Weekend treats

Normal people make rum balls at Christmas time, I made protein balls...as a present for J. And he loved them. So yesterday I made some more.

When I say protein balls, most people make a face that says "I can't believe you eat that tasteless shiz". But I actually really like them. They taste good (well, some of them do) and they're so filled with protein-y goodness...mmmm. The problem is they can become an expensive habit at $4 to $5 a packet so I figured the internet would have a solution to this. And the internet did not disappoint.

I found Teresa Cutter's website and this recipe for protein balls. They are absolutely yummy and so addictive! 

These are my protein balls from yesterday:

My tips for the recipe:

1. I used almond meal instead of whole almonds. (laziness)
2. I added pepitas and sunflower seeds to the mix.
3. Last time, I rolled the balls in sesame seeds, cocoa and quinoa flakes as I didn't have dessicated coconut. 'twas yum!
4. If the coating doesn't stick to the balls, wet your hands a little bit when forming the balls. This will help the coating stick better.
5. Instead of spreading the dessicated coconut out on a plate, I put it in a bag and threw the balls in one at a time and tossed them around. I find this coats the balls much better.

My green smoothie

I am also VERY into smoothies right now. I have a little Sunbeam stick blender that cost me all of $40 to buy and I reckon it's one of my best investments in kitchen equipment. It was really hot on Sunday so I didn't feel like a thick, heavy smoothie. So I tried my hand at a "green" smoothie for the first time. It was delish!

Ingredients:

1. Flesh from 1 grapefruit
2. Flesh from 1 lime
3. Handful of mint leaves
4. 1 banana
5. Handful of spinach leaves
6. Honey (if you'd like a touch more sweetness)
7. 1 scoop protein powder (optional)

Simply blend all ingredients together.

Green smoothies seemed a repulsive idea to me before but I actually really like them now and definitely recommend them. It's a whole new way of eating spinach, that's for sure.

#NaBloPoMo - New Recipe Saturdays

We've decided we're going to try and cook a new recipe on Saturday nights. Saturday nights without plans that is. J and I both love to experiment with new kinds of food. Unfortunately there aren't too many new and yummy restaurants on the Gold Coast that excite me enough to want to go out every Saturday night. Besides, going out would involve wearing a bra which sometimes is more effort than it's worth.

Cooking is something we both enjoy. The weeknight menu isn't always exciting because those meals are more about what is easiest and/or quickest. Saturdays allow us the luxury of time so why not try a new recipe while we're at it?

I bought a book on Spanish food almost 2 years ago to cook a surprise dinner for J's birthday and it's one of the best recipe books I've ever bought. So last night, we cooked up a Spanish-themed feast - steak with chimmichurri, bean salad, prawns and haloumi. I know, I know haloumi isn't Spanish at all but hey, it was the perfect addition to the meal. Of course we had some vino tinto to go with.

I'm no food blogger so the pictures aren't great :(

The books I used.

The end result :)

All ingredients are easily available at Coles or Woolies. The steak however we bought at The Gold Coast Fresh Meat Centre in Burleigh and it was really great quality meat. It was cooked medium rare.

To go with the steak, we made some Argentinian inspired Chimichurri. We first had some at an Argentinian restaurant in Melbourne and have been wanting to make some for ourselves ever since. It's really easy to make and tastes absolutely divine on the steak. I used this recipe. Mmm...garlic!

The Haloumi is available in the cheese section (Lemmos..Lemnos?) and we fried it off in a pan until brown and squeezed a bit of lemon over it before biting into it. (Heaven!).

The prawns (also known as Gambas al Ajillo) were a tiny bit of a letdown as they didn't caramelise the way I would have liked (still yummy thought). But, I think that's more to do with my oven and less the fault of the recipe. I used a combination of this recipe and the recipe pictured below (from my Spanish book). I like the use of the sherry and the parsley in the Food.com recipe.

The recipe

The salad is a recipe from the salads recipe book pictured above. The recipe and a picture from the book is below. I'm happy to report the end product looked exactly like the picture from the book. I loved the mustard and lemon dressing as I'm not a fan of heavy salad dressings. 

The recipe

The salad.

It was a feast of a Saturday night and I can't wait till our next cooking adventure.

*This post is part of the November NaBloPoMo blogging challenge.