Useful GI/GL Recipes

[Plumfoodie]

Not so much a recipe as a suggested assembly...

Mix up drained/rinsed chickpeas and black olives with a dressing including olive oil, lemon juice, garlic and herbs (parsley plus coriander or basil is nice). Let infuse while you prepare a bed of rocket or other peppery leaves and grill some lowfat haloumi cheese. Top the leaves with the chickpeas and olives (plus dressing), scatter over some sunblush or slow-roasted tomatoes, and top with the hot haloumi. So so good!! And nice after perhaps too much naughty holiday food!

 

[babliboobabu]

OK, this isn't a recipe but directions to an inspirational food blog called Kalyn's Kitchens, which I found a few days ago. She does recipes for the South Beach Diet: a good carbs, good fats diet. I know Plum uses recipes from/inspired by South Beach Diet.

I think this blog has fantastic food and wanted to share it with you all. Enjoy!

Kalyn's Kitchen

 

[Plumfoodie]

Thanks Ashie. That is a great blog! I have to say I do like south beach recipes as they fit really well with low GI/GL and give a bit more variety of choice!

Edit: in fact I've always been a little surprised that diet chef is a subforum here while south beach is in a completely separate section of minis!

 

[skerry]

Cheese flapjacks

Pre heat oven to 170

Ingredients:
225g porridge oats
175g grated cheese
75g butter
2 large eggs
1 grated carrot (optional)

Method:
Throw all ingredients into a large mixing bowl, (adding the eggs last to bind) and stir with a wooden spoon until it's all nicely blended.

Spread the mixture evenly, making sure it is level around the sides, into a non-stick swiss roll tin.

Add a splash or two of Worcestershire sauce and bung in the oven for 25 mins.

Really tasty, but also calorific. However a small square of this with a bowl of soup makes a really filling lunch.

 

[Plumfoodie]

Copied from Reddress's diary, because it's delicious!!

Roast butternut squash, coconut & chilli soup |

I worked it out on MFP as 320 calories per serving if you split into 4 portions, use full-fat coconut milk and add 1 tbsp of olive oil to roast the squash, but your mileage may vary.

 

[laurenista]

Apricot and almond cookies
100g dried apricots
100g ground almonds
115g caster sugar
50g plain flour
2 egg whites at room temp

Method- preheat oven to 170c and line 2 baking trays with non stick paper
2. Place apricots, ground almonds, flour and sugar in a bowl and mix well
3. whisk well till frothy and add to apricot mixture mix until combined
4. Use slightly wet hands to shape tbsp full into balls and place on baking try then flatten top down.
5. Bake for 12-15 mins or until biscuits are lightly golden. Allow to cool in trays. Store in air tight box

Tends to make around 16 i made 18 last batch tho

Enjoy they are a tasty low GI snack at around 90 calories per cookie

Sent from my iPhone using MiniMins

 

[ice-pop]

Thanks for the recipe will give it a try next week.

 

[CaliSweden]

Recipe for Japanese Grain Teas; Sobacha (buckwheat tea) and Mugicha (Barley tea)

They're really good and caffeine free. Depending to how dark you roast them will have an effect on how robust they are You can toast them on a pan for about 5-15 minutes on medium heat until the grains are a nice dark brown. Don't forget to move the grains around, or else they'll be burnt on oneside.

Depending on how strong you want your tea, you can use about a ½ tablespoon - 1 tablespoon of soba(buckwheat) or mugi (barley) for each 1 cup of water That should make it strong. You boil the water, then let the mugi or soba simmer for about 20 minutes on low heat. Then turn heat off and let it sit for about 5 minutes. Use a strainer to take the grains out of the tea.

You can drink them cold or hot. I usually make a big huge pan full of tea. I then put the rest in the fridge in a pitcher or mugs. It can last for days this way, and if you want to drink it cold you can or pour it into a mug and microwave for hot tea

I also toasted a good amount, so I don't have to keep toasting them every time I want to drink the tea. I'm storing them each in their own plastic bag in the fridge.

