Steamed vegetables are a great way to boost the plant content of your meal while preserving as many of the nutrients as possible, but steamed veggies can also be a little bit boring and bland at times.  There is no harm in adding some little extras to add crunch,texture, spice or freshness to your steamed vegetables to make them a more enjoyable part of your meal.

Happily Kathryn and Lucy from An Honest Kitchen share my philosophy on this and have written this great guest post about how to make steamed vegetables less boring.  The post is an extract from the latest issue of An Honest Kitchen (you’ve heard me talking about AHK before, the inspiration behind this canellini bean, leek, fennel and noodle soup) and the issue is full of excellent tips for making over regular meals to get them healthier and more veggie-packed.  The recipes are delicious, something I can attest to as one of their covert team of recipe testers. Anyway, over to Kathryn and Lucy
…

Bored with Steamed Vegetables? How to Give Them a Makeover

We all have meals we love, the ones we look forward to, crave even — comfort meals. But so often these favourite dinners are neither healthy nor easy to prepare.They might be packed full of cream, fat, cheese, carbs and stodge, or they take ages to cook and involve multiple processes.

One of the major problems is they usually contain nowhere near enough vegetables.

While you can fit more vegetables into the meal you’re cooking, it’s often easier to just serve dinner with a big pile of steamed vegetables. However, after a couple of days of plain steamed veg, you may find yourself looking around for ways to add some extra oomph to your plate, new flavours to keep things interesting.

We don’t hesitate to add a few goodies to steamed vegetables because anything you add will make the vegetables a more appetising prospect, and at An Honest Kitchen, we want you to really, really love eating your vegetables. Herbs, cheese, oils, condiments and nuts can all add flavour, texture and interest and as long as your vegetables aren’t swimming in fat and salt these toppings and flavours won’t detract from the goodness of your meal.

Firstly, you don’t need a steamer

There’s no need to go out and spend a lot of money on a steamer. Bamboo steamers work really well and are available from most Asian grocers for just a few dollars. Alternatively, if you have a colander or sieve, you can use that. Simply fill a pan with enough water so that the level sits beneath your steaming device and balance the colander or sieve on top. Bring the water to the boil. Add your vegetables to the colander, reduce the heat under the pan so the water is at a lively simmer and cover with a saucepan lid or plate. This will keep enough of the steam inside to cook your veg.

The amount of time you steam vegetables for will depend on the type and how big the pieces are. As a very rough guide, most vegies will steam in 3 – 7 minutes, however, keep an eye on your vegetables while they’re cooking and take them out when they’ve softened but are still brightly coloured. Grey, over-cooked vegetables are pretty unappetising.

10 ways to add flavour to steamed vegetables

1. Sometimes a simple squeeze of lemon or lime juice, together with a sprinkling of salt and black pepper is enough. Simple, yet fresh flavours.

2. Toss through a couple of teaspoons of pesto or harissa.

3. Salad dressings work really well on steamed vegetables. A small amount of olive oil, vinegar and mustard, whisked together and then tossed through your hot vegetables can make all the difference.

4. Chop together some sundried tomatoes, lemon zest and parsley. Add a small amount of olive oil and then toss your vegetables in this mixture.

5. Scatter over some toasted nuts or pepitas.

6. Mix together a small amount of butter, with some black pepper and fresh chives. Keep this in the fridge and dot a teaspoonful onto your steamed vegetables.

7. Steamed vegetables are lovely topped with a dollop of hummous and an extra squeeze of fresh lemon juice.

8. Chop up fresh avocado, coriander and chilli and stir through some lime juice. The avocado melts slightly as it comes into contact with the vegetables and forms a kind of sauce.

9. Make a pangrittata: breadcrumbs mixed with crushed garlic, black pepper, dried oregano and whatever leftover fresh herbs you might have. Cook this in some olive oil in a frying pan, until golden brown. A spoonful of pangrittata over steamed vegetables adds flavour and texture.

10. A quick tahini and garlic sauce is delicious over steamed vegetables. Crush a clove of garlic, mix with a tablespoon of tahini and then whisk in enough water to make it a drizzling consistency.

You don’t have to use a lot of any of these ingredients and a small amount of anything is not going to break the nutritional budget. There’s no reason that good food can’t taste delicious and there’s no reason not to have small amounts of the flavours you love the most.

