Mothers Day Putia

Mothers Day Putia Style: 7 ways to thank your Mum

 

Mothers Day Putia

For more than 100 years we have been celebrating Mums on Mother’s Day.  Mums need to be pampered, spoilt and to take it easy on Sunday 10th May 2015.  For a start, what you must do is clear the decks on Saturday. That means give her a hand with the washing, grocery shopping and housework so that it is done and dusted and out of the way for Sunday.  You don’t want her distracted by the basket of laundry or feeling guilty that the fridge is empty apart from cheese wine and crackers. Next must-do is to sign her up to Netflix to watch her favourite TV series late on Sunday afternoon so that she can watch House of Cards and fall blissfully asleep on the sofa!

7 Ways to Thank Your Mum and Celebrate Mothers Day Putia-Style.

1. To kick off Mothers Day Putia-style, why not start with breakfast at Putia.

Has she tried the spiced pumpkin waffle with salted caramel sauce? Or autumn fruit compote and mascarpone? 

Mother's day breakfast Putia

2. Or what about some tasty local preserves?

From Putia Panty give her a range of delicious handmade jams, relishes and pickles made from local ingredients and hand chosen for our pantry.

Mother's Day gifts putia pantry

3. Make lunch a special occasion at Putia, where we honor Mums and they eat for free*.

Dine in the dappled shade of the Poinciana tree,  sip on Italian Prosecco and listen to live music.

*Conditions apply.

Mother's Day lunch Putia

4. Surprise her with a gift voucher to a Putia cooking class in Brisbane.

Enhance her skills in her favourite cuisine.

Mother's Day Putia Cooking Class

5. Give her Putia Pantry personal cleansing products – the Coconut, Lemongrass & Coffee Detox body sea salt scrub smells and feels so fresh.

Putia Products Cleansers

6. Why not surprise her with a ticket to the Hampton Festival on the following Sunday? Join Dominique on her City and Country Tour, starting with breakfast at Putia. Travel by bus together to the festival of seasonal fresh produce, wineries, restaurants, market stalls, cooking demonstrations and art exhibitions.

Mother's Day Gift Hampton Festival

7. Enjoy Lindeman’s Wines – Early Harvest: lighter in calories and lighter in alcohol. How much more healthier can we get? 

Mother's Day Lindemans Early Harvest

Finally, post an absolutely gorgeous pic (flattering angle and lighting please) of her on Instagram as a fabulous memory of the day!

 

 

comfort food healthy snacks

Tips to make comfort food – Healthy Snacks

Snacking in winter or for comfort is easy and often we don’t even know we are doing it. Here are some indulgent and healthy snack ideas to take you through winter.

I hope you have enjoyed my healthy tips to make comfort food. Please feel free to share your tips to get you through the colder months!

I also have some great cooking classes on offer during June at Putia Pure food Kitchen including; Risotto, Gnocchi and Pasta, Winter Comfort Cooking and Singles Winter Comfort Cooking, Breakfast Like a King, Fabulous Organic Growing and Northern Italian Favourites.

comfort food healthy snacks

Comfort food is all about meals and ingredients that keep us feeling nurtured, warm and wholesome during those cold days and chilly nights, and these tips are a sure way to keep the winter blues away and still feel like you are staying true to your healthy self.

  • Try having spiced popcorn that you have made yourself. Roast off almonds, sunflower seeds and pumpkin seeds with a tsp of olive oil and a tablespoon of tamari or your favourite curry powder. Add a little salt and pepper and bake until golden and crunchy.
  • Make your own herbal teas by infusing ginger with mint and a stick of cinnamon. Drink this for a warming drink. You can add a little honey and lemon if you feel poorly.
  • If you are entertaining, use a lighter style red wine and bring it to a simmer with lemon and orange peel, a stick of cinnamon, a couple of cloves, a few slices of ginger and a tbsp of orange blossom or rose water and simmer  this until fragrant. Drink warm for a twist on that comforting  glass of red. For hot chocolate fans, blend together dark dutch cocoa, with a good pinch of cinnamon, a few drops of vanilla essence, a pinch of chilli and some honey or a little sugar. Pour over your warm milk or hot water and enjoy.
  • My favourite healthy chocolate substitute (as we all know that chocolate is a winter favourite) is blending together fresh dates with dutch cocoa, cocoa nibs, soaked nuts and a table spoon of coconut. Roll into balls and again in coconut. Eat one when you feel that sugar hit urge.

