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Welcome The Dietitians Association of Australia launched Australia’s Healthy Weight Week to help address overweight and obesity in Australia – which affects 63 per cent of adults and one in four children. The week is an ideal time to kick-start better eating habits to be healthier and feel happier. Achieving and maintaining a healthy weight is crucial for reducing your risk of lifestyle-related conditions, such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease and some cancers. And being a healthy weight helps you to feel your best and live life to the full! The Dietitians Association of Australia and celebrity chef Luke Mangan have put together this collection of mouthwatering main meal recipes. The cookbook showcases the versatility of healthy cooking – and that it can be fun, tasty and fuss-free. We hope you’ll agree that healthy eating just became a whole lot easier! Australia’s Healthy Weight Week encourages Australians to get the right support when it comes to nutrition. So we’ve also included nutrition tips from Accredited Practising Dietitians throughout the cookbook. And we encourage you to visit www.healthyweightweek.com.au for more tips and tools on how to eat healthier, live better and move more.
We hope this cookbook gives you that little bit of extra inspiration to become a healthier you. Enjoy! Julie Dundon AdvAPD President Dietitians Association of Australia
Barbecue Beef Kebabs in Marinade with Couscous
Serves 6 Ingredients 1kg rump steak, cut into 2.5cm cubes 1½ tbsp Moroccan spice ½ cup extra virgin olive oil 12 skewers 2 large brown onions cut into 2.4cm dice Mix of fresh coriander/cilantro and fresh mint leaves, sliced, to garnish Lemon or lime wedges, to garnish
Couscous 1 cup water 2tbsp extra virgin olive oil 250g couscous ½ red onion, chopped 2tbsp chopped almonds 1 red chilli, seeded and chopped 2tbsp chopped dates 1½tbsp chopped coriander/cilantro Cracked pepper to taste
Method Combine the steak, Moroccan spice and oil in a large bowl. Marinate in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours, but no longer than 12 hours.
If using bamboo skewers, soak them in water for a few hours before using so they don’t burn. Preheat the barbecue to high. Layer each skewer by spearing 1 beef cube followed by 1 piece of onion, and repeat 3-4 times. Season the kebabs to taste.
To Serve Serve the couscous in a large serving dish topped with the kebabs. Sprinkle the coriander/cilantro and mint mixture and garnish with lemon or lime wedges. Serve with a large green salad.
Barbecue the kebabs, turning them occasionally, until they are cooked to desired liking, ensuring not to overcook as they will dry out.
To make the couscous Pour the water into a saucepan. Add the extra virgin olive oil and bring to the boil. Add the couscous; remove the saucepan from the heat and allow the couscous to swell for 2 minutes. Return the saucepan to the heat, stirring with a fork to break up the grains. Remove from the heat. Add the remaining ingredients and season to taste.
NUTRITION TIP Protein-rich foods, such as beef and lamb, provide important nutrients, like iron, zinc, vitamin B12 and omega-3 fats, and help keep you feeling fuller for longer. Michelle McCracken, Accredited Practising Dietitian
Crab omelette with Enoki mushroom salad
Serves 4 Ingredients
Method
Omelette
For the fish sauce dressing:
12 eggs (3 eggs per omelette) 3tbsp extra virgin olive oil 1cup firmly packed crab meat, ensure there is no residue of shell Cracked black pepper
Whisk all of the ingredients until well blended.
Fish sauce dressing 2tbsp extra virgin olive oil 1tbsp lime juice 2tsp Thai fish sauce 2tsp crisp fried shallots (from an Asian grocer) 2tsp toasted sesame seeds
For the salad 8 basil leaves, broken up 1 red chilli, seeded and julienne 8 coriander/cilantro leaves, lightly torn 8 mint leaves, lightly torn 2 sprigs dill, lightly torn 1 punnet Enoki mushrooms, split into individual mushrooms
For the salad: Place all of the salad ingredients in a bowl and toss gently to combine with some of the fish sauce dressing
For the omelette: Heat a little olive oil in a non-stick frypan. Whisk the eggs in a bowl and ladle in a quarter of the egg mixture. While the omelette is setting, warm the crab meat in a small pan and add a quarter of the warmed crab filling to the centre of the omelette and fold over then transfer to a plate. Keep warm and repeat 3 times with remaining egg mixture.
To Serve Garnish each omelette with a handful of salad. Serve.
