GFL’s Top 10 Lunchbox Snack Recipes

It’s been a while between blog posts for me. I’ve had a disrupted couple of weeks as the school term has finished and kids have started holidays and I’ve also had a few health issues which have meant I’ve had to slow down a bit. There’s a couple of recipes in the works, but I’ve taken a bit of time out to throw my feet up and watch some old episodes of ER and the West Wing.

Damn, after all these years they still make superb viewing!

Anyway, it occurred to me that many of you may not want to spend time sifting through my blog to find the perfect recipes for you or your kids, so here’s a little summary of the recipes that I think are my 10 best for lunchbox snacks (or recess time, as we in Australia tend to call it).

The most popular recipes seem to contain chocolate. Fancy that! But the good news is that most of them are low in sugar, too. Best of both worlds!

And without further ado …

Gluten-free Recipe: Eggplant and Capsicum Pasta Bake

I’ve been in a bit of a vegetable rut over recent months. I tend to favour carrot, zucchini, corn, mushrooms and sweet potato or pumpkin. If you look back over my savoury recipes, you’ll see that I’ve had them on high rotation. So, in the words immortalised by Taylor Swift, I decided to “shake it off” and introduce my kids to a few more veggies. Red capsicum, fennel and eggplant were my choice as I love them, they’re a classic combination and they make a great Italian vegetable stew.

I wasn’t optimistic that the kids would embrace the new tastes and textures, and I was right. They had small tastes of the stew but left it largely untouched. They tried it when I cooked it into a pasta bake, but it will be one of those things that has to be presented to them a number of times before they finally decide  to give it a go.

On the other hand, my Husband and I loved the stew and pasta bake, so if you’re after something for a work lunchbox rather than a kids’ lunchbox, this may be the recipe for you.

The vegetable stew can be served hot, tossed through gluten-free pasta (top with basil and parmesan cheese), or as an accompaniment to grilled or roasted fish or meat. It’s very versatile and once you’ve made the stew, it’s really quick and easy to make the pasta bake. Just be sure to reserve some stew before you serve it up for the evening meal.

Enjoy!

Gluten-free Eggplant and Capsicum Pasta Bake

Ingredients

150 g gluten-free pasta spirals

1 ½ cups Eggplant and Capsicum Stew (see recipe below)

1 cup grated cheese

2 eggs, lightly beaten

Method

Cook pasta spirals according to packet directions. Drain thoroughly and allow to cool a little.

Preheat oven to 180° Celsius (conventional oven) or 160° Celsius (fan-forced oven). Grease and line a square 21 cm baking tray or cake tin.

In a large bowl, combine all ingredients.

Spread evenly into tray and press down with the back of a spoon.

Bake for 30 minutes.

Allow to cool in tray. When completely cool, slice into 3 x 5 cm rectangles.

Makes approximately 28 rectangles.

Eggplant and Capsicum Vegetable Stew

Ingredients

2 tbs oil

1 large onion, peeled and trimmed

250 g fennel

300 g eggplant (approximately 1 large eggplant)

150 g red capsicum, core and seeds removed (approximately 1 medium-sized capsicum)

180 g zucchini (approximately 1 large zucchini)

400 g tin diced tomatoes

375 ml gluten-free liquid chicken or vegetable stock

2 tsp dried oregano

Salt and pepper to taste

Method

Heat a large pot (stock pot) over high heat. Add oil.

Dice the onions into 2 cm chunks. Add to oil, stirring occasionally. Cook for 2 minutes.

Dice fennel, eggplant and capsicum into 2 cm chunks and add to pot. Fry until soft, stirring occasionally.

Add tomatoes, stock and oregano. Bring to the boil and then reduce heat to rapidly simmer for 20 minutes or until most of liquid has evaporated. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Serve immediately as an accompaniment for meat or fish, or stir through pasta.

Makes 6-8 serves, with enough left over for pasta bake.

Gluten-free Blueberry Coconut Cookies

 

Well, I’ll be the first to admit that I struggle to make attractive-looking cookies. They usually taste great, but their appearance leaves a bit to be desired.

When I was photographing these cookies earlier today, I had three little helpers surrounding me telling me how to make them look better. I don’t think their advice really helped – there was a fair amount of styling and light manipulation going on to try and detract from the ordinariness of the cookies!

So you’ll just have to take my word for it. They are yummy – the dried blueberries really give them a lift. I used coconut sugar in this recipe, but do a direct swap for brown sugar if you can’t get your hands on any of the coconut variety. I was interested in layering the coconut flavours – coconut flour, coconut sugar and desiccated coconut – a little like a Sarah Lee creation (“Layer upon layer upon layer…”)!

After reading this post by Gluten-free Girl, I was interested to know whether my cookies would turn out better if I rested the dough in the fridge overnight. I did it twice and both times the dough became crumbly, as described by Gluten-free Girl, yet the mixture came together really well and cooked nicely. I didn’t test a batch of cookies without resting the dough, so I can’t comment on the extent to which it improved. But I can say that the baking process was much easier and quicker when I knew that I only had to whip up the dough on one night. The cookies could be rolled and baked the next day in a flash. I’m all for doing things quickly and easily, so I have no problems with dividing the baking process by resting the dough.

But if you need the cookies then and there, by all means skip the resting stage and roll and bake them immediately.

These cookies can be used  for a recess-time refuel. I’ve got a batch in the freezer for quick and easy school lunchboxes once we’re back from school holidays.

