Running on greens

These Yoghurt lovers crepes are such a simple easy breakfast, and are also low on the fibre scale. I must say they’re not the most nutrious breakfast, but they are tasty.

Ingredients

• 1 egg
• 1 cup wholemeal or buckwheat plain flour
• 1 cup skim milk
• 250g skinny flavoured yoghurt
• Fruit or nuts to top

Combine the egg, flour and skim milk. Pour a small portion of the mixture into a fry pan and spread around the pan so that it forms a thin layer. Cook on low heat until golden brown. Repeat until all the mixture is used - which should be approximately 8 crepes.

Layer the crepes with yoghurt and top with fruit or nuts. This version was lemon myrtle yoghurt with macadamias. Other combinations I like are:

• coffee yoghurt with walnuts
• mixed berry yoghurt with fresh raspberries
• mango yoghurt with fresh mango
• ginger yoghurt with crystalised ginger

I’ve had to limit my fibre intake for a while which has been a bigger challenge than I realised - I looked in the cupboard and then the fridge, but everything was high fibre. If I don’t eat veggies I feel like I’ve got scurvy, so this Pad See Ew was one of the few lower fibre recipes I could come up with.

Ingredients

• 2 chicken breasts, sliced thinly
• 1 bunch broccolini, cut into 4cm lengths
• 1 bunch bok choy, cut into 4cm lengths
• 1 carrot, sliced thinly
• 3 eggs
• 200g flat rice noodles
• 1 tbs vegetable oil
• 3 cloves crushed garlic
• 4 tbs tamari or light soy sauce
• 3 tbs kecap manis
• 1 tsp brown sugar

To serve

• small handful of coriander
• 2 lemon wedges
• chilli flakes

Cook the noodles as per the packet directions.

While the noodles are cooking heat up a large wok, toss in the oil and cook the chicken for approximately 3 minutes or until cooked through. 

Add in the garlic, and half the tamari and kecap manis and stir through. Add in the carrot and broccolini stems. Cook for a further minute or until softened.

Push the contents of the wok to one side, add the eggs to the other side of the wok, and stir through the eggs as they’re cooking to break them in to smaller pieces. Once the egg is cooked toss this back through the chicken and veggies.

Add the cooked noodles and carefully fold them through the chicken and veggies, being careful not to break them up too much (I was a touch over-zealous and mine broke up too much).

Add in the bok choy and broccolini florets toss these through the mix gently, allow them 30 to 60 seconds to soften. 

Serve the pad see ew in bowls garnished with the coriander, and accompanied by the lemon slices and chilli flakes on the side.

How could a pile of fresh mixed veggies make anything but a delicious dish?

Lime, tamari and ginger veggie stirfry

Ingredients

• 1 small red capsicum, sliced into strips
• 1 large carrot, sliced into coins
• 2 handfuls snow peas, cut on the diagonal
• 1 can baby corn, sliced in half lengthways
• 1 bunch choi sum stalks, sliced into 4cm pieces
• Handful shitake mushrooms sliced (I unfortunately couldn’t get hold of them this time)
• 1/3 cup roasted cashews (however I was out of them)
• 1 long stem red chili, deseeded and sliced
• 1 cm piece fresh ginger, finely chopped
• 1 clove crushed garlic
• Juice of one lime (I used a kaffir lime fresh from the garden, they have a lot more seeds than a tahitian but I love the strength of the flavour)
• 2 tbs tamari
• 2 tbs salt reduced vegetable stock
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• 1 tbs vegetable oil
• 1 tbs sesame seeds

To serve

• 1 cup quinoa

Put the quinoa on to cook (I prefer the absorption method - 1 cup quinoa with 1 1/2 cups of water - bring to the boil, then reduce to a simmer, cover with a lid and cook for 20 minutes).

In a small bowl combine the lime juice, tamari, veggie stock and sesame oil.

In a hot wok sautee the ginger, garlic and chilli for about 20 seconds then add the carrot, followed by the baby corn, mushrooms and the capsicum. Once the veggies have softened slightly (about 60 seconds) add the snow peas, choi sum, tamari mix and cashews.

Serve on a bed of quinoa and sprinkle with sesame seeds.

A chicken or tofu addition to this dish would also work nicely if you want a decent serve of protein.

I’m loving the banana loaf I made so much I had to show you the photo of the pear and blueberry version I made. It’s absolutely delicious and has a flavour all of its own - you wouldn’t even know it was banana-based. But it did need an extra 20 minutes in the oven.

I wish I had my new Lamb, lentil and spinach curry as a winter staple years ago. The base of this is similar to a dahl, but the lamb adds more protein, and I find the flavours have greater depth. I make this in the slow cooker, so it’s also a great dish for a busy winters day.

Ingredients

• 400g lean lamb, diced into 2cm cubes
• 2 tomatos, roughly diced
• 4 handfuls baby spinach
• 1 cup dried yellow lentils
• 1 brown onion, finely sliced
• 5cm fresh ginger, finely sliced
• 2 cloves crushed garlic
• 1 cup/250ml can light coconut milk
• 1 cup salt reduced chicken stock
• 2 tbs ground coriander
• 1 tbs praprika
• 2 tsp cayenne pepper
• Small handful torn coriander to serve

Place all the ingredients except for the spinach and the coriander in the slow cooker. Leave the cooker on low for 6-8 hours, or high for 4-6 hours. If you don’t have a slow cooker this can also be done in a covered cast iron pot, and will take 2-4 hours on a low heat. You don’t want to rush the cooking speed on this one or the lamb won’t fall apart as easily.

Separate the amount you will be serving. Just prior to plating it up stir through the spinach and give it two minutes to wilt slightly. Top with the coriander. 

Ken has decided this is an absolute winner of a dish, and in his opinion should always be served with my naan-esque flat bread from my Lamb, feta and mint gozlomes recipe.

This is great for a busy night - it’s quick, easy and requires only a few ingredients - Lamb with mushy peas. It’s also a pretty simple meal, so it’s good when you’re not in the mood for something spicy.

Ingredients

• 6 lamb chops
• 400g peas
• 2 tbs mint
• 1/3 cup plain yoghurt
• Pinch salt and pepper

Season the lamb and place them on a medium frypan or grill to cook to your liking.

Cook the peas in boiling water for approximately 4-5 minutes or until cooked. Drain and place in a food processor with the mint and yoghurt and blitz them until combined. 

Allow the lamb to rest after it’s cooked for a few minutes before serving it on the bed of mushy peas. 

I’ve also served this with some baby potatoes (steamed for 6 minutes, then crispied up in an oven on 220 degrees celcius for 15 minutes) to increase my carb intake. Any roast veggies would be a nice accompaniment.