Paleo Friendly Asian Turkey Lettuce Cups - Bread-free Sambos

When taking on this new Paleo way of life, one of the main things I knew I would miss is my beloved bread!! I am addicted to sandwiches! When I used work in Galway I went to McCambridges on Shop Street EVERYDAY for my sambo at lunch. I used be morto when I used to go through the doors as the ladies behind the counter knew my order precisely. I live for sandwiches at lunch.

Even recently I've been having hummus on crackers for my lunch, both of which are a no! no! on the Paleo diet. I thought I would find it tricky but in fact, it's been fun eating outside my comfort zone for lunch. I bulk cooked and some of it lasted 3 days in tubberware in the fridge. I have to say, the body feels good without bread, bloat free. I must to admit I do still crave and miss bread however; but that's where my cheat meals at the weekend will save me.

Now on with this fabulous healthy, zingy and fresh lunch. I couldn't believe how full I felt after it, and I managed to stretch it for 3 lunches.

Ingredients

• 250g of minced turkey meat
• 1 garlic clove, chopped finely
• 1 stick of lemongrass, bruised and chopped finely
• 1 thumb size piece of ginger, peeled and chopped finely
• 1 red deseeded red chili, chopped
• 1 tbsp of mint/corriander, freshly chopped
• 2 tbsp of oil
• 1 tsp of fish sauce
• Juice of a lime
• 2 tbsp of coconut flakes
• 1 tbsp of toasted sesame seeds
• 1 large handful of spinach leaves
• 1/4 of a peeled mango, diced
• 4-5 leaves of baby gem lettuce

Method

1. Place the garlic, ginger, chilli, lemongrass, herbs and oil in and mini blender and pulse until liquidised to a paste.
2. Cook the paste for a few minutes on a high heat in a wok/skillet.
3. Put the turkey mince in the wok/skillet and stir fry until browned and loosened.
4. Add the fish sauce, coconut and sesame seeds and continue to stir fry.
5. Finally, turn off the heat and wilt in the spinach and finish with the lime juice.
6. Arrange the lettuce leaves cup-side up.
7. Distribute the mango pieces amongst the lettuce cups
8. Spoon the turkey mince over the mango and finish with some more lime juice perhaps.

Note: Large pieces of iceberg lettuce leaves work well here too, use them as roll ups as you might use a flour tortilla wrap perhaps.

Swedish Style Low Fat Meatballs

In honour of tomorrow nights Eurovision Song Contest in Malmo Sweden, here's a dish in that can be a big hit for those tacky but great fun Eurovision House Parties I love so much. The meatballs have a salute to Sweden, and are the perfect canape, great for drinks parties of all kind.

The meatballs are normally made with a mixture of beef and pork mince, but as theses are low fat, we are using turkey mincemeat. The meatballs are also baked not fried, thus reducing the fat further.

I'm serving these with two different dips; a low fat tomato sauce and a parsley yogurt.

Ingredients

Meatballs

• 400g turkey mince
• 1 slice of wholemeal bread
• 6 tbsp of low fat milk
• 1/4 tsp of mixed spice
• 1 tsp of fennel seeds
• 1 large egg
• salt and pepper
• 2 tbsp of chopped flat leaf parsley

Parsley Yogurt

• 1 tsp of flat leaf parsley chopped
• 8 tbsp of low fat yogurt
• 1/4 of a garlic clove, grated
• salt and pepper
• Juice of 1/4 of a lemon

Tomato Sauce

• 1 tsp of olive oil
• 4 tomatoes, chopped
• 3/4 clove of garlic, minced
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 small fennel bulb, chopped
• 1 tsp of chilli paste
• Salt and pepper

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 190 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Blitz the bread to crumbs in a food processor.
   
3. Add the crumbs to a bowl and mix with the milk
4. Add the remaining meatball ingredients and mix well to combine.
5. Using a wet tea spoon, divide out the small bite size meat balls on the baking tray.
6. Wet both hands and mould the meatballs into balls
7. Bake in the oven for 15 minutes, turning half way.
8. To make the parsley sauce just combine the ingredients and place in a serving dish
9. To make the tomato sauce, add the chilli paste, onion, fennel and garlic to a frying pan, with the oil and saute on a medium heat.
10. Add the tomatoes and cook until they are broken down. Pour into a jug and blitz with a hand held blender. Return to the pan and season and heat. Place in a serving dish. (This basic tomato sauce can be used for just about anything! e.g. the remaining sauce is perfect for my pizza party)
11. To serve, scatter some rocket over a plate and place the balls on the plate and put toothpicks on each meatball. Serve with the sauces.

