Recipe: Crispy-Skinned Salmon with Creamy Pasta

A deliciously light & creamy dish that's low GI for slow-release energy, with calcium for your bones and a great hit of omega-3, and it's low in saturated fat!


Ingredients:

- 1 large piece fresh salmon, cut in half
- 100g pasta (or gluten free pasta)
- 1/2 red onion, sliced very thinly
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 zucchini, cut into ribbons with a vegetable peeler
- 1 punnet cherry tomatoes, quartered
- 3/4 tub low fat cream cheese
- 1 tbsp capers, roughly chopped
- 1 tsp fresh dill, finely chopped
- 2 tsp pine nuts, toasted

Method:

Cut up the onion first and soak in the lemon juice while preparing the rest (this will turn the onion bright pink and takes the 'bite' out of it).

Cook pasta in plenty of boiling water, according to instructions on packet. Drain and return to pan.

Meanwhile, lightly spray a frying pan with oil and heat until very hot. Season the salmon with pepper and salt and place in the pan, skin-side down. Fry until crispy and then turn to cook until golden on the other side (or until cooked to your liking). Remove from heat.

Add the onion with lemon juice, zucchini, tomatoes, cream cheese, capers and dill to the pasta, stir over medium heat for 5 minutes.

Split the pasta between two plates, top with the salmon and scatter with the pine nuts.

Serves 2.

Recipe: Raspberry French Toast

My easy, healthy and delicious Sunday breakfast:

Whisk together 2 eggs, 1/4 cup skim milk, 1/4 tsp cinnamon and 1/2 tsp vanilla together. Dunk 2 slices of multigrain bread in the mixture then fry in a non-stick frying pan for a few minutes on each side until golden. Top with fresh or frozen raspberries. Serves 1-2

*also works with gluten free bread for those with coeliac disease or wheat intolerance

Recipe: Chicken and Leek Pie

I made this the other night to use up leftover chicken and veges in the fridge - it's a great healthy alternative, packed with veggies, fibre and vitamins with much less fat and carbohydrate than your average pie!

- these veges can be substituted for your favourites, or whatever you have in the fridge!

Ingredients:

  1 tsp olive oil

  1 large leek, sliced

  500g lean chicken breast (skin removed), diced

(- or I just used leftover cooked chicken)

  1 head of broccoli, diced

  500g mushrooms, sliced

  1 tbsp plain flour

  1 tbsp reduced fat creme fraiche

  300mL chicken stock

a few sprigs of fresh thyme, or 2 tsp dried

  1 sheet of frozen puff pastry

a few tbs milk

1. Heat oil in a large frying pan, add the leek and saute until softened

2. Add the chicken breast and fry until almost cooked through

3. Add the broccoli and mushrooms, then stir through the flour and creme fraiche

4. Add the chicken stock and thyme, season with salt and pepper and leave to simmer until veges are cooked

5. Meanwhile, lightly run a knife across the frozen puff pastry to create a criss-cross effect

6. Put the chicken mixture into a square baking dish, place the pastry over the top and push the edges in to fit the dish

7. Brush the pastry with milk and bake in the oven at 200 degrees for about 15-20 minutes, or until the top is a delicious crispy, golden brown. 

Serve with extra veg or a side salad ;)

The NEW Australian Dietary Guidelines

The National Health and Medical Research Council has (finally) published a new, revised version of the Australian Guide to Healthy Eating!

The full document, which includes recommendations for all age groups, can be accessed from www.eatforhealth.gov.au. 

Recipe: Tropical Iceblocks

Try this quick easy recipe for a fantastically healthy and refreshing summer snack. Great for kids too!

1. Puree 1 large mango and 1 banana together.

2. Put a dollop of low-fat yoghurt into the base of 4 ice-cream moulds (or use small cups if you don't have any) and pour the puree in to fill. 

3. Add the lids (or a paddle pop stick) and freeze. Done!

Recipe: Low Fat Curry - Lamb Rogan Josh

1 tsp vegetable oil
1 onion, sliced
2 cloves garlic, crushed and sliced
1/3 of a 283g jar of Pataks Rogan Josh Curry Paste
400g lean lamb, diced
¼ butternut pumpkin, roughly chopped into cubes
¼ head of cauliflower
400g tin diced tomatoes
400g tin chickpeas
bunch coriander, chopped
1 cup low/no fat Greek or Natural yoghurt

I threw it all in a slow cooker (my new favourite toy!) for 4 hours on high, but otherwise you could make it on the stove:

Fry the onion in the oil until golden, add the garlic and curry paste and fry for a few more minutes. Add the lamb, and when it’s lightly browned add the rest and leave simmering on a low heat for about 1 ½ hours.

To serve:
Boil 1 cup basmati rice in 1 ½ cups water about 10 minutes.

Top rice with curry, garnish with another dollop of natural yoghurt and fresh coriander. Delicious!

(serves 4-5)

*For a vegetarian version, simply replace the meat with another tin of chickpeas ;)

Tip for Vegetarians: Think Zinc!

An essential mineral for healthy skin, growth, wound healing and your immune system, zinc is not as easily absorbed from plant-based foods as it is from meat products. To combat this, vegetarians are advised to consume 1.5 times more zinc than non-vegetarians – meaning adult men should aim for 21g/day and adult women should aim for 12g/day.

Some tips for improving absorption include; soaking legumes before cooking, eating sprouted beans, grains and seeds, eating breads that contain yeast, and avoid having too much bran.

Use this zinc counter to make sure you're getting enough each day.