You don’t have to be an apron slave or health- store bore to eat well. Here’s how to make good food fun – and fast.
If you find yourself scoffing store-bought muffins for breakfast, fast-food lunches and microwave lasagne for dinner several times a week, chances are you’ll point an accusing finger at time. “I don’t have enough time in my day to prepare healthy food,” you’ll wail. Yet, when you’re feeling fat or fatigued, your inner voice keeps yelling: “I need good food.”
What we eat has a significant impact on how we feel, fight disease, heal, and in determining how long we’ll live. But we all know how tough it is to stick to a healthy-eating plan when work, kids, chores, finances and exercise all demand our attention.
Quick and healthy breakfast
Muesli: Mix 2 C (500 ml) oats and 1/2 C (125 ml) bran (optional). Pop into a plastic container and cover with fat-free milk (or soya milk). Seal and refrigerate overnight. To eat, stir in grated apple, chopped dried fruit or mixed seeds.
Toast: Top wholegrain or rye bread with boiled egg, chives, celery, capers, smoked salmon or smoked mackerel. Or try poached or boiled egg with lightly fried mushrooms (use olive-oil spray) and/or wilted spinach on rye toast.
Smoothie: Whizz together 1 T (15 ml) oats, 5 T (80 ml) soya yoghurt, 1/2 ripe banana, 4 T (60 ml) fresh carrot or orange juice, 4 T (60 ml) chopped pineapple, 1 t (5 ml) molasses with 1—2 ice cubes.
Quick and healthy lunch
Sandwiches:
- Mash canned sardines with red onion. Dollop onto rye or low GI bread with lettuce, lemon juice and milled pepper.
- Or shred a chicken-breast fillet and toss with corn kernels. Dress with lemon juice and flaxseed oil, and spoon onto fresh rye bread.
Salad: Make a salad of barley or stampkoring — add chopped celery, red onion, carrot ribbons, with flaxseed oil-based dressing flavoured with garlic and orange juice.
Pastas:
- Tuna or salmon pasta: “sweat” onions, add canned salmon or tuna, lemon juice and lemon peel, Italian parsley and chives, and toss with penne or wholewheat pasta.
- Saute steamed broccoli with finely chopped garlic, anchovies and fresh chilli. Toss into hot pasta and scatter with wholewheat bread crumbs.
Quick and healthy dinner
- Egg-fried basmati or brown rice stir-fry made with frozen veggies and flavoured with soya sauce and sesame oil.
- Mash potato with fat-free milk, canned salmon, chopped dill, spring onion and gherkin. Shape into fish cakes, brush with egg white and bake in a very hot oven, until crispy. Serve with thickly sliced ripe tomatoes and cucumber ribbons, pickled in apple cider vinegar, castor sugar, ginger, and chilli.
- Toss frozen roasted vegetables into a pan of chopped canned tomatoes and cook to create a sauce. Toss into hot pasta and top with reduced-fat feta or add canned beans, and spoon into wholewheat pita breads.
- Coat a skinless chicken breast fillet with Indian tandoori paste. Grill or dry fry and serve with fat-free yoghurt and mint dressing, basmati rice and a chopped salad.
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