Guacamole dip

After running a dips, dressings and sauces class a couple of weeks ago, here's another easy peasy delicious gem to add to your repertoire of home-made dips. Who doesn't love guacamole? A winner with young and old. This is something that you could easily get kids involved in making or whip up a just before sitting down to your meal or before guests walk in the door (or even after they arrive!).

Ingredients: 1 avocado
1 tablespoon (20ml) lemon juice 1 tablespoon (20ml) extra virgin cold pressed olive oil 1 tablespoon (15g) red onion, diced
2 tablespoons (35g) ripe tomato, diced
1 clove (5g) garlic, finely diced
1 tablespoon fresh coriander (chopped), plus extra for garnishing (optional)
4 drops Young Living lime essential oil 1 drop Young Living black pepper essential oil
A scattering of dried or fresh chilli for garnishing (optional)
Unrefined salt

 Directions

Cut avocado in half, remove seed and scoop flesh into a bowl (I like to score the avocado in squares with a knife before scooping out flesh). Roughly mash avocado with the back of a fork but don’t overdo it- you want it a little chunky. Add all other ingredients. Season with sea and pepper to taste. Mix ingredients until well combined. Garish with extra coriander leaves before serving.

Serve as a side with main meal or as a dip with vegetable crudities. Serves 2. If you are having guests over I would triple the quantity.

For a creamier version, add 1 tablespoon of crème fraiche. Guacamole purists might be horrified, but who cares.

Tip: If not serving straight away, sit the avocado seed in the dip (this helps to stop it going brown), cover with cling wrap and refrigerate. Avocado tends to oxidize (go brown) quite quickly so I tend to just make enough for one sitting and do not make in bulk.

At its most simplest level you can make a simple avocado and lemon dip with just 1 avocado, 1 tablespoon lemon juice and season with salt and pepper. Now that's one that you could delegate to the kids while you kick back with a chardy (organic of course). (In reality I'd be kicking the piles of dirty laundry strewn all over the floor while poorly multi-tasking 50 other tasks that are required to be done in an impossibly short space of time). But life is too short to skimp on good food so ALWAYS make time to prepare and enjoy a beautiful meal with loved ones. The laundry can always wait.

Back to the daily school grind....inspiration for school lunch boxes and mornings teas...

The summer holidays have drawn (somewhat regrettably) to a close and now we are diving head first into that (seemingly Groundhog Day) routine of school drop offs, pick ups, and school lunch preparations. For some inspiration on lunch box and morning tea ideas (for school or work) click here to view one of my previous blog posts on this topic. The aim is take-away wholefood that is:

• super-simple to prepare (usually the day before as school mornings are hectic enough)
• nutrient-dense
• gluten-free (and almost always grain-free)
• sugar-free
• manufactured oil -free
• nut-free (as schools are nut-free zones)
• processed-food-free

Like my business page on Facebook and/or follow me on Twitter to receive regular posts on what my little ones are taking with them to school on any given day. I'm keen to hear some of your ideas too!!

Simple Asian Style Soup Recipe: How to get bone broth into fussy kids

Lately my kids have been really grumbling about drinking their broth.  The drill in my family for the past few years has been to consume 1/2 cup of broth (eg chicken, beef or fish stock) before the main meal. Maybe it's taste fatigue? Maybe they are not hungry enough? Maybe it's just boredom? So I needed to get creative about it. Here's what I'm experimenting with:

1. Instead of a cup of straight broth consumed as an entree before the main meal I'm using the broth/stock as a base for soups. Last night it was fish soup (made with left over snapper fillets and steamed veggies) and tonight was Asian style soup made as follows:

• Steam Asian style veggies until soft (eg carrots cut on diagonal, thinly sliced red capsicum, green shallots, asparagus spears, sliced mushrooms, spinach leaves)

• Heat chicken broth/stock (together with any left over meat such as chicken pieces) in saucepan (allow 1/2 cup stock per person) until warm. Turn off heat.

• Add miso paste (allow 1 teaspoon/person) into the saucepan with the broth and mix with stick blender until blended through.

• Divide steamed veggies among serving bowls and add dollop of butter on top. Pour stock/miso mixture into bowls.

• Add a drizzle of tamari (wheat free soy sauce) into each bowl together with a scattering of activated sesame seeds and a handful of nori seaweed (cut into strips).

Not only did my kids eat ALL of this soup without any fussing or stalling tactics but Michaela pronouned at the ned "That was really yummy! I'd like more please". Ironic that this was the one occasion where there was no more!

2. Not making such a big deal about them eating their "broth". Perhaps just referring to it as "soup"

3. Stretching dinner out to later (e.g. just before bed time) and reducing size of their arvo tea so that they are genuinely hungry at dinner time.

4. Making their serving portions smaller so they get through dinner easily without feeling daunted.

5. Adding a little more cold gelatinous broth to our banana kefir smoothies in the morning (without making a big deal that it's in there!)

6. Making sure the stock (or soup) isn't too hot when served which instantly puts them off.

7. Adding gelatin powder to desserts such as coconut vanilla panacotta. Gelatin powder is made from 100% ground up beef bones. It is gelatinous like home made broth and I use it as a setting/jelling agent in desserts.

I'd love to hear from other parents on their thoughts about these suggestions and any other ideas in terms of different ways of incorporating broth into their kids' diets.