Shooz Does Healthy Dessert

It might be hard to believe, but I've found a healthy and delicious mid-week dessert (the weekend should should be all about splurge). It came from a quick perusal of the fridge and cupboards, the beauty of this is, you can use what you have in your own cupboards.

The finished product, ticked everything on my "healthy dessert" checklist:

• Tasty
• Sweet  
• Filling
• Crunchy (a la MasterChef)
  ...and when on the table could pass for dessert without people screwing up their faces!

 So with a resounding yes (from the voices in my head) I give you... 

BERRY-HEALTHY TRIFLE.

Ingredients:

• Strawberry yoghurt (I use Barambah Organic)
• 4 x strawberries, sliced
• 1 tbs pumpkin seeds
• handful hazelnuts and almonds, chopped

Method:

1. Use a glass cup (I used Bodum), so you can see the layers & it looks great. 
2. Start with the yoghurt for the first layer, depending on the size of the glass, roughly 1 tbs will do. 
3. Cover the first layer of yoghurt with a few strawberry slices.
4. Sprinkle the nut & seeds over the strawberries. 
5. Add another layer of sliced strawberries. 
6. Repeat starting with the yoghurt again and finish with the remainder of the nut & seed mix. 

* You can use a variety of fruits, nuts and seeds. Depending on the season & your preferences. 

A sweet treat with NO GUILT, what more could you ask for?

ONE PAN WONDER!

During the week - there's no time for fancy dinners. But what if I told you that you could pull off fancy, using one oven dish, with minimal chopping and effort. Laugh if you must, but then promise you'll try it. There will be no laughing - just lots of mmmm's and yummm's. 

I came up with this recipe when we had only a few veggies in the fridge, and had bought the Turkey breast pocket to try it out. I didn't have the energy to cook the sprouts on the cook top, and roast the potato and Turkey separately. So one-pan-wonder it was! 

Lets begin! 

Ingredients:

• Turkey Breast Pocket (I buy from the butcher at Edgecliff, it comes with sage and butter, discard)
• 1 x sweet potato, cut into half moons
• 10- 15 x Brussell Sprouts, halved 
• 4 x garlic cloves, whole with the skin left on

Herbs:

• Ras El Hanout
• Dukkah
• Dry chilli flakes
• Salt and pepper

Method:

1. Pre heat oven to 220 degrees, fan forced. 
2. In an oven roasting dish, place the Brussel Sprouts, sweet potato & garlic on the left and the right side of the dish, leaving room for the Turkey in the middle.
   Sprinkle the roast veggies with dukkah, chilli, salt and pepper. 
3. Add a splash of good quality of olive oil over the vegetables. 
4. To coat the Turkey with the spices: roll out some baking paper on the bench, place the Turkey in the centre and sprinkle over Ras El Hanout and salt and pepper, rolling the Turkey around to cover all the areas of the Turkey.
5. Pick up the breast pocket with the baking paper, and slide into the middle of the roasting pan.
6. Cook for 40 minutes, checking every 5 minutes after that if it needs further cooking.

While the Turkey was in the oven, it gave me time to put a quick salad together as well! But you could do the washing, watch TV, enjoy a sneaky glass of wine. Let me know what you would do with your spare 40 minutes! 

 

SOUP NIGHT

IT'S COLD OUTSIDE!

The office has been freezing - with layers upon layers, I still can't feel my feet - so tonight I'm thinking it's a soup kinda' night. I found a great website, Oh She Glows, I fell in love with a soup recipe and tried it out on my in-laws, with a few Shooz changes. It was a HIT!

You know the feeling when you've come home, the heater is on (if you have a real fireplace at home, totally JEAL!), the UGGs are on, and it doesn't matter that it's cold outside - yep that's it, that's the feeling you get when you eat the soup! 

Plus the quinoa adds great flavour and also super-healthy! 

WINTER WARMING SOUP.

Ingredients: 

• 1 large carrot, peeled and chopped
• 1/2 cup red quinoa, uncooked (if red is unavailable, use regular quinoa)
• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 medium brown onion, finely chopped
• 1 medium zucchini, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 cups chicken or vegetable stock, boiled
• 4 cups water, boiled
• One can diced tomatoes
• One can black beans, rinsed & drained (if you can't get black beans, fava beans, kidney beans, or butter beans will work too)
• 1 tsp curry powder
• Pinch or two of cinnamon
• Pinch of ground nutmeg
• 2 cups baby spinach leaves, well rinsed and roughly chopped
• 1/2 tsp salt flakes, to taste
• Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

 

Method:

1. Heat the oil in a large soup pot. Add the chopped sweet onion and sauté over medium-low heat until translucent. Add the chopped carrots, chopped zucchini, and minced garlic, and continue to sauté for about 5-7 minutes.
2. Boil the stock and water in another pot (if you don't have time to pre-boil, just add it at room temperature and cook the soup for an extra 10mins).  
3. Add stock mixture, tomatoes, red quinoa, black beans, and spices & seasonings. 
4. Bring to a boil and then simmer gently for 15 to 20 minutes.
5. Add the roughly chopped spinach, stir well, and cover. Simmer on low for about 15-35 minutes. 
6. The longer you cook it the more the flavours will develop. Taste test and adjust seasonings if necessary. 

