1. Cook onions and steak on BBQ until cooked to your liking.  Allow meat to rest for 5-10 mins.  Meanwhile, place a cut side of the avocado on the grill.  BBQ for 3 mins.
2. Meanwhile, add vinegar, lime juice, honey, coriander leaves, garlic, salt and pepper to a food processor, blitz.  Slowly add in oil until emulsified.  This is the dressing for the salad.
3. Line a large salad bowl with the red oak lettuce leaves.  Fill the bowl with spinach leaves.  Scatter over carrot and radish.  Top with grilled avocado and drizzle over dressing.  Scatter over pumpkin seeds.
4. Serve steak topped with grilled onions and salad.

Per serve:  2550kJ, 57g protein, 35.9g fat (9.7g saturated), 10.8g carbs (9.4g sugars)

1. Combine ginger; garlic; sweet chilli, fish and 1/4 the coriander leaves.  Divide mixture in half. Add the coriander root, lime rind and soy sauce to one half.  Marinate the chicken in this for 4 or more hours (overnight is great!).  Add the remainder to a jug with the lime juice, this is the dressing.
2. When ready to eat.  Cook the chicken on the BBQ.
3. Meanwhile, cook pumpkin & beans in the microwave or stove-top until tender.  Soak the noodles in boiling water according to instructions.
4. Mix noodles, pumpkin, beans, capsicum, tomatoes, remainder of the coriander leaves, mint and nuts.  Season to taste. Serve the noodle salad, chicken and dressing to drizzle over.

Per serve:  2100kJ, 28.4g protein, 30g fat (8.7g saturated), 27.6g carbs (16.1g sugars)

1. Spray a non-stick pan or BBQ with oil and heat to medium-high heat.  Cook the steak in 1-2 large pieces until cooked medium rare (approx 3-4 mins per side) or until cooked to your liking.  Place on a plate, cover with foil and allow to rest for 5 mins while making salad.
2. On 4 plates, scatter spinach leaves, kidney beans, corn kernals, tomato, avocado, cucumber, capsicum and coriander.
3. Slice beef across the grain and layer on top of salad.  Top with yoghurt and serve.

1. Combine  thyme, 2 tblsp balsamic, 1 tblsp oil in a glass dish, add steak and turn to coat.  Cover and refirgerate for 30 mins.
2. Toast bread until crunchy and brown.   Rub cut garlic on toast while still warm and cut in to bit size pieces.
3. Heat oil in non-stick frypan or BBQ until medium-high heat.  Cook steaks 2-4 mins or per side or until cooked to your liking.  Place on a plate, cover with foil and rest for 5 mins.
4. Add onion to pain with extra oil if required and cook for 8-10 mins until softened.
5. Meanwhile, divide rocket, tomatoes, parmesan between plates.  Scatter over bread croutons.
6. Place steaks and onions on plates, serve.

Thai Chicken Salad                                                                                   Makes 4 serves (plus extra for lunches!)               

100g trimmed snow peas                                      250g bean shoots

100g baby Asian greens                                         1 Lebanese cucumber, sliced

½ cup fresh coriander leaves                               50g Chang’s crunchy noodles

2 mandarins, segmented                                      1 red capsicum, sliced

1 cooked BBQ chicken, skin and stuffing removed, meat shredded

1 ½ tablespoons sesame seeds, toasted             ½ cup crunchy peanut butter

150mls coconut milk                                                1 ½ tablespoons fresh lime juice

1 ½ tablespoons kecap manis                               1 ½ tablespoons sweet chilli sauce

1 ½ teaspoons curry powder

To make the peanut sauce, combine peanut butter, coconut milk, lime juice, kecap manis, chilli sauce and curry powder in a saucepan.  Stir over medium heat for 5 minutes until smooth and heated through.  Set aside and keep warm.

Meanwhile, cook snow peas in saucepan of boiling water for one minute.  Refresh under running water and drain.

Combine snow peas, bean shoots, capsicum, Asian greens, cucumber and coriander in a bowl.  Heap mixture onto a large serving platter and sprinkle with the noodles.