Low Fat Morrocan Inspired Meatballs & Couscous

Yes I do realise that its been FOREVER since I blogged, but the business has got me kept!! Business is good, can't complain, lots of lovely guests from all different and interesting backgrounds!!! This has resulted in putting the blogging on the back burner!!! Seriously though guys, each day I look at the clock and its evening time again!!! Time has yet again escaped me and my blog writing!!! Each day I promise to finish that sushi blog or  a blog about how the B&B is going! Writers block has seemingly affected me on those grounds, but in a return to tradition, over the weekend I cooked a really low fat morrocan inspired pickn'mix dinner!!!

It was very low in fat, yet I felt it was satisfying and felt like a 'treat dinner' all the same.  My meatballs are (as always) made from turkey meat, keeping the fat down and the protein high!!! The other 'pick n mix' options are salads, cous cous, and a yogurt sauce!!!

Serves 3-4 people


Apricot & Cumin Turkey Meatballs

Ingredients

• 400g turkey mince
• 2 crusts of bread (whizzed to breadcrumbs) - any leftover bread will do
• 1 egg
• salt/pepper
• 1/2 red onion
• 2 tbsp cumin seeds
• 5 dried apricots
• 1 clove of garlic, diced
• 4 tbsp of chopped coriander

Method

1. Place all the ingredients in a food processor and whizz until combined
2. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees
3. Place a sheet of baking paper on a tray
4. With damp hands roll balls of the mince mixture between your hand (I use an icecream scoop to measure the quantity)
5. Place all the meatballs on the tray and bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes, turning once.

Carrot & Coriander Salad

This doesn't require instructions really, simple strip a carrot with a vegetable peeler, and sprinkle chopped coriander over the strips and drizzle with lemon juice. Fast, and yum! (zero calorie points)

Saffron Almond & Chickpea Couscous Salad

Ingredients

• 100g of cous cous
• 2 tbsp of olive oil
• 1 tbsp of ground cumin
• salt/pepper
• 115 ml of boiling water mixed with 2-3 strands of saffron
• 1 tin of chickpeas (washed and drained)
• 40g of toasted flaked almonds
• Lemon Juice from one lemon
• Chopped coriander and/or flat leaf parsley

1. Place the cous cous grains in a bowl, and rub in the cumin, juice from half a lemon, salt, pepper, oil and ground cumin
2. Add the hot saffron water, cover the bowl and leave for 15 minutes
3. When the cous cous has soaked up all the water, fluff up the grains with a fork (don't use a spoon)
4. Add the remainder ingredients and stir to combine well.

Quick Yogurt Sauce

Blitz 100 mls of natural yogurt, with 3 tbsp of fresh coriander, juice from a lemon and season with salt and pepper. This sauce is a great quick accompaniment to the meatballs. You may wish to include some pitta breads or flat bread with this dinner!!!!

Low Fat Chilli Con Carne

After a crazy few weeks of getting Sika Lodge ready to be open for business, I’m finally back in my (brand new) kitchen and cooking our dinners again. Yay!!!

T’was a hard slog and actually over the last week I was even forgetting to eat I was so busy!!!! Imagine that!!! It’s first, let me tell you!!!!

I’m out of my mom’s kitchen and relishing my new kitchen, with all my new Neff appliances. But you know what, after all that hard work, and time still not on my side (still commuting to cork daily to work), I’ve been craving something with a punch, that’s effortless and convenient, that won’t compromise on calories naturally.

Those who know me know that I’m a big advocator of turkey mince, it’s so versatile and more importantly low fat and packed full of protein. This recipe puts a Latino twist on my turkey mince…… it’s my Low Fat Chilli Con Carne recipe. I’m not including the normal accompaniments here, but some guacamole, sour cream, grated cheese and tortilla chips would make this the ultimate fiesta dinner for a crowd at the weekend also!!!! Super casual, super tasty, and diet friendly!!!!