Tips to make comfort food – Healthy Dinners

Lasagnes or pastas are easy winter and comfort food but can be full of high fats and heavy if you are not careful in the preparation. This post gives you some great pointers on how to prepare this time honoured favourite healthily, as well as delicious stews and other winter favourites.

There are also some great cooking classes I have on offer at Putia Pure Food Kitchen .

Comfort food is all about meals and ingredients that keep us feeling nurtured, warm and wholesome during those cold days and chilly nights, and these tips are a sure way to keep the winter blues away and still feel like you are staying true to your healthy self.

brasied veal with applescomfort Cooking Dinners

  • Use lasagne sheets layered with roasted vegetables or your favourite meat sauce and top with a mixture of crumbled ricotta, feta and a little parmesan instead of the heavy white sauce. Again, you can mix together lite sour cream or yoghurt and a couple of eggs instead of using the white sauce or cheese. Blend through chopped lightly steamed broccoli and asparagus, flavouring it with lemon zest and basil.
  • For a lighter style of lasagne, you can use crepes, softened rice paper sheets, or thin slices of pumpkin, potato or sweet potato, slightly steamed and then layered in between your meat or vegetables. Homemade tomato sauce is great and you can add in chicken, turkey or lean beef mince for a hearty bolognaise. A great tip is to add in a diced onion, stick of celery and a diced carrot and cook this off first in a little water or oil until softened and starting to caramelise, this gives great flavour to the sauce and bulks it out with vegetables. Add in a little balsamic vinegar and rosemary, thyme and basil to the sauce as you start to cook the vegetables and simmer the sauce for at least 30 minutes.
  • Casseroles, stews and slow cooked meals are ideal for winter and keeping them lite is easy by draining off extra oils that come from browning the meats before adding in the vegetables and stocks. Cooking your onions and meat in a little water instead of the oil helps cut down added fats. Using lots of seasonal winter vegetables also bulks out the dishes giving you great flavour and a healthy main meal. Use different sides instead of mash potato. Try buckwheat, bourghal, wild rice, quinoa and high protein grains.  When slow roasting, add a little water with fresh herbs or a tin of tomatoes for a delicious gravy. Make sure to skim off the oil that will rise and sit on the top.
  • For that bowl of hot chips, slice your potatoes into wedges or chunks and steam or boil until still a little crunchy. Drain and toss with 1 tsp of olive oil and your favourite seasoning. Cook these on baking paper on an oven tray in a hot oven of 220 until golden. Try mixing it up and using sweet potato, parsnip and potato as a combination.
  • Pizzas are so quick to make from scratch. Mix 1 7g sachet of yeast with ½ cup of warm water and place it in your oven set at 30 – 40 c to foam. Pour this into 200g of flour and add in a dessert spoon of olive oil and enough warm water to form a dough. Knead to a smooth ball and cover with a towel allowing it to sit for 20 – 30 minutes to rise. Roll out thinly, preheat your oven as high as it goes and then top the dough with your favourite toppings. Keep them to a minimal 4 and always include 2-3 vegetables. Sprinkle over a little shaved parmesan and cook on a pizza stone or straight onto a preheated baking tray for 10 minutes until crunchy. Top with leaves, rocket or spinach.
  • Use pita bread or flat bread instead of making your own dough.

Tips to make comfort food – Healthy Lunches

Lunches can be a little tricky in the cooler days and cold salads and sandwiches sometimes just don’t do the trick.

I love vegetable and hearty soups, they are such a great way to incorporate all the vegetables you need and are easy to make, store, freeze and reheat.

Comfort food is all about meals and ingredients that keep us feeling nurtured, warm and wholesome during those cold days and chilly nights. These tips are a sure way to keep the winter blues away and still feel like you are staying true to your healthy self.

