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Healthy recipes

Posted: Mon Feb 08, 2010 5:59 pm
by DNS
This thread can be to share some of your favorite healthy recipes. I'll start it with:

Collard & Curd (Ethiopian dish)

Ingredients:

4 bunches of collard greens
3 small containers of cottage cheese (Vegan option: 3 packages of firm tofu)
3 Tablespoon (Imperial) of Metimita Ethiopian spices
1 package of ten injera flat breads

Preparation:

Cut four bunches of fresh collard greens into small pieces. Grind them in a food processor to smaller pieces. Place collards into a large pan.

Strain the four packages of cottage cheese to remove the watery whey part. Place curds into the large pan with the collard. (Vegan option: remove water from the tofu packages and crumble the tofu into the large pan of collards.)

Cook for a few minutes on the stove top the collards & curd. Add metimita Ethiopian spices to the pan. Cook a few minutes more. (Semi-raw alternative: mix the ingredients, but don’t cook them. The collard greens will be raw and the only cooked food will be the tofu from the factory and the injera bread.)

Serve with the Ethiopian injera flatbreads. The injera is used to pick up the food (no forks!) and eat.

The Metimita spices and the injera can be purchased at any local Ethiopian food mart. Nearly every major city has at least one Ethiopian food grocery. If you cannot find an Ethiopian mart in your area, substitute cayenne pepper or Tabasco for the spices and pita bread instead of injera; culturally, it will not be Ethiopian, but it will be close and in taste, it will not be as good, but may be similar.

Health benefits:
Plenty of protein in the curd.
Plenty of protein in the teff grain in the injera.
Collard greens are loaded with anti-oxidants and vitamins, naturally.

A complete food, covering the vegetable group, protein group, and breads and grains food groups.

Image

Re: Healthy recipes

Posted: Mon Feb 08, 2010 8:16 pm
by Ben
Looks fantastic David.
Thank you for sharing!
I'll add some more recipes later today.
kind regards

Ben

Re: Healthy recipes

Posted: Mon Feb 08, 2010 11:57 pm
by LauraJ
Easy Veggie Curry

Ingredients

* 1 tablespoon olive oil
* 1 onion, chopped
* 2 cloves crushed garlic
* 2 1/2 tablespoons curry powder
* 2 tablespoons tomato paste
* 1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes
* 1 cube vegetable bouillon
* 1 (10 ounce) package frozen mixed vegetables
* 1 1/2 cups water
* salt and pepper to taste
* 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

Directions

1. In a large saucepan over medium-high, heat oil and saute onion, and garlic until golden. Stir in curry powder and tomato paste, cook 2 to 3 minutes.
2. Stir in tomatoes, vegetable bouillon cube, mixed vegetables, water, salt and pepper to taste. Cook approximately 30 minutes until vegetables are well done (not crunchy). Sprinkle with fresh cilantro prior to serving.

Re: Healthy recipes

Posted: Tue Feb 09, 2010 1:01 am
by Ben
Hi everyone

If you could indicate whether your measures are imperial or metric - it would be a great help because 1tbsp (metric) does not equal 1tbsp (imperial)!! Also, if you could indicate whether oven temperatures are in Farenheit or Celsius.
Thanks heaps.

Ben

Re: Healthy recipes

Posted: Tue Feb 09, 2010 1:50 am
by DNS
LauraJ wrote: Easy Veggie Curry
I :heart: curry. It is like a magic ingredient that makes anything taste good.

Re: Healthy recipes

Posted: Tue Feb 09, 2010 5:06 am
by Ben
Did someone say "curry"??
David N. Snyder wrote:
LauraJ wrote: Easy Veggie Curry
I :heart: curry. It is like a magic ingredient that makes anything taste good.
I never use bought curry powder anymore. The closest I'll come to it is a satchel or jar of curry paste. If I've got the time, I'll make it myself. Here are a couple of recipes:

All measures are in metric.