If I’ll be having drinks parties (and I will!!) off season of course, this Chilli will certainly be served to my guests. Though, in that case, I would opt for the steak mince.

Serves 4

Ingredients

·         400g turkey mince

·         Garlic clove, diced

·         1 onion, diced

·         1 tin of chopped tomatoes

·         1 tbsp of tomato puree

·         1 tin of kidney beans (rinsed)

·         1 tbsp of ground cumin

·         1 tbsp of ground coriander

·         1 large red chilli, deseeded and diced

·         ½ tbsp. of brown sugar

·         5 table spoons of fresh chopped coriander

·         Salt/pepper/low fat oil spray

To serve : rice or low fat baked sweet potato wedges

Method

1.       Get a pan on medium heat and spray with low cal spray

2.       Add the mince and brown

3.       Add the garlic and onion and fry for a few minutes

4.       To this stir through the tomato puree and tin of tomatoes.

5.       So as not to loose all the tomato juices in the tin, pour water a quarter full, swirl  the tin and add to the pan.

6.       (at the point, this is a base for any turkey mince dish (i.e. Spaghetti Bol, so you could easily add pesto and basil for a low fat Italian Spag Bol)

7.       Cover the mince, leave to simmer for 30-40 minutes.

8.       Then uncover, add the chilli, cumin, coriander and sugar.

9.       Rinse the kidney beans and add them also.

10.   Stir thoroughly and cook for a further 5 minutes.

11.   Add the chopped coriander and serve with either rice or potato wedges (optional cheese, sour cream, tortilla chips, and guacamole of course)

Low Fat Spicy Meatballs

These low fat meatballs are made from very lean and nutritious turkey mince, making the meatballs extremely low fat and very high in protein. To make the meatballs really flavoursome and to give them a bit of a kick, dried oregano and chilli are added to the mixture. These flavours can be substituted to whatever tastes you wish. You may wish to give an oriental flare to them by adding ginger and five spice, our give them a middle eastern kick by adding harrisa perhaps.

The meatballs are quite versatile and if you cook a big batch, they are great for freezing also.

Meatballs always have a comforting quality that perhaps dieters might normally steer clear of, but by using turkey mince instead, and by baking the balls in the oven, then finishing them off in a zero fat fiery tomato sauce, nobody should feel deprived. In fact the freshness and lightness of this dish, in comparison to heavier meatballs made from red meat and breadcrumbs and heavy cream-laden sauces, is a great welcomed alternative both  the tastebuds and the waist line will appreciate.

Serves 4

Ingredients

Meatballs

• 300g Turkey mince
• 2 tsp Dried oregano
• 1 egg
• 1 onion, diced

Lot Fat Fiery Tomato Sauce

• 6 chopped tomatoes
• 1 tbsp of tomato puree
• 1 tsp of olive oil
• 1 pinch of sugar
• 1 onion diced
• 1/2 red chilli, deseeded and diced
• 1 garlic clove, diced
• 8 mushrooms, sliced
• 1 tbsp of balsamic vinegar
• basil leaves to garnish

Serve with pasta

Method

1. Place the meatball ingredients in a mixing bowl and mix well.
2. Wet you hands and with the help of a teaspoon to measure, mould the meatballs into little balls (roughly the same size)
3. Place the meatballs on a lined baking sheet.
4. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees and bake in the oven for 15 minutes.
5. Meanwhile, to make the sauce, place a pan on a medium heat. Add the oil and saute the onion, garlic and chilli for 4-5 minutes. Add the mushroom sliced and saute for a further 2 minutes.
6. Add the tomatoes and puree and  cook for 5 minutes.
7. Add 2-3 tbsp of water and the balsamic vinegar. Stir well and simmer for 12-15 minutes. Add more water if it needs it.
8. Place the cooked meatballs in the sauce and simmer for 5 minutes. Be careful that the meatballs don't break up, so gently fold into the sauce.
9. Cook the pasta according to packet instructions and add the shredded fresh basil.

Turkey Lemongrass Sticks

These are a fantastic and creative (low fat) way to use lemongrass as a kebab stick for party canapes. When the meat is  cooking the heat releases the natural oils and  fragrance of the lemongrass and penetrates the meat, making these sticks irresistible and flavorful. They are something different than using skewers and a great conversation starter when handing out at a drinks party.

