This is one of my favourite African dishes to cook and eat. It's delicious and full of flavour. "Kuku" in swahili means chicken and "Paka" can be translated as "to cook" or "cooked".in slang or modified gujrati. I think the origin of the recipe stems from the Coast of Africa since coconut is a major ingredient and many coastal dishes use quite a bit of coconut. The coconut in the recipe depending on how much and which type you use is what traditionally makes this recipe high in fat. However if you choose a low fat version of coconut milk (only 45 calories per cup) like i have then you reduce the calories significantly.

Ingredients:
2 chicken breasts (skinless boneless)
5 chicken drums (i've used these with skin because my Dad likes the skin on his chicken, however i would opt for skinless for a healthier version or just opt for 4 chicken breasts in total instead of the chicken drums).
4 hard boiled eggs
2 to 3 potatoes
1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil
1 onion (chopped fine)
1 tomato (chopped fine)
1 tsp chopped garlic
0.5 tsp of chopped ginger
1.5 tsp of salt
1.5 tsp of paprika (i use paprika instead of chilli powder as my children don't like it spicy).
0.5 tsp of corriander powder
1 tsp of cumin powder
0.5 tsp of tumeric powder
2-3 tablespoons of lemon juice
3 cups of coconut milk (unsweetened and light)
1/2 cup of water
chopped cilantro to top

1) Chop, clean and wash your chicken.
2) Boil your eggs and peel and keep these ready.
3) Wash and skin your potatoes.
4) Boil these for a few mins or chop and microwave for a couple mins. Keep aside.
5) Heat the oil and add chopped onions
6) Saute onions until golden

7) Add the chicken to the sauteed onions.
8) Add garlic, ginger, tomatoes and rest of the dry spices.
9) Add about 0.5 a cup of water and cook chicken.

10) Once chicken is almost cooked add coconut milk.
11) Stir well and cook on low - medium until chicken is completely cooked.

12) Add boiled eggs and potatoes and simmer for about 5-7 mins.

13) When you are ready to serve, stir 2-3 tablespoons of lemon juice and top with chopped cilantro leaves.
14) Serve with plain white rice, naan or thick bread (baguette).
TIP: You can also add the coconut milk at the very end before you add the lemon juice and cilantro. This way you don't run the risk of the milk separating. If the heat is not low enough it may separate when you add it in step 10.

Makes approx. 6 servings
Calories per serving (without rice, naan/bread): 282, Carbs: 14, Fat: 12, Protein: 28, Sodium: 383, Sugar: 6

I've been seeing recipes for a while now that have substituted carrots and zucchini for regular pasta and i've wanted to try to see how this would turn out. It turned out very tasty but it's not like pasta at all. Very different! But what did i expect? The texture and taste of carrots and zucchini is so different then that of pasta. I did like it enough to want to make it again and my discerning husband also gave it a thumbs up, so here is the recipe!

I recently also tried this same recipe with zucchini and it was a big hit. I've added info & pictures for substituting zucchini below.

1) Wash and peel carrots/zucchini.

2) Using a juilienne tool, shred the carrots/zucchini to make your spaghetti. I used one from the oxo brand (http://www.amazon.com/OXO-Good-Grips-Julienne-Peeler/dp/B0000CCY1S)

3) Heat oil in pot/pan and then add garlic and onions.
4) Saute until golden brown.

5) Add mushrooms and saute for another few mins until here is no liquid left.
6) Add salt and pepper.

picture of zucchini version above

7) Add julienne carrots/zucchini and saute for another 5-6 mins.
8) Stir in the tomato sauce and simmer on low for another 5-6 mins.

picture of the carrots and sauce above

picture of the zucchini and sauce above

Italian Meatballs
Ingredients:

• .5 kg of extra lean ground chicken or turkey. (You can also use lean or extra lean ground beef. If you do, just omit the oil in the recipe)
• 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 an onion (chopped fine)
• 2 tablespoons of dill (i really like dill, so this is what i've used but you can use blend of italian herbs like oregano, parsley, basil)
• 1/4 cup of parmesan cheese (you can also use feta instead and this along with the dill will give you a greek flavoured meatball instead)
• 1/4 teaspoon of salt
• 1/2 teaspoon of pepper or more according to taste.
  