NUTRITION TIP In season vegetables, such as mushrooms, make a tasty addition to any main meal. Mushrooms are a great source of B group vitamins, like riboflavin, niacin and pantothenic acid. Glenn Cardwell, Accredited Practising Dietitian
Spaghetti Bolognaise
Serves 6 Ingredients 600g minced beef 2tbsp extra virgin olive oil 1 medium brown onion, finely chopped 1 carrot, finely diced 4 garlic cloves, crushed 150g button mushrooms, washed and sliced 1x 410g tin whole tomatoes, crushed ½ cup tomato paste ½cup dry red wine ½ cup beef stock 1tsp sugar 2tbsp finely shredded fresh basil 1tbsp chopped oregano 1tbsp chopped thyme 500g pack spaghetti Cracked black pepper 5tbsp shaved or grated parmesan
Method Place the minced beef in a large non-stick frypan and fry off until lightly browned. Place in a colander to drain off the fat.
Add the olive oil to the pan and fry the onion, carrot and garlic, over medium heat, stirring, until the onion is soft. Add the button mushrooms and cook for a few minutes or until tender and soft. Return the mince to the pan, stirring constantly over high heat until well browned. Add the crushed tomato, tomato paste, red wine, stock and sugar. Bring to a boil, reduce heat then simmer over low heat, covered, for about 30 minutes or until the mince is tender and the mixture has thickened slightly. Stir through the herbs. Meanwhile, cook the pasta in a large saucepan of boiling salted water, uncovered, until just tender. Drain, drizzle with some of the olive oil, season to taste and toss.
To Serve Serve sauce spooned over pasta with grated parmesan on the side. Serve with a large green salad.
NUTRITION TIP Be portion aware. Before eating, look at the amount on your plate. Is it enough for one or two? Try serving this meal with a green salad on the side – the salad will provide extra nutrients, will help fill you up and add variety to your plate. Celeste Hankins, Accredited Practising Dietitian
Vegetarian Pasta Salad
Serves 6 Ingredients 250g penne or other pasta 2 large red onions, sliced thickly 2 zucchinis/courgettes, trimmed, cut lengthways into thirds 1 eggplant/aubergine, trimmed, cut lengthways into slices about 1cm thick 1 large red capsicum / bell pepper, seeded, cut into 2.5cm wide strips 1 large field mushroom 4tbsp extra virgin olive oil Âź cup semi-dried tomatoes Cracked pepper to taste 1tbsp unpitted kalamata olives, to garnish 4tbsp fresh grated parmesan, to garnish
Dressing 2 garlic cloves, crushed 3tbsp balsamic vinegar Cracked black pepper 2tbsp Dijon mustard ½ cup extra virgin olive oil 1tbsp fresh oregano 1tbsp chopped fresh sage
1tbsp chopped fresh basil 1tbsp chopped fresh chives 1tbsp chopped fresh parsley 3 hard boiled eggs, peeled and roughly chopped
To Serve Toss a little dressing into the vegetable salad. Top with olives and parmesan. Serve.
Method Cook the penne in a large saucepan of rapidly boiling water until al dente. Drain and allow to cool. Meanwhile, place all the vegetables, except tomatoes, into a large bowl. Toss with olive oil and grill on the barbecue or pan-fry until they are tender. Allow to cool slightly. Transfer the vegetables to a chopping board and roughly cut into chunks, not too fine. Place all the vegetables in a bowl; add the semi-dried tomatoes and the penne.
To make the dressing Whisk the garlic, balsamic vinegar, mustard in a bowl and season with pepper to taste. Slowly drizzle in the olive oil until mixed through then add the herbs and chopped eggs and mix well to combine.
NUTRITION TIP Write a menu plan for the week. Organising your meals ahead of time will make you less likely to buy take away, which is often more expensive (not to mention less healthy!) than a home cooked meal. Michelle Ryan, Accredited Practising Dietitian
Whole snapper with green vegetables
Serves 4 Ingredients
Method
4 x 300g-450g dinner plate sized snapper, sea bass, striped sea bass, trout or halibut steaks 4tbsp extra virgin olive oil, plus extra for frying 3 shallots, peeled and diced 2tsp grated fresh ginger 4 fresh shiitake mushrooms, sliced ½ Chinese cabbage, shredded 1tbsp Thai fish sauce ½ bunch spring onions/ scallions chopped 3½tbsp fish stock Lime wedges to garnish
Season both sides of the fish with half the olive oil. Heat a non-stick fry pan with a little oil or heat the barbecue. Fry the fish over medium to high heat for about 4 to 5 minutes on each side or until golden brown. Meanwhile, heat the rest of the olive oil in a large frying pan. Add the shallots, ginger and mushrooms and sauté together. Add the cabbage and continue to sauté for 3 minutes. Add the fish sauce and stock and simmer until the cabbage collapses. Mix in the spring onions/scallion.
