Tag: healthy food

Uncategorized

Mexican Bowls

by Karen ClaassenLeave a Comment on Mexican Bowls
Mexican Bowls

1 onion, chopped
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 sweet pepper, chopped
1 x 400g tin of chopped tomato
1kg minced/ground beef
250ml beef stock
1 x 400g tin of red/black beans
1 chilli, finely chopped

avocado pear, sliced
baby corn
tomato, diced
cos lettuce, quartered

Place a saucepan over medium-high heat, add some olive oil and fry the onions until soft.
Add the garlic and sweet pepper and stir-fry for 2-3 minutes.
Add the chopped tomato, minced beef and stock to the pan and stir through.
Season with salt and pepper and cook over a medium heat until most of the liquid has evaporated.
Drain the beans and add it to the saucepan with the chilli. Cook for another 5 minutes or so while stirring.
Remove from the heat.

Put your bowls together by incorporating:
* the fried minced beef mixture
* avocado pear
*baby corn
* chopped tomato
* lettuce

Serve while the beef is still warm.

Uncategorized

Beetroot Hummus Salad

by Karen ClaassenLeave a Comment on Beetroot Hummus Salad
Beetroot Hummus Salad

1 x 400g tin chickpeas
30ml tahini
2 cloves garlic, minced
15ml lemon juice
5ml salt
150g beetroot, cooked and cubed
5 beets, cooked and sliced about 0.5cm thick
100g feta cheese
50g pistachio nuts, roughly chopped
balsamic vinegar

Drain the chickpeas and add it to a liquidiser.
Add the tahini, garlic, lemon juice, salt and cubed beetroot and blitz until smooth. Set aside.
Arrange the sliced beetroot on a serving plate.
Place dollops of the beetroot hummus on the slices, crumb the feta over and scatter over the pistachio.
Drizzle the salad with balsamic vinegar and serve.

Uncategorized

Roasted Cauliflower with Cheese Sauce

by Karen ClaassenLeave a Comment on Roasted Cauliflower with Cheese Sauce
Roasted Cauliflower with Cheese Sauce

1 head of cauliflower
80g butter, melted
5ml salt

Cheese Sauce:
15ml butter
15ml flour
190ml milk
125ml grated cheddar cheese

Preheat your oven to 180℃.
Remove the leaves and cut down the stem of the cauliflower so that it sits without rolling around.
Place the trimmed head on a roasting tray and brush a third of the melted butter onto the bottom section, allowing the butter to run through.
Turn the head upright and brush it all over with the rest of the butter.
Sprinkle with the salt and a few grindings of black pepper.
Now cover the roasting tray with aluminium foil and roast in the oven for 30 minutes.
Remove the foil and brown the cauliflower – about 15 minutes.

For the cheese sauce:
Add the butter to a small saucepan set over medium-high heat and allow it to melt.
Sprinkle over the flour and a pinch of salt and stir to make a paste.
Cook the butter and flour for 2 minutes while stirring, until it reaches a golden colour.
Add the milk and whisk until blended and the sauce has thickened.
Remove the saucepan from the heat and add the cheese.
Stir until melted.
Taste the sauce and adjust the seasoning to your taste.
Pour the cheese sauce over the cauliflower to serve.

Uncategorized

Whole Roasted Cauliflower

by Karen ClaassenLeave a Comment on Whole Roasted Cauliflower
Whole Roasted Cauliflower

This recipe has two flavour profiles – it is an either or, and not a combination!!

1 head cauliflower (or two if you are making both flavour profiles)
80ml olive oil
3 cloves of garlic, minced
15ml turmeric OR 15ml dried mixed herbs
60ml + 60ml grated parmesan cheese
5ml salt

Preheat your oven to 200℃.
Remove the green outer leaves of the cauliflower head and place the cauliflower in an oven dish. Set aside.
Add the olive oil, minced garlic and EITHER the turmeric or the mixed herbs to a small bowl.
Add 60ml parmesan cheese and the salt and mix through.
Flip the cauliflower head upside down/with the core facing up.
Brush about a third of the olive oil mixture on the cauliflower, allowing it to drip down the core.
Flip it over and brush the top and sides of the head with the rest of the mixture.
Cover the dish with aluminium foil and bake in the oven for 45 minutes or until a wooden skewer can easily pierce the head.
Remove the foil from the baking dish and scatter over the remaining 60ml parmesan.
Place the cauliflower back in the oven until the cheese has browned.
Serve immediately.

Uncategorized

Brown Rice Salad

by Karen ClaassenLeave a Comment on Brown Rice Salad
Brown Rice Salad

250ml brown rice, cooked according to packet instructions
1 red onion, finely diced
400g cocktail tomatoes, quartered
120g mozzarella cheese, cubed
30g coriander leaves, chopped
30ml pumpkin seeds
30ml sunflower seeds

Dressing:
60ml olive oil
30ml thick, sweet soya sauce
1 clove of garlic, minced

Add the cooked and cooled rice to a large mixing bowl.
Now add the diced onion, tomato and mozzarella and give it a good mix.
Sprinkle over the coriander, pumpkin seeds and sunflower seeds and stir through. Set aside.

