This is a mildly spicy flavoursome pie. Based lightly on B’stilla it is slightly time consuming but very much worth it for a lazy Sunday.

Loads more pictures and step by step recipe by clicking on “more…” below.

Filling:

2 tablespoons olive oil
5 shallots, chopped
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1 tablespoon all purpose flour
2 cups low-salt chicken broth
700g/1 1/2 pounds skinless boneless chicken thighs or breasts
1/4 cup chopped golden raisins/sultanas
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
2 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley

Phyllo:

1/2 cup slivered almonds/cashews
3 tablespoons powdered/icing sugar
1/2 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
10 sheets (about 17×12 inches) fresh phyllo pastry or frozen, thawed
1/2 cup (about) unsalted butter, melted (for brushing)

For filling:

Heat oil in heavy large frypan over medium heat. Add onion and cook until tender, about 10 minutes. Mix in cinnamon, ginger, turmeric, and saffron; stir 1 minute. Sprinkle flour over; stir 1 minute. Add chicken stock; bring to simmer. Sprinkle chicken with salt; add to broth mixture. Gently simmer chicken uncovered until cooked through, reducing heat if necessary to prevent boiling, about 20 minutes. Stir in raisins. Set pan aside until chicken is cool.Stir in cilantro and parsley. Season filling with salt and pepper. Cool filling.

For phyllo:
Finely grind nuts, powdered sugar, 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt, and cinnamon in mini processor.

Stack 10 phyllo sheets on work surface cover with plastic wrap and damp kitchen towel.

Brush pie dish with melted butter. Place 1 phyllo round in pie dish, brush with butter and sprinkle with scant 1 tablespoon almonds. Top with another phyllo sheet, brush with butter and sprinkle with scant 1 tablespoon almonds. Repeat stacking with 3 more phyllo sheets, butter, and almonds. Just leave the edges overhanging. Brush with butter. Spoon filling evenly over. Place 1 phyllo sheet on top of filling. Brush with butter and sprinkle with scant 1 tablespoon almonds. Top with another phyllo sheet, brush with butter and sprinkle with scant 1 tablespoon almonds. Repeat with 2 phyllo sheets, butter, and almonds. Top with remaining phyllo sheet. Fold edges over towards the middle of the pie. Drizzle more butter over top. Cut 4 slits through top phyllo stack to allow steam to escape.

Preheat oven to 375°F/190°C. Place pie on rimmed baking sheet. Bake uncovered until phyllo is golden and filling is heated through, about 40 minutes. Cool 15 minutes. Cut into wedges.

most people underestimate the importance of protein in their diet. Protein is a vital part of a healthy diet and has way too many benefits for me to bother typing out, but a large benefit of making protein part of every meal is that protein requires more energy to digest and makes you feel “full” for longer.

1 medium banana
10 feijoas
30g whey protein isolate (or your protein of choice)
ice

peel the banana and add it to your blender. add the flesh of the feijoas, and blend until smooth. add the protein powder, ice and a spash of water. blend until ice is crushed and smoothie is thick.

Anyway to help me in my goal of high protein meals I like to have protein bars lying around in case the urge for chocolate strikes. I was so excited when I drove to work this morning (first day of a new job) and saw that a few doors down from my new workplace was Real Nutrition! I have ordered from them before because they have my favourite protein bars (Doctor’s Carbrite) at the cheapest price I have found in New Zealand.

I was even more excited when I jumped on their website and saw they sell a mixed box. So in my afternoon break I wandered down the road and walked in. What an awesome experience, why can’t every shopping experience be like this one was! They were helpful, friendly, understanding and just amazingly helpful. I picked out my own 12 bars of mixed flavours and a 2 month supply of their multivitamins. I sound like I work for them but really I was just so thankful for a nice shopping experience that seems to be the exception these days.

If you are looking for Protein bars or supplements, or I am pretty sure they even do nutritonal consultations, check them out www.realnutrition.co.nz

These have 60-70 calories (depending on which type you get) and around 10-13g of carbs. ZOMG. So good. So my stand by dinner is:

1 piece of mountain bread
100g (approx) of chicken or 2 tenderloins
Iceberg lettuce shredded
Carrot grated
Shallot grated
Fresh herbs (parsley, corriander)
Capsicum or tomato

add mustard, shredded cheese (tiny amount) or sour cream and roll up. OM NOM NOM. Bring on healthy dinners/lunches/whatevs.

It has taken me a long time to get up the courage to make hummus after a disastorus (read: garlicy) experience a few years ago. This however, has brought back my faith in my hummus-making-abilities. It was even worth the walk in the 100% humidity sweltering heat to pick up some garlic. No more $4/tub supermarket hummus for us! Yum.

If you are not used to using dried chickpeas, I guess you could use canned but dried taste so much better and not to mention are so much cheaper. Just soak them overnight in a saucepan with lots of water, rinse and then cook for about an hour or until they are quite mushy. I like to peel my chickpeas before making hummus but I think I may be in the minority with this. Infact next time I will try without peeling .. what a rebel.

2 cups soaked cooked chickpeas
2 garlic cloves, peeled
3/4 cup sesame seed paste
1 lemon or more worth of lemon juice to taste
salt
pepper

blend garlic, sesame and salt. add 1/2 cup water and blend until smooth.
add chickpeas and blend until desired consistency is reached, season to taste with salt and pepper.

Protein Pancakes

2 tablespoons Whey Protein Isolate
50grams Cottage Cheese
20 grams Rolled Oats
0.5 Banana
1 Tablespoons Self Raising Flour

Mix all in food processor until smooth. Add 2 Tablespoons water or however much to get to desired consistency.
Cook and enjoy…

271 cal
2g fat
25g carbs
3g fibre
37g protein

Makes 3 nice sized pancakes.

Split a pita bread and add your toppings!! This way you don’t get the calories of a thick pizza base but the goodness of all the toppings mmm.

I substituted Tomato Paste for a mix of yoghurt and mango chutney, then added

Bananas
Red Pepper
Tandoori Chicken (leftovers from the previous night)
Fresh Corriander
Red Onion
And then a sprinkling of parmesan.

Cook for 5 minutes or until brown under the grill and top with a spoonful of yogurt or chutney and leafy green salad.

Garlicy Chicken Chilli Beans

as much chicken as you want, sliced/cubed (we use about 350g)
chilli Beans (yes, yes from a can) – 2/3 of a can serves 2
1 clove garlic, crushed
2 tbsp light cream cheese
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
tuscan seasoning – make your own, basil, garlic, salt, sugar or buy it from the supermarket
any random cheese that is in your fridge, I just use a tiny amount because Im trying to avoid dairy, a tbsp or so.. adjust to your taste
fresh basil, 8 leaves or as much as you can spare (optional but highly recommended)

Cook chicken in olive oil until just cooked through. Chuck all other ingredients in except fresh basil and simmer until hot and cheese melted, then stir through basil until wilted and serve hot with a grind of salt.