Healthy chicken with mushroom and leeks
- 4 small chicken breasts
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- 25g dried porcini mushrooms
- 180ml (3/4 cup) warm water
- 2 green shallots, sliced
- 1 leek, white part only, sliced
- 500ml (2 cups) good-quality chicken stock
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed
- 200g Swiss brown mushrooms, cleaned, sliced
- 5 fresh thyme sprigs
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 1 tablespoon crème fraîche or light sour cream
- Blanched broccolini or green beans, to serve
- Fresh baby parsley leaves, to serve
- Select all ingredients
Method
Step 1
Place chicken on a plate and drizzle with 1 tsp of oil. Toss to coat. Season well. Place dried porcini mushrooms in a bowl and cover with warm water. Set aside for 10 minutes to soak. Drain, reserving soaking liquid. Roughly chop rehydrated porcini and set aside.
Step 2
Heat a large heavy-based frying pan over high heat. Cook chicken for 3 minutes or until golden on 1 side. Turn and cook for 3 minutes or until almost cooked through. Transfer to a clean plate.
Step 3
Reduce heat to medium and add remaining oil. Cook shallot and leek, stirring, for 5 minutes or until golden and caramelised. Add stock, garlic, porcini and soaking liquid, mushroom, thyme and mustard. Stir and bring to a simmer. Return chicken to the pan. Cook for 5 minutes. Stir in crème fraîche. Simmer for a further 3-5 minutes or until sauce has reduced and thickened.
Slice chicken and serve with mushroom sauce and broccolini or green beans. Top with baby parsley leaves to serve.
Vegetable soup
Versatile to suit your taste and suitable for a low carb diet!
Serves-8 !
1 tablespoons olive oil
2 onions, chopped
1/2 cup chopped celery
2 medium carrots peeled and chopped
6 cloves garlic finely chopped
2 zucchini chopped
100gm fresh green beans sliced
300 g cauliflower florets
4 cups chopped cabbage leaves, washed (about 1/4 of a head)
2 litres chicken or vegetable broth
2 teaspoons chicken or vegetable bullion powder
1 teaspoon hot red chilli pepper -ground
1 teaspoon salt to season
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
4 cups loosely packed spinach leaves washed
1/4 cup packed chopped fresh parsley leaves
2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
Instructions
Heat the olive oil in large, heavy-bottomed stockpot over medium-low heat. Once hot, add the onion, carrots and celery. Sauté until they begin to soften, about 8 minutes.
Add the garlic and sauté until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Then add the zucchini and green beans and continue to cook for 4 to 5 more minutes, stirring occasionally.
Throw in the cauliflower and cabbage leaves. Add the stock, increase the heat to high, and bring to a simmer. Once simmering, season with the buillion and red chilli powder 🌶Taste test and season with salt and pepper.
Reduce the heat to low, cover, and cook until the vegetables are fork tender, about 20 minutes. Add the spinach leaves and stir through until wilted.
Remove from heat and add the parsley and lemon juice.
Adjust seasonings. Serve immediately.
Capsicum, Kale and Feta Frittata
We all know the importance of vegetables in our diet. We think the more, the better when it comes to these green superheroes.
Cook up a pan of antioxidant-rich kale leaves with capsicum and eggs for a bright vegetarian meal.
- 1 tbs olive oil
- 1/2 small red capsicum, thinly sliced
- 1 small roma tomato, chopped
- Mushrooms 4-5
- 50g baby purple kale or English spinach
- 2 eggs, plus 1 eggwhite, lightly beaten
- 25g fetta, crumbled
- Chopped flat-leaf parsley leaves, to serve
Method
- Preheat the grill to medium.
- Heat oil in a small ovenproof frypan over medium heat. Add capsicum and cook for 2 minutes or until slightly softened.
- Add mushrooms tomato and kale, then season and cook for 2 minutes or until kale is wilted and tomato has softened. Add egg and cook, stirring, for 1 minute or until combined. Sprinkle over feta, then place the pan under the grill and cook for 3-4 minutes until set.
- 25g fetta, crumbled
- Cool slightly in pan, then carefully remove frittata and sprinkle with parsley to serve.
