Poached Eggs

I love poached eggs but am way too lazy to do the whole 'deep fry pan at correct heat, add vinegar, swirl' crap! The Thermomix makes perfect poached eggs and it is super easy!! There are tons of different (but similar) suggestions on the net of how to poach eggs in the Thermomix. There is also a lack of 'helpful hints' which help make the process easier (I had to learn the hard way through a load of swearing and throwing things!) So, I thought I would impart my new found wisdom on you all......

POACHED EGGS

Preparation: 

1) Prepare your silicon egg cups by spraying them with oil. Fill the TMX bowl with 1ltr of warm water, put on the lid and place the Varoma basket on top.

2) Crack your eggs into a glass first. Hold the silicon egg cup in one hand and slowly pour the egg into the cup with the other hand. (This is where I went wrong. I put the eggs in and then tried to move the silicon cups- egg went EVERYWHERE!!)

3) Carefully place silicon cups with eggs into the Varoma basket and place Varoma lid on top.

4) Cook for 13 minutes at Varoma temperature on Speed 2.  (This is for cooked whites but runny yolks. 14 minutes for hard yolks).


***Helpful hint: At around the 5 minute mark, place a clean tea towel between the basket and the lid. This helps stop the condensation dripping back into the eggs (meaning the whites won't be watery) ***

5) After 13 minutes eggs will be perfectly cooked!! (Using warm water helps the cooking process). Drain off the tiny bits of excess water and slide the eggs out. Done!!

The possibilities are endless here. I have seen people put spinach and ham in with their eggs and cook it all on together. Can't wait to try some new things with eggs in the Thermomix! Stay tuned!!!!

Thai Green Chicken Curry

Weight Watchers Pro Points 6

Ok so I am about to do the unthinkable and post a recipe without a photo!! Sorry lovely people but it was so good we ate it all before I remembered to take photos for the blog! Oops! Oh well, you'll just have to trust me :)  I LOVE curries and Thai Green is my absolute fav!! This one is super easy and takes no time at all. Let me know what you think as this is my own recipe!! x

Ingredients:

500g chicken breast diced
400g coconut milk
6 stems spring onion (chopped roughly)
1 red capsicum (chopped into large chunks)
1 tbsp green curry paste
2 Cloves of Garlic
3 stalks lemongrass
1 piece ginger (approx inch piece) peeled
1 chicken stock cube
6 tsp fish sauce
30g Oil

Preparation: 

1) Place the spring onion, capsicum, garlic cloves, ginger and lemongrass into the TMX bowl and chop for 5 seconds on speed 7. 

2) Add oil and saute for 3 minutes at 100 degrees on speed 1.

3) Meanwhile, brown chicken pieces in a frying pan. (This is not necessary but I like my chicken browned and sealed- I find it cooks better)

4) Add coconut milk, chicken, green curry paste, chicken stock cube and fish sauce into the TMX bowl and cook for 15 minutes at 100 degrees on Reverse + Speed Soft.


Serve on it's own or over rice (how very un-paleo of you!) or perhaps try over cauliflower rice? I haven't tried that yet and will in the future but for now we just love it on it's own!

Homemade Ketchup

This is what I really bought the Thermomix for- to make my own condiments/pastes/stock etc. I am going to slowly build a fridge full of organic, fresh, preservative-free jars of jams, spreads and condiments. Very exciting!! Made this tomato ketchup today and I am finding it hard to imagine how I will ever go back to regular tomato sauce!!! It is delicious. Tried today on some crispy bacon (YUM!!). This recipe is straight from the "My Way Of Cooking" cookbook. I figured some of you may not have the cookbook or may have overlooked the recipe. Or maybe you have tried it yourself already? If you have, you will know how amazing it really is!! I added about half a cup of water to mine and mixed it in the very end as it came out very thick. You could make it any consistency you like really, but for me, Ketchup needs to be runny!! Hope you love it as much as we do!!!!! x

HOMEMADE KETCHUP

Ingredients:

1000g tomatoes (ripe) cut into quarters
180g red peppers, cut into pieces
130g red onions, cut in half
2 garlic cloves
100g red wine vinegar
Pinch of nutmeg
10 mustard seeds
10 black peppercorns
1 dry bay leaf
1 tsp hot paprika
Pinch of cayenne pepper
1 tsp salt
100g honey

Preparation:

1) Place tomatoes, red peppers, red onions, garlic cloves and 50g red wine vinegar into TMX bowl and chop for 5 seconds on speed 7.

