EatSmart – The Kiwi Family Cookbook
Hodder Moa -Cancer Society
NZ $29.99
Most of us find that life is busy and time is short. We all want to live a healthy lifestyle but we don't want to give up living to do it, so the Cancer Society has developed EatSmart to fit easily into our lives.
In this simple cookbook there are no strange or expensive ingredients, no complicated recipes, no weird food that the kids won't eat – just easy-to-prepare family food that is good for us.. Diet is estimated to account for about 30% of cancers in industrialised countries making it second only to tobacco as a theoretically preventable cause of cancer. We can stack the odds in our favour just by eating fruit and vegetables because the research shows that eating '5 + a DAY' will reduce our risk of cancer. But many of us struggle to get all the servings in each day, so EatSmart provides simple tricks and tips for eating healthier. And, sometimes, we won't even notice!
EatSmart includes three types of recipes:
Full recipes – these are recipes like we’re used to; what you need is listed on the left side and how to make it on the right. Step-by-step instructions make it easy to follow. Recipes include:
· Chicken and vegetable paella
· Italian stuffed chicken breasts
· Red lentil and chicken ragout
· Crusty beef and vegetable pie
· Chunky family tacos with refried beans
· Ted mex tortillas with avocado cream
· Lamb falafels with minted yoghurt dip
· Thai pork curry
· Baked fish wrapped in prosciutto
· Roasted vegetable lasagna
· Apricot streusel cake
· Blackberry and chocolate self-saucing pudding
EatQuick recipes – even simpler! These are ideas or concept recipes, so no quantities are given. The book gives you the idea and the basic ‘how to’ and you can add what you have in the cupboard. Concept recipes include:
Stuffed capsicum
Kiwifruit salsa
Baked plums
Winter soup
Monster mash
Kumara chips
Potato fritters
Spinach pasta
Fruit Kebabs
Peach smoothie
Quick Tips – These are simple ideas on how to use fruit and veg and how to make them go further, including:
Capsicum – slices of capsicum make great ‘spoons’ for dips. Serve them up with a healthy dip for kids’ after-school snacks, work lunches or to calm the ‘when’s dinner?’ whines.
Carrots – keep a stack of sliced carrots in a jar of water in the fridge. They’re good for chomping on after school and at night if you’re watching TV.
Pears – add fruit to winter casseroles and stews. Diced or sliced pears or apples can easily be added to a pork, chicken or beef casserole. Add them in the last 30 minutes of cooking so that they are soft but not mushy when served. Pears love spices too, so don’t forget to add them to curries or tagines.
Lettuce – want to get your kids eating salads? Make a salad boat. Use a lettuce leaf for the boat and fill it with carrot, apple and tomato ‘sailors’ – but don’t tell them it’s a salad!
Broccoli – home-made pizzas are scrummy and they are an easy way to add in extra vegetables. Add some small blanched broccoli florets under a sprinkle of cheese and the kids will never know!
EatSmart also includes a meal planner and suggested shopping lists.
Hodder Moa -Cancer Society
NZ $29.99
Most of us find that life is busy and time is short. We all want to live a healthy lifestyle but we don't want to give up living to do it, so the Cancer Society has developed EatSmart to fit easily into our lives.
In this simple cookbook there are no strange or expensive ingredients, no complicated recipes, no weird food that the kids won't eat – just easy-to-prepare family food that is good for us.. Diet is estimated to account for about 30% of cancers in industrialised countries making it second only to tobacco as a theoretically preventable cause of cancer. We can stack the odds in our favour just by eating fruit and vegetables because the research shows that eating '5 + a DAY' will reduce our risk of cancer. But many of us struggle to get all the servings in each day, so EatSmart provides simple tricks and tips for eating healthier. And, sometimes, we won't even notice!
EatSmart includes three types of recipes:
Full recipes – these are recipes like we’re used to; what you need is listed on the left side and how to make it on the right. Step-by-step instructions make it easy to follow. Recipes include:
· Chicken and vegetable paella
· Italian stuffed chicken breasts
· Red lentil and chicken ragout
· Crusty beef and vegetable pie
· Chunky family tacos with refried beans
· Ted mex tortillas with avocado cream
· Lamb falafels with minted yoghurt dip
· Thai pork curry
· Baked fish wrapped in prosciutto
· Roasted vegetable lasagna
· Apricot streusel cake
· Blackberry and chocolate self-saucing pudding
EatQuick recipes – even simpler! These are ideas or concept recipes, so no quantities are given. The book gives you the idea and the basic ‘how to’ and you can add what you have in the cupboard. Concept recipes include:
Stuffed capsicum
Kiwifruit salsa
Baked plums
Winter soup
Monster mash
Kumara chips
Potato fritters
Spinach pasta
Fruit Kebabs
Peach smoothie
Quick Tips – These are simple ideas on how to use fruit and veg and how to make them go further, including:
Capsicum – slices of capsicum make great ‘spoons’ for dips. Serve them up with a healthy dip for kids’ after-school snacks, work lunches or to calm the ‘when’s dinner?’ whines.
