Bread sticks and scones with "hidden veggies". A smash hit with my kids.

I struggle to get my kids to eat veggies at all, yet alone the recommended daily intake of veggies. Recently my kids and I invented a recipe called potato snakes, which my kids love, especially when they get to roll the potato dough into snakes.
So last night I decided to try something similar in order to get a few other veggies into them. It was successful! So here's my recipe for bread sticks (grissini) and scones with some hidden vegetables in. And the great thing is, you can say things like, "You can only have another bread stick if you eat the veggies on your plate first!"

Basic dough (scone dough).
2 cups self raising flour (you can use gluten free but may need to adjust the quantity)
30g butter (approximately, or 1 heaped tablespoon. I used salt free butter).
Milk (cows milk, almond, coconut or any other type of milk you like)
Cheese, salt, pepper and any other flavourings are optional
extra flour for rolling the dough.

Now for the veggies...
I had some baby spinach, sweet potato and a zucchini. I steamed the spinach and sweet potato, but just grated the zucchini. Make sure you squeeze the excess moisture out of the zucchini. You could really use any vegetable you like. I didn't use any broccoli due to the strong taste (I thought I might be pushing my luck getting my kids to eat it).

Blend the vegetables until you have a puree. I blended each separately so I could make different batches.

Preheat the oven to 225C or about 450F. If making bread sticks, line a baking tray (like one you use for biscuits). If making scones, line a deep oven dish (such as a lasagna or lamington tray) so that they rise up beautifully.

Rub the butter into the flour until it resembles breadcrumbs. Add the pureed zucchini and mix in. Add in whatever other vegetable(s) you want and just enough milk to make a stiff dough. Do not knead too much, otherwise your breadsticks and scones won't rise nicely. I did one lot with just the zucchini added in, another lot with sweet potato and a third lot with the spinach.
For making scones: Roll dough out to about 2cm thick. Use a scone cutter to cut out shapes and place in lamington tray so scones are touching (a great tip for getting scones to rise up rather than out). Brush with milk and place on top tray in oven (hottest part of oven so they rise quickly before starting to actually cook).
For making bread sticks: Roll dough between hands to make a snake shape. Place on biscuit tray, brush with milk and you can top with things like sesame seeds or poppy seeds if you so desire.

For both, bake for about 10-15 minutes until they have browned on the top and make a hollow sound when you tap them. Place on a cake rack to cool.

My kids ate the bread sticks with dinner last night and had the scones for morning tea today, and then asked for more!

My Chia and Flaxseed sprinkle

There's a Chia and Flaxseed sprinkle I get from Goodies and Grains that I love, but it has sultanas in it. Seeing that I'm sugar free, I've made my own based on theirs, without the sultanas.
It's great for sprinkling on your breakfast, but my favourite way to have it is on yoghurt. You can use activated seeds and nuts, but if you don't have activated ones, try soaking this mixture overnight in a bowl in the fridge to get rid of the phytic acid. I also use Australian grown/organic ingredients when I can.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup chia seeds (any colour)
1/2 cup sesame seeds
1/2 cup buckwheat
1/4 cup flaxseed
1/4 cup millet
1/4 cup sunflower seeds
2 tbsp poppy seeds
1/4 cup pumpkin seeds (pepitas)
1/2 cup almonds, chopped coarsely.

Mix altogether and store in an air tight container.

To be honest, I never measure the ingredients. I only did it this morning so I could write up the recipe. Just add the amount of each ingredient that you like.

Yum Yum, enjoy.

