Ginger & Carrot Soup Recipe

When the weather turns cold, my weekday lunches are all about soup, soup and even more soup! So much nutrition in one little bowl, and it helps that Mr B loves it too. He has just learnt to dunk his bread in the soup - very cute, but very messy!

 

This amazing recipe is from the lovely Amy at Coconut Health & Healing and is super easy, yummy and packaged with so much goodness. Serve up with some warm crusty bread (lashings of butter optional) and it is a lunch made in heaven.

 

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 Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoons extra-virgin coconut oil
• 1 cup chopped onion
• Salt
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 2 tablespoons minced peeled ginger
• 1kg of carrots, peeled and chopped
• 1 sweet potato, peeled and chopped
• 6 cups low-sodium chicken or vegetable stock
• 1/4 cup pine nuts
• 1 1/3 cups plain yoghurt
• 1 teaspoon honey
• 1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme
• Freshly ground pepper

What to do:

 

1. Combine the coconut oil and onion in a heavy pot over medium-high heat. Sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon salt and cook, stirring, 10 minutes, until just starting to caramelize.
2. Add the garlic and ginger and cook, stirring, 2 more minutes, being careful not to burn the mixture. Stir in the carrots, sweet potato, and the chicken or vegetable stock. Bring to a simmer, cover, and cook until the carrots and sweet potato are very tender, about 20 to 25 minutes. Keep warm.
3. Meanwhile, in a small sauté pan over high heat, lightly toast the pine nuts. Set aside to cool.
4. In a small bowl, combine the yogurt, honey, thyme, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper.
5. Puree the soup with an immersion blender until very smooth (or puree in a regular blender in batches). Adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper and serve with a dollop of the yogurt mixture and some pine nuts.

Thanks for the amazing recipe Amy! Don't forget that we have our giveaway on right now thanks to Coconut Health & Healing, pop over here to enter.

 

What is your favourite Winter soup?

Coconut Oil Capsules Giveaway

Winter blues be gone! With these amazing Coconut Oil capsules, one lucky reader is definitely going to be looking and feeling a whole lot better during these chilly months.

If you missed hearing about this amazing product, you can catch up by reading this post here.

 

A BIG thank you for Amy at Coconut Health & Healing for the opportunity to run this fabulous little giveaway. Entry is via Rafflecopter (who will hopefully cooperate fully just this once!) and the T&C's are listed below.

 

Good luck everyone....

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

- The giveaway will be hosted by Rafflecopter and is open to Australian residents only
- The announcement of the lucky winner will be made right here on the Utterly Organised blog
- The lucky winner will have 5 days to contact Utterly Organised and claim their prize
- Failure to claim prize within designated period will result in another winner being drawn
- Entrants must like the Utterly Organised and Coconut Health & Healing Facebook Pages
- Any questions on the competition can be directed to utterlyorganised@gmail.com

Beating the Winter Blues & Bugs with Coconut Oil

I don't know about you, but this Winter I am absolutely determined to get through without a nasty bout of the flu or getting run down. So I am watching what I eat (everything in moderation, right?!), trying to be good with my exercise and looking for ways to feel and look better.

 

Since being introduced to Coconut Oil earlier this year, I have been readily using this amazing ingredient in recipes, as an oil for cooking and in my smoothies. However I just cannot handle a spoonful of this stuff straight up, no matter how wonderful I know it is for me!

 

So I was absolutely ecstatic when I saw the new product from Coconut Health & Healing - Coconut Oil Capsules - genius!!

 

 

Now you can get all of the nutrients of the coconut oil, but in a convenient and easy to swallow format - gotta love that!

 

Some of the amazing benefits of taking this wonder oil include:

 

• Weight Loss (yes please!!!)
• Reducing Bad Cholesterol (Perfect for my hubby who suffers very high levels)
• Increasing good cholesterol
• Treating hair loss
• Improving metabolism
• Keeping skin looking radiant (definitely needed in winter)
• Treating problems with digestion

Sounds too good to be true doesn't it?! But the results speak for themselves and at only $25.95 (including P&H), I am definitely going to be giving these a try this Winter.

 

The good news is that one of you will also be trying these too - for free!! The lovely Amy from Coconut Health & Healing is offering up this amazing product for one lucky reader. The giveaway will start this week on the blog - so stay tuned!

 

To order or for more information, pop over and visit Coconut Health & Healing here. If you are yet to discover Amy's blog or Facebook Page, it is full of inspirational recipes, lifestyle and wellness advice. Definitely one to bookmark in your Internet favs.

Are you a fan of Coconut Oil? Love to hear what you make or do at your place with it.

Converting a Nursery in to a Toddler Friendly Bedroom

Ahhh tell me where does the time go? It seems like only yesterday we were eagerly awaiting the arrival of our first child, setting up a nursery and counting down the days until we met our bundle of joy.

 

Fast forward to right now and Mr B is turning 18 months in June (please tell me how to make the clock stop!). So a little project I have had on the backburner for a while is  tweaking his little nursery in to something a little more toddler friendly. We are not going the whole hog and doing a big boys room style makeover complete with a bed just yet - I don't know if I will ever be ready for that big step!!

The Nursery as it is now

When I created the existing nursery, it was intended to be a little bit gender neutral as we didn't find out the sex of the baby (you can read and see the pictures from the nursery in these earlier posts here).

