Syn-Free Beef Stroganoff and Wild Rice Pilaf

So… in case you hadn't gathered...  I joined Slimming World again, because why not? It’s the only program that lets me cook the same meals for the whole family and no one notices that it’s healthy and I’m allowed pasta. Nuff said. The challenge now is finding a way to cook normal food but in a healthier manner. We love beef stroganoff in this house and I daresay I make a mean one, full of butter and booze and gloriousness. I didn’t think a “healthified” version would make the grade, but nobody seemed to notice the difference, myself included.  I left out the flour and allowed the sauce to reduce, which as any chef will tell you, always results in much more flavour.

I served this Slimming World Beef Stroganoff with Wild Rice Pilaf, another family favourite that always brings me back to Michigan. In terms of Slimming World, this entire meal is syn-free and so delicious you will wonder how. I recommend filling up the plate with some steamed greens like asparagus, broccoli or broccolini.  Hope you enjoy and stay tuned for loads more SW-friendly recipes!

Slimming World Beef Stroganoff

• fry-light
• 1 large onion, sliced
• 1 clove garlic, diced
• 1 shallot, diced
• 1 packet of mushrooms, sliced
• 400g thinly sliced lean beef steak, thinly sliced*
• salt and pepper
• 250 ml beef stock (made using two stock cubes)
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 3-4 tablespoons 0% fat Greek Yoghurt
• Parsley, chopped, to garnish
• Salt and pepper

Heat a large skillet and spray liberally with fry-light.

Add onions, garlic and shallot and cook down until onion is just softened. Add mushrooms and cook until liquid is cooked off, stirring to ensure nothing sticks.

Season steak liberally with salt and pepper.

Add beef and fry until just browned. Add stock and Worcestershire sauce. Turn up the heat and allow to reduce by half or more until slightly syrupy. Stir occasionally scraping the bottom of the pan, where all the flavour is. This can take awhile if the mushrooms are still releasing liquid.

Once sauce is thickened, stir in 3-4 tablespoons of the Greek Yoghurt and cook for another minute or two, longer if you prefer a thicker sauce. Stir in some fresh chopped parsley and serve immediately.

You can use fillet for the leanest option, but sirloin or round steak is more flavourful and if sliced thin enough, you can’t tell the difference. If you throw the steak into the freezer for 30 minutes, it’s easier to slice. Just be sure to trim all the fat.

Slimming World Wild Rice Pilaf

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup dried wild rice*
• Fry-light
• 1 carrot, peeled and diced
• 2 stalks of celery, diced
• 1 small onion, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, finely diced
• 1 cup of basmati rice
• 250ml chicken or vegetable stock (made with two stock cubes)

Heat a small pot and bring some water to a boil.  Cook wild rice for about 30 minutes, or according to package directions.

Meanwhile, spray a pot with fry-light and add the carrots, celery, onion and garlic and cook for a few minutes until softened. Do not let brown.

Add the basmati rice with a few tablespoons of stock and cook for a few minutes to coat rice until stock is gone. Stir in the now cooked wild rice. Add enough stock to barely cover the rice. Put a lid on the pot and turn down to the lowest heat. Leave for 15-20 minutes until rice is cooked through.

Remove lid and fluff rice with fork and season with salt and pepper.

* Can be obtained from most health shops, alternatively use a wild/long-grain mix

Healthy Hashbrowns with Sauteed Spinach, Eggs and Tomato Confit

I miss blogging and people keep asking for recipes, so here I go again!  This is a pretty simple recipe that results in a fairly gourmet breakfast and it's healthy to boot, what's not to love?

I made the hashbrowns, topped with sauteed spinach and tomato confit and then topped with poached eggs. You HAVE to try my poached egg trick. Small mug, fill halfway with water, crack egg into it and microwave for 1 minute with a saucer on top. Perfect poached egg every time! You may need to play around with the cooking time a bit, but one minute seems to be the trick for all the microwaves I've used.

So first up... hashbrowns. Who doesn't love a good ole greasy hashbrown? Well I daresay these homemade ones are not only better, but greaseless and good for you. They could easily be made with a mix of root vegetables or even sweet potatoes.  I make a kilo of potatoes worth and freeze the ones I'm not eating right away.  They can be thawed and reheated in a pan with some cooking spray later.

