Healthy Weekday Meal #14.........{Miso Salmon with Stir Fry Veg}

This is one of those great meals that takes next to no time to throw together and cooks really quickly as well. Inspired by a meal that my friend Paul ate when we met up for a drink the other day (non-alcoholic for me). Do what I do and buy some of the pouches of microwavable brown rice (50p in Sainsburys) and save yourself even more time!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I'm training hard at the moment and the amount I am exercising has increased beyond recognition. Healthy eating supports all that I am doing and so this meal I have found to be perfect when coming in from a run or a swim - gets to your plate fast and fills you up nicely whilst being extremely good for you! Play around with the veg in this, Paul's one had red peppers in it which as H hates them I didn't bother with but they would work well! The Sriracha adds the heat so add more or less depending on how spicy you want it, this had a nice kick! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Miso Salmon with Stir Fry Vegetables

 

2 salmon fillets

 

for the marinade:

4 tbsp. teriyaki sauce

2 tbsp. low sodium soy sauce

2 tbsp. Sriracha

1 1/2 tsp. miso paste

 

1 tbsp. coconut oil

4 spring onions, sliced on the diagonal

4 large shiitake mushrooms, sliced

1 carrot, sliced into ribbons (I used a peeler to do this)

1/2 head of broccoli, sliced into florets

fresh ginger, thumb sized piece finely grated

leaves of 2 pak choi

 

to serve - brown rice (or whatever rice you like or noodles)!

 

place all the ingredients of the marinade in a bowl and whisk together. place the salmon into a oven proof dish and cover with half of the marinade. cover the dish with foil and bake in the oven at about 200oC for about 20mins until the salmon is cooked (I uncovered it for the last 5 mins so the marinade went nice and glazed). In the mean time warm the coconut oil in a wok and then add all of the vegetables apart from the pak choi and cook for a few minutes. add the remaining marinade and the pak choi and cook for a further 4 minutes or so until the vegetables are cooked to your liking. serve over brown rice with the salmon on top.

 

 

40 Days of Fitness.......... {Thai Red Prawn Curry}

 

 

 

 

 

So Sunday is a day of rest on 40 Days of Fitness although yesterday I went on my first run with H. Feeling pretty proud of myself and I loved finally being able to run with him! The programme suggested that rather than a roast we have a healthier Thai red chicken curry. We don't really do roasts in our house but we love Thai curry so rather than use shop bought paste I rustled up my own and used prawns and veg rather rather than chicken as I'm trying to use up bits in my freezer but the paste can be used with any protein combination. Making your own pastes are quick and easy and really are much more flavoursome and fresh - give it a go.

 

Thai Red Prawn Curry

for the paste:
2 red chillies, chopped
4 cloves garlic
thumb sized piece of ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
3 lime leaves
1 lemongrass stalk, roughly chopped
1 TSP paprika
1 lime, juice
1 TBSP fish sauce
1 TSP sugar
2 TBSP coriander stalks

for the curry:
coconut oil
1 red onion, sliced
4 baby aubergines, cut into chunks
1/2 red pepper, sliced
1 tin (400ml) coconut milk
150g raw king prawns
100g small peeled prawns
couple of handfuls soya beans
2 TBSP Coriander leaves, chopped 
1 lime, juice

to serve:
brown rice
lime wedges, sliced red chilli and some coriander  

place all of the paste ingredients in a blender and blend until a smooth paste. heat the coconut oil in the pan and place in the onions, cook until soft and then add in the aubergines and peppers, cook until aubergines have softened. add in the paste and coast all of the vegetables. add in the coconut mil, fill the tin up with water and add that in as well. bring to boil and then turn down to simmer. add in the prawns, soya beans, coriander and lime juice and then leave to simmer for 10 minutes or so until prawns are cooked through. serve over rice in lovely deep bowls  

 

 

 

Healthy Weekday Meal #6........{Spicy Lentils and Baked Cod}

This dinner came about by using up things that were in my cupboard, fridge and freezer. And boy were they tasty. A healthy and nutritious dinner that really didn't take long to throw together. I share the recipe so you can bung it together yourself! Don't feel limited by the cod you could serve the lentils with salmon, chicken, pork etc the options are limitless!  

