Recipe collections

It’s been a challenge of mine to come up with a healthier Christmas cake. No Christmas is complete without one. Here we maintain the traditional brandy but substitute sugar for apple concentrate, butter for a small amount of oil, and use spelt flour for its reduced gluten content.

Traditional fruit mince pies made with suet and sugar and eaten each day in the lead up to Christmas are guaranteed to pack on the kilos. Here we use dried fruit, peel with a delicious flax seed pastry for a fresh tasting, lighter pie that still feels like Christmas.

These are a slightly healthier version to the coffee walnuts my Aunt used to make at Christmas with creamed butter, sugar, instant coffee and milk chocolate.

Could these possibly be good for you? Made with mixed nuts, cocoa and nut spread they most certainly are but don’t be confused into thinking they are low energy. Enjoy in moderation. They’re excellent after-dinner treats to share with your guests, but eat them quickly otherwise they will dry out. Store them in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 7 days.

This fresh tasting and beautiful summer pudding is delicious and relatively guilt free provided you don’t eat too much of it! Outside of Christmas you can use brioche. Make this pudding in a large glass bowl, individual glass bowls, or for an impressive voila, on individual serving plates, set inside metal rings that are removed just before serving.

A twist on the traditional Florentine biscuit, these glorious biscuits as beautiful as they taste and make a very special treat for the festive season.

For a traditional Christmas with a little twist this year,try this delicious festive stuffing using RicePlus. The combined wholegrains add texture and a delicious nutty flavour and boost the fibre content of the meal.

You can stuff a turkey breast yourself and tie it together with string or ask your butcher to do it for you for a more professional job. With this recipe, it's important to baste the turkey regularly, adding a little boiling water to the roasting pan occasionally to prevent the cranberry glaze from burning. A large 3 kg turkey will easily feed 12 people with leftovers for a salad the next day

Turkey drumsticks are extremely economical and excellent to use to make a rich authentic gravy to serve with the Christmas turkey.

Any time of year this salad is delicious but I particularly like it at Christmas when we can go "all out" and treat ourselves to a luxurious home made macadamia mayonnaise.

Mayonnaise is high in fat but it's the good stuff - mono unsaturated fats which we can all benefit from. This macadamia mayonnaise is decadent and delicious and ridiculously easy to make. I have tried it with other brands of macadamia oil but find Brookfarm to be the best by far.

I know of nothing easier nor more impressive than a cold poached salmon for a special meal. A large whole salmon will easily serve 12 people with leftovers for the next day. Ask for Huon salmon farmed in Tasmania. The texture is better than other farmed salmon and the farming practices are kinder. Serving size should be approximately 160g.

Summer tomatoes are stunning and none more so than the heirloom varieties with their interesting shapes and colours. This salad needs salt, a great quality olive oil and generous amounts of crushed fresh Australian garlic.

For those who love using their veggie spiraliser, here's a fresh clean tasting salad that, served warm will jazz up any piece of grilled meat or fish.

This is an easy way to make meat balls look good and taste great, without frying. Packed with iron, zinc and fibre, these meatballs contain vegetables that are well disguised for the fussy eater. Perfect for small hands, they make great finger food.

Oats are a nutritious complex carbohydrate, that are high in B vitamins, low GI, easy to digest and easy to cook with. Cooked oats make the perfect toddlers breakfast, especially compared to most commercial kids cereals that are packed with sugar and salt. The addition of fruit adds fibre, and together with milk, adds a natural sweetness without the need for sugar. Perfect for hungry little tummies!

Most children love to eat cooked rice. This is a quick and easy, delicious meal the whole family can enjoy. The vegetables in this recipe can be swapped for your toddler’s favourite vegetables too. Packed with loads of nutrients and energy dense, this dish will help keep your toddler happy and satisfied.

This delicious gnocchi is packed with protein, carbohydrate and calcium, which are all important nutrients for active growing toddlers. Fun to eat, this recipe makes eight toddler servings or two adults and two children servings.

Most, if not all toddlers love jelly and it’s a favourite at most kid’s parties. The problem is that most commercial jellies contain too many artificial additives. This Tutti Frutti Yoghurt Jelly is so creamy, delicious and easy, you’ll never want to buy a packet jelly again.

