Healthy Meat Pie

Recipe:

• 300g sirloin steak (or your favourite cut will do)
• 150g grilled mushrooms
• 2 onions (pan fried until golden and soft)
• 1 cup cooked spinach
• 4 cooked carrots (diced)
• 1 cup frozen thawed peas
• 3 tbs gravy powder
• 1 sheet puff pastry
• 1 egg
• Sea salt and pepper

Method:

1. In a hot frypan place a little oil, season the steak with sea salt and pepper and cook it for 2 mins on each side until rare. Set aside to cool.
2. Mix together in a large bowl steak (and any juice in the bottom of the bowl), mushrooms, onion, spinach, carrots and peas. Sprinkle over the top gravy powder and combine.
3. Place mixture into 4 oven safe ramekins.

4. Cut circles of puff pastry to fit ramekins, and brush with beaten egg.

5. Cook in a fan forced oven on 180 degrees until golden brown.
Healthy Lamingtons from “The Healthy Chef – Teresa Cutter” 

Cake:

Coming back into the work routine after the Christmas/New Year’s break can be hard so why not take the hassle out of the mornings and make a quick breakfast smoothie that you can make within two minutes and drink on the way to work or at work!

We’ve asked our Eat Smart team what their fav quick and yummy smoothies are…..they are low GI to help stabilize your blood sugars and keep your energy levels stable throughout the morning AND contains healthy fats to keep you full and satisfied for longer!  WIN WIN:-)

Bec’s Breakfast smoothie

• 150ml low fat milk
• 2 tbs traditional oats
• 4-5 whole walnuts
• ¼ scoop WPI protein powder (or can replace with 2-3 tbs skim milk powder)
• 1 tsp honey or maple syrup
• ½ frozen banana
• ICE (depending on how thick you want your smoothie will determine how much ice you put in….the more ice the thicker it will be)

Blend and enjoy!

Lauren’s Green Smoothie

• 250mL coconut water
• 1/2 apple
• Big handful of baby spinach
• 1/2 lebanese cucumber
• A few mint leaves

Blend and enjoy!

OR if you have a little more time…….

Lauren’s Coffee almond smoothie:

• Soak 15 almonds in warm water for 20 mins.  Drain.
• Add 1 cup cold water, the soaked almonds, 1 fresh date or 2 dried dates, 1-2 tsp cacao, 1 shot of coffee or 1 tsp instant coffee dissolved in hot water.

Blend and enjoy!

Kellie’s Fast and Furious smoothie:

TIP:  Puree up all different berries and bananas, mangoes, melons once they are looking a bit sad and tired, and freeze them in ice cub trays, and once they set, tip them out and then store them in ziplock bags (~3-4 ice cubes per bag).

• 1 bag frozen fruit
• 150ml low fat milk
• 2-3 tbs yoghurt

This recipe is great for a quick, no chop, no mess on the run smoothies……. way cheaper than the shop versions of these, and no wasting tired fruit!!

Steff’s ‘Chocie chimp’ smoothie

• 1 x frozen banana
• 1 x scoop chocolate protein powder OR just cocoa
• 1 x tablespoon peanut butter OR other favoured nut butter
• 1 x teaspoon chia seeds
• Sprinkle cinnamon
• 200ml lite milk of your choice
• + Ice

Annnnnd Whizz!!

Other recipes for on-the-go Breakfast smoothie ideas:

Peach Powerhouse   

• 1 cup Milk (of your choice)
• 2 Tbs Low-fat vanilla yoghurt
• ½ cup Frozen peaches
• ½ cup Strawberries
• ⅛ tsp Ground ginger
• 2 tsp Whey protein powder/Sustagen (vanilla)
• 1/4 cup traditional rolled Oats
• 3 -4 Ice cubes

Berry Blitz

• 1 cup frozen unsweetened raspberries
• 1 cup almond or rice milk (Chilled)
• ½ cup frozen pitted unsweetened cherries
• 2 tsp Honey
• 2 tsp Finely grated fresh ginger
• 1 tsp Ground flaxseed
• 2 tsp Fresh lemon juice

Veggie Delight 

• 2 medium carrots chopped
• 1 small green apple chopped
• 1 slice grated ginger
• 1 tablespoon psyllium husk
• 2 tablespoons WPI protein powder (neutral flavour)
• ½ cup water

 As we enter spring and recognise Women’s Health Week, Eat Smart would like to share our support in providing recipe inspiration designed at improving women health!