Top with mandarins and chicken.  Drizzle with peanut sauce and sprinkle with sesame seeds.  Serve

1 teaspoon cumin

500g eye of loin lamb fillets                                     200g green beans, halved

Olive oil spray                                                              2 cobs corn, de-husked

250g cherry tomatoes                                                 1 bag rocket or baby spinach

Lemon wedges to serve                                              1 cucumber, sliced into batons

In a small bowl, combine oil, garlic and cumin.  Season with salt and pepper.

Rub into the lamb.  Heat a char grill pan to medium-high and cook the lamb to your liking.  Set aside on a plate covered with foil for 5 minutes before slicing.

Meanwhile, cook the beans in a saucepan of boiling water for 2 to 3 minutes or until tender.  Drain and refresh under cold running water.

Lightly spray the cherry tomatoes and corn with olive oil spray and season with salt and pepper.  Add the corn to the grill and cook for approximately 7 to 10 minutes, or until it blackens slightly.  Cut either side of hard core to remove kernels.

Add tomatoes to grill and cook for 5 minutes or until slightly softened.

Combine lamb, corn, beans, cucumber, tomato and rocket/spinach in a large bowl.  Serve with lemon wedges.

This is an easy and tasty mid-week meal and I always aim to have leftovers for lunch the next day.  I quickly marinate the chicken in the morning before going to work or the night before.   The 4-bean mix is a good source of protein, low GI carbohydrate and fibre.  I am a massive lemon fan and a wedge of lemon goes nicely with this salad.

Balsamic and mustard chicken salad (serves 4)

400g chicken breast, sliced

1 teaspoon minced garlic

1 tablespoon mustard

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

400g 4-bean mix, drained and rinsed

250g cherry tomatoes, halved

1 capsicum, sliced

1 cucumber, sliced

50g reduced fat feta cheese, finely crumbled

100g rocket leaves

Lemon, cut into wedges

1. Mix garlic, mustard and vinegar in a bowl or zip lock back.  Add chicken strips and coat.  Cover and refrigerate for at least 20 minutes.  The chicken and marinade can be frozen in a zip lock bag ready to pull out of the freezer on a busy day in the future.
2. Cook chicken in non-stick pan until cooked through.
3. Combine beans, tomatoes, capsicum, cucumber, feta, rocket and chicken in a large bowl.  Gently toss.  Spoon onto plates.  Serve with lemon wedges.

1.    Combine quinoa and 4 cups water in a saucepan over medium heat.  Bring to the boil.  Reduce heat to low and allow to simmer, covered for 10 mins.

2.    Stir in milk and fruit.

3.    Serve topped with pistachios and a large dollop (1/4 cup) of yoghurt.

Caprese Toast                                                                        Serves 4

1.    Cut the toast in half diagonally.  Top with slices of avocado and tomato, crumble over ricotta.  Top with poached eggs and scatter with basil leaves.

Breakfast McMuffin                                                            Serves 4

4 wholemeal or grain English muffins, halved

120g shaved leg ham

4 eggs

4 slices reduced fat tasty cheese

1. Heat a non-stick pan with a little spray oil.  Add ham and cook for 1-2 mins each side, or until warm.  Remove and keep warm
2. Cook eggs in the same pan until cooked to your liking.
3. Toast muffin halves and immediately top with cheese slice.  Top with warm ham and an egg.  Place remaining English muffin half on top and serve.

Having the family over for Easter celebrations?  Cook a healthy meal which is full of flavour to impress the guests.  What’s for dessert?  Everything in moderation so enjoy a little (dark) chocolate of course!

1. Preheat oven to 170 degrees Celsius.  Arrange rosemary across the base of a casserole dish.  Add the garlic cloves.  Lay the shanks on top and sprinkle with oregano.  Season to taste.  Top with sherry or wine and stock.
2. Cover with a lid or aluminium foil and bake for 1 hour.  Turn shanks and return to oven for 1.5 hours or until tender.
3. Remove from oven, skim off fat.  Serve shanks with remaining pan juices.

