Lifestyle – Recipes

• • Start with a good blender. Keep the blender within easy access on the counter top, not in the box, and definitely not packed away in the kitchen cupboard

• • Use about two fresh fruit per person – two tennis balls of fruit

• • Peel fruit only where absolutely necessary e.g. citrus fruit or banana or pineapple but keep the peel on fruits such as apples, peaches, grapes or pears

• • The fluid for the smoothie can be water, fruit juice, low fat yoghurt or milk, or good quality soya milk

• • Bulk up the smoothie by adding a handful of slow release cereal, such as oats, high fibre bran cereals, muesli or oat bran

• • Adding ice cubes is a great way to jazz up smoothies and to add volume without adding additional kilojoules

• • Chopped frozen fruit, prepared in advance, are lovely added to smoothies

• • Frozen berries are a power house of nutrients and super for delicious smoothies. Tip: Keep frozen berries for easy year-round availability

• • Smoothies need to be consumed as soon as possible, so drink immediately or pour into a water bottle to drink on the run

Tip: Rinse your blender under running water immediately after use and no further cleaning needed!

Smooth, smoother, smoothie winning recipes

Note: The amounts listed below are for women. Men would consume double the amounts given. Each smoothie recipe below (women’s portion size) provides:

• • Less than 1000 kilojoules (240 calories)

• • GL around 20 (perfect for a meal!)

Pear Deluxe

1 large or 2 small (220g) pear
1 handful (75g) grapes
150ml low fat vanilla yoghurt
½ cup (125ml) water
2 teaspoons of oatbran
10g almonds, raw
Optional: Ice cubes

Place all the ingredients in a blender and whiz until smooth.

Tropical smoothie

1 medium (150g) pawpaw, peeled and de pipped
1 (65g) kiwi fruit, peeled
1 small handful (50g) grapes
20g cashews, raw
Optional: Ice cubes

Place all the ingredients in a blender and whiz until smooth.

Berry and oat delight

1 cup (125g) frozen or fresh berries
1 medium (100g) banana
2 teaspoons of oatbran
¼ cup (75ml) Low fat milk
50g Low fat plain yoghurt

Note: No ice cubes needed if frozen berries are used.
Place all the ingredients in a blender and whiz until smooth.

Nutty muesli smoothie

20g muesli, low GI
60 ml fat free (skim) milk
2 heaped tablespoons (75ml) fat free vanilla yoghurt
1 small (75g) apple
½ tablespoon (10g) peanut butter
Optional: Ice cubes

Place all the ingredients in a blender and whiz until smooth.

Note: Fat free milk and yoghurt is recommended as there is a lot of fat coming from the peanut butter.

Crème soda smoothie

1 small (50g) apple
1 small (80g) banana
1 small (100g) pear
75ml low fat milk
75g fat free vanilla yoghurt
1 heaped teaspoon (7g) Nesquik cream soda powder
Optional: Ice cubes

Place all the ingredients in a blender and whiz until smooth.

 

Our Employee Wellbeing Programme (EWP) is available 24 hours a day if want to know more about nutrition.

Although this recipe contains high GI ingredients such as the Boudoir biscuits, the syrup from the cherries and the instant pudding powder, the beans, cottage cheese and the yoghurt offset these, and the end result is a low GI cheesecake like pudding.

Serves 12

• • 410 g  tin small white beans, drained

• • ½ packet Boudoir biscuits (72,5g)

• • 50 ml sherry (optional)

• • 250 g cottage cheese, low fat, smooth

• • 250 ml plain yoghurt, low fat

• • 1 packet vanilla instant pudding

• • 1 x 410g tin cherries in syrup

• • 10 ml gelatin

1. 1. Process the beans in a food processor or liquidizer until very smooth.
   2. Arrange the biscuits in a single layer in an attractive glass serving dish.
   3. Sprinkle the sherry over the biscuits.
   4. Beat the beans, cottage cheese, yoghurt and instant pudding together with an electric beater or hand whisk.
   5. Spread the mixture evenly over the biscuits and place in the refrigerator.
   6. Drain the cherries and cut in half. Arrange on top of the set cottage cheese filling.
   7. Mix the gelatine into the cherry syrup and stir the mixture over low heat, until all the gelatine is dissolved.
   8. Allow the gelatine and cherry syrup to cool.
   9. When it is cool to the touch, pour the cooled cherry juice mixture over the pudding and refrigerate until set – at least 2 hours.