Spicy Lentils and Baked Cod

250g dried green lentils, rinsed and soaked overnight

1 TBSP coconut oil

1 red onion, finely chopped 

1/2 green pepper, diced

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped 

1 thumb sized piece of ginger, grated 

handful of fresh coriander, chopped  

2 TSP dried red chillies 

1 TSP cumin

1/2 TSP chilli powder 

3 large tomatoes, diced 

vegetable / chicken stock 

2 fillets of cod (or however many you need)

slices of fresh lemon / lime 

melt your coconut oil in a pan and then add in the onions. once they have softened add in the garlic, ginger, chilli flakes and peppers. after a couple of minutes add in the lentils, the remaining spices and the coriander and make sure that the lentils are coated in all the flavours. cover with stock and then simmer for 10 minutes. Add in the tomatoes and season. continue to simmer until the lentils have soften, although i do like them to retain a bit of bite - personal preferences people! in the meantime quite simply season your cod and bake in foil/greaseproof paper parcel in the oven for 20minutes or so. Serve the cod on the lentils and sprinkle with a bit of coriander and a squeeze of lemon or lime juice! 

These lentils taste even better the next day - I had them for my dinner with a spoonful of Greek yoghurt. Yummy!    

Autumn Roast ....... {Pork Belly, Baked Beetroot, Pumpkin Gratin, Candid Apples}

Autumn walks are my favourite walks and walks that end at the Farmers Market make me even happier . Seeing all the autumn produce makes me happy - the pumpkins all different shapes and sizes, kentish cobnuts ready to roast, beetroots all ugly on the outside but different vivid colours on the inside. Taking home our wares and producing a wonderful Autumn Roast. Each component is simple, you let the fresh flavours of the meat and vegetables speak for themselves.

Pork Belly, Baked Beetroot, Pumpkin Gratin, Candid Apples

I'll just talk you through what I did..... In my spice blender I whizzed up some bay leaves, pepper corns, 4 cloves of garlic and a drizzle of olive oil. After patting the belly pork down I rubbed all of this concoction into the skin (Make sure the skin is scored in to diamonds). salt liberally. place in oven directly on to the wire rack with a tray of water below - this will steam the bottom. Cook on high heat for 45 mins and then turn down for a further hour or so until the met is cooked how you like it. 

For the candid apples I placed butter and sugar in a pan with a bit of stock and brandy, let that reduce and added in the apples, letting them get lovely and candid and then setting aside to cool. 

Taking the beetroot I peeled them, cut them in to quarters and  roasted them with balsamic vinegar and olive oil, they took over an hour to cook through

I used half a small pumpkin, peeled and sliced, seasoned and layered in to a pan buttered pan. covered it with cream that had warmed with a clove of garlic and a grating of nutmeg. I then baked it for about 45 mins. 

The cabbage was savoy that I cooked with pancetta and a splash of wine and a good grind of black pepper

A good roast can take time but its well worth it every now and again for the end result 

Blogtober: Day 13 ........ Favourite Fall Recipe {Autumn Pumpkin Soup}

Blogtober isn't easy. Life had been busy but I couldn't possibly miss a foodie post!Autumn is a wonderful time of year for fresh produce and this soup is a favourite of mine, we picked up all of the ingredients 