Kathryn & Lucy

For more ideas on making over the meals you love take a look at our publication An Honest Kitchen: Makeovers. An Honest Kitchen is a regular publication all about real food that’s good for you. Each issue is full of simple recipes, practical cooking information and healthy eating advice. Our latest edition, Makeovers, in which we revamp popular meals is available in e-format from 11 June.

http://anhonestkitchen.com.au/

As you’ll know, I’m not one to fill this little online space with reviews. I think the last book review I did was probably my second ever blog post in 2007.  But I’m very happy to say a few words here about Jules Clancy’s new book, ‘5 ingredients in 10 minutes’.  Jules has written her great Stonesoup blog for as long as I’ve been hanging out over here and so she feels like an old friend (albeit a virtual one). More recently I’ve been enjoying her experiments in cooking with only 5 ingredients.  Limiting recipes to only 5 ingredients is a real discipline, and one that can give life to some very elegant solutions (and I must admit some others that make me itch to add that little bit of extra spice, or another vegetable).

For me the beauty of this book is that provided you have an even half-decently stocked larder and fridge, you will always be able to find something to make for dinner. Unlike many of the books which claim to feed you quickly, this one has an ingredients palette firmly populated with real foods rather than manufactured shortcuts.

There are some beautifully simple ideas and recipes in the book including:

•    broccoli with lemon zest (yes, this simple)
•    quinoa with cauliflower and pesto
•    noodles with hot tuna and aubergine
•    lamb fillet with mint and houmous
•    chickpea and rosemary frittata (delicious in a wrap with a dollop of autumn chutney)

This isn’t a vegetarian book, but I don’t think a vegetarian would be disappointed with their purchase.  We eat in a flexitarian way, with some fish and very little meat, and I was spoilt for choice. with ample lentil, bean, egg, tofu and cheese dishes.  Along side this for every recipe Jules has included variations for making many of the meaty dishes vegetarian and the vegetarian dishes vegan and/or dairy free.

I’ve also included a few tips here from Jules on using one of my store cupboard favourites – the almond

How to use almonds – Jules says …

“I love all nuts but almonds are one of my all-time favourites. They are brilliant for adding crunch to your cooking without increasing the cooking time. I also use them to add veggie protein to make a meal more substantial. They’re also my go-to healthy snack. I’m kind of kicking myself now that I didn’t include a picture of almonds on the cover of ‘5 Ingredients 10 Minutes’ given how frequently I’ve used them in the book.

I usually buy dry roasted nuts because the flavour is so much better. The only downside to roasted nuts is they are more prone to go rancid than raw nuts. So if you aren’t going to be eating them within a month or so it’s best to buy raw nuts and roast as you need them.

Add almonds any time you want a bit of crunch or if you feel like you need to make a dish more filling. They’re brilliant tossed in salads or with most vegetables. In the book I use them to make a meal out of a big bowl of ‘super simple’ cooked broccoli. On another recipe they provide protein to a simple pasta supper of fresh noodles and wilted greens.

Almond meal or ground almonds are a great gluten-free ingredient that I use for more than just baking. Toss a few handfuls of almond meal in to thicken up a watery soup. In the book I team almond meal with peas for a creamy thick dairy-free soup. Or try mixing equal amounts of almond meal with good quality mayonnaise for a lovely ‘instant’ almond sauce to serve with chicken, fish or roast vegetables.”

Jules will be sharing her ideas for other ingredients as part of a blog tour – see the image for details where and when

Disclaimer: penguin sent me a free copy of this book to take a look at

After a record-breakingly wet year to date the sun has finally arrived in Great Britain.  When you live in a place where Summer is short, you have to get out there rather than sweltering in the kitchen.  I thought you might like a nosey into what I’ve been cooking (or not cooking).