Syn-Free Hash Browns

Ingredients:

• 1 kg (2lb) potatoes, peeled
• 1 white onion
• salt
• pepper
• cooking spray

Pre-heat oven to 180C/350F

Boil the peeled potatoes until partially cooked, about 8 minutes.  Set aside to cool until you can touch them.

Grate potatoes into a bowl. Grate onion on top of potatoes.  Season with salt and pepper and mix.

Spray baking sheet with cooking spray and spoon 4-5 inch patties of potato mixture on top. Spray patties with cooking spray.

Bake 20-30 minutes, turning 2/3 of the way until they are as brown as you like them.

Serve immediately or allow to cool and freeze separating patties with parchment paper.

Piccolo Tomato "Confit"

This is my new favourite side, it goes so well with eggs and breakfast foods but also works wonderfully with chicken or fish.  So simple yet tastes divine.  Aldi do beautiful piccolo tomatoes on the vine that are sweet and delicious.  Any cherry tomato will work, but you will always get better flavour from tomatoes still on the vine.

Ingredients:

• 1 package of piccolo or cherry tomatoes
• cooking spray
• 3 tbsp white wine vinegar
• pinch sweetener/sugar
• salt and pepper

Halve the tomatoes.  Heat a frying pan and spray with cooking spray. Add tomatoes and cook for a minute or two, add vinegar and sweetener. Cook for a few minutes until juice slightly thickens but tomatoes are still visible and not cooked down. Season to your taste.

Sauteed Spinach

Another ridiculously easy yet delicious healthy staple.  Great with eggs, or fab with sweet potatoes or as a dinner side. Can also add onions and lemon zest for even more flavour.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 package baby leaf spinach, washed
• 1 garlic clove
• Cooking spray

Heat pan, spray with cooking spray and add spinach and garlic. Cook, stirring frequently until spinach wilts. Season with salt and pepper.

Let me know how you get on! <3

Salad for Breakfast: Layered Tex-Mex Salad

I just ate salad for breakfast. Because I can. Isn't being an adult wonderful? I've gone wheat-free and quasi-paleo of late and am loving it, feel like a new woman and this salad fits in well!

This isn't your average salad, it's salad I've been dreaming about all night because it is just that good. The combination of flavours and textures added to the aesthetic appearance is just fabulous. It's a whole meal and a healthy one at that, which would be perfect for dinner or to bring to picnics, potlucks or parties. It keeps well overnight and doesn't get soggy. I used grilled Mexican seasoned pork chops as the main protein, sliced thinly, but you could use a layer of seasoned taco beef or ground turkey, or some sliced grilled chicken or just leave meat out entirely! You may notice you don't see the corn in the pictures that the recipe calls for, but that's because when I went to get the corn, it turned out I had none. Although this was excellent without it, I think the crunchy sweetness would have added another fabulous layer of flavour.

Ingredients:

For the salad:

• 4 little gem lettuce, thinly sliced
• 4 ripe tomatoes, diced
• 1 large white onion, finely diced
• handful chopped coriander (cilantro)
• 2 avocados, thinly sliced
• lime, juiced
• 2 cups cheddar cheese, grated
• 1 can black or kidney beans
• 1 can sweetcorn
• 4 roasted red peppers, sliced
• 2 cups meat choice (see intro)
• 1 cup sliced black olives
• 1 quantity of dressing (recipe below)

Mix the onions and coriander and add half the juiced lime. Season with salt and pepper.  Use the remaining lime juice to coat the avocado slices to ensure they don't brown.

Get a large glass bowl and begin assembling. Start with a big layer of lettuce, reserving about 1/4 then layer the rest of the ingredients in whatever way seems appealing to you, with the dressing on the top. Top with another thin layer of lettuce. You can add a bit of cheese and green onions and olives on top as a garnish if you'd like.

Serve 

For the dressing:

• 2/3 cup mayonnaise
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1/2 cup salsa
• 1 tbsp honey
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1/4 tsp chill powder
• salt and pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients thoroughly. 

Blog Parties: Tip Me Tuesday, Totally Tasty Tuesdays, Two Cup Tuesdays, Simple Supper Tuesday, Share Your Stuff Tuesdays.

