Thanks to all who entered the giveaway and congratulations to Jenny who was the winner:
rice cakes – we always have ricecakes! a really easy snack for everyone in the family. with mashed vegemite and avocado when we like something savoury, peanut butter and mashed strawberries for something sweet.
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I recently wrote an update on changing my diet to a more whole food approach. You can read it here. The basic premise of my approach is to have as little processed foods in my diet as possible.
Lots of my old recipes I have just tweaked so they fit my approach. When I see recipes I would like to try I am not deterred if it contains ingredients that I prefer not to eat, as I have developed some good substitutes. It just means that I need to have a well stocked pantry! Here are some of the key items I like to have in my pantry at all times:
- Almond flour – is the main flour I use when baking gluten free. Tend to use in similar size amounts. Won’t allow for a cake to rise as high as a traditional flour would. This post from Urban Poser is great if you after more info – Baking 101: Almond Flour Basics. And if you have gluten intolerances in your house you should check out Pureharvest’s post on How to Bake Gluten Free for more info and tips.
- Apple cider vinegar (ACV) – use it as a dressing, to add flavour sauces and marinades. If recipes use Worcestershire sauce for example, I might use ACV instead if I think it will work. You can also use it to pickle veggies like this recipe from Pureharvest Daikon Tamari Pickles.
- Arrowroot (Tapioca flour) – I use this as a thickener, where I may have once used plain flour or corn flour.
- Balsamic vinegar – great for dressings on salads and for marinades.
- Cacao powder – use this in baking and smoothies and anything I want to add a chocolate flavour to.
- Cacao nibs – love these on top of smoothies and to add a choc crunch flavour to recipes
- Coconut flour – Also used in baking. Need much less coconut flour when using as a replacement as it is very absorbent. This post on the blog Nourished Kitchen gives you a good run down on how to use it and in what quantities.
- Coconut oil – I do all my cooking with coconut oil and use olive oil for any non heated cooking.
- Coconut flakes/shredded/desiccated – all great additions to sweet treat recipes, smoothies and in trail mix packs.
- Corn kernels – we have a popcorn machine which can make air popped pop corn in a matter of minutes. Handy to make up a batch to mix up what goes in the kids’ lunch boxes.
- Dates – used as a sweetener in baking, making bases for sweet dishes and of course a key ingredient in my nut and date recipes.
- Garlic aioli / mayonnaise – I like to have one of these homemade condiments to add to salads, veggies and for the kids sandwiches and wraps.
- Mustard – I prefer seeded mustard. If you don’t make it yourself, be sure to read the labels to make sure it doesn’t have unwanted extras added to it. Handy to have as a condiment and to add to sauces for flavour.
- Natural sweeteners – I use rice malt syrup, honey and maple syrup as substitutes for sugar. Blog sponsor Pureharvest have an excellent post on How To: Use Liquid Sweetener which is really worth a read if you are trying to reduce cane sugar in your diet. As well as using these sweeteners for baking I also use them in stir fries, sauces, marinades and as a sweetener for the kids porridge in the mornings.
- Natural spreads – spreads can be used for dipping fruit into, spreading on rice cakes for snacks and also added to recipes for extra flavour. I like to have ABC or almond spread on hand and also now the new Pureharvest Coco² chocolate spreads which the kids and I both love.
- Oats – the kids love porridge on cold mornings and lots of my sweet treat recipes use oats too.
- Passata – I always have a couple of bottles of this in the cupboard. Handy to whip up a quick tomato based sauce with it if needed.
- Rice – so many uses! I prefer to eat white basmati rice.
- Rice cakes – use the rice cakes crushed up in recipes instead of rice bubbles, and of course for snacks for the kids too.
- Rice crumbs – Use these to add crumbs to homemade hamburgers and sausages so they are gluten free and to make a gluten free stuffing for roast chicken.
- Rice flour – I use this as a binding agent like in my hash brown recipe which makes them gluten free.
- Seeds – chia, sesame seeds, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds are all great to have on hand. You can quickly toast them up and add some extra flavour and crunch to meals as needed.
- Sweet chilli sauce – I make my own using honey, you can find the recipe here. I use this for many stir fry and Asian style recipes.
- Tahini – use as a dip for veggie sticks and as a bit like glue in recipes I want to stick together like my rice bubble slice or seed slice.
- Tamari – this is gluten free soy sauce which I now use instead of traditional soy sauce. I use in lots of Asian recipes and as a condiment.
- Tomato paste – needed in lots of recipes and always handy to have some on hand.
- Tomatoes tinned – again needed in lots of recipes and can also quickly turn this into salsa for dipping veggie sticks into for snacks for the kids.
Pureharvest Pantry pack give away
Have you tried Pureharvest’ s latest product yet Coco²? I know a number of you have already and like it as much as I do. It is a very tasty chocolate spread, made from coconut and cocoa – hence the coco squared and it is sweetened with Pureharvest Rice Malt Syrup.
As it is made with the goodness of organic coconut oil and organic cocoa, it is a healthy alternatives to regular chocolate spreads and the best news is that is very allergy friendly. Coco² is:
- Dairy Free
- Cane Sugar Free
- Gluten Free
- GMO Free
For those who have nut intolerances or have food restrictions at school, Coco² Original is nut free. Obviously the other two flavours being almond and hazelnut do contain nuts. My favourite is Coco² Original.
You can find Coco² in the Health Food Section of Coles and the Spreads Section at Woolworths, as well as selected health food stores and independent supermarkets.
Today though you have a chance to win a pantry pack which will include the new Coco² range plus other products to help you stock up your pantry with a great range of their organic and natural products up to the value of $100.
{A selection of some of the products you’ll discover in the $100 Pureharvest pantry pack (props not included).}
Image credit: www.photographically.com.au
Terms and conditions
- To enter you must complete the form below. Upon entering the competition you will be signed up to the Pureharvest newsletter to receive great recipes and tips. If you are reading via email, please click here to enter if you cannot see the form.
- The giveaway is open to Australian residents only.
- The winner will be notified via email. You must have a valid email address to enter. If no response is received with 48 hours, a new winner will be selected.
- The give away will close 18th May 2015.
- The winner will be chosen by Planning With Kids based on creativity and you can only enter once.
- Please see full terms and conditions here.