Family Meals

AGA flan

I am increasingly on the look out for easy meals that I can throw together quickly, simply and cheaply.

I am loving my Aga - it is so simple to cook on and fantastic for slow cooking. I can pop a casserole in early in the morning, knowing it will still be moist and tender when I return from work.

However, for those days when speed is of the essence I have a bank of meals that I rely on.

This flan is so versatile - you can make it with an egg and milk base and it is more like a quiche or use creme fraiche for a totally different taste to it. Both are simple and quick!! We call it an Aga flan , but you can cook it in anything!

Ingredients: 

Aga flan

Pre rolled puff pastry ( speed!)

Mozarella

Parmesan

Cheddar

Or any other cheese you wish to add to it!

3 - 4 eggs and a splash or two of milk OR a couple of pots of creme fraiche to make the base.

Any additions:

I have put rocket in this and some corriander paste ( this and chilli flakes - love them!) to add a bit of bite!

A lot is dependant on what you have in the larder.

• Lay the pastry base in a shallow tray.
• Chop the mozzarella into pieces and add any other ingredients to line the base - I added some peppery rocket.
• Beat the eggs and milk in a separate bowl - I added 2 tsps of corriander paste to add a bit of bite.

•  Grate over some cheddar and any other cheese you may wish to add.

• Pour the milk and egg over the base. Instead of a milk and egg base you can just add a pot or two of creme fraiche. I just don't always have it in the fridge.

• Season and grate some parmesan on the top.

• Pop on the middle shelf of the roasting oven if you have an Aga. Temperature is about 200 degrees for about 20 - 25 minutes.

•  She is done when the top has risen and is firm to the touch.

• To keep things really simple serve with pasta and green veg 

I will post a few more of my quick and easy meals - they are becoming a bit of a necessity now I am teaching full time!

Eat Clean BBQ Recipes

Tasty BBQ steak and BBQ garlic chicken

With the weather so gorgeous here in the Uk at the moment we are taking every opportunity to use the BBQ . My kitchen is getting smaller by the day so any alfresco dining is appreciated.

Here are two of our favourite marinades for meat on the eat clean diet we try and follow:

Steak:

Pieces of lean steak for BBQ

2 cloves garlic

2 TBSP djon mustard ( no sugar)

2 tbsp soy sauce

2 tbsp worcestershire sauce

2 tbsp fresh lime juice

1 tbsp of chopped thyme

freshly ground pepper

1/4 cup olive oil

Rub both sides of the steak with the crushed garlic

Add all the ingredients together and mix.

Place in a bowl with the steak and mix in well.

Cover and leave to marinade for up to 24 hours.

Season and cook .

Enjoy with a fresh green salad. 

Chicken:

4 Free range chicken breasts

8 tbsp Olive oil 

4 tbsp Balsamic vinegar 

Rosemary as required

Sage as required

Basil as required

8 cloves of garlic 

I like lots of rosemary, but it depends on your preference.

Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl.

Score the chicken breasts diagonally across the top

Add the chicken to the marinade and rub it into the meat.

Cover and leave to marinade for as long as required.

Season and cook.

Enjoy with roasted vegetables and corn on the cob.

Design ©2012 Another New Day

www.takingachanceinlife.blogspot.uk 2012 - 2013

All personal images are owned by Another New Day

unless stated otherwise.

Images may not be downloaded,manipulated or reproduced without prior written permission. All rights are reserved.

Commercial or Private use without explicit written consent is prohibited and action will be taken through UK and worldwide copyright laws.

Healthy Eating at a Reasonable Price

Frugal Friday

When you have a family to feed, the food bill can be the one most expensive outlay each month. If you decide to add on top of that a complicated diet that requires numerous expensive items then your food bills can spiral.

We have been following Tosca Reno's Eat Clean diet as much as we can. I find this a healthy way of eating , not a diet as such, although my husband is losing weight by following the principles.

I haven't found it is any more expensive than any other healthy way of eating. Although we could eat  meat and fish daily on this diet, I don't, as feeding five of us would make that a very expensive choice. We find alternative sources of protein or actually use cheaper cuts of meat. See here for some of the principles I am following to keep my budget down at the moment.

This is one of my favourite meat based recipes that all the family love;

Beef and Walnut Stir Fry

1 tsp Olive Oil
1 tsp Coconut Butter ( or olive oil )
1Ib of lean beef cut into thin strips ( in recipe it says 1 inch chunks - I found it is nicer in strips with the kids)
(1 bunch of asparagus - optional )
1 green bell pepper
1 red bell pepper
1 cup green beans
1 clove garlic
1/2 cup of toasted walnuts
1 tsp sea salt
pepper
Juice of one orange
1 tbsp soy sauce

Heat Oil and coconut butter in a pan
Add beef and cook until done on both sides
Add veg and garlic and stir fry until just tender.
Add walnuts and heat through.
Decant mixture to another dish.
Add juice of orange to the pan and heat/stir. 
Add soy sauce and stir.
Cook on low heat until mixture is reduced by half.
Pour this mixture over the meat mixture and serve on brown rice.

This is not a picture of the one I made . Mine was not quite as pretty as this and it had been half eaten by the time I'd remembered to take a picture. 

Tosca Renos Beef and Walnut Stir Fry

Design ©2012 Another New Day

www.takingachanceinlife.blogspot.uk 2012 - 2013

All personal images are owned by Another New Day

unless stated otherwise.

Images may not be downloaded,manipulated or reproduced without prior written permission. All rights are reserved.

Commercial or Private use without explicit written consent is prohibited and action will be taken through UK and worldwide copyright laws.

