Tag: nut free

Gluten free sticky date pudding on a white plate in the foreground, a gold spoon drizzling caramel sauce over the sticky date pudding. 3 sticky date pudding serves in the background.

Sticky Date Pudding | Gluten Free | Dairy Free

The most delicious sticky date pudding – gluten free, dairy free, refined sugar free, soy free, egg free and coconut free.

Over on Facebook I asked you guys what you wished you had an allergy friendly recipe for. There were dozens and dozens of requests, and it was so hard to choose. So I got my 8 year old, Ashton to choose. And he chose Lily’s request for sticky date pudding that is gluten free, dairy free, soy free and refined sugar free. I know lots of my readers are egg free and coconut free as well, so I also took those into consideration when developing the recipe. As usual, there are no funny substitutes, just a recipe I developed to be naturally free of the things that most of us avoid.

Nut free

This is my go to flour combination that I base my cakes, mug cakes and brownie recipes on. However with the nut butter, its not super nut allergy friendly. As a result, I would like to develop a version of this recipe that uses a simple store brought gluten free flour blend to rid the need for nut substitutes. So if this seems a bit fiddly for the nut free folk, stay tuned and I will add that version as soon as I have perfected it!

I always triple test my recipes for quality. While it often takes me a little while to get a recipe on to the blog, when it makes it here, you can rest assured that it has been thoroughly tested to minimise the chances of you having a recipe flop. I know first hand, how heartbreaking it is to waste precious and often expensive allergy friendly ingredients, not to mention time. That’s why I always ensure my recipes are sufficiently tested first. And they often based on methods and ingredients combinations I know and use all the time.

You can find more dessert and sweet treat recipes here.

I love hearing when you’ve made my recipes! If you make this don’t forget to tag me on Facebook, or instagram.

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Sticky Date Pudding – Gluten Free | Dairy free

This sticky date pudding is sweet, sticky and delicious. It is free from gluten, dairy, eggs, soy, refined sugar and grains.
Course: celebration, Dessert, pudding
Cuisine: Gluten free, Grain free
Servings: 4 Adults

Ingredients

  • 150 g Dates (1 heaped cup)
  • 1 cup hot water (just boiled)
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • ½ cup tapioca starch
  • ¾ cup almond meal (sunflower seed meal for nut free)
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 pinch sea salt
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • ⅓ cup nut butter or tahini (almond butter, cashew butter, or at a stretch, peanut butter) (almond, tahini or cashew work best to keep the flavours neutral)
  • ¼ cup olive oil or coconut oil

Caramel Sauce

  • ⅓ cup coconut sugar* (honey, maple and erithritol / stevia blend* also work)
  • 1 cup coconut cream* *(see notes for a coconut free caramel sauce recipe)
  • Pinch salt
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 180°c fanbake.
  • Place the dates in a bowl and cover with the 1 cup of hot water. Add the baking soda.
  • Place the tapioca, almond flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt in a bowl. Whisk to combine.
  • Puree the dates with a handheld blender or in a blender / food processor. Set aside to cool.
  • When the dates are cool – and it's imporatnt to make sure they are not any hotter than luke warm, as adding hot dates to the flour mix will react with the tapioca causing a gummy texture – add the nut butter or tahini and oil and mix together.
  • Pour into the dry flour mix and stir everything together.
  • Grease or line a baking tray or individual pie dishes or remikens. Pour the mixture in.
  • Bake in the oven, on the middle rack. For 4 large individual serves: 20 minutes. If doing 1 large dish or several smaller dishes, you may need to adjust the cook time. 30 minutes for one large dish, or until cooked in the centre.

Make the caramel

  • Put a small pot over a meduim heat. Pour in the coconut sugar, and let it sit on the bottom of the pot until it melts.
  • When the sugar is melted, take the pot off the heat and let rest for a minute, so it doesnt burn the coconut cream when you add it.
  • Pour in the coconut cream and add back to the heat. Add the vanilla and salt. Let it boil in the pot, for five minutes, stirring occasionally, or until it is thickened. It will thicken more as it cools.
  • Serve the sticky date puddings with the caramel drizzled over the top.

