Roast Vegetables with Quinoa, Feta & Chickpeas

Following watching My Kitchen: Anjum Anand, I just had to try quinoa for myself. Anjum is a healthy eating Indian cook, very conscious of making low fat vegetarian food at home. In one particular episode she made quinoa and roasted vegatables. Having never made it before I was dying to try it. I’m a sucker for anything that’s low fat and promotes healthy eating.

This is the nutriental value of quinoa I sourced from Wikipedia

Quinoa was of great nutritional importance in pre-Columbian Andean civilizations, secondary only to the potato, and was followed in importance by maize. In contemporary times, this crop has become highly appreciated for its nutritional value, as its proteincontent is very high (12%–18%). Unlike wheat or rice (which are low in lysine), and like oats, quinoa contains a balanced set ofessential amino acids for humans, making it a complete protein source, unusual among plant foods.^[13] It is a good source ofdietary fiber and phosphorus and is high in magnesium and iron. Quinoa is gluten-free and considered easy to digest.

(Wikipedia)

So today I’ve decided to cook the quinoa and roasted vegetables with my own flair to the dish. I actually made enough for my dinner and my lunch the following day, but alas it tasted so good, I dug into my lunch half also. (Please feel free to use whatever vegetables you have in the house, I did)

Serves 2

Ingredients

·         100g of quinoa

·         1 small sweet potato, peeled & cubed

·         1 small fennel bulb, sliced thinly

·         4 asparagus spears, woody ends removed

·         1 red pepper, sliced roughly

·         1 courgette, sliced roughly

·         1 tbsp of olive oil

·         4 sprigs thyme

·         ½ can of chickpeas

·         30g of low fat feta, cubed

·         Chopped flat leaf parsley

Method

1.       Preheat the oven to 180 degrees

2.       Put all the vegetables in a roasting tin with oil & thyme and mix thoroughly

3.       Roast for 20 minutes, turning them half way.

4.       Meanwhile, put the quinoa in saucepan of water with lemon juice and salt and simmer for 12-15 minutes.

5.       Drain out excess liquid

6.       Take the vegetables out of the oven, and mix in the quinoa, chickpeas,and feta.

7.       Put the roasting tin back in the oven for 5 minutes.

8.       Then take out and scatter with the parsley and dig in.

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

Baked Figs Wrapped in Parma Ham

This is a light sweet glamorous starter, that wouldn’t pile on the pounds. Figs can be quite difficult to get, but if you see them in the supermarket, you should definitely take advantage. They are grown in sunnier climates. The figs I bought in the supermarket were from Turkey.

Figs can either be part of a salad, a starter or as a sweet treat.

This elegant starter is really easy to make and very fast, it’s a delicious sweet  starter with a balsamic kick. The figs are brushed with a honey and balsamic  glaze, wrapped in parma ham, then baked for 10 minutes in the oven, The plates can be prepared in advance with just a bed of rocket scattered with chopped walnuts. To make this more indulgent you could add a small cube of goats cheese to the centre of the gifs, but I made them without the goats cheese on this occasion, trying to keep the calories down.

Serves 2

Ingredients

·         6 fresh figs

·         1 bag of prewashed rocket leaves

·         2 tbsp of chopped walnuts

·         6 slices of parma ham

·         1 tbsp of honey

·         1 tbsp of balsamic vinegar

·         1 tbsp of olive oil

·         Salt & pepper

Method

1.       Preheat the oven to 180 degrees

2.       Line a baking sheet with baking paper

3.       Trim off the tops of the  figs and cut a cross in the top of them, stopping ¾ way the way down the fig.

4.       To make the honey and balsamic glaze, wisk together the honey, balsamic, oil and salt and pepper in a jug.

5.       Rub each fig with the honey and balsamic mixture and wrap a slice of parma ham around each fig

6.       Pour any remaining glaze over the figs and bake for 10 minutes.

7.       Meanwhile, to plate up put a bunch of rocket leaves in the centre of your plate and scatter with the chopped walnuts.

8.       Place 3 figs on each plate and pour over the baked juices which ecaped the figs, this is your dressing.

9.       Decorate the plate if you like with a little balsamic syrup.

Paprika Pork & Chorizo Stew

Pork is something I don't eat very often, due to its high salt and fat content, but it is the weekend afterall, and my motto is everything in moderation, so I'm treating myself and my husband to a Spanish style pork stew flavoured with paprika and spicy chorizo sausage. I'm making enough for four as this meal with freeze well, as well as keeping nice and handy in a lunchbox for a working lunch.



Spanish cuisine is my ultimate indulgence. I like nothing more than cured meats, spanish olives,cheese , break and smoky paprika. The Spanish use olive oil in nearly every dish, and lemons and flat leaf parsley are all very Spanish ways of flavouring dishes. This Spanish style stew is my salute to all those ingredients.


Serves 4

Ingredients

• Pork Shoulder, cubed
• 1 chorizo, cubed
• 2 cloves of garlic, sliced
• 1 red onion, sliced
• 1 yellow pepper, sliced
• 1 red pepper, sliced
• 7-8 mushrooms, sliced
• 2 bay leaves
• 4 sprigs of thyme
• 1 tin of chopped tomatoes
• 1 tsp of sugar
• salt and pepper
• 1 tbsp of smoked paprika
• 2 tbsp of white wine vinegar
• 1 glass of spanish white wine
• 2 tbsp of spanish olive oil
• Juice of a lemon

To Serve

• White long grain rice 
• Crusty bread
• Flat leaf parsley

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees.
2. In a lidded oven proof casserole dish, add half the oil and set the heat to medium-high on your hob.
3. Add the cubed pork and smoked paprika (in batches if necessary), and brown the meat completely.
4. Set aside on a plate.
5. Add the rest of the oil, the chorizo, onion and garlic. Fry for a few minutes.
6. Add the wine and scrap the sediment from the pan.
7. Add the vegetables, thyme and bay leave and stir to combine all the flavours.
8. Reintroduce the meat and add the tin of tomatoes. Fill the empty tin with water and add this liquid too.
9. Add the sugar and wine vinegar and bring the whole mixture to the boil.
10. Cover and place the casserole in the oven for 1 1/2 to 2 hours.
11. When ready to serve, scatter with chopped flat leaf parsely and squeeze lemon juice over.