Eating Clean Recipies

Frugal Friday

Keeping to a budget and eating healthily ( part #3)

We are following the principles of the Eat Clean diet by Tosca Reno at the moment. When I first looked at starting this diet with my family I was a little daunted at the prospect of how to incorporate this into our daily lives. We eat as a family. I have never been a parent who cooks separate meals for different members of the family. What is for dinner is for everyone. If someone chooses not to eat it , then that is their choice - there is no other choice on offer. I am not saying I think it is wrong to offer alternative, just that I don't have time to be cooking various meals each day.

So , although my children aren't following the detailed diet principles to lose weight on this plan, they are eating the healthy Clean Meals and I have cut back on some of the more sugar filled items in the larder for them to snack on. 

In some ways it was a ridiculous time to start a new eating plan. My cooker had just been cut off , leaving me with a microwave, a narrow, one shelf electric oven and a one ring induction hob. However, it has been simple - lots of one pot meals and salads, baked potatoes and steamed fish - easy. I am missing having batch baked meals stored up in the freezer. I find this is one of the easiest ways to keep the budget down and save myself time. Hats off to those of you who cook fresh every day - I find it relentless. My new mission is planned leftovers - I have to have a couple of easy cook nights a week.

These are the changes I have made to help me on my journey to eating clean:

• I make a batch of cakes and/or biscuits at the beginning of the week. (If I had a freezer I would freeze half- roll on new kitchen!). I know what I am putting in these compared to not knowing the quantities of sugar hiding in most shop ones. I have made some with limited sugar and some cookies from Tosca Renos cook book which are sweetened with honey.
• I make my own bread so I know this has minimal amounts of sugar in. ( 1 tsp)
• I have stopped buying cereal that has any sugar listed on the ingredients. I have made some homemade granola ( even the "healthy" granola in the pretty packets has sugar in it at the supermarket). 
• I've been trying wholemeal pancakes with the children for breakfasts - sweetened with some maple syrup.
• I am using more olive oil for cooking with.
• I have switched white rice for brown and pasta for wholemeal pasta. The children are coming round to the taste. I find mixing the two a happy compromise.
• I am including more fish in my meal plans.
• I have introduced the idea of planned leftovers to give myself a day without cooking from scratch. This replaces the days I used to have my batch baked meals from the freezer. I can't wait to go back to this.
• We are eating more fibre. An interesting addition during the first week - fairly smelly in the Appleby household!

Day	Week 1	Week 2
Saturday	Mexican chicken and wholegrain wraps with salad	Frittata with new pots in skins and asparagus
Sunday	Roast chicken roast veg/pots tray, steamed broccoli	Roast beef, roast veg/mini pots/sweet pots/butternut squash/steamed veg
Monday	Steamed cobbler fish, brown rice, asparagus	Chicken and bean one pot with rice, broccoli
Tuesday	Spaghetti bolognese with wholewheat spaghetti	Turkey bolognese with wholegrain wraps
Wednesday	As above with veg	As above with wholegrain pasta and salad
Thursday	Turkey lasagne and salad	Poached cod and olives  with baked pots and veg
Friday	Poached salmon baked sweet pots salad	Egg and home made chips/sweet potato chips with peas

 

I think the thing I have tried to keep in mind is that any step along the way is positive. I could go totally organic and shop at only whole food shops etc, but I do need to keep my budget down. With any diet you can be quite radical and restrictive, but with a family it is hard to do this so I am trying to be sensible about it . There are meals and recipes that suit us and our lifestyle that I have adjusted slightly and continue to cook. It is all about balance. However, I do feel strongly about cutting out sugar from our diets as much as possible. I have a child who has some health issues and who is hyperactive - sugar is a huge trigger for these issues. It is hidden in so many of our every day food stuffs - see here.

Here is the recipe of the homemade granola. Breakfasts are a hard one to get right. Cereals are so full of sugar. I have been offering my children wholewheat pancakes - I got an electric pancake maker which is so easy to use and makes fabulous pancakes. 

Clean Granola

2 cups rolled oats
I cup rye or spelt or other flake
I/2 cup flaxseed
1/2 cup wheat germ
1/2 cup bran
4 tbsp oat bran
1/2 cup unsalted sunflower seeds
1/2 cup sesame seeds
1 cup unsalted almonds
1/2 cup walnut pieces
4 tbsp unpasteurised honey
2 tbsp honey
spices - cinnamon, ground ginger
1/2 cup chopped dates
1/2 cup chopped prunes
1/2 cup chopped apricots
1/2 cup of dried ( unsweetened) blueberries

• Line two baking trays with baking paper
• Place oats,rye,bran,flaxseed and wheatgerm on one and seeds and nuts on the other.
• Bake in the oven at 180 degrees until browned. Give the trays a shake to ensure even browning.
• Combine honey and coconut butter over a low heat and add spices - keep warm.
• In a large bowl combine the cereals, nuts, seeds and honey mixture.
• Spread the mixture back onto the two baking sheets and bake for a further 15 minutes stirring occasionally.
• Allow the granola to cool completely.
• Store in an airtight container.

See my instagram feed for photos of the granola and breakfast muffins.

Here are some photos of my wholewheat pancakes made on my electric pancake maker!

Eat Clean wholewheat pancakes

Design ©2012 Another New Day

www.takingachanceinlife.blogspot.uk 2012 - 2013

All personal images are owned by Another New Day

unless stated otherwise.

Images may not be downloaded,manipulated or reproduced without prior written permission. All rights are reserved.

Commercial or Private use without explicit written consent is prohibited and action will be taken through UK and worldwide copyright laws.