Pan-Fried Salmon with a Rhubarb and Blackcurrant Sauce

Back in July when blackcurrants were in season, I froze a punnet.  Now the first forced rhubarb is coming into the shops, I thought a sauce of the two would give a nice tangy acidity against an oily fillet of salmon.






Ingredients (serves 1)
180g fillet salmon
150g red chard
1 tsp olive oil for frying
a few leaves of mint for garnish
For the sauce (makes 4 portions)
340g rhubarb
10g butter
160g blackcurrants
40g honey
handful of fresh mint

Nutrition Info (serves one, with one portion of sauce)
Calories: 539
Protein: 40g
Carbohydrate: 25g
Fat: 30g
Dietary Fibre: 5g

Method

• Chop the rhubarb into 5cm lengths.  Put the rhubarb, blackcurrants, butter and honey into a saucepan and cook down for about 10 minutes over a medium heat.  Add the mint, roughly torn and stir in.  Set aside with the lid on to keep warm.
• Pan-fry the salmon over a medium heat in the olive oil. Remove onto a plate.
• In the same oil, quickly pan-fry the chard for about two minutes.
• Serve the salmon on a bed of chard, topped with the rhubarb and blackcurrant sauce.  Garnish with mint.

Warm Brown Rice Salad with Pomegranate Seeds and Grilled Halloumi Cheese

This is a lovely colourful salad.  Halloumi and pomegranate seeds are a classic summer combination.  The honey balances the saltiness of the halloumi and the sharpness of the red onion. 





Ingredients (serves 1)
70g brown rice (dried)
1/4 red onion (about 50g)
50g pomegranate seeds
1/2 red apple (about 50g)
60g reduced fat halloumi cheese, sliced
30g rocket/rucola leaves
1 tsp honey

Method

• Change into an old T-shirt and prepare the pomegranate!  Quarter the pomegranate and break away the seeds from the skin into a bowl.
• Cook the brown rice according to instructions.  Leave to cool slightly.
• Dice the red onion and rinse under cold water to get rid of some of the juice.
• Dice the apple.
• Grill the halloumi slices one side only until they turn golden in colour.
• Put the rocket, onion, apple, pomegranate seeds, honey and rice into a large bowl and mix together.  (If the honey is the set kind, then melt it first for a few seconds in the microwave.
• Serve on a plate and top with the grilled halloumi cheese.  Eat whilst still warm.

Honey, Lime and Balsamic Dressed Breakfast Fruit Bowl

This is my favourite time of the year for fruit in Britain, when all the berry fruits come into season and are cheapest.  Of course, they are delicious just as they are, but the marinade releases some of the strawberry juice and gives a sweet balance to the tartness of the redcurrants.
  


Ingredients
1 nectarine
a handful of strawberries
a handful of blueberries
a sprig of redcurrants
juice and zest of 1 lime
1 tsp honey
1 tsp balsamic vinegar

Method

• Make the fruit salad the night before.  Wash and dry the fruit. Chop the nectarine and strawberries into bite-sized pieces.  Put the strawberries, nectarine and blueberries in a large bowl.
• In a cup, make the dressing.  Melt the honey briefly in the microwave for a few seconds if it's the set kind.  Add the juice of 1 lime and 1 tsp balsamic vinegar.  Mix together and toss together with the fruit, so that all the fruit has been covered.
• Garnish with the sprig of redcurrants and the lime zest, cover with cling film and leave overnight.  If it's hot weather, leave it in the fridge...  If in England at the moment, you can leave it on the kitchen bench!  
• Bring to room temperature before serving.

Mango and Tuna Sashimi Crunchy Vegetable Salad with Sweet Sesame Dressing

 This is a very refreshing summer salad.  the mango has the same melt-in-the-mouth texture as the tuna, and the flavour is brought out by the dressing.  Although it's only 300 calories, I found it quite filling.

If making this outside of Japan, you need to check that the fish is very fresh i.e. caught the same day.  The large Sainsbury's in my town stocks fish that is caught the same day.

Sesame seeds are high in calcium.  A tablespoon of sesame seeds contains about 10% of the RDA for calcium.  However, because of the hard shell, they need to be broken down to make that calcium accessible to the body.  If you can find crushed sesame, so much the better.


