gluten free option

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Slow Cooker Red Lentil and Sweet Potato Curry; Meal Plan Your Way to Weight Loss – Rebecca Burnicle and Wendy Van Staden

Meal-Plan Your Way to Weight Loss by Rebecca Burnicle and Wendy Van Staden, published by Macmillan Australia, RRP $39.99, photography by Jeremy Simons.

“Meal-prepping is so easy when you put your slow cooker to work. This recipe
makes 8 portions, so stocking your freezer with ‘I can’t be bothered’ dinners
is a breeze. All it takes is 15 minutes of prep in the morning.
Serves 8 / Prep 15 minutes / Cook 3 hours 45 minutes – 7 hours 30 minutes” p154

Slow Cooker Red Lentil and Sweet Potato Curry

2 brown onions, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 tablespoon finely grated fresh ginger
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon curry powder
1 teaspoon garam masala
1 teaspoon vegetable stock powder ( I use a gluten free stock)
50 g coconut milk powder
2 cups (400 g) dried red lentils
250 g cauliflower, cut into 2 cm pieces
250 g orange sweet potato (kumara), cut into 2 cm pieces
1 zucchini, cut into 2 cm pieces
400 g can diced tomatoes
400 g can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
150 g baby spinach leaves
1 cup fresh coriander sprigs
2–6 PersonalPoints range per serve


1 Place all ingredients, except for chickpeas, spinach and coriander sprigs in a 5.5 litre (22 cup) slow cooker. Add 1 litre (4 cups) water and stir to combine. Cook on high for 3.5 hours (or low for 7 hours).


2 Stir in chickpeas and spinach. Season with salt and pepper. Cook on high for a further 15 minutes (or low for 30 minutes). Top with coriander sprigs to serve.

Stove-top method:
1 Heat a large non-stick saucepan over medium heat. Cook onion, garlic and ginger, stirring, for 2–3 minutes, until softened slightly. Add spices and stock powder and cook,
stirring, for a further 1 minute.


2 Stir in coconut milk powder, lentils, cauliflower, sweet potato, zucchini and tomatoes. Add enough water to cover vegetables. Bring to the boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 30–40 minutes, until vegetables and lentils are tender, stirring occasionally and adding extra water if mixture starts to catch
on base of pan.


3 Stir in chickpeas and spinach. Season with salt and pepper. Simmer for a further 5 minutes. Top with coriander sprigs.


· TO REFRIGERATE: Transfer curry to a large reusable container or divide individual portions into separate reusable containers. Store for up to 5 days. To reheat, simmer gently in a saucepan or microwave single
servings until hot, stirring in a little water if curry is too thick.


· TO FREEZE: Store curry as above. Thaw overnight in the fridge. Reheat
as above.

**This is one of my favourite vegetarian curries though I hadn’t thought of adding cauliflower – what a great idea. I will make this to take with me on my next visit to my vegetarian daughter.**

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Mexican Style Chicken and Avo Salsa: Dinner Express – George Georgievski

Dinner Express

George Georgievski

Plum

Pan Macmillan Aust

ISBN: 9781760988463

“I’ve been making this dish for ten years and, in my opinion, it has one of the best flavour
combos: lime, coriander and avocado. When I make it we usually sit in front of the TV and
scoop portions into our bowls. All you can hear is crunch, crunch, crunch – I love it! I always
add the chilli on the side as my little humans Anela and Kiki would lose it if they ate chilli.
There are a few ways you can serve this dish, but I’m going to focus on the fun way to eat it.” p114

Dinner Express by George Georgievski, Published by Plum, RRP $26.99, Photography by Nikole Ramsay.

Go grab this stuff
1 supermarket whole roast chicken
juice of 1 lime, plus lime wedges to serve
250 g (1 cup) natural yoghurt
1 long red chilli, sliced (optional)
230 g packet of traditional corn chips


AVO SALSA
2 avocados, diced
½ red onion, finely chopped
3 tomatoes, diced
1 bunch of coriander, leaves picked and finely chopped
juice of 2 limes
1 teaspoon salt flakes


SERVES 4
Rock it like this.

Using your hands, peel away the chicken skin and discard it. Don’t worry if you don’t get it all – I sometimes like to leave the skin on for that extra fatty flavour. Remove the chicken meat from
the bones and use two forks to shred the meat. Pop the chicken in a bowl and clean your chopping board.
Time to make the avo salsa. Place the avocado, onion, tomato and coriander in a large bowl. Add the lime juice and salt, then drop in the shredded chicken. Give it all a good mix. Stir the lime juice into the natural yoghurt for extra tang, then transfer to a small serving bowl.


