My favorite very easy and healthy lunch

I am not someone who likes to spend lots of time cooking and preparing lunches, therefore I have come up with own easy to prepare, tasty and healthy lunch. Plus it's cheap to make and can you get you through 3-4 lunches. 

All you need is: 

- tin of mixed beans

- tin of corn 

- tin of tuna in spring water 

- pundit of cherry tomatoes

- half a lettuce/wom bok/spinach 

- pumpkin seeds

- sunflower seeds

- sweet chili sauce 

All you do is chop up the tomatoes and lettuce and divide all the ingredients into 3 or 4 containers. Store in the fridge and dress with sauce on the day of eating.Of course this can be adapted to suit your taste buds or add extra veggies or nuts. Enjoy!

FoodSwitch app

I recommend downloading this app for all those health conscious people out there and coeliacs. What it does is it scans the barcode of a food you choose and brings up the nutritional information about it. Then it lists all the other options that are similar to that product, so healthier options. It also has a part where it scans an items and informs you if it is gluten free or not and other options similar that are gluten free. So no more searching the shelves for healthy options or gluten free, use this app and hopefully it will make things a lot easier and you a lot healthier.
http://www.bupa.com.au/health-and-wellness/tools-and-apps/mobile-apps/foodswitch-app

Surprise lunch at the 50's Diner

My best friend decided to surprise us girls with a day trip and lunch. We all piled in the car with our partners as well and headed off towards Riverside, we all had no idea where we were going. After about 40 mins we ended up in Deloraine at the 50's Diner. Most of us had never heard of it before so it was very exciting. Now this place was cool! It was full of 50's petrol pumps, signs, oil bottles, James Dean, Betty Boop, a hotted up Hot Rod and heaps more. The interior was booths and tables made from car items. On the menu was mainly burgers and milkshakes, typical 50's diner food. Luckily they had gluten free bread (that was really tasty and fresh), so I had a chicken burger with all the trimmings and a salad as the chips were no good. It was a really nice fresh meal that was very filling.
The drive out there is certainly worth it and its nice in winter as there is a big wood heater in the middle of the diner.
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Cruzin-in-the-50s-Diner/128416657227211

Inside Cafe

I was meeting a good friend for lunch one workday and we decided to go visit Inside Cafe, which I have heard is quiet popular with many. One of the reasons being, is they do nutella hot chocolates. aahhhh yum! So we went in and as usual I scowled the food cabinets and menu for gluten free items and asked the waitress before we took a seat. The menu had a note about gluten free and the cooking of food in the kitchen which was good, but they toast the bread in the same toaster as normal bread. Damn it. So the options became less, but I went with a salad of broccoli, roast pumpkin, garlic and chilli and of course a nutella hot chocolate with my own rice milk. Now the hot chocolate was divine and very very sweet I certainly recommend that but the salad was one big disappointment. It was sat down in front of me and as I ran my fork through it I couldn't find any roast pumpkin. I went to the counter and asked where it was and they said the chef must have changed the menu item (without notifying me when I ordered the salad). They offered me some of the other salad but it had barley in and the gluten free cake they offered was on the same plate as the normal cakes. So nothing helpful there. I managed to down a bit of salad but it was pretty bad and I was not impressed (went and got some sushi afterwards). Luckily they were nice enough to discount the meal which made the whole dining experience there a bit better. I suggest going there for their hot chocolates but maybe not when your hungry as you may leave a bit disappointed.
http://www.insidecafe.com.au/

Wanderlust food van

I organised an Inveresk precinct Open Day in conjunction with UTAS Open Day on Sunday 25 August. It was such a fun day, but my highlight with the food van Wanderlust. They do all vegetarian food and also always have a gluten free option. So I got to have the brekkie pie, which was a pie filled with egg, bans. mushrooms topped with potato, herbs and homemade relish. It was delish! I also had a homemade cordial which was so refreshing after a very long day running around the School.
You can find them at the Harvest Market every Saturday morning in the Cameron St car park and also other events in Launceston. You will know its them because they have a wicked old van all dulled up and a very cool vintage silver car.
Make the effort to go and see them sometime as you wont be disappointed!
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Wanderlust-food-van/288699627918971 

Dinner at Toong Thong Thai

For my friends birthday we went to Toong Thong Thai for dinner in Yorktown Square. I have never eaten there before but I certainly will be again soon. It was a little restaurant tucked away in the city, but in prime location for heading out for a drink after at the close by bars, plus as a bonus it was BYO wine so cant complain about that. The service wasn't the best as we had to ask the waiter to come to us to assist us with drinks, meals etc. but the meal made up for it. I ordered No. 18, stir fry Pad Met Ma Muang with pork and coconut rice. It was so tasty and the waiter said that they can pretty much do anything on the menu gluten free, they just change the sauces. I didn't want my meal to end and everyone else really enjoyed their meals too. Great place to go if you want a hearty tasty meal at a good price (roughly $25 per person for main meal and rice plus wine corkage) 

http://www.toongthongthai.com.au/ 

High Tea at the Grand Chancellor

Myself and a large bunch of friends went to the Hotel Grand Chancellor for High Tea. The occasion being a friends birthday and finding out the gender of her baby. We had a whole room to ourselves and 3 tiers of 3 plates on each of food on each table. Of course being gluten free I had to request in advance that I needed gluten free food. They brought me out a whole 3 tiered plate to myself. On it I got 3 different sandwich fingers with some really good bread, a plate of fruit and a plate of desserts such as pavlova, cake, brownie and some other creme brulee like sweet. It was wonderful and just enough food for lunch/afternoon tea. I also got champagne and tea/coffee all for $20. I certainly recommend going there one afternoon for High Tea but make sure you book in advance and let them know you require gluten free.
http://www.grandchancellorhotels.com/au/launceston/restaurants-en.html