Cajun crusted white fish

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cajun-white-fish
This recipe comes thanks to a good friend of mine who used to cook me Cajun crusted blue eye trevalla, fresh from the fish markets.

It’s a light and nutritious meal – the fish provides a good dose of high quality protein while the spinach salad provides a good dose of vitamins, minerals and fibre plus probiotics from the yoghurt dressing.

Best of all, it’s tasty and can made in around 15 minutes making it the perfect mid week meal.

You can use almost any white fish fillet, choose whatever is you like and is freshest in your area.

If you’re not keen on the spinach salad, the dish pairs equally well with steamed greens, roasted vegetables, baby new potatoes – whatever you like and have on hand at home.

Ingredients

Fish

  • 2 skinless fillets of white fish (blue eye trevalla, barramundi, john dory, ocean perch, sea bass and sea bream all work well)
  • 2 tablespoons of cajun spice*
  • 2 tablespoons of cold pressed extra virgin olive oil

Salad

  • 2 cups baby spinach leaves
  • 12 cherry tomatoes
  • 1 avocado
  • 1 small yellow capsicum

Dressing

  • 2 tablespoons of good quality natural or Greek yoghurt
  • 1 tablespoon of fresh lemon juice
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon of minced garlic or one clove of fresh garlic, crushed
  • 1 teaspoon of rice malt syrup
  • Good quality salt and pepper to taste

Method

  1. Combine the salad dressing and mix well (I place in a small jar with a lid and shake well – any left over can be kept in the fridge for at least a week)
  2. Chop the avocado into cubes, cut the cherry tomatoes in half and slice the capsicum into long thin slices. Place in a bowl with the spinach and mix through the dressing then divide between two plates
  3. Coat the fish with the Cajun spice.
  4. Heat a saucepan to a medium-high heat and add the olive oil. Cook the fish for a few minutes each side until cooked to your liking. Timing depends on the thickness of the fillet and how well you like it cooked through
  5. Serve immediately with the salad

Serves 2

 

 

 

Coconut Berry Jelly

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Coconut-berry-jelly
Looking for a light and healthy start to the week?

This coconut jelly takes just a couple of minutes to prepare and is a totally portable healthy breakfast or snack.

Made with good quality gelatine, it’s wonderfully nourishing for the digestive tract and contains 18 amino acids – including each of the essential 8 amino acids. Regular consumption of good quality gelatine can help restore the body’s mucosal stomach lining which is particularly beneficial for those with leaky gut syndrome, food intolerances, allergies and inflammatory conditions.

Gelatine is also a great source of absorbable collagen which promotes healthy hair, skin and nails and is beneficial for the joints and those suffering from inflammatory conditions such as arthritis and osteoporosis.

Ingredients

• 1 cup/250ml/9 fluid ounce of drinking coconut milk or almond milk
• 2 teaspoons of powdered gelatine
• ½ teaspoon of natural vanilla essence
• ½ teaspoon of stevia
• ¼ cup of fresh berries (I choose around 4 strawberries and 6 blueberries but if it’s winter you can use frozen berries or substitute with juicy citrus fruit such as navel orange)

Method

Chop the fruit and place in a small glass container such as an old jam jar.

Add the gelatine and half the milk to a small saucepan and heat to a low heat until the gelatine has dissolved, then add the rest of the milk and mix well then pour over the fruit and place in the fridge until set.

Eat alone or top with some linseed, sunflower seed and almond mixture (LSA). For LSA combine a teaspoon of linseeds, a teaspoon of sunflower seeds and approximately 15 almonds in a high powered blender, food processor or coffee grinder and blend until it forms a powder, then sprinkle over the jelly.

Serves 1

Chickpea super salad

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This is a tasty salad that can be made quickly from a few fresh ingredients and some staples that are easily kept in the fridge or pantry

The flavours work well together and the salad provides a great boost of fibre.  In fact, half a cup of chickpeas or garbanzo beans contains a quarter of your recommended daily fibre intake for the day.

The peas are rich in antioxidants and studies have linked the consumption of peas to prevention of stomach cancer. Cucumbers and alkalising and contain the mineral silica which supports healthy hair and nails.

The ingredients here are a guide however feel free to substitute for what you have on hand – for example snow peas work well in place of peas, goats cheese and fetta are interchangeable and parsley can be substituted with coriander/cilantro or any other fresh her you particularly like.

