My favourite ginger and coconut fish

This is a super easy & delicious recipe from the CWA Classics cookbook.  It comes in right on 300 calories (including veges) and you can mix it up with whatever sides you like and any type of fish too.  A beautiful mix of flavours and very quick to whip up - this definitely passes my "Play School test" (that is, prepping the meal in the time it takes the kids to watch one episode of Play School! - is that bad?!?)  Enjoy :-)

Ingredients
4 x 200g white fish cutlets
salt and pepper
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 tablespoon finely grated fresh ginger
1 teaspoon medium curry powder
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 dessertspoon fish sauce
140ml light coconut milk
steamed vegetables, to serve

Method
Season the fish with salt and pepper.

Heat the oil in a large, deep, non-stick frying pan, add the ginger and curry powder, and keep stirring for a minute until fragrant.  Add the garlic and fish sauce, stir in the coconut milk, and add the fish in a single layer.  Cover and cook for about 10 minutes.

Serve fish on steamed vegetables, drizzled with the sauce.

Tangy Sweet Curry

This is a tasty curry taken from my CWA Classics cookbook.  Served with sweet potato mash and peas, it comes in at 336 calories.  This would also be perfect to pop in the slow cooker in the morning.  Delicious!

Ingredients (serves 4)
500g lean steak, cubed
Seasoned flour, to coat
2 medium carrots, diced
1 large onion, chopped
2 sticks celery, diced
250mL can tomato soup
1 dessertspoon curry powder
1 tablespoon golden syrup
1/4 cup lemon juice

Preheat the oven to 150 degreed celsius, fan-forced.

Toss the steak in a seasoned flour to coat, then place in a large casserole dish.  Add carrot, onion and celery to the meat.

Mix the tomato soup with 1 cup water, then stir in the curry powder, golden syrup and lemon juiced, and season with salt and pepper.  Add mixture to the meat and vegetables, stirring gently to combine.  Place in oven and simmer for 2-3 hours.

Serve with steamed rice or mashed potato and peas.

Chilli Con Carne Wraps

I borrowed a fabulous Biggest Loser cook book out of the library the other day, called "100 Snacks and Light Meals".  It has so many great ideas, including this one!  It was delicious in the wrap, but you could easily put the Chilli Con Carne itself with anything - rice, cous cous, toast, or on its own.  Very satisfying & another one that the whole family will love - and comes in at 307 calories.

Ingredients (serves 4)
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 onion, chopped
200g premium lean beef mince
400g can chopped tomatoes
2 tablespoons salt-reduced tomato paste
1 cup diced Queensland blue pumpkin
420g can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 teaspoon chilli sauce
lettuce leaves
4 pieces lavash or Mountain Bread

Method
Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat.  Cook the onion for 5 minutes, or until tender.  Increase heat to high, add the mince to the pan and cook for 5 minutes, or until brown.  Stir well to break up any lumps.

Stir in the tomatoes, tomato paste, pumpkin and 1/4 cup water.  Simmer for 15 minutes, or until the pumpkin is tender and the mince is cooked.  Add the kidney beans and chilli sauce and season to taste with salt and pepper.  Simmer for 5 minutes.  Set aside to cool slightly.

Arrange a few lettuce leaves on top of each piece of bread.  Top with the chilli con carne and roll up to form a wrap.

Anzac Biscuits

Some public holiday baking for you!  I grabbed this recipe from www.exclusivelyfood.com.au - and it's a winner!  My variation was to add 1 cup of choc chips and 1/2 cup chopped dried apricots (the mixture was still warm when I added the choc chips, so they semi-melted and gave my bikkies a delicious dark, chocolately result!)  I resisted the final product, but I can definitely say the raw mixture is TO DIE FOR!!!  Happy Anzac Day :-)

Ingredients
120g butter
2 tablespoons (40ml) golden syrup
92g (1 cup) rolled oats
85g (1 cup) desiccated coconut
150g (1 cup) plain flour
168g (3/4 cup) caster sugar
1 tablespoon (20ml) boiling water
1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)

Method
Preheat oven to 160 degrees Celsius (140 degrees Celsius fan-forced). If you will be baking one tray of biscuits at a time, move the oven rack to the centre of the oven. If you wish to bake two trays of biscuits at a time, place one oven rack in the upper half of the oven and one in the lower half of the oven.