These recipes are enriched with plenty of dietary fibre for bowel health and weight management; omega 3 for joint health, heart health and brain function; and phytoestrogens to help reduce menopause symptoms. 

Enjoy!

BREAKFAST:

Ingredients:

1. Preheat oven to 160 degrees.  Mix all ingredients except the blueberries in a bowl.
2. Spread over a large baking tray and bake for 30 mins, stirring occasionally until lightly browned.
3. Allow to cool and then mix through blueberries.
4. Store in a dry container.

LUNCH:

Ingredients:

750g pumpkin, seeded and cut into 1cm wedges

DINNER:

Spicy Chickpeas with Eggplant and Cous Cous

Ingredients:

60mls lemon juice

1 med. brown onion, cut in thin wedges

2 garlic cloves, crushed

6 (about 480g) baby eggplant, sliced

1 x 400g can diced tomatoes

250mls (1 cup) vegetable stock

1 400g can chickpeas, rinsed, drained

380g (2 cups) couscous

250mls (1 cup) fresh orange juice

75g (1/2 cup) currants

1 tsp olive oil

1 tbsp Moroccan seasoning (Masterfoods brand)

*(for a higher dietary fibre option, choose quinoa instead of cous cous)

Method:

1. Heat 2 tbsp of the lemon juice in a large saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the onion and garlic. Cover and cook for 3 minutes or until slightly softened.
2. Add eggplant and spice mix and stir to coat well. Cook for 2 minutes. Add tomatoes and stock and bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium and simmer, covered, for 15 minutes. Stir in the chickpeas.
3. Prepare the couscous according to packet directions replacing 250mls (1 cup) of water with the orange juice. Stir in currants and olive oil and stand for 2 minutes.
4. Serve with the chickpea curry.

 SNACK:

Ingredients:

1. Preheat oven to 150°C.

2. Combine linseed, almond meal, pumpkin seed, walnuts and cranberries

3. Add oil, honey and vanilla and mix through until combined

4. Divide into 30 balls, place onto a baking tray lined with bake paper and flatten slightly.

5. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes until golden and cooked through.

6. Rest on tray until cool and store up to 2 weeks.

These tasty little treats are super most, and even healthy! They are great lunch box snacks for the kids, or an on the go snack when busy life takes hold. They also freeze really well!

Ingredients

2 cups whole meal self raising  flour

¼ cup oats

2 teaspoons cinnamon

½ teaspoon ground ginger

2/3 cup light olive oil

½ cup honey

¼ cup greek yoghurt

½ cup unsweetened apple sauce

3 eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 cups grated carrot (about 4 medium carrots)

½ cup EACH sultanas and walnuts

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees celcius, and line muffin tray (we got 15 muffins out of this recipe)
2. In a large bowl, mix together flour, oats, cinnamon, ginger, sultanas and walnuts

3. In another bowl, beat together oil and honey until combined. Beat in the yoghurt and apple sauce until fluffy. Add in the eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition.

5. Spoon into muffin pans, and bake for 20-25 minutes.

How many times have you made a roast dinner, had heaps of left over veg, put it all into a container and then a few weeks later peered into the back of the fridge and found that those delicious roast veg that you took time and care to prepare have been overlooked and forgotten? Well, if you have, you wouldn’t be alone. The average Australian household throws away around 20% of the food they purchase, thats for every 5 bags of groceries you buy, you throw away 1 entire bag!

We are all guilty of throwing out delicious food, which could easily be made into something else delicious! One easy way to use up your roast veg after Sunday night roast, is to make mini quiches! They are full of protein, fibre and calcium! Perfect for the kids, or big  kids lunch boxes for the week! With zero waste!

Ingredients:

2-3 cups of left over roast veg – we used beetroot, sweet potato, onion, carrot and steamed zucchini and broccoli.

6 eggs

2 cups of milk

1/2 cup grated cheese.

