K.I.S.S Meals in a Jiffy - 10 Mar 2013

I am spending quite a bit of time on food planning since the beginning of the year for my family of 5, including my 3 school-going children. You never realise how much time you spend on food preparation especially if you or someone you love has a food intolerance or allergy. Our guiding principles are to eat as much whole foods as possible and reduce (the next best thing cos we can't eliminate all) gluten intake (all our favourites:- pasta & noodle, bread, cakes, biscuits, snacks, sauces etc).

So I was quite fascinated to come across my friend's pictures and principles in preparing food. These real foods are prepared, cooked and tested by my friend, Liyin. She's a unique designer, illustrator, photographer, traveler and blogger, hence the beautiful pictures.

Instead of thinking of dishes and recipes and drawing out a marketing list, she buys whole foods according to colours and nutrients with no recipe in mind. Then, she just designs her own recipes according to the K.I.S.S. principle. Her ideas are not exhaustive and she's still creating new food everyday. After going through some of these ideas, I could draw out my own marketing list with little worries about recipes!! 

A new perspective for busy moms...

"I like happy breakfasts. Love sunny side up. There's chicken, egg, asparagus, cherry tomatoes, alfalfa, carrot, mushroom, onion and fresh lemon squeeze."

"Breakfast with love. Egg, mushrooms, edamame, cherry tomatoes and onion."

"Breakfast for the young, cool and strong. Banana, dark chocolate (99% cocoa), almonds, chia seeds, sunflower seeds and Greek style yogurt."

"A quick breakfast before my meeting. Love colours in my meal. Pan fried chicken breast with onion; quinoa, millet, broccoli and carrot; black pepper to taste. Cooking is like painting; eating is like buying a painting. Today I am buying my own painting."

"Early breakfast. Love this combo - pineapple, blueberries, strawberries, chia seeds, dark chocolate (99% cocoa), almonds, sunflower seeds and Greek style yogurt. Sweet stuff!"

"Pre-workout breakfast. This is one of the ways I get my engine started in the morning, make a smoothie, from scratch, without a blender. I like mine with sweet ripe banana (love this fruit so much that I want to plant my own tree someday!), dark chocolate (99% cocoa), milk, sesame seed powder (good for your hair), chia seeds and Greek style yogurt; topped with grated dark chocolate and almond. It is awesome!!"

"Breakfast: 1) quinoa, egg, shrimps, green veggie, cucumber, ginger, cashew nuts and seaweed - stir fried. Quinoa lovers should try this one; 2) Eggs, whatever small Japanese fish, sweet corn, sweet potato, carrot, tomato and onion."

"Breakfast the east-meets-west style dish. Fried quinoa with salmon and pineapple. Other ingredients include eggs, brown rice, turmeric leaves, curry leaves, ginger, garlic, parsley and cashew nuts; a bit of salt and pepper - stir fried in grapeseed oil. It tastes so good!"

"Lunch: Kailan, salmon, pumpkin and pumpkin seeds. Surprisingly good!"

"Fast food the way I want it."

"Homemade fast lunch. Lazy to cook, so I threw everything into the steamer. Quinoa, chicken, leafy vegetable, carrot, seaweed and cashew nut."

"Awesome combo - pineapple, Greek style yogurt and dark chocolate (99% cocoa). Love it!"

"Post-workout meal. Train mean, eat lean. The best way to enjoy the real taste of the food is to steam it, without salt or whatever condiment. This may sound primitive but the tummy is going to thank you for eating clean. On my plate: chicken, broccoli, Japanese sweet potato, french beans and pumpkin seeds."

"Post-workout meal: quinoa, egg, yellow capsicum, almonds , ground flaxseed and black pepper. Love my post-workout meals no matter how simple they may be. The idea of my food preparation method is based on the KISS guideline, which simply means Keep It Simple & Straightforward."

"Post-workout meal: avocado, almonds and soft-boiled eggs."

"Someone's so enjoying her evening with a bowl of goodness. Got here some apple, pineapple, strawberries, blueberries, dark chocolate, sunflower seeds, almonds and Greek style yogurt. (No, I am not on diet)."

"Post-workout fit meal, it's no rocket science. K.I.S.S. (Keep It Simple & Straightforward). On the plate: edamame, eggs, cherry tomatoes, carrot, yellow capsicum, purple sweet potato and almonds."

"Things on my plate: salmon, quinoa, egg, muchroom, asparagus, Chinese kale, alfalfa, 'kacang Pakistan', pumpkin, purple sweet potato, carrot, red & yellow cherry tomatoes, onion and lemon squeeze."

"Stir fried alfalfa with egg, mushrooms, onion, asparagus and cherry tomatoes with a bit of black pepper and fresh lemon squeeze."

"Post-workout and late night snack: smoothie (banana, dark chocolate, milk, ground flaxseed, oats, chia seeds, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, Greek style yogurt and whey protein) and apple with Greek style yogurt and chia seeds. Refreshing!"

"Evening snack: mandarin orange, strawberries, Greek style yogurt, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds and dark chocolate (99% cocoa). I would have this anytime of the day!"

BON APPETIT..