Nutrients per serving

GI: low (52)
Fat: 2g
Carbohydrates: 24g
Fibre: 2g
Protein: 7g
kJ: 647
GL: 13

Dieticians notes: Although this recipe contains high GI ingredients such as the Boudoir biscuits, the syrup from the cherries and the instant pudding powder, the beans, cottage cheese and the yoghurt offset these, and the end result is a low GI cheesecake like pudding.

Suitable for people with diabetes and hypoglycaemia and slimmers, despite the sugar in it.  Slimmers should remember to leave out one starch and have less protein at the meal where this cheesecake type pudding is eaten.

One serving is equivalent to:  1 starch and 1 dairy/protein

This recipe is compliments of Snacks and Treats for Sustained Energy by Gabi Steenkamp and Jekse Wellmann (Tafelberg, 2007), available from most bookstores, your local dietitian, pharmacy or www.gabisteenkamp.co.za.

Healthy dips are ever popular. Try out one of these delicious recipes.

Note: For all the healthy dips, place in a blender until smooth and creamy.

To one tub of 250ml smooth fat free cottage cheese add…

 

Feta Spread

• • 200 grams ricotta

• • 300 grams reduced fat feta

• • 4 tablespoons finely chopped mint

• • ½ teaspoon cracked black pepper

 

Blue Cheese Cottage Cheese Dip

• • 50ml sour cream

• • 1/3 cup blue cheese (crumbled)

• • ½ onions (chopped)

• • dill weed (dried, taste)

 

Creamy Spinach Dip

• • ½ cup plain yogurt

• • 100 grams spinach (chopped)

• • ½ diced onion

• • salt (to taste)

 

Avocado Dip

• • 2 avocados (peeled pitted and mashed)

• • 30 grams green chilies (diced, drained)

• • salt and pepper (to taste)

 

Tomato Dip

• • 1 teaspoon crushed garlic

• • ¼ teaspoon salt

• • 6 sun-dried tomatoes (drained patted dry chopped)

• • 1/3 cup non-fat yogurt plain

• • ¼ cup low-fat mayonnaise

 

Cottage Cheese Dill Dip

• • 1 green onion (chopped)

• • 2 tablespoons fresh parsley (snipped)

• • 1 teaspoon dill (dried)

• • ½ tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

• • 1/8 teaspoon pepper

• • 1 dash garlic flakes

 

Blue Cheese Dip

• • 1/8 teaspoon pepper

• •  2 tablespoons finely chopped onion

• • 1/3 cup blue cheese (crumbled)

• • ½ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

• • 3 tablespoons cream

 

Cottage Cheese and Olive Dip

• • 2 tablespoons mayonnaise

• • 1 tablespoons mustard (horseradish)

• • ½ teaspoon vinegar

• • 1 tablespoons minced onion (flakes)

• • 6 black olives (pitted black olives chopped)

• • 6 green olives (stuffed green olives chopped)

• • 1/8 teaspoon pepper

• • salt

 

DAIRY-FREE DIPS

 

White Bean Dip

• • 800 grams (2 tins) cannellini beans (rinsed and drained)

• • 1/3 cup fresh cilantro (chopped)

• • 3 cloves crushed garlic (to taste)

• • 1/3 cup olive oil

• • 1½ tablespoon lemons juice

• • salt and pepper (to taste)

 

Spinach and Cannelloni Bean Dip

• • 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

• • 2 cloves minced garlic

• • 400 grams baby spinach

• • 400 grams (1 can) cannelloni beans (drained and rinsed)

• • 1 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

• • 1 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

• • 1 teaspoon salt

• • ¼ teaspoon black pepper (freshly ground)

 

Ginger Carrot Dip with Crudites

• • ½ cup fat-free mayonnaise

• • 1½ tablespoons seasoned rice vinegar

• • 1 tablespoons soy sauce

• • ¼ teaspoon sesame oil

• • 5 carrots (coarsely chopped)

• • ¼ cup ginger (chopped peeled)

 

Olive Tapenade

• • 2 cups kalamata olives (unpitted)

• • 30ml extra virgin olive oil

• • Dash sea salt

• • Milled black pepper

• • 2 cloves fresh garlic (optional)

• • 400 grams (2 tins) cannellini beans (rinsed and drained)

 

Olive and Herb Topping

• • 250 grams seeded olives

• • 1 baby brown onion coarsely chopped

• • 1 clove crushed garlic

• • 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

• • 1 teaspoon fresh fat leaf parsley

• • 1 teaspoon fresh chopped oregano

• • 1 teaspoon lemon juice

 

