A Nutritionist’s Top Five Foods For A Healthful Festive Season

Now that Christmas is over and the new year is round the corner, the season of gastronomic pleasure is upon us. The challenging task for people in my profession is to suggest foods that will contribute to your overall health, as you let your hair down and celebrate. My top five here highlight a range of seasonal, nutrient-rich foods and ways to prepare those. And I also give you the nutritional breakdown of each recipe upfront. So go ahead and enjoy. Wishing you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

1) HEART HEALTHY FISH (OR PANEER) PIE

Nutritional value

Ingredients 

700 g potatoes peeled and diced
425 ml semi-skimmed fat milk
25 g low-fat spread
2 tablespoons fresh parsley chopped
100 g green peas
1 pinch ground black pepper
300 g sea-fish/basa/bhekti skinned and cut into chunks
(or 150 gm paneer chunks)
25 g reduced-fat mature Cheddar cheese grated
25 gm flour

Method

Preheat the oven to 200°C. Boil the potatoes for 15-20 minutes, drain and mash with 2 tablespoons of the milk. Put the remaining milk, put low fat spread and flour into a saucepan and bring it to boil. Over a medium heat, stirring continuously with wooden spoon until the sauce bubbles and thickens. Stir in the parsley, add the peas and season with pepper. Place the chunks of fish / paneer in an oven proof dish, pour the sauce over and then top with mashed potato. Sprinkle the cheese evenly over the surface. Bake in the centre of the oven for 25-30 minutes, until the top is golden brown. Serve with steamed or boiled broccoli. You can also do it the same on non stick pan and put the whole mixture inside microwave oven in convection and grill combination for 10/12 min.

2) WINTER WARMER SALAD FOR THOSE SUFFERING FROM HIGH CHOLESTEROL

Nutritional value

Ingredients

800g salad potatoes, sliced
2 tablespoons of mixed nuts
Ground black pepper
300g steamed long-steamed broccoli
1 small red onion, peeled and sliced
1tbsp olive oil /sunflower oil

Method

Place potatoes, broccoli and onion in a convection tray, drizzle with oil and Do it a convection only mode on microwave n put the ingredients until cooked.
Five minutes before cooking complete, add mixed nuts
Serve immediately.

(Serves – 2)

3) BAKED CHICKEN AND POTATO MEDITERRANEAN FOR DIABETES

Nutritional value

Ingredients

400 g chicken breast,
350 gm diced/ tofu
430 g paneer
800 g new potatoes, thickly sliced
1 yellow pepper, sliced
1 red pepper, sliced
2 teaspoons red pesto sauce (optional)
50g walnuts, chopped
200 ml low fat milk
80 g grated low fat cheddar
1tbsp olive oil/ 1 tbsp sunflower oil
1 tbsp cornflour

Method

Preheat oven/ microwave convection. Place potatoes, chopped vegetables, chicken/ tofu/ paneer and walnuts into a casserole dish. Mix milk, cornflour and cheese together and pour it over the veggies and chicken. Convection/ bake for 20 minutes. Remove and add pesto. Bake for a further 5 to 10 minutes and serve.

(Serves- 4 )

4) CARROT SOUP FOR WEIGHT-LOSS AND BELLY-FAT REDUCTION

Nutritional value

Ingredients

1 large onion chopped
8 carrots (or 500g), chopped
1.2 litres reduced salt vegetable/chicken stock
100g lower fat soft grated paneer
1 pinch ground black pepper

Method

Place onion, carrots and stock into a large saucepan.
Bring to the boil, then simmer for 20-25 minutes; partially covered. Blend the soup to a puree using a hand blender or food processor. Add grated paneer. Reheat and serve with a slice of wholegrain/multigrain bread- 1 slice.

5) MUSHROOM BROWN RICE RISOTTO THAT IS ANTI-AGEING, ANTI-CANCER, HEART-HEALTHY, WEIGHT-REDUCING AND CHOLESTEROL LOWERING

Nutritional values

Ingredients

1 teaspoon olive oil
5 spring onions trimmed & chopped
300g risotto rice
1 garlic clove crushed
3 handfuls mushrooms sliced
900ml reduced salt vegetable or chicken stock
75g peas
1 pinch ground black pepper

Method

Heat the oil in a large saucepan and cook the spring onions over a medium-high heat for a few seconds. Add the rice and fry over a low heat for about 1 minute, stirring all the time, until it looks glossy but not brown. Add the garlic and mushrooms, then pour in about half the hot stock and stir well. Cook over a medium heat for 20-25 minutes, stirring often and slowly adding the remaining stock a little at a time, until the rice has soaked up all the liquid. Check that the rice is tender, it should have creamy texture. Add the peas, stirring gently to mix them in. Cook for another 1-2 minutes. Season and serve.