• My new favourite – this blueberry, mint and feta salad. I’m not a fan of blueberries but using them in a more savoury salad is a revelation. It works on its own as a light meal, or pair it with some meat or fish or some good bread (we had some soft walnut bread which was unexpectedly good for a spur of the moment supermarket purchase)
• A few different salads that can be made into easy meals with a piece of grilled meat or fish one day and falafel or griddled halloumi cheese the next. Tzatziki, grated carrot & raisin with a squeeze of orange juice, salad leaves, spicy cucumber salad and roast peppers will all keep for a day or two.
• a big batch of this summer fruit salad, full of fruits that I love
• An old favourite, Nigel Slater’s cold salmon noodle salad which has a properly tangy dressing with thai fish sauce, fresh herbs and chilli.  There’s not much vegetable in the noodle dish so the aforementioned cucumber salad wouldn’t go amiss.  I also poach the salmon so that I don’t have to stand over it.
• Wholewheat spaghetti, tossed straight from the pan with truffle infused olive oil, salt, pepper and lots and lots of rocket
• Martha Rose Schulman’s Farro Salad with Tomatoes and Romano Beans (actually made with green beans, spelt and a sprinkle of feta)

I’ve also been making recipes from An Honest Kitchen’s Summer edition; recipes I have been drooling over for some time but which have never quite made it to the top of the queue due to it, well, just being rather cold.  Highly recommended – delicious spicy mango ice lollies and a crunchy carrot and parsley salad.

Becoming mindful teaches you that the nothing is the same twice.  Each breath we take is different and though it might seem the same each cup of tea that we drink is subtly different in multitude of tiny of ways.  Same for those regular meals that we cook week in, week out.  So what has this got to do with leftovers and frittata I hear you ask? The same is true for portion sizes also. Cooking and eating mindfully includes deciding how much is enough today. Not the amount that’s usually enough or what worked last week but what seems enough today, at this particular one-off mealtime.

With these two lovely new chickens taking us up to five girls in total, we’re regular frittata eaters in our house.  The recipe I’ve posted below is for the amount that I always make. It’s a variation on this ever adjusting Parsnip, Red Onion, Kale and Gouda frittata which in turn is from this basic frittata recipe. I am forever indebted to Kathryn Elliott for pointing out the simple beauty of a frittata for those days when you don’t have anything planned. So long as you have some eggs, an indiscriminate assortment of vegetables and a few scraps of cheese then you have dinner.

A 6 egg frittata isn’t the right portion for two people every time. Sometimes it’s just perfect, other times it’s a bit too much.  Which leaves the happy accident of leftovers for breakfast or lunch.  Sometimes enough for two people, sometimes enough for one and sometimes none at all.

This post is for Helen’s Breakfast Club Event, hosted by Monica at SmarterFitter.  As I’m a big fan of Monica, Helen, breakfast and leftovers I thought I’d join in!

This little article in the Independent caught my eye a few weeks ago Tips with everything: Chefs reveal their craftiest kitchen tricks.  There was a theme threaded through the tips of salt and the skill of seasoning food perfectly. The variation in the attitudes of different chefs interviewed to using salt and other seasoning techniques was fascinating and got me thinking both as an eater and a nutritionist.  Here are a few of their approaches:

Yotam Ottolenghi experiments with different seasonings

In his tips Yotam describes using dried chilli heated briefly in olive oil or butter as the finishing touch for many different types of dish. Even if you aren’t already familiar with Yotam’s imaginative cooking, his choice of words are a dead giveaway that this is only the latest in a long line of experiments; “this is something that I’ve been doing quite a lot recently for finishing dishes. You can use it over roast vegetables, or if you want over fish, meat, or even soups.”

“It starts to cook and it spreads its flavour in the oil, but they also give it a slightly red colour, so it looks pretty good to finish a dish and also improves the flavour as it gives it a bit of a kick, as well as a very slight smoky aroma”.  He’s right too, it works beautifully in these baked eggs with yogurt and chilli which is a regular in our house.

Angela Hartnett uses sugar as a savoury seasoning

Angela’s tip is one I’ve used many a time, adding a tiny pinch of sugar to bring out the best in canned tomatoes.  A tiny pinch of sugar isn’t enough to add significant calories or damage anyone’s waistline, but it will make the tomato flavour sing and take away any strong acidity.  Using other seasonings often means that you don’t have to add as much salt to get a tasty dish.

Rowley Leigh uses salt, but at just the right time and with other seasonings

Rowley explains that it’s important to add your salt at the right time in cooking, for example to bring out the flavours in a risotto the salt needs to be in there from the start.  I like this philosophy – if you’re going to add salt to a dish then make sure it has the right impact.  He’s also always got a lemon up his sleeve to bring out flavour.