Ginger Mango Detox Smoothie

Confession time... I don't like fruit very much. I'll reluctantly eat a banana or apple when I feel like I should be healthy but it would not be my preferred choice. Luckily I love veggies, so hopefully I'm covered. This year I am hoping to get some more fruit into my diet and smoothies are a great way to do that!

After all the indulgence of the holidays I thought a nice detox smoothie would be a good way to start the morning. I'm also dying of the flu and ginger is a great bug fighter, so it seemed to make sense. I doubled the ginger in the original recipe.

I was pleasantly surprised with this smoothie, it's zingy and delicious and not too fruity at all. Definitely a great start to the morning!



Ingredients:

• 1 banana
• 4-5 slices frozen mango
• 1 inch knob of ginger, peeled and grated
• 2 oz orange juice
• 2 oz water
• 5-6 ice cubes

Blend all ingredients in a blender and drink! <3

Adapted from here.

Now I'm going to sip my smoothie and sit down with my 2014 Create an Amazing Year workbook and get a start on 2014! 

The Fast Diet Update

If you've found your way here from the Indo, welcome! I'm still a bit in shock that my weight was published in a National Paper, but with a few glasses of wine I am sure I will recover! :)

I have now lost a total of 20lb on the fast diet and still love it.  I schedule my fast days on Mondays and Wednesdays when I am busy with the kids activities and don't really have time to think about eating.  I also make sure to cook something for them that I don't really like, like Spaghetti Bolognaise or Shepherd's Pie.  I hold off on eating in the morning as long as I can and will then have an omelette or a couple of mini-quiches or my healthy asian soup. 

After the kids are fed and in bed, I will worry about dinner, as I find I get most nibble-ish at night.  If I have my dinner later, around 8:30pm or so, I find that I don't have as much of a problem.  I will often treat myself to Bang Bang Prawns, which is so damn good I feel like I'm cheating, or I'll make a big salad with cos lettuce, chopped apple, cucumber, tomato, red onions and enough chicken to finish off my 500 calories. I use a fat free low-cal dressing.

I switch to skim milk in my tea on fast days and drink a lot of it as well as some herbal or green tea, which keeps me from snacking and keeps me hydrated.  All in all, the day goes quickly and when you know you can eat anything the next day, it's completely doable.

I find I don't eat anything the next day though and actually eat less than normal. I'm just not as hungry. The strange thing was that during the month where I had to pack/move/unpack/have mother-in-law here from America/do Easter and be generally ridiculously busy I didn't diet.  I expected to step on the scale and be up a lot. Nothing. Not an ounce. It was very strange, not like other diets at all where you usually gain it all back and more. I think it really does alter your metabolism for the better.  Energy wise I feel great and much sharper mentally.

For fast days I use My Fitness Pal to track my calories on my iPhone and if I am feeling nibbly I use my soda stream and make some fizzy water and flavour it with lemon or lime juice and it feels like a refreshing treat.  I really see no downside and I have been on every diet ever invented since I was eight, yes eight, years old! 

So that's the latest, I don't anticipate stopping anytime soon, have a ways to go and feel for once in my lifetime that it's something I can do! If you're also on the diet, what are some of your tips and tricks?  Feel free to ask questions too, the more support and help we can get, the better we'll all do!  Here's to a happy and healthy 2013! :)

The Fast Diet: Bang Bang Prawns

I have been dieting my whole life. I was first brought to Weight Watchers when I was ten years old.  I have tried every diet under the sun multiple times. I've lost weight and gained it back plus more. None of them are long term for me. I can count calories and eat rabbit food for a few weeks but I inevitably give up or get frustrated and go back to page one.  Recently someone told me about the fast diet, a diet where you have a light fast twice a week and eat whatever you want on the other days.  I thought it sounded intriguing but left it at that knowing it was another diet and as such destined to fail.

Then I was placing an order on Amazon when it popped up with the book being on sale for three quid, so I thought why not and bought it.  I read it cover the cover and was waiting for the part that said, yes you fast those two days, but you have to only eat wholewheat and low fat the rest of the week, but it never did.  You really can eat anything on the other five days.  I figured it couldn't be that hard and gave it a try.  I am on week three and have lost ten pounds.  I cannot believe it.  It is the easiest thing in the world and so workable into your daily schedule.  You are allowed 500 calories on fasting days (600 for men) which is not a lot, but totally doable when you know you can eat a doughnut for breakfast the next day!  Being a good cook helps too as you can really make the most of those calories.  It's just gone twelve now and I've just had my first meal of a fasting day, I'll eat my second with the kids tonight.  I schedule my fast days on my busiest days, days when I have to run the kids places and barely think about eating, that way I won't get focused on any hunger I may feel.  I've found I tend to get hungry after they go to bed, but just sip herbal tea and do some crochet and it keeps my mind of it.  Going to bed early helps too!

