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  • Five fail-safe recipes for any kind of dinner guest

    James Colquhoun - 4 min read

    14 August 2017


    Want to impress a date? Have to deal with a surprise drop-in from Mum? Here are some delicious (and healthy) recipes to save you from pre-meal panic.

    cauliflower

    When you’re pressed for time and your culinary skills are considerably less than a MasterChef contestant, it can be hard to think up tasty meals, let alone healthy ones.

    Regardless of the dinner guest – be it a date, a surprise visit from your mum or trying to cater for an extremely picky eater – we’ve got some basic, healthy recipes that are guaranteed to impress.

    A date: Perfect pizza

    If you’re bold enough to offer to cook for a date, you’ll want to pick an easy meal. The key is to reduce the margin of error so you don’t make any silly cooking mistakes out of nerves. This doesn’t have to mean a toasted cheese sandwich and a wilted salad from a packet. The dish you’re after is this lower carb version of pizza, a delicious, simple and impressive recipe.

    Traditional pizza bases are a pretty big hit of gluten, so this recipe subs in a cauliflower base which adds some extra servings of veggies to the meal. Plus, it tastes amazing, and you can freeze the leftover dough in an air-tight container in the freezer.

    PERFECT PIZZA
    Serves 2

    Ingredients
    (use organic ingredients where possible)

    Pizza Base

    • Florets from 1 cauliflower
    • 3/4 cup almond meal (or 3/4 cup almonds made into almond meal by processing them in a food processor)
    • 1 tbsp dried oregano
    • Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
    • 3 free-range eggs, beaten


    Topping

    • 2 tbsp organic tomato paste
    • 2 tbsp fresh or dried oregano
    • 1 handful mushrooms, sliced
    • 1 handful black olives, pitted
    • 1/4 cup nutritional yeast or choice of parmesan or pecorino cheese
    • Anchovies


    Garnish

    • 1 handful greens (arugula, basil)
    • Squeeze lemon juice


    Method

    1. Preheat the oven to 400ºF (200ºC) and line a baking tray with baking paper.
    2. Coarsely chop the cauliflower and add to the food processor with the almond meal, oregano, and seasoning. Blend until it is a fine, rice-like texture.
    3. Slowly add the eggs one at a time until the dough comes together and you can shape it into a ball.
    4. Transfer to the baking paper and form into a pizza base by flattening the dough with your hands. Depending on preference, you could make 2 small bases or one large. We find the small bases work better and cook more evenly.
    5. Pre-bake for 25 minutes or until golden.
    6. Remove the crust from the oven.
    7. Cover it with tomato paste, mushrooms, olives, oregano & nutritional yeast or cheese and put it back in the oven for 5-10 more minutes.
    8. Take it out of the oven and top with fresh basil, arugula & a squeeze of lemon juice.

    Your mum: Coconut fish curry and rice

    It’s good to have a trusty recipe in your back pocket to impress the parents with. Not only does a coconut fish curry sound sufficiently complex (don’t worry, it isn’t), it’s so healthy that you’ll be praised for being highly responsible.

    This recipe is chock full of medicinal spices like cumin seeds, which are good for digestion, and turmeric, which is a powerful anti-inflammatory. Curries are sometimes unfairly thought of as heavy dishes, but they can easily be made in a nutritious way. The best bit? This curry will only take you half an hour to make.

    COCONUT FISH CURRY AND RICE
    Serves 2

    Ingredients
    (use organic ingredients where possible)

    Curry Paste

    • 1 tbsp coconut oil
    • 1 onion, finely chopped
    • 2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
    • 2 tbsp garam masala powder
    • 1 tsp turmeric
    • 1 tsp cumin
    • Zest of 1 lime


    Fish Curry

    • 1 lb (500g) mahi mahi or similar firm, wild-caught white fish, diced in 1 inch pieces (for a vegetarian version, omit the fish and replace with 2 cups of cooked chickpeas, tinned or soaked and cooked)
    • 1 x 14oz (1 x 400ml) can coconut milk
    • 1 tsp sea salt
    • ½ bunch cilantro (coriander), chopped for garnish
    • ¼ lime
    • 1 cup cooked rice (basmati or brown)


    Method

    1. Melt coconut oil in a large pot, add onion and garlic and cook gently over a low heat until translucent. Add remaining curry paste ingredients and cook, stirring regularly for about 2 minutes or until fragrant.
    2. Add the fish and stir to coat well in the spices.
    3. Add coconut milk and simmer for 20-25 minutes until the fish is cooked through. (If making the vegetarian curry, add the chickpeas and coconut milk and stir through, then gently simmer for 4 minutes.)
    4. Serve immediately with a garnish of fresh cilantro leaves and a generous squeeze of fresh lime juice.

    The picky eater: Zucchini Pomodoro

    Everyone has one in their life – the person who refuses to extend beyond the confines of a limited palate. It’s usually safe to assume, however, that even the pickiest eaters will enjoy a big bowl of pasta.

    Pasta can often seem like the kind of carbohydrate-rich dish that will cause you to spontaneously nap soon after eating it, but by switching the pasta to zucchini spaghetti you make a lighter version that tastes just as good as the classic recipe. You can serve the zucchini in several ways: raw and fresh, steamed or sautéed with some coconut oil for a crispy texture.

