Christmas does not have to be a gut buster. You can enjoy without over doing it.
Here are some delicious, simple recipes to help you survive festive season’s indulgences.
Salmon pasta
-Finely slice kaffir lime leaves, half the shallots, half the garlic and half the chilli and put in a bowl with olive oil, white wine and lemon/lime juice. Chop salmon into 2cm cubes and marinade in mixture for 20-30 minutes.
-Chop other half of shallots, garlic and chilli and heat in pan with 1 tablespoon virgin olive oil (on about 3/4 heat – hot but not too hot) for about a minute.
-Add Salmon, stir in with marinade.
-When salmon is half done (5min each piece been turned so evenly sealed) add any 2-3 of the following - broccolini/ broccoli/asparagus/ bok choi/baby spinach/zucchini). Put lid on and keep covered on low heat for 3 minutes – done.
Ingredients: 2 x Salmon steaks, 3 kaffir lime leaves, ½ bunch shallots, 2 x cloves garlic, 1 chilli, 50ml white wine, 50ml lemon/lime juice, 50ml olive oil; 150g vegetables (see above – pick 2 or three max – don’t overdo it), your favourite pasta. Serve with favourite pasta. Squeeze fresh lime over to serve. Optional extras - add Pepper, grated parmesan cheese.
Feeds 3-4.
Easy tasty salad
Mix leaves (whatever your preference, lettuce, spinach, baby kale, bok choi (recommend blanch your bok choi- or my favourite - baby spinach leaves) with some thinly sliced red cabbage.
Chop carrots and cucumber, add with cherry tomatoes, green beans and/or snow peas, diced hard-boiled egg (add whatever you like – sun dried tomatoes, olives, anchovies, red onion – or give it a fruit twist with avocado and mango).
Crumble fetta cheese over the top and add this simple dressing* and you’ve got a massive, healthy salad bursting with flavour, texture and positive health benefits.
*Dressing – so simple. Equal parts olive oil, lemon juice and balsamic vinegar; try a tablespoon or two of each in a jar to start with; shake - done. Will bring flavour to almost anything.
Ingredients: You will need 100g leaves, quarter of a red cabbage (even then you’ll have plenty left), 1 carrot, half a cucumber, 100g cherry tomatoes, 100g green beans, 100g snow peas, 150g fetta cheese, one hard-boiled egg.
Feeds 2-3.
Fruit smoothie
Mangoes usually work out cheaper if you buy in bulk, so buy heaps and save, because they’re awesome. When they get too ripe chop ’em up and freeze them, because Mango smoothie rocks. Blend mango with any/all of banana, strawberries and raspberries; add 2 tablespoons of greek yoghurt, 10ml milk and a dessert spoon of honey.
Ingredients: three fruits – mango and banana provide amazing texture, raspberries and strawberries work, blueberries not so much. Plus 1 teaspoon honey, 2 tablespoons plain/greek youghurt, 100ml milk.
Feeds 2
Fruit salad and youghurt
Can turn it into an indulgent dessert with a (small) drizzle of honey and a slice of dark chocolate.
Ingredients: self explanatory