Ingredients

  • 1 cup of chickpeas
  • Half a cup of fresh peas
  • 1 Lebanese cucumber
  • Half an avocado
  • 4 tablespoons of sunflower seeds
  • 2 heaped tablespoons of marinated fetta or goat’s cheese
  • Small handful of parsley leaves

Dressing

  • 2 tablespoons of olive oil
  • 5 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Method

  1. To toast the sunflower seeds, heat a frying pan to a medium heat. Add the sunflower seeds and dry fry for a minute or two, tossing regularly to ensure they don’t burn.
  2. Chop the cucumber, avocado and parsley leaves and place in a large salad bowl. Add the other ingredients, dressing and mix through again
  3. Sprinkle the salad with the toasted sunflower seeds
  4. Enjoy as a light meal or serve with a light protein

Serves 2

Easy paleo banana pancake

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easy-paleo-banana-pancake
If you’re trying to maintain a healthy diet and avoid processed foods, breakfast can be a challenge if you’re not well organised.

This banana pancake recipe is so simple and easy, I’ve almost always got the ingredients on hand. It’s super quick to prepare and doesn’t take long to cook. The other thing I love about it is that the cooked bananas are deliciously sweet so there’s no need to drizzle with maple syrup or any other sweetener.

Nutritionally, bananas make a great start to the day. According to the world’s healthiest foods, they are digested slowly by the body thanks to their high fibre content and the presence of a unique balance of pectins. This is in spite of their relatively high sugar content (compared with other friuts). They’re a good source of potassium – which the body uses to normalise blood pressure, and contain fructooligosaccharides (FMOs). FMOs are not typically broken down in the digestive track, instead they’re metabolised by bacteria in the lower intestine which helps the body maintain a balance of healthy bacteria.

Combined with an egg – which is a great source of high quality protein, plus cinnamon which both enhances the flavour and helps lower blood sugar levels, this dish makes a simple and healthy start to the day.

Ingredients

  • 1 ripe banana
  • 2 eggs
  • quarter teaspoon of cinnamon
  • coconut oil/ghee for cooking

Method

Mash the banana with a fork. Beat in the egg and mix well, then add the cinnamon and mix again.

Bring a small frying pan to a medium heat, add the coconut oil/ghee (or whatever you’re using to grease the pan) and allow to heat then add half the pancake mixture and cook for around 4 minutes until set, then flip and cook for a couple minutes on the second side. Repeat.

Serve topped with some fresh fruit. If I have it on hand, I sometimes drizzle with coconut yoghurt or buffalo milk yoghurt.

Serves 1  (2 pancakes)

easy-paleo-banana-pancake-2

Red Grapefruit Green Smoothie

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red-grapefruit-green-smoothieGreen smoothies are such a great way to start the day, your body and mind will love you!

Prepared in minutes, there’s really no easier way to consume a day’s recommended intake of green vegetables than by blending them together into smoothie.

I’ve played with dozens of recipes and this one is a clear winner in terms of taste and nutritional value.

  • The baby spinach and kale are loaded with Vitamin K, A, antioxidants and minerals
  • The kale and grapefruit are excellent sources of vitamin C
  • Red grapefruit is rich in lycopene which has been credited for its cancer fighting properties
  • Cucumber and coconut water are both alkalising and provide a delicate flavour
  • The avocado adds creaminess to the texture and its fat content helps your body absorb the high contents of vitamin A & K from the vegetables

My litmus test as always – I tested on my fiancé (who is driven by flavour over nutritional value) and it got his tick of approval so it’s a winner in our household.

Ingredients

  • 4 large kale leaves = approx 150g or 5 1/4 oz (leaves trimmed from stems)
  • 1 cup of baby spinach leaves (approx 80g / 2.8 oz)
  • 1 red grapefruit (you can substitute for yellow grapefruit if more readily available)
  • half a Lebanese cucumber or around a quarter of a telegraph cucumber
  • Half an avocado
  • 300ml / 10 fl oz coconut water
  • 200 ml / 7 fl oz water
  • quarter cup of ice

Add all ingredients to a blender and blend until smooth (depending on how powerful your blender is, this should take anywhere between 15-45 seconds).

Don’t stress if you don’t have the exact amount of greens, if I run out of spinach I’ll make with kale alone, or if I’m short of kale I’ll use extra spinach. Similarly, if cucumbers are abundant I might throw in a whole Lebanese cucumber. You can also experiment with different greens.

The smoothie is best consumed reasonably quickly as the ingredients gradually oxidise once blended.

Serves 2

Velvety smooth raw chocolate

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I’ve been making a very basic raw chocolate with coconut oil for a while now. I find it cures my craving for chocolate and its bitter flavour means I don’t go crazy on the stuff.

Recently however I’ve developed a thing for Pana chocolate. It’s hand made, tastes delicious and is velvety smooth. I’ve been experimenting with recipes to see if I could make something similar and I think I’ve landed pretty close.