Jacob Kenedy adds as much salt as he can, and has a wealth of strategies ready to kill the salty taste if he adds too much

For Jacob “Correct” seasoning, to a chef, is as much salt as you can possibly get into the dish without it tasting too salty.”.  He follows this up with three different tips on how to disguise the salty flavour if you happen to go to far and make it too salty (starch, acid or fat).  What a shame you can’t disguise it from your blood vessels too.

If we eat out, we don’t know how much salt has been added

I’ve cheekily chosen the extremes of the article but it’s a good reminder of the difference in the control and knowledge that we have regarding our salt intake when we eat out compared with eating at home.  I think I know which of these chef’s restaurants I’d rather eat in, but the truth is that we rarely know how much salt has been added to meal cooked for us by somebody else.

The interesting message from this article for me was that when you eat out you rarely know what the chef’s approach to seasoning food really is.

For most of us around three quarters of the salt we take in is from the processed foods that we buy, with a much smaller amount coming from the more obvious salt added at the table or when we’re cooking.  If you eat out a lot then it’s definitely worth counting salt added by the chef into this equation too.

If you’re cooking at home, there’s plenty to experiment with

Our kitchen at home is full of seasonings – chilli, garlic, lemon, lime, pepper, miso, fresh herbs, mustard, horseradish, pickles, jars of all manner of pungent pastes and strange spice sachets. I do add some salt when I’m cooking, but I keep an eye on how much I’m adding and use plenty of other flavoursome seasonings alongside.  It’s all too true that our taste buds get used to having more salt, and so once the amount of salt you eat has creeps up a little it takes a while to get used to having less again (three months in fact, while you grow a full new set of taste buds).  When you get used to eating less salt you can spot an overly salted dish at home or out much more easily.

On a related note is Bee Wilson’s article ’Tis the seasoning: the difficult art of adding salt  and this from Kathryn Elliott on what to do when a recipe calls for stock, a particularly high salt ingredient

How do you use salt and seasonings in your kitchen?

 (p.s the photos are a couple I took at the salt flats at Marsalforn on the island of Gozo)

A year ago today I was writing about new years resolutions and how to have a big impact on health without spending the first weeks of the new year prioritising complicated, short-lived unrealistic goals.  The post I wrote then struck a chord with a lot of people looking for a simpler way to focus their efforts on feeding themselves well throughout the year.

I’ve just been re-reading that post and stand by the same advice today. If you want to make healthy eating incredibly simple this year do just one thing Put your efforts into eating at least five portions of fruit and vegetables every day. The rest will take care of itself

I’m looking forward to sharing a new year of fruit and vegetable filled cooking and wish each of you reading this a happy, contented and healthy 2012.

I hated fruit salad when I was a kid. Hated it. And then I grew up and started to enjoy eating fruit, but strangely the dislike of fruit salad persisted. It’s only in the last few years that I’ve realised the the secret to making fruit salad enjoyable. Only use fruit that you enjoy!  D’uh. I know this sounds obvious but it’s taken me so many years to realise that feel that I should pass the message on in case somebody else hasn’t realised.

For me a fruit salad should never be tainted by the smell of a banana, nor the grind of kiwi seeds. And it should definitely have some of the sweet softness of berries to complement the crisp and fresh. But that’s the beauty of making your own, you can cater to all of your own little iodiosyncracies regarding texture and taste, not to mention saving the planet by buying local and seasonal fruit.

A big batch of fruit salad is an indispensable tool for fitting in your five-a-day. Twenty minutes prep at the weekend and you have instant delectable, flexible fruit to hand for the next four or five days.  A fruit salad will live happily in the fridge for the best part of the week ready to be eaten at a moments notice:

• with yogurt
• on porridge or quinoa
• as an impromptu dessert, eton mess style
• naked
• on pancakes or sweet incarnation of this baked cottage cheese French toast

This combination of nectarines, berries and orange zest is how I like my fruit salad in the summer – you can design your own or copy mine.

You’ve probably guessed by now that I’ve been a busy bee recently.  It’s all good stuff so I’m not complaining, but it has interfered with my food shopping quality time.   It’s easy to let healthy eating slip when you’re pushed for time but actually when you’re busy is when you need to eat well more than ever. To get round this I’ve been doing my grocery shopping online.  I can’t stress enough how helpful a strategy this can be when life gets hectic and it’s one I’ve seen work for a lot of busy folk.  And like most convenient answers to our modern, fast-paced lifestyle there are trade-offs which I’ve gathered my thoughts on too.

