ALL IN A BOWL BREAKFAST

Not the most exciting of breakfasts, however when you are short on time this morning meal cannot be beat. You've got your calcium from the yoghurt, fibre and antioxidants from the fruit & chia seeds, antioxidants from the seeds, protein from the nuts and a full stomach from the oats or granola. I love this fuss-free breakfast. I have issues with lactose however natural yoghurt seems to be fine. If you cannot stomach yoghurt, substitute for 1/3 cup unsweetened almond milk or oat milk. 

Ingredients

• 100-125g natural yoghurt (with a sugar % of less than 7% per 100g)
• 1 serving of fruit, such as 1 kiwi fruit, 1 small apple, 1 small pear, sliced 
• 1 tablespoon chia seeds
• Optional - 1 tablespoon flaxseed (not in photo)
• 15g almonds (can be chopped or flaked)
• 50g oats or 3/4 cup homemade granola 

Method 

1. Place all the ingredients in a small bowl and stir together if you wish. 

Total Preparation time / 5 minutes max 

x Emily 

STRAWBERRY PUDDING

I have quite a sweet tooth. I have searched for low-fat recipes, light ingredients and creamy consistencies for the past few years. I found such a dessert in the September issue of ‘Recipes’, which contains only 132 calories and 0.2 grams of fat. Besides the 3 hour refrigeration time, this creamy, light, strawberry pudding is super simple to make and just as satisfying as rich, full-fat ice cream.

INGREDIENTS

• 250g fresh strawberries, halved
• 375g no-fat Greek style natural yoghurt
• 2 teaspoons powdered gelatine 
• 2 egg whites
• 1/4 cup caster sugar 

COOKING 

1. Place gelatine in a heatproof jug with 3 tablespoons boiling hot water. Stand for 10-15 minutes to cool. 

2. Meanwhile, puree three-quarters the strawberries in a food processor / blender until as smooth as possible. Using an electric mixer, beat the egg whites in a dry bowl until soft peaks form. 

3. Mix strawberry puree, sugar and yoghurt in a large bowl. Slowly whisk in the gelatine mixture until combined. Gently fold in the egg whites until just combined. Spoon into 4 x 1 cup serving glasses, cover with plastic food wrap and chill for 3 hours in the refrigerator or until softy set. Serve topped with the remaining strawberries. 

Serves / 4 

Total Preparation time / 10 minutes 

Total Cooking time / 20-25 minutes (plus chilling time)

x E

BEETROOT DIP WITH SPICES

I live for Friday, Saturday and Sunday afternoons when I can indulge in dip and crackers and a nice glass of white wine. My friends and I used to gather on a weekly or fortnightly basis to spoil ourselves with these treats, but this ceased as we got busier and busier and time seemed to slip away. I hope that with writing this post I can put back into the universe that we reinstate these afternoons / evenings again. There is nothing tastier than homemade dip. Supermarket processed guacamole, hummus and tzatziki pale in comparison. I have wanted to make my own beetroot dip for a long time as being Russian beetroot is one of my major food groups. Adding the caraway seeds, cumin and coriander added a beautiful spicy quality. Caraway seeds taste similar to aniseed or fennel and have almost a liquorice flavour about them. You can use any spices you like for making beetroot dip, but lemon juice and yoghurt are a must. Try experimenting with ground fennel or fennel seeds, tarragon and/or black pepper.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 large fresh beetroot, peeled & cut in half 
• 1 large garlic clove, finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon caraway seeds
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1/2 cup 99% fat free natural yoghurt
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice 

COOKING 

1. Preheat fan-forced oven to 200 degrees celsius and wrap the beetroot halves in foil. Cook for 25-30 minutes or until beetroot is tender (that is, you can slice the beetroot with a knife easily). Remove from oven and leave to cool for 5-10 minutes, then slice beetroot into small pieces.

2. Meanwhile, dry fry the caraway seeds and garlic in a small frying pan (That is, do not add any oil to the pan) for 2 minutes or until garlic is fragrant and seeds have darkened slightly in colour. 

3. Place beetroot pieces, caraway seeds, garlic, cumin, coriander, lemon juice and yoghurt in a blender or food processor. Blend/process ingredients until smooth and no lumps of beetroot remain (this should only take 30 seconds or so). 

