Heels To Boot

Cake is one of the most delicious – and, when you look at the nutritional stats – dangerous foods around. Even carrot cake, something you’d think would be healthier, isn’t that great for you. However, with some tweaking, a rather delicious alternative version has served as a delectable treat in my house this past week.

Ingredients

• 4 large carrots (you want about five cups when grated, well pressed down)
• 1/2 cup wholemeal flour
• 1/2 cup oats
• 1/2 cup plain flour
• 1/2 cup bran
• 3 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 5 tablespoons cinnamon
• 2 tablespoons nutmeg or mixed spice
• 4 tablespoons sugar
• 2 free range eggs
• 1 cup greek yoghurt (milk will do in a pinch)
• 1/4 cup oil
• 1 teaspoon of salt

Method

1. Line a medium to large cake tin with baking paper and preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius
2. Grate the carrot and set aside
3. Mix the flour, oats, bran, sugar, baking soda, salt, baking powder, cinnamon and mixed spice together in a large bowl
4. Add the eggs, yoghurt, and oil, mixing as you go
5. Add the carrot and mix well
6. Pour the cake mixture into the baking tin and put in the oven
7. Bake for 30-40 minutes, or until a knife pushed into the centre of the cake comes out clean.

Icing

Cream cheese or lemon icing goes beautifully with this cake.

1. Mix 1 part cream cheese (make sure it’s vego friendly, tararua does a lovely one) to 6 parts icing sugar.
2. Add a teaspoon of vanilla essence, and if you like, another half cup of icing sugar and a quarter of a cup lemon juice
3. Leave icing in fridge until it’s nice and thick, then ice the cold cake. You can grate lemon peel or sprinkle walnuts over the top.

Vegetables are so essential in our diet, but they tend not to be as easily snackable as their fruity counterparts, partly because many vegetables need to be cooked, and partly because traditionally they’re a side dish, with not much attention paid to them. However, there is hope, some of it is below.

Veggies and white sauce

This is a very simple recipe that can either be a side dish to a main meal (it goes well with plain pasta, a touch of garlic and some fresh chives or parsley, just spread the sauce over the pasta too)

Ingredients

Fresh is best, but if you’re stuck, frozen veggies will do. These are the veggies I use, but I find almost anything will do.

• Broccoli
• Cauliflower
• Carrot
• A pinch of flour
• A teaspoon of margaraine, oil or butter
• A cup of milk

Method

1. Chop vegetables into bite sized pieces, then put in a bowl and cover with a plate. You want approximately a small bowlful per person. Set aside
2. Put butter in a bowl and microwave for thirty seconds, then stir in the flour to make a thin paste
3. Add about a quarter of the milk, stir in, and microwave for two minutes on medium heat
4. Take bowl out, stir until smooth, and then repeat the last two steps until thickened, then add another quarter of the milk, and repeat until the milk is all mixed up.
5. Add salt, pepper, garlic and herbs to taste
6. Microwave the vegetables on high for 3-7 minutes depending on how much you’re using, if veggies are frozen cook less. You want them to be just crunchy.
7. Remove veggies from microwave, pour over sauce, and serve.

Easy stir fry

Stir fries are a great way of making veggies interesting. This one is really simple.

Ingredients

Pretty much anything stir fry friendly will go well in this, but here’s what I use. Again, fresh is better, but frozen is fine.

• Broccoli
• Green beans
• Butter beans
• Pok choy
• Carrots
• Baby corn
• Onion
• Soy sauce
• Garlic

Method

1. Chop up the veggies (except garlic) into bite sized pieces and place in a bowl. Cover with a plate.
2. Microwave the veggies for 3-7 minutes depending on how much you’re using, again, one small bowl per person.
3. While the veggies are cooking, pour a dash of oil into a wok or fry pan, and turn the heat up to medium. Chop up about a teaspoon of garlic and add to the wok.
4. Remove veggies from microwave, and pour into the wok
5. Add two tablespoons of soy sauce, and stir fry the veggies, add more soy sauce to taste. You may need to add a little more oil, but don’t use too much, if it’s stil dry after you’ve added a couple of tablespoons, add water instead.
6. Remove from heat, and serve. Noodles go nicely with this too.