1) Add all ingredients into a mixing bowl.
2) Mix well.

3) Form into meatballs.
4) Grill for about 15-20 mins until there is no pink visible and these have browned well. (I use my T-Fal Acti-Fry).

Makes approx; 15-17 meatballs
Calories per meatball: 58, Carbs: 0, Fat: 4, Protein: 6, Sodium: 44, Sugar: 0

I love these! These are tasty, easy to make and a good way to get your kids to eat vegetables if they are picky eaters like my oldest is.

Ingredients:
1 cauliflower head
1/2 cup of shredded/grated cheese (i've used low fat mozzarella)
1 egg
1 egg white
1/2 cup of bread crumbs (I use sticklings rice bread crumbs)
1/2 an onion
6/7 sprigs of cilantro
1/2 tsp of salt
pepper to taste

1) Steam cauliflower head.
2) chop onion and cilantro in the chopper.
3) Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees Farenheit.
4) Break apart the cauliflower head into small pieces once steamed and add to the rest of the ingredients in a large mixing bowl.

5) Mash and mix the mixture well.
TIP: If you find that your steamed cauliflower has quite a bit of water then try to drain, pat out the water before you break into little pieces and mix the rest of the ingredients. If you find that it's still quite soggy then you may want to add more breadcrumbs to get a good consistency enough to form the tots.

6) Form into patties or kebabs and bake in the oven for 20-25 mins. until golden brown. Enjoy!

Makes approx: 30-32 tots
Calories per tot: 18, Carbs: 2, Fat: 1, Protein, 1, Sodium 27, Sugar: 1

I'm a big fan of Moroccan flavours and Moroccan style cooking. This baked root vegetable dish is full on flavour and easy to make.

Ingredients:
3 carrots
4 celery stalks
1 red beet
2 parsnips
1 fennel
0.5 cup of pearl onions (you can use 1 regular onion instead)
1 yam/ sweet potato
2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon of honey
2 tsp of cumin
1 tsp of salt
feta cheese to top (parmesan is okay instead of)
1/4 - 1/2 cup of chopped cilantro (i've also used mint instead)
OPTIONAL: You can add any kind of root vegetable you like to the mix. I've made this with regular onion, leeks, turnips in the past. It just depends on what you have in stock. I've also just used carrots, celery and pearl onions in the past (as shown below) when i didn't have any root vegetables on hand.

1) Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.
2) Peel and chop all the vegetables in medium size chunks. Doesn't have to be perfect.
3) Drizzle olive oil and honey.
4) Add the spices and mix well.
5) Bake for 20-25 minutes or until vegetables are browned.

6) Top with cheese and cilantro and serve.
Makes approx. 6 to 8 servings
Calories depends on exactly which root vegetables you use (this is approx): 100, Carbs: 21, Fat: 0, Protein: 2, Sodium: 78, Sugar: 6

You can make these spicy, plain or sweet. These are super easy to make and you can make so many variations with the fillings. Here is the basic recipe i use.

Ingredients:
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1 cup of flour (i have tried whole wheat, buckwheat, all purpose flour, spelt) I used organic Einkorn flour (Non GMO) this time.
1/3 cup of water (you may need to add a bit more water if you are using buckwheat flour)
1/4 tsp salt
2 tablespoons of melted, cooled butter

Vegan Version:
1 cup of spelt flour or any other flour* you would like to use
1/4 tsp of salt
1/2 cup of unsweetened coconut milk
2/3 cup of water
1/8 cup of extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
*if you use a different flour you may need to add more water to get the correct consistency. It should be thinner than pancake batter.

OPTIONS: To make these sweet, you can mix 1-2 tablespoons of sugar, 1 tsp vanilla extract and remove the salt in the above recipe. You can also add 1-2 tablespoons of cocoa to the sweet variation to make it chocolatey.

