Book corner: Lunch Box by Pete Evans

Date: 31.08.2018

At this time of year, farmers and contractors are working long hours, so having nutritious snacks and meals at hand is essential.

Pete Evans is a high-profile cookbook author who has spent more than his share of time in the media for his Paleo beliefs. However, whether you’re a fan or not, his Lunch Box book is packed with great ideas for making sure you have a well-packed lunch/snack box to get you through the day.

This time of the year gets pretty intense on the farm, so coming up with fresh ideas for quick and easy meals is essential to ensure your body and mind are properly fuelled. With more than 70 healthy meals, snacks, and treats designed to be eaten on the go, if you’re a hearty eater, you’ll enjoy recipes such as barbecue pork muffins, beef and thyme sausage rolls, and butter chicken muffins. Packed with taste but focused around being dairy-free, gluten-free, and refined sugar-free, the recipes should keep you going without weighing you down.

Lunch Box by Pete Evans

Hachette, RRP $29.99

SUPER-SIMPLE MEATY MUFFINS Recipe

There is nothing remotely hard about this recipe and there is no reason you can’t cook up a big batch of meaty muffins on Sunday, enjoy them for lunch or dinner, and then use the leftover muffins for lunches for the first couple of days of the school week. Simply presented in the lunchbox with some fresh salad, low-sugar tomato ketchup, and some gherkins or olives, they’ll go down an absolute treat.

MAKES 12

• 1 tablespoon coconut oil or good-quality animal fat, plus extra for greasing
• 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 2 rindless bacon rashers, finely chopped
• 600 g beef mince
• 1 egg
• 80 g (½ cup) grated carrot
• 2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley leaves
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• ½ teaspoon ground cumin
• 1½ tablespoons tamari or coconut aminos
• Pinch each of sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

To serve

• Tomato ketchup
• 2 tomatoes, sliced
• 6 gherkins, sliced
• Mayonnaise or Aioli
• 2 baby cos lettuces, leaves separated

Method

• Preheat the oven to 200°C (180°C fan-forced) and lightly grease a 12-hole standard muffin tin with oil or fat.
• Heat the oil or fat in a frying pan. Add the garlic, onion and bacon and sauté, stirring occasionally, for 6 minutes, or until browned. Remove from the heat and set aside.
• Combine the mince, egg, carrot, parsley, oregano, cumin and tamari or coconut aminos in a bowl. Add the onion mixture, season with salt and pepper and combine well.
• Spoon the mixture evenly into the holes of the prepared muffin tin. Bake for 15 minutes, or until the meaty muffins are perfectly juicy.
• Spoon some tomato ketchup over each muffin, then add a slice of tomato, some gherkin and a dollop of mayo or aioli and serve with the cos leaves.

Recipe extract from Lunch Box by Pete Evans. Published by Plum.

Win a copy of Lunch Box

Farm Trader is giving away a copy of Lunch Box by Pete Evans. Enter our competition online to be in to win! Competition closes on 17 September 2018.

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