CHILLI BEEF & BEAN BOWL

This was pure heaven for my very hungover fiancé on Sunday night. He looked terminally ill when he arrived home from an epic Saturday day & night bachelor party  and I knew that a Kale & Quinoa salad, however hearty it may have been, would not cut it for this boy. He needed meat and lots of it. Hence Chilli Beef & Bean Bowls was on the menu for Sunday night and Monday night, as I chose to make 4 servings. The amount of rice per serve is small and did shock me at first, however as this is based on a Michelle Bridges recipe calories must be counted and the sizeable amount of beef mince, tomatoes and beans does not leave much room for starchy carbs. I suggest you use brown rice over white, as brown rice fills you for longer. Don’t be tempted to rack up more calories by adding a dollop of sour cream or cheese on top of this bowl, as there is flavour enough without adding in dairy.

Ingredients

• 2.5g rice bran oil / olive oil (1/2 teaspoon)
• 3 garlic cloves (9g), finely chopped or crushed
• 1 medium red capsicum (200g), finely chopped
• 400g lean beef mince
• 2 tablespoons taco seasoning (20g)
• 2 x 400g can diced tomatoes 
• 1 x 400g tin red kidney beans, rinsed & drained
• 1 x 400g four bean mix, rinsed & drained
• 1/4 cup brown rice
• 2 tablespoons fresh basil or coriander leaves, finely chopped
• 1 cup of fresh lettuce (iceberg, cos, butter), washed, drained & roughly chopped
• 1 lime, cut into 4 wedges

Cooking 

1. Bring a small saucepan of rice and 1 cup of water to the boil with a pinch of sea salt. Once boiled reduce to a simmer and cook until all the water is absorbed and the rice is soft. Set aside. 

2.  Meanwhile, heat a large saucepan over medium heat and add the oil. Add the garlic and capsicum to the pan and cook, stirring often for 2-3 minutes, until the capsicum is just becoming soft. Be careful not to overcook the garlic and burn it. 

3. Increase the heat to high and add the mince and taco seasoning. Cook, breaking up the lumps in the mince with a strong large spoon, for 4-5 minutes or until the beef is brown. Add the tomatoes and 1 cup (250ml) of water, then cover and bring to the boil. Once boiled reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for 10 minutes. 

4. After 10 minutes, remove the lid, add the beans to the pan and cook for another 5 minutes or until the tomato sauce has reduced (thickened) slightly. 

5. Divide the cooked rice into 4 bowls, then add the chilli beef & beans. Place 1 lime wedge, the chopped lettuce and the basil on top of each chilli bowl. Serve warm. 

Serves / 4 

Total Preparation time / 15 minutes 

Total Cooking time / 25 minutes 

Calories / approx. 570 per serve / recipe makes 4 serves 

x Emily 

BEEF with CORN & AVOCADO SALSA

Fresh corn is so much tastier than canned corn, so make sure you use the good old garden-fresh stuff when making this recipe. This is a great dinner, as it is light on the carbs and heavy on the vegetables (or fruit if you consider avocado and tomato vegetables). I added in some brown lentils for extra protein, however this did up the calorie count substantially to 599 per serving (it was 511 calories per serve without the lentils). You could use less lentils or slightly less steak for a lighter meal. This was a very simple, faintly Mexican meal to make. For vegetarians, I’d suggest using another corn on the cob and more lentils or beans to get the protein up! 

Ingredients

• 1 large corn on the cob (250g) 
• 2 medium tomatoes (155g), finely diced
• 1 x 400g tin brown lentils, rinsed & drained 
• 80g ripe avocado, chopped
• 2 tablespoons fresh coriander (6g), roughly chopped
• 2 teaspoons lime juice (10g)
• 400g lean beef steak (fillet or rump), fat removed
• 1/2 teaspoon rice bran oil
• pinch of ground black pepper
• 1 lime (50g) cut into wedges 

Cooking 

1. Microwave the corn on high for 3 minutes, covered in glad wrap, then set aside to cool for a few minutes. Once cool enough to hand, remove the husk and silk. Place the corn cob upright on a chopping board and cut down the cob vertically, using a sharp knife, to remove all the kernels. 