Carrots – keep a stack of sliced carrots in a jar of water in the fridge. They’re good for chomping on after school and at night if you’re watching TV.
Pears – add fruit to winter casseroles and stews. Diced or sliced pears or apples can easily be added to a pork, chicken or beef casserole. Add them in the last 30 minutes of cooking so that they are soft but not mushy when served. Pears love spices too, so don’t forget to add them to curries or tagines.
Lettuce – want to get your kids eating salads? Make a salad boat. Use a lettuce leaf for the boat and fill it with carrot, apple and tomato ‘sailors’ – but don’t tell them it’s a salad!
Broccoli – home-made pizzas are scrummy and they are an easy way to add in extra vegetables. Add some small blanched broccoli florets under a sprinkle of cheese and the kids will never know!
EatSmart also includes a meal planner and suggested shopping lists.
Footnote:
When reviewing recipe books The Bookman likes to try out one or more of the dishes and this time I made the Red lentil and chicken ragout recipe which appears on pages 30-31 and I am pleased to report that it was easy to make and went down a treat.
The publishers have kindly allowed me to reproduce the recipe here
so you can try it at home.
Red lentil and chicken ragout
Adding lentils to this braise is an easy way to increase fibre, and removing
the skin from the chicken helps to lower the fat content.
What you need
1 tablespoon paprika
¼ cup flour
6–8 chicken drumsticks, skin
removed
1 onion, peeled and sliced
1 green capsicum, sliced
1 red capsicum, sliced
2 large tomatoes, chopped
or 400-gram can chopped
tomatoes
2 cups chicken stock
½ cup red lentils
2 courgettes, trimmed and sliced
¼ cup chopped fresh parsley or
2 tablespoons dried parsley
How to make it
1. Mix the paprika and flour together in a
plastic bag. Add the chicken drumsticks
and toss to coat evenly. Shake off any
excess.
2. Quickly brown the chicken drumsticks in a
dash of oil in a lidded frying pan. Set aside.
3. Add the onion and capsicums to the pan
and gently cook over a moderate heat
for 2–3 minutes until softened.
4. Return the chicken to the pan along with
the tomatoes and chicken stock. Cover
and simmer for 15 minutes then scatter
in the red lentils and courgettes. Cover
and continue cooking for a further
15–20 minutes or until the chicken,
lentils and vegetables are tender. Stir
in the parsley and serve with your
favourite seasonal vegetables.
Serves: 4
Adding lentils to this braise is an easy way to increase fibre, and removing
the skin from the chicken helps to lower the fat content.
What you need
1 tablespoon paprika
¼ cup flour
6–8 chicken drumsticks, skin
removed
1 onion, peeled and sliced
1 green capsicum, sliced
1 red capsicum, sliced
2 large tomatoes, chopped
or 400-gram can chopped
tomatoes
2 cups chicken stock
½ cup red lentils
2 courgettes, trimmed and sliced
¼ cup chopped fresh parsley or
2 tablespoons dried parsley
How to make it
1. Mix the paprika and flour together in a
plastic bag. Add the chicken drumsticks
and toss to coat evenly. Shake off any
excess.
2. Quickly brown the chicken drumsticks in a
dash of oil in a lidded frying pan. Set aside.
3. Add the onion and capsicums to the pan
and gently cook over a moderate heat
for 2–3 minutes until softened.
4. Return the chicken to the pan along with
the tomatoes and chicken stock. Cover
and simmer for 15 minutes then scatter
in the red lentils and courgettes. Cover
and continue cooking for a further
15–20 minutes or until the chicken,
lentils and vegetables are tender. Stir
in the parsley and serve with your
favourite seasonal vegetables.
Serves: 4
Suggested prep time 15 minutes (it took me 22 inutes but I am a slow prep person)and then 30 minutes to cook so provided you have the ingredients it is a dish you can make when you get home from work.
EatSmart tip
When you’re shopping, grab chicken when
it’s on special, some extra cans of lentils and
tomatoes and some bags of frozen beans.
Then you can whip this meal up pretty
quickly after work.
When you’re shopping, grab chicken when
it’s on special, some extra cans of lentils and
tomatoes and some bags of frozen beans.
Then you can whip this meal up pretty
quickly after work.
No comments:
Post a Comment