The New Year is here, and with it, the perfect opportunity to improve your family’s grocery shopping habits and go on the hunt for fresh, quality food you can all enjoy! QE Foodstores makes it easy, by offering the best quality and nurturing products to help build your healthy eating habits. You can also check out three easy weeknight dinner ideas to help you out on those hectic school days (which are just around the corner!).
About QE Foodstores
Shopping for quality food doesn’t have to be hard – that’s where QE Foodstores come in! With two handy North Shore locations at St Leonards and Milsons Point, they now have plans to open a new Crows Nest centre later this month, to make fresh food shopping even easier.
QE is a small family-owned business and has been around for nearly 20 years. They’re driven by improving families’ health and wellbeing through their kitchens. They want their customers to see QE as an extension of their kitchen by thoughtfully stocking a wide range of fresh products that align with our values. They want lunchboxes that are filled with the best quality and nurturing products and they want to build healthy eating habits for the whole family.
They have a loyal customer base and stand out because:
- They have a large selection of premium products which makes it very convenient to be able to access such a great variety under one roof.
- The quality of their fruits and vegetables are always excellent. Because we are an independent operator, they go to the markets several times a week to ensure our produce is fresh. They also support local Australian growers – this is very important to them as well.
QE Foodstores is set to become a household name. While they currently have a total of 10 stores throughout Sydney, they are planning to expand with the goal of 50 stores by 2030.
Organic Produce Boxes
It’s even easier to order your fresh produce with the help of QE’s Organic Produce Boxes. It comes packed full of fresh fruit and veg ingredients, direct from their suppliers that very morning. Pre-order on their site and pick up can be picked up from your nearest store.
Choose from two options:
Three easy dinner recipes
1. Grilled Chicken, Haloumi & Pineapple Skewers
Get the tropical taste of pineapples all year round with this simple and colourful chicken and haloumi kebabs.
Serves: 6
Cook time: 30 minutes
Ingredients:
- 500g free-range chicken breast fillets
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 1 small pineapple, diced into bite-sized chunks
- 180g organic haloumi cheese, chopped into bite-sized chunks
- 1 red capsicum, cut into pieces
- 1 green capsicum, cut into pieces
- 1 tbs fresh lemon thyme, extra for garnish
- 2 tbs olive oil
- 1 ½ cups of couscous
- 1 bunch of mint, finely chopped
- ½ cup QE almonds, roughly chopped
- 4 tbs natural yoghurt
- 1 lemon, freshly squeezed
Method:
- To prepare the couscous, boil some water in the kettle. In a large mixing bowl, add the couscous and one and a half cups of boiling water and allow the cous cous to soak. Set aside.
- Cut the chicken into chunks. Place in a mix bowl with the garlic, lemon thyme and season with salt and pepper. Mix chicken with hands to evenly coat with seasoning.
- To prepare the skewers, thread pieces of chicken, red capsicum, green capsicum, haloumi and pineapple onto a skewer. Repeat to create a colourful kebab.
- Pre-heat the grill to 180C or heat a grill pan over medium-high heat. Drizzle with one tablespoon oil and grill/fry or BBQ each skewer until chicken is cooked through and the other ingredients are slightly charred, about 7 mins, turning once
- Meanwhile, prepare the couscous salad. With a fork, separate the couscous. Add the chopped mint, crushed almonds and remaining olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
- Once skewers are cooked, serve with couscous salad and top with a dollop of Greek yoghurt and a squeeze of lemon juice.
2. Sticky Meatballs
If you’re looking for a speedy mid-week meal that the whole family will demolish, this sticky meatball dish with soba noodles is just the thing.
Serves: 4
Cook time: 20-minutes
Ingredients
Meatballs
- 500g lean pork mince
- 2 tbs olive oil
- 2 clove garlic, minced
- 2 tsp ginger, freshly grated
- ½ cup panko bread crumbs
- 1 spring onion, finely chopped
- 1 egg, lightly beaten
- 2 tbs barbeque sauce
- Pinch of salt
- Soba noodles, cooked as per packet instructions
- QE Stir-fry pack, 1 packet
Sticky sauce
- 1 tbs salt-reduced soy sauce
- 4 tbs honey
- ½ lemon freshly squeezed
Garnish
- Sesame seeds
- Coriander
- Carrot strips
Method
- To make the sticky sauce, add all the sauce ingredients in a small mixing bowl and whisk until well combined. Set aside.
- To make the meatballs, add the meatball ingredients into a mixing bowl and mix with your hands until well combined.
- Roll tablespoonfuls of the mixture into balls and transfer onto a plate.
- Heat a large non-stick frying pan over medium heat. Heat one tablespoon of oil and cook the meatballs for 6–8 minutes or until browned. Remove the balls from the pan and set aside.
- In the same fry-pan, gently pour the sticky sauce and turn down the heat to low and bring to a gentle simmer, constantly stirring until sauce becomes thick and sticky.
- Add the balls back to the pan, gently mixing until all balls are coated with the sauce. Remove the meatballs and set aside.
- In the same pan, add the remaining oil and add the QE stir-fry pack to the remaining sticky sauce and stir fry the vegetables on medium-high heat until tender and coated in sauce.
- Serve meatballs with mixed vegetables, cooked soba noodles or rice and garnish with sesame sprinkles, carrot strips and coriander.
3. Vegan Tacos with Apple Slaw
Serves: 6
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Ingredients
- 1 tbs extra virgin olive oil
- ½ onion, finely chopped
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 1 corn cob, kernels removed
- 1 can black beans (400g), drained, rinsed
- Cherry tomatoes, 1 punnet, roughly chopped. diced
- 2 tbs taco seasoning
- ½ cup water
- 1 packet of Burger Slaw Kit
- 1 granny-smith apple, julienned
- Corn tortillas
Slaw dressing
- ¼ cup plain Greek yogurt
- ½ fresh lime
- 2 tbs dijon mustard
- 1 tbs extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tbs honey
Method
- To prepare the slaw dressing, add all dressing ingredients in a bowl and mix until well combined. Add the Burger Slaw Kit and apple and coat with the dressing.
- Heat a large fry pan to medium heat, heat the oil, then add the onion and corn and gently stir until onions soften, roughly 2 minutes. Add the garlic, black beans, tomatoes and continue to stir until tomatoes start to soften. Add the water and taco seasoning, bring to the boil, then reduce the heat to simmer, stirring occasionally for 10-minutes, or until bean mixture is thick. Set aside.
- To assemble the tacos, char/grill/warm the tortillas and add a generous amount of the black bean mixture to the middle of the tortilla. Top with the slaw and garnish with grated cheese from the kit, avocado, fresh lime and coriander.
Show me more easy recipes from QE Food Stores
Essential Details: QE Foodstores
- North Shore QE Food Store Locations:
- 472-486 Pacific Highway, St Leonards
- 88 Alfred Street, Milsons Point
- Coming Soon! Crows Nest
- Website
- Facebook | Instagram
Thanks to QE Food Stores, Sponsor of our First Day of School Printables
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