2. Combine the tomatoes, corn kernels, lentils, avocado, coriander and lime juice in a medium bowl. 

3. Brush the steaks with oil and dust with pepper. Heat a medium fry-pan or chill grill over medium high and cook steaks for 2-3 minutes per side or cooked to your preference. Remove from heat and leave to sit on a plate, loosely wrapped in al foil for a few minutes to rest. Slice meat to your liking. 

4. Divide the steak between two plates and top with salsa and lime wedges 

Serves / 2 

Total Preparation time / 15 minutes 

Total Cooking time / 20 minutes 

Total Calories / approx. 599 per serve 

x Emily 

HOMEMADE SEED CEREAL

Below is a muesli recipe I made up in 10 minutes before rushing out of the house on a Sunday am. You can make this cereal gluten-free by using puffed corn instead of oats. I tend to steer clear of dried fruit in my cereal or muesli, due to its high sugar content. I like to use several different seeds and one or two types of nuts to fill me up at breakfast time. I have tried to keep the ingredient list small here, as I know that the idea of making your own cereal can seem time consuming and daunting. However I urge you to try, as this homemade cereal takes a maximum of 10 minutes! I know that flax, chia, sunflower and pumpkin seeds can appear to be expensive, but if they are bought in bulk they last for a very long time and consuming them comes with numerous health benefits. 

For example, did you know that chia seeds expand in your stomach, making you feel full for longer and therefore resulting in you eating less?  Flaxseeds are acclaimed for burning body fat, as they speed up your metabolism and are full of fibre and omega-3s. Sunflower seeds contain copious vitamins and minerals, including vitamin E, B1, B6 & B3 as well as magnesium and folate. Pepitas or pumpkin seeds contain a very wide diversity of antioxidants including vitamin E and are a great source of the minerals zinc, iron, magnesium and phosphorus. This is a very small snapshot of only a few of the many benefits these seeds provide you with, hence my use of them in this muesli and in every different muesli I make.

Ingredients

• 200g rolled oats or 170g puffed kamut or 170g puffed corn (for a gluten-free option)
• 100g puffed rice
• 50g flaxseed or LSA 
• 50g sunflower seeds
• 50g pumpkin seeds (pepitas)
• 50g chia seeds
• 150g almonds, roughly chopped
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Preparation

1. Place all ingredients in a large bowl and stir well to combine. 

Store in a sealed container and serve with 1/2 cup (125ml) milk of your choice (I like unsweetened almond milk) or 100g full-fat greek yoghurt 

Serving size / makes 10 serves 

Total Preparation time / maximum 10 minutes 

x Emily 

NO-NUT PRAWN PAD THAI

I often find myself craving Thai takeaway, so learning to make a healthy, low-fat pad thai is super essential to me (and my waistline). I have made various pad thai’s in the past, however they have been quite high in fat and enormous in portion size. Here is my version of pad thai that contains no nuts and no sugar. Some of you may stop reading here, as this recipe is clearly not going to be for an authentic pad thai dish. For those of you still with me, bless you for staying. The hard cold truth is that sugar and nuts contain a great deal of fat and well, to state the obvious, sugar. And with this comes a great deal of extra calories. Without them in this dish more rice noodles are available per serving as well as more vegetables, more prawns (or tofu if going for a vegetarian option) and a tastier dressing/sauce.

Ingredients

• 100g rice stick noodles
• 3 free range eggs (177g), beaten
• 2 teaspoons rice bran oil / sesame oil 
• 250g prawns, peeled, deveined, tails on or off
• 1 small red capsicum (155g), thinly sliced
• 200g buk choy, base removed and roughly chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 2 teaspoons fish sauce
• 1 teaspoon Mirin seasoning 
• 1 tablespoon lime juice
• 50g bean sprouts
• 1 green shallot (3g), finely chopped
• 1/4 cup fresh coriander leaves, finely chopped (10g)
• 1 lime (50g), cut into wedges 

Cooking 

1. Bring a medium saucepan of water to the boil and add noodles. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 3-4 minutes or until the noodles are tender but not mushy. Remove from the stove and drain well under cold running water. 

