Recently we asked for feedback from our clients on the healthy dinner recipes they receive weekly, and they voted on their top 5 recipes.
The results are in, and we’re sharing them with you today! The winners are:
Baked chicken parmigiana
Greek lentil soup
San choy bau
Butter chicken
Asian salmon burgers
Our clients have great taste! We hope you can add a couple of these recipes to your own repertoire. Try these recipes and I’m sure you’ll agree that cooking a healthy meal does not have to mean forcing bland food on your family or elaborate preparation.
Baked chicken parmigiana
Ingredients (to serve 4)
2 chicken breasts, sliced in half horizontally to make 4 fillets
½ cup almond meal
1 teaspoon dried oregano
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese
2 garlic cloves, peeled, crushed
1/3 cup reduced fat shredded mozzarella
1 cup passata
1 tablespoon chopped basil
Big green salad to serve
Method
1)Preheat oven to 220C.
2)Pound chicken to make it nice and thin.
3)Combine grated parmesan, almond meal and oregano in a bowl.
4)Brush fillets with 1 tablespoon olive oil, then dip into parmesan mixture and cover thoroughly on both sides.
5)Place fillets on a baking tray lined with baking paper. Pop in the oven for 20 minutes. Turn fillets over and cook for a further 10 minutes.
6)Meanwhile, heat remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil in a pan over medium heat. Add garlic and cook for a minute. Add passata and basil, then season with salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer and allow to bubble away for 5 minutes.
Remove from fillets from oven. Pour sauce into a shallow baking dish and place fillets on top. Scatter over mozzarella and pop in the oven for a further 5 minutes or until cheese is melted and sauce is bubbling.
Greek lentil soup
Ingredients (to serve 4)
225g puy or large brown lentils
1L vegetable stock
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 onions, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
½ chilli, finely sliced
1 carrot, peeled, finely chopped
1 stalk of celery, finely chopped
2 bay leaves
600ml passata
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
Coriander, chopped, to serve
Feta cheese to serve
Method
1) Place lentils in a large pot or casserole dish over high heat, cover with water and bring to the boil. Drain out the brown water, and return lentils to the pan.
2) Cover with the vegetable stock and 1 cup of water. Bring to the boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 8-10 minutes.
3) Meanwhile, heat oil in a frying pan over medium-high heat. Add onions, carrots and celery and cook until soft.
4) Add garlic and chilli and cook for another 2 minutes.
5) Tip contents of pan into the pot containing the lentils.
6) Add passata and bay leaves, and pop the lid on the pot. Simmer for 20 minutes.
7) Stir through vinegar. Garnish with chopped coriander and a sprinkle of feta.
San choy bau (This dish is usually served in iceberg lettuce leaves. However, dark leafy greens pack a much bigger punch nutrionally so we have deconstructed the traditional version. Feel free to serve the pork mixture in iceberg leaves if that’s how you like it!)
Ingredients (serves 4)
500g lean pork mince
1 medium onion, diced
2 spring onions, thinly sliced
1 small can water chestnuts, drained, rinsed and sliced
1.5 tablespoons olive oil
3cm piece of ginger, peeled and grated
2 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
¼ cup soy sauce
1.5 tablespoons chinese cooking wine
2 tablespoons honey
Juice of ½ lime
½ teaspoon sesame oil
1 cup bean sprouts
1 bunch choy sum or chinese broccoli, quartered and steamed
Coriander leaves to garnish
Method
1) Heat olive oil in a wok over high heat.
2) When hot, add onion and spring onion to work and stir fry for 2 minutes.
3) Add garlic and ginger to wok and cook for around 20 seconds, until fragrant.
4) Quickly add pork to wok, breaking it up with a fork. Stir fry for 3 minutes, or until pork is light brown.
5) Add chinese cooking wine to wok to deglaze, quickly using a wooden spoon to scrape up any remnants stuck to the bottom of the wok.
6) Add water chestnuts and stir to combine.
7) Add soy sauce and honey and stir until well combined.
8) Add lime juice and sesame oil and stir until combined.
Spoon pork mixture onto choy sum or chinese broccoli. Top with bean sprouts and coriander leaves to serve.
Healthy butter chicken
Ingredients (to serve 4)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
3cm piece ginger, peeled and grated
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 teaspoons garam masala
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
3 tablespoons tomato paste
750 g chicken thigh fillets, in 2cm cubes
½ cup chicken stock
½ cup cashews
½ cup reduced fat greek yoghurt
Juice of ½ lemon
1 lebanese cucumber, sliced
20g rocket
Handful coriander roughly chopped
Method
1) Heat the oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat.
2) Add onion and cook, stirring, for 6 minutes or until soft and golden.
3) Add garlic and ginger and cook for further 2 minutes.
4) Stir in spices and tomato paste and cook for 1 minute or until aromatic.
5) Add the chicken and cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring to coat with the spice mixture.
6) Add tomatoes and stock and stir. Bring to a simmer, then reduce heat to cook gently for 15 minutes.
7) While the chicken is simmering away, whizz the cashew nuts in a food processor until fine. Add to the chicken and cook gently for another 5 minutes.
8) Remove from heat and stir through yohgurt and lemon juice.
Serve topped with coriander and with rocket and sliced cucumber.
Asian salmon burgers
Ingredients (to serve 4, makes 8 burgers)
500g skinless salmon fillets
Leaves of 1 small bunch of coriander
Thumb size piece of ginger, skin removed, grated
1 egg
Squeeze from ½ lime
1 teaspoon soy sauce
½ cup almond meal
1 tablespoon olive oil
Steamed broccolini to serve
1 carrot, peeled, shredded into ribbons with a vegetable peeler
Method
1) Combine the salmon, coriander, ginger, egg, lime, soy sauce and a little grind of salt and pepper in a food processor. Pulse until combined.
2) Tip salmon mixture into a bowl and add the almond meal, mixing with your hands to combine.
3) Shape salmon mixture into 8 burgers. The mixture will be quite sticky and slippery, so pop them in the fridge for 20 minutes to firm them up.
4) Heat the oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Cook the burgers for a few minutes each side until they are golden and cooked through.
Serve with steamed broccolini and carrot ribbons, or veggies of your choice.