Ingredients (per person)
50g very fresh tuna (outside Japan you need to check it's been caught that day - large Sainsbury's in the UK sometimes (often?) do this)
100g celery (2 sticks)
100g cucumber (this is about 1/4 of a British cucumber)
100g mango (1/2 mango)
strips of nori (dried seaweed)
1 tbsp reduced salt soy sauce
1 tbsp mirin
15g ginger paste
15g horseradish sauce (or wasabi to taste)
1 tbsp (approx 10g) white sesame seeds (or better if you can get the crushed ones with more whole sesame seeds for garnish)

Nutrition Info
Calories: 300
Protein: 17.7g
Carbohydrate: 35g
Fat: 8.3g
Dietary Fibre: 6g

Method 

• Make the dressing.  Crush the sesame seeds as much as you can in a pestle and mortar.  You probably can't crush them entirely, but that's OK.  Grinding the seeds releases the flavour and also makes the calcium more accessible to the body.
• In a cup, mix the soy sauce, mirin, ginger paste, horseradish sauce and ground sesame seeds.  Put in the fridge.
• Now prepare the salad.  Slice the celery sticks.  Quarter the cucumber lengthways and chop into cubes.  Chop the mango into similar sized pieces to the vegetables.  Chop the raw tuna steak into 1cm cubes.  Put everything into a bowl and mix well with the dressing.
• You want to eat this salad cold, so if everything hasn't come out of the fridge, you should cover the bowl and put it in the fridge for an hour.  This would also be nice for marinading, for people less impatient than me!
• Spoon onto a plate or bowl, sprinkle with strips of nori, and enjoy!

Pollock with Orange, Fennel and Courgette

Ingredients (serves 1）
1 fillet of pollock (or other white fish)
2 tablespoons of orange juice
1 orange
1/2 bulb of fennel
1 courgette
freshly grated pepper


Method

• Peel and segment the orange.
• Thinly slice the fennel and arrange in a microwaveable dish (I use the Lekue steam case).
• Spoon over the orange juice.
• Thickly slice the courgette and arrange on top.  Grind pepper over,
• Cover and microwave for 3-4 minutes.
• Remove the courgette and arrange on a plate.
• Put the fish fillet onto the fennel and season with pepper.
• Cover and microwave for 3 minutes, add the orange segments and microwave for one more minute.
• Serve immediately.

Vanilla Balsamic Berries

Breakfast this morning!　Yesterday I found some real vanilla paste in the supermarket which is a slightly sweetened paste of vanilla extract with seeds, and cheaper than buying vanilla pods.

Ingredients
Any berries you like (I used blueberries, raspberries and blackberries)
1tsp vanilla paste (or the seeds of one pod and a little sugar)
2tsp balsamic vinegar

Method

• Mix the vanilla paste with the balsamic vinegar and melt in the microwave for one minute.
• Pour over a bowl of mixed berries and stir to coat.

Chocolate Healthy Truffles

This was an experiment rather than anything else to see what kind of high protein/high mineral/high fibre snack I could make.  Really pleased with the result!  Despite the wacky ingredients, they're delicious (think chocolate cheesecake/brownie mix), not too sickly, and incredibly filling! I accidentally(!) ate 5 and may never need to eat again... They look high in fat because of the cheese and the almonds, but that also pushes up the protein and mineral content so I think is worth it, as part of a balanced diet. 

Note
On testing these ones out on friends, it seems that people prefer a sweeter truffle, so maybe add more powder sweetener to taste.  Or even smoked chilli?  The kinako flavour overpowers the cocoa a bit, so next time I think I'll try rolling in cocoa or ground almonds...  Will update...

Nutrition Data (for 2 truffles)
Calories: 120
Protein: 5.8g
Carbohydrate: 9g
Fat: 6.8g
Fibre: 2.2g
Calcium: 118mg
Magnesium: 36.4mg
Zinc: 0.8mg
Iron: 1.6mg

Ingredients
100g red kidney beans
28g ground almonds
2 fresh figs (70g total)
28g grated cheddar
2 pieces iron-enriched processed cheese (30g total)
15g cocoa
1 tsp zero calorie liquid or powder sweetener
7g kinako (roasted soy bean flour), for dusting

Method

• Preheat the oven to 180C.
• Put all the ingredients into a blender and blend as far as possible, then mash in a bowl using a fork.
• Put a sheet of greaseproof paper onto a baking tray and spoon on 10 heaped teaspoons of mixture, flattening into rounds.
• Bake for 15 minutes, then cool on the paper on a wire rack. All you will have done is dry out the mixture a bit.
• Roll each round into a ball and into kinako (roasted soy bean flour).