These lentil patties are very tasty and dead easy to make. The lentils are high in protein and together mixed with breadcrumbs, make a complete protein. A good alternative to meat, especially if your toddler is fussy with meat.

For those of you who haven't noticed it's hot, and I for one am not in the slightest bit interested in all the traditional nonsense of Christmas. Take a large salmon, ask the fishmonger to remove the head, fins and scales, bake it in the oven and serve with new potatoes with chopped mint and a drizzle of olive oil, a crisp green salad with sliced avocado and a cool refreshing mango and coriander salsa. If you want to be more decadent decorate fresh prawns around the outside - what could be nicer, and how much better knowing it's good for you.

A very fussy-eating friend of mine described this salad as a 'taste sensation' and I am still reeling from the compliment. The tartness of the pickles against the sweetness of the mango is simply divine.

Another low fat dish, this dish gets its wow flavour from the orange and pinenut combination. Watercress is such a rich source of vitamin C and in my opinion should be added to every salad to boost good health.

A great lunch or dinner served with a huge green salad and steamed sweetcorn, or could serve eight people as an entree. Make sure to use camellia tea oil for its numerous health benefits. Recipe courtesy of www.phase5.com.au

Here we combine the comfort factor of turkey, full flavoured parmesan (to taste through the sinuses) and pine nuts as the main source of zinc.

With some gluten free muesli costing as much as $14 for 500g, from a financial point of view it’s worth making your own. From a health perspective it’s also worth making your own as you can fill it up with many more nutritionally valuable ingredients. Puffed grains typically have a high GI therefore to counter this and make a breakfast which will sustain you for most of the morning it’s good to add nuts and a few seeds.

With the miso used for flavour and pinenuts added to the sauce and crust this vegetarian pie will suit most meat eaters tastes hearty and meaty. This is gluten free, vegetarian food at it's best.

If you want something substantial and delicious here's the meal. It will give you a great feeling of satiety similar to what you would experience from a meat stew. The mushrooms, eggplant and onion give it substance while the tahini sauce transforms into creamy stroganoff type dish, without the cream.

If, like most of us you don’t have much time to spend in the kitchen cooking and washing up, this dish is for you. In one pot you combine the healthful properties of leek, low GI cannelini beans and flathead for protein. Add to it some gluten free kudzu to thicken the sauce and promote complete digestion and you’re done in less than 30 minutes. For an extra boost of veggies, serve with steamed broccoli.

Black eye beans are native to Africa but are used extensively in the Deep South USA in soul food. They are a great source of calcium, vitamin A , folate and fibre. Here's a very easy meal the whole family can enjoy.

Gluten intolerant or not, this breakfast quinoa will give you an exceptional kick start to the day. It doesn’t take long either. Once made you can keep it in the fridge and enjoy it over a few days.

Now, we all know that blokes love meat on their plates. So, how do you cook up a nice slab of meat and impress your guest just as much? This whole rib goes beautifully as a Sunday lunch, served on a bed of leafy greens and accompanied with a lovely Shiraz. It’s also great for dinner any other day or cold for the next day’s lunch. Recipe courtesy of Alec Bragg's new recipe book 'Pants off Salmon'. It is available in September at all good book stores and online at: www.jojopublishing.com

This meal is sweet substantial and delicious and referred to as a meal because being a soup it contains complex carbohydrates, vegetables, lean protein and a little fat. Everything you need to feel sated and fulfilled.

Here's a lovely soup to enjoy for lunch or as a quick "pick me up" snack in afternoon when you really feel like something sweet. Sweet? Well pumpkins are sweet and a good deal more healthy than that cake you might have chosen instead!

For an easy, inexpensive, flavoursome soup this one takes some beating. Those of you unfamiliar with miso, it is a fermented soy bean paste used to flavour soups and casseroles. Like yoghurt, miso boosts the digestive system with friendly bacteria to aid digestion and strengthen the immune system. It is available from health food stores and Asian grocer.

The recipe below is not an authentic version of the classic mulligatawny, a traditional watery Indian soup. This version is anything but watery. It’s a complete meal in itself and the perfect way to boost your veggie intake in one hit.

