New Food Lover's Market at Morning Glen Mall

Food Lover's Market at Morning Glen Mall

Food lovers in the heart of Morningside, Morning Glen Mall, are in for a greater variety of food as Food Lovers Market opens.

Food Lovers's Market "Farmer's Crop"

I was most impressed last week with the offerings at Food Lover's Market at the revamped Morning Glen Mall. As a vegetarian I spend most of my food budget on vegetables, fruit, nuts and beans. The Morning Glen Mall has recognised the need to support the growing healthy living habits of the community. My list grew larger and larger while I was walking through the displays and shelves. The variety, freshness and healthy choices makes it easy for a one-stop shopping experience. Which I always try to do!

It's easy to create a stir with NOLA Mayonnaise

NOLA Mayonnaise blog drop

A firm staple in our house is mayonnaise. It can be used in so many dishes, from savoury to sweet. In my pre-vegetarian days I used to make a mean chicken dish with mayonnaise that I could just pop into the oven. I now have a standard potato dish recipe with mayonnaise that gives an extra luxury to traditional baked potatoes.

NOLA Mayonnaise partnered with local foodie Sithembiso Ndashe (Ndash), who has some modern day twists to popular Mzansi recipes.

See below how you can create a stir with NOLA Mayonnaise.

Avo Tacos with Chunky Salsa - Disney Cookabout recipe

Disney Cookabout Season 3 Avo Tacos with Chunky Salsa recipe

Disney Cookabout Season 3 is in full swing on Disney Channel 303. There is nothing we love more than watching cooking shows. For me the focus is on the "watching", but luckily I have a husband and hopefully a daughter who likes cooking a bit more. When I cook, I want it to be easy and fresh. We had the opportunity to prepare a Biltong and Avo Tacos with Chunky Salsa recipe at the recent launch of Disney Cookabout. Because I am a vegetarian, I did not include the biltong in my version.

This recipe is from the Disney Cookabout launch, but I am allowed to share. It is so tasty and so easy to make. The most preparation is in the cutting and measurement of ingredients.

Vampirina Party recipe - Chef Remy's bread bones and Pea dip

Vampirina Party

We got a Disney Vampirina party bag as a reminder of the new episodes of Vampirina on Disney Junior. Have you seen them yet? It's all about friendship, respect, tolerance and finding your place in the world.

The Vampirina Party bag came with a few party suggestions, and we decided to make Chef Remy's Bread Bones and Pea Dip as a party snack for guests on Saturday. It was also a great way to take a breather from the mid-year exams.

It's an easy recipe, and the kids will love helping make the bread bones. We did our own take on it, but we are posting the original recipe at the bottom.

The best butternut fritters recipe

Butternut fritters

The most tasty butternut fritters ever! I have found it! There is something about the taste of a sweet accompaniment to a Sunday meal that makes us salivate every time. That something is butternut fritters. I always tried to replicate it, but up until now my Kook en Geniet (the original Afrikaans food recipe book) did not have the best recipe. And I failed to successfully make it try after try. (Maybe it's just me?)

I found My Gran's Pumpkin Fritters / Pampoenkoekies recipe while searching yet again for that elusive perfect recipe.

This one worked. Of course I swapped a few things, but this recipe is a keeper. I did not make the sauce, as I wanted the fritters for the main meal, and not a dessert. Check out the original one for the sauce and if you want to make dessert.

Butternut Fritters

 (For a family of 6)

Ingredients

• 3 cups butternut cooked and slightly mashed, but not too much
• 3 cups flour
• 6 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 tablespoons icing sugar 
• 3 eggs
• ¾ cup milk
• pinch of salt
• oil for deep frying

Instructions

1. Combine all the ingredients and mix until you have a batter. There must still be a bit of butternut visible, not totally pureed.

2. Heat the oil in a medium saucepan and fry spoonfuls of the batter until golden brown and cooked throughout, approximately 2-3 minutes.

