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Winter Salad with Baked Apple

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Crunchy kale tossed in a creamy Honey Mustard dressing, with juicy, sweet baked apple, rich chestnuts, and fresh Feta cheese… this is like the BEST salad to make up for all of those Christmas cookies, and the 1 or 2 too many we’ve been eating all month long. 

Main or Side dish?

This recipe also makes an awesome side for your Christmas dinner. It is not too difficult, and it will impress your guests! Even the name itself will “Winter Salad with Baked Apple”, already sounds pretty fancy.. no? Although it sounds pretty fancy, and tastes delicious, it is not too hard to make. I love eating a larger serving of this as a light lunch or serve it along with some meat or fish as a side dish. 

Why is it special?

This salad recipe is not as refreshing as other ones are, but it is winter, so I think something more comforting and cozy is just right. These are also all seasonal foods, which I love. The ones I used for the salad, which basically is kale, apple, chestnuts, and sheep’s cheese, are all from Austria. This means that the transportation did not produce a lot of CO2, which is better for the climate. If you wish to make this recipe vegan, you can simply leave out the cheese, and there you are. 

What is in it?

The Apple adds a sweetness to the earthy kale, which, I believe, balances the entire salad out a lot. It also adds a kick and makes the salad not taste boring! The chestnuts add a winter feeling, because they are a very typical food at this time of the year (at least in Austria you can find them at every corner in December). The ingredients just work in great harmony.

Also the honey mustard dressing goes along perfectly with the apples and the kale. If you have fresh figs on hand, go ahead and throw them in because this combination is bomb too! Or if you don’t like the raw kale, you can steam it for a few minutes to make it softer, or use lambs lettuce instead! But, we are going to massage the dressing into the kale anyway, which is going to make it taste better and easier to digest. 

When to serve?

Because we don’t add the dressing at the very end, as you would do with a regular salad, this is a great make-ahead dish. You can prepare the salad before the guest are coming, then simply bake the apples, cut them up, and you are ready to go! It also works as a leftover the next day. 

Along with my green beans with almond bread crumbs, my caramelized pecan and fog salad or my vegan fall harvest salad this dish is a super delicious side dish for your Christmas dinner. Delicious and nutritious, plus it will impress your guests! 

Enjoy

Katie // Une Petite Cuisinière

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Winter Salad with Baked Apple

A delicious winter salad that includes all the delicious and warming ingredients of the season. Sweet and soft apples pair perfectly with rich chestnuts and earthy kale. All tossed in a honey mustard dressing!

Course Appetizer, lunch, Salad, Side Dish
Prep Time 5 Minuten
Cook Time 15 Minuten
Total Time 20 Minuten
Servings 4 servings
Calories 276 kcal

What you will need

That is what you will need:

  • 6 handful kale stems removed
  • 2 apples core removed
  • 150 g chestnuts
  • 100 g Feta Cheese
  • some nuts (optional)

For the Dressing:

  • 2 tbsp Mustard
  • 1.5 tbsp honey
  • 2 tbsp orange juice fresh preferably
  • 1 tbsp Olive Oil
  • 1.5 tbsp white wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar
  • salt & pepper

How to

That’s how it works:

  1. Preheat the oven to 200C. Cut the apples in half. Take the chestnuts and cut a thin slice on one side (this is a necessary step, because otherwise they will explode, and your kitchen will look like a mess, talking from experience :)). 

    Once the oven is preheated, add the apples and chestnuts onto a baking rack. This works best if you place the chestnuts in a bowl, and put this on the rack, and take another bowl, and place on the very bottom of the oven, so the juice that will drop from the apples doesn’t stick and burn on the oven bottom. Bake them for 15-18 minutes.

    Meanwhile wash the kale and rip it into small bite-sized pieces. In a separate, smaller bowl add the honey, mustard, orange juice, oil, vinegar, and salt. Stir until well combined. Pour the dressing over the kale and gently massage it into it with your hands. This way the kale is able to absorb the flavor, taste less butter, and is easier to digest. Set it aside for at least 10 minutes. 

