Asparagus, Pea, Bean & Rice Bowl

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Asparagus Rice Bowl

I am always looking for new ideas to be healthier in my Dinner choices, I used to think healthy meant you’d always be hungry after….lol. In this dish it is the complete opposite, with the addition of the rice & beans it was very filling and kept me satisfied all night, and with only 400 calories & 29g protein per serving, it was super healthy too.

You can always add some flaked Salmon for that extra nutrition.

Serves 2-3

Handful of Asparagus, trimmed & chopped

Handful of Green Beans, timmed & chopped

Handful of Peas

150g Wholegrain Rice (or for quickness, you could use prepacked rice)

100g Baby Spinach, chopped

1 x 400g Tin of Mixed Salad Beans (or any beans that you prefer, just not Baked!)

Zest & Juice of 1 Lemon

2 tsp Dijon Mustard

1 tbsp Olive Oil

Pinch Sugar

Handful freshly Chopped Coriander

Rainbow Pepper or Black Pepper

  1. Cook the asparagus, green beans and peas in a pan of boiling water for 2-3 mins until tender. Drain.
  2. Cook the Rice as per packet instructions and drain.
  3. Heat the mixed salad beans in a pan for 4-5 minutes.
  4. In a large bowl, put the rice, asparagus, green beans, peas, mixed salad beans & spinach, mix through until combined.
  5. In a small bowl, mix together, olive oil, dijon mustard, lemon juice & zest and pinch sugar, pour over the rice bowl and mix through. Sprinkle over some fresh coriander and pepper then serve.
Bowl of Asparagus, Bean & Rice

Baked Courgette Boats with Tomato and Olive Quinoa

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Want to get more veg into your life, eat healthy without compromising on flavour? This little creation ticks all those boxes, lovely little dinner after my workout at the Spin Studio.

Makes 1 serving.

1 x Courgette

50g Quinoa

50g Brown Rice

70g tin tomatoes

Black Olives – Small Handful (about 5 halved)

1 tbsp Black Olive Tapenade

1 tbsp Olive oil

Squeeze of Lemon Juice

1 tsp garlic

Ground Black Pepper

1 tsp Paprika

1 tsp Basil

Salt to taste

 

  1. Pre heat oven to 210 deg.
  2. Slice Courgette in half and scoop out centre, place on baking tray and bake for 30 mins.  20160419_191807
  3. Meanwhile cook Quinoa and rice as per packet, mix together
  4. Add in tin tomatoes and mix through, heat gently
  5. Add in the rest of the ingredients and mix through thoroughly.
  6. Remove courgette from oven and spoon mixture into the boats…..Serve! Yummy!          20160419_192238        20160419_192200

Approx calories 241 per serving.

 

 

Mid week Spicy Superfood Seafood Stir Fry

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I picked up some amazing Kalettes from my local Food assembly in Glasgow this week, they were kindly supplied by Donald from Rhone Cottage, (http://www.rhonecottage.co.uk/) they grow their own seasonal produce using only sustainable practises and no artificial fertilisers are used.

I decided to try and stir fry them with some seafood, and the flavour was amazing. Kalettes are a bit like a brussel sprout and Kale in one, also classed as a superfood. Below are the Kalettes.

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He also kindly gave me the Kalette Top to try and the leaves are very nice, flavoursome and hold their texture. Here is the Kalette Top.

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150g – 200g each Portion of Prawns, Mussels and squid

Slice of smoked Salmon – chopped

60g Red rice – cooked as per packet

Chilli – chopped finely

Parsley – finely chopped

Soy sauce

Handful of Kalettes

6 Kalette Leaves – cut in half

 

  1. Warm through seafood mix for few minutes.
  2. Add in the Kalettes and leaves with chilli and sprinkle with soy sauce. Cook for approx 2-3 mins.
  3. Once rice is cooked through add into mix and stir through.
  4. Top with smoked salmon and parsley.

Serve. Yummy!

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Roasted Sweet Potato with Turkey and Black Eyed Beans

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A very tasty mix up for dinner tonight, and somehow it just went together! This was me using leftovers again, very tasteful.