Chocolate Banana, Spinach and Kiwi Smoothie

Don't knock this one before you've tried it...!  Blend 2 green kiwi, 2 large handfuls of spinach, 1 banana and 1 tbsp cocoa powder with some mineral water.  Amazing!  I might add some blueberries next time.

Celery and Pear Smoothie

Blend 2 pears and 3 sticks celery together with mineral water and a tablespoon of lemon juice.

Peach and Kinako Smoothie

The kinako (roasted soy bean flour) adds a nutty flavour as well as protein and B vitamins.

Ingredients (serves 1)
1 peach
1 tbsp kinako
1 tsp ginger paste
1 tbsp fresh mint


Method

• Put everything together in a blender with some ice cold mineral water and blend.
• Serve immediately or chill in the fridge.

Banana 'Ice-Cream'

A quick healthy dessert!

You can freeze whole peeled bananas wrapped in greaseproof paper and packed into airtight ziplock bags for a few months, without them going brown.

When you want to make this creamy ice-cream, just put a banana in a blender and pulse until completely mashed!  Serve with a teaspoon of chocolate sauce, or blend with a flavouring.  Idea from here http://www.slice-of-slim.com/2013/04/something-for-nothing-frozen-banana.html.

Red Grapefruit Water Ice

This idea came about by chance, as I left a grapefruit too close to the back of the fridge, and it partially froze. If you freeze a whole grapefruit, run it under hot water and cut the peel away, it can be sliced and eaten like sorbet - very refreshing. I've also just tried freezing segments of satsuma on a tray and then putting them into bags - works the same way, but much easier to eat! They would also be nice instead of ice cubes in a drink.

Balsamic Figs, Ham and Blue Cheese

I had this same snack minus the balsamic vinegar last night, when I got home from work. It definitely needs a sprinkling of balsamic vinegar and lemon zest to bring out the flavour of the figs, which otherwise get dwarfed by the flavour of the raw ham and blue cheese.


Nutrition Data
Calories 130
Protein 5g
Fat 4.5g
Carbohydrate 21g
Dietary Fibre 2g

Ingredients (serves 1)
2 fresh figs
15g cured ham (eg parma ham)
10g soft creamy blue cheese (I used Arla Danablu, but a mild dolcelatte would be good)
1 teaspoon of balsamic vinegar
a little lemon zest (optional)

Method

• Quarter the figs and put on a plate. Roughly tear over the raw ham, and crumble over the blue cheese.
• Sprinkle with the balsamic vinegar and lemon zest.
• Serve immediately.
  

Chipotle Spiced Baked Beans, Rice and Egg

On the trend of Mexican spiced breakfast dishes, but missing my regular brown rice breakfast, I made this for lunch... Very filling! You could add whatever chilli spice you like. The chipotle spice was a present, it has a very smoky taste. I actually cooked double the quantity and then refrigerated the other portion for breakfast tomorrow. Because of my job, I tend to eat a substantial breakfast about 10am and then 3 or 4 much smaller snacks at 2-3 hour intervals! I eat a bit more on days off because I get up earlier...





Nutrition Data (for 1)
Calories 449
Protein 19.4g
Carbohydrate 77.9g
Fat 6.5g
Dietary Fibre 13.5g

Ingredients
1/2 x 420g can of baked beans, drained of most of the tomato sauce
25g frozen peas
1 eggs, beaten
Chipotle chile ground spice, according to taste
150g cooked brown rice
2 plums
1/2 tablespoon sweet jalapeno sauce

Method

• Roughly chop the plums and stir in the sweet jalapeno sauce. Put in a small serving bowl in the fridge.
• Put the drained baked beans and frozen peas in a saucepan and heat. Stir in the beaten egg and continue to heat, stirring until the egg is cooked throughout the mixture. Add chipotle chile spice according to taste.
  
• Stir in the cooked brown rice and heat until hot. Taste again, and add more chipotle spice if wanted.
  
• Serve in a bowl with the plum salsa side dish.
  