3. Remove from the oil and allow to drain on kitchen paper.

4. Sprinkle a bit of cinnamon and sugar on top of the fritters.

5. Serve with your main meal.


They are delicious. They are even better today in our lunchboxes.
I am sure the sauce from the original recipe is great. Let me know when you make it?
I will also make this one again!

How to get rid of the winter blues - Nestle scalloped potatoes

Nestlé Winter Warming package

The winter has us slumped and hibernating. I definitely suffer from the winter blues. I know there's things I should be doing better. But all I can do is sit under a blanket or hide under my covers. I am in awe of people continuing with their exercise programs and eating salad. Who are you? How do you do it?

Nestlé sent us the Winter Warming package, with tips on how to shake the winter blues. All the things that helps cope with the cold of the winter. Thanks, Nestlé! From now on I will make sure to have the Nestlé Evaporated Milk on my monthly shopping list. It gives so much flavour to a dish.

Nestlé's 7 point plan to shake off the winter blues

Naazneen Sali-Ameen, Nutrition, Health and Wellness Manager at Nestlé South Africa, has drawn up the following great solutions to help keep you on track when it comes to winter eating and exercise habits. (By now we know these things. Or we should.) But it helps to hear it again.

1.    Create simple ‘one pot’ meals. 

Remember that for each main meal you should aim to have ½ plate veg, ¼ plate protein and ¼ plate starch/grains.

A recipe for Indian Butter Chicken, using the Nestlé Ideal Evaporated Milk, was included. As I am vegetarian, and it is Meatless Monday, I searched for a vegetarian meal. I used our Nestlé Evaporated Milk with a Scalloped Potato Dish. Great for winter warmth. See recipe below.

2.    Don’t overindulge. 

The cold weather often brings out the craving for comforting, starchy foods. You can still enjoy these nutritious dishes by being mindful of your eating habits and appropriate serving sizes. Eat slowly and make mealtimes an occasion, eating in front of a TV or while sitting in front of your computer can easily distract you and cause you to overeat.

3.    Create alternatives to your favourite take-outs. 

The budget also does not allow take-outs, so we dó make our own. Vegetarian hamburgers with mushrooms, and home-made burger patties from mince is much more tasty in any case. Pizza making at home is also a great idea.

4.    Keep hydrated. 

We just had an issue with Miss Fine who does not drink enough fluids in winter. We were at the doctor on Friday with severe stomach ache which turned out to be constipation. Now we have to remind her to keep up the fluids. Herbal teas, Milo or Hot Chocolate and fresh juices helps. A lot!

5.    Enjoy the outdoors. 

The days are very mild here in winter. We should be out more to enjoy the sunshine, get more Vitamin D, and be more active.

6.    Move more to keep warm. 

Move what makes you happy! Miss Fine loves to play with a ball. We also love walking the dog. (We should just do it more often!)

Recipe to follow:

It's a vegetarian life

Vegetarian lifestyle

It's amusing to hear people's response on being a vegetarian. It's as if they have to defend their own meat-eating lifestyle. I don't mind other people being meat-eaters. As far as I am concerned we are responsible for our own health and well-being. I used to be a meat-eater for half of my life, and I cannot impose my change of mind on anybody. The same with religion.

I am being a vegetarian for myself, my health and being kind to animals, our fellow living creatures on the planet. I would not be able to look back at my life, and say that I should have... One thing that I can tick off for life!

I am not struggling to be a vegetarian. There's always an option, and I have become used to take food along when I know there won't be much vegetarian options. I always have to shake my head when people ask about my protein intake. That is one of the most common responses, or queries. :-)

I have been building a Pinterest Board about all the come-backs about being vegetarian. It seems it is common. What don't you know about being vegetarian?