These rolls may take a little time to master, but persevere and your efforts will be rewarded when you do get the hang of it. Have fun with this recipe and be creative - tempeh works well as a filling, as does strips of avocado, ginger slices, pickles, salmon, chicken...the list is endless!

Finger food is typically deep fried, surrounded in pastry, or served with everything sitting on, or dipped in, bread. These polenta rounds make a nice change to the standard party fare. They are extremely easy to make and robust enough to hold heavier pieces of food including these little roma tomatoes. They freeze well so make more than you need in case unexpected visitors drop in. The recipe below makes approx 35 mini rounds.

How often do you see a group of women each armed with a spoon, each descending like seagulls onto a single plate of pudding? Women in particular enjoy the taste of something sweet to complete meal, but can’t, or won’t eat a dessert of their own because: 1. They can’t fit it all in, or 2. They’re worried about their weight. Whatever the reason, these juicy strawberries coated in bittersweet chocolate are the perfect solution for a single sweet fix, and complete any evening meal. Share if you like, but it’s unlikely you’ll want to.

Now that it's fashionable to eat whole grains, and other foods our ancestors enjoyed, it's time to make leftovers fashionable. That's not to say we should go down the road of bubble and squeak - where everything is thrown together and fried! These rice balls could have guests fooled into thinking you've been slaving over a hot stove for ours. They are delicious and make an ideal lunch (or make them smaller and serve as finger food at a party).

While making falafel it occurred to me that the word palaver, meaning fuss or bother should be substituted for falafel, coining a new phrase “What a falafel”. But don’t let me put you off! OK so they are a bit of effort compared to a packet mix deep fried feast from the takeaway, but for the improved health properties, and taste, it’s well worth it. In this recipe, the delicious flax seed coating adds numerous health benefits. Flax seeds are a rich source of lignans, helping to protect the body from oestrogen related cancers and regulating hormone levels. A food processor is an absolute must when making these so if you don’t have one already, it’s a great excuse to go shopping.

Spring rolls make the best finger food for drinks party (get plenty of practice making them before you embark on rolls for 50!) Typically, as you can see in this recipe, they’re made combining Asian flavours, but you can think outside the square, especially if you have a gluten allergy. The rice paper fills the role of bread and the filling can be many things you may use in a sandwich – with the salad!

This alternative to traditional oysters natural, Kilpatrick and mornay oysters is pretty and fresh. Oysters are known as an aphrodisiac possibly because they are such a good source of zinc - the mineral responsible in the production of healthy sperm. 6 oysters will give you 59 mg zinc - almost 5 times the recommended daily intake.

Mountain bread is paper thin unleavened bread available from supermarkets and health food stores. It can be used as a quick and healthy alternative to pastry and served as finger food to make a light entrée or pre-dinner canapé.

Since time, the oyster has been considered an aphrodisiac and as such is always on the menu for Valentine’s Day; maybe because it’s such a great source of zinc – the mineral responsible for healthy sperm production.

Gluten intolerant or not - everyone enjoys fresh spring rolls made with rice paper, veggies and vermicelli noodles. Make them the night before for the whole family to enjoy with enough left over for lunch the next day.

These are lovely little naturally sweetened treats to produce for dessert or when the kids get home from school. They’re very easy to make and take next to no time but do need to be eaten straight away otherwise the bread loses its scrunch.

This pate is a variation of “ Smokie pate’. Smokies are a haddock smoked in the small fishing town of Arbroath on the East coast of Scotland. They have an authentic smoked flavour but sadly we can’t get them here in Australia. The pate would typically be made with cream cheese therefore to use some creative license for health and availability, here’s a variation to serve on the classic Scottish oatcake.

Here we have a perfect lunch for the vegan – a complete meal providing vegetables, carbohydrates, protein, good fats – for energy to sustain the remainder of the day.

It’s simple and exquisite – the flavours of avocado and mango work so well. Combined with pinenuts, rumoured to be aphrodisiacs in ancient Greece and you create the ultimate seductress – a healthy entree for lovers. Choose slightly underripe mangos when making this dish. Avocado and pinenuts are both good sources of magnesium useful for relieving symptoms of PMT.

