
This is an easy way to dress up chicken pieces - and there's only four ingredients! While it's in the oven, you can do the vegetables or throw together a large salad.
Cooking for vegetarians and meat-eaters in the one household? This easy recipe is one of those that can do double-duty, satisfying both camps - it's filled with a mixture of rice, beans, tomato, corn and cheese which makes for good protein for the vegetarians AND it can become a delicious accompaniment to a plain grilled steak or fish for the carnivores.
A flavoursome accompaniment to grilled meat or fish.
This smoothie gives you lots of nutrition for a third of the fat and kilojoules of normal milkshakes. And it's a delicious way to take in more oat bran for soluble fibre. Great for hungry teens and very active people.
Try this fairly standard stock recipe and you'll never go back to commercial stock cubes or powder. It has loads of gutsy flavour but no added salt so can be used by anyone on a salt-free diet. If you must add some, just use half a teaspoon and taste as you go.
A delicious quick-to-make recipe, this egg dish is a cross between an omelette and a quiche - but without all the fuss or the fat of pastry! With its pumpkin base, it's a complete meal, ideal for vegetarians.
This salad is a fresh and zesty accompaniment to grilled fish on the barbecue. It has almost no fat, heaps of fibre and we've kept the salt down by being frugal with the fish sauce - a little goes a long way! If you haven't got a turnip, it still turns out fine.
I love this easy chicken recipe from McCormick with lots of paprika and oregano to add antioxidants. Also a good one for a gluten-free diet as pure dried spices have nothing else added (eg thickeners) and so are safe for coeliac disease.
Here's an easy lamb recipe with two slow-release low GI carbs - lentils and yoghurt. You feel fuller for longer!
A great high-fibre filler for dieters in cold weather - heat a bowl or microwave a mug whenever you're hungry. This is the sort of soup that gets promoted in Kickstart Diets or various Detox regimes (not that I'm a fan of either). But this soup is low in kilojoules/calories and high in veggies and fibre so it's a dieter's best friend.
This is a delicious, easy soup to make at home. If you are on a low salt diet, use water instead of the stock or cook up a batch of your own home-made stock without any salt.
An easy old-fashioned dessert that's ideal for those cold nights. It starts with dried fruit (whatever you have at home) and plumps them up with tea along with the flavour of orange rind, cinnamon and cloves. One of my all-time favs.
Here's my fav fruit salad recipe. It's easy and you can substitute any fruit you have on hand - a great way to use up bits and pieces.
A refreshing tangy dessert which makes use of the wonderful navel oranges in season during winter. Perfect to serve after a curry or hot spicy main course. And it's low in fat and sugar, so it's good for you.
Simple yet stunning, make this easy dessert when nectarines are in season. Works well with peaches too.
Pears in season and plentiful? Try this classic French dessert made over into a lighter yet still luscious fruity dessert - perfect to make ahead if you have guests coming.
This recipe creates a light cheesecake which is a perfect summer dessert with fresh fruit. The filo provides a paper-thin outer shell instead of pastry or biscuit base and facilitates cutting.
If you enjoy muesli (as I do), you'll love this crispy version that gets baked in the oven. No added fat of any kind. Lots of variations from different seeds, nuts or dried fruit.
This recipe makes a refreshing summer drink without the high sugar content of fizzy drink or juice. It's fat-free and also gives you the benefits of tea's polyphenol antioxidants which can neutralize harmful free radicals, keep your skin looking younger and dampen the ageing effects of the sun on the skin.
The combination of spinach, mushrooms and tofu gives a strong rich flavour to what is basically a low-fat soup.
A simply divine combination for when mangos are in season. Try to choose a mango that's firm or even a little underipe with its skin tinged with green.
This delicious recipe rewards you with omega-3 fats from the fish while the crunchy salad underneath gives you a boost of minerals and fibre. And the curried-yoghurt topping is rich in calcium.
If you like Asian flavours, you'll enjoy this delicious way to dress up fish fillets. The flavours of the ginger, sesame and garlic team well so nicely - and you can always add a little chilli for some heat.
The flavours of wine, lemon, pepper and parsley just add a little something but without taking away from the magnificent flavour of the fish itself. Keep the vegetables fairly simple without strong overpowering flavours and you'll create a delicious meal. The fat in this dish is mostly monounsaturated.
Love prawns! Love asparagus! So here they are combined into one great dish with a hint of Asian flavours thanks for a light soy sauce and peanut oil.
A great idea for a summer barbecue. So simple to prepare - and no washing up afterwards! The fish takes on the fragrance of the lemon, herbs and onion yet retains its simplicity and freshness.
Easy and full-flavoured, this salad gets better the day after as the flavours develop. The beans makes it low GI and high in fibre while the tuna adds protein and those all-important omega-3s.
I love this simple carrot side salad which I first tasted in Lyon in France. I've modified it slightly from Saveur.com. You can see the original at their website at www.saveur.com.
The trick is to use a mandolin type grater so you get a long squarish grate. I like to add a little parsley for colour but you can omit this if you like. The carrot salad looks stunning on a buffet of other salads - it's a great contrast to the usual green leaves or tomato-cucumber types. The oil in the dressing is important as it assists the absorption of the beta-carotene which is fat-soluble.
Catherine
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