Vietnamese Noodles

Do you also have a hard time making a tasty stir-fry without using some kind of condiment/sauce/paste that contains copious amounts of sugar, oil, or salt? If you're a food label reader, you probably know that it is really hard find a product in the supermarket isle dedicated to Asian food without one of these featuring as one of the first 3 ingredients. Unless you want to pay $10+ for a jar labelled organic or gourmet that actually contains REAL flavours, spices, and herbs then this recipe is for you! It is flavourful and delicious without any of the nasties.

Ingredients: makes 5 - 6 large portions

1 pack rice noodles 1.5 litres boiling water 500g free-range chicken breast (cubed) 500g bean shoots 1 large carrot (julienned) 1 large bunch fresh mint (roughly chopped) 1 large bunch fresh coriander (finely chopped stalks & roots, roughly chopped leaves) 4 cm piece fresh ginger (grated or finely chopped) 2 cloves of fresh garlic (grated or finely chopped) 1 large stick of lemongrass (finely chopped) 1 large chilli (finely chopped) 2 tablespoons fish sauce 2 tablespoons salt-reduced soy sauce 1 tablespoon honey 1 tablespoon sesame oil 2 large lemons or 3 limes

Method: Add rice noodles to boiling water in a large bowl and drain after 2-3 minutes. Meanwhile, heat pan on high and add sesame oil, stalks and roots of coriander, ginger, garlic, lemongrass and chilli. Fry for 1 to 2 minutes. Add chicken and stir-fry until cooked through. Add the bean shoots and half the carrots. Stir-fry for another 2 minutes. Add the fish sauce, soy sauce, honey, and the juice of 1 large lemon and mix through. Take off heat and stir through half the mint and half the coriander leaves. Divide the rice noodles into bowls and spoon over the juice from the bottom of the pan. Cover noodles with stir-fry mix and top with fresh carrots, mint, coriander, and lemon/lime wedge.

Nutritional Information per serve: 1500 kJ (360 kcal) 43g protein 31g carbohydrate 6g fat (1g sat fat)

Healthy Strawberry Macaroons

I want to clear up the confusion between macaroons and macarons. Macarons is a sweet meringue-based confection made with eggs, icing sugar, granulated sugar, almond meals, and food colouring/flavour. It is usually filled with a ganache or buttercream. The macaroon is a type of light, baked confection, that can look like a small cake or meringue-like cookie. Here is an illustration provided by blogilates

It is this innocent-looking delightful treat on the high tea tiers that makes us second guess the healthy eating vow we murmur to ourselves as the tea is being poured into our fine china cup.

Not Your Typical Dietitian has developed the "Not Your Typical Macaroon" and gave it a healthy twist, without refined sugar and butter. I am not saying that this treat is that healthy that you can now gorge yourself on them, but they're definitely a better option than the macarons you'll find staring back at you through the glass casing at the patisserie. And they have real fresh strawberries in them!

Ingredients: Makes ~20 macaroons

1 ½ cups almond flour 2 ½ cups organic shredded coconut 3 tablespoons raw honey 3 tablespoons cold pressed coconut oil 2 teaspoons natural vanilla extract 1 punnet fresh strawberries (250g) (finely chopped) Pinch sea salt

Method: Combine dry ingredients. Warm coconut oil and honey in a bowl suspended in hot water until runny, then add vanilla. Combine with dry ingredients. Once well combined, carefully mix through the strawberries. Use your hands to form into macaroon shapes and place on baking paper. Chill in fridge for around 1 hour or until firm. Keep refrigerated in an airtight container. Will keep for 1 week.

IMPORTANT: You probably noticed that these babies don't require any baking. However, if you would like to bake these for a crunchy outer casing and soft chewy centre, then you can bake them at a very low temperature (140 or 150 degrees Celsius) for around 40 to 50 minutes. The key is not letting them brown too much - so keep an eye on them!

Moroccan Chicken Salad

There are few things as satisfying as enjoying the taste, smell, and look of your food whilst knowing that it is good for you. It is even better when it is easy and quick to make!

This chicken is so tasty, you'll never want to make it any other way! But there is a bit of cheating involved which cuts prep and cooking time in half and gets the food on the table in less than 15 minutes! Whatch out Jamie!

Ingredients:

2 - 3 small free range chicken breast tenderloins 1 tablespoon Moroccan paste (this is a pre-made paste that you can buy if you're short on time that has whole ingredients, but if you have some time to spare you can make it from scratch using this recipe) 2 cups fresh dark green leaves 1/4 avocado 1 cup cherry tomatoes 1 tablespoon olive oil 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

Method: Evenly space the tenderloins between 2 leaves of baking paper or cling wrap. Take a kitchen hammer or the flat end of a wooden spoon and give it a few good whacks to flatten the meat. This greatly reduces the cooking time!

Uncover the meat, make a few small cuts/slits in each tenderloin, and spread the paste evenly onto each side. Cover it with the paper and massage the paste from the outside into the meat on both sides. Heat pan.

Meanwhile, wash the leaves and dice the avocado. Combine the cherry tomatoes, a 1/2 tablespoon of olive oil and 1/2 tablespoon balsamic vinegar. Pour onto an oven tray and bake in very hot oven for 5-10 minutes. When the tomatoes start to blister take them out of the oven, squash them slightly with a potato masher to release their juices. Add the remaining balsamic vinegar. Combine the tomato mixture, salad leaves and avocado in a bowl. Mix well.

Add the remaining olive oil in a pan and grill the chicken on each side for 2-3 minutes or until cooked through. Stack the chicken tenderloins onto the salad mixture and enjoy!

If you're looking for more sustenance, the addition of some 4Grain Protein Rice would be perfect!

What is your favourite way to cook chicken?