Great news! Paula’s back in store, she’ll be at Fresh Choice Nelson on Thursday and Friday this week! From 3:00 p.m. until 6:00 p.m. demonstrating some brand new meal bags, but enough from us, here’s what Paula has to say…
I hope many of you have had a go at cooking some of the Inspire Meal Bags available at Fresh Choice, Nelson over summer. I have been busy creating a whole new bunch of recipes for the meal bags, so you will be seeing some new ones in store soon.
For those of you who are not familiar with the concept, I have been working with Fresh Choice to create some great tasting dinner recipes. The ingredients and an easy to follow recipe card come conveniently in a handy bag ready for you to cook for dinner. Each bag serves 4. The bags are good value and a great way to get other members of the family to cook… like the kids!
You can buy them in store or order online to pick up at Fresh Choice Nelson. They are great idea if you have friends coming over or if you are stuck for a dinner idea and also make a healthy replacement for weekly takeaways, most can be prepared and cooked in under 45 minutes.
If you have tried them, you may have seen that I use coconut sugar as an alternative for white refined sugar in the recipes. While it is best to limit sugar in general it is sometimes needed to balance a dish and coconut sugar is always my preference.
On the subject of sugar, I sometimes get a taste for something sweet and it can be a nice way to
finish off a meal. I created this recipe for a more natural, refined sugar free ginger slice. Pop it in the freezer and enjoy a piece after you have create your Inspire meal bag.
Raw Ginger Slice *gluten, dairy and refined sugar free*
BASE
- 100g Green and Blacks organic 85% Cacao chocolate
- 1 tbs of virgin coconut oil
- ½ cup shredded coconut
- ½ cup sliced almonds
- 1 small (about 2cm) piece of fresh ginger grated
Melt chocolate and coconut oil and stir in all other ingredients. Press intoa baking tray lined with baking paper. Place in the freezer to set.
TOPPING
- 2 cups of dried dates (soften in hot water and drain)
- 140g of natural cashews (soak in cold water for 3 hours then drain)
- 1 tsp of vanilla bean paste or extract
- pinch of salt
- 1 cup of thick coconut cream
- 2 tbs of melted virgin coconut oil
- 2 tsp of ground ginger
Place all ingredients in a blender until smooth. Pour over base and sprinkle with Pistachios or shredded coconut. Place in the freezer until set. Cut into small slices and keep it stored in the freezer.