Price Savvy - my grocery comparison price list

In recent months we have noticed a huge increase in our shopping bill, largely as a result of going gluten and sugar free. Consequently, I noticed a big variation in prices on our grocery bill between different shops, and started making a list of what we have bought and what we paid for each item. Whenever I have bought these items on special, or perhaps bought a cheaper brand, I've updated the list. I now take this list with me whenever I go shopping, and have found that it has saved me quite a bit of money. I have found that sometimes when an item is marked as being on special, when I've checked back through my list I have found that the 'special' price is not all that 'special'. Sometimes the 'special'price for an item is not cheaper than the same product in another brand. This can be confusing when the item can be found in more than one place in the same supermarket. For example, when I went shopping today the organic raw cacao powder 'on special' in the gluten free aisle was more expensive per 100g than another brand of organic raw cacao powder in the tea/coffee aisle.
So here is my list so far, note it doesn't include perishables (meat, dairy, fruit and veg). These prices were taken from Costco, Campbells Cash and Carry, Drakes Foodland, IGA, Coles and Woolworths in South Australia.
I apologise for the layout, if you would like me to email you my excel spreadsheet, contact me on paulinestips@gmail.com. Then you will be able to personalise and print out your own shopping list!
Brand Item Size Cost Price per unit Shop
Abundant Puffed rice 170g $4.19 $2.38/100g Foodland
Angus Park Prunes 1kg $8.33 $8.33/kg Foodland
Australia's Own Almond milk uht 1L $3.99 $3.99/L Foodland
Bega Tasty cheese 1kg $8.00 $8/kg Coles when on special
Birds Eye Fish Fingers 1kg $8.69 $8.69/kg Campbells Cash and Carry
Birds Eye 6 fish fillets 425g $4.39 $1.03/100g IGA
Carefree panty liners 120 $11.39 $0.09/ea Costco
Coon Cheese Tasty 1kg $7.99 $7.99/kg IGA
Devondale UHT 1L $0.99 $0.99/L Foodland when on special
Devondale UHT 2L $2.00 $1/L Coles when on special
Devondale Butter extra soft 500g $4.00 $8/kg Coles when on special
Dick Smith Ozemite 175g $5.03 $2.87/100g Foodland
Earths Choice Dishwashing liquid 1L $2.29 $2.29/L Foodland
Earths Choice Laundry liquid 4L $12.50 $3.12/L Gaganis
Easiyo Yoghurt - greek 170g $3.69 $2.17/100g Foodland
Easiyo Low fat greek 170g $4.95 $2.91/100g Foodland
Edgell multipack (corn, 4 bean mix, red beans) 6 pack $5.89 $0.98/can Costco
Edgell Red kidney beans 420g $1.89 $0.45/100g Foodland
G Fresh Ginger ground 80g $2.99 $3.74/100g Foodland
Global Organic Coconut milk canned 400g $2.25 $0.56/100g Foodland
Global Organic Coconut cream canned 400g $2.25 $0.56/100g Foodland
Goodies & Grains Coconut Oil 1L $18.29 $18.29/L Foodland when on special
Greenseas Tuna 95g $1.89 $1.99/100g Foodland
Huggies Drynites 10s $12.98 $1.30ea Foodland
Huggies Drynites 32 $28.59 $0.89/ea Costco when on special
John West Sardines $2.55 Foodland
John West Oysters 85g $2.99 $3.52/100g Foodland
John West Salmon 130g $2.99 $2.30/100g Foodland
Kelloggs Special K 535g $3.99 $7.45/kg Foodland when on special
Kelloggs GF Special K 330g $4.99 $15.12/kg Foodland
Kleenex Tissues 170s $1.89 $0.01ea Foodland when on special
Kleenex Toilet roll 8pk 8pk $3.99 $0.50/roll Foodland
Kleenex toilet roll 16pk 16 $5.79 $0.36/roll Foodland when on special
Laucke White bread mix 10kg $20.00 $2.00/kg Foodland
Lowan Yeast 280g $5.69 $20.32/kg Foodland
Lowan Rice Flakes 500g $3.29 $0.65/100g Foodland
Massel Chicken stock powder 140g $2.69 $1.92/100g Foodland
McCain Peas frozen 1kg $3.49 $3.49/kg Foodland when on special
McKenzies Bi carb soda 500g $2.07 $0.41/100g Campbells Cash and Carry
McKenzies Bi carb soda 1kg $3.11 $3.11/kg Foodland
Melrose Coconut oil organic refined 300g $3.97 $13.20/kg Coles when on special
My organics Red lentils 500g $4.79 $.96/100g Foodland
Natures Delight Almonds - Aust 1kg $16.89 $16.89/lg Campbells Cash and Carry
Natvia Stevia 200g $5.69 $2.84/100g Foodland
NF Puffed rice 175g $5.86 $3.35/100g Foodland
Organic Gold Flaxseed 1kg $6.29 $6.29/kg Costco
Orgran Custard powder 200g $4.95 $2.48/100g Foodland
Osha Rice Paper 4 pack 1kg $5.99 $1.49/pack Costco
Peoples Choice Cacoa - organic raw $4.99 Foodland
Peoples Choice Sesame Seeds 250g $2.69 $1.08/100g Foodland
Peoples Choice Rice Bran $6.19 Foodland
Pukka Tea Revitalise 40g $6.69 $16.72/100g Foodland
Pukka Tea Vanilla Chai 40g $6.49 $16.72/100g Foodland
Pure Harvest Coconut quench 1L $4.39 $4.39/L Foodland
Pure Harvest Rice Syrup 500g $4.79 $9.58/kg Foodland
Quinoa Aust Quinoa - organic $17.59 Foodland
Red Island Olive Oil 2L $17.99 $9.00/L Foodland
Safcol Tuna pole and line caught 425g $3.99 $9.39/kg Foodland when on special
San Remo GF Buckwheat fettucine 250g $3.79 $1.52/100g Foodland
San Remo GF brown rice spaghetti 250g $3.79 $1.52/100g Foodland
Sanitarium GF Weetbix 375g $4.59 $1.22/100g Foodland
Sanitarium Weetbix 1.12Kg $5.69 $5.08/kg Foodland
Sanitarium Weetbix 1.3kg $4.49 $3.45/kg Costco
Saxa Rock salt 1kg $3.83 $3.83/kg Foodland
Siena Passata tomato puree 680g $1.29 $0.19/100g Foodland
SOL Passata tomato puree 680g $1.16 $0.17/100g Costco
SPC Spaghetti 4 pack 220g $3.97 $1.80/100g Campbells Cash and Carry
SPC tomato puree 410g $1.29 $0.37/100g Foodland
SPC spaghasaurus 4 x 220 $3.97 $0.99/can Foodland
Suncoast Gold Macadamia Milk 1L $2.99 $2.99/L Foodland
Sunrice Rick cakes original thick 150g $1.39 $0.93/100g Campbells Cash and Carry
Sunrice rice cake thin 150g $2.15 $1.43/100g Foodland ** thick and thin are same price at Campbells
The Carob Kitchen Carob kibbles nibbles 250g $7.39 $2.95/100g Foodland
The Chia Company Chia seeds 500g $14.15 $2.83/100g Foodland
Tudor Envelopes DL 100pk $4.69 $0.05ea Campbells Cash and Carry
Uncle Toby's Muesli bars chewy favourites 375g $6.57 $1.75/100g Campbells Cash and Carry
Uncle Toby's Muesli bars yoghurt tops 375g $4.33 $1.15/100g Costco
Uncle Toby's Muesli bars choc chip 185g $4.00 $2.16/100g Campbells Cash and Carry
Vitasoy Coconut Milk 1L $3.49 $3.49/L Foodland
Well & Good GF plain flour $6.67 Foodland
Yummy Almonds - Aust 1Kg $21.49 $21.49/kg Foodland
Yummy Pepitas - organic 500g $8.39 $16.78/kg Foodland
Yummy Pecans Aust 400g $13.29 $3.32/100g Foodland

