Mini Capsule

Welcome to a new Mini Capsule!
Whilst I love sharing my own kitchen stories, it is especially important to me to show that balanced and healthy food choices may look different for each of us. It is simply impossible to follow all the conflicting rules and suggestions about healthy eating.

In this series I introduce you to different people and the meals they whip up that make them feel good. Let’s be inspired by having a peak into someone else’s kitchen!

It is possible to feel confident in creating your own Capsule Kitchen to live a healthy, happy and balanced life. Your kitchen, your rules!

Marnie Nitschke: clinical dietitian consulting in private practice and content developer from Melbourne. When she’s at home, she’s usually sitting in her sunroom, writing, editing and managing social media (with a strong coffee).

Who do you cook for in your family?

I cook for myself and my daughter India (12) and son Arlo (10).

What food challenges do you face in the kitchen

We are pretty lucky in that neither of my children have any tricky food allergies. My son Arlo is very allergic to kiwi – but that’s pretty simple to avoid, and he’s not anaphylactic. Arlo has developed some food aversions over the years – due to the intolerance symptoms they provoke. The current list of foods he won’t eat includes watermelon, mango, banana, sushi and salmon. To be honest, it drives me a bit bonkers, as I specialise in food intolerance as a dietitian, but I can’t quite work his reactions out!

I sometimes lament my children’s eating habits, when they’re being picky or annoying about food. But when I see how fussy other kids can be, I realise I’ve actually got it pretty easy – they do eat a pretty good variety of foods, and will generally have a go at new things I’ve cooked.

Breakfast

I wax and wane with breakfast. As none of us are really morning people and sleep until the last possible second, it’s usually a pretty hectic time! I often eat my toast standing up at the kitchen bench making lunches. So glamorous and un-Gwenyth Paltrow of me.

When I’ve got the time, and especially when I have a big work day ahead, I love a big bowl of oats with caramelised banana and toasted nuts. To me, porridge is just such a warming, feel good food. And oats are super duper good for our digestive health.

Porridge with caramelised banana and toasted nuts

Ingredients (For one serve):

Bring to the boil in a small saucepan:

1/2 cup oats
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup full cream milk
good pinch of salt

then reduce heat and simmer for ~5 minutes, until nice and gloopy. My tip here: DON’T LEAVE THE STOVE UNATTENDED, or it’s odds on you’ll turn around to find it’s bubbled over and coated the stove in impossible to remove gunk, or (even worse!) burnt to the bottom of the pan. And no-one needs an adult tantrum at that time of the morning.
Once the oats are on, I toss in a teeny tiny non-stick pan:

handful flaked almonds

toast them lightly then set aside. If you’re using walnuts instead of almonds, I wouldn’t recommend toasting – they just seem to burn.
When the porridge is nearly ready, slice up

1 ripe banana

and add it to the teeny tiny pan with a small amount of EVOO, sprinkle with

1 tsp raw sugar

and cook down for a few minutes to caramelise.
This goes on top of the oats, with a sprinkle of toasted nuts.

Lunch

I’d love to say I throw together seasonally inspired, fabulous salads every day for lunch, but that would be a big fat fib. In this weather I love a good bowl of veggie and lentil soup or a home made BLT. But more often than not, lunch is something simple, and likely bread and cheese related – like this Avocado toast with chilli, mint, feta and lime. I love the mix of fresh, zingy, creamy and crunchy, and often adapt the below recipe to include Middle Eastern spices like zaatar, dukkah, and sumac.

Avocado toast with chilli, mint, feta and lime

To serve 1:

Toast 2 slices sourdough bread, then drizzle generously with EVOO.

Topping:

1/2 a ripe avocado, sliced
50g Greek feta cheese, crumbled on top
Fresh chopped mint and finely diced red chilli (or chilli flakes)
Another drizzle of EVOO
Salt, pepper and a good squeeze of lime juice

Super simple. Super yum, and full of good fats and antioxidants.

Dinner

‘What’s for dinner? – the question my children would still ask me if I was bleeding and on fire’. I didn’t write that, and I can’t remember who did. But when I came across it – probably on Instagram – it really tickled my fancy. Because IT’S BANG ON! They really would!

