Lunchbox Ideas: Apple Sauce

Looking for a healthy and delicious snack to munch on during the day? Look no further than homemade apple sauce! Not only is it a delicious and healthy option, it's also incredibly easy to make. All you need is some fresh apples, a few basic ingredients, and a blender. Here's what you'll need: - 6 apples (any variety will do, but I recommend using a mix of sweet and tart apples for the best flavor) - 1/4 cup water - 1 tablespoon lemon juice - 2 tablespoons honey (optional) Instructions: 1. Wash and peel your apples. Remove the cores and slice the apples into small chunks. 2. In a large saucepan, combine the apple chunks, water, lemon juice, and honey (if using). Bring the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat, then reduce the heat to low and cover the pot. 3. Simmer the apples for 20-30 minutes, or until they are soft and mushy. You should be able to easily mash them with a fork. 4. Remove the pot from the heat and let it cool slightly. Once the mixture has cooled down, transfer it to a blender or food processor and blend until smooth. 5. If you like your apple sauce chunky, you can skip this step and simply mash the mixture with a fork. However, blending the mixture will give you a smoother consistency. 6. Once you've blended the apple sauce to your desired consistency, taste it and adjust the seasoning as needed. Add more honey if you like it sweeter, or more lemon juice if you like it more tart. 7. Store your apple sauce in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to one week.

  This recipe yields about 2 cups of apple sauce. Feel free to double or triple the recipe if you want to make a larger batch. You can also add spices like cinnamon or nutmeg for an extra flavor boost. So there you have it – a quick and easy recipe for homemade apple sauce! This healthy snack is perfect for dipping sliced fruit or veggies, or for enjoying on its own as a sweet treat. Give it a try and let me know what you think!

What is Wholefood?

What is whole food? 

Whole food is simply food that is unprocessed or minimally processed. This means that it has not undergone any refining, chemical alterations, or additions, and it still retains all its natural goodness. Examples of wholefood include fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains, legumes, nuts, and seeds. The best thing about wholefood is that it is packed with nutrients, vitamins, and minerals that our bodies need to thrive.

 To get you started on your wholefood journey, here is a recipe for my favorite roasted vegetable salad. This dish is easy to make, flavorful, and it is packed with all the nutrients your body needs.

Roasted Vegetable Salad Ingredients: - 2 medium-sized sweet potatoes, peeled and diced - 1 red onion, sliced - 1 red bell pepper, sliced - 1 yellow bell pepper, sliced - 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved - 3 cups baby spinach - 2 tbsp. olive oil - Salt and pepper to taste - 1 tbsp. honey - 2 tbsp. balsamic vinegar Directions: 1. Preheat oven to 400°F (200°C). 2. Place the sweet potatoes, red onion, red and yellow bell peppers on a baking sheet. 3. Drizzle the vegetables with olive oil, salt, and pepper. 4. Roast the vegetables in the oven for 20-25 minutes, or until tender and caramelized. 5. In a small bowl, whisk together honey and balsamic vinegar. 6. In a large mixing bowl, add the baby spinach and roasted vegetables. 7. Drizzle the honey balsamic mixture over the vegetables and mix everything together. 8. Serve and enjoy! In addition to wholefood recipes, I will also be sharing tips on natural remedies for common health issues, DIY skincare recipes, and environmentally-friendly household practices. My goal is to inspire you to lead a healthy, sustainable, and balanced life. Thank you for visiting my wholefood blog! I hope that you find it informative, inspiring, and helpful on your journey towards a healthier and more sustainable lifestyle. Don't hesitate to share your own wholefood journey and recipes with me in the comments section. Together, we can create a healthier and more sustainable future.

Wholefood Snack Ideas for Kids

Are you tired of constantly feeding your kids junk food? Do you struggle to find healthy snacks that your children actually enjoy? Look no further, because we have a list of wholesome and delicious snack ideas that your kids are sure to love! 1. Fruit kabobs: Get your kids involved in making their own snack by letting them choose their favorite fruits to skewer. Try mixing it up with different combinations such as strawberries and pineapple or watermelon and kiwi. 2. Homemade trail mix: Combine a variety of nuts, seeds, dried fruit, and even some dark chocolate chips for a satisfying and nutrient-packed snack.

  3. Veggie sticks with hummus: Slice up carrots, cucumbers, bell peppers, and other colorful veggies for dipping into some homemade hummus. You can even let your kids pick out their own hummus flavors like roasted red pepper or garlic. 4. Peanut butter banana bites: Cut a banana into slices and spread peanut butter on each one. Then, top with some chia seeds, raisins, or other toppings for added crunch. 5. Apple slices with almond butter: Similar to the peanut butter banana bites, slice up an apple and spread almond butter on each one. Top with some granola or sliced almonds for added texture. 6. Frozen yogurt bark: Mix Greek yogurt with honey and some fruit like blueberries or raspberries. Spread onto a baking sheet and freeze for a few hours. Break apart into chunks for a fun and refreshing snack. 7. Baked sweet potato chips: Slice up a sweet potato into thin slices and toss with some olive oil and spices like paprika and garlic powder. Bake in the oven at 375 degrees for about 20 minutes or until crispy. These snack ideas are not only delicious but also packed with essential nutrients that will keep your kids fueled and satisfied throughout the day. So the next time your kids ask for a snack, try out one of these options and watch as they become a new favorite!