Meat-free Monday win - Quinoa Salad

Quinoa salad with chickpeas

Mondays are the worst with trying to conjure up easy and filling dinner ideas. One of us comes late with a hungry Miss in tow. This past Monday it was my turn to make dinner. A friend of mine made this quinoa salad at a braai (barbecue) a while ago, and it is simply delicious. I did not have all the ingredients that the recipe suggested, but it worked just as fine.

Recipe for easy Quinoa Salad

Chilli Non Carne - a great vegetarian dish

Chilli Non Carne with roosterkoek

I have been following Mary-Ann Shearer for many years. Ever since her first book, The Natural Way, hit the shelves more than 30 years back. I believe she has the recipe for health! She is the ultimate health guru! (I am a fan! You probably can tell!)) I have signed up for her 100 days to health programme recently, but I am not doing it religiously. (Although I should! *sigh*)

Mark and Mary-Ann Shearer lost their Health Food business in the recent fires in Gordon's Bay. They have a Fundraising Drive on the go if you want to help! They have some families in the business depended on the business functioning again. You can see some of the devastation in the videos, but I am sure they will be back with more health, energy and motivation!

The Chilli Con Carne recipe is in one of the daily emails of the 100 days to health. It is a lovely rendition of a Chilli Con Carne, but without the meat. Apparently it's Mark, her husband's, version. I used a can of lentils and a can of  white beans in my recipe.

It is delicious!

A Saturday night in another city

We had a most interesting Saturday night last week. The Voortrekkers had a Zoo Snooze at the Pretoria Zoo, and Little Miss HAD to be there!

A Quick Corn Bread recipe in the spirit of Disney Cookabout Season 2

Quick Corn Bread with Amasi
(Disney Cookabout Season 2)

Season 2 of Disney Cookabout started on Saturday Disney Channel (DStv Channel 303) on Saturday 14 October.

It’s time! Disney Cookabout 2 starts on Disney Channel, DStv channel 303 Saturday, 14 October 9.25 am#DisneyCookabout #DisneyAfrica pic.twitter.com/2qNxAv6RYl

— Karen du Toit (@karentoittoit) October 14, 2017

In sharing the excitement, Disney Africa send us a basket with all the ingredients (except the egg) to make a Quick Corn Bread. In true African spirit, the ingredients included Amasi (Very popular in South Africa: A fermented milk that tastes like cottage cheese or plain yogurt).
I am not familiar with baking with it, but came up with three uses over the past weekend. It works very well with vegetarian dishes!

Chickpea Tikka Masala recipe

Easy Chickpea Recipe for vegetarians

The end of the month cupboard scratching catches us sooner rather than later each month! When you find a can of chickpeas in your cupboard, a half cup of cream and a half tin of All Gold Tomato Puree... This is what you do! Google recipes always comes to the rescue!

I found this [Vegan] Easy Chickpea Tikka Masala at The Iron You. Of course we got creative with some of the ingredients (or lack there-of).

Tomato and Baby Marrow Tian - All Gold recipe

Baby marrows with All Gold Whole Peeled Tomatoes

I am always in search of a twist on a vegetarian dish. We bought a box full of extra large baby marrows the previous week, and it had to eaten before it got wasted! I found this on the All Gold website. I adjusted it according to our own ingredients.

Easy Black Bean Vegetarian Burger

It is Friday, and Friday is braai day with hamburgers! (Braai = barbecue in South Africa)
In my vegetarian adventures I have tried all the packet versions of vegetarian hamburger patties out there. Not only does it taste like carton, but my dietitian says they are very unhealthy and very fatty! It is not good for any diet!
I also get tired of mushrooms and eggplants as the go-to meal replacements for meat.

Google is such a great recipe book. Nowadays you list the ingredients that you have, and Voila! You've got tons of suggestions. The All Recipes Homemade Black Bean Veggie Burgers jumped out when I did a search for black bean burgers, and here is my take on it!