The strange thing though is that you're not hungry the next morning and you are generally less interested in food as a whole.  Hubby brought me my favourite-sit-down-eat-an-entire-box-at-once chocolates on Valentine's day and they literally just sat there.  I had one or two, but had no interest in the rest. SO WEIRD!  I'm down ten pounds and really loving this plan, it's the type of thing I can do easily, without fretting and fit it into my life as it is now. No special shopping, expensive light foods, hell I haven't even done much exercise!  And did I mention how much more clear my mind is? It's insane, I'm on fire these days, the house has never been cleaner, I'm more cheerful, energetic, even the kids have noticed. I LOVE IT!

Anyways... enough proselytizing, fast diet or not, this particular recipe is bloody delicious for anyone!  It's 250 calories according to myfitnesspal which makes it a perfect fit for the fast diet fasting days.

Bang Bang Shrimp
(serves 1)
Adapted from: Skinny Taste

Ingredients:

• 120g peeled and de-veined raw prawns
• 1 tsp cornstarch
• Cooking spray
• 1.25 tbsp light mayonnaise
• 1 tbsp sweet chilli sauce
• 1/2 tsp sriracha sauce
• 1 cup shredded ice berg lettuce
• 1/4 cup shredded purple cabbage
• 1 scallion, thinly sliced

Coat raw prawns in cornstarch and fry over a high heat about 1.5 minutes each side until cooked through.

Meanwhile make sauce by mixing mayonnaise, sweet chilli and sriracha.

Toss prawns in sauce and serve over the cabbage and lettuce mix.  Sprinkle with scallions to serve. 

New Mama Fuel

Some of the members of the Irish Parenting Bloggers Group are throwing a virtual baby shower in the form of a Blog March for the group’s two leaders, Lisa & Áine (who is on a well-deserved blogging break). Áine had a baby girl in January and Lisa is due to have her baby girl in March.  We are taking turns to do a post a day. Yesterday's post came from Jane at That Curious Love of Green and tomorrow will be from Laura at My Internal World.  Today it’s my turn to lead the celebrations with a little help from the letter Y.

I spent some time reflecting on some of those early days with a new baby, hard to believe it's been almost a year since my wee man was born at home. My dear husband took two weeks off to help out afterwards and kept me well fed and the older two looked after as I tried to overcome my breastfeeding issues and make the most of what I was able to produce.  It was only when he went back to work that I realised how hectic things could be with two school age kids and all the extra-curricular goings on and trying to manage those while constantly hooked up to a baby or breast pump.  It felt like there wasn't enough time in the day and I found myself often neglecting to eat!  For those of you who know me, you'll know that's a huge deal, as I never forget to eat or even forget to think about eating, but alas I did.  A few weeks in I knew things had to change and I took advantage of hubby's home days by making some quick and healthy snacks that would be ready to just grab as needed.

These mini-quiche's were a god send.  I would make a few batches on the weekend and freeze them and when I got hungry I would just throw a couple in the microwave and voila, a healthy well-rounded lunch!  You can use any veg you have on hand or just broccoli and cheddar is delicious too. I used a combination of egg whites and whole eggs to keep fat and calories a bit lower, but you can certainly use a dozen eggs if you want that extra punch. They work out at about 100 calories each.

Ingredients:

• 4 eggs
• 1 cup egg whites (+/- 9 egg whites, I used the Two Chicks liquid ones)
• 1-2 cups steamed chopped vegetables (I used leeks, broccoli, peppers, onions, tomatoes)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/4 cup parmesan cheese, grated
• herb and salt and pepper to season

Pre-heat oven to 180C/350F.

Beat the egg whites and eggs together with the parmesan, olive oil and any herbs you would like to use (a teaspoon of pesto is great too!)

Toss in the steamed veg and mix to combine. Season with salt and pepper.