To serve, pile the chicken mixture onto a chopping board and place the lime yoghurt alongside for dipping. Arrange the corn chips around the chicken, or put them in little metal buckets
for that semi-fancy look. Top with the chilli (or serve it in a bowl alongside) and add some lime wedges for squeezing over.

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#MeatFreeMonday: Samosas – A Pinch of Nom – Kate Allinson & Kay Feathestone

When I first picked up this book and started flicking through the recipes to see what might catch my eye, I failed to notice “100 slimming home style recipes” noted on the front cover. The fact that these are calorie reduced meals did not detract me from exploring this book; the types of meals here are things I might make everyday – healthy home cooking choices. What a great book! I hope you find some, new favourites here too.

Pinch of Nom by Kate Allinson and Kay Featherstone is published by Bluebird, RRP $39.99 and is available in all good bookstores.

 

Samosas

Prep time: 10 mins | Cooking time: 15 mins | 151 KCAL per serving

 

“Yes, you read correctly: samosas! Making a simple swap from pastry to tortilla wrap instantly brings down the calories. Filled with fresh ingredient, you’ll be reaching for these time and time again for fakeaway nights (served with our Super Simple Chicken Curry on page 58), or just as a snack.” p. 224

V F GF (use GF wraps)

Makes 6

 

2 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 cm (½ in) dice

75g frozen peas

Low-calorie cooking spray

½ onion, diced

1 garlic clove, crushed

1 tsp grated root ginger

Generous pinch of chilli powder

½ tsp ground coriander

¼ tsp ground cumin

¼ tsp ground turmeric

½ tsp garam masala

30g spinach

Juice of ½ lemon

Sea salt

3 low-calorie tortilla wraps, cut in half

1 egg, beaten

Fresh coriander, to serve (optional)

Cook the diced potatoes in a pan of boiling salted water for 5 minutes, then drain. Cook the peas in boiling salted water and drain.

 

Preheat the oven to 200°C (fan 180°C/gas mark 6) and line a baking tray with some greaseproof paper or baking parchment.

 

Spray a pan with some low-calorie cooking spray and place over a medium heat. Add the onion, garlic and ginger and cook for 3 – 4 minutes until softened but not browned, then add the spices and cook for another minute. Stir in the cooked potato and mash it slightly with a fork or the back of a spoon before adding the uncooked spinach, lemon juice and peas. Add a pinch of salt and stir.

 

Brush the edges of the halved wraps with the beaten egg. Fold each half into a cone shape and seal the edge, leaving the top open to add the filling.

 

Divide the filling equally between the wraps, being careful not to over-fill them. If you do, you will not be able to seal them properly.

 

Brush the open end of the wraps with some more beaten egg, leave for 30–40 seconds, until it becomes tacky, then press the edges together firmly. You can use a fork to do this, but be careful not to rip the wrap. Arrange the samosas on the tray.

 

Brush each samosa with plenty of beaten egg, make sure the edges are sealed, then place in the oven for 10 minutes, or until they are golden brown.

 

Remove from the oven and serve warm. You can also allow to cool, wrap in baking parchment and freeze for another day.

 

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Yoghurt Blueberry Pikelets: The Smart Baby Cookbook – Lauren Cheney

SmartBabyCookbook_cover_SML

Smart Baby Cookbook by Lauren Cheney (Murdoch Books RRP $24.99)

Yoghurt blueberry pikelets

Making time: 5 minutes
Cooking time: 10 Minutes
Serves: 4

“I don’t think there is a kid in the world who doesn’t love pikelets, and that includes all of us big kids too. Yoghurt, cinnamon and blueberries make this a nutritious breakfast or afternoon snack.“ p120.

 

Yoghurt Blueberry Pikelets

150 g (5½ oz/1 cup) plain (all-purpose) wholemeal flour (GF if desired)
2 teaspoons bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 eggs
390 g (14 oz/1½ cups) Greek-style yoghurt
2 teaspoons natural vanilla extract
155 g (5½ oz/1 cup) blueberries

Butter, for cooking
Maple syrup, to serve

 

Sift together the flour, bicarbonate of soda and cinnamon in a large bowl.
Add the eggs, yoghurt and vanilla and whisk to a smooth batter. If lumpy, strain through a sieve.
Fold in the blueberries, then set aside to rest for at least 10 minutes.
Melt 1 tablespoon of butter in a non-stick frying pan over low heat. Pour in a cupful of mix to make your pikelet. Cook until air bubbles start to appear on the surface. Flip the pikelet and cook until golden brown on both sides.

FOR BABY:
Cut up for finger food.

ALL GROWN UP:
Drizzle with maple syrup.

SMART TIP
An important probiotic, Greek-style yoghurt has more protein and less sugar than regular yoghurt.