I know mugicha can be an acquired taste. When I was a kid I didn't like it so much, but as I got older it grew on me. Sobacha was easier for me since it tastes similar to soba noodles, but in a nutty tea way. Both teas have a nutty smooth flavor. If you have something spicy to eat or a sore throat, they really help to sooth the throat.

 

[Plumfoodie]

I made the morrocan-style chicken from page 3 of the thread last night. It wasn't quite what I was expecting but it was really nice! Also interesting as whilst I knew you could eat the skin of butternut squash I'd never actually tried it. It was quite tender and certainly saved an awful lot of peeling!

 

[Plumfoodie]

http://www.southbeachdiet.com/sbd/publicsite/recipes/Greet-the-Sun-Breakfast-Pizzas.aspx

Just had this for breakfast using a Food Doctor pitta and frozen leaf spinach. Really good with a little Tabasco or similar sprinkled on and a nice change from my usual breakfasts!

 

[Plumfoodie]

Yummy lunch today! I could happily eat this every single day. The author suggests you could stir a little freshly grated horseradish into the cottage cheese if you like. I would have, but I didn't have any!

Smoked salmon and avocado open sandwich

(from High Protein, Low GI, Bold Flavor)

serves 2

Ingredients

2 slices good wholegrain or pumpernickel rye bread
1/4 cup lowfat cottage cheese
100 g smoked salmon
1 avocado, sliced
1 tbsp finely minced red onion
1 tsp capers, rinsed
1 tsp apple balsamic vinegar
lemon wedges to serve

Method

Lightly toast the bread. Spread one side of each slice with the cottage cheese. Cover with smoked salmon and avocado slices. Scatter over the red onion and capers, and sprinkle over the vinegar. Serve with lemon wedges on the side.

266 calories according to the recipe book!

 

[Plumfoodie]

Cheesy Quinoa Bites

I made a batch of these to put in the freezer for snacks. Different, but yummy! (I cook the quinoa in my rice cooker, it turns out perfect every time.)

Cheesy Quinoa Bites

Makes ~28 mini-muffin bites or 7 muffins

• 2 cups cooked quinoa
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup shredded carrot
• 2 stalks spring onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh coriander
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 Tbs gram (chickpea) flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Mix together quinoa, carrot, egg, spring onion, garlic, coriander, cheese, flour, salt and pepper.
3. Distribute mixture into a greased mini muffin tin, filling 28 cups to the top (1 heaping Tbs each) OR into a greased muffin tin, filling 7 cups. Press down lightly and smooth the tops.
4. Bake for 15-20 minutes for mini-muffins, or 25 minutes for muffins.

MyFitnessPal clocks these at 140 calories for 4 mini-muffins or one regular muffin, assuming 2/3 cup dry quinoa to make 2 cups cooked.

Edited to add that these defrost and reheat really well, making them an ideal after-work snack.

 

[Plumfoodie]

I've been having this for breakfast this week - yum! She says not to freeze it, but I did and it survived just fine. I steamed the broccoli instead of boiling to minimise sogginess.

http://www.kalynskitchen.com/2011/05/recipe-for-broccoli-mushrooms-ham-and.html

 

[Plumfoodie]

Really nice side dish, adapted from the current Easy Cook magazine. We actually used borlotti beans because we had half a tin leftover from something else; still yummy! If you're watching calories from fat you could cut the oil down a bit but I wouldn't do away with it altogether because it helps the aubergine get a lovely melty texture. Maybe you could use an olive oil spray and pay special attention to the aubergine chunks?

Next time we will use ground coriander and cut the quantity a bit; I found the whole seeds offputting!

This recipe originally included 2 large baking potatoes and had 327 calories/serving, I'm not sure what it is without the potatoes but obviously less, and less again if you cut down the oil.