If you are having a party, and want something more unique to serve to your guests then these easy to make sticks are the perfect solution.

Makes 8 sticks

Ingredients

• 8 lemongrass sticks
• 500g turkey mince
• 2 minced cloves of garlic
• 1 thumbsize piece of ginger, grated
• 1 red chilli, deseeded and diced
• 3 tbsp of chopped coriander
• 1 tbsp of ground cumin
• 1 tbsp of ground coriander
• 1 beaten egg
• 1 onion, peeled and diced

Quick Asian Dipping Sauce

• 1/2 garlic clove minced
• 5 tbsp of soy sauce
• juice of half a lime
• 1 spring onion, finely chopped.
• 1 tsp of red chilli flakes
• 1 tbsp of rice vinegar.

Method

1. Add all the ingredients except the lemongrass into a mixing bowl and mix really well to combine all the flavors.
2. Make 8 large balls out of the mixture and wrap each ball around each lemongrass stick.
3. Put in the fridge for a min of 30 minutes to firm up.
4. Cook under a preheated grill for 10 minutes turning the sticks occasionally so that they are cooked through.
5. Serve with an quick Asian dipping sauce.

Simple Sweet Chilli Turkey Stir Fry

Turkey breast meat, whilst extremely low in fat and a great source of lean protein, has the tendency to be extremely bland. Ever in the quest for different low fat recipes, this sweet chilli stir fry is very tasty with the sweet chilli, garlic, and ginger aiding the turkey breast meat in the taste department. This stir fry is a doddle to make and is ready is ten minutes flat, making it a winner in the mid week supper category on all counts. Low Fat? Check! Quick? Check! Tasty? Darn right!!!

Tip: Cut the veggies to same size to ensure quick and even cooking of everything and start with the veggies that take the longest to cook. Have everything prepared before hand, and the stir fry will be ready to plate up in less than 10 minutes.

Serves 2

Ingredients

·         2 Turkey breasts, sliced into thin strips

·         1 carrot, peeled into strips with veggie peeler

·         ½ courgette, peeling into strips with veggie peeler

·         ½ red pepper, cut into strips

·         ½ yellow pepper, cut into strips

·         5-6 mangtouts, cut into strips

·         4-5 mushrooms, sliced

·         1 garlic clove, peeled and diced

·         1 2cm piece of ginger, peeled and diced

·         ¼ red chilli, deseeded and diced

·         100g egg noodles

·         2 tbsp of sweet chilli sauce

·         1 tbsp of soy sauce

·         Low cal oil spray

Method

1.       Bring pan of salted water to the boil.

2.       Add the chilli, garlic and ginger to a wok and then turn the heat on and spray the low cal oil spray

3.       Add the turkey meat strips and stir fry for approx 6 minutes. If it starts to stick to wok, just add a tbsp of water.

4.       Put the noodles in the pan of salted water, reduce to a simmer and cook for 4 minutes before draining.

5.       Add the vegetables, first the mushrooms, and stir fry for 30 seconds or so, then the peppers, mangtout and finally the strips of carrot and courgette.

6.       Take off the heat and add the soy sauce and sweet chilli sauce and stir.

7.       To plate up, divide the noodles between two bowls and add the sweet chilli turkey and vegetable mixture on top.

Healthy Mince & Lentil Ragu - African Style

I’d no idea what to actually call this dish, I just wanted to make something completely different with low fat mince. So I added flavours as I went and this is what I came up with. My favorite type of cooking is making things up as you go along, its so organic, esp for someone who has a hard time following recipes (me). Granted, it sometimes leads to embarrassing disasters that I'd rather forget, but a lot of the time, it leads to discovering new ways with old ingredients. It makes cooking interesting, making life in the kitchen interesting.

This is Swahili style ragu, using garam masala, low fat turkey mince and lentils, making it a real one pot wonder. This is a wonderful dish for a midweek supper for anyone who is trying to follow a low carb high protein diet.