Quinoa and Pumpkin Salad

Quinoa Salad is a very versatile dish. You can pretty much change the ingredients every time and you won't be disappointed.

The salad pictured above has the following ingredients in it:

• 1 cup of quinoa cooked as per the packet directions
• 2 green capsicums
• half a pumpkin- roasted and cooled
• a few handfuls of baby spinach
• some fetta cheese crumbled through it

I mixed a dressing of olive oil, honey, red wine vinegar and ground cumin to serve over it and it was delicious.

These were just the vegetables that I had on hand on the day and next time no doubt it will be a little different. I would have like to include some roasted zucchini as well, but we were all out.

Do you love quinoa? How do you serve it?

A Wholefood Lunchbox: First Day Back to School

It's back to school for us finally. So 5 days a fortnight I have 2 lunches to make per day and the other 5 days I have 3 lunches to prepare.

I want to try and steer clear of the usual sandwiches and try a few different things this year.

We've never been one to include anything packaged or store bought so steering away from the sandwiches shouldn't be too hard.

Here is what was packed in our first lunch box of 2014:

• popcorn with goji berries, coconut flakes, sesame seeds and sunflower seeds; 
• carrot sticks, cucumber sticks, kabana, cheese and homemade dip; 
• a chicken drumstick
• banana 

I'm not sure that I like that the kabana is in this lunch box as it is a processed sausage, so I will most likely swap that out in the future with chunks of leg ham or the like. 

Fingers crossed it all gets eaten! My kids are always saying that the never have enough time to eat all their lunch, I don't know what to say about that, because it is so important that they do have a good lunch!

Oh and these lunch boxes are Goodbyn boxes and are available from Biome in Australia or if you are outside of Australia you can check out the Goodbyn website. 

What have you been packing in lunches for school? 

My wholefood journey

My wholefood journey started a long long time ago, but I didn't get serious about it all until I was diagnosed with polycystic ovarian syndrome back in 2011. As soon as I was diagnosed I read as many books on PCOS as I could, and they all pointed to the same things. Wholefoods- nuts, legumes, fruit and vegetables. I started reading more about whole foods, I did a few courses run but some blogger and watched movies like Forks Over Knives.

I chewed my husbands ear off about the changes we would be making to our eating habits, but when he heard I wanted to drastically wanted to reduce our meat intake he didn't like the sound of that, so well I had him watch Forks Over Knives.

He quickly came around after that, that is one convincing documentary! If you haven't seen it yet, please do get your hands on a copy.

So whilst we do eat meat I try to limit it to 3-4 nights per week, I would like it to be less, but it's what works for our family at the moment, so you just have to do what works for you.

And by limiting processed foods as much as possible I noticed improvements in my skin and health in general. We are not 100% strict on foods, if we are out and there are processed foods on offer, the we eat them, we don't make a huge fuss about it.

And as much as I dislike them my husband still does bring things like cheezels and shapes into the house. I don't make a big deal about it when he does, and the kids are just as likely to eat unprocessed snacks like popcorn over his snacks too. If I did make a big deal about it I think that the kids would want them all the time.

My journey is only really starting though, and I hope you can join me. Over the next few weeks I will be sharing more about me and what our wholefood kitchen looks like. Then I'll hopefully start sharing recipes and meal plans with you as well.

What has your wholefood journey looked like?

Soaking and Cooking Legumes

I've often been told that cooking with dried legumes is 'too hard'. But really it's not, it might be time consuming, but certainly not hard.

And when you think about it, it's really not time consuming either, it just takes a bit of forward planning.

The main legumes we use are lentils, chickpeas, pinto, red kidney and cannellini beans. I have just recently started introducing azuki and black beans to our mix and will no doubt be adding more as the year progresses.

The easiest way to prepare legumes for cooking is to slow soak them, so simply putting them in a pot and covering them in water for about 8 hours. Then rinsing them and cooking as required. Typically soaked legumes will need at least 45 minutes to cook, but this is dependant on the legume and the cooking process.

So, say for example I will be making something that requires 2 cups of cooked lentils, I might soak and cook 4 cups and freeze the excess for next time, negating the need to soak and cook the lentils again.

Freezing them is easy, just fill a glass jar but leaving enough gab at the top for expansion and leave the lid unscrewed until they have frozen then secure the lid.

So don't be scared about cooking with dried legumes, if I can do it, anyone can!