Line one or two large baking trays with baking paper.

Place butter and golden syrup in a small saucepan over low heat, stirring occasionally.

Stir oats, coconut, flour and sugar together in a large bowl.

When butter has melted, combine soda and boiling water in a small bowl and stir into butter and golden syrup mixture.

Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and stir until well combined.

Roll level, firmly packed tablespoons of the mixture into balls and place about 5cm apart on the trays.

Slightly flatten the balls with a fork.

Bake for about 16-19 minutes, until biscuits are golden brown but still soft (a longer cooking time will produce a crisper, drier biscuit). If you don't have a fan-forced oven, and are baking two trays of biscuits at a time, swap the positions of the trays halfway through the baking time. This will allow the biscuits to cook more evenly. You may also need to extend the baking time by a few minutes.

Cool biscuits on trays or wire racks.

Store cooled biscuits in an airtight container.

Anzac Day Cake

I was looking for something a little different to make this Anzac Day and stumbled across this recipe from Fast Ed (you know, the guy from Better Homes & Gardens). It uses very similar ingredients to the traditional Anzac Biscuits - but of course in cake form, yum! As I write, the cake hasn't been tested, so I'll have to come back with my work colleagues' reviews tomorrow. I made a few changes - mine needed an extra 15 minutes or so in the oven (and I think I slightly over-did it in the end) - so just keep an eye on it. I used shredded coconut from a packet rather than the fresh stuff, and instead of rum I used 1 teaspoon of vanilla essence and 1 teaspoon of coconut essence, then water to make it up to 1/4 cup. Enjoy a little variation this Anzac Day :-)

Ingredients
melted butter for greasing
caster sugar for dusting
125g unsalted butter
250g golden syrup
6 eggs
120g self raising flour
120g rolled oats
150g dessicated coconut
80g icing sugar
1/4 cup caster sugar
1/4 cup dark rum
1/4 cup fresh coconut
cream to serve

Method
Preheat oven to 170c, line and grease a 23cm round cake tin, dust with caster sugar.

Melt butter and golden syrup in small pan over a low heat. Set aside to cool slightly,then beat in eggs.

Combine flour, oats, coconut and icing sugar in a bowl, stir in butter mixture. Spoon into prepared tin and bake for 20-25 mins or until a skewer inserted in centre comes out clean. Set aside for 5 mins.

Meanwhile bring caster sugar and rum to the boil, cook for 5 mins, then set aside. Remove coconut shell and shred coconut meat into fine strips with a vegie peeler.

Gently turn out cake onto wire rack to cool. Serve drizzled with rum syrup, topped with coconut and a dollop of cream on the side.

Leek, Bean and Mushroom Bake

 This is a Women's Weekly recipe, that comes in at on 227 calories per serve.  It's amazingly hearty & was enjoyed by my whole family.  Feel free to substitute whichever veges and herbs you have on hand.


Ingredients (serves 6)
1 cup (200g) dried white beans (cannellini) - **I just used a 400g can**

2 teaspoons olive oil

2 medium leeks

3 cloves garlic

350g swiss brown muchrooms, halved

2 stalks celery, trimmed, chopped

½ cup dry red wine **I just added some extra stock instead**

1 cup vegetable stock

3 cups tomato pasta sauce

2 sprigs fresh thyme

1 cup frozen peas

3 slices multigrain bread, halved

Place beans in a medium bowl, cover with water.  Stand overnight, drain; rinse under cold water, drain.  Cook beans in medium saucepan of boiling water about 20 minutes or until tender; drain.

Preheat oven to 200 degrees Celsius.

Heat oile in large flameproof dish; cook leek, garlic, mushrooms and celery, stirring, until vegetables soften.  Add wine; bring to the boil.  Boil, uncovered, until liquid is reduced by half.  Add beans, stock, sauce and thyme; bring to the boil.

Cover dish, transfer to oven; bake 30 minutes.  Stir in peas; bake, uncovered, about 20 minutes or until sauce thickens slightly.  Serve bake with toast.  Sprinkle with extra thyme.

