Chickpeas & Beans

I’m back with a lunch salad! You now know that I do not mind using canned food (this is a not a space for snobs). I’ve already shared the “From a Can Lunch” and the Chickpea Greek Salad.

You’re going to need chickpeas (my fave) and red kidney beans… From a can obvs.

Ingredients

• Chickpeas
• Red Kidney Beans
• Tomatoes
• Cucumber (diced)
• Red Onion (diced)
• Feta (optional)

Mix it all in a bowl and put in lunch tin. Pic above is for all your dairy-free types. You can add balsamic vinegar and olive oil as “salad dressing”.

This week I did my first cooking demo with a wonderful woman who told me she “doesn’t know how to cook.” I started off with an easy Lazy Day Salad just to show her easy it is to make a healthy lunch. I then encouraged her to make this Chickpea & Bean Salad afterwards. She made it in under 15 minutes and really enjoyed it. If she can do it, so can you. One step at a time!

Let me know what you think of the salad.

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Lazy Breakfast Smoothie

Hello. Happy New Year. I took a, much needed, break from the blahg (he he). I’m back! Let’s pretend I never left, shall we?

It is Summer and that means sometimes it is too hot to make warm meals (for lunch and breakfast). Summer also means lots of DELICIOUS FRUIT!! I could easily become a Fruitarian (that’s a real thing) in Summer but… nah.

Instead of making oats or frying eggs (for breakfast), make smoothies. It is quick, easy and delicious.

Mango (Breakfast) Smoothie

Ingredients

• oats
• mango
• banana (preferably *frozen)
• plain yoghurt

What do I do with the ingredients?

• Soak oats in water. I do this to make the smoothie smoother (not necessary if you have a good blender. I don’t ha ha ha)
• Chuck everything in the blender and blend.
• You may need to add a little bit of water if it’s too “thick”.
• Taste heaven 🙂

Don’t waste the season of yummy fruit. Try it and let me know what you think. You can also have it for lunch (if you want).

*I freeze the banana to make the smoothie cold. And bananas go off so quickly. Always better to freeze them for smoothies, if you’ve bought too many.

 

Sunday Salad (chickpea greek salad)

I know it’s not Sunday, I was supposed to post this on Sunday but.. my life is a mess blah blah. This Chickpea Greek salad  was tested on my friends and it was a hit. Imagine if it wasn’t? aaaah-kward!

Greek salad doesn’t really any leafy greens. I attempted to sneak Kale into this one but was told “not be extra all the damn time.” He he he.

Ingredients

• Red Onion
• Tomatoes
• Cucumber
• Feta
• Olives
• Chickpeas (from a can coz you know how I roll)
• lemon

What now?

• *side eye* This one is easy, slice what needs to be sliced and mix all ingredients.
• Add a little bit of lemon juice, just before you serve
• You can add a little bit of black pepper if you like the kind of thing (I do)

This salad debuted at a “drinking too much” dinner, on Saturday, and they loved it but Sunday was the real test. I was invited to a braai and it was full of married-with-kids types. I was nervous that they wouldn’t like it but it was a HIT!

Your drunk friends will like this salad as much as your (suburbia) disturbia ones as well ha ha ha.

Let me know how yours turns out 🙂

Where you been, Fairy?

I have been a very bad Lunch Fairy. The worst kind. I didn’t even leave a ‘Gone Fishing’ sign outside my door. No emails, no calls… Nothing!

Truth is I started a new job, which means I now have 2 jobs (yaaaas Ms Money bags). A day job and a night job. The past few weeks have been a blur. Left my lunch at home a few times, the few times I actually packed lunch. But… I’m back, if you’ll have me (please love me again).

“What the *censored* do we have in the fridge?” Lunch

• Pumpkin
• Red Onion
• Broccoli
• Tomatoes
• Feta or protein of your choice (optional)

• Chop veggies the night before (stop complaining asseblief) and then stick them in the oven as soon as I wake up. Pumpkin cooks quickly which is great because so does broccoli.
• Drizzle a lit bit of olive oil on veggies before roasting. Season with your favourite what what (please go easy on the salt).
• Add tomatoes and onion once roasted veggies have cooled (coz nobody wants soggy lunch)

You can add feta (and a bit of balsamic vinegar) if you like. Don’t forget to pack a snack too.

I’ve been living on variations of this meal, for the past few weeks. Next week, we make something NEW! I need variety.

Feels good to be back!

Avo Avo Avo Avo

While most South Africans are celebrating the end of winter, I can’t help feeling like I’m losing a good friend. That good friend being avo. Summer is generally not avo friendly (for obvious reasons).

Here is a tip: NEVER trust a person who does not like avocado. Seriously! One of my exes didn’t like avo… That’s why he is an ex 😉

15 minute Avocado sandwich:

Ingredients

• Bread
• Avo
• Olives
• Feta
• Black Pepper
• Chilli flakes

This one is pretty straight forward. The sandwich took me 15 minutes to make. That includes the time it took to take pics for the blog. If you’ve got one of those fancy sandwich grill things, toast that bad boy and thank me later.

Lunch: avo sandwich + pineapple smoothie 

Meal Prep?

I am back! Demon flu had me laying in bed and regretting my decision to work with kids. Children are lovely but working with them is hazardous (ha ha ha)

Back to Lunch Fairy gwans: Let’s talk meal prep. I don’t know about you but I have to plan my meals (especially lunch). Guesswork leads to poor choices or boredom. I do all my grocery shopping on Sunday (with a “menu” in mind)

Shopping list Example:

• Tuna cans x 3
• Spinach/kale
• Tomatoes
• Green pepper
• Red Onion
• Cucumber
• Pack of bananas (or you can choose how many to buy)
• Small (cheap) pack of pasta
• Small purple cabbage

What can we make from this list?