Serves 1

1/2 Sweet potato

2 small Beetroot’s

1/2 cup sweetcorn

1/2 tin of Black Eyed Peas

1 Turkey Breast – cut into chunks

2 tbsp olive oil

1/2 tsp garlic

1/2 tsp Chilli Powder

Zest and Juice from 1/2 lime

Handful of coriander

 

  1. Roast in a tin the sweet potato and beetroot at 220 deg for 30-35 mins.
  2. Meanwhile, mix 1 tbsp of olive oil, garlic, chilli powder and lime juice/zest together, this will be your drizzle.
  3. Season the turkey with salt & pepper and fry gently until browned all over. Remove from heat.
  4. Place the black eyed beans and sweetcorn on hob and gently heat through (4 mins)
  5. Once roasted veg is ready, mix everything together with the oil mixture and serve with coriander on top.

Tuck into this beautiful mix which is also healthy and very filling too!

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Smoked Cod and Sweet Potato Fishcakes with Fried Rice

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Continuing with my Superfoods, I fancied a Chinese Flavour Inspired dinner for my Saturday night in but also wanted to keep it healthy and not overload on calories.  Looking in my cupboards and fridge I saw a lovely piece of smoked Cod I got from my usual fishmonger so decided to use this.

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This is my Saturday do it yourself Chinese Takeaway Dinner.

Serves 2/3

FOR THE FISHCAKES:-

200 g Smoked Cod
1 medium Baked Potato
1 medium Sweet Potato
Handful of Fresh Coriander
1 Juice of lime
1 tsp smoked paprika
2 tbsp light olive oil
1 tsp of spiced red pepper or chilli
Plain Flour for dusting
Salt and pepper to taste

  1. Bake the potatoes in the microwave on high heat for about 10 mins until soft
  2. Scoop out the inside of the potatoes and place in a food processor
  3. Slice the fish portion and add to food processor with paprika, coriander, red spice and lime juice, blend together.
  4. With your hands shape into patties about 1cm thick and 10cm dia, dust with flour and refrigerate for about 1 hour
  5. Heat the oil in a flat pan to medium heat
  6. Place the fish cakes in the pan and cook through for about 5-6 mins on each side or until golden brown.

I served these with a little Sweet Chilli Sauce on the side which was lovely!

Nutrition Facts
Smoked Cod and Sweet Potato Fishcakes

Servings Per Recipe: 3

Amount Per Serving

Calories: 225

  • Total Fat: 9.6 g
  •     Saturated Fat: 1.3 g
  •     Trans Fat: 0 g
  • Cholesterol: 31.3 mg
  • Sodium: 283 mg
  • Total Carbs: 23.2 g
  •     Dietary Fiber: 3.4 g
  •     Sugars: 2.7 g
  • Protein: 12.6 g

 

FOR THE CHINESE FRIED RICE:-

75g Wholemeal Brown Rice
50g Frozen peas
1 Chopped Red pepper finely
4 Spring Onions – chopped finely
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 eggs
1 tsp Turmeric
1 tbsp sesame oil

  1. Cook rice as per packet instructions and set aside.
  2. Heat oil in a wok/pan
  3. Crack 1 egg into pan and stir continuously until you get scrambled egg.

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4. Then add in rice, peas, red pepper, onions, turmeric and stir together.

5. Crack in the other egg add in soy sauce and stir through until egg is cooked.

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Make sure you stir continuously or it will stick together. If it does add a little water.

Yummy!

Nutrition Facts
Chinese Fried Rice

Servings Per Recipe: 2

Amount Per Serving

Calories: 324

  • Total Fat: 12.5 g
  •     Saturated Fat: 2.6 g
  •     Trans Fat: 0 g
  • Cholesterol: 163.7 mg
  • Sodium: 1105.2 mg
  • Total Carbs: 40.2 g
  •     Dietary Fiber: 4.8 g
  •     Sugars: 5.3 g
  • Protein: 12.9 g

Oriental Turkey and Green Veg Mix

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Looking in my fridge tonight I had a lot of greens needing to be used up, so as I had a curried meal last night I decided to go with Oriental, and it worked our deliciously. Don’t you just love it when you just fling everything in last minute and you create a delicious meal for yourself.