 

So I have decided to work on changing up the colours a little and adding a few things to be a little bit more suitable for a toddler boy. We are aiming for something boyish, budget friendly and beautiful!

 

Here are some of the pieces that I will be injecting in to the room....

The results? Stay tuned and I will share these as I work on this mini makeover during the weekend (all going well!!).

 

What projects are you working on at your place?

Healthy Parmasen Polenta Chips Recipe

My husband is addicted to chips. When I mention his addiction to chips, I mean that we have considered taking out shares in our local fish and chip shop because he frequents it so often!

Now my husband may be slim, but sadly chips and his cholesterol levels just don't mix. So I have recently been making a healthier version of his good old fried favouries - a parmasen and polenta chip.

 

These are much easier on the waistline (and the cholesterol) but still absolutely delish served with steak, grilled chicken or fish in place of your fried favourites. Perfect for the little people who just love chippies too.

• 2 Cups Chicken Stock
• 1 Garlic Clove Crushed
• 1/2 Cup Instant Polenta
• 1/4 Cup Grated Parmasen
• Optional - Herbs such as Rosemary

1. Grease a small square cake pan (approx 6cm deep and 19cm in length) and line with greasproof paper

2. Place stock and garlic (and any other herbs if using) in to a saucepan on a high heat

3. Bring mix to the boil, then reduce the heat down to low

4. Add polenta to the saucepan (slow and steady here!) and stir contantly

5. Continue to cook and stir for approx 5 minutes or until thick. Stir in parmasen

6. Pour in to prepared pan and smooth flat. Place tray in the fridge for 3 hours (or until set)

7. Remove from fridge and cut in to chips - pick your desired thickness here!

8. Place on baking tray and give them a light spray with cooking oil.

9. Pop in an oven pre-heated at 220/200 degrees (fan foreced) for 10 - 15 mins (or until golden and crisp and enjoy!!!

Because the method involves cooking and stirring the polenta at the same time - you had leave this to a female, because we know a male cannot do two things at one - haha! 

 

Love to know what you think of these...

Sometimes it is just the little things...

Sometimes it is just the little things that put a smile on our dial.

 

For me, it is the new Pinterest Feature where you now are notified if you have already pinned an item - hooray - because I am prone to double and triple pinning!!

It is a week of Melbourne Winter sun allowing me to get outside with this little man who hates to be indoors and not outside playing.

It is knowing that today is Friday - our family movie night - and a day that I look forward to all week.

What little thing is it for you today?

PS: You can follow me here on Pinterest if you'd like to!

The Humble Shopping List: Saving you time & Sanity! And some Free Printables too....

I must admit that in my pre-baby days, it was never too much of a hassle for me to pick up something at the shops after work, or dash out on the weekend for an item needed for a recipe that instant. I used to quite enjoy a leisurely stroll down the aisles looking at all the pretty products on the shelves (sad hey?!).

 

However with a little one, heading out for a 5 minute trip to the shops usually takes me 40 minutes to pack the baby, nappy bag, and every other baby accoutrement under the sun before I can even start the engine in my car!! This means that I try and make my trips to the shops as infrequent as possible; it is just too hard otherwise.

 

For busy people (or those that just hate the bright lights of a supermarket!), I cannot stress enough the importance of a shopping list. Sure it sounds simple, but it amazes me the amount of people that head to the shops unarmed with such an important article!! These days I cannot live without it.       

 

The shopping list has multiple benefits for you. Firstly (and most obviously) it ensures that you don’t forget anything (ultra helpful when you get mid way through making a lasagna and realise that you don’t have any pasta sheets etc!).

 

Secondly it reduces household waste as you only purchase what you need and have planned meals for (a bit on meal planning soon). It can definitely help tighten the purse strings as if you are disciplined and don’t wander over to the  ice cream aisle (Magnum anyone?!).

It can also ensure that you stick to a healthy diet and save you money by only buying what is on the list and hence budgeted for. This simple tool also avoids wasting time wandering aimlessly as you just go straight to the aisles of the products on the list.

 

Preparing a list is not a time consuming task at all. I find that the best place to hang my list is on the fridge, which means that it is clearly visible and accessible for all family members to add to the list as they use the last of any one item (last roll of toilet paper anyone?!)

 

 

My pick is the Kikki K shopping list. It has a magnetised back, so goes straight on the fridge, comes with a pencil and looks pretty too in my kitchen too :-)

It is easy enough to DIY a shopping list using a freebie template from the net. If you head to my Pinterest page, I have kindly put together a folder of free printable versions. Simply print off your favourite, clip to your fridge and away you go!!

Enjoy the saved time by putting your feet up, flicking through a trashy magazine and enjoy being Utterly Organised! I know I do…..

Long Time , No Blog...

I can hardly believe that two whole months have passed since I last blogged. Two whole long, difficult and painful months.

 

Sometimes in life you can be cruising along beautifully, then all of a sudden with the blink of an eye, everything changes and knocks you for six. I am sure that most of us have experienced hard times and can very much relate.

 

Thank you so much to so many of you that contacted me via email and Facebook to say that you missed me (!), it really put some sunshine back in to my day.

 

I am now back blogging and I thank you for your patience and support while I had a little unexpected break.

 

I hope that the past few months have been nothing short of wonderful for each and every one of you that continue to stop by my blog every now and then. Your support, readership and advice really does mean so much to me!