Healthy recipes from dietitian Kerri Major, plus Rose Murray Brown on the best wines from Lebanon
A better understanding of what constitutes a nutritious meal plan will help you make the right food choices, writes dietitian Kerri Major
As the saying goes, knowledge is power, and understanding the basics of nutrition is the power that you need in order to eat well for life. Knowing how to eat well has been made unnecessarily difficult for everyone, thanks to so many unqualified people giving out nutrition advice. Without undervaluing my degree (as it was, in no shape or form, easy to achieve), the basics of nutrition can, in fact, be relatively simple, and that is what many people have lost sight of.
This is why I want to encourage you to try and unlearn what you think you already know about nutrition and start all over again. I want to help you understand how to eat a balanced diet so that you can reap the benefits of nourishing your body with amazing food. I want you to view food and exercise in a completely different way, rather than focusing on what impact these can have on your relationship with gravity (ie. your weight). I want you to say goodbye to the restrictions that often come with following a diet, while I give you the knowledge and power needed to make your own educated and informed choices about the foods you eat. n
Recipes are extracted from The Dietitian Kitchen: Nutrition for a Healthy, Strong, & Happy You,
published by Meyer & Meyer The Sports Publisher out now, www.meyer-meyer-sport. co.uk
Spinach, feta and red pepper muffins
Makes 12
4 tbsp olive oil
½ onion, finely chopped
1 red pepper, finely chopped ½ tbsp pumpkin seeds (plus some extra to top)
½ tbsp sunflower seeds
(plus some extra to top)
1egg
200ml milk
300g wholemeal self-raising flour 2 tsp mixed herbs salt and pepper to season large handful of spinach, finely chopped
50g crumbled feta cheese
1 tbsp Parmesan to finish butter to finish (optional)
1 Preheat oven to 200C/gas Mark 6. Line a muffin tray with paper muffin cups.
2 In a frying pan, heat 1 tbsp olive oil over low-medium heat. Sauté the onion and pepper until softened. Add the seeds to the pan and sauté for a further 1-2 minutes, stirring regularly. Remove from the heat and set aside.
3 In a bowl, combine the egg, milk and the remaining 3 tbsp oil using a fork.
4 In a separate bowl, sift in the flour. Add the mixed herbs, sea salt and black pepper, spinach and feta cheese and mix together.
5 Add the onion and pepper to this bowl and mix thoroughly.
6 Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and combine well. Spoon the mixture evenly into the 12 muffin cups. Sprinkle the top of each one with the extra seeds.
7 Bake for approx 25-30 minutes or until golden brown on top and a knife or cake tester comes out clean. Top each muffin with approx 1 tsp butter while they’re still hot and sprinkle some Parmesan over the tops.
8 Transfer the muffins onto a wire rack to cool.
Chickpea and avocado bruschetta
Serves one
2 slices sourdough bread 5 cherry tomatoes, halved 1-2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil salt and pepper, to taste ½ tsp dried oregano
1 garlic clove, crushed ¼ red onion, finely sliced juice of ½ lime
3 tbsp chickpeas, drained and rinsed 5 fresh basil leaves, sliced
½ avocado, diced crumbled feta or a few slices of mozzarella (optional)
1 Preheat oven to 180C/gas Mark 4. 2 Drizzle the bread with a small amount of olive oil. (Optional: cut a clove of garlic lengthways and rub on bread for extra flavour.)
3 Line a baking tray with baking parchment. Add the cherry tomatoes and a drizzle of oil, season with salt and pepper and a sprinkle of dried oregano. Place in the oven and heat for a few minutes until the tomatoes soften. Take out and set aside.
4 Line another baking tray with baking parchment. Add the bread and bake it in the oven for 5-10 minutes until golden brown or simply toast in a toaster.
5 Meanwhile, heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a frying pan at medium heat. Add the crushed garlic and red onion to the pan and sauté for approx 1 minute.
6 Add the lime juice, chickpeas and extra salt and pepper as desired, and sauté for a few more minutes until the ingredients are warmed through. Remove from the heat and stir in the fresh basil.
7 Once the bread is ready, top it with the avocado, the chickpea mixture and the tomatoes.
Garlic and lime seabass with pecan and rosemary sweet potato mash
Serves two
2 seabass fillets juice of 1 lime
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 tbsp butter and a further tsp to top the fish
1 handful of fresh coriander, chopped finely
2 small sweet potatoes, peeled and diced
⅓ cup pecan pieces
1 tbsp olive oil
½ tsp chilli powder
½ tsp rosemary
15g grated cheddar cheese
½ tbsp maple syrup sea salt and black pepper, to taste
1 2
Preheat oven to 220C/gas Mark 8. Place the fish on a piece of aluminium foil on a baking tray and top each fish with approx ½ tsp butter.
3 Cover the fish with half of the lime juice, add the crushed garlic and season with salt and pepper.
4 Loosely wrap the fish into a parcel with the foil and place it in the oven, baking for approx 15 minutes.
5 In the meantime, place the sweet potatoes into a medium pot and cover with water. Bring the water to a boil and then simmer them for approx 15 minutes until the potatoes are soft.
6 While the fish and potatoes are cooking, line a baking tray with baking parchment and spread the pecans out all over the baking tray.
7 Drizzle the pecans with oil, and top with the chilli powder, rosemary, and salt and black pepper.
8 Roast the pecans in the oven for approx 2-3 minutes. Their aroma should be fragrant. Be careful, they can burn quickly if not watched very closely. Take out and set aside.
9 Take the seabass fillets out of the oven after 15 minutes. Uncover them, top with the remaining lime juice, and add the coriander. Parcel up the fish again and bake for 10 minutes more (or until the end of the suggested cooking time as instructed on the package). The fish will be ready when the flesh flakes easily with a fork.
10 Once the potatoes are cooked, drain them and put them back in the pot. Add the tablespoon of butter, cheese, maple syrup, and salt and pepper and then mash together well. Serve the sweet potatoes topped with the roasted pecans, alongside the seabass fillets.