Nectarine, Chickpea and Green Pea Couscous Salad

Nutrition Data (per salad portion)
Calories 208
Protein 7.7g
Carbohydrate 40.8g
Fat 0.8g
Dietary Fibre 5.5g



Ingredients (serves 6 as a salad, or 3 as a main course, which means my diet will be a little unvaried over the next few days...!)
200g dried couscous
Spice to taste (I used 1 rounded teaspoon of Sainsbury's 'Taste the Difference' Rose and Harissa Rub, which I bought in the summer, a spicy blend of crushed chillies, coriander, cumin and rose petals)
1 x 400g tin chickpeas (ceci/garbanzo beans), drained
100g frozen green peas
1 large nectarine, chopped
1 medium carrot, thinly sliced with a potato peeler

Method

• Put the couscous and spice in a measuring jug (200g comes up to the 250ml mark). Pour in boiling water to the 500ml mark. Stir and leave for 5 minutes until the water is absorbed.
• In a large bowl, mix the chickpeas with the couscous.
  
• Stir in the frozen green peas, chopped nectarine, and thinly sliced carrot.
• Serve.
  

Japanese pear

It's high time I talk about this particular fruit. I live in an area which is famous for its pear orchards, and this is their season.

To a British person, when I first saw it 4 years ago, this looked like an oversized Russet apple. I was used to seeing the giant Japanese apples anyway, that take so long to get through, but this still gave me the thoughts, 'How on earth is anyone supposed to eat something that size?! It's like it's a fruit grown for a family of 4! How many portions of fruit does that count as?' However, one taste, and you know it's not an apple at all, but a particularly juicy pear, closest in taste to a Comice pear. And it's going to take you about 20 minutes to eat it.

Cherry, Rosemary and Onion Chicken on Rice

I was going to make oyakodon for lunch again today, but realised that I hadn't put anything new on this blog for some time... A quick look at the fridge revealed that I had a large quantity of cherries that I needed to use up...





Nutrition Data
582 calories
Protein 25.5g
Carbohydrate 101.5g
Fat 11.5g
Dietary Fibre 5.5g

Ingredients
12 American cherries, pitted and chopped
1/2 onion, chopped
1 tablespoon fresh rosemary
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 teaspoon sesame seeds
50g cooked chicken, sliced and cut into small pieces
1 tablespoon mirin
1 teaspoon soy sauce
100g brown rice, cooked

Method

• Cook the rice according to directions.
• About 1o minutes before the end, saute the onion and rosemary in the olive oil for about 5 minutes until golden brown, and then add the cherries and the sliced chicken and heat for another minute.
• Pour in the mirin and soy sauce, continue heating for about half a minute until the liquid has reduced.
• Serve over the rice.
  

Fig, Melon, Mozzarella and Parma Ham Salad

Ingredients
3 slices melon
1 fig, cut into 1/3s
mozarella slices
3 slices raw ham
a little maple syrup and lemon juice


Method
Arrange all the ingredients on a plate and sprinkle with a little maple syrup and lemon juice.

Citrus Salmon with Strawberry and Mango Balsamic Dressing

This is a variation on my previous recipe that I tried today, all shades of pink and orange! This time the salmon is steamed and cooled rather than panfried and eaten hot.






Nutrition Data
Calories 378
Protein 30g
Carbohydrate 55g
Fat 4g
Fibre 9g

Ingredients
1 ruby grapefruit
1 orange
1 skinless fillet salmon (about 100g)
4 strawberries
about 1/8 of a mango
about 2 teaspoons of balsamic vinegar
shredded dried chilli and lemon zest to garnish

Method

• Steam the salmon and allow to cool.
• Meanwhile peel and segment the grapefruit and orange and arrange on a plate. Sprinkle with shredded dried chilli.
• Put the cooled salmon on top of the fruit.
• Make the dressing. Put the strawberries, mango and balsamic vinegar in a blender and whizz for a few seconds.
  
• Spoon the dressing over the salmon and fruit, and sprinkle with a little lemon zest.
  

Melon, Proscuitto Ham and Blue Cheese Salad

This is just to make me remember that the combination is basically good, but these are the ingredients I would use in future...
Ingredients
Thick slices of melon
Slices of proscuitto ham
Dolcelatte soft blue cheese
1 teaspoon each of olive oil and lemon juice


Method

• Arrange 3 wedges of melon on a plate and the ham on top.
  
• Scatter crumbled blue cheese over the top.
• Combine the olive oil and lemon juice, and drizzle over the salad.