Autumn Pumpkin Soup 

one small pumpkin, cubed

one sweet potato, cubed

two carrots, cubed

red or orange pepper, cut into large slices

four cloves garlic, unpeeled 

two small onions, cubed

1/2 red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped

2 pints chicken or veg stock

couple of bay leaves

cracked black pepper

*OPTIONAL*

couple of rashers of bacon

some blue cheese

some bread

take the pumpkin, sweet potato, carrots, pepper and garlic and coat in some olive oil. roast in the oven for about 40-50 minutes until cooked. In the meantime saute the onion and chilli in a pan until soft. take the roasted veg and add into the pan, cover with the stock and add in the bay leaves. simmer for 20 minutes or so. remove the bay leaves an then blend in food processor or hand blender under lovely and glossy and thick. i served this with some grilled bacon bits and bread and cheese on the side. H crumbled blue cheese into his soup and that tasted pretty amazing. nothing better then a steaming bowl of homemade soup after a walk in the cold and rain. i love autumn

Linking up with Helene and Taylor for Blogtober!

Soup that nourishes and revives....... {Chicken Noodle Soup}

When I wasn't feeling well last week I made roast chicken and veg and the bonus to this is the broth that you can make from the stock. H says this soup is miraculous and I have to agree that a bowlful of this can really make you start to feel more human if you are fighting various colds and aliments. If you don't fancy chilli and noodles etc then you can always make my jewish penicillen here 

Chicken Noodle Soup 

2 chillies, de-seeded and thinly sliced

4 cloves garlic, chopped 

thumbsized piece  of ginger, grated

handful of corriander, roughly chopped 

3 pints of chicken stock / broth, fresh is best but you can use pre-made or stock cubes

precooked shredded chicken, we used the left over roast 

handful of mushrooms, sliced

handful of mangetout

couple of spring onions, thinly sliced

1 carrot, thinly sliced 

noodles, I used vermicilli rice noodles 

stifry garlic, chillies and ginger in a litlle oil, after a couple of minutes add the mushrooms, onions and carrot. Once cooked pour in the stock and chicken and simmer for a while. add the noodles. sprinkle in the corriander at the last minute. serve and let your senses be revived 

Jumping on a bandwagon..... {Juicing}

Juicing seems to have been kicking around a lot in the last year or so.  The amount of articles and blog posts and tweets that I've seen raving about juicing and then I've seen how much juicers cost and I've rolled my eyes more then a couple of times and moved on with my life. Need fruit? Eat an apple I say. So now I have to back track a lot because we were very kindly given a Magi mix juicer by H's step dad and last week I decided to skeptically give it a go. And boy has it changed our lives - hair is glossier,  skin is clearer, diets are healthier and energy levels are higher. I won't go on and on becasue it's annoying but I would say both H and I have been thrilled with what a difference starting the day with a juice can make. Do you juice? What juices do you recommend?

Fresh Juices 

Some combinations we've enjoyed:

carrot, ginger, red apple, lime

spinach, celery, kiwi, green apple, lemon, cucumber 

carrot, orange, apple, pear, ginger 

beetroot, apple, spinach, cucumber, ginger  

A Monday Roast........{Roast Chicken with Baked Ricotta and Roasted Vegetables}

I went away with work last week. It was at a conference centre where their idea of catering is quantity over quality. I can't really blame them but I have come home three pounds heavier and with a horrible cold that I trying hard to fight it off with flavoursome, healthy and vibrant food and lots of veg (5 members of staff are off sick with it today so I feel kind of hard core going into work today).

Roast chicken soothes my soul and also gives me bones to make chicken broth, which in turn becomes chicken noodle soup which H says is the best medicine in the world. Today I share with you the roast chicken side of things. Nigella Lawson says that every family has their own way of doing chicken, she's right and this is mine. The baked ricotta makes a lovely change from stuffing and its lemony creaminess compliments the chook to perfection as well as going delightfully with the charred vegetables. If I was making a Sunday Roast then I would be doing roast potatoes and all the trimmings but somehow just bunging some veg in the pan makes this a lot less labour intensive and more suited to an weekday evening meal. 

And a Monday roast is never a bad idea. ever. 

