chewy)
• 125g (4oz) butter
• 75g (3oz) dark muscavado sugar (original recipe had rapadura, both available from the supermarket)
• 1 tbsp. honey (Jenny used black strap molasses)
• 175g (6oz) oats
• 25g currants (original recipe uses 50g dried fruit cut into small pieces)
• ¼ cup puffed Amaranth

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F).
2. Whizz the seeds and chia seeds to a powder in a food processor or coffee grinder (in batches if using a coffee grinder).
3. In a saucepan melt the butter, sugar and honey.
4. Add the oats, dried fruit, amaranth, and ground seeds.
5. Mix until all the ingredients are coated with wet ingredients.
6. Spread the mixture out on a baking tin lined with greaseproof paper and bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.

Cut whilst warm but allow to cool in the baking tray before removing.