Sweeteners

RICE MALT SYRUP

I was hoping I could get the flavour right with rice malt syrup (I use Pure Harvest organic rice malt syrup which is made from brown rice, is fructose free and low in glucose and maltose). According to Sarah Wilson in her book I Quit Sugar for Life, rice malt syrup is a “relatively slow-releasing sweetener so it doesn’t dump on the liver as much as pure glucose does.”

It worked out ok in this recipe (I happily ate a whole batch) but the texture of the chocolate wasn’t quite as velvety smooth as I was looking for.

HONEY

Next I tried making a batch with some honey made right here in Bondi by a good friend. The flavour was delicious but I found that the honey didn’t mix through evenly meaning that when I poured the chocolate into the moulds there was a disproportionate amount of honey concentrated in a few squares which rendered them sickly sweet. Also, I found I could taste the flavour of the honey in the chocolate which whilst good was not what I was looking for.

MAPLE SYRUP

Maple syrup worked quite well – thanks to its runny texture it mixed through the chocolate really well and the flavour was good too.

COCONUT NECTAR

Coconut nectar was the clear winner. Although not as runny as maple syrup it mixed through the chocolate really well and imparted a delicious smooth flavour. The first time I added 2 tablespoons but this was a little sweet for my liking so the second time I used 1.5 tablespoons and that worked better for me – particularly because I added small pieces of dried sour cherries as filling which lent extra sweetness.

AGAVE

I didn’t try agave but because this is runny it should also work well. I can see that Pana Chocolate uses agave in some of their varieties.

Ingredients

  • 50g/1.75oz cocoa butter
  • 30g/1oz good quality cacao powder
  • 2 tablespoons of coconut nectar, maple syrup or agave (see notes above, alternatively you can use honey. If using rice malt syrup you’ll probably need to add extra as it’s not as sweet as coconut nectar, maple syrup or agave)
  • 2 tablespoons of coconut oil
  • ¼ teaspoon of good quality cinnamon powder
  • 2 drops natural vanilla essence
  • pinch of good quality salt (I use Himalayan crystal)

Filling

  • Around 7 dried sour cherries, cut into small pieces OR
  • Around 6-8 activated or roasted almonds, finely chopped OR
  • 1 medjool date cut into small pieces OR
  • Any other filling of your choice

Note: you will need chocolate moulds for this recipe. If you don’t have them, try my basic raw chocolate recipe.

Method

If you’re using a filling, make sure whatever you’re using is cut into very small pieces and sprinkle throughout the chocolate mould(s).

Place the cocoa butter in a glass or heat-proof bowl and place the bowl over a pot of hot water on a very gentle heat and allow to melt slowly. Separately, melt the coconut oil the same way until it’s runny but not overly hot.

Once both the cocoa butter and coconut oil are melted, mix them together then add the coconut nectar (or other sweetener) and vanilla essence and mix through well.

Sift in the cocoa powder and cinnamon into the wet mixture and mix through well again.

Pour the mixture into the chocolate moulds then place in the fridge. Allow to set for 15-30 minutes.

Serves

Makes approximately 150g or 5.25 oz of raw chocolate (including filling). Will keep in the fridge for at least 6 weeks.

 

 

Roasted Baby Harissa Carrots

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roasted-baby-harissa-carrots
I’m a big fan of carrots – they’re delicious, nutritious, perfect in salads, pickled, roasted or added to baked goods.

This dish provides a wonderful diversity to the palate. Oven roasting the carrots brings out their natural sweetness and the harissa adds a delicious spicy flavour with just a tiny touch of sour (thanks to the fresh lemon juice in the harissa).

The natural intense flavour makes a perfect accompaniment to white fish however they can just as easily be paired with some roast meat or served on their own as a starter.

Because they take a while to cook, if I have extra I sometimes par-cook them at the weekend and then roast for a shorter period on a Monday or Tuesday night to accompany dinner.

For a variation, sprinkle with some roasted or activated almonds.

Ingredients

  • 1 bunch of baby/Dutch carrots (usually around 10-12)
  • 1 generous tablespoon of harissa
  • 1 dozen activated or roasted almonds, chopped up into smaller chunks – optional

Method

  1. Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees Fahrenheit or 350 degrees Celsius
  2. Line a baking tray with aluminium foil and place the carrots on top
  3. Coat the carrots is the harissa, ensuring that there’s some on both sides
  4. Place in the oven and cook for 25 minutes, turn and cook for a further 20 minutes
  5. Remove from the oven and if you’re using them serve sprinkled with the chopped almonds

If you prefer to par-cook the carrots, roast them for 17 minutes each side then remove from the oven and place in the fridge. The cay be kept for another 2 days and cooked for another 10-15 minutes before serving.