I will not profess to be a Masterchef or having incredible recipes that will change your life.
These recipes are simply what I cook at home to feed my family and friends.
They are basic meals full of flavour, being loaded with vegetables and providing moderate lean meat serves.
Banana Smoothie
I use this for a quick breakfast or healthy snack.
It never fails to impress people and it is so simple.
This recipe serves 1 person.
Add in 1 Banana and 1 cup of Milk per person.
Ingredients
1 ripe Banana – the riper the banana the more flavour
1 cup of low fat Milk
1-2 cubes of Ice
Sprinkle of ground Nutmeg
Preparation
Add Banana, Milk and Ice in a blender and blend for 30 seconds
Serve in a tall glass and sprinkle nutmeg on top
Versatile Pasta Sauce
This sauce can be used to put over pasta, added into lasagne, the base for tacos, or spiced up with chilli and kidney beans.
I make a large batch and portion it out into several containers as it is a perfect for freezing and re-heating, when you need a quick and easy meal at home. I would use the whole batch in a large lasagne. For Pasta Bolognese, this recipe should make about 8-10 serves.
Ingredients
1tblspn Olive Oil
2 x medium or 1 large Onion (red or brown) chopped
1 medium Pepper (green or red) cut into slices
1kg low fat Mincemeat (beef or turkey)
1 large Carrot grated
1 stick Celery chopped finely
8 to 10 Mushrooms (large Button or Swiss) sliced
800gm Tinned Tomatoes chopped or diced
400gm Tomato paste – reduced salt
1tspn Garlic crushed
1tblspn Basil minced – I use the ones prepared in tubes
1tspn Pepper ground
For Chilli
400gm Tinned Red Kidney beans rinsed
1tblspn Chilli ground – I like mine hot. Use less if you do not
Preparation
Heat the Oil in a hot pan with the Onions and Pepper, until lightly browned
Add Mincemeat, break meat up well and cook until brown
Once meat cooked add Carrot, Celery and Mushrooms, Stir in well and cook for about 2-3 mins
Add Tinned Tomatoes, Tomato Paste, Garlic, Basil and Pepper. Stir in well, place lid on pan, turn heat down to low (so sauce is bubbling slowly) and cook for a further 10mins.
For Pasta Bolognese – cook your favourite pasta and serve with the meat sauce over the top.
If the sauce is for a chilli base, add in the Red Kidney beans and Chilli when herbs are added
For Chilli – use the sauce over rice and add some fresh chopped coriander
For Tacos – prepare the tacos, salad and cheese ingredients and use the meat sauce as the base
Lasagne
This recipes uses the Versatile Pasta Sauce, which should be prepared earlier.
A large lasagne tray is needed and this should make enough for about 8-10 serves.
I would normally serve the lasagne with a side salad of mixed greens, peppers, mushrooms, tomatoes and cucumber.
Ingredients
1 litre low fat milk
30gm vegetable margarine
60gm Plain Flour
1tspn French mustard
½ tspn Nutmeg - ground
Versatile Pasta Sauce prepared and cooled slightly
2 x boxes Lasagne Sheets
Vegetable Oil spray
500gm of grated light Cheese
200gm Parmesan cheese - grated
Preparation
Turn oven onto 180 C
Prepare the Roux or White sauce. Melt Margarine in a nonstick pot, large enough to hold 1 litre of milk.
Mix in Flour until a paste forms
Turn heat to low and slowly add Milk a cup at a time until well stirred into the flour paste
Once all the Milk is in, add the Mustard and Nutmeg, stir well. Cook slowly until sauce starts to thicken
Remove from heat and cool slightly, stirring occasionally.
Place Roux in its pot and Versatile Pasta Sauce in its container close to lasagne tray as you start to build the lasagne
Spray some Oil onto the tray to lightly cover all surfaces
Add about 1 cup Versatile Pasta Sauce to the bottom of the tray and spread evenly.
Place one layer of Lasagne sheets over the sauce
Add Versatile Pasta Sauce (approximately 1/2 of sauce) and another layer of lasagne sheets
Add ½ of Roux, then a layer of lasagne sheets.
Repeat with Versatile Pasta Sauce, lasagne sheets, Roux
Top with Light and Parmesan cheeses
Place in oven for 30mins or until the cheeses are lightly browned
Take out of the oven and allow to rest for 10-15mins before cutting into portions
Serve lasagne with a side salad
Chicken Stir Fry
I like this as a quick easy stir fry, which is loaded with veggies and full of flavour while being low in fat and sugar. I do not use prepared sauces where you just add meat. I prefer to make my own so I know what is in it and reduce the fat, salt and sugar.