Notes

*coconut free date caramel sauce:
1/2 cup dates
1 cup milk of choice (the creamiest milk, that’s safe for your diet) 
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 pinch of salt
Put the dates in the blender with the milk and blend until smooth. 
Pour the mixture into a small pot. Add the vanilla and salt. Over a medium heat, heat the mixture to a simmer, stirring constantly, for about 10 minutes, or until it’s thickened, but still a pourable / spoonable consistency. Taste for sweetness, and add honey or maple if you would like it sweeter. 
 

Kayla

Chicken Noodle Soup | Healthy |Gluten Free

This gluten free chicken noodle soup is warming, nourishing and healing. Especially if you make the broth yourself.

You can find a very basic broth recipe here. Chicken broth tip: Save up all your chicken bones in the freezer, then, when you have enough bones, put them all together to make a big pot of broth. Freeze your broth in a silicone muffin tray, or repurposed glass jars. If you use glass jars, make sure you only fill them 3/4 of the way up, and cool the broth in the fridge overnight first, before putting in the freezer.

I always use organic, free range chicken when I can. I get ours from Bostocks, Organic Free range chicken.

Instant pot or pressure cooker

If you have an instant pot or a pressure cooker, you can cook the chicken legs for 10 minutes, then add the veggies and cook for 5 minutes. I prefer to cook my broth in the pressure cooker too, which I have instructions for in the broth recipe. Don’t forget to save your chicken bones from this recipe, to turn into more broth!

You can also use any cut of chicken you like, I chose this one because it has joints, which are great for making broth, and also it’s a great budget friendly cut of meat, especially if you are trying to stick to free range, organic. It’s also fairy hardy, and doesn’t tend to overcook and go tough easily like chicken breast does. You could also use drumsticks as a budget friendly option, or any cut you like really, keeping in mind that chicken breast will need to be removed as soon as it’s cooked through, then added back through right at the end.

If you are a fellow Kiwi (New Zealander) then you can find gluten and dairy free recipes like this, including all the ingredients, for 5 nights, delivered to your door (for a price so good it should be illegal – just saying) from Kete Kai food boxes. All gluten free recipes developed by me, and quality tested by my family, before making their way to you.

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Gluten Free Chicken Noodle Soup

This gluten free chicken noodle soup is warming, nourishing and healing.
Prep Time40 mins
Course: dinner, Main Course, main meal, meal, Soup
Keyword: allergy friendly, chicken, coconut free, dairy free, egg free, gluten free, gut healing, healing, noodle, nut free, soup, soy free
Servings: 6

Ingredients

  • 2 Whole Chicken legs I use Bostock Brothers Organic Free Range Chicken
  • 1 Onion
  • 1/4 Pumpkin
  • 1 carrot
  • 4 cloves garlic
  • 1 Leek
  • 2 potatoes
  • Juice of half a lemon
  • 100 g rice vermicelli noodles optional
  • 2 stalks celery
  • A few leaves of silverbeet or other greens spinach, kale
  • 2 Litres chicken stock or broth
  • 1 teaspoon curry powder
  • 1 Tablespoon Oil
  • 1-2 teaspoons sea salt depending on how salty your stock or broth already is
  • Fresh parsley

Instructions

  • Dice onion and garlic. Cut pumpkin, potatoes and carrot into cubes. Slice the celery and leek.
  • In a large pot, with a lid, fry the onions, celery, leek and garlic in the oil for 1 – 2 minutes.
  • Add the chicken thighs and cover with the water. Put a lid on your pot and let simmer on medium heat for 30 minutes.
  • Add the potatoes, pumpkin and carrots to the soup water, along with the salt and curry powder. Replace lid. Cook for 8 minutes.
  • Remove the chicken thighs from the water and set aside to cool. When the chicken legs are cool enough to handle, remove the meat from the bones and add it back into the soup. (save the bones to make more broth).
  • Add the noodles, salt and juice of half a lemon. Cook for a further 5 minutes with the lid off.
  • Season with salt and pepper to taste 👌

Kayla

Simple Nourishing Chicken Broth | Low Histamine

This low histamine chicken broth recipe makes a perfect, nourishing base for soups. It can also be added into casseroles, rice dishes, gravies or anything really, it’s very versatile.

When we first started down a path of gut healing for our children with food allergies, all the information was screaming out that bone broth was going to do wonderful things for their health. But many recipes failed to point out that meat stock and bone broth were two different things.

Meat Stock or bone broth?

