Posts Tagged ‘Low Carb’

Basil Balsamic Vinaigrette

Posted 9 Jan, 2011 in Condiments [ 3 Comments ]

I’ve been a bit lazy over the last week and I’ve been buying my lunch every day. Lucky for me, there is a cool salad bar near my work where you can make your own salad with a selection of greens, veggies, and dressing. My favorite dressing from there is the basil and olive oil dressing.

This recipe for Basil Balsamic Vinaigrette is a take on Jamie Oliver’s recipe. It’s not quite the same as the dressing from the salad bar as it contains balsamic vinegar. The balsamic vinegar gives it a nice tang while the fresh basil adds a different layer of flavor.

So in my lunch box for tomorrow is a salad made of red capsicum, grated carrots, red onion, avocado, baby spinach leaves, leftover roast beef, and of course the Basil Balsamic Vinaigrette.

To save time, I always make two salads at a time so that I don’t have to make lunch the next day. If you layer the salad in the lunch container with the meat and vegetables at the bottom and the spinach greens on the top, the salad will stay fresh for 2 days. I take the avocado and the dressing separately and add them to the salad just before eating. I also got a cheap piece of roast beef from the butcher and slow roasted it this morning in the dutch oven to use as salad meat for the week.

A little bit of planning will save me $50 this week which is what I would have spent buying my lunch.

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Basil Balsamic Vinaigrette

1/2 clove garlic
1 cup basil
6 tbs olive oil
3 tbs balsamic vinegar
salt and pepper

  1. Process all ingredients in a food processor or blender.
  2. Store in a glass jar in the fridge.

Makes 1/3 cup.

Sage and Garlic Stuffed Pumpkin

Posted 4 Jan, 2011 in Main Course [ 1 Comment ]

Sometimes you need a break to recharge and recalibrate. I’ve been on hiatus from this website as I’ve just been mad busy. Really, Christmas and New Years comes around once a year and they are only two days out of the year. But the lead up to it is always so long and so hectic, it’s like the world is going to end.

My work and personal life has been pretty full with parties, meetings and lunches. For New Years, I went to Raglan for 4 days with a group of friends. I even jumped off the Raglan footbridge straight into the water. So much fun. I’m back at work tomorrow but well rested and ready for new challenges.

Now onto the food. I have been cooking and making lots of food. I just haven’t been blogging about it. I can’t say that I have been very strict with the Paleo diet but I have no regrets. For the most part, I have been sticking to the basics of meat and veggies. This recipe for Sage and Garlic Stuffed Pumpkin is super easy to make and also super filling. The pumpkin goes all gooey inside as it cooks with the meat.

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Sage and Garlic stuffed Pumpkin

1 buttercup pumpkin
400 grams beef mince
8 sage leaves finely chopped
2 cloves garlic crushed
1/2 white onion chopped
1 tbs butter
salt and pepper

  1. Preheat oven to 175°C
  2. Cut the top of the pumpkin using a knife.
  3. Scoop out the seeds and the inside.
  4. In a separate bowl, mix the mince meat, sage, garlic and onion.
  5. Season with salt and pepper.
  6. Stuff the pumpkin with the meat mixture.
  7. Take the butter and rub around the outside and the top of the pumpkin.
  8. Bake in the oven for 1 hour.
  9. Remove and drain the juices from the mince.
  10. Continue baking in the oven for another 1/2 an hour until done.

Serves 4.

Roasted Vegetables with Oven Baked Meatballs

Posted 21 Nov, 2010 in Main Course, Vegetables [ No Comments ]

I generally spend a bit of time on Sunday afternoons making bulk loads food as once Monday rolls around, I really don’t have a lot of time to cook. And given that all my meals are based on meat and vegetables, I need to be prepared. This week, I made a huge batch of roasted vegetables and a dozen meatballs. Both are highly versatile and I like to use them to make:

  • A salad with the roasted vegetables tossed through with salad greens and a nice vinaigrette.
  • Meatball and hard-boiled egg mashed up with a bit of olive oil and some fresh herbs.
  • Meatballs warmed up with some pasta sauce and served over the roasted vegetables (this is my favorite)
  • As an omelette filling.

Aside from the few strange looks I get from the people at my office, I’m getting used to having leftovers of meat and vegetables for breakfast. Lunch is more accepted but a meat and vegetables based breakfast is certainly different from the traditional breakfast of cereal and yogurt. But given that I feel so much better eating this way, I’m not taking too much notice that I am the odd one out at my work with my leftover dinners for breakfast and my snack of hard boiled eggs and carrot sticks.

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Roasted Vegetables

1 head of large broccoli, cut into florets.
1 eggplant cut into cubes
2 red onion sliced into crescents
6 garlic cloves unpeeled
3 sprigs of thyme
2 tbs olive oil
salt and pepper

  1. Mix all ingredients and roast at 175°C for 45 minutes.
  2. Cool completely and store in the fridge.

Makes 4 servings.

Oven Baked Meatballs

1 kg ground beef
1 onion finely chopped
1 egg
1 tbs dried thyme
salt and pepper

  1. Mix all ingredients with your hand.
  2. Roll into 12 evenly sized meatballs.
  3. Bake on an oven tray for 40 minutes. The meatballs will be cooked through but the bottom side will be wet as it has been floating in its juices.
  4. Drain the juices and transfer the meatballs upside down (wet side facing up) into a clean oven tray.
  5. Place under the grill for 5 minutes to finish off.
  6. Cool completely and store in the fridge.

Makes 12 meatballs.

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