FILLINGS:
You can do nutella, bananas and cream for sweet version.
You can also do just plain cheese for the savory version.
You can do sunny side up eggs and some sausage or deli meat for the savory version.
This time, i making a mixture of vegetables. I usually just look at what's in my fridge since you really can stuff these with just about anything. Just be creative! I've used mushrooms, red peppers, green onions and then sprinkled some cheese on top. I also made some with shredded chicken from chicken biryani that was left over and then added some cheese to these too! Both versions were fabulous and disappeared fast!

1) Add all ingredients in a mixing bowl/ blender/food processor except for melted butter. I use a mixing bowl and then my hand blender.
2) Mix well until you see bubbles forming.
3) Stir/whisk in the melted butter. Make sure it has cooled.
4) Cover and refrigerate for an hour. Sometimes when i'm in a hurry i skip this step and these still turn out fine.

5) Have your filling ingredients ready to go
6) Pour a little bit of mixture (1/2 cup measure but it depends on the size of your pan) onto your heated frying pan (low to med) and spread mixture out quickly and thinly so that it covers the entire pan. I am using an electric crepe maker and it comes with a wooden tool that allows you to spread the mixture quickly.
7) Don't worry about spreading the crepe perfectly. You can fill little holes with some more batter and just spread. It takes practice but even with practice i haven't perfected it yet!

8) Cook until almost dry on top and browned edges
9) Loosen the edges and flip with a spatula
10) Cook other side for about 15-20 seconds and then you are ready to fill.

11) Take about a tablespoon of the filling and put it in the middle of the crepe. In this case i used a vegetable filling and topped it will a little mozzarella cheese. To make the vegetable filling, put some red pepper, green onion, mushrooms in the chopper. Chop fine and your filling is ready. 12)Once you add the filling to the crepe, just top with a little cheese.
13) Fold the crepe in half, or make a packet like in the picture below or triangle - whatever you wish.
14) For the second topping i heated and shredded left over chicken from chicken biryani and then topped this with some cheese. Voila! Bon appetit!

 
Crepes: Makes approx 6-8 large crepes

Calories per crepe without any fillings: 104, Carbs: 12, Fat: 4, Protein:5, Sodium: 54, Sugar: 2
Vegan crepe without fillings: 135, Carbs: 16 Fiber: 3g, Fat: 6g, Protein: 3, Sodium: 104 mg, Sugar: 1g

This is such an easy, tasty breakfast full of Moroccan Flavour. It takes about 10 mins to make.

Ingredients:
1 small onion (i used 1/2 of a large onion)
2-3 eggs
3 tablespoons Harissa paste/sauce
1 tablespoon olive oil
OPTIONAL: 1 small tomato

1) Heat olive oil in frying pan
2) Chop Onions and add to oil
3) Saute onions until golden brown

4) Add harissa paste to the onions.
OPTIONAL: You can add the chopped tomato (chopped finely) with the harissa paste and cook until all the water has evaporated and you are left with a dry paste
5) Break eggs into mixture and cook
6) Put under the broiler/grill for a few minutes to cook/brown the top of the eggs once the eggs are cooked

7) You can serve with chapati/roti/naan or bread
OPTION: You can add sausage/kebab/ground beef/ground chicken to the sauteed onions after step 3 before you add the harissa sauce/paste and tomatoes (if you are using tomatoes). Cook meat with sauteed onions well before you go to step 4.

Calories: 128, Carbs: 3, Fat: 10, Protein: 7, Sodium: 70, Sugar: 1

I've been wanting to try this recipe out for a while now. It's a no eggs, milk, butter, cake recipe that was invented during the depression when these ingredients were hard to come by. I substituted all purpose flour, for gluten free mix and these turned out great!

