So, here I am, telling you my secret. Not from a scientific study, not from research, not from observation. This is simply my life.
AND ITS SCRUMPTIOUS!
When I was diagnosed with gestation diabetes, I was smashing the food. I’d put on so much weight during the first half of my pregnancy – I mean, I LOVED the food! So when the diabetes call came, I knew there had to be an overhaul in my pantry. With a toddler at my heels, trying to fit in some casual teaching and make sure the house didn’t fall apart, organisation was vital! So, I came up with my go-to meal – literally, like I’d go to it twice a day!
I needed it to be:
- Completely sugar free (no fruits or bought dressings/sauces that had sugar in it);
- Convenient (time is of the essence);
- Low-GI (it had to keep me full for two hours until I pricked my pretty little finger with a pin);
- Iron-filled (I was iron-deficient during my pregnancies); and
- Yummy (we like full-flavoured foods).
So – low-GI – quinoa. If I had of known how much easier lupin kibble is to cook, not to mention the increased health benefits, it would have been strictly lupin kibble! Both these bad boys freeze like champs when they’re cooked! On a Sunday, I’d cook probably about two cups of low-GI grains, store half in the fridge for the next few days and the other half in the freezer for later on. I’d put them in plastic zip-lock bags (which I do wash out and refuse), flatten them so that they’re nice a thin and then they take no time to defrost at all.
More low-GI – sweet potato. I’d dice up a sweet potato, roast it, and store it in the fridge. It does become little bit soft after about 3 days, so I would have to do some more halfway through the week (I would just plan to have roast veggies mid-week and do some at the same time).
Next – sugar free – sun-dried tomato oil. I always have sun-dried tomatoes in the fridge, so I always use the oil for salad dressings. The herbs give a really nice flavour, and you don’t need very much of it!
Now iron-filled – baby spinach. Everything I would eat had baby spinach in it! It’s so easy to just whack a handful in everything!
Lastly – yummy. I love cheese. I always have cheese in the freezer (feta, cheddar, goat’s, blue). And you only need such a small amount of good quality cheese to give it a really nice flavour.
Each morning, I’d put together a salad for my husband and I. At dinner, I’d put together a salad for my husband and I. And this is usually what it looked like: low-GI grains, sweet potato, sun-dried tomatoes, feta, pine nuts, oil.
The brilliant this with this is, it is SO versatile. Unbelievable versatile! I’ve put balsamic glaze on this (wouldn’t have when I’m pregnant), but now I’m not – thank goodness! (Not a glowing pregnant woman!) You can keep it as simple as you like. You can up the ante for a dinner party and put it with a puree or tapenade or dried olives.
Just to prove my point: Mum came over the other day. I looked in the fridge – mixed grains, baby spinach, snow peas, walnuts, raspberries and feta. Lunch done! Quick pic on the phone:
This little trick got my husband and I back to high school weight!
Mixed-Grain Salad
Serves 4
1/4 cup quinoa, cooked
1/4 cup lupin kibble, cooked
1/4 cup black lentils, cooked
300g sweet potato, diced and roasted
12 sun-tried tomatoes, sliced
1 cup of baby spinach
40g feta
20g pine nuts
drizzle of olive oil
- Preheat oven to 180 degrees celsius.
- Cook quinoa according to packet instructions.
- Cook lupin kibble: in 2 cups of boiling water for 4 minutes, drain.
- Cook black lentils: in 2 cups of boiling water for 8 minutes, drain.
- Peel and dice sweet potato, roast with olive oil and salt and pepper for 25 minutes in oven.
- Combine all ingredients.
Tips:
- Lupin kibble is so much easier to cook than any other grain!
- Don’t add the dressing until you’re planning to eat the salad. The salad will remain fresh for a full day without salad dressing.
- These grains freeze so well cooked. Put them in a plastic zip-lock bag, flattened nice and thin. You’ll be able to break off what you like and keep the rest frozen.
- Don’t worry about weighing. Make life easy – guess!