Broth is bones with no meat, and water, usually cooked for 12 – 24 hours, sometimes longer, depending on the type of bones. This long slow cook produces histamine, and is generally not recommended for anyone beginning their gut healing journey. All of my kids reacted to any moderate or high histamine foods, including bone broth. You can imagine my surprise and confusion when I saw that they were reacting to what was supposed to be a very gentle and nourishing food. Thankfully, you can make something that is just as nourishing and recommended for the beginning of your healing journey, and that is meat stock. Technically meat stock is joint bones, with meat on (not necessarily all the meat) simmered for a few hours, with or without added vegetables.

This chicken broth recipe is a cross between meat stock and bone broth – depending on your need you can change up the bones to include joint bones (more collagen) bones with meat, or bones without. I have made it using only bones, but keeping it short cook and it has worked great as well. To make it even lower histamine, cook in a pressure cooker for 30 mins to 1 hour – the faster the cook, the more histamine friendly it is. This is how I cook it every time now.

If you would like to make the soup pictured with your broth, you can find the recipe here. If you would like more info on meat stock, bone broth and how it works for healing you can find that here.

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Simple Nourishing Chicken Broth

This low histamine chicken broth recipe makes a perfect, nourishing base for soups. It can also be added into casseroles, rice dishes, gravies or anything really, it's very versatile.
Prep Time10 mins
Cook Time4 hrs
Course: dinner, Main Course, Soup
Cuisine: Gluten free
Keyword: broth, chicken broth, chicken stock, coconut free, dairy free, easy recipe, egg free, gluten free, grain free, main, main meal, nut free, paleo, soup, soy free, stock

Ingredients

  • 1 chicken carcass from a leftover roast chicken or bones from chicken wings / legs / thighs etc.
  • Enough water to cover the bones this will depend on the size of your chicken usually around 1L of water – filtered is best
  • A couple cloves of garlic omit the garlic if you’d like to sneak the broth into things like smoothies and ice blocks 😉
  • Optional: Leftover vegetable peelings, carrot or parnsip tops, celery stalks, and herbs.

Instructions

  • In a large stock pot, slow cooker or pressure cooker, cover the chicken bones with water.

Slow cook:

  • Set on high for 4 hours.

Pressure cook:

  • Set to pressure cook following your cookers directions, for 1 hour.

Stock pot:

  • Simmer on low in your stock pot for 3 – 4 hours. Keep an eye that it doesn't overflow, or reduce too much. You want the simmer to be enough to cook the bones but not so much that it's boiling.

  • Once the time is up, strain the liquid from the broth through a sieve into a large bowl or container. Discard the bones and garlic and keep the liquid. Pour it into a container, i usually use a glass jar. It keeps in the fridge for up to a week, especially if it remains sealed under a layer of fat on top. Or you can freeze it. I use my silicone muffin tray to freeze in blocks which I can take our and use as needed.
  • If you'd like to drink the broth as is, then add some salt, herbs, ginger, turmeric and garlic to taste, before heating and serving. Otherwsie you can use it as a soup base, to cook rice and pasta in, add to casseroles, curries, mince and stews. If you have it unflavoured you can even add it to smoothies and ice blocks!

Kayla

10 of The Best Healthy Lunchbox Tips

So, you have come a long way, and there is hardly any packets in the lunchbox anymore. Lunch consists of: sandwich, apple, banana, yoghurt and a biscuit and muesli bar. Sounds ok huh?

What if I told you that there could be up to TEN hidden teaspoons of added sugar in this lunchbox? The recommended daily intake of added sugars from the World Health Organisation (WHO) is 4 teaspoons for a 5 year old (and a maximum of 8) this has just blown the sugar intake through the roof in just one meal! Let me explain; Fresh and fruity fruit yoghurt: just over 4 tsp sugar*. 2 superwine biscuits: 1 tsp. Muesli bar: around 3 tsp on average depending on the bar. Jam or honey in a sandwich: 1-2 tsp And just like that you have 8-10 tsp of added sugar all packaged up nicely in a healthy looking school lunch. Marmite and even some peanut butters have added sugar in them, it’s everywhere and unfortunately we have to become detectives to scope this out!

