Healthy, Nutritious, Delicious Comfort Food – Lunches and Dinners !

Enjoy these winter warming recipes utilising important winter diet foods mentioned in previous blog.

Lunch and Dinners

Lentil Shepherd’s Pie

Serves 4
A healthy version of the traditional shepherd’s pie, full of winter flu fighting foods, protein and vitamins

½ cup brown lentils
2 onions (one whole, one chopped)
500g cauliflower, broken into florets
1/3 cup low fat ricotta
Olive oil spray
1 large carrot, chopped
150g mushrooms, chopped
1 clove of garlic, crushed
400g can diced tomatoes
Freshly ground pepper
1/3 cup grated parmesan
400g steamed broccoli

Method

1. Place lentils, whole onion and bay leaf in a saucepan. Cover with 2 cups water, bring to the boil and simmer for 40 minutes or until lentils are tender. Drain; discard onion and bay leaf.
2. Meanwhile, steam cauliflower for 15 minutes or until very soft. Transfer to a bowl and mash with ricotta to make a coarse purée.
3. Lightly spray a frying pan with oil. Cook chopped onion, carrot, mushrooms and garlic for 8 minutes, stirring, until softened and golden. Stir in tomatoes, lentils and ¼ cup water. Season with pepper, then spoon mixture into an ovenproof dish.
4. Top with cauliflower mash and parmesan. Bake for 30 minutes until the cheese is golden. Serve with broccoli.

From Crunch Time Cookbook by Michelle Bridges.

Simply Bean Soup

Serves 4

Using immune fighting onions, garlic, high in vitamin C capsicum and tomatoes and high protein legumes to build strength and energy.

Ingredients:

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 onion, finely chopped
1 capsicum, sliced
400g can salt reduced, pureed tomatoes
1 tbsp tomato paste
3 cups reduced-salt chicken stock
400g cannellini beans, drained
½ cup brown lentils
2 tsp pesto
1 cup green beans, trimmed and cut in half

Method:

1. Heat oil in a large saucepan, add onion and garlic and gently fry for 2 minutes or until soft.
2. Add tomatoes, stock, lentils, tomato paste and pesto. Bring to the boil, stir, reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes.
3. Add cannellini beans, green beans and capsicum and simmer for a further 10 minutes. More liquid may need to be added at this point, if this is the case add water slowly until desired consistency is reached.

Mushroom, Capsicum and Sweet Potato Frittata

Serves 1

Again, utilising the flu fighting winter foods, an easy meal for lunch or dinner that can be stored and reheated

Spray olive oil
1 clove garlic
¼ red onion
50g finely sliced and chopped sweet potato
3 button mushrooms, sliced
¼ capsicum, chopped
2 eggs
25g low fat feta

Method

1. Spray a frypan and cook all vegetables with garlic until softened
2. Whisk eggs and pour over vegetables, cook for roughly 1 min
3. Crumble feta over top
4. Put frypan under griller for 3-4minutes until top browned

Hearty beef casserole

Serves 8

An affordable and hearty meal full of veggies and warmth, easy to make in big batches for leftovers or frozen for future meals

2 tbs olive oil
1.5kg diced beef chuck/blade steak
2 large onions, cut into thin wedges
2 leeks, white part only, sliced
2 garlic cloves, crushed
4 stick celery, trimmed and slice
2 large carrots
2 x 425g diced tomatoes
¼ cup red wine
1 cup beef stock

Method

1. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large saucepan over high heat. Cook beef, in 4 batches, stirring, until browned. Transfer to a plate.
2. Reduce heat to medium. Add remaining oil, onions, leeks, garlic, celery and carrots to pan. Cook, stirring often, for 5 minutes.
3. Return beef to pan with tomatoes, wine and stock. Bring to the boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer, covered, for 1 hour. Uncover and simmer gently, stirring occasionally, for 30 minutes or until beef is tender
4. Divide half the casserole between 4 plates. Serve with greens.

Leftovers allow reserved casserole to cool. Keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 3 months.

From taste.com.au