Roast Chicken with Baked Ricotta and Roasted Vegetables

For the Roasted Chicken and Vegetables:

1 whole chicken 

1 lemon

sea salt

olive oil

butter (French, as always is best)

rosemary

1/4 butternut squash, cut into large chunks

1 sweet potato, cut into large chunks

1 parsnip, cut into large chunks

1 carrot cut into large chunks

2 small red onion, halved and then cut into large chunks

1/2 courgette cut into large chunks 

cloves of garlic, around six unpeeled but slightly crushed with side of knife

For the Baked Ricotta:

250g Ricotta

Zest of lemon 

1 egg

S&P

parmesan cheese 
1 TBSP EVOO 

put all the vegetables and garlic in the baking tray and splash with olive oil and some S&P. Take the chicken, rub the skin with butter, put half a lemon in the cavity, a quarter on each wing and splash over a bit of olive oil, season. Place on the tray and move the vegetables so they are all around the chicken. Add a couple of sprigs of rosemary. Bake in oven for around 1 1/2 hrs (this will vary on the size of the bird) at around 200oC until the juices run clear and it is nicely browned. Whilst its cooking take a bowl and add the ricotta, egg, and lemon zest, whisk together and add about a TBSP of parmesan cheese, the oil and some seasoning. Place in a small oven proof dish and sprinkle with a bit more parmesan and more black pepper. Bake on the bottom shelf for about 30 minutes until it's golden. Serve the vegetables with the chicken on top and a couple of small slices of the cheese. 

Linking up for the first time with Honest Mum - Thanks for inviting me to join in Tasty Tuesdays! 

And with Delcious Dish Tuesday with Eat Drink and Be Mary and Full Time Mama 

"Vegetables are all the colours of the Rainbow, don't you know".......{Peanut, chicken and veg stir fry}

"what do you want for dinner"? says She
"whats the choice"? asks He
"something made with Chicken and or chorizo or tuna" She says "oh and lots of veg"
"chicken noodles, lots of green stuff...... you know veg" He replies excitedly
"sure thing, but vegetables are all colours of the rainbow, don't you know" She laughs

Noodles, veg and protein - staple diet for our small and humble household.

Rainbow Stir Fry 

Serves 4

for the sauce:

2 TBSP oyster sauce 
4 TBSP soy sauce 
splash white wine
2 cloves garlic, finely sliced
thumb sized piece ginger, finely sliced
spring onion, finely sliced
1/2 green chili, finely sliced
1/2 red chili, finely sliced - if you don't want it to spicy half amount of use 1TSP dried chilli 
juice of 1 fresh lime 
1 DSP honey
1 DSP smooth peanut butter 

3 breasts skinless chicken, finely sliced 
handful of tenderstem broccoli
1/2 red pepper, sliced
1 carrot, sliced into thin batons 
1/4 butternut squash, roughly grated
1 leek, cut into thick batons 
groundnut oil
around 200g noodles, cooked according to instructions 


Take all the ingredients for the sauce and whisk together in a bowl. Add more soy sauce, lime juice etc to taste. Add in chicken and make sure all coated, leave to marinade whilst prepping your veg. Prep veg. Warm oil in wok and add in marinated chicken, cook out for 5 minutes or so until chicken is pretty much cooked. Add in veg and any remaining sauce, Stir fry for a further 4-5 minutes. Mix in noodles coating them with meat, veg and sauce. Serve. 

 

Lucy's Last Meal of Freedom {Baked Chicken with Parmigiana Melanzane}

No Lucy didn't go to jail, she just got married! As her Chief Bridesmaid I decided to do the whole cooking her last meal the night before her wedding as we were all staying at her Mum and Dads. I wanted a really special and memorable evening reminiscent of the many holidays that we have been on to Italy. I actually learnt to make this dish whilst I was in Italy a few years ago and whilst cooking all the aubergines can take time it is well worth it for such a rich and tasty dish, just think of yourself as an Italian Momma for an hour or so. We all ate around the table in the kitchen, remembering happy times when we were younger and more carefree and washed it down with glasses of ice cold Prosecco.  My little Lucy is now married and enjoying her honeymoon in Thailand, yet still the memories and tastes of that night linger on.....