    Cut up the feta into about 1cm sized cubes. Once the apples and chestnuts are done baking take them out. Cube the Apple into small bites. Also peel and  roughly mince the chestnuts. Add everything to the kale and give it a gentle mix until it is all evenly distributed. 

    Serve and enjoy! If wished, add some cracked nuts on top, for extra crunch!

Healthy Christmas Pancakes

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Who doesn´t love a good brunch at Christmas day? For my family, it is very typical to do this. It is like another coming together after a beautiful Christmas eve before the family is leaving. We all cook together and prepare the meal so we can sit down at the table and enjoy! This pancake recipe is the perfect meal to make for all those who have a sweet tooth but don’t want to start their day with something unhealthy. These pancakes are fluffy, juicy, wholegrain and super delicious! You can´t taste the “healthy” part of them, so you can make them for everyone out of your family!

Usually I totally am a savory kind of breakfast and brunch person. I would be the first to grab the avocado toast and scrambled eggs or the smoked salmon and leave the pancakes and waffles for the others because 90% of the time they are too sweet for me. I really do not like them if they simply taste like sugar, plus it is pretty unhealthy. Traditional pancakes are loaded with sugar, butter, and plain white flour, which will not make you feel full for long and raise your blood sugar levels. 

What is in it?

In order not to result in this but still enjoy a really delicious sweet breakfast or brunch, I am sharing this super delicious and healthy pancake recipe with you. Instead of butter, we are using apple sauce, instead of white flour, we aim for whole wheat (you cannot really taste the whole wheat out but if you really do not like the flavor or need something gluten free you can substitute it for other things. Just be careful with gluten-free flour because sometimes you need them in another ratio.), and honey instead of refined sugar. Honey is a natural sweetener and it still contains some vitamins, other than conventional sweeteners. Other than that, there are eggs, to bind and Greek yoghurt to give texture, add some richness, softness, and protein. The Greek yoghurt can´t be left out and I would not substitute it with normal plain yoghurt because it does not have that thick texture. But you can substitute it for Skyr, which is an Iceland-style yoghurt that also is thick. 

What to serve it with?

I love serving these pancakes with extra yoghurt, some cooked blueberries and a nice drizzle of honey. They would also work great with fresh fruits and banana and nut butter, but since berries & co are not in season right now, I did not use them. But if you want something in season to serve it with, you can serve it with my christmas apple sauce. It makes a great topping. Or you can add some cinnamon sautéed apples from the middle layer of my Apple crumble cake. Honestly, you can serve it with whatever comes to your mind, or what you love. If you love a good drizzle of melted chocolate or some fresh butter, because .. I mean it´s Christmas. We all deserve that!

Whether you serve this for your loved ones, or treat yourself, this recipe is a great recipe! You can also make them in a big batch, freeze them separately and heat them up in the microwave before serving. It makes great for christmas or any other brunch, super simple, and incredibly flavorful!

I hope you´ll enjoy them, 

Marry Christmas, 

Katie

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Healthy Christmas Pancakes

A great way to enjoy some delicious, indulging, breakfast pancakes. No matter if they are for christmas morning (they are the best!) or just some brunch. Easy, whole wheat, packed with protein and fiber!

Course Breakfast, brunch, Dessert
Prep Time 10 Minuten
Cook Time 10 Minuten
Resting time: 10 Minuten
Total Time 30 Minuten
Servings 6 pancakes
Calories 82 kcal

What you will need

For the pancakes:

  • 1 egg
  • 50 g Apple Sauce for some next level pancakes, use my christmas apple sauce
  • 100 g Greek Yoghurt
  • 1 tbsp Honey
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 75 g Whole wheat flour
  • 40 ml almond milk Maybe more, depending on the texture

For the rest:

  • some coconut oil for frying
  • greek yoghurt for topping
  • berrie, frozen and cooked or fresh
  • any other toppings, as wanted: nuts, nut butter, fresh fruits, banana,…

How to

Thats how it works:

  1. Seperate the egg. In a larger bowl, add the egg yolk, the greek yoghurt, the applesauce, and the honey. Mix until well combined.

  2. In a seperate bowl whip up the egg white until fluffy and stiff peaks.

  3. Mix the flour and the baking powder well. Fold this mixture and the fluffy egg whites alternating under the remaining liquid ingredients. Once folded in, gently add the milk and mix. If it is too thick, add a little bit more.