Ingredients
1 Tbspn Canola or Rice bran Oil
2 large Red Onions – cut into 1/8
1 large Pepper (green or red) cut into slices
6 Chicken thighs or 2 breasts – remove fat and cut into strips
1 large Carrot grated or sliced thinly
1 stick Celery sliced finely
8 to 10 Mushrooms (large Button or Swiss) sliced
1 cup Baby Corn cut into half
½ cup Water Chestnuts thin sliced
2 Tbspn Oyster sauce
2 tspn minced Ginger
1 tspn minced Garlic
1tblspn Coriander minced – I use the ones prepared in tubes
1tspn Pepper ground
200gm Baby Spinach leaves
Large handful Bean Sprouts
Rice stick noodles or Vermicelli noodles
Handful of fresh Coriander
Preparation
Heat the Oil in a hot pan or wok with the Onions and Pepper, until lightly browned
Add Chicken and cook until brown
Once meat cooked add Carrot, Celery and Mushrooms, Stir in well and cook for about 2-3 mins
Add Corn, Water Chestnuts, Oyster sauce, Ginger, Garlic, Coriander and Pepper. Stir in well, and cook for a further 2-3 mins.
Lastly add in Baby Spinach and Bean Sprouts. Stir in well and remove from heat.
Serve over noodles and add fresh coriander, pulled apart by hand.
Spicy Veggie Salsa
I make a big batch of this salsa and store half in the freezer for the following week. It makes enough for 10 lunch meals (1 heaped soup label per each meal)
Ingredients
1 tablespoon canola oil
2 large onions
1 large or 2 small peppers (red or green)
2 sticks celery
2 large carrots
1 large zucchini
6-10 mushrooms
1 x 440gm tinned sweet corn
1 x 440gm tinned red kidney beans
3 x 440gm tinned tomatoes (diced)
1 tablespoon basil (in squeeze bottle)
1 tablespoon chilli flakes – more or less depending on your preference. I like it pretty hot
1 tablespoon parsley flakes – you could use fresh and probably
3-4 tablespoons
1 teaspoon sage powder
Method
1. Chop all ingredients into small slices or cubes
2. Add oil and cook onions, peppers, carrots and celery for 3-5mins until they start to sweat
3. Next add mushrooms and zucchini and cook for a further 2-3mins. All veggies should start to soften
4. Add all tinned ingredients (corn, beans and tomatoes), stir in well
5. Next add basil, chilli flakes, parsley and sage. Again stir well and let everything cook on low for another 5 mins until mixture starts to bubble.
Let it stand for a while if packing into containers or serve immediately with quinoa, brown rice, basmati rice or wholemeal cous cous
I make about ½ cup of quinoa per each serve of salsa and add this with a good handful of spinach into a container and store in fridge.
When ready to eat I heat on medium for about 4-5mins in the
microwave then I have a low fat, high protein and fibre lunch which is tasty
and very filling.
Pumpkin Soup
This recipe should get about 6-8 serves depending on how much you like soup! Each serve will give you ~ 1 cup of veggies towards you 2.5 cup requirements for the day.
I use a pressure cooker for this recipe. I love my pressure cooker and this soup can be is ready in 30mins. If you use a regular large pot for this soup, the cooking time will need to be longer.
The soup once cooked needs to be blended; this can be done with either a stick blender or a vitamiser.
Ingredients
2 x Large Red onions Chopped roughly) – I like red but brown is fine too
1 x tbspn Olive oil
4 x Sticks Celery (chopped roughly into ¼)
6 x Large Carrots (chopped roughly into ¼)
1 x Butter Nut Pumpkin (chopped roughly into 1/8 )
1 x Litre Salt Reduced stock
1 x tspn Pepper
1 x tspn Smokey Paprika
1 x small bunch Parsley Chopped
250mls x Butter Milk
Nutmeg to taste
Method
1. Fry onions in the oil in the pot, until starting to turn translucent
2. Add carrots and celery, and cook for 1-2mins
3. Add Pumpkin, stir into veggie mix, and cook for a further 1 min
4. Add Stock, Pepper and Paprika, mix in well, ensuring no veggies are stuck on the bottom of the pot. Pop lid on pot
5. If using a pressure cooker, once it’s reached pressure, cook for 15-20mins depending on your pots instruction for cooking veggies until they are soft.
6. If using a regular pot then raise to a boil and cook for 30-45mins until all veggies are soft and mushie
7. Remove from heat and allow to cool for 10-15mins
8. Blend soup in pot with a stick blender or use a vitamiser to get a smooth consistency
9. Serve warm / hot in a bowl adding 30mls of butter milk, a sprinkle of nutmeg and ½ tbspn of parsley in each bowl
10. Enjoy with crusty warm wholegrain bread or toast
Enjoy!