2) Cook 40 minutes at Varoma temp on speed 2, place simmering basket instead of measuring cup onto mixing bowl lid.

3) Add remaining red wine vinegar, spices and honey, cook for 18 minutes on Varoma heat on speed 2 until mixture has thickened.

4) Mix for 1 minute on speed 10. Transfer into jars with twist lids (approx 3/4 full) and top up with water. Mix with a spoon. (You can decide how much water to add to the consistency you like).
**In the recipe book it now says to "screw on the lids and turn the jars upside down for 10 minutes and let them cool". The sauce really is too hot at this point to do this (it'll end up exploding out of the jar's lid). So I let it cool on the bench and then did this in the fridge after about 1/2 an hour.

Done! Boom!!

Apple and Date Muffins

My favourite Paleo blog on the net is Paleomg! Do yourselves a favour (if you haven't already) and check out some of her recipes. They truly are delicious and she is a genius! One of my favourite treats that she posts are her blueberry muffins (My hubby, Warren's fav!!) I have used the base of her blueberry muffins (with a few changes) to create the base of these muffins. Best of all- I've converted to a Thermomix recipe! YAY! AND they are scrumptious!! You'll see they really are a 'treat' and probably not an everyday food (or as I say to my kids- a 'sometimes' food). You could also get creative and replace the honey with agave syrup for a healthier alternative but I'll leave all that for you to decide!

APPLE AND DATE MUFFINS

MAKES 18 MUFFINS

Ingredients:

10 Dates (pits removed)
3 Apples (quartered and cored)
110g Almond Meal
35g Unsweetened Shredded Coconut
100g Almond/Nut Spread
100g Nuttelex
150g Honey
60g Melted Coconut Oil
3 Eggs
1/2 tsp Baking Soda
1/2 tsp Baking Powder
Pinch of Salt
Pinch of Cinnamon

Preparation:

1) Preheat the oven to 180 degrees and prepare you muffin trays (I line mine with patty pans)

2) Put the apples and the pitted dates into the TMX bowl and chop for 10 seconds on speed 4 (or until chopped into fine pieces)

3) Scrape the chopped apples and dates out of the bowl into a separate bowl/container. (you don't need to clean the TMX bowl entirely- just get as much out as you can) You need to do this or you will continue to chop these down during the next part. They will be added again later!

4) Place all remaining ingredients straight into the TMX bowl (Friggin LOVE it! How bloody easy!) and mix for 40 seconds on speed 4-5. (**I know it's a silly point and everyone knows- but just remember to reset your scales after each ingredient addition)

5) Now add back in your chopped apples and dates and mix for 1 minute on speed 1 (or until all ingredients are combined. If your ingredients aren't combined, increase the time NOT the speed until they are combined. Increasing speed will chop down apples and dates even more- we don't want that!)

6)  Divide mixture into your muffin trays (approx. 3/4 full as they will rise slightly) and bake in the oven for 25 minutes or until firm in the center. Allow to cool. Then................ EAT!!!! Yum!

*Helpful hint: I like to put these almost instantly into an airtight container and into the fridge. This makes them super moist and they hold together better this way too.


Let me know what you think as this is my first official 'made up' recipe!! Enjoy!

Lamb and Steamed Veggies

So, a huge part of the Paleo diet is the consumption of delicious red meat! I'm not a huge beef fan but I do love a good lamb steak. Since getting the Thermomix I have been trying to think of how much of my regular cooking I can do in there. Choosing which meals to 'Thermomise' and which to leave alone is my challenge at the moment (especially because I want to 'Thermomise' EVERYTHING!). Tonight I thought I would have a go making the stock-standard Lamb and Steamed Veggies in the Varoma! And it was a success!!!
There two main ways of cooking meat (like a steak) in the Thermomix. They are: in a water bath (in the basket and immersed in water) or steamed in the Varoma. Tonight I decided to give it a go steaming in the Varoma. After steaming the meat I seared it for a minute each side in a pan to brown it off. The result was an extremely tender piece of meat! You can adapt this recipe to suit your individual preferences when it comes to what veggies you use or how well to cook your meat. Enjoy!!

LAMB AND STEAMED VEGGIES

SERVES 2

Ingredients:

3 Carrots (peeled and cut into 3cm slices)
1 Bunch of Broccoli (cut into pieces)
2 Lamb Steaks
Garlic Paste
Ginger
Moroccon Spice
Chilli

Preparation:

1) Place your chopped veggies into the lower basket of the Varoma. 