Spray a muffin tin with non-stick spray (or butter them if you're not concerned with fat) and pour the egg mixture into nine of the holes.  Bake for twenty minutes.

Pop out of muffin cups and either serve immediately or store in zip-loc bags in the freezer once cooled. 

Healthy Asian Veggie Soup

Well 2013 has been off to a good start. I’m down 5 pounds which makes me one happy mama!

I wouldn’t have been able to do that without this ridiculously delicious but very healthy soup. You can doctor it up with whatever vegetables you have on hand, but I definitely find the Chinese Cabbage gives it an almost noodle soup type feel.  There's no added fats so if you're on a WW or Unislim type program, it's more than likely free.  It's full of goodness and fibre and will fill you up for ages!

If you've got a few extra calories to spare, throw in a pack of those "straight to wok" noodles and cook through, spaghetti works too in a pinch!If you like it spicy go wild with the sriracha sauce, we've all been sick here lately and this has been a lifesaver cold remedy!


Healthy Asian Vegetable Soup

• 3-4 cups vegetable chicken stock
• 1 carrot, peeled and julienned
• 1 onion, thinly sliced vertically
• 1 inch piece of ginger, peeled and grated
• 1 clove garlic, finely minced
• handful mange tout, julienned
• 5-6 button mushrooms, sliced thinly
• pinch five spice powder
• pinch white pepper
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 large handful shredded Chinese cabbage
• small handful of beansprouts
• coriander, chopped
• pinch sweetener (optional)
• Sriracha or chilli sauce, to taste

Bring the stock to a simmer and add all the ingredients save the cabbage, beansprouts and coriander.  Simmer until vegetables are done to your desired level of crunch.  Stir in cabbage, add sriracha sauce to taste and garnish with beansprouts and coriander.

Easy as pie! <3

Proper Caesar Salad

Sometimes the simplest of things can be screwed up so thoroughly. Caesar Salad is one of these. I have yet to have a real caesar salad in this country. Don't get me wrong, I've had tasty salads called Caesar Salads, but they haven't been the real deal.  This is a really simple dressing, but it's authentic, delicious and full of healthy fats.  Add some grilled chicken, fresh cos (romaine) lettuce, crispy bacon lardons, shavings of parmesan and some good croutons and you have the perfect summertime meal.  I like a variety of crunchy veg on top of the basic cos salad, but feel free to omit or add different vegetables to suit your taste.  This is also delicious with grilled ribeye, prawns or even a fillet of salmon.

For the dressing:

• 3 very fresh free-range eggs
• 3/4 cup olive oil
• 3/4 cup grated Parmesan
• 1 tbsp peppercorns
• 3 tbsp fresh lemon juice
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1 tbsp sea salt
• 1-2 anchovies (optional)

For the chicken:

• 4 tbsp of dressing
• 2 chicken fillets
• olive oil

For the salad:

• 2 cos lettuce, trimmed and sliced
• 2 tomatoes, cut into wedges
• 1/2 red onion thinly sliced
• 1/4 cucumber, peeled and cubed
• 100g bacon lardons, sauteed until crispy
• large handful croutons
• Handful of parmesan shavings

For the dressing, add all the ingredients into a blender or food processor and blitz until smooth, emulsified and combined.  Refrigerate until needed.

For the chicken, marinate the fillets in about four tablespoons of the dressing for at least an hour.  Grill until cooked through, about 10 minutes a side. 

To assemble, add the lettuce and vegetables to a large bowl. Sprinkle with lardons, croutons and cheese.  Dress at table and top with chicken.

Submit to: Recipe Sharing Monday

Teriyaki Turkey Burgers

The mere mention of turkey burgers just turns me off. It gives me flashbacks of horrible low fat diets and cardboard flavoured meals. Yet I saw ground turkey on offer at the butchers the other day and figured the price was worth me playing around with it.  I made these burgers for lunch and surprised everyone including myself with the wonderful flavours and texture. These are super healthy and incredibly delicious; moist, colourful and tender. We've been avoiding white flour and sugar of late so I used maple syrup in the teriyaki sauce and to be honest it was actually better than a sauce made with brown sugar, it was light and zingy and the perfect accompaniment to the burgers.  You could easily make these into meatballs as well.  The apple is the secret to keeping them moist.  All in all a big hit with young and old alike.