Esther the Wonder Pig changing lives on social media

Esther the Wonder Pig Facebook Page

I have been following a pig on social media. Esther the Wonder Pig has over a million likes on Facebook and 373k followers on Instagram. She has over 14 000 subscribers on YouTube. She is a delight to watch!

She completely changed the lives of her humans when they adopted her as a miniature pig. It soon became apparent that she was a huge commercial pig that would have gone for slaughter if they had not taken her in. They were amazed at how intelligent she is! The thought of her becoming bacon changed their whole lifestyle and the life that they are living now.

They changed to a vegan lifestyle, without even mentioning a vegan diet on social media. That is the power of social media!

Esther elevates pigs to a companion lifestyle only previously reserved for dogs and cats!

Check it out on TEDx Talks!

You go, Esther!

Vegetarian in a meat-eating household

Lentil Curry Wrap at Craft Beer Library

I have now been a vegetarian for nearly a year and a half. I don't want to eat meat, and I know I won't enjoy it any more! Being a vegetarian is not difficult at all!

My family has been very supportive of this lifestyle choice, and there always something on a menu at a restaurant, or at home to replace a piece of meat! My husband usually makes the meat portions, as he has done before I made the change!

I usually sort myself with a mushroom or a brinjal slice. I can now also make a mean bean curry or spicy beans. Google makes it easy! As long as we have a few options of vegetables, I do not feel that I am missing anything! I also buy a bag of mixed raw nuts at the beginning of the month which helps when I start feeling depleted!

I need to watch myself with the carbs, though! As a vegetarian you can easily start to carbo-load to fill up!

My secret was to take each meal on its own. Taking it step by step!
Each meal is a choice not to eat a living being!

If I can stop eating meat, I must be able to stop eating bread! That is my next mission! (Because the scale is going up, and not down!)
Watch this space!

Some of  the vegetarian options I found in my camera roll:

Mushrooms on the girl

Potato skins at Craft Beer Library - Super Yum!

Sometimes I get a craving for a sausage on the grill

What lifestyle changes have you made, and how did you keep to it?

Vegetarian - not difficult at all!

I have been a vegetarian for 8 months now! It has not been as difficult as I thought it would be!

I woke up on 2 January this year and decided that was the day I needed to change. I have been saying for most of my life that the day I have to kill for my food, is the day that I would become a vegetarian.
My family has been very supportive! Thanks, dear Hubby and kids! 

I have been a hypocrite for too long! What will I think of myself in my golden days when I have been living a lie for so long?

I would love to cut out eggs and cheese as well (Vegan), but for now I am happy that I have not eaten meat and fish for 8 months in a row!

I feel great! I feel healthy!
I am still struggling to not overeat on carbohydrates, but that has always been a problem. Not only now! :-) I see a dietician every two weeks, and she gives me great advice! I think I am her "off-the record" client, because I have not been losing weight for many months, but I always ask her not to "fire" me! Next time I will have lost some weight! Definitely!!

I take my mushroom with me when we go to a braai (barbecue), and Hubby also sometimes makes a brinjal over the fire. I do not like the over-processed vegetarian meals and "meats", and I don't think it is healthy at all!

I can make a mean curry bean dish by now (it gets spicier with each try), and have found the most wonderful spicy dishes on Google! Chilli, nutmeg, paprika, coriander, curry, mustard, cinnamon, garlic, black pepper, cayenne pepper, cumin... All of it works wonders with any type of of bean in the cupboard!

When we go to restaurants, I usually try the vegetarian options. I found the best vegetarian burger so far in Melville at Gravity on Saturday, but I will continue the search!

This has been a great adventure!

 

Easy Bean and Lentil Casserole

I have thrown the food-making arrangements in our household in a disarray with becoming a vegetarian. Hubby loves preparing and barbecuing meat, and now he is feeling a bit lost.
The rest still eats meat, but now I have to come up with alternatives for myself, as well as side dishes for the family.