*I also have a feeling this soup will be even better the next day!

Stay warm. Love Shooz xx 

SHOOZ & THE ANTIPASTO PLANK

So shock horror, I love MasterChef - I know, I keep on surprising - but my love deepened when my favourite chef, Jamie Oliver was a guest chef.

I mean who doesn't love Jamie Oliver? He speaks as fast as he chops, and the end result is sophisticated but relatively easy to recreate! And that's what I like to do! So after watching MasterChef - I set myself the challenge.

Hint: The challenge was this: the three girls up for immunity had 45 minutes to create there own "Antipasto Plank" - Jamie Oliver's life changed for the better when he came up with his own plank - the pro (Jamie) had 30 minutes. Let the FUN begin! No surprise, Jamie's antipasto won-over the judges hearts.

Yep that's it!

Ever since - I can't stop thinking about it. So I set myself the challenge, the Shooz Antipasto Plank. And yes, I did it in under 45 minutes, and was a great dinner. A little much for just me, but there was plenty of leftovers for hubby and I for lunch, conciliation prize!

I hope you like it...

  

ANTIPASTO:

2 x pieces of toast 

Hummus, topped with Harrisa and good olive oil

Tahina, topped with sesame seeds and cracked pepper

ROAST TOMATOES: 

Tomatoes (still on the vine), placed on a lined baking tray, seasoned with salt and pepper. place in the oven for 30 minutes. Allow to cool down and place on a bed of crumbled feta. 

BLACK BEAN & AVO SALAD:

Drain and rinse a can of black beans, and place into a bowl. Cut one avocado and throw into the bowl. Top with chopped shallots, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Finish with a sprinkle of coriander.

GREEN VEGGIE DELIGHT:

In a medium size pot, cook a teaspoon of garlic, add chopped asparagus & broccolini (chilli optional), squeeze in half a lemon and cook for 5 minutes with a lid on. Serve on a bed of baby spinach leaves and finish with toasted pine nuts on top. 

I think this will be the first of many planks! 

Be sure to comment if you tried it yourself or need a hand. 

Love Shooz xx

REAL HOUSEWIFE OF DARLINGHURST

I'll admit, I am slightly obsessed with the real housewives! Out of all the cities on TV, NYC is my all time-favourite! So tonight I was a typical housewife. No no I didn't let a camera crew follow me around, I cooked hubby dinner.

To be honest, this isn't too uncommon. And it's great because if I cook, he puts on the gloves to clean! I'm pretty lucky! The reason why I'm calling tonight, Real Housewife is, I can't think of a name for this meal.

So here goes!

Ingredients:

• 2 x chicken breasts
• 1 cup red quinoa 
• 1/2 onion, diced
• 2 x garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 x capsicum, chopped
• 1 bunch asparagus, chopped
• 1 long red chilli, chopped
• Juice half lemon
• Pistachios optional 
• 10 small brussels sprouts 
• Olive oil 
• Sea Salt 
• Cracked pepper

Marinade for chicken:

• 2 tbsp olive oil (you can use lemon infused or chilli)
• 2 x garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 2 tbsp Dukkah
• 1 tbsp dried parsley
• 1/2 tbsp Moroccan spices
• Chilli optional

Method:

1. Preheat the oven 200 degrees, fan forced. 
2. For the chicken marinade, put the breasts in a plastic bag, combine all the ingredients and shake up the bag. 
3. For the brussels sprouts, cut of the bases off. If some are a little bigger than others, cut them in half. Place the cut and washed brussels sprouts in a bag, pour in olive oil (approx 2-3 table spoons), pinch of sea salt and cracked pepper. 
4. Place brussels sprouts on a lined baking tray. Place chicken in foil roasting tray or baking tray. Place the sprouts and chicken in the oven for approx 30-35. (Check the chicken before serving).
5. Cook the quinoa (I used red) according to the packet. 
6. In a large pan, cook the onions and garlic (with a little olive oil), for 3-5 minutes. Add asparagus and cook for a further 4 minutes. Add capsicum and chilli. Stir every few minutes. Squeeze in the lemon juice. 
7. Once the quinoa is ready - add to the vegetable mix. Add in the nuts. 
8. Serve the chicken, brussels sprouts and quinoa pilaf. Serves 2 (with leftover for lunch the next day).

 

Good luck! Need a hand? Comment below. 

Shooz xx