For the dressing:
Pour the olive oil and soya sauce into a cup and add the garlic.
Whisk the dressing with a fork until it is amalgamated.
Drizzle over the brown rice salad and give everything a very good mix.
Serve the salad at room temperature.

Uncategorized

Cauliflower and Grain Salad

by Karen ClaassenLeave a Comment on Cauliflower and Grain Salad
Cauliflower and Grain Salad

500g cooked grains (choose from or combine barley, quinoa, brown rice)
100g raisins
1 cauliflower head, cut into small florets
10ml ground coriander
2 cloves of garlic, minced
2,5ml chilli flakes
55ml + 75ml olive oil
5ml salt
1 red onion, halved and thinly sliced
30g pistachio nuts, roughly chopped
30g pomegranate seeds
15ml finely grated lemon zest
30ml lemon juice
a small handful of mint leaves
a small handful of parsley

Preheat your oven to 200℃.
Add the raisins to a small bowl and pour 60ml boiling water over it. Set aside.
Add the cauliflower, coriander, garlic, chilli flakes, 55ml olive oil and salt to a mixing bowl and toss together to coat the cauliflower florets.
Tip the florets into a roasting tray and spread it out in a single layer.
Pour 60ml hot water into the now empty mixing bowl, swirl it around to collect any left-behind spices and then pour it around (NOT ON TOP!) the cauliflower.
Cover the tray with aluminium foil and roast for 10 minutes.
Remove the tray from the oven and leave to cool.
Place a pan on medium-high heat, add about 30ml oil and fry the red onion for about 15 minutes, until starting to caramelise.
Add the cooled cauliflower, onion, pistachios, pomegranate, lemon zest, lemon juice, raisins and cooked grains to a mixing bowl.
Drizzle 45ml olive oil over and season with salt. Mix through.
Mix the mint and parsley together on a chopping board and chop roughly.
Add the herbs to the rest of the salad, mix through and serve.

Uncategorized

Fish Parcels

by Karen ClaassenLeave a Comment on Fish Parcels
Fish Parcels

4 portions of hake
2 sweet peppers, sliced
100g green olives, pitted
30ml capers, roughly chopped
60ml peppadews, chopped
2 lemons, quartered

Preheat your oven to 200℃.
Cut 4 pieces of baking paper to more or less 30cm x 30cm.
Place a portion of hake in the centre of each paper square and season with salt and pepper.
Add the sweet peppers, olives, capers and peppadews to a small bowl and mix through. Divide the mixture equally and spoon onto the fish.
Squeeze the juice of a quartered lemon over.
Bring the two opposite sides of the paper together and fold over twice.
Now twist the ends to enclose the filling.
Place on a baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes.
Serve the fish in its paper parcel.

Uncategorized

Chicken Salad

by Karen ClaassenLeave a Comment on Chicken Salad
Chicken Salad

There is one sauce that doubles up as marinade and dressing!!

500g chicken breasts

Marinade/Dressing:
30ml olive oil
juice of 2 lemons (60ml)
30ml water
30ml apple cider vinegar
30ml chopped parsley
2 cloves garlic, minced
5ml dried origanum
5ml salt
black pepper

Salad:
lettuce
tomato, chopped
cucumber, chopped
red onion, sliced
avocado pear, sliced

Add all the ingredients for the marinade/dressing to a mixing bowl and whisk together.
Pour half of the mixture into a jug and keep aside as the salad dressing.
Place the chicken breasts in the marinade for 30 minutes.
Place a pan on medium-high heat and add the chicken breasts. Cover with a lid and cook for 5-6 minutes before flipping them over and cooking for another 4 minutes. Rest the breasts in the pan, with the lid on for another 5 minutes.
Arrange the lettuce, tomato, cucumber, red onion and avocado on a serving plate.
Slice the chicken and place on the salad.
Drizzle with the salad dressing and serve.

Uncategorized

Sweet Potato Cakes

by Karen ClaassenLeave a Comment on Sweet Potato Cakes
Sweet Potato Cakes

750g cooked and mashed sweet potato (about 4 medium sweet potatoes)
125ml self-raising flour
1 X 375ml can of Corn kernels, drained (you may substitute with cooked corn)
125ml pumpkin seeds
1 egg
2,5ml salt
2,5ml cinnamon
63ml brown sugar
vegetable oil to fry

Add all the ingredients to a large mixing bowl and mix through.
Place a heavy bottom pan onto medium-high heat and cover the bottom with vegetable oil to heat up.
Scoop a tablespoonful of the mixture into the pan and fry for 2-3 minutes before flipping and frying the other side for another 2-3 minutes. Do not overfill your pan as you want the sweet potato to caramelise and fry to a golden, crisp outside. Keep going until all the mixture is used.
Serve the cakes with a dollop of yoghurt and honey.