Make Healthy Meals

Polenta is a good alternative to the usual potatoes, rice and pasta. Its readily available in most supermarkets and easy to cook.

4 cups uncooked polenta
8 ounces of crab meat
2 tablespoon olive oil
1 small onion, finely sliced
1 garlic clove, peeled and pressed
1 can of plum tomatoes (in sauce)
teaspoon oregano
1 red chilli, deseeded and finely sliced
A handful of fresh basil to garnish
Salt and pepper to taste

First prepare all ingredients. Heat two tablespoons olive oil in a frying pan. Add the onion and cook over low heat for approximately 4 to 5 minutes or until soft. Add the garlic, chilli, crab and oregano and cook a further 1 to 2 minutes. Add the tomatoes in sauce and mix through. Gently simmer for approximately 10 minutes.

Meanwhile cook the polenta according to package instructions. Remove from heat and stir through a little olive oil, salt and pepper to taste, cover and set aside.

Time the cooking so that the polenta and crab mixture are ready approximately at the same time. Serve a little polenta in each bowl and top with the crab sauce mixture. Garnish with fresh chopped basil and serve.

This risotto is virtually fat free. Very comforting on cold winter days.

2 zucchinis, finely chopped
1 leek, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, peeled and pressed
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cups Arborio risotto rice
4 ounces of white wine (alternatively you can use dry cooking wine)
5 cups hot vegetable stock
8 ounces peeled and cooked shrimp
Handful of parsley for garnishing

In a large non-stick pan heat the oil and add the zucchinis, leek and onion. Sautee gently over low heat for approximately 2 to 3 minutes. Add the rice and stir continuously until the rice is completely coated in the oil mixture. Now add the white wine and turn up the heat. Stir continuously until the alcohol evaporates.

Reduce the heat and slowly add the vegetable stock, one cupful at a time. After each addition stir the risotto gently until the stock is nearly evaporated. Continue this process until most of the stock has been added and the rice is tender yet not too soft. Approximately 20 minutes. You may need to add additional stock if necessary.

During the last 5 minutes of cooking, add the shrimp and a cupful of stock. Keep stirring. Season with salt and pepper to taste. The rice should be creamy and al dente. Remove from heat and let stand for about 2 minutes then add the parsley and stir through. Serve immediately.

2 cups of peeled and cooked shrimp
2 medium carrots, peeled and cut into matchstick-size strips
1/2 cup of raisins
3 cups uncooked couscous
1 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons honey
Dash of soy sauce
2 cups vegetable stock
Sesame seeds
Salt and pepper to taste

Heat the oil in a frying pan and add the carrots and shrimp. Cook gently for approximately 4 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.

Cook couscous according to package instructions but instead of using water as indicated replace the same amount of water with vegetable stock. Once the couscous is ready, fluff with a fork and place in a large bowl. Add the carrots, oil and shrimp to couscous and toss together. Add the raisins, honey, soy sauce and season. Toss together and season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and serve.

4 trout fillets, skinless
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon soy sauce
Juice of one lime
2 tablespoons sesame seeds
Lime wedges to garnish
16 new potatoes

Preheat the grill. Place oil, soy sauce and lime juice in a bowl and mix together. Set aside.

Scrub the potatoes and slice (dont peel). Place the potato slices in a pan of boiling water and cook for approximately 4 minutes, until slightly tender. Drain and place potatoes in a non-stick baking try. Drizzle with a little olive oil and sea salt. Place in a hot oven and bake for approximately 15 minutes.

Place the trout fillets on a baking tray and pour the oil mixture over. Grill for approximately 8 minutes. Then sprinkle the sesame seeds over the fillets and grill for another 2 to 4 minutes. Until the seeds are golden and trout is cooked through.

Serve with the potatoes and a green side salad or French green beans.

Chicken and cashews go really nicely together. This dish is really easy to make and tastes wonderful.

8 organic, free range skinless chicken breasts
1 tablespoon olive oil
12 unpeeled garlic cloves
cup cashew nuts
8 ounces chopped broccoli
Zest of one lemon

Preheat the oven to 350F. place the chicken breasts in a non-stick roasting tray. Drizzle the oil over the chicken and add the garlic cloves and cashews. Roast for approximately 25 to 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, steam the broccoli for approximately 5 minutes, then add to chicken. In a separate bowl combine the lemon juice and lemon zest and pour this mixture over the chicken. Return to oven and roast for an additional 5 minutes.

Serve with a side of noodles or rice.

Tip: Additionally, you can add a tablespoon of soy sauce, a little chilli or even a little honey to the chicken.