  4. The consistency of the dough should be similar to a cake dough. A little runny but stick thick.

  5. Set the dough aside and leave it to rest for about 10 minutes.

  6. In a large skillet heat up coconut oil over medium heat. Bake the pancakes on each side for about 2-3 minutes. Once there are bubbles occuring, flip them.

  7. Add them onto a plate and top them with whatever toppings you desire. Enjoy!

Tomato and Bean soup (V, GF)

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This soup is just in time for the snow that is expected soon. I feel like December is the perfect time for soups. Especially with all the cookies and treats I often feel like having a light soup that still fills me up, for dinner. This soup is ready in 20 minutes, it’s vegan, packed with protein, and super delicious.

To be honest my very favorite soup is Beef Soup. It’s a traditional Austrian dish that is very common. We add noodles, carrots, beef, and „Fritatten“ to it, and it is so good! We make it for Christmas every year! My mom is the best Chef when it comes to making this soup. It is a lot of work! But anyway, since we all to not have a bunch of time, especially during the week, for making dinner, I share this quick but super delicious recipe with you guys.

How to make it:

To make the soup the first, and essential step (don’t leave this out!! It adds so much flavor) is to brown the onions and herbs in the pot. No oil, no anything. We want them to turn a little bit burnt because that way the flavor will be super intense. You really do not have to worry wether it sticks to the pot or not because it doesn’t matter. 

After that we pour a mix of vegetable stock and canned, diced tomatoes on top. The vegetable stock is like a life hack when making soups, because it instantly gives a bunch of flavor. The tomato sauce, guess what, gives the tomato-y taste to the soup. This is going to simmer with a few other ingredients. Just before serving, you add in the freshly cooked and drained white beans. I like to use canned beans simply because they are more convenient but you can also cook fresh ones and add them. If you are not a fan of white beans at all, you can add other ones or if you want and are not vegan, prawns would work great in here! 

When to serve it?

This soup works great as an appetizer whenever you are having friends over but also as a full dinner. I like to serve it with some bread or rice or quinoa, which you could add to the soup, just to make it a complete meal and more filling. The great thing is, you could just prepare it whenever you have time, and when you come home from work or school and had a long day, you can simply heat it up in 5 minutes and it will taste like a freshly cooked meal. This is the awesome thing about this. 

What about meal prep?

This meal is ideal for a big family because you can make it in large batches, it works great for meal prep, and it is very versatile. Of course, the way I would recommend you to eat it, is with white beans, just because I believe that they taste best, and it is a great plant-based meal, which always is great to have before going to bed. But you can also add in some cooked and shredded chicken, or prawns if you would like to have it with some animal protein. You can just make it for you and your family or friends and place the different protein sources/ add-ins on the table to everyone can pick whatever they like.

I hope that you are having a beautiful winter time and this soup will be added to your weekly meal plan. If you like it, it would mean a lot to me if you could leave a rating here on the website! If you decide to recreate it, be sure to tag me on Instagram with @uneptcuisiniere or with #unepetitecuisiniere !

Enjoy,

Katie 

5 von 1 Bewertung
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Tomato and Bean Soup

A delicious soup to warm up during winter season. Works great for meal prep and is super versatile.

Course Appetizer, dinner, lunch, Main Course, Soup
Prep Time 2 Minuten
Cook Time 18 Minuten
Total Time 20 Minuten
Servings 2 Servings
Calories 202 kcal

What you will need

That’s what you will need:

  • 1 Red Onion
  • 1/2 Handful Thyme
  • 1/2 Handful Rosemary
  • 500 ml Vegetable stock
  • 300 G Canned Tomatoes
  • 1 Tsp Avjar
  • 1 Tsp Tomato Paste
  • 150 G White Beans
  • 1 Tbsp Hummus

How to

This is how it works:

  1. Dice up the onion in quarters. Heat up a pot and add the onions along with the rosemary and the thyme. Let that all brown for about 5 minutes, until the onion is slightly burnt.

  2. Add the vegetable stock and the canned tomatoes. Also add the ajvar and the hummus to make it more creamy. If you want it spicy, add some Chilli flakes here.