Lucy's Last Meal of Freedom 

Preparing the Melanzane 

Baked Chicken with Parmigiana Melanzane

For the chicken:

Chicken thighs, skin on 

Lemon, cut in to wedges 

Sprigs of  fresh rosemary

8 - 12 cloves of garlic, peeled and lightly crushed 

butter 

S&P

For the Parmigiana Melanzane:

4 Aubergines, slices in into disc's approx 1cm thick

Olive Oil (Lots of it)!

1 litre Passata 

2 small onions, finely chopped 

4 cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped 

Oregano (Dried is fine)

S&P

Sugar 

250g fresh mozzarella, chopped into little cubes 

150g freshly grated Parmesan 

For the chicken: lie the chicken out on baking dishes. pat down a bit of butter on to the skin of the chicken and rub in slightly. Season. Tuck the lemon wedges, rosemary and garlic in amongst the thighs. Drizzle it all with olive oil. Bake in preheated oven for approximately 50mins-1hr at about 200°C, until the juices run clear. 

For the Parmigiana Melanzane: take your discs of aubergine, lay them out on tea towels and salt them quite liberally. Leave for approx. 30mins (this draws the bitterness out). Brush both sides of the aubergine with olive oil and fry them off batch by batch - they need to be nice and golden as they come out of the ban but not burnt. This does take time but it is worth it. Meanwhile add the chopped onion and garlic into a pan with olive oil and a pinch of oregano and gently cook until softened. Add in the passata and a couple of TSP of sugar. Allow to bubble away for approx. 20mins. Season. Take a large dish and spread a bit of the sauce to cover the bottom. Top with a layer of aubergine. Cover with sauce, some of the mozzarella and the Parmesan. Repeat this another two - three times ending with a layer of sauce and the cheeses. Bake in oven for 40mins at about 180°C  until its all heated through and the cheese is melted. 


Serve the chicken alongside the Melanzane and a crisp green salad with a jam jar of your favourite homemade salad dressing. Belissima! 

I'm linking up this post with Alesha for Delicious Dish Tuesday

 

And  Supergolden bakes!  

The Healthy Way to do Chilli

Spicy Turkey Chilli

I've been adjusting my eating habits for a quite a while now and I'm now approaching the two stone mark on my weight loss journey... makes me happy and quite proud, although these things take time. I try not to deprive myself (see my dinner on Monday) as I think that leads to failure and I hate to fail.

One thing I look to do is to make healthy versions of my favourite meals or to replicate great healthy meals that I have out. Chilli is a favourite of mine and I used to love eating a really slow cooked chilli full of beef, chorizo and red wine smothered with sour cream and cheese and preferably served over a jacket potato. Hello calories, fat and carbs....  and I wonder why I put on weight. Duh!

So here is my alternative- a yummy chilli made from turkey mince (which is a great ingredient for all you dieters out there). Mine is pretty spicy so adjust the spice ratios if you want it a bit milder. Feel free to add whatever veggies you like to bulk this up - its a great way to clear the contents of the veg drawer.  I served this with gem lettuce leaves (zero carbs and means I can justify a small sprinkling of cheese) but other healthy alternatives would be a baked Sweet Potato or some Bulgar Wheat.

Turkey Chilli 

Serves around 4 to 6 depending on how hungry people are!
300g Turkey Mince 

2 onion, chopped 

2 cloves garlic, crushed 

1 fresh red chilli, chopped finely

1 Green Pepper & 1/2 Orange Pepper, cut into chunks

1 carrot, chopped
2 sticks celery, chopped

2 TBSP Tomato puree 

2 TSP Cumin

2 TSP chilli powder 

2 TSP Paprika 

1 tin chopped tomatoes 

200g Kidney beans, drained 

Olive Oil

S&P

Simmering away in the pan 

Fry off the onion, garlic and chilli, add the pepper, carrot and celery and allow them all to soften. Add the turkey mince and cook for around 10 mins, stirring occasionally. Once the mince is cooked then add the spices and puree and cook for a few minutes. Season. Add tomatoes and then leave to cook for 30 mins or so - simmering over a low heat. Add the drained kidney beans and cook for a further 10 minutes. Serve with gem lettuce leaves, some Greek yoghurt and a sprinkle of cheese. 