ROASTED RED CAPSICUM AND TOMATO SOUP
- 2 red capsicums, halved and seeded
- 1 teaspoon of olive oil
- 1 large onion, finely sliced
- 2 clove garlic, crushed
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 750 gram ripe tomatoes, roughly chopped
- 2 cup vegetable stock (made with powdered stock or cubes)
- 1 teaspoon artificial sweetener
- 1 handful basil, torn
- Preheat oven to 180°C.
Place capsicums in a shallow baking dish, skin side up and spray with olive oil. Roast for 25 minutes or until softened.
Remove from oven, cover with foil, and allow to cool slightly.
Peel off and discard skin and roughly chop flesh.
Spray a large saucepan with oil and place on medium heat.
Add onion and sauté until soft.
Add garlic and tomato paste and cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly.
Add capsicum, tomato and stock, then cover and simmer for 15 minutes.
Allow to cool slightly, then puree using blender or hand held processor. Season to taste.
For a sweeter soup, add Equal.
Reheat soup and serve sprinkled with basil.
FIESTA CHICKEN SALAD
INGREDIENTS
- 1 avocado
- 2 cups cooked chicken, shredded/chopped
- 1/2 red bell pepper, finely diced
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh coriander
- 2 spring onions , thinly sliced
- (or 2 tablespoons finely diced red onion)
- juice of 1 lime
- 1/4 teaspoon cumin
- 1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
- pinch cayenne pepper
- salt and pepper, to taste
INSTRUCTIONS
- Mash avocado in a medium bowl.
- Mix remaining ingredients together in bowl.
- Can serve on lettuce wraps.
Cabbage soup with chicken dumplings
Why not give these tasty chicken dumplings a try and add protein and yummy flavour to your cabbage soup? The result? A warm, comforting, and affordable one-pot low-carb meal.
Ingredients
Dumplings
450 g ground chicken
1 large egg, beaten
3 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
1 tsp onion powder
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp ground nutmeg
Soup
1 tsp olive oil / butter
450 g green cabbage, cored and coarsely chopped
1.5 liters chicken broth
½ tsp salt
½ tsp ground black pepper
Instructions
In a medium sized bowl, mix the dumpling ingredients until well combined. Place in the fridge for at least 10 minutes. Once chilled, form the mixture into 1 inch (2,5 cm) balls, using wet hands. You will have approximately 16 dumplings.
In a large pot, melt the butter over low heat. Add the cabbage and increase the temperature to medium, stirring until the cabbage is slightly tender and starts to turn golden brown. Add the chicken broth to the pot and bring to a boil over high heat and then reduce the heat to medium.
Add the dumplings, one at a time. Simmer for 8-10 minutes or until the dumplings are thoroughly cooked. Flip the dumplings about 5 minutes after adding them so they cook evenly. Season with salt and pepper to taste
Tip!
You can substitute the parsley in the dumplings with tarragon, sage, or coriander for more of an Asian flair.
Saturday
Salmon and noodle salad
Ingredients
180 Gram Slendier Noodles
1 Tablespoon sesame oil
4 salmon fillets (80-120g per fillet)
1⁄4 red onion (finely sliced)
1 Carrot (grated)
1 Small Lebanese cucumber (halved, sliced diagonally)
1 red capsicum (sliced finely)
3 Cup rocket (chopped roughly)
1⁄4 Cup pepitas (pumpkin seeds)
4 Tablespoon balsamic vinegar
3 Tablespoon Rice wine vinegar
2 Tablespoon Soy Sauce
Instructions
Boil noodles for 2 minutes Drain water and fill pot with cold water. Set aside.
Heat pan with half the sesame oil on medium heat and place the salmon fillets skin down. Cook salmon fillets for 3-5 minutes on skin side and then turn over to cook for another 2 minutes and set aside.
In a large salad bowl, add vegetables, and pumpkin seeds.
Pour vinegars, remainder of sesame oil and soy sauce over salad and combine well.
Drain noodles. Toss through salad, mix well.
To serve, divide the noodle salad between bowls and place salmon on top.