NOTE: this recipe may also be cooked in a slow cooker.

1.     Place pumpkin and potato in a large saucepan.  Cover with cold water.  Bring to the boil and then reduce heat to medium.  Cook until tender.  Drain and return to saucepan, add sour cream and mash until smooth.
2.    Spray a non-stick pan with oil, add sage leaves.  Stir often, adding crushed garlic as you go.  Cook sage and garlic until crisp.
3.      Serve mash topped with crispy sage & garlic.

Baked Salmon with Pesto potatoes & veggies                                    Serves 4

400g chat potatoes, quartered

4 x 150g salmon fillets

4 thin slices of prosciutto

300g cherry tomatoes, on the vine

400g green beans, topped

2 bunches asparagus

4 tblsp basil pesto

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius.  Cook the potatoes in boiling water for 8-10  mins until tender.  Drain.  Toss pesto through hot potatoes.
2. While the potatoes are cooking, wrap a prosciutto slice around the middle of each salmon fillet.  Place on a greased baking tray, add cracked black pepper to taste.  Bake for 5 mins, then add tomatoes to the tray.  Cook for another 4 mins or until salmon is just cooked.
3. Meanwhile blanch the beans and asparagus in boiling water for 2 mins.  Drain immediately.
4. Serve each salmon fillet with pesto potatoes, green beans, asparagus and tomatoes.

1. Preheat oven to 190 degrees Celsius.  Grease a ~19cm square cake pan with spray oil.  Line with baking paper ensuring some overhang up the sides.
2. Arrange half the spinach in the prepared pan.  Top with half the ham.  Repeat.
3. Whisk eggs, garlic, cheese and milk in a jug.  Season to taste.  Pour over spinach and ham.  Top with halved tomatoes, cut side up.
4. Bake for 35-40 mins or until golden and set.  Serve.

1. Preheat oven to 200 degrees Celsius.  Put the peaches, cut side up in a baking dish.
2. Using an electric beater, beat the ricotta, icing sugar and cinnamon until smooth.  Spoon mixture in to the cavity of each peach. Bake for 8-10 mins or until golden.
3. Serve the peaches (2 halves per serve) drizzled with honey and sprinkled with almonds.

Preheat a BBQ or char-grill on high.  Trim ends of asparagus and wrap a strip of prosciutto down the length of an asparagus spear.  Repeat with all spears.

Cook the asparagus on the grill, turning occasionally for 2-3 minutes until asparagus is bright green and tender crisp. Transfer to a serving platter.  Drizzle with vinegar & oil, season with salt and pepper.  Sprinkle with shaved parmesan and serve!

1. Place the soy sauce, mirin, sugar, vinegar and ginger in a glass bowl and stir until the sugar dissolves.  Reserve half the mixture.  Add the chicken to the remaining mixture and stir to combine.  Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 4 hours to marinate.
2. Soak 8 skewers in water while the chicken marinates.
3. Thread the chicken, capsicum, shallot, mushroom & eggplant on to the skewers.
4. Preheat BBQ grill on medium.  Add the skewers and cook for 15 mins, turning occasionally.
5. Meanwhile, place the reserved soy sauce mixture in a small saucepan over medium heat.  Bring to the boil and simmer until sauce thickens.
6. Serve cooked skewers with sauce.

1. Soak mushrooms in warm water for 10min to rehydrate. Drain and slice.
2. Fill a large fry pan with 1.5L water and add mushrooms. Bring to the boil.
3. Spoon about 1/3 of the mushroom broth in to a measuring cup and blend with miso paste until smooth and runny consistency (add more liquid if needed).
4. Gently drop salmon into pan and allow to simmer. Reduce heat, cover and cook for 6 minutes. Place in serving bowl.
5. Add noodles and bok choy to broth to cook for 2 minutes. Then pour miso paste into broth and stir well over low heat.
6. Distribute broth evenly over salmon pieces. Arrange cucumber, carrot and capsicum over salmon to serve.