Roast summer vegetables and chickpeas

Serves 4

3 courgettes, thickly sliced
1 aubergine, cut into thick fingers
3 cloves garlic, chopped
2 red peppers, deseeded and chopped into chunks
1 onion, chopped
1 tbsp coriander seeds
4 tbsp olive oil
400g can chopped tomatoes
400g can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
small bunch fresh coriander, roughly chopped

Preheat the oven to 220C/gas mark 7. Tip all the veggies into a large flameproof roasting tin and toss with the coriander seeds, most of the olive oil and salt and pepper. Spread it all out into a single layer, then roast for 45 minutes (tossing once or twice) until veggies are tender and starting to brown.

Put the tin onto the hob on a low heat, then add the tomatoes and chickpeas. Bring to a simmer, stir, then season, drizzle with the rest of the oil, and scatter over the chopped coriander.

 

[blue-kat]

orange lentil soup
it's basic but easy, cheap and adaptable.
originally from Rose Elliott veggie cook book

fry some onion
add lentils
water + stock cube
simmer
blend and add lemon juice - which makes it silky and tangy

I've had guests love this so much< I've made another batch while they wait. - takes 10 - 15 mins
variations:
add whatever veg you have to hand
curry pastes, ginger, coriander, chilli etc.
go Mediterranean with garlic, thyme, fresh parsley

or even add shreds of leftover meat.
or garnish to boiled egg.

quick to cook - keeps fine in the fridge for few days, if it goes a bit solid, just loosen it up with more water. or cooking water from your veg pan.

 

[Plumfoodie]

I had been lusting after the Tesco Finest chocolate tea for ages after seeing it mentioned in another Minis forum. My husband bought me a box but sadly it contains black tea (which I must avoid). Based on the ingredients I thought I'd try a DIY version and it worked very well. In fact my husband says it's better than the black tea version! (which has a weird 'oily' synthetic vanilla flavour reminiscent of flavoured coffee creamer, blech)

Brew up a pot with a vanilla redbush teabag (I get from goodness direct) and a teaspoon of cocoa powder. When you pour out, use a strainer with a bit of coffee filter in it. Enjoy with a splash of milk. Yum! (sadly it doesn't taste like brownies, but it's still good!)

 

[Plumfoodie]

It's rhubarb season! It doesn't actually have a measureable GI (see here: GI News) and so it makes a great pudding as long as you don't add high GI sweeteners to it.

For one person I like to cook 325g rhubarb chopped up with a splash of water and 1 tbsp of Sweet Freedom plus whatever flavouring I fancy that day (ginger and/or orange being my current faves) until tender.

Taste in case it's a particularly tart batch and add a another teaspoon of Sweet Freedom if needed.

Cool a bit (or chill) and sprinkle with some chopped pistachios.

If desired, top with a little blob of greek yoghurt (or a little sweetened greek yoghurt with vanilla extract).

 

[irish molly]

I love rhubarb!! I've been having lots with some Greek yoghurt and ginger.

 

[Plumfoodie]

We've loads in the garden - I will be sad when the season is up!

 

[Plumfoodie]

We've been eating a lot of this, as it keeps in the fridge and is an easy way to get veg into a fast meal! The portions are quite large, if serving with a lot of other foods you could probably serve 8.

You can also mix in 2 tbsp wholegrain mustard and a punnet of mustard cress to make it a bit zingier - nice with cold roast chicken.

Crunchy red cabbage slaw
(from Easy Cook magazine)

Serves 4, 109 calories per serving

300g red cabbage, shredded
1 large carrot, coarsely grated
1 apple, coarsely grated
1 bunch spring onions, thinly sliced

2 tbsp mayonnaise
1 tbsp wine vinegar
1 tbsp olive oil

Mix the veggies in a large bowl. Whisk together the dressing ingredients with some salt and pepper, then add to the vegetables and toss to combine.