JulieBhosaleAchive

I cannot take credit for this one (thanks Hubby) but I can promise you that it is easy, it tastes amazing and little ones will get very excited about it. If the thought of working with and preparing a crab is a bit daunting don't worry! I have a vlog for you (coming Tuesday) that will help guide you with this. Ingredients: 1 Tb Olive oil 1 Onion, diced 1 Tb Pre-crushed garlic 1 Tb Pre-crushed ginger 1 tsp Turmeric 1 tsp Masala 2 Fresh crabs (keep crab fat when preparing) 1 x 400g tin of diced tomato Handful fresh coriander (to garnish)   Directions Clean and prepare the crab (I have a Vlog for you coming on Tuesday night!) Heat a large fry pan on medium heat, add oil is hot, add the onion and stir with a wooden spoon until it is soft and slightly brown. Add the garlic, ginger and crab fat and spices. Stir again to form a nice curry paste (the crab fat give this curry heaps of flavour). Add the crab followed by the tomato. Turn heat down, cover and allow to simmer for ap...

This is a little taster for you of one of the most popular recipes from my first cook book, Healthy Easy Dinners for Busy Mums. This meat loaf is an old school recipe with a bit of jazz. The spices and herbs can be easily adjusted to your liking and according to what you have in the cupboard. This can be made in the morning and re-heated for dinner and any leftovers make a great lunch option. Ingredients: 500 grams mince (beef or lamb would work best) 1 Egg 2 carrots grated 5 button mushrooms chopped finely 1 small red onion finely chopped 1 tbsp each of crushed garlic and ginger 1 tsp crushed chilli (optional) 4 tbsp chopped fresh coriander ¼ Cup fresh parsley (can also add dried) Salt and pepper to taste Topping 3 tbsp of rolled oats (optional) 3 tbsp of tomato sauce (I recommend Get Real Food sauces) 2 tbsp of chopped parsley and coriander Ground pepper to your liking Method: 1. Preheat oven to 200°C. 2. Mix all ingredients in a bowl and press into a loaf tin. Make the topping and s...

  The universe certainly works in mysterious ways. I find it no surprise that on the week of our one year anniversary for my first cook book ( Healthy Easy Dinners for Busy Mums ) being released, the manuscript for my first published book is also due. I have always loved writing and have dreamed of writing a published book for as long as I can remember. It was not however until a particular day when writing my thesis that I actually felt  like I was a writer. I was down in Wellington for my first writing retreat after having Sahan. We had scheduled this before he was born as a bit of a break...well break from the kids and a chance to catch up on some sleep (like months of lost sleep really). When I booked into the hotel the receptionist said to me "oh you are the writer! We have a quiet room assigned for you". My heart soared. I loved how it just fitted me, even though it was my Doctoral thesis I was writing at the time – I was indeed a writer. Self-publishing my cook book, w...

When I say perfect I really mean rustic and healthy. 'Perfect' just sounded great with 'platter' but you know what my style really is! We have Smushie’s second birthday this weekend (how did that happen, seriously) and a platter is one of best ways to feed guest regardless of the numbers. So here are my tips to a pure and simple platter and yet another way to sneak some of those vegetables in to unsuspecting victims.... 1. Keep it Simple - Do not overload the board with lots of choices, especially those that are not nutrient dense. Less choice actually makes it easier for people (and easier for your prep too.) 2. Have Extra - This helps with point number one, just have extra of your platter choices on hand so you can top up once they start getting low (it will help save some stress). 3. Lots of Vegetables - Include vegetables at every opportunity. Trust me if they are there (and not to many other options) people will eat them! It’s a little gentle encouragement and h...

The color of this dip is just incredible! It is one of the reasons I love beetroot so much. This dip will impress party guests with very minimal effort....and you will look like a domestic goddess. This recipe uses the most simple ingredients with beetroot as the main base. It is a great way to boost vegetable intake up in a way that is so simple and actually fun! The hint of cumin really gives it that little bit of something extra and the yoghurt a nice creamy texture. You can adjust this according to your tastes too. I actually made this in the Avent Combined Steamer and Blender - so many uses for this wonderful kitchen device which makes baby food so easy to make at home! These will be available to buy straight from my website very soon (and we always have great deals on them at my live events!).   Ingredients: 250 grams of beetroot. I actually use the pre-peeled vacuum packed ones. If you are using raw beetroot just chop into rough cubes and oven roast for about 45 mins. 2 pinc...

Dairy is one of those very ‘grey’ areas when it comes to nutrition. On either side of the dairy argument there are positives and there are also points to consider. Positives being that dairy is a great source of numerous nutrients such as protein, fat, calcium and vitamin D. Plus a number of dairy products like yoghurt actually put good bacteria back into your gut. On the other hand, dairy products typically have had some level of processing and depending on individual tolerance can actually cause a range of digestive and gut problems. My general take on dairy is that if you can tolerate it – great! It is an easy source of the afore mentioned nutrients. However, you just want to make sure you do not go crazy as it can irritate your gut (differing levels for different people) which is central to so much of our overall health especially our immune system. It is also crucial to keep your intake of other nutrient dense whole foods high. Clear as, ah, a milky cup of milk? Like I said, dairy...

This maybe my favourite smoothie creation to date - big call I know! A few simple ingredients which are packed full of nutrients and dairy free! It is not a sweet smoothie. I do not think smoothies need to be packed full of fruit; remember fruit does still contain natural sugar. I have used strawberries here as they are high in antioxidants and a low in terms of natural sugar (you can read some of my other tips to make smoothies really healthy here ). The almond milk is one of my preferred recommendations for a dairy-free switch and adding the raw almonds to this smoothie just really boosts the good fat intake up. Kale is one of natures super-foods and I am always looking at add some good green stuff to everything - enough said! If you are looking for more information on the different dairy-free milk alternatives  check out my new blog here . Ingredients: 1 cup of unsweetened almond milk 10 raw almonds 6 strawberries 1 handful of kale Directions: 1) Simply place everything in the Nutri...

The coming of the new year is a time we set a lot of new goals. Less work, warm months (or cold months sorry Northern Hemisphere!), family and Christmas all contribute to this being a natural time of reflection. When it comes to goal setting and news years resolutions there are a lot of practical strategies around how do this is. I have actually previously written a blog on this – it is actually quite an interesting read as I did this at the start of 2015 – 37 weeks pregnant with Smushie and facing the last year of my thesis or as I aptly called it the 'Mr Everest of the academic world in a storm'. But what about if you just do not know what you really want or even how to allow yourself to dream of what you really want? As mums we are so programmed to forget us, to put ourselves last, if at all. When our dreams have been shattered or perhaps the daily grind of life just feels so never ending - the fatigue, the work, the bills, the children's demands....we can forget to dre...