May, 2008

For the first in the series Food for Thought chatted with Leigh Drew about low GI recipes. Podcast coming shortly – in the meantime check out these yummy recipes!

Breakfast

Date and Ginger Muffins

Makes 12 small muffins

1 and ½ cups wholegrain flour, such as oat, barley, spelt or buckwheat

• ½ cup wholemeal plain flour
• 1 cup grains, such as steel cut oats, rolled rye or barley
• ½ cup linseed meal
• 1 and ½ tablespoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 cup dried or fresh dates, roughly chopped
• 1 inch fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped or grated
• ½ cup water
• 1 cup apple sauce
• 1/2 cup orange juice
• 2 tablespoons blackstrap molasses

Preheat the oven to 170 degrees Celcius.

Line a 12 cup muffin tin with paper liners, or grease and flour the muffin tin.

Place the dates, ginger and water into a saucepan and simmer over a medium heat until the dates are softened and the water has been absorbed. Set aside to cool.

Sift the flours, baking powder and spices together. Add the grains and linseed meal to the flours.

Stir the apple sauce, orange juice and blackstrap molasses into the date mixture.

Pour the date mixture into the dry ingredients and fold through until just combined.

Spoon the mixture into the muffin tin, filling to the top of the cases.

Bake the muffins until firm and a knife inserted into the centre comes out clean, about 20 to 30 minutes.

Lunch

Citrus Coleslaw

Serves 2 to 4

• ½ red cabbage, finely sliced
• 2 carrots, finely sliced
• 1 granny smith apple, cored and finely sliced
• 1 red capsicum, finely sliced
• ½ cup walnuts or pecans, broken up
• Zest of one orange and one lemon
• ½ cup orange and lemon juice
• ¼ cup linseed oil
• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

Combine the cabbage, carrots, apple, capsicum, nuts and zest in a glass or Pyrex bowl.

Whisk together the juice, linseed oil and apple cider vinegar, and pour over the cabbage mixture. Marinate, stirring occasionally, for 20 minutes before serving.

Serve with wholegrain bread spread with avocado and topped with smoked tofu.

Dinner

Fridge Clean Out Chilli

Serves 4 to 6

• 1 cup red lentils, rinsed
• 1 can red kidney beans
• 2 cans of chopped tomatoes
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1/2 broccoli stem, peeled and diced
• 1/2 head of broccoli, chopped small
• 1 cup beans, diced
• 2 cups mushrooms, sliced
• ½ green capsicum, diced
• ½ red capsicum, diced
• 2 small carrots, grated
• 2 small zucchini, grated
• 2 chipotles in adobo sauce, chopped (or 1 bird’s eye chilli, chopped, and a teaspoon of smoked paprika)
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1 vegan “beef” style stock cube
• Juice of one lemon
• 2 tablespoons vegan Worcestershire sauce
• 3 squares of good quality vegan bittersweet chocolate
• Olive oil

Heat the olive oil in a large heavy bottomed saucepan, over a medium hot flame/heat. Toss in the garlic and onions, and cook until translucent and fragrant. Add the chipotle (or bird’s eye chilli and smoked paprika) and stir to combine.

Add the broccoli stems and beans, and cook for a couple of minutes. Add the broccoli heads and capsicum, and cook for another couple of minutes. Pour in the red lentils and stir through vigourously. The mix will start to stick a little, so movement is very important to make sure it doesn’t burn. Throw in the mushrooms, carrots and zucchini and toss quickly.

Sprinkle in the cumin, coriander and smoked paprika and stir through the vege/lentil mixture. Pour in the Worcestershire sauce and lemon juice, and stir. Pour in both the tins of tomatoes, and fill one of the tomato tins with water. Add this water (and another half tin at a time as required) to the vege/lentil mixture, and stir through well.

Simmer the mixture at medium high heat, and stir regularly. You may need to add more water as the mixture thickens. When the lentils are cooked, and the mixture is thick and maybe even sticking a little, stir through the drained can of kidney beans. Take off the heat and serve.

Serve with cornbread or corn chips or tortilla chips, topped with guacamole, with a salad on the side.