4 large baking apples
1 ounce pecan nuts
2 ounces blueberries
1 ounce oats
2 tablespoons brown sugar
6 tablespoons orange juice

Preheat the oven to 325F. Core and deseed the apples. Using a sharp knife score around the middle of each apple. Dont cut through but just cut around so that the apple doesnt collapse when baking.

Place the pecans, oats, blueberries and sugar in a bowl and mix together. Fill the apples with the mixture and then pour orange juice over the tops. Bake approximately 30 to 40 minutes until the apples are soft and golden.

Macaroni and cheese is pure comfort food. Real, homemade macaroni and cheese can actually be delicious and surprisingly good for you. Just take it easy on the cheese and skip the cream.

8 ounces of whole wheat macaroni
1 tablespoon unsalted real butter
1 red onion, finely sliced
1 red pepper, deseeded and diced
1 teaspoon paprika
16 ounces of milk
6 ounces of mature cheddar cheese
2 tablespoons corn flour
Salt and black pepper to taste
A handful of finely chopped fresh parsley

Cook the macaroni according to package instructions. Drain and return to pan. In a frying pan melt the butter and add the onion and pepper. Gently cook for approximately 4 minutes. Add this mixture the macaroni along with the paprika.

In a separate pan heat the milk on low. Add a little milk and corn flour to a small bowl and whisk until dissolved. Add this mixture to milk and whish over low heat until thickened, approximately 5 minutes. Add the cheese and whisk for another 2 minutes until melted. Add this mixture to macaroni and mix well. Heat together gently for 2 minutes, and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Garnish with parsley and serve.

This soup is dramatic and delicious. The chilli and garlic give it a really strong flavor thats also packed full of goodness. If you find dried beans too time consuming to cook, feel free to use canned beans.

8 ounces of dried black beans
16 ounces of vegetable stock (homemade or made from dried powder)
4 bay leaves
2 tablespoons cilantro (also known as coriander)
4 tablespoons rapeseed oil
1 red onion, thinly sliced
4 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
2 red chillies, deseeded and finely sliced
1 (14 oz) can of organic chopped tomatoes

** I can never remember to soak beans overnight but its not actually necessary. By rinsing the beans in cold water and boiling on high for 10 minutes (without any other ingredients) youll get the same effect. Another trick to help get rid of the bloating and wind caused by eating beans is to add a small piece of chopped ginger to the water when boiling.

Boil the beans for 10 minutes then drain. Rinse the saucepan to get rid of any remaining residue and return beans to pan. Add the stock and bay leaves. Cover and simmer on low until tender. Warning, this will take approximately 1.5 to 2 hours. Add additional stock if necessary during this process.

Heat the oil in a large frying pan and add the onion and chillies. Cook on low for approximately 4 minutes and add the garlic. Cook for a further one minute. Add the chopped tomatoes to this mixture and stir together. Set aside.

Once the beans are fully cooked, add the tomatoe mixture to the beans and stock. Simmer for 5 minutes and remove from heat. Let cool and strain beans. Discard bay leave and return stock to pan.

Place the beans and vegetables in a food process with a little reserved stock and blend on high for approximately 1 minute until smooth. Place this mixture back in the pan with the reserved stock and mix together. Gently heat through and serve immediately.

Garnish with a few finely chopped spring onions and a dollop of crme fraiche.

This combination actually works quite nicely. Prunes are naturally sweet which means you need less sugar. You also dont need to add any butter or oil to the mixture.

10 large, ready to eat prunes (stones removed)
3 ounces plain white flour
3 ounces plain whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 ounces brown sugar
1 free-range organic egg, lightly beaten
5 ounces skim milk
3 ounces of fresh blueberries

Preheat oven to 325F. Make a prune puree by placing the prunes and a little water in a food processor and blending until smooth.

In a large bow, mix the flours, sugar and baking powder. In a separate bowl mix the prune puree, milk and eggs. Add this mixture to the flour mixture and gently mix. Take care not to over mix.

Gently fold in the blueberries and divide the mixture between the muffin tins. Fill tins 2/3 full. Bake for approximately 20. Youll know the muffins are done when you stick a small knife or toothpick into the center and it comes out clean.

6 slices of Pancetta
2 ounces of pine nuts
Large bowl of salad leaves, enough for four (try adding a variety of leaves such as rocket, red, and green leaf)
1 spring onion, finely sliced
olive oil
Juice of half a lemon
Salt

Cut the pancetta into small pieces. Place in a non-stick frying pan and cook over low heat for approximately 2 minutes. Set aside.

Prepare the salad in a bowl add your salad leaves and toss with 2 tablespoons olive oil, the juice of half a lemon and a little salt. Serve salad onto individual plates and top with pancetta, a few pine nuts and a few spring onion slices and serve.

For additional taste add a little grated parmesan cheese.