There are 2 tuna options:

Not bad for tuna from a can 😉

Spicy Tuna Mayo Recipe 

Tuna Pasta Recipe

You can have those on 2 separate days… Or 3 if you’re feeling the tuna that much. The other days you can me your own version of lazy day lunch. I blogged a few lazy day tips here.

Bananas for what?

As a snack or to make yourself a green smoothie (recipe for banana green smoothie).

I know some of this stuff seems a “little too green” or maybe even complicated. Just try it and make it your own. Add a little bit of your favourite salad dressing to your lazy day lunch, make only one green smoothie… Just try it 🙂

Maybe I will do more meal prep posts on Mondays. Let me know if you like it.

Green (tea) Smoothie

Winter is being all kinds of testy. I want to eat as much raw food as I can but… Salads (raw) just don’t give me much joy right now. Green smoothies have become a daily snack.

I have already posted banana and (my favourite) pineapple green smoothie recipes. Today I’m sharing a recipe for a Green Tea Smoothie.

I’m trying to cut down on sugar. Unfortunately I found that I couldn’t really enjoy my coffee without at least a teaspoon of sugar. Solution? Green tea. I’m sure you can google all its benefits, apparently it has many (words like antioxidants get thrown around a lot). I like green tea because it does the same thing as coffee but doesn’t *need sugar.

Ingredients

• Green tea (let it cool)
• Kale/spinach
• Apple
• Avo
• Lemon

Put everything in a blender and enjoy. You can add ice cubes if you didn’t let the tea cool properly *side eye*.

Get yourself one of these glass bottles. No more bottled water and look how cute they are.

Green tea? Doesn’t it make the smoothie bitter? No. Trust me.

Can I leave out the avo? Sure but the smoothie won’t be as creamy

*Coffee purists reckon you don’t need to put sugar in your coffee. I do though 🙂

That’s a Wrap!

No. I’m not going anywhere (yet). I was just being punny because we’re making Salami Wraps for lunch. Wraps are easy. I try to keep the “filling’ to four ingredients coz aint nobody got time for dat.

Ingredients:

• Salami (obvs. It’s a salami wrap)
• Cream Cheese
• Mustard (I used Dijon)
• Tomato (slices)

Process

• Spread Cream Cheese and Mustard on wrap
• Add the rest of the ingredients
• Fold wrap… This is the worst part tbh. I made a mess 😕

Use as much cream cheese as you want. I use a little because it sticks to the roof of my mouth. That makes me 😦

Looks a little dry. How ’bout some sauce?

You can add sauce if you want… The wrap will be in your lunchbox for a while (before lunchtime) the tomato slices will get a little soggy/juicy. You want it that way, believe me.

I was getting carried away hence the close up 

Hey! You added chives

Yes I did, but that was to add colour to the pics. If you have chives, add them. They are not necessary though.

Try the Salami Wrap and let me know what you think.

Never forget to pack a snack

Chop Alles Lunch

Today I’m going to “throwback” to one of my favourite “chop *alles” lunch recipes. It definitely counts as a lazy day lunch.

“Chop Alles” lunch + snacks. That there is a flour free banana muffin. Will share the recipe soon. They are easy to make and so damn delicious too.

Ingredients

• Couscous
• Olives
• Tomatoes
• Green pepper
• Red onion
• Red Kidney beans
• Coriander (not a train smash if you don’t have any. Don’t need a lot anyway)
• Feta
• Olive Oil  – 1 tablespoon, don’t pour half a bottle 😦

Method

• Cook Couscous
• Chop & slice all the other ingredients
• Mix everything in a bowl
• Pack lunch or eat immediately or whatevs

If you have lemons, add a little bit of lemon juice to your lunch. Again. Not necessary but nice if you can.

*Alles = everything 

You put what in your Granola?

Lunch Fairy Does Breakfast: Granola

You can make your own granola and it won’t cost you an arm and a leg and you will love it. LOVE! Traditional granola is oats, nuts and honey. That’s fine but not terribly exciting or filling.

Important Stuff

1. Oats
2. Ginger (grated)
3. Seeds (sunflower & pumpkin)
4. *Coconut oil (melted)
5. Nutmeg
6. Cinnamon
7. Honey
8. Lentils

Yes. Lentils. The lentils make the granola more filling + protein (hoorraaaah for Vegans he he he). This works because lentils are not expensive… And I had a whole lot of left over red lentils but sshhhh.

Process

• Boil lentils for 5 minutes (don’t let them get mushy & gross)
• Once cooked, mix lentils with other ingredients (except honey) in a bowl.
• Put mixture on baking paper & drizzle (a little) honey over it

• Leave in the oven for 15 – 20 minutes (at 180 degrees)
• Let your granola cool. Some of it may be stuck together (thanks to honey).

You’ll notice my granola has nuts in it. I had some so I decided to use them before they go “stale”. This granola does not need nuts (they can be crazy expensive) but you can add them if you want.

I didn’t add quantities because that’s how I cook. Use your discretion. I trust you 🙂

I’ve made this jazzed up Granola. Now what?

You can have the granola (for breakfast) with the following:

• Yoghurt
• Milk (the real kind & other fake types)
• If you need a bit of “sweetness” you can add raisins, dried cranberries, apples or rawnola (see pic below)

Try it. Don’t be put off by the lentils. Please let me know what you think of this “jazzed up” granola 🙂