Madhur Jaffrey's curry powder:

2 tbsp whole coriander seeds
1 tbsp whole cumin seeds
2 tsp whole peppercorns
1.5 tsp whole brown mustard seeds
1 tsp whole fenugreek seeds
5.6 whole cloves
3 hot dried red chillies, crumbed
1 tsp ground tumeric

,- Set a small cast-iron frying pan on medium heat. When it is hot, put in the corriander, cumin, peppercorns, mustard seeds, fenugreek seeds, cloves and chillies. Stir around until the spices emit a light, roasted aroma. A few of the spices will turn a shade darker. Put in the tumeric, and stir for ten seconds. Empty the spices out on to a clean plate to cool. Now put the spices into a clean coffee grinder or other spice grinder (such as a mortar and pestle), in two batches if necessary, and grind as finely as possible. Store in a clean jar, away from heat and sunlight.
Makes 5-6 tbsp.

Sri Lankan raw curry powder

Perfect for all vegetable curries.

3 tbsp whole coriander seeds
1 tbsp whole fennel seeds
1.5 tbsp whole cumin seeds
1 tbsp whole fenugreek seeds
3 whole sprigs (about 60) fresh curry leaves if available or a small handful of dried ones)
1 tbsp dessicated coconut
1.5 tsp raw rice
0.5 tsp whole brown mustard seeds.

- Preheat oven to 65degC / 150degF / gas-mark 1/4
- Spread the seasonings on a tray and put them into the oven for 1 hour. Cool. Empty into a clean coffee grinder or other spice grinder and grind as finely as possible. Store in a tightly lidded jar away from heat and sunlight.

-- From Madhur Jaffrey's World Vegetarian Cooking

Re: Healthy recipes

Posted: Tue Feb 16, 2010 8:48 pm
by catmoon
Does anyone here make kimchi? I tried but so far the results are more like a wilted spicy salad than kimchi. I don't think its fermenting at all.

Re: Healthy recipes

Posted: Wed Apr 28, 2010 7:05 pm
by Tex
Was recommended this link for healthy pasta recipes: http://www.goodhousekeeping.com/food/he ... ta-recipes" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I made the "Cod Fra Diavolo", but without the cod. It was tasty, quick, and relatively cheap. If you're really sensitive to spicy foods you might go with less red pepper, but it's not overwhelming or anything. It could also use more marinara sauce, in my opinion.

Ingredients
U.S.

8 ounce(s) multigrain or whole wheat fusilli pasta
1 teaspoon(s) olive oil
1 medium red onion, coarsely chopped
1 medium red pepper, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
3 clove(s) garlic, chopped
1/4 teaspoon(s) crushed red pepper
1/2 cup(s) fat-free marinara sauce
1 can(s) (14 1/2 ounces) Italian-style diced tomatoes
Salt
1 pound(s) cod fillet, cut into 1-inch chunks
Fresh basil leaves for garnish

Directions

Heat large covered saucepot of water to boiling over high heat. Add pasta and cook as label directs.
Meanwhile, in nonstick 4-quart saucepan, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add onion and red pepper, and cook 8 to 10 minutes or until vegetables are tender and lightly browned, stirring occasionally. Stir in garlic and crushed red pepper; cook 1 minute. Stir in marinara sauce, diced tomatoes, and 1/2 teaspoon salt; heat to boiling over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer 5 minutes more.
Add cod chunks to sauce, pressing down with the back of a spoon to submerge in tomato sauce. Cover and cook over medium heat about 6 minutes or until cod is cooked through.
To serve, drain pasta well and place in 4 large shallow bowls; top with cod and sauce. Garnish with basil.

Re: Healthy recipes

Posted: Thu Apr 29, 2010 7:22 am
by Annapurna
Great recipes! I love the image you shared, David, and looked at my breakfast and thought I'll photograph it for you guys.

It's not only a breakfast, but also a great dessert or snack with not so many calories, but many healthy things in it. After eating this, you'll feel refreshed and energetic.

Ok, here it is.
Orange-banana 1 M.jpg
Orange-banana 1 M.jpg (197.27 KiB) Viewed 39469 times
Ingredients:

1 banana, sliced
1 organically grown orange, chopped
mild yogurt, 1,5 % fat, (preferably with living cultures, and without any sugar etc)
Vegan version: Soy yogurt
Fresh lemon balm leaves from the garden, peppermint will be also fine

Add a few chopped nuts if you like.

