January Jump-Start: Eat Healthy.. & Enjoy It!

January can seem a bit depressing with her early sunsets, cold winds, and shortage of financial funds, so it helps to have some good recipes on hand for quick & easy suppers, especially when they fit in with the whole New Year : New healthy eating resolutions!


1. salad with toasted walnuts (first time for me, but it's so worth it, gives the salad the most delicious flavour!), quinoa cooked in chicken broth/stock, then stirred in some fresh basil & spring onions, served with mussels in a white wine sauce (cheat: the sauce came with the mussels, from Waitrose, only 4g fat per portion).


2. chicken enchiladas. lightly fry chicken breast (slice off & bin any unwanted fat) & chopped pepper. in a separate pan, make a tomato sauce (tinned tomatoes, tbsp brown sugar, tbsp balsamic vinegar, seasoning, hot sauce to taste, tbsp cumin, tspn coriander, crushed garlic, glug of wine), heat through to reduce slightly. Add some of the tomato sauce to chicken/peppers, spoon into a wholemeal wrap, roll up, top with remainder of sauce. Add chopped jalapenos & small amount of mature cheddar. Bake for 20 mins.


3. potato wedges. cut potato into wedge shapes (keep skin on for extra flavour & goodness), parboil for 2 mins. toss in olive oil, sea salt, cayenne, paprika, cumin to taste. Roast for 20-25 mins.


4. ben & jerry's frozen yoghurt. approx 2g fat per portion. genius.

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{all photos by me}

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Pizza, Pizza! {Fiorentina}

I made pizza fiorentina!
,
It's so simple, looks great, & can be pretty healthy.
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Spread a generous amount of tomato puree on a pizza base (if you're fancy, make your own. I just used a shop-bought base).
Get a bunch of spinach & remove some of the larger stalks. Microwave for a minute & then pat dry to remove excess water.
Arrange spinach over the pizza, along with some tomatoes & cheese to your taste. I had a sundried tomato & feta deli mix in the fridge so I used a couple of handfuls of this.
Bake for 6-8 mins. Remove from oven, make a small indentation on the pizza with the back of a spoon, & then crack an egg into it.
Bake for a further 10 mins or until the egg has just set. If other parts of the pizza start to burn, place foil lightly over them while the egg continues to cook.
Season with sea salt & black pepper.
Have fun experimenting - next time I might add some currants & toasted pine nuts!


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{all photos by me}

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London Jazz & Pastry Hearts

The cold season seems particularly well suited to jazz nights & baked apples!

Caught the Gretchen Parlato concert last night which was fantastic, touring from California, & recorded for BBC Radio 3.

& in the afternoon I made a warming treat, inspired by Elsie's fab recipe idea:

~ peel & core a cooking apple, stuff with mincemeat, & then wrap in some puff pastry cut-outs. Bake for 20 mins, drizzle with honey & nuts, & serve - preferably cosied up on the sofa, under a duvet, watching old films ;) ~

Let me know if you have a go at these, it would be great to see your pictures & pastry decorations!

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{all photos by me}

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Light Lunch / Hearty Supper

Carrots dipped in cream cheese, celery & peanut butter, manzanilla olives with manchego, tomatoes & thyme on a toasted potato cake.

I have a rediscovered love for cream cheese - I mixed a spoonful into some mashed potato - perfect creaminess without the heaviness! - & poured over a generous helping of beef bourguignon that had been simmering on the stove through Sunday afternoon..

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{all photos by me}

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Today

01.a mixture of sunshine & showers in south-west london today

02.healthy eating (a medley of veg: home-made celeriac & carrot slaw, green beans & corn)

03.in preparation for not-so-healthy eating, cutting up chocolate to choc-chip size

04.the cupcake, sans frosting

05/06.ending the evening with a good book & mcdreamy (grey's anatomy)

{all photos by me}

♥

Veni, Vedi, Fishy - I Came, I Saw, I Fished (Or, Fish Tacos)

plate by Rob Ryan.

I made these tacos twice, first with baked fish (cod), & secondly with grilled chicken. My dinner companion from the first round suggested avocado would be a welcome addition to the mango salsa, & I also thought to add some heavily roasted cherry tomatoes in brown sugar & balsamic. These tacos should be generously loaded with filling, served bursting at the seams - a cocktail stick pinning the lot together helps keep the food in place, adding a little diner-chic to the plate. Play around with the quantities & combinations of fillings - I started with a Baja Fish taco recipe from The Family Kitchen, knowing that I wanted to add my own version of healthy 'refried' beans, & plenty of low-fat mayo & tomato sauce.

Recipe for 2, based on Julievr's recipe found here.

Recipe:

~ 2 fillets white fish

~ 1 tsp cayenne pepper

~ 2 tsp cumin

~ 1 tsp rosemary or oregano

~ sea salt & black pepper

~ 2 x tortilla wraps or tacos

for the salsa:

~ 1 mango

~ 1 red bell pepper

~ 1/4 of a large cucumber

~ juice of 1/2 a lime

~ 2 spring (green) onions, chopped

~ small bunch of chopped coriander

other garnishes:

~ torn white cabbage

~ cherry tomatoes, roasted in brown sugar & balsamic

~ low fat mayo

~ 1 can black beans, simmered in chicken bouillon,

~ 1 cup sweetcorn

1. Season the chicken or fish with the cayenne pepper, cumin, rosemary or oregano, salt & pepper, & either grill or oven-bake. Cooking times will vary depending on size. Fish fillets usually take 17 mins in a medium oven, or small chicken breasts might take about 12-15 mins in a grill machine.

2. Chop the mango, pepper & cucumber into small chunks, season, add lime juice & coriander, & toss together with the spring onion.

3. Prepare the beans by draining from the can, cover with chicken bouillon dissolved in hot water, & simmer for 30 mins over a low heat. Drain any excess water, & then mash with a fork, add 1 tsp cumin, a squeeze of lime or lemon juice, plenty of sea salt & black pepper, & some chilli or cayenne pepper to your taste.

4. Heat the tortilla or taco wraps as indicated on the packaging guidelines. I went with wholemeal chapatis, they have a great flavour & are soft enough to roll up with the fillings.

5. Assemble the wraps: chicken or fish, beans, mango salsa, tomatoes, cabbage, mayo, corn.

{all photos by me}