2. Meanwhile, heat 1 teaspoon oil in a wok or large, deep frying pan over medium heat and swirl to coat. Pour the eggs into the wok/pan and leave to set for 2-3 minutes. Once set, remove from heat and place on a plate. When cool enough, cut the omelette into small pieces. 

3. Heat 1 teaspoon oil in a wok or large, deep frying pan over medium heat (it is a great idea to use the same wok/pan that you cooked the egg in, as it will have traces of oil left in it) and swirl to coat. Add the prawns, capsicum and buk choy. Cook, stirring often, for 4 minutes or until the prawns are pearly pink in colour and cooked through. Add the garlic to the pan and stir-fry for 1 minute. 

4. Put the egg pieces back into the wok/pan as well as the cooked noodles, fish sauce, mirin seasoning and 1 tablespoon lime juice. Stir gently to combine with tongs. 

5. Remove from the heat and divide the noodles, prawns and vegetables into 2 bowls. Serve warm with half of the bean sprouts, shallots, coriander and lime wedges on top of each bowl. Squeeze lime juice onto the noodles for a citrus dressing / sauce. 

Serves / 2 

Total Preparation time / 15-20 minutes (extra if you are peeled & deveining the prawns yourself)

Total Cooking time / 15 minutes 

Total Calories / approx. 434 per serve 

x Emily 

BEEF NACHOS

I love making vegetarian, chicken and beef nachos. I use chicken breast or mince and extra beans for vegetarian days, such as cannellini or 4-bean mix. Try to use two large, fresh tomatoes as a can of diced tomatoes has 55 more calories than 250g worth of fresh tomatoes, due to the sugar added to preserve it. However, if pressed for time, go diced rather than none. You can add any herbs you have on hand to these nachos; I like adding dried oregano and fresh chives. I can't go past baked mountain bread for nacho chips- they are crunchy, salt free and light on the waistline.  
I urge you to eat these nachos cheese-free, as I do! You save a whole bunch of extra fat and calories and you really taste the flavours sans cheese. 
I've made the guacamole very simple, like the rest of the recipe, however you could add garlic, lemon juice or even some ground cumin for more taste. 

Ingredients

• 6 pieces mountain bread
• 1/2 teaspoon rice bran oil
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 500g extra lean beef mince 
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste 
• 2 large fresh tomatoes, diced 
• 1 x 400g tin red kidney beans (230g), drained & rinsed
• Optional: 1 teaspoon dried oregano 
• 1/2 a medium avocado
• the juice of 1/2 lime
• Optional: fresh finely chopped herbs for serving, such as chives or parsley. 

Cooking 

1. Preheat a fan-force oven to 200 degrees celsius. Line a large baking tray with baking paper. (You will need to repeat this process unless you have 2 baking trays).  Cut the  bread into even sized triangles and place on the tray. Bake the chips for 5 minutes or until just golden and crisp. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool. 

2. Meanwhile, heat a medium saucepan over medium heat and add the oil. Heat the garlic for 1 minute, then add the mince to the pan and stir frequently, breaking up any lumps. Cook the mince for 3-4 minutes or until just cooked through, then add the tomato paste and stir through. 

3. Add the diced tomatoes, the kidney beans and 1/2 cup (125ml) of water to the pan and bring to the boil. Once boiled, reduce the heat to low, covered, and simmer for 6 minutes or until the bean mixture thickens slightly. Remove from heat and stir in a pinch of ground black pepper, if desired. 

4. Whilst the bean mixture is cooking, mash the avocado in a small bowl, add a pinch of sea salt and/or pepper and the lime juice. Stir well to combine. 

5. Serve the nachos by arranging the chips on the outside of a large plate or in a separate bowl. Place the bean mixture in a medium bowl in the centre of the plate and top with the avocado guacamole. Sprinkle fresh herbs on top, if using. 

Serves / 4 

Total Preparation time / 15 minutes (including cutting the bread)

Total Cooking time / 15-20 minutes 

x Emily