Creative salads

Salad is one the areas we can eat veggies raw, but it’s very easy to overlook salad because the most basic version can get a little boring. Another pitfall I’ve noticed is the tendency to put too much in salads, which tends to make it hard to get the benefit of different flavours. Here’s some nice combinations.

• Frilly lettuce, baby spinach, red onion, cherry tomato and feta
• Frilly lettuce, kalamata olives (any olives will do), grated carrot, tomato chunks, crushed garlic mixed with a little olive oil as a dressing
• A little rocket or baby spinach, big chunks of tomato, celery and  cucumber, red onion rings and just a little vinegar as a dressing
• Red cabbage, regular lettuce, grated carrot, chopped parsley and onion with hummus as a dressing
• Potato (cubed, cooked),  lightly diced capsicum, onion, tomato, cubed and lightly steamed and diced green beans and carrot, a little bit of low fat salad dressing combined with a touch of white wine vinegar makes a great salad

Dressings can also make a salad, here’s some ideas

• Combine one part vinegar (balsamic, or white wine is best) with one part olive oil and a tablespoon of your favourite herbs
• Combine a teaspoon of sugar with half a cup of red wine in a pot and heat till the sugar dissolves, then add a little oil and combine. This also makes a great glaze
• Roast a whole clove of garlic without peeling it, then when it’s soft inside, peel it, mash the insides, and combine them with a cup of oil and your favourite herbs
• Combine wholegrain mustard with olive oil, adjust the amount to suit your tastes
• Greek yoghurt makes an amazing dressing, combine with anything you’d add to hummus, or add grated carrot, cucumber and mint to make Raita- a nice indian dip.

Dips

Veggie sticks and dips are a fantastic way to snack on veggies. It tastes great, it helps to fill cravings for crunchy, salty, sweet things you can keep on munching, it’s healthy, and it’s often cheaper. Here’s some veggies that go great with dips.

• Carrot sticks
• Celery sticks
• Swede
• Radishes
• Small cauliflower florets

Some dips you might like

• Hummus is easy, simple and you can make you own with a handful of soaked chickpeas, a touch of oil, lemon juice and sesame seed paste in a blender. You can modify it any way you like, adding basil and nuts, red capsicum, sun dried tomato, herbs, garlic, all sorts.
• Cottage cheese – make sure it’s vegetarian friendly, rennet is nasty (calf stomach lining).
• Pesto. This can sometimes be a bit fatty, so choose carefully, but it’s a great dip
• Reduced cream based dips aren’t limited to onion. Grab a can of reduced cream and mix it with any of the following – pumpkin soup, onion soup, tomato soup, vegetable soup, they all make great dips.
• Greek yoghurt. This stuff is great, add a touch of garlic or anything you might mix into hummus to give it a different flavour. Add grated carrot, cucumber and mint to turn it into Raita, a lovely indian dip.

Breadrolls, sandwiches, burgers, pita pockets,

It’s easy for salady type stuff to be boring in sandwiches, so get creative. Try some of these different ways of housing sandwiches

• Tortillas
• Naan bread
• Turkish wraps
• Pita Pockets
• Baguettes
• Paninis
• Croissants (these are FULL of butter, so only do these from time to time)

Try some of these combinations

• Thinly sliced brie or crumbled feta (depending on your tastes), spinach, tomato, and a touch of garlic, microwave or grill lightly
• Red capsicum, with a light sprinkling of paprika or chilli powder, add shredded tomato, red cabbage and onion and a touch of salsa.
• Grated carrot, finely diced onion, red cabbage, chopped parsley, black or kalamata olives (pitted) and a touch of garlic with a greek yoghurt dressing.
• Mix kidney beans, chopped onions and a tinned tomatoes in  a pot and heat, when the onions are a little soft, spoon some of the mix onto a sandwich (or pita pocket, wrap, etc) and add shredded lettuce, carrot, red cabbage, tomato and onions. Add thinly sliced brie and gril