 The fragrance of the garam masala and the colour of the turmeric help make this quick and simple dish seem really exotic, helping to brighten up mid week suppers

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp of oil
• 450g turkey mince
• 4 chopped tomatoes
• 6 sliced mushrooms
• 1 yellow pepper, diced
• 1 grated ginger piece
• 1 garlic clove, diced
• 1 red chili, deseeded and chopped
• 1 tbsp of garam masala
• 1 tsp of turmeric
• 200 ml boiling water
• 1 can of green lentils, rinsed
• 2 tbsp of chopped coriander

Method

1.  Get a wok/wide pan on the hob, add the oil and the mince.
2. Fry until the mince is fully coloured, and add the spices, garlic and ginger.
3. Fry off the spices and add the chili.
4. Add the mushroom, tomatoes and yellow pepper and fry off.
5. Pour the hot water over the mixture, reduce the heat and simmer for 10-12 minutes.
6. Add the lentils and allow them to warm through and scatter over the coriander.

Low Fat Burger & Chips

I’ve not ordered a burger in months, well if you don’t count my 3am swing by the chipper on the way home from a night out. Those trips don’t count people!!! I never order burgers when we go out to eat and I certainly don’t cook them. I always think burgers =  calorie city!! So as a treat this weekend I decided that yes I was having a burger and I was having it the low fat way!

First things first, when trying to revise a burger recipe to cut the calorie load is to choose healthy burger buns. I choose wholegrain multi seed buns as the carrier for my burger. These are much healthier than floury baps, or even plain white buns.

Secondly of course is the burger its self! I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, minced turkey meat is a fantastic alternative to mince beef and can be substituted in almost all recipes. I’m adding exotic flavours to my burger to enhance the mince, this burger has a Thai twist with a zesty, chilli and herby kick. I’m using a cheats sweet chilli mayo as the topping for the burger, giving it that extra bit of heat.

You can’t have a burger without chips (fries) in my opinion. I’m using sweet potato and they are being twice cooked to ensure and floury texture inside and a crispy coating outside the chips. And to marry the chips with the burger, a gentle sprinkle of cumin powder is sprinkled over the chips when cooked for a second time.

Et voila, you have burger and chips with half the guilt. You could go bunless if you’re worried about the carbs, but sometimes, life’s just too short you know!!! Make it your treat of the week!

Serves 4

Ingredients

Burger

·         500g turkey mince

·         1 egg

·         100g breadcrumbs

·         Juice of lime

·         1 garlic clove, grated

·         1 thumb size ginger piece, peeled and grated

·         2 tbsp of fresh chopped mint and coriander

·         1 large green chilli, diced

·         4 finely chopped large spring onions

·         1 tbsp of cumin seeds

·         Salt and pepper

Sweet Chilli Mayo

·         3 tbsp of mayo

·         1 ½ tbsp of sweet chilli sauce

Chips (Fries)

·         3 sweet potatoes

·         1 tbsp of ground cumin

·         Sea salt

Optional Low-Fat Burger Toppings

·         Lettuce

·         Tomato

·         Avocado

·         Pineapple

·         Sliced red onion

·         Gerkins

·         Turkey rasher

Method

1.       Prepare the burgers in advance, giving them at least 30 minutes in the fridge to firm up.

2.       In a large bowl, add all the burger ingredients, and combine well so everything is incorporated. I find using your hands is best for this.

3.       Shape 4 burgers out of the burger mixture, place them on a plate, cover with cling and chill for 30 minutes. (these are very big burgers, being realistic you could make 6-7 burger patties, but these are more whoppers than patties)

4.       To make your mayo, simply mix some mayo and sweet chilli sauce in a bowl.

5.       Preheat the oven to 190 degrees

6.       Chop the sweet potatoes, leaving the skin on, into chunky chips.

7.       Put them in a  saucepan of cold water, bring to the boil and simmer for 5 minutes.

8.       Drain them and allow them to steam to draw out the moisture for a few minutes.

9.       Keeping them in the saucepan pour over a tbsp of oil and the cumin powder and shake the pan to allow for even distribution.

10.   Scatter them on a lined baking sheet and place in the oven for 20 minutes.

11.   Likewise, place the turkey burgers on a lined baking sheet and bake in the oven for 20 minutes also, turning the burgers half way through.

12.   Ensure that the burgers are cooked through fully, if not cook for another 4-5 minutes.

13.   To plate up, toast your buns and smear the sweet chilli sauce over the buns, add your preferred toppings and then your burger. Serve with the cumin sweet potato chips.

There you have it, a low fat take on the much loved Burger and Chips