Large lumps of octopus tentacles can be visually off-putting and tough. Ask your fish merchant specifically for small pieces or trim them down in size before cooking. This marinade imparts a delicious sesame flavour through the octopus and also helps tenderize the pieces. It can be cooked on a grill indoors or the hot plate of your BBQ – either way it’s delicious.

To quote the words of a friend's son this Christmas - " Learn to make this mother!" It's really just a magnificent way to a high fibre fruit salad. I make a point of eating as many berries as possible over the season and here’s another way to present them. Topped with coconut toasted in maple syrup it will fool anyone to believing they’re eating the most decadent dessert. It's highly likely that you and the family will like this dish so much it will become a favourite out of season. The solution, vary the fruit and/or use frozen.

Anyone can make this salad - the trick it to but great quality figs and a nice soft moist goat's cheese.

Nine times out of ten, I’ll end up ordering the tuna salad, or if it’s a posh place the salade nicoise. It would seem the nicoise is made with real tuna; otherwise it’s straight from a can. Regardless, I like them both. Tuna is a good source of iron, perfect for non meat eaters and with the egg the whole salad provides almost enough protein for the day.

When you can step in the door and have a delicious healthy meal in front of you in less than 30 minutes its great news. Don’t attempt it without the relish as this dish will be very dry and exceptionally boring.

Traditional Italian lentils are called puy lentils and, compared to Australian grown, are relatively expensive. Australian grown are excellent quality (sometimes called blue) and like puy, retain their shape and provide the same nutrients.

Quinoa looks like a grain but in fact is a seed. It’s rich in protein, has a low GI and is gluten free. Quinoa can be used to make tabouleh, which in my opinion is much tastier than the traditional Middle Eastern dish which uses cracked wheat.

Served with wholegrain sourdough bread rolls this dish makes a delicious light lunch or without the bread as an entree before a main meal. The colours alone make the dish so visually appealing and that’s even before you taste how delicious it is.

This lovely salad is the perfect light meal to whip together for a quick summer lunch or dinner. Recipe courtesy of Toby Puttock & Australian Mangoes.

Recipe courtesy of Persimmons Australia Inc.

Recipe supplied by Australian Mushroom Growers Association.

If you’ve made a batch of quinoa from the night before, here’s a wonderful way to use up leftovers. Combined with mackerel these make an excellent speedy evening meal. Using quinoa instead of the potato makes the fish patties a little more crumbly, but lowers the GI – just handle them with care.

You may be surprised how quick and easy these are to make these are to make – so easy you could whip them up for lunch for 4 or dinner for 2. The beauty of these wraps is they use very little flour and very little fat. To save even more time you can buy any of the excellent wholegrain wraps now available from most good greengrocers.

In this dish the berry dressing becomes a marinade giving the eggplant a wonderful sweet and sour flavour. Serve it under a piece of kingfish (or any other thick white fillet) with some greens of course and it becomes a dinner fit for any smart dinner party.

Like octopus, mussels are a terrific source of iron, providing more than the recommended daily intake of between 12 – 16mg a day. They are also an excellent source of zinc, a mineral that supports the immune system and protects against free radicals. Don’t be fearful of cooking with them. They’re extremely quick and easy to prepare and delicious served with an accompanying grainy sourdough bread and green salad.

This alternative to traditional oysters natural, Kilpatrick and mornay oysters is pretty and fresh. Oysters are known as an aphrodisiac possibly because they are such a good source of zinc - the mineral responsible in the production of healthy sperm. 6 oysters will give you 59 mg zinc - almost 5 times the recommended daily intake.

For a cold Christmas spread, nothing beats a poached trout (or salmon) To present it whole you'll need a fish poacher, which may seem like a big investment but you'll be surprised at how often you use it after. It’s a very healthy way to cook fish, guarantees it stays moist and succulent, and is one of the easiest ways to prepare a meal for large numbers. Like salmon, ocean perch is an excellent source of Omega 3 fatty acids making it an excellent brain food and relief for arthritis.

For energy, fibre and improved mental performance, carbohydrates are an extremely important macronutrient to include on the plate. Often dismissed, lentils outperform most well known carbohydrate and combined with preserved limes and roast capsicum make a delicious base to this easy fish dish.

