Tomato, Zucchini and Oregano Slice

Hello. Here is another super yum recipe from Australian Women's Weekly. It's great warm or cold and can be made the night before for a yummy lunch at work. It's also healthy, low fat and very easy to make.

Tomato, Zucchini and Oregano Slice

125g cherry tomatoes

1 egg

3 egg whites

1/3 cup (65g) low fat cottage cheese

1 clove garlic, crushed

1 small zucchini (90g) grated coarsely

2 tablespoons coarsely chopped fresh oregano leaves

30g baby spinach leaves

1. Preheat oven to 200C/180C fan-forced. Line an 8cm x 21cm loaf pan with a strip of baking paper.

2. Place tomatoes in pan. Roast 10 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, combine egg, egg whites, cheese and garlic in medium jug.

4. Remove tomatoes from oven; reduce oven temperature to 160C/140C fan forced.

5. Sprinkle tomatoes with zucchini and oregano; pour over egg mixture. Bake about 25 minutes or until set.

6. Serve slice with spinach.

Enjoy!

Minestrone Soup

Eating soups and salads are a great way to lose weight and to eat your 5 different types of vegetables a day. However, when choosing a salad or soup beware of some of the more fattening ingredients. For example, I would not consider a caesar salad a low fat option as it often includes bacon, croutons, lots of cheese and a creamy dressing (definitely not a health food!!). So when eating in restaurants, check the ingredients in your salads and soups before taking that option.

I've found 2 great healthy recipes from Jamie Oliver, who is always a hit in our house. Here they are....

Early Autumn Minetrone Soup

• 200g cannellini or borlotti beans, fresh, or dried and soaked overnight
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 tomato, squashed
• 1 small potato, peeled
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• olive oil
• 4 rashers smoked pancetta or bacon (I think the additional fat in this recipe is far outwayed by the health benefits of the other ingredients!!)
• 2 small red onions, peeled and finely chopped
• 2 carrots, peeled and chopped
• 2 sticks of celery, trimmed and chopped
• half head of fennel, chopped
• 3 cloves of garlic, peeled and finely chopped
• a small bunch of fresh basil, leaves and stalks separated
• 2 x 400g tins of tomatoes
• a glass of red wine
• 2 small courgettes, quartered and sliced
• 200g chard or spinach, washed and roughly sliced

Add your fresh or dried and soaked beans to a pan of water with the bay leaf, squashed tomato and potato - this will help to flavour the beans and soften their skins. Cook until tender - check by tasting. They must be soft. Dried beans can take up to an hour, but check fresh ones after 25 minutes. Drain (reserving about half a glass of the cooking water), and discard the bay leaf, tomato and potato. Now season with salt, pepper and a spash of oil.

While the beans are cooking, make your soffrito. Heat a good spash of olive oil in a saucepan and add the chopped pancetta/bacon, onions, carrots, celery, fennel, garlic and the finely sliced basil stalks. Sweat very slowly on a low heat, with the lid just ajar, for around 15-20 minutes until soft, but not brown. Add the tomatoes, courgettes and red wine and simmer gently for 15 minutes.

Now add the chard or spinach, stock and beans. Put the dried pasta into a polythene bag, squeeze all the air out and tie the end up. Bash gently with a rolling pin to break the pasta into pieces. Snip the end off the bag and empty the contents into the soup. Stir and continue to simmer until the pasta is cooked.

If the soup is looking a little too thick, add more stock or some reserved cooking water to thin it down. Taste and season with salt and pepper.

Jamie adds to sprinkle with basil leaves (great), extra virgin olive oil (not great) and parmesan cheese (definitely not great!)

Moorish Crunch Salad

• 300g carrots pealed
• 150g radishes
• 2 crunchy eating apples
• 1 small handful raisins or sultanas
• 1 handful of fresh parsley, roughly chopped
• 1 handful of fresh mint, roughly chopped
• 2 tablespoons sherry or red wine vinegar
• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 tablespoon tahini
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons sesame seeds, toasted in the oven

(Sorry Jamie, I have halved the oil, vinegar and tahini for a healthier option).

First of all, finely slice your carrots into matchstick-sized batons. Finely slice your radishes - you can leave a little of the tops on if you like. Quarter your apples, remove the cores and finely slice. Add all these to a bowl with the rest of the ingredients, apart from the sesame seeds. Toss together, carefully checking the seasoning, and serve with the sesame seeds sprinkled over the top. Eat straight away. Serve with grilled chicken or fish.

Oriental Steamed Fish with Ginger, Soy and Sesame

I love Delia Smith. Her recipes books are excellent and, if I stick to the instructions, they always turn out well. The only problem is she loves butter!! Here is one of her healthier recipes from "The Delia Collection". It's really easy and fast.

