For my little picky eater, my usual tactic involves sneakily adding oats to her pancakes, and surprisingly (read thankfully), she enjoys eating any green foods. This allows me to cook noodles with vegetables instead of relying on pre-packaged flavours. Here are my two recipes that ensure a good start and end to the day.  

Mini oat pancakes 

Ingredients

1 large free-range egg 1 cup milk
½ cup cake flour
Salt to taste 
½ cup crushed oats
1 tsp baking powder
200g blueberries + extra for serving (optional)
Olive oil, for frying
4 Tbsp plain double-cream yoghurt, for serving 
Seasonal fruits, for serving  

Method

1. Whisk together egg and milk. 
2. Combine dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl.
3. Slowly pour into egg mixture while whisking to create a lovely, smooth batter. Fold through the blueberries, if using.
4. Put a large pan on a medium heat and after a minute or so, add ½ tablespoon of oil. 
5. Carefully tilt the pan to spread the oil out evenly. Add a few ladles of batter to the pan to create little pancakes, leaving enough space between each one so they have room to spread out slightly – each ladleful will make one pancake. Cook for 1-2 minutes, or until little bubbles appear on the surface and the bases are golden. Flip and cook until both sides are golden. Remove and keep warm, while repeating with the rest of the batter.  
6. Serve the pancakes straight away, topped with a dollop of yoghurt, and some extra berries or fruit, if you like. 

Udon veg-loaded stir-fry  

Ingredients

For the sauce 

3 Tbsp dark soy sauce
2 Tbsp oyster sauce 
1½ Tbsp brown sugar
1 Tbsp rice vinegar
  

2 Tbsp vegetable oil
½ cup broccoli florets
½ cup button mushrooms, sliced 1⁄2 cup mangetout or sugar snap peas, halved lengthwise
½ red bell pepper, cut into thin strips
1 onion, sliced thinly
4 spring onions, cut into 5cm pieces
200g cooked udon noodles
3 cloves garlic, minced
Salt and milled pepper
Handful fresh coriander leaves  

Method

1. Combine sauce ingredients together in a small jar, seal with a lid and shake well. Set aside.
2. Heat oil in a large cast-iron pan or wok over medium-high heat. Once the oil is shimmering hot, add the broccoli, mushroom, mangetout or sugar snap peas, peppers and onion in batches, making sure not to overcrowd the pan, and stir-fry for 2-3 minutes each, or until slightly crisp and tender. Remove and cook remaining veggies in the same way.  
3. Return all the vegetables to the pan along with noodles, sauce, garlic and seasoning and cook for another 1-2 minutes, tossing to coat noodles and veggies in the sauce. 
4. Top with coriander and serve with freshly milled pepper. 

Words & recipes: Ntiyiso Makhabela 

Photographs: Fresh Living Magazine 

The post Eating for exams: Mini oat pancakes recipe appeared first on MyKitchen.

This raw veggie and cashew noodles recipe served with a delicious healthy sauce is the perfect light Monday night dinner!

SERVES 4 // COOK TIME 15 min

INGREDIENS
240g instant rice noodles
3 tbsp tamari sauce
2 tbsp olive oil
1½ tbsp honey, slightly warmed
Zest and juice of 1 lemon
Salt and pepper
4 carrots, peeled and cut into matchsticks
1 large broccoli, broken into small florets
250g portobellini mushrooms, sliced
150g raw cashews, chopped
Coriander, to garnish

METHOD
1. Place the noodles in a bowl of hot water to soften.
2. Combine the tamari, olive oil, honey, and lemon zest and juice, and season.
3. Drain the noodles and combine with the vegetables, cashews and sauce. Toss to coat.
4. Garnish with coriander, season and serve.

Nutritional content
Per 400g serving
2 695 kJ  // 16g protein
25g fat  // 76g carbohydrates
11g fibre  // 824 mg sodium

Say no to boring plain meals, and instead try this absolutely stunning, colorful and flavoursome Moroccan chickpea salad!

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Had a weekend full of junk food? And want to end your Sunday night, right? Then this beef stir-fry with brown rice recipe is for you!