Serve with rice and crusty bread to mop up all the smoky garlicy juices.

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Warm Halloumi, Tomato & Walnut Salad

Halloumi cheese, the Greek non-melting cheese, is deliciously tangy and salty, and absolutely scrumptious when served warm. It’s best griddled or grilled, and when marinated it makes for an extremely tasty dish.

Halloumi cheese and tomatoes are a great match, and add a herby salad to the mix and you have a wonderful salad. Halloumi isn’t a very fattening cheese and as it has a powerful taste, a little goes a long way.

With salad, textures are always important. The dominant texture in this salad is the warm griddled cheese, which is really really smooth and the walnuts give a crunchy dimension to the salad and lifts the whole salad.

The marinade used in this salad is a wonderful Mediterranean combination of thyme leaves, dried oregano, lemon juice, black pepper, honey and balsamic vinegar and diced red chilli.

Ingredients

·         80g Halloumi cheese, sliced length ways

·         4-5 cherry tomatoes halved

·         Handful rocket leaves

·         ¼ of cucumber, sliced

·         Fresh mint and coriander

·         1 tbsp of chopped walnuts

Marinade

·         Thyme leaves

·         Dried oregano

·         Lemon juice

·         Black pepper

·         Honey

·         Red chilli, deseeded and diced

·         Balsamic vinegar

Quick Beetroot Relish

•       ½ a beetroot from vac packet, cubed
• 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
•     1 tbsp of chopped mint

Method

1.     Slice the Halloumi, mix the marinade ingredients together in a shallow bowl.
2.     Marinate the cheese slices with the tomato halves in the marinade for 30 minutes.
3.   To make the beetroot relish, add the chopped beetroot, balsamic vinegar and mint.
4.   Pre-heat a griddle pan and fry the Halloumi slices 1 minute a side.
5.   Meanwhile to make the salad, slice the cucumber thinly. Combine the rocket and herbs and the tomatoes and marinade juices and toss well.
6.   Place the grilled Halloumi on top of the dressed herby tomato salad, scatter with the walnuts. Serve with the beetroot relish.

Swede & Sweet Potato Mash: The Low Fat Alternative to Mash Potato

With real winter weather literally on our doorsteps today, we need the ultimate comfort food, eaten all snuggled up in front of the fire, protected from the harsh sound of the wind, and the beating of the rain on the window panes. And what's better comfort food than mash potatoes, right?! Well that just causes a whole lot of problems for us dieters, so here's my alternative low fat version, whilst still retaining the comfort factor and buckets of flavour.

I first made this healthy version of mash potato, as a compromise for having a big roast chicken dinner with yummy gravy.  My weakness in the past used to be mashed potatoes with lots of cream, butter and salt. However, ever the diet-conscious now, I’ve come up with an alternative to mash potatoes for dieters to enjoy with their Sunday roast. This mashed sweet potato and swede combo doesn’t need an ounce of butter. It mashes very well and just needs some sea salt and black pepper.

Serves 4

Ingredients

·         ½ a swede, peeled and cut into cubes

·         1 large sweet potato, peeled and cut into cubes

·         Sea salt

·         pepper

Method

1.       Place the cubed vegetables into a saucepan of cold water.

2.       Place the saucepan on a high heat and bring to the boil.

3.       Once it’s come up to the boil, reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for 25 minutes or until the swede and potato are tender.

4.       Drain the vegetables and mash with a potato masher, and season generously.

As I said this works as a great alternative to buttery mash potato for your Sunday roast. It’s also a  great topping for low fat cottage/Sheppard’s pie or low fat fisherman’s pie.

My Tickled Pink Beetroot Hummus

I’m a huge fan of hummus, and it’s simply fantastic that it’s actually a really healthy snack also. It’s origins are Middle Eastern, however there are over the years lots of fusion recipes for hummus, using Spanish or Italian influences. The main ingredient in hummus is off course chickpeas, which are extremely low in fat and very high in protein.

 Once you have your chickpeas, every other ingredient is replaceable. I’ve been experimenting with different hummus styles for quite some time and I recently came across a picture of beetroot hummus in a food magazine. It was quite frankly the pinkest, prettiest food I had ever seen, and I simply had to try it, being such a girly girl afterall.

This is a cheats version, where the chickpeas come from a can, not soaked overnight and the beetroot is the pre cooked vac-pack variety.  But before I am judged for my short cuts, you gotta try it. Its mind blowingly good! It’s made in less than 5 minutes, and keeps well for 2-3 days covered and refrigerate it. It goes well with chicken and lamb.

So here it is, my Tickled Pink Hummus.

Ingredients

·         1  large can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed

·          2 vac-packed cooked beetroots

·         1 tsp tahini (optional)

·         1 clove of garlic, peeled and grated

·         Zest & juice of one lemon

·         1 tbsp of ground cumin

·         1 tbsp of olive oil

·         2-3 fresh mint leaves

Method

1.       Simply add all the ingredients to a mini blender/food processor and blitz to a puree.

2.       Add the salt and pepper and blitz again. Taste and if required add a little extra of any of the ingredients.

Simply serve with pitta breads, as an accompaniment to a salad.....or my favourite way to eat hummus........ with vegetable crudités!!! Now it would be hard to get lower fat than that!

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