Oriental Steamed Fish with Ginger, Soy and Sesame

1 lb 8 oz (700g) lemon sole fillets, skinned and cut lengthways down the natural dividing line

2 1/2 inch (6cm) piece of roog ginger, peeled

1 tablespoon Japanese soy sauce

1 rounded tablespoon sesame seeds

3 cloves garlic

2 spring onions

1 dessertspoon sesame oil

1 dessertspoon groundnut or other flavourless oil

Juice of 1 lemon

A few outside lettuce leaves or foil for lining the steamer

Salt and freshly milled black pepper.

You will need a steamer.

Begin this by having a little chopping session. First, the ginger, which should be thinly sliced, then cut into very fine shreds. The garlic needs to be chopped small, as do the spring onions, making sure you include the green parts as well.

Now place a medium frying pan over a medium heat and, when its hot, add the sesame seeds and toast them in the dry pan, shaking it from time to time until they're a golden brown colour - this takes only 1-2 minutes. Now transfer the seed to a bowl.

Next add the oils to the pan and, over a medium heat, gently fry the chopped garlic and ginger - they need to be pale gold but not too brown, so take care not to have the heat too high. After that, add these to the toasted seeds, along with any oil left in the pan, then mix in the lemon juice, soy sauce and chopped spring onions.

Now spoon the fish, then spread three-quarters of the mixture over the surface of each skinned side, roll them up quite firmly into little rolls, then spoon the rest of the mixture on top of each roll. All this can be prepared in advance, as long as the fish is kept covered in the fridge.

Then when you are ready to cook the fish, line the base of the steamer with the lettuce leaves or foil. Now place the fish on top, cover with a lid and steam over boiling water for 8-10 minutes. Serve with steamed vegetables and (if you're including carbs) brown rice.

North African Spiced Fish with Cucumber Yogurt

Hello.

This yummy recipe is fast and easy. Found it in The Australian Women's Weekly cookbook titled "Fast and Fabulous Meals for Busy People".

North African Spiced Fish with Cucumber Yogurt

1 lebanese cucumber (130g)

2 teaspoons ground coriander

2 teaspoons ground cumin

2 teaspoons finely grated fresh ginger

1 tablespoon olive oil

4 white fish fillets (800g)

200ml plain yogurt

2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh mint leaves

shredded lemon rind

Grate cucumber coarsely, drain in sieve 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, combine coriander, cumin, ginger and oil in small bowl. Brush fish with spice mixture: cook fish on heated oiled grill plate (or grill or barbecue) until browned both sides and just cooked through.

Combine cucumber with yogurt and mint in small bowl; spoon over fish and sprinkle with lemon rind. Serve with stir fry vegetables or salad.

Enjoy

Low Carb Recipes

Hello.

One of my clients lent me "Fabulous Food, Minus the Boombah" by Jane Kennedy. She has some really great low carb recipes which are also low in fat so you could still have your rice, pasta etc with them if that was the route you were taking. She also has a blog which also contains some nice recipes. Check out janekennedyminustheboombah.wordpress.com. Here are a couple of the recipes from the book.

Chilli, Lemon, Lime and Coconut Chicken

2 Small skinless Chicken Breast

2 Small Red Chillies, chopped

2 Cloves Garlic, chopped

3 Kaffir Lime leaves, finely shredded

Juice of 1 lemon

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

Sea Salt and freshly ground pepper

1/4 cup light coconut milk

Wrap each chicken in clingfilm and use a rolling pin or heavy can to bash it flat. Don't be too vigorous - you don't want them to fall apart. Transfer to a zip-lock bag and add all the remaining ingredients, except for the coconut milk. Leave for 20 minutes for the flavours to infuse - although 10 will do.

Heat a non-stick frying pan over a high heat, then reduce the heat to medium. Use a pair of tongs to take the chicken out of the bag, making sure you leave the rest of the marinade ingredients behind. Fry the chicken breasts on one side until they just start to brown then turn and cook for another few minutes on the other side. Lower the heat and add the rest of the marinade ingredients to the pan with the coconut milk. Simmer for a further minute, then serve with a cos lettuce salad. Serves 2.

Chicken San Choy Bau

1/2 tablespoon sunflower or vegetable oil

1 tablespoon sesame oil

1 clove garlic, finely grated

1 small knob ginger, peeled and finely grated

1/4 small red chilli, finely chopped (omit seeds if cooking for kids)

2 spring onions, finely chopped

220g chicken mince or cooked bbq chicken, shredded

6 canned water chestnuts, chopped

1/2 tablespoon light soy sauce,

4 iceberg lettuce leaves, chilled

Heat both the oils in a frying pan over a medium heat. Add the garlic, ginger, chilli and spring onions and fry for about a minute. Add the chicken mince and cook stirring, until it loses its pink colour. If using cooked chook, simply heat it through. Stir in the water chestnuts and soy sauce, and cook briefly. Spoon into the chilled lettuce cups and serve straight away. Serves 2.

Enjoy!