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150g Breast Turkey
50g Kale
100g Broccoli
50g Trimmed Green Beans
2 carrots
2 tbsp soya sauce
1 tbsp chinese five spice
1 tbsp sesame seeds
1 tbsp crushed red pepper

 

  1. Spray oil a griddle pan and heat to a high heat
  2. Rub chinese five spice into turkey breast, then cook on griddle pan for approx 5-6 mins each side or until cooked through.          20160112_181339
  3. Meanwhile, place all the greens, (broccoli, kale and green beans in a steamer and steam for about 5 mins)
  4. Peel carrot skin off then slice into thin strips
  5. Once veg is cooked, mix in the carrot, soy sauce, sesame seeds and red pepper.        20160112_181604
  6. Place veg mix onto a plate and top with the turkey breast. Yum!
Nutrition Facts
Oriental Turkey and Mixed Greens

Servings Per Recipe: 1

Amount Per Serving

Calories: 464

  • Total Fat: 16.9 g
  •     Saturated Fat: 3.9 g
  •     Trans Fat: 0 g
  • Cholesterol: 97.5 mg
  • Sodium: 2242.2 mg
  • Total Carbs: 37.6 g
  •     Dietary Fiber: 11 g
  •     Sugars: 9.9 g
  • Protein: 46.4 g

Curried Cabbage with Salmon

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Looking in Fridge I had to use the cabbage up but wondered how I could jazz it up! Looked in my spice rack and this is what I put together. Tasty absolutely sensational. This could also work with Cod and Chicken. It is also low in calories and fat….Result!

Serves 1

1/2 Savoy Cabbage – sliced
1 portion Salmon Fillet approx (150g)
1 clove Garlic – crushed
1 tsp Cumin
1/2 white onion – sliced
2 tbsp desiccated coconut
1 tsp curry powder
1 tsp Gram Masala
30g Lentil Sprouts (optional) I had these left over so I just put them in.

  1. Mix the Gram Masala and Curry Powder together and rub into Salmon
  2. Heat up a griddle pan with spray oil and place Salmon on to cook through (approx 10 mins)
  3. Meanwhile, heat a wok to a high heat and cook the garlic and cumin with onion until soft (approx 2 mins)
  4. Add to the wok the cabbage and coconut, stir through for about 5 mins. If adding the Lentil Sprouts put in 1 min before ready and mix just to heat through.
  5. Plate the cabbage mix and place the salmon on top. Yum!

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Nutrition Facts
Curried Cabbage with Salmon

Servings Per Recipe: 1

Amount Per Serving

Calories: 226

  • Total Fat: 2.4 g
  •     Saturated Fat: 0.5 g
  •     Trans Fat: 0 g
  • Cholesterol: 106.5 mg
  • Sodium: 229.7 mg
  • Total Carbs: 14 g
  •     Dietary Fiber: 4.1 g
  •     Sugars: 4.5 g
  • Protein: 36.9 g

Dorito Crusted Salmon

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Raiding my cupboard tonight I found some left over Doritos from the weekend, so I decided to give my Salmon dinner tonight a make over. It was very tasty.

1 Salmon fillet

1 tsp parsley

salt and pepper

Handful Doritos (any flavour of your choice) I used Lime infused

Tbsp olive oil

 

  1. Pre-heat oven to 190 deg. Coat salmon fillet in oil, season with salt and pepper, then sprinkle parsley over.
  2. Put doritos into a bag and crush with a rolling pin, then roll Salmon Fillet to coat in crumbs
  3. Place in tin foil and wrap loosely. Place in oven and cook for 15 mins.
  4. Serve with some fresh vegetables for a healthy option dinner. YUMMY!

Potato, Spinach and Quinoa Bites

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Makes 6

2 Medium potatoes – peeled, chopped and cooked (boiled)

1/2 cup of quinoa – cooked (normally 20mins simmer and 10 mins rest)

1 large handful of Spinach – chopped very finely

4 basil leaves – chopped finely (or 1 tbsp dried)

1 tbsp Lemon Juice

1/2 tsp sesame seeds

1/2 tsp Thyme

Salt & Pepper to taste

2 tbsp Plain Flour

Spray oil

 

  1. Preheat oven to 200 deg.
  2. Mash up potatoes finely  DSC_0367.jpg (2).
  3. Mix up Spinach, Basil, Thyme, Sesame Seeds, Lemon Juice into a paste. DSC_0366.jpg (2)
  4. Then Mix in the potatoes and quinoa with 1 tbsp of plain flour and season, mix until you can form a ball shape with the mixture without sticking to your hands, add more flour if you need to.
  5. Roll the balls in some flour and place on an oiled baking sheet.  DSC_0370 (2)
  6. Bake for approx 30-40 mins. (You may need to turn over half way through cooking)
  7. They will be slightly crunchy on outside and soft in the middle….serve on a bed of Steamed Spinach for extra healthyness! Yum!

Crustless Quiche

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My Homemade Crustless Quiche…great thing about this is you can add any ingredient you like. It is also lower in calories as there is no pastry, so you can make it as healthy as you like.

