Aubergine, Tomato, Mozzerella & Basil stacks & Banana & Courgette Oatmeal Cups
Having recently returned from Sri Lanka and having transformed my diet and thoroughly detoxed whilst out there, I have come home to a schedule which means a lot of time on the road and in my van – which usually means grabbing food along the way and making do. This time though, with a fresh start and a desire to eat Vegetarian from now on, the whole food planning has gone up a notch or two. I have always taken with me as much fresh food as possible but usually lapse after a day or two away.
And so begins my series of blog posts on how I am going to stay healthy whilst on the road. I am not a big fan of cooking – my trips away are to work, to spend time shooting landscapes, walking and being outdoors. My idea of travelling is not spending all day preparing and cooking food. Neither am I set up to do so. When I bought my van the first thing I did was to remove the fridge and full size cooker. My van is functional for my work and my kit takes up a lot of room!
I have a portable campstove that I use – I buy cheap single burner ones because they seem to work well and I maybe replace them once a year if needed. So I am looking at cooking on a single burner camp stove – healthy, fresh and vegetarian food.
So here is the first idea that worked really well for me and I have to say was absolutely delicious. This one, like many more to come, requires most of the preparation at home and really simple cooking on the road.
Pop sliced aubergines (topped with pesto already fried and cooled), sliced tomatoes and sliced mozzeralla ready in a tub. Simply heat up all the ingredients in one pan and stack, together with the basil.
As a side I had already fried some mushrooms, peppers and onions at home and heated up alongside some potato salad.
Banana & Courgette Oatmeal Cups
These are great for on the go as you can have them for breakfast, snack or pudding. We made a batch and they lasted for several days. Recipe below…
- 1 tbsp ground flaxseed + 3 tbsp water (alternatively, you can use 1 egg)
- ¼ cup almond butter (or peanut butter)
- ¼ cup pure maple syrup
- 3 small-medium over-ripe bananas
- 2 small zucchinis (2 cups grated, don’t squeeze water out)
- ½ cup almond milk (any milk will work)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 3 cups old-fashioned oats (use certified gluten-free if necessary)
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- ¼ tsp salt
- Optional add-ins: ¼ cup chocolate chips and/or walnuts
- INSTRUCTIONS
- Preheat oven to 375F. Spray a muffin tin with cooking spray or grease with coconut oil or line with silicone muffin liners.
- Place flax and water in small bowl. Stir and set aside to “gel.”
- Place bananas in a large bowl and mash with a fork. Add grated zucchini, almond milk, vanilla extract, almond butter, maple syrup, and flax mixture, stirring to combine.
- Add oats, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, and add-in’s of choice. Stir until just combined.
- Spoon mixture into muffin cups, filling to the top. You will have leftover batter if only using one muffin tin.
- Bake for 23-28 minutes, or until a fork comes out clean. Store cooled oatmeal cups in an air-tight container in the refrigerator. These freeze well too.