The recipes below are found on the calendar as ideas to pack in the kids’ lunch boxes. They are listed in order as they appear in the calendar. Click on the recipe name listed below to see it in full.
- Zucchini chips
- Beef shasliks
- Banana bread
- Zucchini slice
- Bacon cups
- Choc coconut slice
- Chicken strips
- Coconut balls
- Rice balls
Zucchini chips
Ingredients:
- 3 zucchinis
- 1 tbsp coconut oil (melted)
- 1 tsp pink Himalayan salt
Method:
- Preheat oven to 175 degrees
- Line 3 large trays with baking paper
- You can either slice the zucchini by hand or use a food processor to slice them.
- Add slice zucchini to a large bowl. Mix melted coconut oil and salt in a small cup, then pour it over the zucchini.
- Using your hands toss the zucchini so it is all evenly coated.
- Place zucchini in a single layer on the trays.
- Place in the oven and bake for 25 – 30 minutes or until golden brown.
- Remove from tray and place on a cooling rack to cool. Then store in an airtight container.
Beef shasliks
Ingredients:
- 500 grams diced beef
- 1 red capsicum
- 1 green capsicum
- 1 yellow capsicum
- 1 small onion
- 1 tbsp dijon mustard
- 1 tbsp honey
Method:
- In a medium sized bowl combine the honey and mustard.
- Make sure the beef is in bite sized pieces. Add the beef to the bowl and ensure it receives a light coating. Allow it to sit in the fridge covered for at least an hour.
- While the beef is marinating, chop the capsicum and onions into squares. Soak wooden skewers in water.
- Once beef has marinated, begin adding beef, capsicum and onion to the skewers.
- These shasliks can be cooked either on the BBQ or in a frying pan. Cook on a medium high heat turning every 3 -4 minutes until cooked.
Banana bread
Ingredients:
- 2 ½ large bananas
- 4 large eggs
- 3 tbsp maple syrup
- 2 tbsp coconut cream
- 3 tbsp coconut oil
- ¼ cup (tapioca) arrowroot
- ¾ coconut flour
- 3 tbsp desiccated coconut
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- ¾ tsp gluten free baking powder
- ¼ tsp salt
Method:
- Preheat oven to 160 degrees Celsius.
- Break up banana into chunks in a large bowl. Mash bananas with a masher or use a stick blender. The riper the bananas the better!
- Lightly beat eggs. Add maple syrup, coconut cream and melted coconut oil to the eggs and mix.
- Add egg mixture to bananas and mix well. Add to this the arrowroot, desiccated coconut, coconut flour, cinnamon, baking powder and mix gently with a spoon until combined.
- Pour into a loaf tin, lined with baking paper. The bread mixture is more runny than what you are probably used to, but go with it as it does firm up.
- Bake for 40 minutes. If the skewer comes out clean it is ready.
- Let the bread sit in the tin for about 10 minutes before removing.
- Then remove to a rack and allow to completely cool before cutting.
- As well as being great for lunch boxes it also tastes incredibly delicious toasted lightly under a grill and then buttered!
Zucchini slice
Ingredients:
- 750 grams (about 3 large zucchinis)
- 10 eggs
- 2 large onions
- 8 rash shortcut rindless bacon
- ⅓ cup coconut oil
- ½ cup coconut flour
- Salt and pepper to taste
Method:
- Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius.
- Grate unpeeled zucchini.
- Finely chop bacon and onion.
- Lightly beat eggs.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine zucchini, onion, bacon, sifted coconut flour, melted coconut oil and eggs. Add salt and pepper if you like.
- Mix well, then pour into large well greased dishes (I use 2 x lasagne dish).
- Bake in oven for about 60 – 70 minutes. Slice should be lightly browned on top and cooked through. Use a skewer to check. If it comes out clean, slice is ready.
Bacon cups
Ingredients:
- 18 eggs
- 18 rash short cut rindless bacon
- 30 grams butter
Method:
- Preheat oven to 175 degrees Celsius. Grease the muffin trays (this recipe is for 18 bacon cups) with butter.
- Remove any excess fat from the bacon and then place the bacon in the muffin hole. Press gently down so the bacon lines the hole completely. If the bacon has a tear or hole, add some bacon scraps to it so the egg will not leak through.
- Crack an egg into each muffin hole.
- You can leave the egg yolk hole if you wish – tasty if you are going to be eating them straight away, but for lunch boxes I use a fork to break up the yolk.
- Place the muffin trays in the oven to bake for 15-20 minutes or until the eggs are well cooked.
- Remove immediately from the muffin trays and place onto a cooling rack.
- Store in an airtight container in the fridge. The children will have at least two each for lunch.
