LEMONGRASS LAMB VERMICELLI NOODLES

Day 5 on the challenge called for an Asian dish. It’s funny, some people desire chocolate, others have a hankering for potato chips but I crave vermicelli noodles a minimum of 4 times a week. Its rather comical if you knew me, as I am the whitest woman alive. Anyways, the heart wants what it wants. In my effort to eat more red meat, I decided to cook with lamb, something that I rarely do as I was spoiled with one too many lamb roasts when I was young. However, this lamb mixed with garlic, chilli flakes, shallots and lemongrass completely won me over.  Whilst the recipe may look a little time consuming due to the somewhat lengthy list of ingredients and the 5 cooking steps, the end result is well worth the preparation! Lemongrass has quickly become my favourite ingredient to look with, as it adds a citrusy freshness to dishes that cannot be acquired with any other herb or vegetable. It does not even feel like I’m participating in a healthy challenge when I can devour food such as this! 

INGREDIENTS

• 300-350g lean lamb steak, cut into even strips
• 15-20cm stick fresh lemongrass, finely chopped
• 2 green shallots, finely chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon chilli flakes
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil 
• 1 garlic clove, finely diced 
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce 
• 1 avocado, roughly chopped
• 1 lebanese cucumber, diced
• 200g vermicelli noodles 

Dressing 

• 1 garlic clove, finely diced
• 3 tablespoons sweet chilli sauce 
• 5cm stick fresh lemongrass, finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon white vinegar
• 1 tablespoon lime juice 

COOKING 

1. Combine the lamb, 15-20cm lemongrass, the shallots, chilli flakes, 1 garlic clove, sesame oil and soy sauce in a medium bowl. Toss to combine. Leave to stand for 5-10 minutes. 

2. Meanwhile, place vermicelli noodles in a large heatproof bowl (I use a saucepan) and cover with boiling water. Leave to stand for around 4 minutes or until just tender and drain well. Rinse under cold water and drain again. 

3. Cook marinated lamb in a medium frying pan on low to medium heat for around 5 minutes or until just cooked through. 

4. Combine all dressing ingredients in a screw-top jar and shake well to combine. 

5. In a large serving bowl, arrange the cooked lamb, cooked noodles and avocado & lebanese cucumber. Drizzle the dressing over the top and serve. 

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BEEF, BASIL & RED KIDNEY BEANS

In preparation for Day 4, I diverted entirely from the recipes allocated for the Challenge and made my own. I figured that this dish would still count as healthy, as the beef was extra lean and there was no rice or extra carbs involved. I threw this meal together at around 4pm and was pleasantly surprised when my partner told me how much he had loved it, as not much brain power or focus had gone into this creation. The secret ingredient here is smoked paprika- you must add it! It gives the dish a woody yet mildly spicy aroma. I will admit that I do not usually enjoy red meat one bit...in fact non-existent levels of iron in my body was a major deciding factor in participating in this health challenge! However, I did enjoy this jam-packed iron meal. 

INGREDIENTS

• 1 x 400g tin red kidney beans, rinsed and drained well
• 1 large carrot, roughly chopped
• 2 tomatoes, roughly diced
• 1 small green cap sicum, finely chopped
• 1 garlic clove, finely diced
• 1 teaspoon olive oil 
• 60-80g red onion, finely diced 
• 500g extra lean beef mince
• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika 
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh basil, plus extra to serve 

COOKING 

1. Heat olive oil in a large frying pan on medium heat and swirl to coat well. Add red onion and garlic and stir for 2-3 minutes or until onion is soft. Add beef, smoked paprika and 2 tablespoons chopped basil and stir continuously until the beef has has browned and no meat lumps remain. 

2. Add carrot and capsicum and stir for 2 minutes or until just tender. Remove from heat and place in a large serving bowl. Add red kidney beans and tomato and toss to combine. Top with basil leaves, if desired. 

Serves / 4 

NB / You can add rice but this is extra carbs at night and the Challenge does not really allow them! Trust me, this dish is filling enough. 

