Its all about the food this week.....

I've prepared and cooked some pretty interesting meals this week.  Some have been out of my comfort zone but everyone of them were so tasty and full of flavour that I just had to share.  But before I get into that I just want to point out something.
All of these recipes fall under the healthy eating  banner that include lots of nuts and grains and the use of good fats and oils.  But I just want to point out to my readers (all three of you!) that usually if the food falls under the "super food" category it is very high in calories.  Just for an example 1 tablespoon of coconut oil or olive oil is a staggering 120 calories.  Also seeds and nuts, although healthy, are extremely high in calories.
This will not worry a lot of you but for those wanting to watch their weight, MODERATION is the key with these recipes.  My husband and I fail miserably with this.  If it's in front of us we will eat it until we are almost bursting at the sides.  The way to overcome this is to plate up the meal rather than placing the dishes in front of you.
Now to the recipes.  The first one is Slow Roasted Shoulder of Lamb (recipe is HERE) with Maple Roasted Pumpkin and Freekeh Salad (recipe is HERE)

Remember, you will need to marinate your lamb the day before and it will definitely need the 5 hours of slow cooking.  The end result is well worth the preparation! The salad is straightforward although I didn't need to use all the dressing as it makes a large quantity.

The next recipe I want to share is Meatloaf in Smoky Tomato Sauce (the recipe is HERE).

It's very hard to take a photograph of meatloaf and make it look attractive but I can assure you that it is very full of flavour.  Do use smoked paprika because it is the flavour bomb.  I served it on a bed of pureed cauliflower but if you prefer mashed potato by all means go with that.

The next recipe was out of my comfort zone because I have not had much experience with cooking squid but as it turns out is quite easy!  This recipe is from Maggie Beers Recipe for Life cookbook.  If you don't have it I recommend you look for it at your favourite bookshop.  It is well worth it.

I had one extra squid tube so I cut it into triangles and scored it heavily in a criss cross shape.  I then tossed it in a bowl with salted rice flour and then heated up my wok with a good amount of rice bran oil and deep fried the calamari with one sliced chilli, one sliced red onion and a handful of basil leaves.  Yummm.

I also replaced the black barley with black rice as per Maggie's suggestion.  It was a lovely choice.  The whole dish was wholesome, extremely filling and very delicious.  Also, because I had half a pomegranate leftover I wacked those seeds over the salad.  

That's it for this week my friends.  Happy cooking!