To Serve Serve the fish on individual dinner plates and top with the Asian greens (allowing the sauce to drip over the fish). Garnish with a lime wedge on the side.
NUTRITION TIP To keep the kilojoules low try using an oil spray instead of the oil. And serve with a large tossed salad for extra colour, variety and nutrients. Clare Collins, Accredited Practising Dietitian
Roasted Vegetable Frittata
Serves 4 Ingredients 450g desiree potatoes, diced 450g pumpkin, diced Extra virgin olive oil Ground black pepper 6 eggs 200ml light cream 1cup parsley leaves, chopped Olive oil spray
Method Preheat oven to 200C. Cut potatoes and pumpkin into similar sized cubes (potatoes will take longer than the pumpkin), then toss in olive oil and pepper and roast in the oven until three-quarters cooked (approx. 30 minutes, depending on the size of the vegetables). Leave to cool and reduce oven to 150C. Beat eggs and mix with cream and chopped parsley.
Spray an ovenproof non-stick pan with olive oil spray, add the egg mix then arrange the cooked vegetables in the pan, ensuring not to over fill the pan as the mix will rise. Cook over a low heat until the bottom has set. Transfer to the oven and cook until just set in the centre and golden brown (approx. 15 to 20 minutes). If you don’t have a suitable ovenproof dish you can finish the frittata under the grill.
To Serve Serve with a large green salad.
Notes If there is any leftover egg mixture you can make another smaller frittata. Using the same egg and cream quantities you can make any flavour frittata you like such as; roasted red onion, capsicum, fresh herbs and fetta.
NUTRITION TIP Including nutrient-rich foods, like eggs (which provide protein, omega-3 fats and lots of vitamins and minerals) as part of your main meal will help you meet your daily nutritional needs. And to reduce the saturated fat and kilojoule content of this recipe further, substitute light cream with reduced fat milk. Sharon Natoli, Accredited Practising Dietitian
Spring Lamb Loin with Peas, Fetta & Pine Nuts
Serves 6 Ingredients 6 x 150g lamb loins, trimmed 3tbsp extra virgin olive oil, plus extra 2cups fresh or frozen peas 4tbsp fetta 2tbsp pine nuts, toasted Good handful of mint leaves chopped 1 lemon Cracked black pepper
Method Season the lamb loins and drizzle over some olive oil. Heat a barbecue grill or frypan to a high heat and cook the lamb loins for 1 minute on each side. The meat should not be overcooked, but pink in the middle. Leave to rest.
Cook the peas in salted boiling water until tender. Drain and crush with a fork. Add the fetta and crush further to combine. Add the toasted pine nuts and mint, a squeeze of lemon and a good splash of olive oil and pepper.
To serve Spoon the crushed peas among individual serving plates. Slice each lamb loin into about 5 to 6 slices and arrange on top of the crushed peas. Spoon more crushed peas and mint on top. Drizzle with a little extra virgin olive oil and serve with a large green salad.
NUTRITION TIP Choose cooking methods that don’t need lots of fats and oils such as grilling, stir-frying, baking, barbecuing and microwaving. And for extra ‘brownie points’, trim the visible fat off meat and take the skin off chicken before cooking. Joanna McMillan, Accredited Practising Dietitian
Australia’s Healthy Weight Week 2013 is supported by
www.themainmeal.com.au
www.eggs.org.au
www.lukemangan.com
www.powerofmushrooms.com.au
©2013 Dietitians Association of Australia ABN 34 008 521 480. This cookbook is copyright. Except as permitted under the Copyright Act, no part of this publication may be reproduced by any process, without the specific written permission of the copyright owner, except that one copy of this cookbook may be downloaded for free for personal use from the website www.healthyweightweek.com.au. Enquiries should be directed to nationaloffice@daa.asn.au
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An Accredited Practising Dietitian (APD) is your diet coach - they can tailor an eating plan to your individual lifestyle and support and motivate you to make changes for life. Call, toll free, 1800 812 942 or visit ‘Find an APD’ at www.daa.asn.au to contact your local APD.