Enjoy!

Ingredients

40 g tapioca flour

40 g coconut flour

130 g brown rice flour

5 g psyllium husk

70 g coconut sugar (or brown sugar)

30 g desiccated coconut

2 eggs, lightly beaten

100 g butter, melted

1 tsp vanilla essence

70 g dried blueberries

Method

Preheat oven to 180° Celsius (conventional oven) or 160° Celsius (fan-forced oven). Grease and line a large baking sheet or cookie tray.

Into a large bowl, sift tapioca flour, coconut flour and brown rice flour. Add psyllium husk, coconut sugar and desiccated coconut. Stir to combine.

Make a well in the centre of the mixture and add eggs, butter, vanilla essence and blueberries.

Mix until combined. Cover bowl with plastic film and refrigerate overnight, or for at least 4 hours.

Remove bowl from refrigerator and microwave for 20 to 30 seconds to loosen the mixture.

Press the mixture together and roll into dessertspoon-sized balls. Flatten between the palms of your hands and place on tray, allowing room for spreading.

Bake for 20 minutes.

Makes 16.

 

Gluten-free Wild Strawberry and Rhubarb Bircher Slice

Gluten-free Wild Strawberry and Rhubarb Bircher Slice

I’m cheating a bit with this post. It’s a recipe I developed a few months ago, for a competition. Mamamia Food Blogger Idol, to be exact.

Yup, crazy name, amaaaaazing prize, as you’ll see if you click on the above link.

Anyway, I didn’t get anywhere with it and shelved this recipe. It was probably a bit too off-the-wall, come to think of it. But I thought I’d dust it off just for you, and here it is. The name sounds fabulously exotic. It’s because the competition terms required that one ingredient be a particular brand of yoghurt. Don’t worry if you can’t find Wild Strawberry and Rhubarb yoghurt. Just go for whatever flavour you like. It will still work. And you could also add a little fresh, frozen or dried fruit for colour and flavour.

I included a recipe for stewed rhubarb as well, for a scrummy breakfast treat. Or just pack the slice into the lunchbox for a lovely recess.

I also had to take about a gazillion photos for a photo journal of me making the recipe, so what the heck, there’s a pic of me below in my ancient kitchen. I am now a master of the self-timer on my camera. And using a tripod. That’s what I call skill development.

Here’s my entry.

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Oh, how I love Bircher muesli. I adore how the oats, soaked for hours, become all mooshy and absorb the flavour of the other ingredients. I love the yoghurt, the apple, the endless possibilities of flavour combinations. I just love it.

Since my daughter was diagnosed with Coeliac Disease more than 3 years ago, Bircher muesli hasn’t featured very prominently on our household menu. She cannot tolerate the gluten-like protein in oats, so we don’t rub it in too much by parading it around in front of her.

Whilst it’s true that there are plenty of gluten-free Bircher muesli options, I haven’t come across any that I actually like. So I’ve been thinking about doing my own version of gluten-free Bircher for some time now.

Then, as luck would have it, Mamamia decided to run the Food Blogger Idol competition, with Rachel’s Gourmet Low Fat Yoghurt being the featured ingredient. So I decided Bircher muesli was the go, but I’ve put it into a slice so that it can easily be included in kids’ lunchboxes. It’s still soft and mooshy, still has those lovely flavour combinations, and I’ve included a recipe for stewed rhubarb so you can make the most of it and have it for a special breakfast, if you wish.

Enjoy!

Ingredients

1 cup gluten-free cornflakes

2 cups gluten-free puffed rice

2 peeled, cored and grated apples (approximately 150 g of grated apple)

½ cup Rachel’s Wild Strawberry & Rhubarb Gourmet Low Fat Yoghurt

1 egg, lightly beaten

Method

Preheat oven to 180° Celsius (conventional oven) or 160° Celsius (fan-forced oven). Grease and line an 18 x 28 centimetre baking tray.

Put gluten-free cornflakes into a large plastic bag. Tie or seal the bag and lay it on a flat surface. Gently hit the bag with a rolling pin until the cornflakes are smashed.

Tip cornflakes into a large bowl, along with all other ingredients.

Stir with a metal spoon to combine and tip into baking tray. Spread evenly in tray, pressing down with the back of the spoon and ensuring mixture is evenly spread to all sides and corners of the tray.

Bake for 20 minutes. When completely cooled, cut into 3 x 5 centimetre slices.

Makes approximately 14 slices.

Serve cold as a lunchbox treat or accompanied by stewed rhubarb (recipe below) and Rachel’s Wild Strawberry & Rhubarb Gourmet Low Fat Yoghurt for a special breakfast.

Stewed Rhubarb

Ingredients

Bunch of rhubarb (approximately 500 grams)

½ cup white sugar

Method

Wash and trim the rhubarb, ensuring that all leaves are removed and discarded (as they are toxic).

Cut rhubarb into 2 centimetre pieces.

Put rhubarb in medium-sized saucepan, along with sugar and 2 cups of water. Stir to combine.

Put saucepan on high heat on stovetop. Bring to the boil, and then reduce heat to medium and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until rhubarb has softened and broken down. Serve hot or at room temperature.

Makes approximately 2 cups.

 

 

It’s the little things that make all the difference …

Sometimes, just one small thing, one simple but fantastic invention, is just the ticket for making life easier.