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TURKEY & VEGETABLE PITA BREAD PIZZA

 Last night, in preparation for day 3, I baked pita bread pizza. In addition to being quite healthy, making these miniature pizzas was rather fun. You can add any ingredients that you know to be healthy and low-fat (for example chorizo would not make the list, but mushrooms and tomatoes would), chop them up and bake them for 10-12 minutes. Just remember that when it comes to pizza, less toppings is always more! Coeliacs could substitute pita bread for a gluten-free wrap as a base or a small gluten-free pizza base. I made 6 of these small 45g pita bread pizzas, consumed 2 last night in front of some sitcom TV, gave 2 to my partner for lunch today and that left 2 for lunch for Day 3. Super easy! If you are making this dish after a long, draining day at work and don’t feel like being creative, use my combination of  toppings, as they are delicious.


INGREDIENTS

• 120g sliced turkey, roughly shredded (from the deli at a supermarket)
• 60-80g red onion, finely diced
• 1 small green capsicum, finely diced
• 6 small whole wheat pita breads (45g each) or gluten-free wraps
• 4 tablespoons tomato paste 
• 1 teaspoon of reduced-fat grated cheese for each pita bread (6 teaspoons in total)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons oregano (1/4 teaspoon per pita bread)
• 1 x 400g tin of artichokes, rinsed and drained well 
• baking paper

COOKING 

1. Preheat oven to 200 degrees celsius fan-forced. Line a large oven tray with baking paper. 

2. Spread a thin layer of tomato paste over each of the 6 pita breads. Then evenly distribute the capsicum, artichokes, red onion and turkey to each pita bread. Top with 1 teaspoon cheese and 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano. 

3. Bake in the oven for around 10-12 minutes or until the base browns. 

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CHICKPEA SALAD WITH MOROCCAN DRESSING

Second day of my 12 week challenge. Surprisingly I felt much more energized when I woke up at 4:15am for work than I usually do. One day in and I am already experiencing the benefits of not consuming unnatural sugars. The day continued without me experiencing the tired spells that have become a frequent occurrence for me. The salad above I ate for lunch today. Very simple to prepare, it took about 5 minutes to assemble last night. The dressing is low in fat and quite tasty. I do recommend adding the red onion and or diced green shallots to increase the flavour. The chickpeas should really fill you up, however you can also eat a piece of fruit after the salad (I did!).

INGREDIENTS


Salad 

• 1 x 400g chickpeas, rinsed and drained
• 2 tomatoes, roughly diced
• 1/2 large lebanese cucumber
• 1 tablespoon chopped basil leaves
• 1/2 a red onion, finely chopped
• a generous handful of baby spinach leaves (washed)

Dressing

• 1 teaspoon Tahini
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons water 
• 1 large garlic clove, finely diced
• 1/4 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin 
• 1 teaspoon olive oil 

COOKING 

1. Combine all salad ingredients in a medium bowl. 

2. Combine all dressing ingredients in a screw-top jar and shake well. Drizzle over salad to toss to mix well. 

Serves / 2

Still hungry / add a piece of fruit 

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SWEET CHILLI CHICKEN & RICE VERMICELLI

I decided last week to join a 12 Week Challenge that my work created, Studio Pilates, for several reasons. One, I actually run the program for the company and thought that living the program would make me better equipped to understand what clients are going through. Two, I was given some news about my health the other day that jolted me quite a bit. Three, because I love a challenge and four, because I have recently increased my sweet intake. I suppose the fifth and very last reason was to tone up and lose perhaps a few kilos, but as you can see this is not the foremost priority of mine with regards to this experience. The program is called ‘Results by Jade’ by the co-owner of Studio Pilates, Jade Winter and is a scientifically formulated results program that leads to fast and permanent weight loss. You can check it out via this link; http://www.studiopilates.com/results-by-jade.html

Anyways, day one went very well. Whilst I detoured from the programmed recipes to create my own dinner (of course!) I am certain that it would be an approved meal. No sweets whatsoever were consumed today, which is a rather big achievement for me. Day one down, 11 weeks and 6 days to go! 