  3. Once it has boiled, reduce to a simmer and let it simmer for about 10 minutes. Add in the beans and let simmer for 2 more minutes.

  4. Serve kn soup bowls with some bread or rice and enjoy!

Healthy Protein Hot Cacao

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It is Christmas time and there already is some snow outside which means that it definitely is the season for huge cups of tea and hot chocolate with a mountain of whipped cream. We all love either of that but to make this time of the year a little bit healthier without making it less delicious I am sharing a healthy Protein Hot Cacao Recipe with you, which contains 8g of protein in each serving!!

Drinking hot chocolate for me means sitting in the bed underneath a warm blanket in my PJ´s reading a love story or watching a Christmas movie. Or it means sitting in a ski hut with my friends or family and taking a break from skiing and escaping the cold. Either one of them bring back a lot of beautiful and meaningful memories. This is why I like to drink this since it gives me some good vibes and reminds me of lots of love. 

To be honest I am not a huge fan of hot chocolate, if it is prepared as it is in Italy, with a tiny bit of milk and something like a molten chocolate bar. This is wayyy too rich for me! I am more on the tea side of hot drinks but I also do like hot Cacao. The only thing is that when drinking it, the store-bought ones are often packed with a lot of added sugars, and very little Protein. They are good, but unfortunately not healthy. 

To make them less indulging I decided to change the ingredients a little bit. In my recipe I ask to use raw cacao. This is different from Cocoa because it is not roasted at high temperatures which helps to keep the health benefits of it and not make it lose any nutritional value. Cocoa Powder often contains a lot of added sugar and is a totally processed food. It sometimes even contains food coloring to make it look more appetizing and artificial flavoring. Cacao is the raw product that does not contain anything else then the bean. Without the heating process it is a food very high in antioxidants and a great source of magnesium, potassium, iron, and calcium. It also contains a healthy amount of protein and it is shown to improve memory and lowering blood pressure as well as insulin resistance! What a superfood?!

Ok, now I think we have enough theory about cacao. So next time you go to the store think about what you buy. When buying raw cacao, you can still add sweeteners but YOU know exactly what is in it and it does not contain a billion other add-ins. 

Other than that, I like to use winter spices to flavor the (plant-based) milk, a dried fig to add sweetness and fiber and different seeds to give it a protein kick. To make a health substitute for the whipped cream, you can easily go for coconut whip. You can make tis by buying canned coconut milk. You place it in the fridge overnight and when making it, you open the jar, only take the solid part of the coconut milk, whip it up and tada.. a healthier and plant-based version of whipped cream! I hope that you will enjoy this recipe more than once in December and if you do, it would be great it you could tag me on Instagram with @uneptcuisiniere and leave a rating here on the blog, so I know that you like it!

Have a beautiful Christmas time!

Katie

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Healthy Protein Hot Cacao

The Cacao Recipe to make your Christmas time healthier but not a tiny bit less delicious! Each serving contains 8g of protein!

Course Breakfast, brunch, Dessert, Drinks
Prep Time 3 Minuten
Cook Time 5 Minuten
Total Time 8 Minuten
Servings 2 servings
Calories 170 kcal

What you will need

For the Milk:

  • 500 ml Almond Milk you can use any milk you like
  • 2 sticks cinnamon
  • 4 cloves
  • 1 dried fig
  • a pinch of salt

For the Cacao Mix

  • 3 tbsp raw cacao powder
  • 2 tsp hemp seeds
  • 2 tsp pumpkin seeds
  • 2 tsp sunflower seeds

How to

That is how it works:

  1. In a pot add the milk, along with the cinnamon, cloves, fig, and salt. Bring it to a boil.

    Meanwhile add all of the ingredients for the cacao mix to a food processor and process until a very fine texture is reached.

  2. Through a sieve pour the milk into a blender (preferably a high speed one). This way the spices will be removed since we do not want them to be blended, they should only add flavor. Take the dried fig and add it to the blender aswell.

    Add the cacao mixture and blend everything together until a smooth consistency is reached.

  3. Serve in jars and top with some whipped cream, coconut whip or with some freshly grated cacao! Enjoy!