    ZUCCHINI POMODORO
    Serves 1

    Ingredients
    (use organic ingredients where possible)

    • 3 zucchinis
    • 1 cup tomatoes
    • 6 soaked, sun-dried tomatoes
    • 1/4 cup olive oil
    • 2 cloves garlic
    • 1 date
    • 2 tbsp of parsley or basil
    • 1 tsp sea salt


    Method

    1. Spiralise the zucchini into noodles, or with a peeler into ribbons, and place in a large serving bowl.(You can eat these zucchini spirals raw but in the winter you could blanch them in boiling water for two minutes so you can serve this dish hot.)
    2. For the sauce, place remaining ingredients in food processor/ blender until smooth.
    3. To serve, place the zucchini noodles/ ribbons into bowls and pour the raw source over the top, just like you would for a bowl of pasta.

    The best mate: Chicken san choy bau

    When you’re having a friend over, you want to make something quick and fuss free without sacrificing flavour. Chicken san choy bau is a classic, fresh dish that can be eaten as a snack or a full meal.

    We tend to no longer eat with our hands, which distances us from our food in some ways. This is another reason why san choy bau is a great choice; it’s easily enjoyed while having catch-up drinks or snacking on while watching the footy.

    CHICKEN SAN CHOY BAU
    Serves 2

    Ingredients

    (use organic ingredients where possible)

    • 500g lbs free-range chicken mince
    • 1 small carrot, grated
    • 1 small zucchini, grated
    • 1 large onion, finely diced
    • 2 garlic cloves, finely diced
    • 1-inch piece ginger, grated
    • 1 small red chili, finely diced
    • 1 tbsp maple syrup or coconut sugar
    • 1 tbsp tamari (gluten-free soy sauce)
    • ½ lime, juiced
    • Sea salt to taste
    • Handful fresh cilantro (coriander), roughly chopped
    • 1 tbsp coconut oil or organic butter
    • 6 -10 cos or butter lettuce leaves


    Method

    1. Heat frying pan over high heat. Add oil and swirl to coat the base.
    2. Add onion, garlic, ginger, and chicken.
    3. Stir-fry for a few minutes until the chicken is just cooked through.
    4. Add the zucchini, carrot, tamari, maple syrup, lime juice and chili, if desired.
    5. Stir-fry until zucchini has broken down and the sauce is warmed through.
    6. Season with sea salt.
    7. Spoon chicken mixture into lettuce leaves and top with cilantro and a drizzle of yogurt.

    Yourself: Soothing chicken soup

    Let’s face it: we often put more effort into cooking for other people than we do cooking for ourselves. Not only is it an important self-care ritual to prepare a meal for yourself, it’s essential in keeping a healthy and balanced diet.

    This beautiful bone broth is packed full of nutrient-rich vegetables, protein and vitamin C. Know why chicken soup is good for a cold? It actually helps lessen the side effects of upper respiratory infections. It also helps that it’s a comforting meal in the cooler months – and tastes fantastic to boot.

    SOOTHING CHICKEN SOUP
    Serves 4

    Ingredients
    (use organic ingredients where possible)

    • 1 whole, organic chicken
    • 3¼ L filtered water, enough to cover chicken
    • A generous splash of apple cider vinegar
    • 1 carrot, roughly chopped
    • 2 stalks celery, roughly chopped
    • 1 onion, roughly chopped
    • 1 tbsp sea salt
    • 2 tsp turmeric powder


    Method

    1. Place chicken, enough water to cover chicken and apple cider vinegar in a large pot and bring to boil.
    2. Add garlic, carrot, celery, onion, turmeric and sea salt.
    3. Gently simmer in the pot for 2 hours. Keep topping up water to prevent over-evaporation.
    4. Strain liquid and shred chicken off the bones to use in a chicken soup or store cooled broth in airtight containers in the fridge.

    James headshot

    Filmmaker of 'Food Matters' and 'Hungry For Change', and founder of FMTV, James has dedicated his life to discovering the truth behind nutrition and our food supply. James, alongside Laurentine ten Bosch, has transformed the 'Food Matters' film into a global wellness hub, with a community of over 3.3 million followers across email and social networks. The information in this article is general information only and is not intended as medical, health, nutritional or other advice. You should obtain professional advice from a medical or health practitioner in relation to your own personal circumstances.

    Disclaimer:
    The information in this article is general information only and is not intended as financial, medical, health, nutritional, tax or other advice. It does not take into account any individual’s personal situation or needs. You should consider obtaining professional advice from a financial adviser and/or tax specialist, or medical or health practitioner, in relation to your own circumstances and before acting on this information.


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    Copyright © 2021. AIA Group Limited and its subsidiaries or affiliates. All rights reserved. Priority Protection and Priority Protection for Platform Investors products are issued by AIA Australia Limited (ABN 79 004 837 861, AFSL 230043). AIA Vitality, a personalised, science-backed program that supports members every day to make healthier choices, is available with eligible products issued by AIA Australia. AIA Health with AIA Vitality is issued by AIA Health Insurance Pty Ltd ABN 32 611 323 034, a registered private health insurer governed by the Private Health Insurance Act 2207, Private Health Insurance Rules 2007 and the AIA Health Insurance Pty Ltd Fund Rules. The information on this website is current as at 14 January 2021 and may be subject to change. It is general information only and is not intended in any way to be financial, legal, tax, health, medical, nutritional or other advice. You should consider your own personal circumstances and needs and view the relevant product documents, fact sheets, fund rules and terms and conditions before making a decision to acquire such products. If necessary you should obtain professional advice from a financial, tax, medical or health professional. Unless expressly stated, any views or expressions of opinion (including any video content) do not represent the opinion of AIA.
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