Healthy Comfort Cooking Lunches

Cooking classes are another great way  to pick up helpful tips and tricks and at Putia Pure Food Kitchen during April and May there are some great classes on offer. This includes Stress Free finger Food with a Twist, Clean Food Naturally, Meatless Meals in Minutes, and Seafood Classics. Book your cooking class today!

  • Soups are a fantastic way of warming up without adding on any extra kilos. If you love creamy rich soups try substituting low fat yoghurt, sour cream or adding a handful or dahl or lentils, a potato, or even sweet potato into the pot. Blend for a velvety texture.  Soups are made mostly on stock or water, seasonings and vegetables, grains such as barley, pasta or beans. You can also add small pieces of meat, chicken or fish. Enhance the flavour without adding unnecessary fats by using fresh herbs. Winter minestrone or chicken and vegetable soups are wonderful with the addition of thyme, sage, oregano and parsley either with or without a tomato base. Lighter soups using zucchini, asparagus, broccoli and even lettuces are beautifully flavoured with chives, basil, lemon zest, lemon thyme, mint, dill and coriander.
  • Using your lentils and a variety of dahls not only make great soups but are also delicious turned into patties, and either baked or fried in a non stick pan. Add in your favourite vegetables and serve them with minted yoghurt and a homemade chutney.
  • Those flaky buttery home made pies are delicious and perfect for colder weather although the pastry can pack a punch on the hips. Try an Italian style pastry using only wholemeal  flour, olive oil and water, rolled thinly and filled with spinach greens, ricotta, herbs and eggs, baked until golden. It makes an ideal lighter style lunch or dinner and still with that real home made feel.
  • Filo pastry is a perfect lighter option for a comfort food filled with creamy chicken, spinach and mushrooms or tuna and vegetables. Or for a vegetarian option, pumpkin and roasted red onion or spiced lentils. Substitute any of the creamy sauces for a white sauce made with a little olive oil and flour and skim milk, or an egg mixed with low fat yoghurt, adding in some shaved parmesan, low fat feta or ricotta and loads of fresh herbs. The crispy filo is fantastic lightly sprayed with olive oil before baking to achieve that golden brown colour.

Tips to make comfort food – Healthy Breakfasts

Comfort food is all about meals and ingredients that keep us feeling nurtured, warm and wholesome during those cold days and chilly nights. These tips are a sure way to keep the winter blues away and still feel like you are staying true to your healthy self. Over this next couple weeks I will share some healthy tips to try through the colder months for Lunches, Dinners and even Snacks.

Healthy Comfort Breakfast

Breakfasts are always an important start to the day and sometimes it’s quicker to grab a coffee and run out the door. With these quick breakfast tips, your days will start with an energy boost and keep the hunger pangs at bay.

  • Instead of just plain oats, mix up a collection of spelt, rye and triticale oats for a hearty porridge. Cook it with diced apples and cinnamon drizzled with natural honey
  • Quinoa, millet and even polenta make a delicious breakfast porridge and are fantastic sprinkled with linseeds, almond and sunflower seeds. Served with warmed berries or diced winter fruits, it’s full of protein, warming and keeps you full for longer.
  • Try hot crumpets or toast topped with ricotta and bananas and grilled until golden. You can drizzle on some maple syrup or mix a little honey with ginger and a tsp of water and pour this over the bananas.
  • Tasty homemade baked beans are fantastic for a comfort breakfast and simple when using tinned kidney or borlotti beans. Fry up a little onion, and garlic, add in some sage, parsley and oregano for a Mediterranean flavour. Or warm with the onions a blend of ground cumin, ground coriander, turmeric, and paprika, for a fragrant start to the day. Add in a tin of diced peeled tomatoes and simmer for 20 minutes. Serve with your favourite toast and steamed or sautéed spinach or poached eggs.
  • Potted eggs baked in ramekins or muffin papers along with tomatoes, capsicum, spinach and mushrooms are also easy to throw together and tasty for breakfast.