Ingredients:

For the patties:

• 1 lb ground turkey
• 1 bunch scallions, trimmed and finely chopped (white and green parts)
• 1 clove garlic, finely minced
• 1" piece of ginger, peeled and grated
• 1/2 sweet red pepper, finely diced
• 1 apple, peeled and grated
• 1 tsp sriracha sauce
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup oats*
• salt and pepper to taste
• coconut oil for grilling

For the sauce:

• 1/4 cup pineapple juice
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• clove of garlic, crushed
• A few thin slices of ginger

Mix all ingredients in a large bowl and grease your hands with a little coconut oil. Form into patties and chill while you make the sauce.

For the sauce, add all ingredients to a small saucepan and bring to a boil.  Lower to a simmer and cook until slightly syrupy. 

To grill the patties, brush a grill pan with a little coconut oil and grill over a medium heat for about ten minutes a side.  If you're grilling on a barbecue be sure to grease the grill well as there is very little fat in this recipe and it will stick otherwise.

Serve with wedges of pineapple and the teriyaki sauce. 

* Can use breadcrumbs here as well, but the oats are better for you and keep you fuller longer!

Linking up to: Recipe Sharing Monday,

Homemade Power Bars

Proud Daddy with his girl!

Apologies for being so MIA of late, it's been a busy few weeks. My eldest made her First Holy Communion last weekend and my baby was baptised the next day.  There was a big party on the Saturday followed by a smaller more intimate lunch after the Christening.

It was a wonderful weekend but very exhausting and I swear I'm still recovering.  Baby loved all the attention. I was worried as he was being passed around like snuff at a wake, but he soaked up every minute and was an absolute charmer!  I think he's getting used to just me again.  Ella had a wonderful day and cites the best part of the day being when she took her dress off.  That's my tomboy for you! ;)

Family Picture on Mark's Baptism Day

The week before that we had Ella's eighth birthday party.  That birthday also marked eight years since we became parents, scary to think, especially considering it seems like we've just started all over again.  Having a six year gap really makes you seem like brand new parents and I have to say it's a whole different ballgame in your early thirties than in your early twenties.  I'll actually have to write a post about that, because I find the differences fascinating.  But I digress...

Power bars...where to start.  Well, himself works crazy hours, sometimes 18 hour days with a good amount of physical work thrown in.  He's the most conscientious worker (he's worked for this company for 7 years and has yet to call in sick) and gets so involved that he often forgets to eat or if he does eat, it's a packet of biscuits or similar junk.  He cycles too and from work which helps to counteract his horrible eating habits, but I felt like he needed something to get him through the day so I started experimenting with recipes.  Below is a power-packed whole foods granola bar which really packs a healthy punch and keeps you full for quite some time.  The quinoa and oats form the basic recipe with the binding of honey and peanut butter, but everything else is easily adapted to your taste.  I would also recommend adding some dried fruit, the bars pictured are fruit-free for the kids as they can't stand dried fruit, bt adding some tart dried cherries or sweet apricots would add a lot.  These are also good for those of us who are breastfeeding, as both quinoa and oats are known lactogenic foods. Double win!

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup quinoa
• 1 cup milk
• 1 vanilla bean
• 2 cups oats
• 1 cup greek yoghurt
• 1 cup chopped/ground nuts*
• 1/2 cup dried fruit
• 2 tbsp linseed
• 1/2 cup raw honey
• 1/2 cup natural peanut butter
• 1/2 cup seeds**
• 1 tbsp vanilla extract
• pinch of sea salt

Soak the quinoa in water with a dash of lemon juice overnight.  The next morning, drain and add to the milk. Slice the vanilla bean in half and scrape the seeds, add to the milk with the remaining pod.  Bring milk to a boil, reduce heat to low and simmer until all liquid is absorbed.

Soak oats in yoghurt overnight. Once quinoa is cooked, mix all the ingredients in a large mixing bowl.

Line a 9x13" pan with parchment paper and spread the mixture inside.  Bake at 200C/400F for 30-45 minutes until browned around the edges and cooked through.  

Allow to cool and slice into bars.  Enjoy as a power snack, kids brain food, breakfast on the go or with a cup of coffee!

* I used almonds and hazelnuts. 

** I used a mix of sunflower and pumpkin

A sneak peek (and horrible photo) of my eight year old's birthday cake. Recipe to follow!