Especially nice: thin, crisp almond slices, shortly roasted in a pan without oil, just let them take a bit of color.

Health benefits:

1. Raw food, with full content of vitamins.

2. Rich in vitamins, minerals & fibers,

3. Carbohydrates, protein.

4. Low fat without nuts. If with nuts, good fatty acids, omega 3, (amount depending on what you choose)

5. DELICIOUS!!!

6. Keeps you full for a while.

It usually lasts me until about 11. Then I eat some fruit, like an apple, until I eat lunch around around 12.

Re: Healthy recipes

Posted: Thu Apr 29, 2010 7:26 am
by Ben
Thank you Anna for that recipe and sharing a photo of your dish with us!
metta

Ben

Re: Healthy recipes

Posted: Thu Apr 29, 2010 7:41 am
by Annapurna
Loved your curry recipes, Ben! My respect for making curry yourself! I use curry even in pasta sauce! You too? I also add Garam Masala, I think that gives it a special flavor... :popcorn:

Re: Healthy recipes

Posted: Thu Apr 29, 2010 7:53 am
by Ben
That sounds lovely, Anna.
Some of my secret ingredients in pasta sauce is smoked paprika (from La Vera region in Spain), ground corriander, cumin and sometimes a trace of chilli which seems to accent the other flavours. Speaking of pasta, I've been making my own lately. Tagliatelle and Pappadelle have been successes and only one success with ravioli. Ravioli is very fiddly and frustrating, especially when the very thin sheets of pasta dough have holes in them.
I've been making my own pasta on a weekly basis and it just leaves the store-bought dry pasta for dead. And the kids love it!
metta

Ben

Re: Healthy recipes

Posted: Thu Apr 29, 2010 8:04 am
by Annapurna
Really? Wow...I never made pasta myself! Do you use a noodle machine or cut them by hand?

Re: Healthy recipes

Posted: Thu Apr 29, 2010 8:45 am
by Ben
Hi Anna

I've got a hand-cranked pasta machine and its got a fitting for making spagetti and tagliatelle. For pappadelle, I just cut the sheets of pasta at the width that I like (2-4cm). The photo below is almost exactly the same as the one that I've got. Making the pasta dough is very easy.
The recipe I am using is essentially 100g "00" plain flour, 1 egg and a pinch of salt (per person) which is more than enough when cooked.
When you mix the dough, you don't have to kneed it as long as for bread - only five to ten minutes, and then let it rest for 15 minutes.
When you cook the fresh pasta, it only takes about 3 minutes.
kind regards

Ben
Marcato%20Atlas%20150%20pasta%20machine%203%20tipi%20di%20pasta%20EQ-90002a.jpg
Marcato%20Atlas%20150%20pasta%20machine%203%20tipi%20di%20pasta%20EQ-90002a.jpg (44.05 KiB) Viewed 39458 times

Re: Healthy recipes

Posted: Mon Jun 28, 2010 3:55 pm
by Rui Sousa
Jardineira (Portuguese traditional recipe)

Ingredients

1 big Garlic clove or 2 small cloves
1 small onion
1 leaf of bay leaf
200 gr of Potatoes
100 gr of Carrots
125 gr of pre cooked peas (one small can)

Preparation
Preferably use a non-adherent pot.

Cover the pot base with Extra Virgin Olive Oil.
Chop the garlic and the onions in very small pieces, split the bay leaf in 4 or 5 pieces and place all of them in the pot with the Olive Oil.
Cook with low or medium temperature for a few minutes, When the onions start to change colour add Soy cubes, meat or fish.
Put the lid on an let the Soy\meat\fish cook for a few minutes, stir every minute or two to make the cooking even.
When the Soy\meat\fish starts to change colour (all around) add the carrots, potatoes, peas and other vegetables you may have.
Cook for two minutes and add a bit of water, beer (stout beer will add amazing flavour), or a bit of wine.
With the lid on let it cook until the carrots are done (poke them with a fork every two minutes).

NOTE: Soy cubes suck a lot of the olive oil, you may have to add more olive oil before the vegetables.