"Do You Even Lift Bro?" Protein Balls Recipe

A coworker of mine was telling me about the protein balls she makes for her fitness-buff boyfriend and based on what she told me, I made my own up. I find these highly addictive! This recipe makes 15 and I ate them all in 3 days, probably not what you're supposed to do. But now, if anyone asks me "Do you even lift?" I can be all like, "Not really but I eat a lot of protein balls", and I'm pretty sure that gives me fitness cred, doesn't it?

Makes 15 balls

1 overripe banana, mashed

2 tbsp chia seeds

6 tbsp rolled oats

4 tbsp smooth peanut butter

1 tbsp golden syrup

1. Mix all ingredients together in a bowl until thoroughly combined.

2. Shape into balls and arrange on a baking paper lined tray. Put the tray into the freezer overnight. When protein balls have frozen solid, they can be transferred to an airtight container and stored in the freezer for several weeks, if they last that long.

Happy eating! :)

Crispy garlic bread recipe

A quick, easy, and very tasty accompaniment :)

Serves: as many as you make it for!

Pita bread
Garlic clove(s), peeled
Nuttelex or another vegan margarine, melted
Salt

1. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees C.

2. Rub one side of the pita bread all over with the garlic.

3. Cut the pita bread into smaller pieces, as you would a pizza.

4. Brush the bread pieces with melted Nuttelex or other margarine, sprinkle with salt, and put on a baking tray.

5. Bake for 5-10 minutes until hard and golden.

Happy eating! :)

Fadge recipe

I come from an English-Irish background and fadge is a traditional dish in my family. Originating from Ireland and eaten as part of a fry up, cooked breakfast, or as a tasty snack, fadge can only really be described as a 'potato pancake'. I know, it sounds really gross doesn't it? It's not though! Fadge is something that on paper sounds so wrong and yet tastes so right. It really is something you have to try and I can honestly say I have never fed it to anyone who didn't like it (picky children included). It also provides a 'choose your own adventure' ending, as you will see. Be brave and give fadge a chance I say!

Serves: not many in our family as we all want to hog it for ourselves!

Cold mashed potatoes, preferably refrigerated overnight
Plain white flour
Nuttelex

1. Using your hands, mix the flour into the mashed potato until a dough is formed. It should be soft but not too sticky.

2. On a floured work surface and with a floured rolling pin, roll the dough out until it is around half a centimetre thick. Using a glass or something else of a similar size (my mum uses a small saucepan lid), cut the dough into round pancake shapes.

3. Cook under the grill until golden on both sides. Bubbles will appear on the surface and may turn slightly black, that's fine.

Now, here's where the cooking becomes 'choose your own adventure'! Either, you can stop at this point, pop your fadge on a plate, slather them with Nuttelex, and eat them straight away (as I do - because I'm impatient), or you can continue on to step 4 and make them the traditional way (which is also absolutely delicious but takes a few minutes more).

4. Heat a little Nuttelex in a frying pan. Fry the fadge until golden brown on both sides. Drain on paper towel and serve hot.

Happy eating! :)

Cheater's sausage roll recipe

Until recently I worked at a child care centre; this recipe was shared with me by the chef there who made these sausage rolls for vegetarian children. I will never make (healthier) sausage rolls from scratch again. I have tested these on children myself and also on meat eaters and all agree that they are awesome!

The recipe uses regular Sanitarium vegetarian sausages, which I normally detest as they are rubbery and have a strange flavour, instead I always buy the fancier Sanitarium sausages. However, the cheap crappy sausages work wonderfully in this recipe! Do not use nice, fancy sausages as your sausage rolls will turn out horribly.

Serves as many as you like

Sanitarium vegetarian sausages
Frozen puff pastry (check the ingredients for butter)

1. Preheat oven to 200 degrees C (or whatever it says on your pastry packet)

2. Thaw pastry according to packet instructions.

3. Wrap sausages in pastry.

4. Bake until golden.

Happy eating! :)

Peppermint Cream Recipe

These peppermint creams always go down really well, especially with children! The recipe can be found at The Very Good Bakery.

Though the recipe says it will make 30 peppermint creams, I found it only makes around 20, though maybe I'm just very generous in my servings! I don't bother rolling the dough and cutting it either, I just spoon it into patty pans.

Happy eating! :)

Roasted Pumpkin Seeds Recipe

Why throw away the seeds from that pumpkin you're about to cook? They're nutritious and delicious and just too good to waste! Turn the oven on and in 10 minutes you'll have an addictive snack.

1. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees C. Remove the seeds from the pumpkin. The type of pumpkin you have will dictate the amount of seeds, I used 1/4 of a Queensland Blue and got heaps. It doesn't matter what type of pumpkin you use because all pumpkin seeds are edible.

2. Place the seeds on a tray and drizzle with a lattice of olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and then put in the oven.

3. Roast for around 10 minutes, just keep opening the door and checking on them. You want them to go golden-brown but not black. I took mine out when they looked golden brown and I started hearing little explosions!

4. Leave to cool on the tray for a few minutes and then transfer to some paper towel to drain away the excess oil. Then tuck in! Can be eaten on their own or in a salad.

Happy eating! :)

Peanut butter fudge recipe

This fudge is delicious, addictive, and very bad for you! Enjoy!

3/4 cup Nuttelex (or other vegan margarine)
1 cup peanut butter (either smooth, crunchy, or both)
1 1/3 cups icing sugar
Little bit of extra nuttelex for greasing

1. Put the nuttelex in a bowl and microwave for 30 seconds, or until mostly melted.

2. Stir in the peanut butter right away, while the bowl and nuttelex are still warm.

3. Add the icing sugar gradually using a sieve, mixing well.

4. Pour into a greased tin and put in the fridge for at least 30 minutes. Cut into squares or just spoon it out and enjoy.

Happy eating! :)

Recipe for zucchini cups with tomato concasse

This recipe comes from Party Vegan by Robin Robertson.

Makes about 24 cups

4-5 small zucchini, ends trimmed
6-8 ripe roma tomatoes
1 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp fresh parsley
Salt and pepper

1. Cut the zucchini into 1 inch pieces with flat bottoms so they stand up. Use a small spoon or melon baller to scoop out some of the center of each piece of zucchini to form little cups. Blanch the zucchini cups in a saucepan of boiling salted water for 1 minute, to soften slightly. Drain, run under cold water to stop the cooking process, and drain again. Arrange the zucchini on paper towels, cup side down, and set aside.

2. Cut an X in the bottom of the tomatoes and immerse them in a saucepan of boiling water to loosen the skin, about 30 seconds. Remove the tomatoes from the water and submerge them in a bowl of ice water. Peel the skin form the tomatoes, then cut them into wedges and remove the seeds.

3. Put the parsley in a food processor and process until finely chopped. Add the tomato and blend until tomato is finely chopped. Transfer tomato mixture to a bowl and add oil and salt and pepper. Mix well.

4. Place a small spoonful of the tomato mixture into each zucchini cup. Arrange on a platter and serve or covere and refridgerate until needed.

Happy eating! :)