Comfort Food

We may well be a few weeks into Spring already but Tarian Pantry is still finding comfort in some winter style foods.

After a cooking bonanza yesterday in preparation for the week ahead, a few ingredients created tonight's Pumpkin and lima bean pie. Served with a tomato, onion mushroom gravy and steamed Brussels sprouts, the miniature pies rated highly on the comfort food-o-meter!

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All it takes is a few ingredients....

Here at Tarian Pantry, we rarely let our cupboards go bare and our fridge go empty however at this time, both cupboards and fridge are experiencing what we are calling ‘a Spring detox’.

With few ingredients to choose from, it was either dial for takeaway or make the best of the situation. We know that even with few ingredients to choose from, you can always create something delicious.

The ingredients that we had on hand were:

• Arborio rice
• Homemade tomato sauce
• Kalamata olives
• Dill & Parsley (fresh from the garden)
• Rocket
• Caramelised balsamic vinegar

These ingredients made an ideal risotto topped with rocket licked with caramelised balsamic vinegar. This meal took less than 3 minutes to prepare and around 20 minutes to cook, now that’s my kind of fast food!

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Spring into....

Spring! Not only is it time to spring clean our houses but its time to spring clean ourselves.

Try cutting back on caffeinated beverages, alcohol, sugar, animal fats, processed foods and increase your intake of nutrient dense organic fruit & vegetables, grains, legumes and nuts. By doing so, you will be treating your body to the foods that will assist you with an all year round detox.

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Vegetable Box of goodness

When stocking up your Tarian Panty with fruit & vegetables each week, remember to bring an eco shopping bag or ask for a vegetable box for your purchases instead of using and contributing to the production of plastic bags.

The most inexpensive way to do your produce shopping each week is purchasing from your local growers markets. A box of goodness such as what's pictured will set you back around $45...not bad considering this is feeding two people, its all organic and it easily provides goodness for 7 meals and 7 lunches.

And if there are any vegetables left overs at the end of the week, my kitchen tip: you can always make a soup!

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Imperfect is perfect

After adopting an organic lifestyle over 5 years ago, it soon became apparent that the produce I was purchasing did not look like that found in conventional supermarkets, featured on TV or pictured in magazines.

It wasn't to say that the organic produce I was buying was sub standard, it just meant I was buying produce that fell naturally off trees when ripe and that the produce was grown without the use of pesticides and insecticides. What I noted I was and still eating, was and is nature.

Nature gives us the gift of food, warts and all. I would much prefer to find dirt on my mushrooms, a worm in my lettuce and dark marks on my oranges than buy something that looks like its been airbrushed!

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What exactly is a healthy diet?

In short, a healthy diet is one that:

Satisfies our physical & mental needs for energy and nutrients

Provides our body with a wide variety of natural nutrients

Minimises our exposure to potentially hazardous substances

Includes food that is produced & grown using environmentally friendly and sustainable methods

We say no to nasties and yes to real eating...after all, this is the way nature intended us to eat.

www.tarianpantry.com.au

A posy of spinach...

Some girls get flowers, me, well give me a posy of spinach any day!

This home grown, organic spinach is a sight to behold. Picked from the veggie patch today, this spinach almost has to be seen to believe its actually real. With little input from Tarian Pantry's green thumb, this spinach has looked after itself to produce dark green leaves bursting with nutrition and flavour.

www.tarianpantry.com.au