Blue mussels are a robust species grown mainly in bays and inlets and an approved sustainable seafood. Combining flavours of the East, these mussels are delicious served with accompanying buckwheat noodles as a main meal.

When artichokes are in season snap them up and use them to make this dish, otherwise you can use bottled. Also be sure to use a quality bread to make the breadcrumbs. Not only will your crust be nuttier and more delicious but it’s better for you. Serve this dish with steamed green beans and Asian vegetables.

Mussels are an incredibly good source of iron and, as for the budget conscious they make an inexpensive meal. Traditionally mussels are mopped up with bread but this dish is served with wholemeal pasta. I like to use the Barilla Integrale brand.

Couscous is a tiny, granular type of pasta made from durum wheat ground into fine grains then steam cooked. One of the world's staple foods due to its ease in cooking and verstaility, couscous is also a good source of fibre. Here teamed with protein in the form of eggs, it makes a quick meal that can be used for lunch or dinner. *Recipe courtesy of Israeli Pearl Blu Couscous

A variation on tomato bruschetta, these make a special breakfast dish. Please don’t be tempted to use any old bread – this recipe is designed for taste and health. White crusty bread may taste OK but it’s nutritionally low in value. In the processing of white flour, the grain is first stripped of its husk removing the fibre and valuable B vitamins; the flour is then ground intensively with bleaching agents added to make it pure white. The result, a fluffy white bread with a high GI, which will fill a gap for a minute but do little else.

I stole this idea from a café close to my home. If you are having guests to stay it’s a rather impressive way to start their day – you’ll convince them in an instant that you’re a gourmet chef – when in fact all you’re doing is serving cereal and fruit. They’ll love it and you can stay healthy at the same time.

These gluten free muffins are naturally sweetened by apple juice and coconut and while not as sweet as most cakes and pastries they’ll still satisfy that occasionally need to seek comfort in carbs!

On a gloomy cool day it's nice to make a batch of muffins and serve them hot with a cup of tea. The muscatel grapes added to the muffin mix give them an intense flavour you won't get from using blueberries on their own alone. They're moist, yummy, high in fibre and a pretty healthy indulgent treat when rain stops play outside.

Each mouthful just bursts with blueberries. Wholesome and low in added sugar. Toddlers just love these as a treat. Be warned though, the gooey blueberries can be a little messy.

To find a healthy sweet dessert that tastes great AND is easy to make ticks all the boxes in my opinion. Easy raspberry and yogurt souffles are some of these great dishes. It’s an impressive low GI treat that will satisfy a sweet tooth yet it’s not that high in KJ. It’s very yummy and looks much harder to make than it really is.

A fresh fruit frozen yoghurt high in vitamins A and C, as well as calcium. A Spring or Summer treat that’s quick, easy and a healthier alternative to most commercial frozen yoghurts available.

This makes a great breakfast, snack or dessert.

This recipe from the spring section of The Greengrocer’s Diet is ridiculously easy and quick to make. Make double the amount and on the second day it turns into a berry bircher muesli.

This refreshing smoothie is from the summer section of The Greengrocer’s Diet (Pan McMillan RRP $39.99)

Bright colours add to the beauty of this clean and fresh dish that is easily prepared. Low in fat and carbohydrates yet high in protein it's a winner all round.

A good veggie lasagne does take a bit of preparation but it’s not hard to do and the results are well worth the effort. And unlike traditional lasagne made with whole milk and full fat cheese this roast vegetable lasagne is low in saturated fat, with less than 200mg of sodium and with so many veggies and it’s loaded in fibre, vitamins and antioxidants.

Made from beans instead of minced beef this is an economical meal that is low in saturated fat, high in fibre, and loaded in antioxidants.

To find a healthy sweet dessert that tastes great AND is easy to make ticks all the boxes in my opinion. Easy raspberry and yogurt souffles are some of these great dishes. It’s an impressive low GI treat that will satisfy a sweet tooth yet it’s not that high in KJ. It’s very yummy and looks much harder to make than it really is.

This spicy and flavoursome marinade is delicious with a robust textured fish such as blue eye trevalla. The longer you allow it to marinate the better, and if you are feeding a family, don’t be put off by the term spicy – it’s not peppery spicy and will kids love it.