Serve dip with crackers. 

Serve as a snack
Total Preparation time / 10 minutes 
Total Cooking time / 45 minutes 

x E

LAMB SOUVLAKI WRAP

Isn’t Souvlaki one of the best meals in the world? Whenever I go out to West End in Brisbane I love to go to Greek restaurants, however I usually can’t go past chicken souvlaki. On Saturday lunch I decided to try my hand at cooking with lamb. Now, if you are a regular reader of the blog, you know that I rarely cook with lamb. Very, very rarely. However, sometimes you must explore the unfamiliar. A very simple recipe, the most difficult part being that you have to marinade the lamb for 30 minutes. Unfortunately it is not dairy-free, as I have yet to figure out how to make tzatziki dairy-free (but I will find a way!). 

INGREDIENTS


Lamb

• 350g lean lamb, cut into small 3cm pieces
• 3 teaspoons dukkah (any mix will do, I used almond dukkah)
• 1/2 a red onion, finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• a handful of washed lettuce
• 1 tomato, finely sliced into thin wedges
• 4 x Gluten-free wraps or 4 x Pita Bread

Yoghurt tzatziki 

• 1/2 cup natural yoghurt, 99% fat free
• 1 large lebanese cucumber, finely grated
• 1/8 teaspoon chilli powder
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• pinch of sea salt 

COOKING 

1. Combine the lamb pieces, dukkah, red onion and garlic cloves in a medium bowl. Refrigerate for 30 minutes. 

2. After grating the cucumber finely, place the cucumber in a tea towel tightly. Rinse the excess moisture from the tea towel, then place the cucumber in a small bowl. Add the yoghurt, chilli, coriander and sea salt and stir well to combine. Add 2 tablespoons water to thin out the tzatziki. 

3. Preheat a fan-forced oven to 200 degrees celsius. Line a baking tray with baking paper and spread lamb around the tray. Cook for around 10 minutes or until lamb is browned and cooked through. Remove from the oven. 

4. On each wrap / pita bread, spread tzatziki and top with cooked lamb, tomato and lettuce. Serve whilst lamb is warm. 

Serves / 4 

Total Preparation time / 30 minutes (inclusive of refrigeration time)

Total Cooking time / 12 minutes 

x E

CHICKEN TIKKA MASALA WRAPS

 A mid-week Indian inspired dish. Surprisingly, this simple meal was the tastiest thing I had made all week (until Friday appeared and I cooked Pistachio Risotto!) All it took was a premade Indian paste, some fresh snowpea sprouts (which I highly recommend you seek out) and some natural yoghurt. I am usually not a fan of premade sauces, however by the middle of the week I allow myself one easy and convenient meal. You can choose you fixings and use lettuce, red onion, fresh mint, coriander, the list is endless. I have a bit of an obsession with snowpea sprouts (I adore them!), hence why they are on the ingredient list.


INGREDIENTS

• 500g chicken breast, cut into even strips
• 2 1/2 tablespoons tikka masala paste
• 3 tablespoons fat-free natural yoghurt 
• 4 pita bread/ Lebanese bread (I used Lebanese bread 83g each in size)
• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 50g snowpea sprouts or washed shredded lettuce
• baking paper

Yoghurt Spread

• 1/2 cup fat-free natural yoghurt
• 1 tablespoon fresh chives, finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander 
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1/2 large Lebanese cucumber, diced 

COOKING 

1. Combine chicken strips with tikka masala paste, 3 tablespoons yoghurt and smoked paprika and marinate in the fridge for around 30 minutes. 

2. Preheat oven to 180 degrees celsius fan-forced and line a large baking tray with baking paper. Spread out chicken strips in a single layer and cook for 9-10 minutes or until chicken is cooked and tender. 

3. Meanwhile, combine all the yoghurt spread ingredients in a small bowl and mix well. Spread the yoghurt spread over the pita bread and top with chicken and snow pea sprouts/ lettuce or whatever fixings you desire. 

x E

Serves / 4 

Preparation time / 20 minutes 

Cooking time / 12 minutes 

Adapted from The AWW Low-Fat Food for Life