Method:

1. Chop all roast veg into small pieces and put into lined muffin tins ( ensuring there is a good mix of all different veg in each tin)

2. Whisk together milk and eggs

3. Pour milk evenly over the veg mix

4. Sprinkle with grated cheese (this can be left out if desired)

5. Bake in a 180 degree oven for 15-20 minutes.

Serves 4

Ingredients:

500g chicken breast, diced

1/2 a jar of massaman curry paste

1 can coconut cream

3 cups of vegetables chopped (we used cauliflower, broccoli, sweet potato, pumpkin and carrot)

Method

1. In a large sauce pan, heat a small amount of oil and add curry paste. Heat until fragrant, about 3 minutes.

2. Add chicken, and cook until coated in paste and browned

3. Add coconut cream, then add around half a can of water.

4. Add in hard vegetables – pumpkin, sweet potato and carrot and simmer for 15 minutes.

5. Add remaining veg and cook for a further 5-10 minutes until vegetables are cooked.

6. Serve with brown rice, or the quinoa, barley and lentils protein blend.

We have posted about oats before, but this recipe just takes it to a whole other level of deliciousness. This is the ideal post workout meal for winter, packing a huge nutritional punch with 44g protein, 94g carbohydrate and 15g of fibre. These oats will help you refuel and recovery after a strenuous training session, game or workout. 

Ingredients:

1/2 Cup oats

1/4 Cup milk

1/4 Cup egg whites (around 2 eggs)

1 Scoop of protein powder (optional)

1/2 Mashed banana

Cinnamon and nutmeg to taste

Optional:

Carob chips and 1 tablespoon of peanut butter on top

Method:

1. Mix all ingredients together in a heat proof oven dish

2. Bake for 15 minutes at 180 degrees

3. If using peanut butter, after 15 minutes in the oven, remove, add peanut butter and put back in the oven for a further 3 minutes

The first day of winter, and what a better time to bring out our favourite hot oats recipes! Oats have to be one of the quickest, most nutritious breakfasts going, and so cheap too! They are that cosy winter warmer, and a good source of fibre to keep you feeling full throughout the morning. You can cook oats in the microwave, stirring every 30 seconds, or for best, most creamy results do it the old fashioned way on the stove top!

Ingredients:

1/3 cup old fashioned oats

2/3 cup low fat milk

1 medium green apple, skin on, grated (some left over sliced for the top if you wish)

1 table spoon sultanas

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

Method:

1. Pour all ingredients into a small saucepan and continuously stir until oats are cooked through and creamy.

2. Serve immediately, sprinkle with a little extra cinnamon and sliced apple.

Edamame beans, are immature soy beans which have been harvested before the beans have had a chance to harden. In recent times been super underrated, though are becoming more and more popular thanks to our beloved sushi trains. But you don’t have to go to sushi train to have these tasty little nutrient filled snacks, you can buy them from the frozen section of the supermarket! Just one cup of beans (with sells, but please don’t eat the shell!!) pack a big nutrition punch, with 17g protein and 15g carbohydrates. Which makes them the perfect post workout snack.

Ingredients

1 cup frozen edamame beans

1 tsp salt – this seems like a lot but you don’t consume it all

Method

1. Bring 3 cups of water to the boil in a saucepan, add salt and frozen beans to the pot.
2. Once the water has come back to the boil, cook for 5 minutes
3. Drain beans and put into a bowl and they are ready to eat. Simple!

Tip: Sprinkle the edamame beans with dried chilli for a little kick

Tip 2: You can cook a bigger batch of the beans in advance and just reheat for a quick afternoon snack

BASIL PESTO

Pesto has got to be one of the most versatile sauces or dip around. You can add it to almost anything! Some of the things we have tried is throwing it into some stir fried chicken and vegetables, as a pasta sauce, the traditional bruschetta or even a spoonful in some scrambled eggs makes for a jazzed up Sunday morning breakfast. If you have a basil bush at home, make a big batch of pesto and freeze portions of the pesto, so you have a quick and easy mid-week meal that you can throw together.

Ingredients (makes about 1 ½ cups of pesto)

4 x bunches of basil (around 3-4 tightly packed cups)

70g pine nuts

80g parmesan

Juice of 1 large lemon

4 cloves of garlic

1/3 cup of olive oil (or to the consistency you desire)

Method

1. Toast pine nuts in a pan until brown. Should take around 3 minutes
2. Pick all basil leaves, chop parmesan into small chunks.
3. Put all ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth.
4. If freezing, divide into around ½ cup portions into zip lock bags
5. Serve with pasta, chicken or any other delicious dish.