So what could you do about this? The trick is not to change everything at once, not only would that be hard work for you, your kids would probably be feeling pretty overwhelmed too if their lunchbox suddenly changed overnight. Make the changes small, easy for you to manage and sustainable – something you can do, and stick to, so you don’t look back. Some small, simple tips (choose one):

  • Replace the sandwich filling to something like ham, salami, egg or cheese Spreads: We slowly got rid of things like marmite and jam from the house, so they are not even an option.
  • Next time you run out of jam or Nutella, don’t replace it. We make homemade jam by blending up berries and adding some chia seeds and a tiny bit of honey.
  • Read the labels, make sure you get a peanut butter with no added sugar.
  • Try using plain Greek yoghurt instead of flavoured and add some fresh fruit to it, berries are perfect for that, fresh in summer, or frozen in winter. Even stirring a teaspoon of honey through plain yoghurt will have nothing on the sugar content of a brought flavoured pottle, you could try this with the intention to reduce it completely after a few weeks. For dairy free options, flavoured coconut yoghurt, does tend to have a little less sugar than some other dairy brands, but still check the label and try and choose the least sugar.

The lunchbox I described is one of the better lunches I’ve seen in the classroom, but just because it’s what everyone is packing, does it make it ok? (I’ll leave that to you to decide). There is no protien, fat or vegetables in this lunchbox – some ideal forms of fuel for little bodies to learn and grow. I will share my tips on how to add these in, in the coming weeks.

If you need a hand getting lunchboxes sorted I have created a Lunchbox Planner resource that comes with 70+ healthy, real food, minimal prep or fuss food ideas and 12 healthy lunchbox recipes. You can check it out here.

Come Back next week for tip #2 🙂

*one teaspoon of sugar is about 4 grams.

My kids lick the bowl has a fantastic blog post which shows how much sugar is in everyday items and how it correlates to WHO’s recommended daily intake. It’s been expertly calculated and put into easy to read visuals! I used this to help me with my lunchbox example. I highly recommend checking it out!

Kayla

5 quick gluten, dairy and egg free weeknight meals

Here are 5 easy, and healthy weeknight dinners, that are free from dairy, gluten and eggs, most can also be free from nuts as well. The bonus about most of these is that you can very easily double the portion and have a meal that lasts two nights, or another full family meal for the freezer. They all freeze well and are generous sized portions that easily feed my family of 5. They are picky-eater-friendly with lots of hidden veggies. 

This is a family favourite, free from dairy, gluten, soy and also has options for egg free. Its quick and easy to throw together on a busy night. Who said creamy pasta was a thing of the past!
If you are after a meat free meal, then you could try this Veggie Nacho recipe instead. This is naturally free from dairy, gluten, soy, eggs, nuts, and coconut. Is packed with veggies that no one will notice, and lends itself well to batch cooking to put some in the freezer.
This Recipe has 8 hidden veggies in it, and is free from gluten, dairy, eggs, soy, nuts and coconut. The veggies come together to make the beautifully textured and richly spiced butter chicken sauce, with cauliflower lending its creamy texture to balance everything perfectly.
This recipe is a firm favourite with everyone who has tried it. Free from dairy, gluten, eggs, soy, nuts and coconut, and also nutritional yeast, which you find in most dairy free ‘cheese’ recipes. This is easy to throw together and my buddy eater’s plates are always licked clean.
Perfect for quick Friday night fake-aways! Actually quicker than ordering out! If you need a coconut free curry, then try this Beef Curry here instead – you can put it in the slow cooker in the morning and come home to dinner made on Friday night.

Kayla

The Lunchbox Mum

When Ashton was five and Felix was 6 months old, I quit my job to be a stay at home Mum. As I envisioned myself as a school Mum … a stay at home school Mum. I envisioned being that Mum that turns up to school pick up in activewear, because I’ve actually done yoga or gone for a run. The Mum with the slick pony tail who always knew what day it was, and sent her son off to school every day in clean clothes with a healthy 100% homemade packed lunch. The Mum who turned up to help out in class occasionally and paid the school fees on time. The Mum who was always smiling, and organised, with a clear head and a clean car.