 














2) Marinate your lamb steaks. I did a ginger and garlic rub followed by a light sprinkling of moroccan seasoning and some chopped chillies. (I'm sure there is a Thermomix recipe to make your own spices. I'll get on to that for the future!)

3) Place your steaks in zip-lock bags and squeeze out as much air as possible. (A vacuum sealer would be the ideal thing to use here but I don't have one! This worked just fine!!) Make sure each steak gets it's own zip-lock bag.

4) Place your meat in the top tray of the Varoma and place the lid on top. Fill your TMX bowl with 500ml of water. Place the Varoma try over the top of the bowl. You are ready to cook your meal! Cook meat and veggies for 40 minutes, Varoma heat on speed 1. (** I did it on Varoma heat for 40 min and steaks were medium. I would say 20-30min for rare and up to 1 hour for well done). I also like my veggies quite soft so I left them in there for the whole 40 minutes. You can take them out earlier (or put them in later) if you like them crunchy still- all up to personal preference.

5) Take your meat out of their bags and sear the outside of the meat for approx 1 minute each side in a hot fry pan (over high heat). You could also chuck it on the BBQ (if you can be bothered). You don't want the meat to spend too much time here or you will lose the tenderness you got through steaming the meat. You can eat the meat without browning the outside but it's not as nice!

Hey Presto!!! A delicious steak of lamb with yummy, healthy steamed vegetables. The advantages of doing it this way? The tenderness of the meat is like nothing else! On top of that, your meat isn't losing all of the important nutrients that get blasted out during BBQ/frying.

Tropical Green Smoothie

Another brekky smoothie idea guys. And this one I LOVE!! This is off the Thermomix recipe community but I have changed it slightly as I found it way too thick! This one takes a bit of prep. as it requires some frozen fruit, but it is WELL worth it! This is delicious and it keeps really well in the fridge for a couple of days. I added more water than the original recipe as it was more like a slushy than a smoothie. Enjoy!!

TROPICAL GREEN SMOOTHIE

SERVES 4

Ingredients:

1 mango (frozen in chunks)
1 banana (frozen in chunks)
1 orange (peeled)
1/2 bunch baby spinach leaves (or a handful from a bag)
20g coconut oil
100g ice cubes
400g water

Preparation:

Place all ingredients in the Thermomix bowl. Blend for 90 seconds on speed 9.

Breafast Fruit Smoothie.

Breakfasts are one of the toughest meals, in my opinion, when it comes to eating the 'Paleo way'. I can only eat so much 'bacon and eggs' before I feel like a pig myself! I found this delicious recipe on the Thermomix recipe community forum and tweaked it slightly to suit my taste buds. A filling and scrumptious breakfast shake made in seconds! The raw egg, along with the fresh banana, gives you the protein you need to carry on being full right up until lunch. You can use any mix of berries you like really. I personally used blueberries and raspberries and it was delightful! Super quick and easy- the perfect solution for a quick Paleo brekky!!

BREAKFAST FRUIT SMOOTHIE

 

Ingredients:
1 banana
130g frozen berries
220g almond milk (why not make your own in the Thermomix?)
2 raw eggs

Perparation:

Place all ingredients in the Thermomix bowl and blitz for 40 seconds on speed 10.

Boom!

Welcome!

Welcome to my new blog, Paleomix! A blog for me to post Paleo recipes for your Thermomix. So I started eating Paleo about 2 months ago to improve my general well being and enhance my performance at Crossfit. I have been doing Crossfit for approximately 10 months and feel stronger, fitter and healthier than I have ever felt! After reading Robb Wolf's 'The Paleo Solution' (do yourselves a favour and read it if you haven't already- it changed my life) I began eating strictly Paleo. I have found the differences in my body, my strength and my energy levels to be astounding. I am never hungry and feel great!! I love to cook and have found so many Paleo recipes that I have modified and tweaked to suit my liking. The final part to this puzzle is my brand new Thermomix! I am in love (yes, with a machine) If you have one you would know how I feel! The biggest hurdle I have found is finding delicious Paleo meals for the Thermomix, as well as converting the foods I already love. I looked everywhere on the internet and tried to find a Paleo sight with Thermomix recipes to which I became sadly deflated. Hence my new blog 'Paleomix'- a blog where I will post tried and tested Paleo recipes made with my Thermomix (as well as options for if you don't have a Thermomix for those old recipes I love!) I will also be converting some favourite and famous Paleo recipes for the Thermomix so you don't have to! Enjoy! xx