Choc coconut slice
Ingredients:
- 2 cups sunflower seeds
- 2 cups dates
- 2 tbsp cacao powder
- ¼ cup desiccated coconut
- Coconut oil if necessary
Method:
- Pour sunflower seeds into the food processor and pulse for 1 – 2 minutes. The aim is to take release the oil from the seeds, so stop scrape down sides as needed every couple of minutes.
- Once you can squeeze a handful of mixture and it stays together you have the right texture. This will take about 4 – 6 minutes depending on the power of your food processor.
- Add the dates, cacao powder and coconut to the food processor and pulse again.
- As before pulse for a 1-2 minutes, scrape down the sides then pulse again. You want the mixture to stick together easily when you squeeze it in your hand. This takes about 4-5 minutes. If you find the mixture is too dry, add ½ – 1 tsp melted coconut oil.
- Pour the mix into a slice tray lined with baking paper.
- Press down firmly so the slice is even. I use an empty clean small jar and roll the slice. Allow it to set in the fridge for at least two hours.
- Cut into 16 pieces. Store in an airtight container in the fridge.
Chicken strips
Ingredients:
- 500 grams chicken breast
- 3 cups rice crumbs (or other gluten free crumbs)
- 4 large eggs
- 4 tbsp coconut oil
Method:
- Slice chicken breasts in half (width ways). My children prefer thinner strips, so if the chicken breasts are thick I will slice them into three. Then cut the chicken into strips.
- Lightly beat eggs in a bowl and pour a generous amount of crumbs into a shallow dish.
- Piece by piece, dip the chicken into the egg mixture, draining off excess.
- Place piece into the crumbs and ensure that the entire piece of chicken is covered with crumbs. To make a thicker outer crust, repeat this process twice for each piece.
- Once all the chicken is prepared, add oil to a large pan so the base is covered by a couple of millimetres and heat to a moderate temperature.
- When oil is hot, add chicken to the pan and press down with an egg lifter.
- Cook for a 4-5 minutes, so that crumbs turn golden then turn over. Press down and cook for another 4-5 minutes.
- Once cooked, remove from pan and drain on some absorbent paper. Repeat this until all chicken is cooked.
- Keep in an airtight container in the fridge.
Coconut balls
Ingredients:
- ½ cup coconut flour
- 1 cup rice flakes (you could use oats, but probably only need ¾ cup)
- 1 cup desiccated coconut
- ¼ cup honey
- 75 grams butter
- ½ tsp bicarb soda
- 1 tbsp water boiling water
Method:
- Preheat the oven to 125 degrees Celsius.
- In a medium sized bowl add coconut flour, rice flakes and desiccated coconut and mix.
- Chop butter, add it and the honey to a small saucepan. Melt on a low heat.
- Once melted turn off the heat. Add bicarbonate of soda to boiling water and stir.
- Add this liquid to the melted butter and mix.
- Pour butter mixture into the dry ingredients and combine well.
- Use a large tablespoon of mixture and roll into balls.
- Place on a lined tray and bake them for 15 minutes.
- Allow to cool on the tray completely before moving them to an air tight container. Makes 20
Riceballs
Ingredients:
- 1 cup arborio rice
- 1 clove garlic
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 8 rashes rindless shortcut bacon
- 1/2 bunch spring onions
- 1 red capsicum
- 2.5 cups chicken stock
- 1/2 cup cream
- 3/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
- 3 eggs
- ½ cup rice flour
- ½ cup nutritional yeast or gluten free bread crumbs
- 4 tbsp coconut oil
Method:
- Cut bacon into small strips. Finely chop spring onions. Finely chop red capsicum.
- Melt butter in a frying pan and cook bacon to desired level of crispiness.
- Place bacon, spring onions, capsicum and crushed garlic into the slow cooker. (I didn’t drain the bacon, but added everything for extra flavour.)
- Add the rice and stir well. Pour in stock and mix again.
- Cook for 5 hours on slow or 2.5 hours on high.
- Once cooked fold in parmesan cheese and cream.
- Allow to cool before you begin shaping them into balls.
- Once cool you will need three shallow bowls. In the first one add the rice flour, in the second one whisk the eggs and in the third one place the nutritional yeast.
- Make sure you have wet hands and grab a handful of the risotto. Squeeze and shape it into a ball.
- Place the risotto ball into the rice flour and lightly coat.
- Dip the risotto ball into the egg and give a little shake to remove excess.
- Drop into the nutritional yeast and roll around until covered.
- Place on the tray until you have made all the balls.
- Heat the coconut oil on a medium heat. Drop the balls into the frying pan in small batches. Turn frequently until they are golden brown. Remove from the frying pan and sit on absorbent paper.
- Repeat the cooking process until all balls are completed.
- Store in an airtight container in the fridge.