The last two years has taught me, that I am in fact, none of those Mums! I’m the Mum that stays in the car at school drop off because she is wearing her slippers, and the toddler is in his pyjamas. I’m the Mum who may have actually been for a walk or a run, but is wearing track pants because she hasn’t shaved her legs in 6 months. I’m the Mum with the un-brushed messy bun, probably still up from overnight, and clothes covered in baby puke, snot and possibly poop, maybe chocolate – but probably poop. I’m the Mum who hasn’t been in to meet the new teacher except through the car window one time. I’m the Mum whose son goes to school regularly wearing odd socks, and on occasion, odd shoes. I’m The Mum who has no idea what day it is, but can tell the time by how heavy her eyes feel. And the Mum who can’t see the floor of her car (last time I checked there was an open jar of mayonnaise in the back seat). But I am also the Mum who tries her best to send her boy to school everyday with a lunchbox made with love. Love doesn’t have to be homemade, or tidy, and it doesn’t have to be perfect. Love just has to try it’s best.

Here is what it looks like when I am that Mum, the one who is messy, unorganised, covered in baby excretions, and tired beyond belief, that tries to send her boys off with a nourishing lunchbox every day. My lunchboxes aren’t perfect, they are not 100% homemade, they are made quickly, on little sleep, and sometimes empty cupboards. When my boys open their lunchboxes, I hope that they see the love.

Don’t worry about perfection, because even the most experienced of us don’t get it right, all the time. Be inspired to pack lunchboxes out of love and the kids will have everything they need 💞

And if you need a little helping hand, this resource I created helped to make sure the kids had somewhat healthy lunchboxes packed daily, in my manic attempt to get everyone out the door on time

https://mailchi.mp/b75eda91781a/chefashton_lunchboxplanner?fbclid=IwAR2zWqBO66IABaMZNqWiyNpDMObZCwe_TTv5MeQgwt92_PsHLadMMrU41Eo

Kayla

Hey there, Allergy Mama

Hey there allergy Mama,

I see you, up late at night making safe cupcakes to take to the birthday celebration tomorrow. 

I see you, reading all the food labels at the supermarket and quizzing the restaurant staff with tireless questions. 

I see you, wondering was it food? Which food was it, or is it just a tummy bug? I know – the guessing game is just so tiresome. 

I see you, lying awake at night worrying, feeling guilt. The guilt. It’s relentless. Did I do this to my child? Could I have done something better? Could I have prevented that reaction? Could I be doing more to help? 

I see you, hide your disappointment that your child didn’t get invited, because of his allergies. That she missed out, yet again, because of her allergies. 

I see you, in the kitchen. Always in the kitchen, planning, baking, preparing, chopping, cooking. So much food prep, but without it, they would suffer. 

I see you, holding open tired eyes, making yet another dinner when you wish you could just order take out, like everyone else. 

I see you, with a forced smile and a heavy heart, as you reply ‘no thanks, we can’t eat that’ for the hundredth time.

I see you, do your best to mend a child’s broken heart, as they face the disappointment of not being able to join in, or eat the food. While you silently pick up the shattered pieces of your own heart. 

I see you, holding your screaming baby, dropping silent tears down his back, because you know, that this road ahead will be long. 

I see you. And I just wanted to say thank you. Thank you for mending broken hearts with your homemade cupcakes. Thank you for showing up, everyday, even when it feels too hard. Thank you for asking the hard questions, and sharing the harsh truths. You were chosen for this, because you are strong enough, you are smart enough and you are brave enough. 

I was you. I am you. We are all in this together. Thank you for joining me in this beautiful community here, full of love, support and of course healthy, allergy friendly food. 

If you want a space to connect and have a chat, you can find me here

Love and Peace,

Kayla

Kayla

Veggie Loaded Nachoes


You Need

500 – 700g beef mince
1 grated carrot
1 grated zucchini
200-400g mushrooms – blitz to tiny pieces in food processor
1 head broccoli or a few handfuls of leafy greens (spinach, kale, silverbeet) chopped to tiny pieces by hand or in a food processor/ blender.
Optional extra – Up to 1 cup of any other veggie you have lying around that you feel like hiding – i’ve put in grated parsnip, pumpkin, sweet potato, extra greens.
2 T diced garlic
1/2 bottle tomato passata (350g)
1/2 cup water / stock or broth
2 tsp cumin
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp ground corriander
1 tsp salt
Chilli to taste (we add ours after to the adult dishes)

1 avocado
1/2 lemon or lime
Salt to taste
Fresh coriander
Optional: small clove of garlic or 1 T garlic olive oil

Chips – corn chips (make sure they are just corn, oil & salt)
kumara chips, grilled kumara slices, or baked tortilla wraps (gluten free if needed)

What to do

Brown the mince, add the spices and stir through over the heat for a few minutes. Then add the rest of the ingredients and simmer, stirring every now and then on a med to low heat for 10-20 minutes, or until the sauce is thickened. Often I put the tomato passata, garlic and leafy greens in the blender, and blend them all up together so the greens disappear into the sauce and I don’t have to chop the garlic! Then pour in to the mince mix.