Cheap and Cheerful: I Quit Sugar and Waste

Facebook keeps reminding me that I have't on my page for quite some time. So I thought I would share this with you, and my Facebook page, then that should keep Facebook happy for awhile. I've been a bit too busy lately to keep my blog up to date.
I've made a few changes in my life. I've started regular exercise and changed what I eat. I have borrowed a heap of Leslie Sansone Walk at home dvd's from the library, and am an I Quit Sugar (Sarah Wilson) convert. Consequently in the last 3 or 4 months I have lost 6 kgs, a total of 8kg over the last 12 months.
I recently bought Sarah Wilson's Simplicious cook book and love it so much it lives permanently on my kitchen bench, never making it to the shelf where the other cook books are kept. She has a fantastic website, the link to her website I Quit Sugar is under my Recommended Blogs. Scroll down the page and you'll see it on the left hand side. In the book is a recipe for Chicken Pot Au Feu. I made this the other night and the shredded chicken from it was delicious. One of the things I love about her cook book is her suggestions on what you can use the leftovers for. After making this chicken dish, here are the things I have made with the leftovers.
Four Ingredient Green Chook shred up Abundance Bowl - from the recipe book.
I discovered the stock/liquid makes a lovely thin soup or chicken stock. Freeze the excess in the ice cube tray for later use in other dishes.
I blended the left over vegies and made the following two dishes. Both have been big hits with my children, who usually veer away from vegies. There are no measurements (sorry), I just keep adding ingredients until the mix looked right.
"Yorkshire" style pudding:
Blended vegies, two eggs, gluten free self raising flour. Pre-heat oven to 200C/400F and place a little oil in the bottom of each cup in a muffin tray. If using a silicone muffin tray, omit oil. Mix all ingredients together until a thin batter has formed. Pour into muffin tray until 2/3 full. Place in oven and cook about 15mins.
Vegie muffins: Blended vegies, 1 egg, self raising flour (gluten free or normal), grated cheddar cheese. Preheat oven to 180C/350F. Beat all ingredients together until you have a cake mixture consistency. Pour into muffin tray. Cook until golden brown on top (approx 15-20 mins).

I've now used up all the chicken meat and vegies, but still have some of the stock left. This has been a very economical way to get so many dishes out of one meal. Thank you Sarah Wilson and the I Quit Sugar team! And to top it off, I used the offcuts from the vegies to make Sarah's vegie stock in my slow cooker. Nothing was wasted! Once I had finished with the vegie scraps after making the stock, they went into my compost heap. The only thing to make it to the bin was the plastic the chicken (free range) was wrapped in.

Zucchini and Prosciutto quiche with gluten free pastry in the slow cooker

I wanted to make this recipe but it's too hot to have the oven on today, so I adjusted things a bit to make it in the slow cooker as well as make a gluten free pastry.

Zucchini and Prosciutto quiche with gluten free pastry.
To make the pastry: 3 cups gluten free pastry flour, 5 tbsp margarine or butter, 1 cup water. Combine ingredients to a smooth consistency. Roll out dough on lightly floured board to desired thickness.
Line sc with baking paper. Place dough into sc so it goes up the sides a bit.
To make the filling: olive oil, 150g prosciutto, 1 onion chopped, 3 or 4 zucchini (depending on size), 4 eggs, 2/3 cup cream, 1/4 cup milk, 1/4 cup grated parmesan.
Fry prosciutto in olive oil until crispy. Remove from pan and drain. Fry onion until soft, then remove from pan. Fry zucchini until soft (add more oil if required). Whisk together the eggs, cream, milk and most of the cheese.
Layer the prosciutto, zucchini and onions into the pastry and then pour the egg mixture over it. Top with remaining cheese. Cook on high for 2.5 to 3 hours with tea towel under the lid.