Serve with an assortment of vegetables and snacks

• • Tomato

• • Peppers – red, yellow and green

• • Celery

• • Cucumber

• • Broccoli

• • Mushrooms

• • Bread sticks

• • Roasted pita breads

• • Water biscuits

• • Provita Biscuits

• • Oat cakes

Makes 24 brownies (4cm x 4cm)

• • 1  tin white beans (410g), drained OR 250g cooked dry white beans (1c)

• • 60-75 ml skimmed milk (4T– 5T)

• • 250 ml pie apples, unsweetened (1c)

• • 200 ml cake flour (4/5c)

• • 10 ml baking powder (2t)

• • 2,5 ml salt (½t)

• • 125 ml cocoa powder (½c)

• • 3 eggs, preferably omega-3 rich

• • 250 ml sugar (1c)

• • 5 ml vanilla essence (1t)

• • optional 16 pecan nut halves, chopped

 

Preheat oven to 180°C.

 

1. 1. Lightly grease a medium-sized rectangular baking pan or lasagna dish (18cm x 26cm) with a paper towel dipped in oil or spray with non-stick spray.
   2. Place the drained beans and half the milk in a food processor or liquidizer and process until smooth and the consistency of mashed potato. Add more milk as needed.
   3. Add the pie apples and process again for 1 minute, until well mixed and smooth.
   4. In a medium bowl, sift the flour, baking powder, salt and cocoa powder together.
   5. Beat the eggs in a separate large bowl. Add the sugar in three batches, beating for one minute after each addition, using an electric beater.
   6. Add one third of the bean and apple liquid mixture to the egg and sugar mixture, together with one third of the sifted dry ingredients. Fold in carefully. Repeat with the rest of the liquid and dry ingredients. Take care that all the “wet” ingredients do not lie at the bottom of the bowl.
   7. Add the vanilla essence and mix through.
   8. Lastly, fold in the chopped nuts.

Pour the batter into the greased baking pan and spread it out evenly.

Bake for approx. 40 – 45 minutes, until well risen. Before removing from the oven, insert a skewer into the middle of the “cake”. If the skewer comes out clean, remove the cake from the oven and cool it for 5 minutes in the pan. If not, bake for another 5 – 10 minutes. 12. Cut into 24 squares (4cm x 4cm) while warm and cool brownies on a cooling rack.

Any cooked or canned white beans can be used, butter beans, small white beans, Cannellini beans or kidney beans and even rinsed baked beans.

Nutrients per brownie

• • Glycemic Index lower (58)

• • Carbohydrates 15g

• • Protein 3g

• • Fat 2g

• • Fibre 1g kJ 364

• • Glycemic Load 8

 

One brownie is equivalent to: 1 starch and ½ fat

Allergens: milk, wheat, egg

This recipe is compliments of Snacks And Treats For Sustained Energy by Gabi Steenkamp and Jekse Wellmann (Tafelberg, 2007), available from most bookstores, your local dietitian, pharmacy or www.gabisteenkamp.co.za

Serves 8

Ingredients

• • 5ml olive or canola oil (1t)

• • 1 onion, finely chopped

• • 2 cloves garlic, minced

• • 1 carrot, grated

• • 1 celery stick, chopped

• • 250ml broccoli florets, chopped (1 cup)

• • 4t (chicken) stock powder in 1,5 litres hot water

• • 1 x 410g can baked beans in tomato sauce

• • 300g cooked shredded

• • 100g dry (durum wheat) spaghetti broken into 2cm lengths (1 cup/250ml)

• • 10ml mixed herbs, dried (2t)

• • 100ml parsley, fresh, chopped (2/5c)

Method

1. 1. Heat oil and gently fry onion and garlic until transparent
   2. Add carrot and celery and stir-fry for 3 minutes.
   3. Add broccoli and toss all together.
   4. Pour stock over vegetables and simmer for 10 minutes.
   5. Add baked beans and shredded chicken and bring back to boil
   6. Add broken spaghetti and herbs and simmer for 10 minutes until pasta is just soft.
   7. To serve sprinkle with chopped fresh parsley

Nutritional information

Per serving

• • GI low (44)

• • Carbohydrates 21g

• • Protein 20g

• • Fat 5g

• • Fibre 10g kJ 971

• • Glycaemic load 19

One serving is equivalent to 1 starch + 2 protein + 1 vegetable

 

Dieticians note

The baked beans add loads of typical tomato flavour and keep blood glucose levels steady for at least three hours. Should you wish to have a slice of lower GI bread with this soup, have a smaller portion of the soup.

 

Source

Eating For Sustained Energy by Liesbet Delport and Gabi Steenkamp