Recipes

Want to know what a dietitian eats? Here it is.

Healthy food doesn't need to be boring - I'm all about quick and simple food which tastes delicious and just happens to be healthy too!

by Skye Swaney Leave a Comment

Salmon Ceviche

This delicious, tangy salmon ceviche makes the perfect starter or main when it’s too hot to cook! This is a favourite dinner in our house – rather than being cooked by heat, the salmon is ‘cooked’ by the acid in the lime juice. This is especially handy in summer when turning on the oven or stove is about the last thing you feel like doing!

Serve it on it’s own or with some grilled tortillas as a starter or with some brown rice or if you’re having it as a main.

Ingredients (serves 2):
1 large salmon fillet, skin removed and diced into 1-2cm chunks
2 limes, juiced
1 lebanese cucumber, diced
1/2 red onion, finely diced
1 avocado, diced
1/2 large red chilli, seeds removed and finely sliced
1 tablespoon sesame oil
2 teaspoons soy sauce
2 teaspoons honey
2 tbsp coriander leaves, roughly chopped

Method:

Place salmon chunks in a bowl. Pour over lime juice, mix well and leave in fridge to sit for 20 minutes. The salmon should turn a slightly translucent colour as it ‘cooks’ in the juice.
Add cucumber, onion, avocado, chilli and coriander and toss gently.
Mix together sesame oil, soy sauce and honey and pour over salmon.
Serve over brown rice or with toasted tortilla.

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3 Ingredient Flourless Banana Pancakes

banana-pancakes-3-1947 There’s nothing better than pancakes for breakfast, but often they’re not the healthiest option – particularly once you top them with maple syrup and ice cream! These ones are totally different and are one of my favourite breakfasts – made with just oats, banana and eggs they almost couldn’t be any healthier.

They’ve got loads of low GI carbohydrates, fibre and protein so they really fill you up and because the banana adds some delicious natural sweetness, you don’t really even need to top them with much except maybe a little honey.

Plus you can play around with different additions to make them a bit more interesting if you like (see ‘variations’).

Ingredients (serves 1, makes 2 pancakes):
1 small banana
1/2 cup rolled or quick oats
1 egg + 1 egg white

Method:

Mash banana in a small bowl, then add oats and eggs and mix well.
Heat a non-stick frypan over medium heat. Once hot, pour in pancake batter, dividing into two pancakes (do this in two separate batches if you have a smaller frypan). Cook for around 2 minutes or until mixture has set, then flip and cook for a further 1 minute or until cooked through.
Serve with yoghurt, honey, extra chopped fruit and a sprinkling of nuts, chia seeds or coconut.

Variations:

Banana blueberry – add 1/4 cup blueberries to mixture
Banana Coconut – add 1 tablespoon desiccated coconut
Fruit and nut – add 1/4 cup chopped walnuts
High protein choc banana – add a scoop of chocolate protein powder

banana-pancakes-2-1952

by Skye Swaney 1 Comment

Pearl Barley, Pomegranate and Pistachio Salad

Ingredients (serves 4):
2 cups pearl barley, cooked
1/2 cup cranberries, roughly chopped
1/2 cup pistachios, toasted and roughly chopped
1/4 cup currants
1/2 cup pomegranate seeds
1/4 cup mint leaves, finely chopped
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoon lemon juice
2 teaspoons honey
2 teaspoons pomegranate molasses (optional)
Pinch of salt

Method:

Combine barley, cranberries, pistachios, currants, pomegranate seeds and mint in a large bowl
In a small bowl mix together olive oil, lemon juice, honey, pomegranate molasses
Pour dressing over barley mixture and stir through

by Skye Swaney Leave a Comment

Lentil Bolognaise

lentil-bolognaise A vegetarian take on a very popular classic. Lentils are an excellent source of protein and fibre, and combined with a bunch of other vegetables, this is one super healthy meal!

This recipe is also a great way to use up leftover vegetables – just dice and throw in whatever you’ve got.

Ingredients (serves 4):
1 tin brown lentils, rinsed and drained
1 jar good quality tomato pasta sauce
1 tomato, diced
1 carrot, peeled and diced
1 stick celery, diced
1 zucchini, diced
1 small tin sweet corn, drained
Small handful of black olives, sliced (optional)
Cooked wholemeal spaghetti or steamed zucchini noodles to serve

Method:

Combine all ingredients except pasta in a large saucepan and simmer, covered, over medium heat for 20 minutes or until vegetables are soft. Add a small amount of water if sauce is too thick.
Serve with pasta or zucchini noodles and top with parmesan.

by Skye Swaney 2 Comments

Easy Sweet Potato & Corn Frittata

Frittatas are one of my go to dinners when there’s barely any food in the house – as long as you have some eggs, milk, maybe a bit of cheese and a few left over veggies lying around, you’re good to go.