Why online shopping works so well

You will eat more healthily

Filling an online shopping cart with what you need for the week by its very nature encourages meal planning, which in turn encourages healthier meals.  They may not all be healthy but chances are some of them will be.  The same cannot be said for an empty cupboard and a take-away menu.  Meal planning is a massive component of eating well – the process of actively deciding what healthy means for you and those you cook for and making sure that you have the right foods available to create these meals.

It gets even better with practice

The more you online grocery shop the easier it gets.  Most websites build up a list of your regularly purchased items which you can refine with time.  Doing an online shop now takes me about 15 minutes which is considerably less time than when I started.  It’s much quicker than driving to the store, shopping, queuing and driving home again.

There are savings for your waistline and your wallet

Shopping online takes away the in-store temptation of bogof offers, pumped bakery smells and luscious cream cakes.  You only buy what’s on your list. This is good for your finances and keeps you away from those visual triggers that trip you into buying unhealthy foods that weren’t even on your mind until you saw them.  It’s particularly handy if you usually shop with children in tow.

Shop at your convenience, not theirs

I like to do my online shopping on a Sunday morning before the local supermarket is open, in my pyjamas with a cup of tea in my hand.  But if I want to go to pilates on Sunday morning instead I can sort the shopping out whenever I fancy.  Even better, the time I save from not actually going out to the shops can be used to do much more fun things like hang out with the chooks or planning this years vegetable growing.

So a few clicks of the mouse and your shopping is pretty much done, save answering the door and a bit of putting into cupboards when the delivery arrives.  What’s not to love?  After several weeks of consistent online grocery shopping I’ve seen a few disadvantages too, and realized that there are times when only a visit to the store will do…

Why online shopping isn’t the best choice for every shop

It’s harder to make informed choices

When I buy fruit and veg at the supermarket my choices are usually heavily influenced by which country the produce was grown in.  I also (predictably) spend time looking at nutrition labels.  Some information is available via online shopping interfaces, for example descriptors like organic or low fat, but when I shop online I miss being able to see countries of origin and use by dates in particular.

It doesn’t support the small producer

I like to buy some of my food from small local producers but sadly this is the kind of shopping that falls by the wayside if I’m really busy. I love it but it requires multiple journeys to get everything that we need which is sometimes just too time consuming.  It is important to me to support the local economy so I make a conscious effort to fit in some trips to the farmers market and the local organic market garden even if I’m doing most of my shopping online.

A bit of window shopping isn’t always a bad thing

If you never go into the shop you’re much less likely to discover interesting new, healthy foods.   Visiting the shops in person now and again is a great way to keep your cooking fresh and healthy.

Food allergy sufferers beware

If you have an allergy or coeliac disease then shopping online may be difficult because of the aforementioned lack of access to the food labels.  Having said that, many sites do give allergen information and online shopping can work well if you already have a well established allergen friendly shopping list.

Silly substitutes

In the early days of online shopping the store improvised substitutions were a source of both hilarity and frustration.  Times have changed and most of the time now we are offered a sensible substitution, however it’s still awkward when the key ingredient in your planned recipe is not delivered. When you’re in store it’s possible to rethink the whole meal if you need to (especially important if you’re expecting company for dinner).

Overall I think online shopping is wonderful time saver and healthy eating tool.  As far as I know it is also considered to be environmentally friendly, with one vehicle making a round trip to several residences rather than a multitude of individual cars making back and forth trips.  And there’s a lot to be said for slow food shopping too which is why I’ve chosen this photo of artisan bread at Borough Market as a reminder. If you want to eat really good, local and handmade food then you have to make time to shop for it.

It seems like just days ago that we were talking about the surprising knock-on effects of really concentrating your efforts into eating plenty of fruit and veg.  It’s a great way to make healthy eating incredibly simple.  The idea prompted a lot of discussion and also this question on Twitter – does it matter if your five a day includes just fruit or just vegetables?