Dry Ingredients:

• 1.5 cups of all purpose flour (I used 1 cup of brown rice, 1 cup of white rice flour, 1/3 cup of tapioca starch, 2/3 cup of potato starch, 1tsp. xanthan gum to make it gluten free)
  

• 3 tablespoons cocoa powder (unsweetened)
• 1 cup sugar (i used organic coconut sugar. You can use maple sugar as well)
• 1 tsp baking soda ( 1 used 1/5 tsp since i used the gluten free mix above)
• 0.5 tsp of salt

Wet Ingredients:

• 0.5 tsp of white vinegar

• 1 tsp vanilla extract

• 5 tablespoons of vegetable oil (i used olive)

• 1 cup of water (I used skim milk but you can also use coconut milk)
  

1) preheat oven to 350 degrees F
2) mix all the dry ingredients in one bowl

3) mix all the wet ingredients in another bowl

4) whisk/mix the dry ingredients into the wet bowl
5) whisk until all the lumps and bubbles disappear

6) pour into greased cake pan or cupcake liners
7) bake for 15-20 mins (cupcakes) or 25-30 mins for cake

These didn't turn out flat on top but I usually decorate the tops with cream cheese icing  so i don't worry too much about the tops being uneven. You can slice the tops to make them even before you frost/ice. I've included a vegan version for the icing as well!
Calories: approx: 170 per cupcake without icing

This is one of my favourite dishes to make. It's easy and so tasty!

Ingredients:
1.5 packets raw, peeled, no tail prawns (about 15-20 prawns per pack)
1 large yellow/white onion
3 medium tomatoes
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
0.5 tsp tumeric powder
0.5 tsp corriander powder
0.5 tsp salt
0.5 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp paprika
0.5 tsp chilli powder
1.5 tsp chopped garlic
1 tablespoon lemon juice
Optional: 1 tablespoon of fried onions (store bought, come in a packet) and/or 1 tablespoon of chopped cilantro

1) Chop onions finely
2) Saute onion in olive oil really well on low-medium heat until golden. This is the key step as this well give your curry the sweetness and flavor. Watch the colour of the onions as this will give in an indication when you are ready to go to the next step. These need to be a lovely golden colour. Not white, not brown/burnt.

2) Add garlic.
3) Chop tomatoes and add them to the onions once the onions have turned golden brown.

3) Add all the spices including lemon juice.
4) Cook on med/high until all the water has evaporated and you are left with a thick sauce/curry.
5) Wash the prawns well, drain the water and add them to the curry mixture.
6) Cook for 6-8 minutes or until the prawns turn pink. Don't overcook the prawns.
7) Add fried onions/cilantro (optional)
8) Serve with rice/chapati/roti

I save 1/2 a packet of prawns and saute them in 1 tablespoon of butter, with 0.5 teaspoon of garlic, a little salt and pepper for my little ones as the curry tends to be a bit too spicy for them.

Serves 6-8
Calories based on serving of 8 (without fried onion garnish): 79, Carbs: 2, Fat: 2, Protein: 12, Sodium: 351, Sugar: 2

1) Add all the ingredients to a mixing bowl
2) Whisk well
3) Add batter to squeeze bottle
4) Have fun making shapes/ write your name/ draw
TIP: You can add mini chocolate chips/sprinkles/fruit to the batter

Makes approx. 8-10 small pancakes
Per pancake:
Calories: 76, Carbs: 12, Fat: 2, Protein: 3, Sodium: 21, Sugar: 2

These chicken strips are quite easy to make and are fairly healthy with no added fillers. They are a great choice over the store bought ones.

Ingredients:
4 chicken breasts
1 tablespoon olive oil
salt pepper to taste
8-10 tablespoons of sticklings rice bread crumbs/regular bread crumbs
4 tablespoons parmesan cheese

1) Pre heat oven to 425 degrees F.
2) Cut chicken in strips or smaller pieces if you want to make nuggets.
2) Add olive oil, chicken and salt and pepper to a mixing bowl and mix well.
3) Add breadcrumbs and parmesan to another bowl.
TIP: You can separate the chicken in two bowls and add buzzard/hot sauce to one batch if you would like to make a spicy version.

4) Dip the chicken in the breadcrumb and parmesan mix. Coat well.
5) Place on baking sheet with a non stick mat or spray a little oil on the baking tray/sheet.
6) Bake for 8-10 mins.

serving size: 1/5
calories: 150, carbs: 5, fat: 5, protein: 21, sodium: 77, sugar: 0