While most frittata recipes require you to cook it over the stove first and then finish it off under the grill, I find this one does just as well in the oven. This does mean it takes a little longer to cook but the advantage is you don’t have to keep such a close eye on it, which is worth a few extra minutes if you ask me!

Ingredients (serves 4):
1 large potato, peeled and diced into 2cm cubes, skin on
1 small sweet potato, peeled and diced into 2cm cubes
8 eggs
1/4 cup milk
1/3 cup sour cream
1/2 cup sweet corn kernels
1 handful baby spinach
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
1 handful cherry tomatoes, halved

Method:

Preheat oven to 180°C. Grease a 28 x 18cm rectangular dish.
Place potato and sweet potato in a microwave safe bowl. Add 2 tablespoons of water, cover with an upturned plate and microwave on high for 5 minutes or until soft but still holding shape. Drain and allow to cool for a few minutes.
Whisk eggs together with milk and cream in a large bowl until well combined.
Add potato, sweet potato, corn, baby spinach and cheese to egg mixture and stir to combine.
Pour into greased dish, top with cherry tomatoes and bake for 35-40 minutes until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.

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Chocolate, Raspberry & Coconut Bliss Balls

chocolate, raspberry and coconut bliss balls -1796

Sometimes you just need a little chocolatey something to get you through the afternoon. But instead of raiding the vending machine, try these delicious chocolate, raspberry and coconut bliss balls.

While they’re not exactly low in kilojoules, they have a whole lot more nutritional value to offer than chocolate – with raspberries, oats, almond meal providing fibre, low GI carbs, healthy fats, vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients to provide energy, help reduce inflammation and protect us from disease. And the best part is they won’t set you off on a blood sugar roller coaster for the rest of the day like chocolate can – so you won’t be fighting the urge for an afternoon nap!

Ingredients (makes about 12):
1 cup fresh or frozen raspberries
1 cup rolled oats
3/4 cup almond meal
1/2 cup desiccated coconut
1/3 cup cocoa
1 1/2 tablespoons maple syrup or honey
1 tablespoon 100% fruit raspberry jam (optional)

Method:

Place raspberries and oats in a food processor and process until finely chopped.
Add almond meal, coconut and cocoa and process until well combined.
Add maple syrup or honey and raspberry jam and process until mixture comes together in a ball.
Roll into small balls and refrigerate for 1-2 hours until firm (balls can be rolled in coconut or cocoa before placing them in the fridge if you like).

chocolate, raspberry and coconut bliss balls 1-1793

by Skye Swaney 3 Comments

Cheesy Greens & Rice Pie

We all know we need to eat our greens, but let’s face it, sometimes a pile of steamed spinach or silver beet just isn’t that appealing! Enter this Cheesy Greens & Rice Pie – it contains a whole bunch of leafy greens, but is far from boring. Two types of cheese provide plenty cheesy goodness plus calcium and protein, and the brown rice adds some low GI carbs and extra fibre. Plus it makes for some pretty good leftovers too! Ingredients (serves 6):
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 bunch silverbeet or spinach, washed and finely chopped
2 cups cooked brown rice
3 eggs
1/2 cup natural yoghurt
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
50g feta cheese, crumbled
Pinch of salt
1/2 tsp cracked pepper
1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese or Parmesan, extra (optional)

Method:

Preheat oven to 200C. Grease a medium sized pie dish with butter or oil.
Place oil, onion and garlic in a large microwave safe bowl and microwave on high for 2 minutes. Add greens and microwave for a further 30 seconds or until wilted.
Add rice and cheeses and mix well.
In a separate bowl, whisk together eggs, yoghurt and salt and pepper. Add to rice mixture and stir well.
Pour into pie dish, top with extra cheese and bake for 30 minutes or until golden on top and cooked through.

green rice pie 3-1770

by Skye Swaney 5 Comments

Pear & Rhubarb Loaf

I love baking, but there are times when I feel like spending a couple of hours creaming butter and sugar, sifting flour and delicately peeling and cutting up fruit, and other times I just want to throw some ingredients in a bowl and let the oven do the rest. This recipe is definitely one for the latter situation. Because it’s a loaf, not a cake, you basically just give the ingredients a quick mix throw in some roughly chopped fruit and it’s ready for the oven.