INGREDIENTS

• 1 medium sized chicken breast (around 300g)
• 250g rice vermicelli noodles
• 1/2 lebanese cucumber 
• 2 green shallots, finely chopped
• 1 garlic clove, finely diced
• coriander, to serve 
• 2 tablespoon sweet chilli sauce
• 1 table white vinegar
• 1 tablespoon lime juice
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil

COOKING 

1. Combine chicken in a medium bowl with garlic, sweet chilli, vinegar, lime juice and shallots. Toss well to combine and place in the fridge for at least 10 minutes. 

2. Meanwhile, cook rice noodles by pouring boiling hot water over the noodles and letting them sit for a few minutes. Drain well. 

3. Heat sesame oil in a medium frying pan on low to medium heat. Add chicken and cook, stirring, until chicken is just cooked and no pink flesh remains. 

4. Serve cooked chicken on a bed of rice vermicelli noodles and scatter fresh coriander on top, if you wish. 

Serves 2

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FRUIT CRUMBLE

My parents decided to throw an impromptu bbq yesterday (Sunday) and as it was my day off from work I wanted to cook/bake something. As they had all the salads and meat covered, I offered to supply desert. I was inspired to bake a crumble from who other than Gwyneth Paltrow’s cookbook. I changed the ingredients, making mine larger (my family eats a LOT), gluten-free, less liberal with the butter and sweeter with the use of spices. You could play around with the fruit and use any combination that you like, such as nectarines, apricots, strawberries etc. Believe it or not, the mixture of fruit I used in my pie was all lying around my kitchen, extremely ripe and about to go off. 

INGREDIENTS

• 700g assorted fruit (I used 2 sliced peaches, 1 sliced pear, 2 small sliced apples and 100g mixed berries including blueberries, blackberries, raspberries). 
• 4 tablespoons almond meal
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 100g gluten-free rolled oats
• a dash of vanilla essence
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 
• 2 tablespoons silvered almonds
• 1 tablespoon butter, at room temperature, plus extra to lightly grease

COOKING 

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees celsius fan-forced. Prepare a pie dish by lightly greasing it with butter. 

2. Mix the fruit with 2 tablespoons of almond meal in the pie dish. Place all the other ingredients in a medium bowl, using your hands to form small morsels. Scatter this sweet topping over the fruit, distributing it evenly. 

3. Bake for 40-45 minutes or until the topping is lightly browned and you are able to see the fruit juices bubbling. Serve warm with ice cream, if you desire. 

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LEEK, CHIVE & FETA FRITTATA

  

Another frittata recipe for you! Since learning the untold secret of cooking frittatas from none other than Gwyneth Paltrow’s cookbook ‘Notes from my Kitchen Table’, I have been incited to cook them much more frequently than I usually would. The frittata below consists of only a few simple ingredients, but it tasted superb. As I have often said and will continue to say, less is more. This frittata took on the look and texture of a cheese soufflé and was gobbled up in mere minutes (I am embarrassed to admit that there was only 2 of us eating and it should really serve 4). I cannot stress enough how essential it is to only cook this frittata/soufflé for 8 minutes in the oven. An extra few minutes will change everything.

INGREDIENTS

• 7 eggs, preferably free range
• 3/4 skim milk
• 50g feta, crumbled
• 1 medium leek, white part only, finely chopped
• 1 large clove garlic, finely diced
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 3 tablespoons fresh chives, finely chopped

COOKING 

1. Preheat the oven to 190 degrees celsius fan-forced. 

2. Heat olive oil in a medium frying pan on low-medium heat and swirl to coat over surface. Add the leek and garlic and stir constantly for 3-4 minutes or until leek is soft and lightly browned. 

3. Whisk the eggs and milk in a large jug or large bowl. Pour this mixture over the leek and garlic in the frying pan. Scatter the crumbled feta and chives on top. Cook for around 5 minutes or until the edges are just set (but the middle is still quite runny). Place the pan in the preheated oven for exactly 8 minutes; the frittata will be just set through and ready to eat.

Serves / 4

Preparation time / 10 minutes 

Cooking time / 17-18 minutes 

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