5 days, 5 dinners
You don’t have to break the budget for a tasty meal
BROCCOLI PESTO PASTA
PREP TIME: 10 MINS COOK TIME: 15 MINS SERVES 2 (AS A MAIN)
100g dried pasta of your choice
or gluten-free pasta
Basil leaves, to serve (optional) 50g baby spinach leaves 1 Lebanese cucumber, peeled
into ribbons
125g cherry tomatoes, halved Balsamic vinegar or glaze,
to serve
Broccoli pesto
250g broccoli, cut into florets Zest of 1 lemon
1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice 20g parmesan, finely grated 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil ½ bunch basil, leaves picked Freshly ground black pepper
1 Cook the pasta in a medium saucepan of boiling water for 10-12 minutes or until al dente. Drain, reserving 1⁄4 cup of the cooking liquid.
2 Meanwhile, to make the broccoli pesto, cook broccoli in a steamer basket over a saucepan of simmering water for 2 minutes or until the broccoli is just al dente. Set aside for 5 minutes to cool. Put the broccoli, lemon zest, lemon juice, parmesan, oil, basil and pepper in a small food processor. Cover and process until finely chopped and well combined.
3 Return the pasta and reserved cooking liquid to the pan. Add broccoli pesto. Toss to combine. Divide broccoli pesto pasta between serving bowls.
Top with basil leaves, if desired. Toss together the spinach, cucumber and tomatoes.
Serve pesto pasta with the salad, drizzling with a little balsamic vinegar or glaze.
HONEY SOY BEEF
PREP TIME: 10 MINS COOK TIME: 10 MINS SERVES 2 (AS A MAIN)
120g Fantastic Hokkien Thin Fresh
Noodles or gluten-free noodles 2 tsp cornflour or glutenfree cornflour
3 tsp salt-reduced soy sauce
or gluten-free soy sauce
3 tsp sweet chilli sauce or
gluten-free sweet chilli sauce Juice of ½ lemon
1 Tbsp honey
1 clove garlic, crushed
2 tsp olive oil
200g lean rump steak, trimmed
of fat, thinly diagonally sliced ½ brown onion, cut into
thin wedges
200g broccoli, cut into small pieces 2 zucchini, diagonally sliced
2 Tbsp water
50g baby spinach leaves
1 Put the noodles in a medium heatproof bowl and cover with boiling water. Set aside for 2 minutes. Drain and separate the noodles. Set aside. Combine the cornflour, soy sauce, sweet chilli sauce, lemon juice, honey and garlic in a small bowl.
Set aside.
2 Heat half the oil in a large non-stick wok over high heat until the oil starts to smoke.
Add the beef and stir-fry for
1-2 minutes or until the meat just changes colour. Transfer to a plate.
3 Heat the remaining oil in the wok over medium-high heat. Add the onion, broccoli and zucchini. Stir-fry for 2 minutes. Add the water. Cover and cook for 1 minute or until the vegetables are just tender.
4 Add the spinach and noodles to the wok. Toss to combine.
Add the sauce mixture and toss until heated through. Serve.
CHICKEN & VEGIE PIZZA
PREP TIME: 10 MINS COOK TIME: 25 MINS SERVES 2 (AS A MAIN)
40g (1⁄4 cup) wholemeal
self-raising flour
40g (1⁄4 cup) self-raising flour 90g (1⁄3 cup) no-fat Greek-style natural yoghurt, plus 2 Tbsp extra, to serve
170g skinless chicken breast
fillet, trimmed of fat
1½ Tbsp hummus
1 small red capsicum,
cut into thin strips 1 zucchini, thinly sliced into rounds 70g button mushrooms, sliced
60g (½ cup) reduced-fat
grated cheddar
2 tsp sweet chilli sauce
1 Preheat oven to 190°C (fanforced). Combine the flours and yoghurt in a small bowl until they come together to form a dough. Turn out on a lightly floured surface. Spray a 28cm round pizza tray with cooking spray. Using a lightly floured rolling pin, roll dough out to line tray. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until base is cooked through.
2 Meanwhile, preheat a chargrill pan on medium-high. Spray the chicken with cooking spray and add to the pan.
Cook for 4 minutes each side, or until cooked through.
Transfer to a plate and set aside for 5 minutes. Thinly slice.
3 Spread hummus over the pizza base. Top with the sliced chicken, capsicum, zucchini, mushrooms and cheese. Bake for 10 minutes or until the vegetables are tender. Drizzle extra yoghurt and sweet chilli sauce over pizza. Serve.
MUSTARD PORK WITH STIR-FRIED GREENS
PREP TIME: 10 MINS COOK TIME: 15 MINS SERVES 2 (AS A MAIN)
1 tsp olive oil
2 x 150g pork loin steaks,
trimmed of fat
Freshly ground black pepper 2 tsp wholegrain mustard or
gluten-free mustard
2 tsp honey
½ tsp salt-reduced stock powder
or gluten-free stock powder 125ml (½ cup) boiling water 2 Tbsp light sour cream
300g Spud Lite baby potatoes, halved or quartered, steamed, to serve
Stir-fried greens
1 tsp olive oil
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 bunch silverbeet, inner stem
removed, shredded
½ bunch Chinese broccoli,
washed, chopped
1 To make stir-fried greens, heat oil in a large non-stick frying pan over a medium-high heat. Add garlic. Cook, stirring, for 10 seconds. Add silverbeet and broccoli to pan and cook, tossing, for 2-3 minutes or until leaves start to wilt. Transfer to a plate. Cover with foil to keep warm, Set aside.
2 Heat oil in pan over mediumhigh
heat. Season pork and add to pan. Reduce heat to medium. Cook for 1½ -2 minutes each side or until just cooked through. Transfer to a plate, cover loosely with foil and set aside. Add mustard, honey, combined stock and water to pan. Simmer for 2-3 minutes or until sauce reduces and thickens slightly (you want a spoonable consistency). Remove pan from heat and stir in sour cream.
3 Divide pork, greens and potatoes between plates. Spoon mustard sauce over pork. Serve.
QUICK MUSHROOM, CHICKEN & ROSEMARY RISOTTO
PREP TIME: 10 MINS COOK TIME: 25 MINS SERVES 2 (AS A MAIN)
2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
300g button mushrooms,
thinly sliced
1 brown onion, finely chopped 2 celery sticks, chopped
1 clove garlic, crushed or
finely chopped
100g (½ cup) Doongara Low
GI White Rice
1 tsp salt-reduced stock powder
or gluten-free stock powder 330ml (11⁄3 cups) boiling water 2 zucchini, coarsely grated 2 sprigs rosemary, leaves picked, chopped, plus extra to serve (optional) 250g skinless chicken breast,
trimmed of fat
Freshly ground black pepper 20g parmesan, finely grated
1 Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over a medium heat. Add the mushrooms, onion, celery and garlic. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 6-7 minutes, or until the onion starts to soften. Add the rice and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes.
2 Add combined stock powder and water to the pan. Bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to medium-low. Cook, covered, for 10 minutes. Add zucchini and rosemary. Cook, covered, for a further 5 minutes or until rice is tender and most of the moisture is absorbed. Remove the pan from the heat and set aside, covered, for a further 5 minutes.
3 Meanwhile, preheat a chargrill pan over a medium-high heat. Spray chicken with cooking spray and season with pepper. Add chicken to pan and reduce heat to medium. Cook for 4 minutes each side, or until chicken is cooked through. Transfer to a plate to cool slightly. Once cool, shred or slice chicken.
4 Season rice mixture with pepper. Top with chicken, or stir through. Sprinkle with parmesan, and extra rosemary leaves, if desired, and serve.