Most of the research that backs our eat 5-a-day campaign here in the UK is based on the rationale that eating at least 400 g of fruit and veg every day (five portions of about 80g each) helps reduce the risk of developing a whole host of chronic diseases.  The guidelines are not so prescriptive about what this should include, suggesting just that we aim for a variety across the day.  Some countries are more structured about this, for example in Australia the advice is to have 2 portions of fruit, 5 of vegetables.  While it’s true that fruits and vegetables have slightly different nutritional properties (this Nutrition Facts on Fruits and Vegetables article is a good primer), with most of us not meeting our five-a-day it seems churlish to get critical about not having the correct ratio of fruit to veg.  That said, I have noticed some trends among those eaters I’ve met who eat only fruit or only vegetables and it seems that limiting your choices in this way can have an unwanted effect on the rest of your days eating.  Here are a few habits to look out for:

Unhealthy habits to watch out for if you eat vegetables but no fruit

I’ve spoken to many people who absolutely love their vegetables, regularly eating 3 portions with their main meals, and yet they don’t like fruit.  What I’ve noticed is that people who don’t eat fruit tend to struggle with their snacks, either having a limited choice of energy dense options or skipping snacks completely. Snacking isn’t compulsory but it’s a useful strategy for avoiding overeating and ensuring that your body gets everything that it needs.

If this sounds like you, think about:

• Experimenting to find a few fruits that you can grow to love, starting with dried or cooked fruit if this helps
• Including some snacks that are vegetable-based such as fresh crudités with houmous or salsa
• Eating a rainbow and carrying on enjoying those veggies!

Unhelpful habits to watch out for if you eat fruit but no vegetables

Some people aren’t keen on vegetables at all but will happily munch on juicy, fresh fruit all day.  Healthy snacks aren’t a problem for these folk. What can go astray is the proportions of their main meals. A well-balanced meal is around one-third to half of the plate filled with vegetables or salad with the remainder divided between protein and carbohydrate.  This can become really distorted if you don’t have any vegetables taking up space on your plate.

It’s true that fruit also contains more calories per portion than vegetables but for most people increasing your fruit intake will still help to avoid, not cause weight gain.  The calories in fruit might become worth worrying about only if your portion sizes are very large or if you eat a lot of energy dense fruit options such as dried fruit or juices.

If this sounds like you, think about:

• experimenting with recipes and cooking methods until you find some vegetables that you enjoy. Think outside the box – soups, salads, beans and pulses all count, as do veggies incorporated into stews, ragus and curries.
• Making sure that your main meals aren’t out of proportion
• Keeping an eye on your fruit portion sizes for more energy dense fruit options such as fruit juice, smoothies and dried fruit
• Eating a rainbow and carrying on enjoying your fruit!

The bottom line is that if you manage five portions of fruit every day but no vegetables (or vice versa), you’re still way ahead of most people. These ideas are refinements that you might want to consider – most important is that you enjoy what you are eating.

The week just past was Farmhouse Breakfast Week 2011. In the spirit of this year’s theme Shake Up Your Wake Up there have been a plethora of fresh and inventive breakfast recipes appearing online and offline.  There weren’t enough breakfasts in the day to get through this lot in a week and so thought I would gather all of the juicy links I’ve found together in one place so that we can peruse them at our leisure…

• The Guardian has a whole collection of quick and healthy breakfast recipes from Yotam Ottolenghi including a middle eastern take on Beans on Toast
• Joy the Baker has breakfast polenta two ways –  a lovely sweet version with pear, cranberries and pecans and a savoury version
• Nutrition Rocks has a selection of recipes for Breakfast week where the Uevos ‘El Guapo’ caught my eye – a simpler version of Huevos Rancheros (because simplicity is always welcome when it comes to mornings!)
• Orangette has these Oatmeal Popovers, to eat warm with marmalade
• The official Farmhouse Breakfast week site has this intriguing warm hot chocolate and raspberry shake
• Not a recipe, but this new research suggests that breakfasting like a king may not help you to eat less later in the day.  The research doesn’t supersede earlier findings which suggest that those who skip breakfast completely usually eat more calories in total across the day. Instead, it suggests that for those of us who do eat breakfast it’s worth being a bit choosy about what you have because we are unlikely to subconsciously compensate for a high calorie breakfast later in the day.

If you’re still hungry for more you might also like to check out all of the breakfast and brunch recipes in our archives.