I do love food and I love cooking, but I tend to have bouts of intense creative activity in the kitchen, followed by similar bouts of what I like to call the CBFs. Parents out there – you will know how this goes.

When I cook, I usually do so in big batches – even though there’s only three of us. This means leftovers for lunches or the next night’s dinner, or it becomes freezer stock for the CBF nights. Leftovers are a thing of joy.

Our go to dishes are frequently rustic, one-pot-wonders, eaten in a bowl and only requiring a fork – it’s just the way I’ve always cooked. We very seldom sit down to meat and veg type dinners. In fact recently, a good friend let me know – just quietly – that she had to show Arlo how to use his knife and fork, when he stayed with them for dinner. Whoops – somewhat of a parenting oversight there!

This is my recipe for my vegetarian chilli con carne. Whether the meaty or veggie version – this is one of the meals most frequently requested by my children. It can be served with rice and condiments as a burrito bowl, or as a taco filling or nacho topping. They even love it in a thermos for their school lunch. The applications here are (almost) endless. And it’s full of all the good stuff.

Vegetarian chilli con carne

Roughly chop:

1 large onion
1 large celery stick
2 capsicums – one red, one green
3-4 cloves garlic.

Sauté in a generous lug of EVOO until soft (~5 mins), then add spices:

2 tbs of ground cumin
2 tbs ground coriander
1 tbs smoked paprika
1 tbs sweet paprika

Fry gently until fragrant.
Add:

1 tin of chopped tomatoes
about 1 litre of chicken or vegetable stock
1/3 cup of chipotle sauce (you’ll find this in the ‘Mexican’ section of the supermarket isle).

Drain and rinse:

1 tin red kidney beans
1 tin black beans

Add to the pot, along with

¾ cup dried split red lentils.

Bring to a gentle simmer, then cook, partially covered, for around 20-30 minutes, until it reaches a thick consistency. Take the lid off if it needs to reduce further. I usually taste as I go (and have kitchen visitors who like to do the same), adding salt and adjusting the seasoning according to who I’m feeding. A good sprinkle of chilli powder or flakes toward the end adds a bit of heat and depth, if you’re not feeding spice-o-phobes.

To serve as a burrito bowl: Cook basmati or brown rice, serve into large bowls, and spoon the mixture over. Accompany with sides of corn, chopped tomato, shredded lettuce, grated cheese, corn chips and sour cream.

Snack or Treat

These crunchy spiced nuts are a bit of a family favourite – not only does the house smell amazing when you make them, they stay crunchy and delicious in a container for a morning or afternoon tea snack at work.

Crunchy Spiced Nuts (makes a big batch!)

Preheat oven to 150C and line a large oven tray with baking paper.
Beat the 1 egg white to soft peaks, adding 1 tbs caster or brown sugar towards the end, then mix in

2 tbs sea salt
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp paprika
1 tbs lemon zest.

Tip in the 400g raw mixed nuts and 50g pumpkin seeds, toss to coat, then spread over the tray and cook for 15-20 minutes, turning once or twice.

Remove, cool and store in an airtight container for up to 1 week.

My favourite tool in the kitchen is:

Definitely my rice cooker – I think I’m on number 3 now. I couldn’t do without it, as we eat a lot of rice, and I love that you can set and forget, while you’re cooking the rest of the meal.

My fondest food memory is:

This is a difficult one – I’ve never sat down and thought about it! One that comes to mind is spending time with my Grandma (who has now passed away) as a little girl. She used to take me to the David Jones cafeteria at Chadstone Shopping centre, which had a huge rainforest mural across one wall. I can’t even remember what I ordered. Possibly pizza subs or a club sandwich. But I do remember feeling so excited and special when she took me – it was a lovely tradition.

An ingredient I hate and never cook with is:

Okay this is embarrassing. But I really don’t like shellfish or raw fish! Scallops, prawns, oysters, sashimi or ceviche all just leave me cold. Most of my friends and family just can’t comprehend it, and try to cajole me into trying them, thinking I’ll change my mind and come around. 45 years, and nope, I still just don’t like them. Sorry!

____________________________________________

Marnie is a foodie, a mum and an Accredited Practising Dietitian with a real passion for digestive health. She believes food shouldn’t be endlessly frustrating and complicated and loves working with clients to translate science into real food terms, in order to achieve the best gastrointestinal health.