Luckily we have Google, and I can put in my ingredients (of what I have in the cupboard) for vegetarian recipes. I found the Speedy Lentil and Bean Casserole from food.com.
I made a few adjustments based on what we had available, and it is very good for a quick and filling recipe that will be added to my basic recipes of what-to-make-when-you-don't-know-what-to-make-and-you-are-hungry!

This is what I made a few evenings back.

Easy Bean and Lentil Casserole recipe

Ingredients:

- Can of Three Beans mix, drained and rinsed

- Can of organic lentils, drained and rinsed

- 2 Tomatoes, chopped

- 1 onion, chopped

- 4 green onions, chopped

- 1 tablespoon of olive oil

- half teaspoon thyme

- one and half cups of Gouda cheese

- pinch of pepper and salt

Method:

Heat the olive oil in a pan on the stove. Cook the onion, green onions and tomatoes until soft. Add the beans and lentils and the thyme until it simmers. The cheese comes on top of the dish. Dish up as soon as the cheese becomes bubbly!


Totally yum!

Next time I am trying it with a bit of chilly!

2016 - a few notes on the start of the year!

This is the week that everything goes back to reality!
I have been back at work since last week, so it does not feel as alien, and I don't have the millions of emails to sort through!

Little Miss asked me this morning if school is going to start tomorrow. She was very relieved to hear that she has two whole days left of holidays!

Little Miss in 2016

- She is not as excited about Grade 2 as she was about Grade 1.
- She is also worried about bullies in her class this year. I told her that we would sort them as soon as they start with bullying. We have already asked that she not be placed in the same class as two kids who made her life miserable the previous years. (I hope so, but I trust the school will honour our request!)
- We bought a new school case, but I recycled most of her stationary from the previous years. She was upset at first, because it's "old"! Luckily the complaints stopped when we put everything in a new stationary box for school. You can't see the difference, and we saved a lot of money!
- She is getting big and I love all the conversations we are starting to have. Real existential questions and remarks. I was in awe last night about the depth of her understanding about spirituality!
- I will try to write it down and share it here! (If she allows me!)


MomAgain@40

- This little blog has only a year left before the 40 won't ring true anymore! (Heavens!!)
- Little Miss is also getting bigger, and I am starting to censor more about what is being put here!
- I have a year to decide what I am going to do with this blog, but I think I will re-purpose or start a new blog with a new theme! I still love blogging, the community of bloggers and what I have learnt while blogging!
(There is sooo much I have gained from my experience here!)


Me, Myself and I

Yes

- My word and my motto for this year is Yes! I already had the opportunity to say yes without thinking twice this year because of this!
- I have never regretted saying yes to new opportunities, and this year is going to be better and bolder!
- I still need to work on a Vision Board for 2016. It really works! (Does any one knows about a good Vision Board app? Off to search...)
- On the second of January of this year I became a vegetarian. I have always said that the moment I have to kill for my own food, is the moment I would stop to eat living things! I have been a hypocrite for most of my life! I am taking it day by day, but it is not as difficult to make other choices!
I still eat eggs and dairy which makes me a ovo-lacto vegetarian! (Little Miss tells me that I should stop eating eggs as well! For now I am feeling proud of myself for getting 10 days into the new year without eating any meat!) My family supports me, but it is difficult as we love to braai (barbeque)! My go-to food now for a braai is a mushroom! (Sorry Hubby!!)


The Student

- I feel unsettled about The Student as this is her year to start with a new job and finish the final studies.
- Everything is uncertain, and we don't know yet what is going to happen...


The Hubby

- I am extremely grateful for Hubby who keeps us together and fed!
- I am sorry for upsetting the equilibrium by becoming a vegetarian. (Thank you for taking it in your stride!)
- This year is going to be a better year for you as well! I know it and I feel it!


2016 is starting with new things, new challenges and lots of uncertainty!
BUT I have good feelings about 2016!


May 2016 be good to you as well!
What new things are in the pipeline that is worth sharing?