Serves 2

4 rashers of smoked bacon – chopped (I used morrisons 70% reduced fat bacon)

5 eggs

100ml milk or half fat cream (I used semi skimmed milk to help reduce calories)

handful spring onions – finely chopped

handful of cherry tomatoes – halved

Salt & Pepper

1 tbsp coriander

1 tbsp Nutmeg

 

  1. Add chopped bacon to a little spray oil in a hot pan and brown all over. Remove.
  2. Add bacon, tomatoes and spring onion to an oven dish (approx 15cm x 20cm x 2-3 cm deep) then sprinkle over the nutmeg and coriander.
  3. Whisk the eggs with the milk and season, pour over the dish mixture evenly.
  4. Finely grated some cheese of your choice over the top, I just used cheddar for this one.

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5. Place into a preheated oven at 180 deg and bake for approx 30-40 mins, checking that your cheese doesn’t burn too quickly, if it does cover with some foil loosely or leave cheese off until 10-15 mins before ready. (Depends what cheese you are using).

6. Serve with a lovely salad for lunch or some boiled potatoes for dinner. Yum!

Pan Fried Salmon with Veg & Herb infused Wild Rice

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Serves 1 Approx calories – 450

FOR THE SALMON

1 piece of Salmon

1 tsp butter

Small tbsp chopped chives and sage

Squeeze of lemon juice

Salt and pepper

1. Slight melt butter, Mix all ingredients together and rub into salmon.

2. Heat tbsp oil in a griddle pan and pan fry for about 6-7 mins until cooked through.

FOR RICE

50-60g wild rice

Handful green beans chopped

Red onion diced

1tsp thyme

1 tbsp chopped basil

1 tsp balsamic vinegar

Salt and pepper

6 walnuts chopped

4 baby plum tomatoes halved

Small portion goats cheese

2 fresh baby beetroots quartered

1. Cook rice in a pan of water for about 15 mins, 2 mins before ready add in the green beans.

2. Meanwhile fry the onion with the balsamic vinegar and thyme.

3. Add onion mix to rice once ready along with tomatoes, walnuts, beetroot and some basil mix through then crumble goats cheese on top and serve.

Yummy!

My Italian Spicy Chicken with Vermicelli

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I really fancied something Italian tonight, already had most of these Ingredients in my kitchen, so a little of this and a little of that, and voila a tasty and still healthy little Italian Dish.

Serves 2

2 x Chicken Breast cut into chunks

4 tbsp of Paprika

2 nests of Wholegrain Vermicelli

1 Red and 1 Green Pepper – chopped

1 white onion – chopped

1 tbsp olive oil

10-12 Piccolo Tomatoes – halved

250ml tomato passata

1 tbsp chilli

1 tbsp oregano

1 tbsp coriander

1 tbsp basil

1 tsp garlic

1 tbsp red wine vinegar

 

1. Coat the chicken chunks with the paprika and brown in a saucepan or wok with the olive oil

2. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside

3. Put onion, peppers and all spices in pan and cook under slightly tender

4. Add back to the pan the chicken and mix.

5. Then add the tomato passata and red wine vinegar, stir and reduce to a simmer for 5 mins.

6. Meanwhile place the vermicelli in a bowl and cover with boiling water for 4 mins, then add to the pan and stir through for 2 mins.

7. Serve. Yum! Goes well with a lovely glass of Chardonnay. You can also add some parmesan on top for extra flavour.

Low Calories, loads of flavour Beef Stew

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As I am now on my countdown to my weeks holiday in the sun I am now on the healthy low fat, low calorie options. The one thing I don’t want to do is compromise on flavour, this recipe is BIG on flavour but so low calorie it’s great.

Serves 2 Approx 240 cals, 7g fat, (1.5g saturated), 16g carbs

250g Scottish Stewing Steak

1 red onion, cut into wedges

1 garlic clove, chopped

sprig of thyme or parsley

1 bouquet garni

3 carrots cut in half and sliced chunky

250ml beef stock

1 tbsp sundried tomato paste

1 tbsp balsamic vinegar

1 tbsp gravy granules

 

1. Preheat oven to 180 deg.

2. Brown steak cubes in a non stick pan until browned. (Save juices and add to stock for extra flavour)

3. Meanwhile add onion, carrots, garlic, herbs, tomato paste, vinegar and then add the steak to a casserole dish mix together.

4. Pour in the stock and sprinkle gravy granules push in the bouquet garni, cover and put in oven for approx 1.5-2hrs or until meat is tender.

5. Serve with your choice of sides. Yum!