And if you need any more reasons to give it a go, it also has some impressive nutrition credentials too, with fresh pear and rhubarb, yoghurt and the super healthy extra virgin olive oil. Why is extra virgin olive oil so good for you? Because, unlike other oils, it is rich in polyphenols which have been proven to reduce inflammation.

I by no means think that cake (or cake-like things) need to be healthy, but if you can sneak a few nutritious ingredients in there without compromising on taste then it’s like the ultimate win:win!

Ingredients:
3/4 cup wholemeal flour
3/4 cup plain flour
1 teaspoon bicarb soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon mixed spice
2 eggs
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup natural yoghurt
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar
1 pear, peeled and diced into 2cm pieces
1 cup chopped rhubarb (about 2-3 stalks, cut into 2cm pieces)
2 teaspoon sugar, extra
3 stalks rhubarb extra

Method:

Preheat oven to 180°C. Grease a loaf tin and line the base with baking paper.
In a large bowl, mix together flours, bicarb soda, salt and mixed spice.
In a separate bowl, whisk eggs well, then whisk in oil and yoghurt. Stir in sugars.
Add egg mixture to flour mixture and mix until just combined. Stir through chopped rhubarb and pear.
Spoon mixture into prepared tin, lay one rhubarb stalk along centre and one on each side and sprinkle with extra sugar.
Bake for around 50 minutes until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean. Stand for 5 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool.

by Skye Swaney Leave a Comment

Quick Pumpkin & Goat’s Cheese Pizza

There’s nothing quite as satisfying as making homemade pizza from scratch, but all that time waiting for the dough to rise can really put you off if you just want to get food on the table fast. This dough recipe doesn’t need to be risen first, so you can get the whole process done – dough, toppings and all – in around 30 minutes and have a delicious (and impressive looking) all pizza ready to eat!

The combination of pumpkin, red onion, goat’s cheese and walnuts works really well and because the pumpkin is shaved you don’t need to cook it first or remove the skin, which saves lots of fussing around. Of course, you can also freestyle to your heart’s content and use whatever toppings you like, that’s the beauty of homemade pizza!

Ingredients (makes 1 large pizza or 2 small pizzas):
Dough
7g dry yeast (1 small sachet)
1 tsp sugar
1 cup wholemeal flour
1 1/2 cups plain flour (preferably bread or pizza flour)
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp salt

Topping
3 tbsp tomato passata or pizza sauce
1/4 red onion, finely sliced
1 small wedge of pumpkin (around 100g), skin on but seeds removed
100g goat’s cheese
50g blue cheese (optional)
1 small handful walnuts, broken up slightly
A few sprigs of sage or rosemary

Method:

Preheat oven to 220°C.
In a small bowl, dissolve yeast and sugar in 1 cup of warm water.
Mix together flours, olive oil and salt. Stir through yeast mixture and mix well to form a dough.
Turn out onto a floured surface and knead for 1-2 minutes. Leave to rest for 5 minutes.
Roll out dough on a floured surface until around 1cm in thickness. Transfer to a large tray or pizza stone.
Spread tomato passata over base, leaving about 2cm around edge. Using a vegetable peeler, peel thin strips of pumpkin from side of pumpkin wedge over tomato base until well covered, allowing some pieces to overlap and curl around each other. Crumble over cheese.
Bake for 10 minutes, then sprinkle over walnuts and sage or rosemary leaves and bake for a further 5 minutes or until crust and pumpkin are golden brown.
Sprinkle with extra herbs and serve.

by Skye Swaney Leave a Comment

Roasted Carrot, Halloumi & Date Salad

haloumi date salad (1 of 1)

There aren’t many things better in the world of food than halloumi (in fact, the world in general). With its salty crispness and squeaky texture, it makes a ridiculously delicious little snack all on its own but is also one of my absolute favourite salad ingredients. Unlike most other cheeses, halloumi has a high melting point which means it doesn’t lose its shape when its fried or grilled (which it definitely should be as this is when it really works its magic!).

