baked tomatoes with cheesy rice filling

This is the perfect veggie recipe. Boasting good amounts of protein, low GI carbohydrate and fibre, it will sustain your energy levels and assist with muscle maintenance. 

It's such a versatile dish to make, as you can use whatever grain you prefer, add whatever herbs are in season, and use your favourite legumes. even swap the cheddar for some feta cheese - make it yours. 

Serves 4

1/2 cup low GI brown rice

1 cup (250ml) water

8 large ripe tomatoes

2 shallots, finely sliced

1 cup grated tasty cheese

125g can four bean mix, drained and rinsed

50g button mushrooms, finely chopped

1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh parsley

1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh basil

1.  Preheat oven to 160°C. In a saucepan over high heat bring rice and water to boil, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat to low, cover saucepan and simmer for 25 – 30 minutes. Remove saucepan from heat and stand, covered for 5 – 10 minutes.

2.  Cut tops off tomatoes. Gently spoon pulp out of tomatoes into a bowl. Mash pulp with a fork. Combine cooked rice, tomato pulp, shallots, ½ cup grated cheese, four bean mix, mushrooms parsley and basil.

3.  Divide rice mixture into tomatoes, top with remaining grated cheese. Place tomatoes into oven proof dish with enough hot water to come 1cm up the side of tomatoes.

4.  Place dish into oven, bake uncovered for 30 minutes, until cheese is melted and tomatoes have softened. Serve with green salad drizzled with olive oil.

Nutrition information (for two tomatoes): Kilojoules: 1311kJ (315cal) Protein: 17g Carbohydrate: 32g Fat: 11g Saturated fat: 7g Fibre: 7g sodium: 325g

Cajun chicken burgers

Makes 4 burgers

500g Chicken mince

1 tablespoon Cajun spice mix

2 shallots, finely sliced

1 bunch parsley, finely chop leaves and some of the stems

1 large (400g) tomato, sliced

1 large (300g) zucchini, shaved into wide ribbons with a vegetable peeler

2 cups leafy green mix e.g. baby spinach, rocket, lettuce

1 tablespoon of rice bran oil

½ cup Greek yoghurt

Juice of half a lemon

4 wholegrain rolls

1. Combine chicken mince, Cajun spice mix, shallots and half of the parsley leaves and stems. Mix well until combined then shape into 4 patties.
2. Heat oil in a non-stick frying pan over medium heat. Add the chicken patties and cook for 3-4 minutes each side or until golden brown and cooked through.
3. Meanwhile make herbed dressing by combining Greek yoghurt, lemon juice and the rest if the parsley leaves and stems.
4. Make burger with pattie, salad, herbed yoghurt dressing and tomato chutney (see recipe).

Notes

Double the recipe to make more patties for lunches during the week.

Freeze extra patties for meals another week.

Nutrition information (per serve): Kilojoules: 1976kJ (470cal) Protein: 36g Carbohydrate: 43g Fat: 3g Saturated fat: 0g Fibre: 6g Sodium: 680mg

Vegetable Quinoa Fried 'Rice'

Photo by A_Lein/iStock / Getty Images

This nutrient dense quinoa recipe is delicious and a nice change from the traditional fried rice dish.

Ingredients (serves 4)

1 tablespoon of rice bran or peanut oil

3 cups of cooked quinoa (1 cup dried yields 3 cups) colour of choice

6 large eggs

2 garlic cloves

1 medium-large red onion, diced

1 large carrot, diced

1 large red capsicum, diced

1 medium zucchini, diced

1 cup of frozen peas

2 spring onions, finely chopped

2 tablespoons of salt-reduced soy sauce (choose a soy sauce labelled 'gluten free' if you require a gluten free diet) 

2 teaspoons of sesame oil

1/4 cup of roasted almonds, chopped

Method

Cook quinoa and let cool.

Whisk the eggs together in small bowl and set aside.

Heat (rice bran or peanut) oil in a wok over a medium to high heat.

Sautee onion, garlic and carrot for approximately 2 minutes.

Add zucchini, spring onions and capsicum and cook for approximately 2 minutes, continually stirring.