SERVES 4

INGREDIENTS
1 tbsp olive oil
500 g beef sirloin strips
2 tsp soy sauce
250 g tenderstem broccoli
2 garlic cloves, crushed
200 g sugar snap peas
4 spring onions, thickly sliced
150 g baby corn, halved lengthways
250 g asparagus spears
150 g king oyster mushrooms, sliced
80 g mung bean sprouts
4 tbsp hoisin sauce
2 small red chillies, finely chopped
1½ cups brown rice, cooked
2 limes, cut into wedges, to garnish

METHOD
1. Heat the olive oil in a large wok or deep frying pan and add the beef strips. Fry until brown, then set aside.
2. Add the soy sauce, broccoli and garlic and fry over high heat for 2 minutes until softened.
3. Add the sugar snap peas, spring onions, baby corn, asparagus, mushrooms and bean sprouts. Fry for 2-3 minutes, then stir in the hoisin sauce and cooked beef. Heat through quickly, adding a splash of water if too dry.
4. Toss in the chillies and serve on a bed of brown rice with lime wedges on the side.

Want another stir-fry recipe? Then try this chicken and swoodle stir-fry!

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Skip the lunchtime dash and whip up these quick and delicious sesame stir-fry wraps. Not only are they an amazing healthy meal prep option, they’re also a quick crowd pleaser if you have impromptu guests over.

SERVES 4 // COOKING TIME 20 min

INGREDIENTS
400 g mixed stir-fry vegetables
½ cup hummus
Juice of ½ lemon
4 wholewheat wraps
½ tbsp sesame seeds

METHOD
1. Heat a glug of vegetable oil in a pan over high heat and stir-fry the vegetables. Season to taste.
2. Mix the hummus with the lemon juice.
3. Spread lemon-hummus on the wraps. Add the stir-fried vegetables and scatter with sesame seeds. Roll up tightly, cut in half and serve.

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Swoodles? We just can’t get enough of sweet potato noodles! If you don’t have a spiraliser at home, just use your veggie peeler to slice long strips from your sweet potatoes. And then cook them into our chicken and swoodle stir-fry, of course.

SERVES 4 // COOKING TIME 40 min

INGREDIENTS
Olive oil
2 chicken breast fillets, sliced
Salt and pepper
2 mielies, kernels only
1 red onion, peeled and cut into petals
1 cup chopped spinach
4 sweet potatoes, peeled
5 carrots, julienned

METHOD
1. Heat a little oil in a pan and fry the chicken until browned and cooked through, 15 minutes. Season and remove from pan.
2. In the same pan, fry the corn and onion for 5 minutes. Add the spinach and cook for 5 minutes, until wilted. Season well. Remove from the pan.
3. Use a spiraliser or vegetable peeler to cut the sweet potatoes into noodles or ribbons.
4. Cook the noodles and carrots in the same pan for 5 minutes, until tender, stirring or tossing them. Add a drizzle of oil.
5. Return the other ingredients to the pan, mix, heat through and serve.

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We love making these whenever we have leftover stir-fry. Our crispy Asian dumplings are a bite-sized taste surprise that you will go back for again and again.

SERVES 4 // COOKING TIME 15 min

INGREDIENTS
1 cup leftover stir-fried vegetables
Handful coriander, chopped
1 red chilli, chopped
1 cm ginger, peeled and grated
A few drops sesame oil
Salt and black pepper
1 tsp cornflour
12 wonton wrappers
Vegetable oil, to fry
Chilli oil or sweet chilli sauce, to serve
Lemon wedges, to serve
Mint, chopped, to serve

METHOD
1. Mix the stir-fry, coriander, chilli, ginger and sesame oil and season.
2. Mix the cornflour with 1 tbsp water.
3. Place the wonton wrappers on a chopping board. Place 1 heaped tsp of the mixture in the centre of each wrapper. Brush the edges with a little of the cornflour paste. Fold over the sides and pinch to seal.
4. Heat the vegetable oil in a small pot over high heat. Fry the dumplings for a few minutes on each side until golden and crispy. Remove and drain on paper towel.
5. Serve the dumplings with chilli oil or sweet chilli sauce, lemon wedges and mint.

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