I’ve seen many carnivores look expectantly at this vegetarian version of a meat loaf as it’s far more interesting and delicious. The walnut is one of the most nutritionally rich nuts available and works beautifully in a nut loaf. Someone once told me that foods are good for the body part they resemble. How much truth there is in that is questionable, (some sausages that are good for nothing), but in the case of walnuts with their “brain like” form, there is some justification to believe it. Walnuts contain a high percentage of Omega 3 fat that cannot be made by the body. Amongst other things Omega 3 fatty acids are believed to help improve cognitive function, in other words how your brain works.

Save this one for the weekend after you’ve had a long morning walk. It’s a deviation from the traditional scrambled egg made with milk, or, in some cafes, cream, but in my opinion much nicer. Rich in calcium, abundant nutrients from the eggs, cancer preventing lycopene from the roasted tomatoes, protein, good carbs and good fat, this meal’s got it all. The beauty of it also is, other than the tomatoes, which can be roasted on baking paper to save washing up, it ‘s all made in the one pan.

These easy pots make a delicious light supper dish on a weekend when lunch was the main meal of the day. They are light and nutritious and won’t weight heavily on the stomach before going to bed.

Nine times out of ten, I’ll end up ordering the tuna salad, or if it’s a posh place the salade nicoise. It would seem the nicoise is made with real tuna; otherwise it’s straight from a can. Regardless, I like them both. Tuna is a good source of iron, perfect for non meat eaters and with the egg the whole salad provides almost enough protein for the day.

Adding a few olives, tea oil and nigella seeds makes the humble egg sandwich distinctly more sophisticated. Not that the egg sandwich should ever be humble. The egg has a lot to shout about containing no less than 13 vitamins, minerals and amino acids.

This recipe is an extract from the Diabetes & Pre-Diabetes Handbook, and provides a suitable breakfast meal for those with pre-diabetes, or anyone looking for a delicious low GI start to the day. Peter Howard's pancakes are so versatile - sweet or savoury. And for breakfast, you can make the choice. Avocado slices with pepper and cottage cheese makes a suitable lunch with salad on the side.

It’s hard to imagine how something that looks this good could be healthy too, but it is and it’s well worth the effort to make it. Using spelt flour in the pastry reduces the gluten content of the pastry without effecting the taste.

This recipe is inspired by the famous Balinese dish. Boiling the eggplant whole for 5 minutes softens its skin, reduces the amount of oil required to cook it and the overall cooking time. Fried shallots are available from Asian stores and selected supermarkets.

This is a real favourite and incredibly easy to make. Don't be put off by the filo pastry. The real trick is allow it to reach room temperature and work fast. I use a pastry brush to brush the sheets lightly with oil. Thanks to Costa Georgiadis for passing this recipe of him mother's on.

It's amazing how good a few kaffir lime leaves mixed through fresh papaya tastes. Sprinkle over the top, a little fresh lime juice served on these coconut crumpets and you've made have an exotic dessert with fresh flavours of the East.

This is a lovely recipe that's ridiculously easy to make. It may seem slightly daunting to cut up and skin a chicken yourself but do it once and you'll wonder what all the fuss was about. It's the cheapest and freshest way to go!

There's nothing to beat this winter warmer. It heats you up from the inside and fills you up for hours. Make sure you use a great quality stock though. It makes all the difference.

Pies don't have to be laden with saturated fat and gristle! These delicious pies are packed full of veggies and are perfect on a cold winters day.

These gourmet chicken burgers offer a twist on the traditional chicken burger, and contain substantially less fat.

This is one of my favourite recipes. The extent to which you make of it is up to you, but I like to make everything including the chilli sauce! Choose a couple of varieties of Asian greens to accompany the chicken. I like to combine a crunchy variety like Pac Choy or Buk Choy with a leafy green such as Gai Lan.

Here’s a healthy sandwich, with a fraction of the fat but just as much taste as a regular chicken and mayonnaise sandwich.

Who doesn't love a roast dinner? Many people buy those horrible rotisserie chickens from the supermarket but baking your own is so easy to do, and the taste is far superior.