Sweet Potato & Ricotta Tarts

I found this recipe in the latest Coles magazine and made a few little changes to bring the calorie count down.  I just made it in a muffin pan, so I ended up with 8 tarts, which came in around 170 calories each. Also, I didn't both with the blind baking (that's the baking paper and beans) - I just put them in the oven empty.  And I had a heap of leftover filling too, so I just poured it into the spare muffin holes for leftovers.  Anyway, these were DELICIOUS, I loved them!  Superb for the whole family - the toddler and baby both devoured these happily.  Also great as a picnic or brunch food - how versatile!

Ingredients
400g sweet potato, peeled and cut into 2cm cubes
olive oil spray
1 1/2 sheets reduced-fat puff pastry
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup light cream
250g low-fat ricotta cheese
2 tablespoons chopped chives
Salad leaves, to serve

Method
Preheat oven to 180 degrees celsius.  Line a tray with baking paper.  Place sweet potato on tray and spray with olive oil, season with salt and pepper and bake for 20 minutes, until golden.  Spray 6 x 8cm losse-bottom flan tins with olive oil spray.

Cut the puff pastry into quarters and ease each quarter into the flan tins.  Press to fit.  Prick the base with a fork, line with baking paper and dry beans and bake for 10 minutes until lightly golden.  Remove from oven and remove paper and beans.

In a jug, whisk together eggs, cream, half the ricotta and chives.  Fill the tart shells with sweet potato and top with egg mixture.  Top with remaining ricotta cheese.  Bake for 25-30 minutes until puffed and golden.  Serve with salad leaves.

Jelly Delicious

Okay, there's nothing very special about this recipe, but it's become a Friday night staple in our household since the 12 Week Body Transformation began.  It's a nice little treat - so easy and super low in calories.  I just spotted this light jelly in the supermarket and it's only 7 calories per serve!  Yep, SEVEN!!!  Amazing! This whole dessert comes in under 100 calories - love it!

Ingredients (serves 4)
1 sachet light jelly (whichever flavour you wish!)
250g low-fat yoghurt
1 cup berries

Method
Make jelly according to packet.  Refrigerate for a few hours until set.

Turn jelly out onto plate.  Dollop with yoghurt & sprinkle with berries.

Scones with Strawberry Ricotta Cream

This is a recipe from the Heart Foundation that makes a delicious treat that's easy on the calories.  I just love the variation of the ricotta cream - and it's so much healthier than the usual whipped cream.  A perfect addition to the afternoon tea table, it makes 10 scones and comes in at 150 calories per serve (which includes the topping).

Ingredients

2 cups self-raising flour

1 tablespoon butter

1 cup low-fat milk

1 tablespoon strawberry jam

Strawberry ricotta cream

125g strawberries

¾ cup reduced-fat ricotta cheese

Preheat oven to 220 degrees.  Line a baking sheet with baking paper.

Combine flour and margarin in a bowl and rub between your fingers until mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.  Make a well in the centre and pour in milk, reserving 2 tablespoons for glaze.

Quckly mix milk in with a knife to make a soft dough, then knead quickly on a lightly floured surface until smooth.  Press or roll to a 2cm thickness.

Using a 6cm cutter, cut out rounds and place on the prepared tray.  Lightly brush with reserved milk.

Bake 8-10 minutes, or until golden.  Serve with jam and strawberry ricotta cream.

To make strawberry ricotta cream: puree strawberries in a processor, add ricotta and process to combine.

Cumin and Chilli Roasted Vegetables with Roasted Garlic Yoghurt

This is a recipe sent in by my wonderful mum-friend Gemma, as one of her family favourites.  It's a Michelle Bridges recipe from her book, "Losing the last 5 kilos".  It's really tasty - I especially love the flavour of the roast garlic in the yoghurt - and you can use whichever veges you have on hand.  This serves 2 and comes in at only 287 calories per serve.

