Now that holidays are over and we're back in the swing of regular weekday routines, it's worth thinking about how to incorporate as much of that late summer/early autumn Otago goodness as possible into portable meals and snacks, writes Nicola Brown.
Add plenty of colour and freshness to your weekday lunches and you'll be flying through the afternoons!
Salad in a jar
Tired of the same old, same old when it comes to lunch? Cook yourself some extra rice, vegetables or wholegrains when you're making dinner and layer in jars with colourful fresh vegetables and a lovely dressing. Just make sure you grab it from the fridge before your colleagues nab it!
I know what you're thinking - this is so simple that it's barely a recipe. Yes, it literally is salad in a jar, but there are a few handy hints to make it foolproof.
Find some large glass jars, get them squeaky-clean, and layer with whatever you have in the fridge.
Always place the dressing in first if you don't fancy a soggy mess for lunch. Keep refrigerated until you're ready to eat.
You can vary this recipe with whatever you have available, this is just one delicious example.
Dressing
2 Tbsp flaxseed or olive oil
juice of half an orange
2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 Tbsp almond butter or tahini
pinch of dried chilli flakes
sea salt and black pepper
Salad
cooked quinoa/couscous/rice/chopped roast vegetables cooked, drained chickpeas/beans or feta cheese
grated carrot
finely chopped red capsicum
finely chopped cucumber
shredded baby spinach
mint/coriander leaves
Garnish
avocado
raw or toasted pumpkin/sunflower seeds
METHOD
Mix dressing ingredients in a mini-blender, or place in a screw-top container and shake until well combined. Makes enough dressing for at least four jars.
Place a spoonful of dressing in each jar, followed by desired amounts of the salad ingredients, in the order given (i.e., place greens and herbs on top). Cover and refrigerate. Keep any remaining dressing chilled for up to five days.
Shake jar before serving (or tip salad into a bowl). Garnish with chopped avocado and pumpkin or sunflower seeds just before serving.
Hold-on-to-summer smoothie
Hopefully we can still access beautiful Otago stonefruit for a little longer yet! Once the stonefruit season finishes, this smoothie is still delicious without it, it just tastes a little less summery.
To transport, place in a glass jar or bottle and add a squirt of lemon or orange juice to slow the discoloration which occurs over time in smoothies containing banana (this also works in smoothies incorporating apples, pears or avocado).
1-2 cups water
1 banana, fresh or frozen
handful of baby spinach (optional)
1 cup fresh or frozen berries
2-3 pieces stonefruit (peaches, nectarines, or apricots)
1-2 scoops protein powder (if desired)
1 Tbsp chia seeds
1 Tbsp pumpkin seeds, chopped
1 tsp flaxseed1 tsp buckwheat groats
METHOD
Mix water, banana, spinach, berries, stonefruit and protein powder in a blender until smooth. Pour into glasses and sprinkle with combined chia, pumpkin seeds, flaxseed and buckwheat groats.
Serves 4 or more.
• Note
Almond butter, tahini, flaxseed (also known as linseed) and buckwheat groats are available at health food and specialty food stores.
Nibl
Want more portable, scrumptious plant-based recipes? The snack recipe ebook, Feeling Peckish, is now available on the Nibl website.
It contains 22 plant-based snack recipes, plus some variations - a mixture of sweet and savoury, some super-fast to make and some requiring a little effort, mostly gluten- and dairy-free - and all delicious! See nibl.co.nz/feeling-peckish-ebook/ for more information.
And if you like to be organised, there's also a series of snack kitchen prep plans available to buy - look for the Snack Attack Pack.