The one thing that is better than halloumi though, is halloumi paired with something a little bit sweet, like honey or fresh or dried fruit (in Cyprus they eat it with watermelon!). Just to make sure I’ve got all bases covered, I’ve used both honey and dates in this salad along with some nuts for a little crunch and black rice for no reason other than it just looks really beautiful (but also contains the antioxidant anthocyanin which gives it its dark purple colour, bonus!). It’s filling enough to be a meal on its own but would also be a great starter or delicious as a side to go with lamb.

Ingredients (serves 2):
1/2 cup black rice (or you can use red or brown)
1 bunch dutch carrots, stalks removed
1/4 cup almonds or hazelnuts, roughly chopped
100g halloumi, sliced into 1/2cm slices
1/4 cup dates, chopped
1 handful coriander or parsley, roughly chopped

Dressing:
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
3 teaspoons honey

Method:

Preheat oven to 200°C.
Place rice in a medium sized saucepan with 1 1/2 cups of water and bring to the boil. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, for around 20 minutes or until soft and almost all water has been absorbed. Drain.
Meanwhile, place carrots on an oven tray and roast for 10 minutes. Spread nuts over tray and bake for a further 5 minutes or until carrots are soft and browned on the ends and nuts are golden.
Heat a frying pan over medium heat, spray with a little oil and fry halloumi pieces on each side until golden brown.
To make dressing, stir all ingredients together in a small bowl until well combined.
Place rice, carrots, nuts, halloumi, dates, herbs and dressing in a large bowl and toss together.
Serve.

haloumi date salad 2 (1 of 1)

by Skye Swaney 1 Comment

Salmon & Sesame Soba Noodles

A very quick and easy Japanese inspired dish which features the unbeatable combination of ginger, sesame and soy. Soba is the Japanese name for buckwheat, which, despite it’s name is not actually wheat at all but a type of seed related to rhubarb! It has a high nutritional value, containing all nine essential amino acids including thiamine which is lacking in white rice – possibly why it was introduced to the Japanese diet.

Soba noodles are usually made from a combination of wheat and buckwheat, but there are some that are 100% buckwheat if you want to make this gluten free.

Ingredients (serves 2)
200g skinless salmon (about 1 medium sized fillet)
100g soba noodles
1 lebanese cucumber, halved lengthwise and sliced
1/3 cup shelled edamame beans*
2 tbsp coriander, roughly chopped
2 tsp black sesame seeds (use normal sesame seeds if you can’t find black ones)
2 radishes, finely sliced (optional)

Dressing
2 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp soy sauce
1 tsp rice wine vinegar (or just use white vinegar)
1 tsp honey
1 tsp grated ginger

Method

Place salmon in a medium size saucepan and cover with water. Bring to the boil and simmer for 10 minutes or until cooked through. Set aside to cool.
Meanwhile, boil soba noodles in a separate saucepan for 3-4 minutes until soft. Drain and rinse with cold water.
To make dressing, mix all ingredients together in a small jug or bowl.
Flake salmon into chunks and place in a large bowl. Add noodles, cucumber, edamame, coriander, sesame seeds, radish and dressing and toss to combine.
Divide between two serving bowls and top with extra coriander leaves.

*Edamame beans can be found in the freezer section at some supermarkets or health food stores, but if you can’t find them, fresh snow peas or frozen peas will be fine.

by Skye Swaney Leave a Comment

Khichari

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In India and other Southern Asian countries, this delicious dish, pronounced ‘kich-ah-ree’ is renowned for it’s healing and restorative properties thanks both to it’s combination of rice and split peas and also it’s many spices, especially turmeric which has been found to reduce inflammation. Interestingly, combining tumeric with black pepper strengthens its anti-inflammatory properties, so the frequent pairing of the two in dishes is no coincidence; nature, so clever….

Split peas, like lentils, are a good source of protein, while basmati is a low GI rice, meaning it keeps you fuller for longer. All together this amounts to one very hearty, filling dish which also provides some very welcome, long lasting energy. It’s a meal on its own but also goes really well with pan fried eggplant or fish.

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Ingredients (serves 4):
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, sliced
1 clove garlic
1 tablespoon grated ginger
1 tomato, chopped
8 curry leaves (optional)
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 teaspoon coriander seeds
1 cup yellow split peas
1 cup basmati rice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

Method:

Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and fry until soft.
Add garlic, ginger, tomato, curry leaves and spices and fry for another minute.
Add split peas, rice, salt and pepper and 4 cups of water and simmer for 30-40 minutes until rice and peas are tender, adding more water if necessary.
Serve garnished with extra curry leaves or chopped coriander.

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