Ingredients

550g pumpkin, unpeeled, seeded and cut into 4cm chunks
2 onions, quartered
1 large zucchini, cut into 4cm chunks
1 large carrot, cut into 4cm chunks
1/2 lemon, quartered
6 cloves garlic, unpeeled
2 teaspoons cumin seeds
1/4 teaspoon dried chilli flakes
freshly cracked black pepper
2 teaspoons olive oil
1/2 cup low-cal yoghurt

Method
Preheat oven to 200*/180* fan forced.  Combine the vegies and garlic in a large baking dish. Sprinkle with the cumin and chilli ans season with pepper. Drizzle with the oil and toss to coat.

Roast the vegies for 30 minutes, stirring after 15 minutes.  Remove the garlic from the baking dish and squeeze out the flesh. Combine with the yoghurt and season.

Serve the roasted vegies with the roasted garlic yoghurt and a lemon quarter to squeeze on top.

Super Easy Chicken Pie

I hope everyone had a wonderful Easter & you enjoyed some delicious treats!  Now back to the healthy recipes :-)  I based this one on a recipe in the "4 Ingredients - Kids" book (it has heaps of fantastic ideas!)  It is so easy and I love it as a "throw-together-on-the-weekend" or as a "have-on-hand-and-use-whenever" dish.  Either way, great for the whole family and comes in at under 300 calories!

Ingredients (serves 6)
400g cooked chicken (I poached it in a saucepan of boiling water)
1 x 400mL tin reduced fat cream of chicken soup
300g frozen vegetables
1 sheet low-fat puff pastry, thawed

Method
Combine chicken, soup and vegetables in a bowl.  Spoon into a square baking dish.  Cover with puff pastry, pressing into the edges of the dish.  Use a sharp knife to pierce the middle of the pastry.  Cook in a 180 degree oven for about 30 minutes or until golden brown.

Caramel Easter Friands

You already know I love friands, so these delightful little Easter treats definitely caught my eye!  I found it on www.taste.com.au and it's slightly different to my recipe, but still delicious & something a little fancy.  I used melted butter instead of oil (I prefer the taste and texture) and may have used a few extra Easter eggs too :-)  Happy Easter!

Ingredients
1/2 cup rice or plain flour
1/2 cup ground almonds
3 egg whites
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1 cup icing sugar
1/3 cup canola or light olive oil
1/3cup milk
6 small caramel Easter eggs

Method
Preheat oven to 180°C. Grease 9 friand pans. Combine 1/2 cup rice or plain flour, 1/2 cup ground almonds, 1/4 cup cocoa powder and 1 cup icing sugar in a large bowl. Make a well in the centre.


Pour in 1/3 cup canola or light olive oil and 1/3 cup milk. Stir until smooth. Use an electric beater to beat 3 egg whites until soft peaks form. Fold into the almond mixture until just combined. Spoon into the friand pans.


Scatter over 6 small caramel Easter eggs, roughly chopped. Bake for 15-20 minutes until spongy to the touch. Cool in the pans. Remove and dust with extra icing sugar to serve.

Buttery Orange Cake

I wanted to share an Easter cake idea I saw recently - but I just can't remember where! It was a beautiful, moist Orange Cake, iced with a white chocolate ganache, and the top of the cake completely covered with mini white chocolate Easter Eggs - it looked incredible! So I thought instead of trying to re-create it, I would take the opportunity to share with you my friend Anita's Buttery Orange Cake. She got it from a Women's Weekly Cookbook and made it for a mums' get-together recently and it was soooo delicious! This one is definitely a crowd-pleaser, and if you make it this weekend, don't forget the white chocolate on top!

Ingredients
250g butter, softened
2 tablespoons finely grated orange rind
1 ½ cups (330g) caster sugar
4 eggs
1 ½ cups (225g) self-raising flour
½ cup (75g) plain flour
¾ cup (180ml) orange juice

Glace Icing
1 ½ cups (240g) icing sugar mixture
1 teaspoon butter
2 tablespoons orange juice

Method
Preheat oven to moderately slow. Grease deep 22cm-round cake pan; line base and side with baking paper, extending paper 5 cm above edge of pan.

Beat butter, rind and sugar in medium bowl with electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until just combined between additions. Fold in flours and juice, in two batches.

Pour mixture into prepared pan; bake in moderately slow oven about 1 hour 10 minutes. Stand in pan 10 minutes; turn onto wire rack to cool.

Place cake, top-side up, on serving plate; spread cold cake with glace icing.

