It’s Monday Meal Day!!
For your gastronomic delight Mark whipped this up for us last night. I was busy studying, so I asked him to do some searching on the Internet and find something gluten-free, dairy-free and vegetarian. I must have him well trained as he mosied over (without gritted teeth this time at the various food restrictions outlined)  to my go-to site The Healthy Apple and made a variation of Aimee’s Pistachio Orange Pad Thai. He swapped around a few ingredients to match what we already had in the pantry and fridge, and I’ve gotta say it’s a winner!
Here is what you need.

Ingredients:
4 Tbsp almond butter
2 tsp agave syrup
1/3 cup gluten free soy sauce
juice of two limes
juice of two oranges
1/2 tsp chili flakes
1 chopped onion
1/2 tsp minced garlic
2 cups mung bean sprouts
1 packet pad thai noodles
1 small bunch of spring onions
small handful pistachios
zest of one orange
1 Tbsp finely chopped fresh basil

Directions:
Prepare the pad thai noodles as per instructions.
In a mixing bowl combine the almond butter, agave syrup, soy sauce, lime juice and orange juice.
In a wok or large pan stir fry the garlic in a splash of olive oil, then add the onion and stir fry until lightly browned.
Add the almond butter mixture, chili flakes, bean sprouts and noodles. Keep stirring until the mixture thickens.
Serve into bowls, and sprinkle chopped spring onions, orange zest, a handful of pistachios and fresh basil.

Serves approx 4 adults.

Super simple, and so good!

Enjoy
Cheers
Ali

Question for today: Who is the cook in your family? Do you have a partner or family member that is happy to cater to your dietary needs/restrictions when they cook?  

My definition of pure delight? A houshold full of gluten free, vegan, dairy free, fussy eaters finding a box of goodies on the front porch from Little Bird Organics. I reviewed some Chocolate macaroons a while back from Little Bird Organics, and life hasn’t been the same since, so when this gorgeous pack of treats arrived, excitement ran high. This deserves two posts, one for the sweet treats, and another for the savoury.

Little Bird Organics has a great tagline : “A little birdie told me food should be three things: mostly raw, definitely organic and full of goodness.”  Everything I want in my food!

Today I wanted to tell you about the Macaroons. In particular, the Strawberry and White Cacao Macaroons – you are drooling just thinking about it, admit it. These could quite possibly be the prettiest wee cakes ever, and contain Raw Cacao, Coconut, Coconut Oil,  Vanilla Bean, Vanilla Extract, Agave , Freeze Dired Strawberry and Himalayan crystal salt. These tasty morsels are scrumptious. You know you are on to a good thing when your carnivore husband who looked at you in undisguised horror when you offered him a raw, vegan treat now raves about them and offers them around to guests. There are five macaroons in the retro cute resealable pack, and I would suggest you really only would need one, as they are seriously sweet and rich.

The second sweet treat for today is actually a healthy breakfast item- Macademia and Berries Grawnola. I swear once you taste this, your tastebuds will refuse anything else. The gluten free grawnola is made of Sprouted buckwheat, Macadamia nuts, Sprouted sunflower seeds, Coconut, Linseed, Currants, Strawberry, Blackberry, Blueberry, Pineapple, Lemon, Agave,  and Himalayan crystal salt. Mix the crunchy grawnola with the zingy bite of the berries, and you won’t want it to finish.

I was going to take a clever photo of this in a cereal bowl today to show you, but unfortunately my husband snuck off with it and took it to work where he proceeded to snack on it all day.

Now I will admite that price wise this is at the higher end of the price range for breakfast cereal. It is $14.90 NZD for  a 350g bag. But it is way better for you than any packaged sugary cereal in the supermarket, and much tastie than any other gluten free cereal I have tasted from my local organic store. I believe you can’t put a price on quality organic food, so my family will be regularly stocking up on this for sure.

So, I am off for a cup of tea followed by a yummy treat from the Little Bird unbakery (how cool is that).

Stay tuned for next week’s review………..

Enjoy

Cheers

Ali