Messy but yummy!

This Dish has been picked as a featured favourite for Delicious Dish Tuesday! Thanks so much guys.... I encourage everyone to get involved - its a great link up!

Linking up with Alesha for Delicious Dish Tuesday

Sweet like..... Sweetcorn

I have a funny relationship with sweetcorn. Without meaning to put you off your breakfast they are the one food that your body cannot digest (that's what I heard anyways) so it leaves me wondering why we bother? But then when I taste its crunchy sweet golden goodness it suddenly doesn't matter that its going to go straight through me, it tastes amazing!

These fritters are a go-to recipe for me as I always have the ingredients lying around the kitchen. They are incredibly easy to make but taste great and I often add any other vegetables going off in my fridge.

Sweetcorn Fritters 

2 heads of sweetcorn or 1 can of sweetcorn - fresh is best, tinned is ok, frozen doesn't work!

sprinkle of fresh red / green chilli

30g / 1 heaped TBS self raising flour 

1 egg 

1 egg white

Butter for frying 

S&P

Using a large knife, remove kernels from the cob, put into mixing bowl with whole egg, chilli, flour and season. in separate bowl beat an egg white until stiff and fold into the sweetcorn mixture. Melt some butter in a frying pan with a touch of oil so it doesn't burn. Place large TBSP of the batter into the pan, this amount will make around 6 decent sized fritters. Leave the patties to go brown on one side then flip them over and cook over side. Drain them on some kitchen paper and eat as soon as you can bear the heat in your mouth. Keeping it fairly healthy I had these with some cooked beetroot and some salad but I've had them before with some smoked mackerel (good) and on another occasion with fresh sausages (great)! Once I had them with a bit of cream cheese and chilli jam - terribly bad for me but tasted sensational. 

The only tomato sauce recipe you will ever need or want

I used to swear by ole' Nigel's tomato sauce and while it I will still continue to use it on occasion, I have switched my fickle affections to Marcella Hazan - sorry Nige you'll have to make do with being my bit on the side.

This sauce was a revelation. All intensely tomatoey, rich, melt in the mouth consistency, it also clings to the pasta in a most satisfying way. I can see now why this sauce kind of has cult status across the tinternet! I have never come across Marcella's cooking before and I'm pleased that I found this recipe (thanks Instagram, follow me @girlinthekentishkitchen), her book is now in my amazon basket ready to purchase at the end of frugal month. Or maybe if someone wants to purchase it for me (HINT)?!

The best thing about it is that it is so frugal. You need next to nothing to make it and everything in the recipe are ingredients that I had in the fridge or my cupboard. But it tastes so special and spaghetti and sauce is always a good thing. Always.

Marcella's Tomato, Butter and Onion sauce

adapted from recipe here

1 tin (400g) tomatoes, use good quality ones
1 onion, peeled and cut in half
4tbsp butter
1tsp sugar
S&P
Pasta - cooked according to instructions (I used spaghetti)
Parmesan

Put the tomatoes in a pan and the fill up the tin halfway with water and add that in as well. Place the onion halves, the butter, sugar and season in the pan.

Warm on a low heat for as long as it takes for the fat to separate from the tomatoes and for it to go an intensely red colour.

 As it cooked I stirred it quite a bit and squashed down any chunks of tomatoes. Cook your spaghetti and then mix it into the sauce.

 And you are done - eat with Parmesan sprinkled on, a glass of wine and a napkin tucked in to your white shirt!