Glace Icing
Place icing sugar in small heatproof bowl; stir in butter and juice. Place bowl over small saucepan of simmering water; stir until icing is of a spreadable consistency. Spread over cold cake immediately.

Leek, Spinach and Goat's Cheese Tarts

I made these divine little tarts for a Good Friday lunch today - they went down a treat!  I used low-fat feta in mine & they were quite tasty.  Very handy to make a few days before and reheat on the day.  In all the excitement, I forgot to take a photo of mine, so this one is courtesy of the original recipe at www.taste.com.au!

Ingredients (serves 24)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 leek, trimmed, thinly sliced
60g baby spinach leaves, large leaves chopped
3 sheets frozen ready-rolled shortcrust pastry, partially thawed
1 eggwhite
75g goat's cheese
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/4 cup thickened cream

Method
Preheat oven to 200°C. Heat oil in a frying pan over medium-low heat until hot. Add leek. Cook, stirring often, for 8 minutes or until softened. Add spinach. Cook for 1 minute or until just wilted. Remove from heat. Set aside to cool.

Using a 6.5cm (diameter) round cutter, cut 8 rounds out of each sheet of pastry. Use pastry to line 2, 12 x 1 1/2-tablespoon capacity patty pans. Brush pastry lightly with eggwhite. Bake for 5 minutes or until light golden.

Spoon leek mixture into tart cases. Crumble over goat's cheese. Whisk egg, cream, and salt and pepper together in a jug. Carefully pour egg mixture over goat's cheese. Bake for 15 minutes or until pastry is golden and egg mixture has set. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Banana Caramel Easter Cupcakes

I picked up a recipe card from "Wheel & Barrow" the other day and decided to give these delicious-looking cupcakes a go!  They are an amazing mix of all my favourite flavours & look gorgeous as well!  The recipe uses a "cupcake surprise" baking pan, which has little spikes at the bottom of each cupcake hole, to hold the Easter egg, or whatever other surprise you wish to bake - what a great idea!  I don't have one though, so I just spooned out half of my mixture, popped the eggs in, then spooned the rest of the mixture on top.  I overfilled mine a bit, so the shape wasn't as nice as I would've liked, so just keep that in mind.  These are so indulgent and lots of fun to decorate!

Ingredients
190g flour
10g baking powder
Pinch salt
125g butter softened
220g sugar
3 eggs
75g natural yoghurt
50ml milk
2 ripe bananas mashed
1 pkt caramel filled easter eggs

For Chocolate Frosting
180g dark chocolate melted
250g butter softened
40ml milk
175g sifted pure icing sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract

Method

Heat oven to 180°C. Whip together the butter and sugar until light & fluffy. 

Add eggs one at a time & continue whipping. Add milk, banana & yoghurt. Gently fold in the sifted dry ingredients. Do not over mix. 

Line the surprise pan with cupcake wrappers or spray lightly with cooking spray. Place a caramel egg on the spike. Spoon or squeeze in the cake batter & cover the surprise centre. Bake for 20 mins until golden and cooked. Allow to cool. Pipe with chocolate frosting & decorate.

Chocolate frosting: Whip butter and icing sugar until light and fluffy, add the milk, vanilla & melted chocolate and beat to combine. Pipe onto cakes and decorate.

PS - Do you like my Easter tree?!?

Easter Egg Caramel Slice

This slice is AMAZING!  There's not much too it, but boy is it good!  Well, not good for those who are calorie counting (again, I promise I haven't had any this year - but I can still remember the taste from when I made it a couple of years ago!).  I'm sure I originally got the recipe from www.taste.com.au, but I can't find it on there anymore - luckily I wrote it down in one of my recipe journals!

There's just something so right about putting whole Easter Eggs in a slice, especially when it also involves condensed milk...try this one, you won't regret it!

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups plain flour
1/3 cup caster sugar
80g butter, chopped
1 egg yolk
300g mini Easter eggs
1 cup shredded coconut
395g tin condensed milk

Method
Preheat oven to 180 degrees.  Grease and line a slice tin.

Combine flour, sugar and butter in a food processor (or rub the butter into dry ingredients with fingers until it resembles fine breadcrumbs).  Add egg yolk and 2 tablespoons of cold water.  Press into pan and bake for 15 minutes until golden.

