Here’s your second weekly healthy eating plan for January 2014

20 January 2014

The first question is, of course, how are you getting on with last week’s healthy batch cook that I sent through to you? I know that some of you are giving it a go because you have told me so. Naturally, I am curious… Well I can report back that last week my boys polished off every morsel of food available with great gusto! This week’s batch cook tends more towards the heavy inclusion of greens, so I am predicting a bit of a rebellion with one of the dishes, at least…
I’ve come up with three dishes this week: two of them are of the “eat-your-greens-in-one-big-dish” variety and the other is a bit of a classic that many people make in various shapes and forms – this one is quick to prepare, minimal fuss and very easy.

As I am forever saying, I am not a huge fan of cooking “diet” food whilst the rest of the family gorges itself on meals laden with cheese and butter. I’d much rather cook food that is pretty damn healthy, not “lite” and can be made lighter in calories simply by having a little less and increasing the accompanying portions of steamed veg.

So what’s on the batch cook menu this week?

• Slow cook chicken, mushroom and potatoes in tarragon and white wine
   
• Potato, spinach, lentil and beef bake
   
• Pasta, Greek yogurt, and greens bake, topped with parmesan

Slow cook chicken, mushroom and potatoes in tarragon and white wine

I did this dish in the slow cooker because it means that I can simply throw the ingredients into the pot in the evening and then ignore them until the following morning when, lo and behold, a delicious meal is ready!

Ingredients

• As many free range chicken pieces as you need to feed your family: drumsticks and thighs are good. Breast will be too dry.
• A little olive oil
• 1 chopped onion
• A few crushed cloves of garlic
• Some powdered bouillon
• Coarsely ground pepper
• Quite a bit of dry white Vermouth
• 1kg of small salad potatoes. Cut them into halves or thirds if they are too large.
• A few chestnut mushrooms cut into quarters and some porcini if you happen to have them knocking around
• Chopped tarragon

Step 1

Step 2

Place the wine, onion, garlic, bouillon, pepper in the slow cooker and add some water so that the pot is around third full. Stir well to distribute everything.

Step 3

Add the potatoes and mushrooms to the mixture and then add the browned chicken on the top. Spoon a bit of the liquid over the chicken and add more pepper.

Step 4

Let the ingredients cook slowly for 8+ hours in the slow cooker.

Step 5

Add the chopped tarragon once the stew is fully cooked. 

I serve this with lots of steamed veg. The sauce is very yummy so you can either mop it up with the veg (healthy option) or with bread (not so healthy option!).

Potato, spinach, lentil and minced beef bake

Ingredients

• Potatoes that are good for boiling eg Maris Piper
• 2kg fresh spinach – yes, you heard right: 2kg!!
• Green lentils
• 500g extra lean minced beef
• 1 finely chopped onion
• A few crushed cloves of garlic
• Some tomato passata – over half a carton
• Whatever seasoning and herbs you fancy – I used a bit of Worcester Sauce for a change but you could definitely try Italian-style herbs, or perhaps rosemary, thyme and bay leaves?
• Olive oil

Step 1

Cook the onion and garlic in some olive oil in one of two large pots over a low flame.

Step 2

Put some olive oil in another pot and stuff 1kg of spinach into it, sprinkle some salt and then pop the lid on. Cook over a low flame and keep an eye on this to ensure that the spinach doesn’t burn or get stuck to the bottom of the pot. Stir regularly.

Step 3

Once the onions and garlic are soft and translucent, add the green lentils and the mince and fry with the lid on the pot.

Step 4

Once your 1kg of spinach has wilted and fully reduced, remove to a bowl and then start the whole process again with your second batch of spinach.

Step 5

Allow your minced beef to brown fully and then add the passata, any seasoning you have chosen to use and enough water to cover the mince and lentils.

Step 6

Bring the lentil mix to a vigorous boil for 10 minutes before reducing to a simmer and letting it cook for quite a while – the lentils should be soft with no bite to them.

Step 7

In the meantime you need to slice your potatoes into reasonably thin slices – I keep the peeling on because I prefer it that way – and the quickest way to do this is using a food processor with a slicing attachment. It makes life soooo much easier!

Step 8

Easy really: layer up your potato slices, spinach and lentil/mince mix, starting and finishing with a layer of potato. Drizzle a bit of olive oil over the top so that it goes crispy.

Step 9

Pop into the oven until the potatoes are 100% cooked and the top is golden brown.

This is a very complete dish in itself and you can definitely get away with eating a slice of this on its own. Having said this, because I’m a bit of a veg fiend, I would be serving this with mixed veg on the side.

Pasta, Greek yogurt, and greens bake, topped with parmesan

Ingredients 

• Wholemeal pasta (to my Italian friend Emanuela’s horror!)
• Lots of Total Greek yogurt or any other strained yogurt that is very thick
• Lots of mixed greens – I used kale and spring greens
• A finely chopped onion
• A couple of crushed garlic cloves
• Seasoning
• Finely grated parmesan
• Olive oil

Step 1

Cook the pasta until it is al dente, drain and leave to one side.

Step 2

Meanwhile fry the onion and garlic in the olive oil until soft and then add the chopped greens. Mix and then put the lid on and let the greens cook. Mix as and when necessary.

Step 3

In a large oven dish build up layers of pasta, greens and then yogurt seasoned with black pepper and parmesan.

Step 5

I topped it all with a layer of green and parmesan but you could top it with whichever layer you happen to end up on. I’d definitely sprinkle parmesan on the top though.

Step 6

Pop into the oven at 180ºC and bake until golden brown.  

So, what was the verdict on these dishes? Well, we adults enjoyed all three of the dishes but I can’t exactly say that all three recipes were received with glee by my three boys. Here’s their very honest verdict: all three ADORED the chicken recipe and I noticed that they used their accompanying greens to mop up the sauce. The Potato, spinach, lentil and minced beef bake was generally popular too – no complaints there. But the Pasta, Greek yogurt, and Greens Bake, Topped with Parmesan? I ended up with a rebellion on my hands! My two older boys positively LOATHED this dish and asked me never ever to make it again. But my youngest seemed to nosh his way through it happily.

Oh well, you win some and you lose some. They are all healthy and tasty meals to adult taste buds!

< back