Add cooked quinoa and frozen peas and stir through vegetables.

Make a well in the middle of the quinoa and pour the egg in well. Scramble the egg.

Once the egg is cooked add the almonds, soy sauce and sesame oil and stir altogether.

Nutrition information per serve Energy 1658kJ (394cal), protein 20g, fat 21g, saturated fat 4g, carbohydrate 28g, sugars 5g, fibre 8g, sodium 469mg

Reblogged from Nov 2013

FISH & SWEET PoTATO CHIPS WITH ITALIAN SLAW

This is a new family friendly recipe to add to your culinary repertoire.  

When I think about family friendly recipes they obviously need to be appealing to the kids. Kids are impressionable and eat with their senses - meaning, make healthy food appealing to their senses and they will consider loving it for life (well...consider). In order to appeal to their senses meals need to:

• look good - be colourful and have different shapes and textures,
• taste good - add simple dressings and herbs and cook with healthy fats to make vegetables taste good,
• smell good - no one likes the smell of boiling vegetables, and
• feel good in their mouth - incorporating different textures and adding a crunch can help with this versus serving soggy vegetables.

Kids also like to touch their food and eat with their hands - think how much they love a Mexican feast!

Getting them involved in the cooking process will also teach them more about food and nutrition and encourage them to try new foods – this recipe is great for that. Kids are often proud of the meals that they prepare and excited to eat it...Hallelujah they just tried 2 new vegetables and ate dinner with the family without a fuss!

I feel like this recipe ticks all of these boxes and more:

• It contains lots of different vitamins, minerals, fibres and antioxidants through the vegetables.
• The simple homemade dressing makes the vegetables taste good and encourages everyone to eat them (without an abundant of additives and preservatives).
• The salad is crunchy and colourful (and may introduce the kids to some new vegetables).
• The sweet potato ‘chips’ provide a healthier alternative to chips and the kids can pick them up and eat them with their hands.
• The fish adds important healthy fats and protein to the whole diet. It can be flaked and served with the salad and a spread of avocado in a soft taco shell as an alternative.
• This is a balanced meal – some protein, healthy fats, a small serve of quality carbs and lots of veg.
• This is a gluten free meal for those requiring a gluten free diet.

Ingredients (serves 4)

4 Pieces of snapper with the skin on (you could also use salmon or any fish you like and are comfortable cooking with)

2 Medium-large sweet potatoes cut into ‘chips’ (leave skin on)

1 Tablespoon of olive oil for the fish + some extra for drizzling on ‘chips’

1 Large carrot, grated

½ Fennel bulb, thinly sliced

¼ Red cabbage, thinly sliced

1 Large kale leaf, thinly sliced

Lemon wedges to serve 

Dressing ingredients

¼ Cup of olive oil

• ½ Teaspoon of dried oregano

• 1/8 Cup of apple cidar vinegar

• 1 Tablespoon of honey

• ½ Tablespoon of Dijon mustard

Methods

Preheat oven to 200 degrees.

Place sweet potato ‘chips’ on a tray lined with baking paper and drizzle with olive oil, lightly season with salt and place in the oven for approximately 15 minutes or until golden.

Meanwhile, mix dressing ingredients together in a small bowl (one of the kids could do this) and combine the carrot, fennel, cabbage and kale in a larger bowl (one of the kids could do the grating and mixing). Toss the dressing through the salad mix

Season the fish skin with pepper and a little bit of salt – this helps to get it crispy.

Heat the olive oil in a pan over a high heat (this heat is fine for olive oil but you could use rice bran oil as an alternative). Place the fish skin side down and gently press on the fish while it starts to cook with the back of a spatula so it starts to cook evening on the bottom. Cook for approximately 5 minutes then turn the fish, turn the heat down to a medium heat and cook for a further 3-4 minutes or until the fish has cooked through. This will really depend on the size of the fish.

Serve the fish with lemon wedges, sweet potato chips and Italian slaw and enjoy as a family sitting at the table.

Notes

You may need to increase or decrease ingredients depending on the size of your family and their appetites!

Taste the dressing and adjust ingredients to taste

ENJOY!