While it’s cooking, make the guacamole by mashing the avo and stirring through the rest of the ingredients. Or add everything to a stick blender or mini blender (if I use my full size blender I need to double the mix and add some water so it flows freely through the blades, but it comes out super smooth that way.

Put the mince in the middle of your plate, then surround with your chosen corn chips, grilled kumara slices or baked tortilla chips. Top with grated cheese of your choice (dairy free, zucchini cheese or cows cheese). And guacamole, and then at our house the adults add chilli flakes or chilli oil to their plates to taste.

Kayla

Beef Curry in a Hurry

The prep for this curry is super quick and easy – but it does need some love in the form of time, to infuse it’s flavours and make the beef fall apart. So is best done in a slow cooker, pressure cooker, or on the stovetop low and slow.


You Need

700g – 1kg beef stewing steak
2 onions
2-4 cloves garlic
1 thumb ginger
Zest of 1 lemon
2 tsp turmeric
2 tsp curry powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ground cloves
1.5 tsp salt
3 tsp coriander (dried or fresh)
1.5 cup almond milk (or cashew milk, broth or stock) or coconut milk

If not using coconut milk and nuts are safe – measure out half cup cashew or macadamia nuts (we can’t have cashews so use macadamia) and cover in boiled water and leave to sit min 30 mins, max 4 hours.

Optional – fresh chilli and / or 1 tsp chilli powder or flakes – add with the spoices. We don’t add chilli because our kids don’t like spicy, instead we add chilli flakes to adult plates once served.

What to do

Chop the meat – or if you are lazy like me, chuck the whole slab into the slow cooker (or pressure cooker). Finely dice the onion, garlic and ginger and add to pot with all the other ingredients.

Slow cooker: for 8 hours low or 4-5 hours on high, or until the meat is falling apart, if I haven’t cut the meat, I use two forks to pull it apart.

Pressure cooker: for 45 minutes, and rest for 20 mins (same as slow cooker, cut or use forks to pull apart once rested)

Stove top: I’d recommend dicing the meat for this option, then simmer on low, lid on, stirring every 20 minutes to make sure it’s not sticking. Until meat is falling apart. You may need to add more liquid.

If coconut free and using the nuts, blend with half a cup of water in a high powered blender, until it turns into a cream. Add to your curry after cooking, and stir through.

That easy, it’s done!

Serve with rice, salt and pepper and chilli to taste.

Kayla

Pumpkin Soup


You Need

1 whole crown pumpkin
1 onion
3 cloves garlic
3 rashers bacon
400ml stock or broth (water also works if you have neither)
1-2 tsp curry powder
1 tsp natural sea salt

What to do

Wash any dirt off the pumpkin and put the entire pumpkin skin, stalk and all into either your slow cooker, pressure cooker or oven.

Slow cook: On high 4-6 hours, low 6-8 hours.

Pressure cooker: Add 1 cup water pressure cook 30 mins and leave to rest 30 mins.

Oven – 180 deg c for 2 hours

Once the pumpkin is cooked, leave to cool. Then peel the skin off – it should only take a minute to get all the skin off and should come away like paper. Pluck the stem out and then cut in half and scoop out the seeds and discard.

Add the flesh to a large stock pot along with the rest of the ingredients and cook until bacon is heated and liquid is simmering. (Usually I pop the lid on and leave to simmer 10 mins).

Blend everything until smooth, I use my vitamix and blend in batches.

Serve with more salt, cracked black pepper and a dollop of yogurt or sour cream if you can have it. Fresh herbs that lend well are parsley, chives & coriander.

Notes:

If it seems bland or unbalanced it usually means it needs more salt.

Sometimes I cook the pumpkin then store the cooked flesh in the fridge to make soup later in the week. Sometimes I save some flesh to put in baking (like these muffins or waffles) or to hide in other dishes like mince (my kids don’t like plain pumpkin).

Kayla