Unwrap Easter eggs and lay them over the base.  Sprinkle with coconut and drizzle with condensed milk.  Bake for 30 minutes.  Cool in tin, then slice into pieces.

Easter Biscuits

These Easter bikkies (from www.taste.com.au) are quick, easy, yummy AND perfect for kids who love to "help"!  Get creative with your decorating - as you can see by the picture, I had a toddler as my assistant who was very keen with the sprinkles!  I made the egg shape by squeezing a round cutter, but another great variation is to just use milk arrowroot biscuits and have lots of fun decorating!  

Ingredients
150g butter, cubed, chilled
300g (2 cups) plain flour, sifted
110g (1/2 cup) caster sugar
1 tsp vanilla essence
1 egg, lightly whisked
100g white chocolate, melted
Sprinkles and lollies, to decorate

Method
Preheat oven to 180 degrees C. Rub butter into flour until it resembles fine breadcrumbs. 

Stir in the sugar, vanilla and egg. Press mixture together to form a dough. Roll dough out to 5mm thickness and cut out bunny shapes. 

Place on a lined baking tray and bake in preheated oven for 10-12 minutes or until golden. Transfer to a wire rack to cool. 

Spread with the melted chocolate and decorate.

Hot Cross Muffins

I have attempted authentic hot cross buns in the past, but haven't had a lot of success (think hot cross rocks!), so this is kind of the cheat's version!  Hot Cross Muffins are easy, tasty & look great.  I didn't have apricots, so I put choc-chips in instead - yum!  Another one from www.taste.com.au.

Ingredients
300g (2 cups) self-raising flour
1 tsp mixed spice
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
80g (1/2 cup, lightly packed) brown sugar
135g (3/4 cup) sultanas
85g (1/2 cup) dried apricots, finely chopped
2 eggs, lightly whisked
185ml (3/4 cup) milk
100g unsalted butter, melted
80g (1/2 cup) icing sugar mixture
2 tsp water

Method
Preheat oven to 200°C. Line twelve 80ml (1/3-cup) capacity muffin pans with paper cases. Sift the flour, mixed spice and cinnamon into a large bowl. Stir in the brown sugar, sultanas and apricot. Make a well in the centre. Combine the egg, milk and butter in a jug. Pour into the well. Use a large metal spoon to stir until just combined.

Divide the mixture among the prepared pans and smooth the surfaces. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centres comes out clean. Set aside for 5 minutes to cool slightly before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Place the icing sugar in a small bowl. Gradually stir in the water to make a thick icing. Place in a small sealable plastic bag. Cut 1 corner off the bag to make a small hole. Pipe a cross onto each muffin and set aside until the icing is set.

Notes
Don't over-mix the muffin batter, or you can end up with tough-textured muffins.

Easter Nests

Easter is almost upon us - what a great excuse to whip on the apron and get into the kitchen! As I've been on a health kick for the past 8 weeks, I haven't done much baking lately...but I am loving getting into the sweet treats again (making them for other people of course!)

So, this first little Easter treat has to be the easiest one out there - it's no-bake, super quick and my taste-testers tell me they are delicious as well! I found the little speckled eggs at Big W. Oh and of course this recipe is from www.taste.com.au. Stay tuned this week - I have many more recipes coming your way!

Ingredients (makes 12-15)
125g dark chocolate, coarsely chopped
35g (1 cup) Rice Bubbles
50g chocolate-coated honeycomb bar, finely chopped
45 small sugar-coated chocolate eggs

Method
Place the chocolate in a clean, dry microwave-safe bowl. Cook in microwave, stirring every minute with a metal spoon, on Medium/500watts/50% for 2 minutes or until the chocolate melts and is smooth.

Place the melted chocolate, Rice Bubbles and honeycomb bar in a bowl and stir until well combined.

Line 2 baking trays with non-stick baking paper. Place tablespoonfuls of Rice Bubble mixture on the trays. Flatten slightly in the centre. Press 3 eggs into the centre of each nest. Place in fridge for 2 hours or until set.

Notes
These can be made up to 1 week ahead. Store them in an airtight container in the fridge.