Coconut and Lime Basa with Cucumber and Mango Salsa

This recipe was adapted from a "Coconut and Lime Salmon" recipe in a Woolworths Fresh Magazine (Issue 81, November, 2012; pg 20).  I omitted the chilli for the sake of my 4-year-old daughter and used Basa instead of salmon, for the sake of the budget, though I'm sure that nice fresh salmon would have just topped this off.  You could also use chicken breast instead of fish if you like.

Ingredients

- Finely grated zest of one lime (recipe called for kaffir lime leaves, but I couldn't get these when I shopped)
- 1 bunch of coriander with roots
- 165 mL can of coconut milk
- 4 basa fillets
- 2 Lebanese cucumbers, peeled
- 1 large mango
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- steamed rice and lime wedges to serve.

1. Wash and finely chop coriander roots.  Reserve coriander sprigs.  Combine grated lime zest, coriander roots and coconut milk in a ceramic dish.  Add basa filets and turn to coat.  Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 mins; the longer the better.

2. Halve cucumber lengthways.  Finely dice and place into a bowl.  Remove cheeks from mango, scoop out the flesh and dice.  Add mango to bowl with cucumber.  Chop half of the reserved coriander sprigs.  Add to the mango and cucumber mixture.

3. Heat oil good-quality non-stick saucepan on high (if you don't have one, line your fry pan or BBQ plate with baking paper to prevent the fish from sticking whilst using a minimal amount of oil).  Remove basa from marinade and cook for 2-3 minutes until golden, turn and cook until cooked through.

4. Serve basa with cucumber and mango salsa, steamed rice and a lime wedge.

Fats. The good, the bad and the ugly!

Fat is an essential nutrient, as it plays a number of important roles in the body.  However, I’m sure you know that an excess of fat can lead to many lifestyle-related conditions.

Not all fats are the same.  There really is the good, the bad and the ugly!

Fat types

·        Cholesterol

-   Only in animal products – ie.  Full cream milk, cheese, butter and cream, liver, kidney, brains, prawns, squid, eggs. 

-   HDL (good)

-   LDL (bad)

-   Saturated fats are actually a greater threat to blood cholesterol levels than cholesterol itself! 

-   Cholesterol levels can be reduced by soluble fibre-rich foods (e.g. oats).

·        Triglycerides

-   Most common form of fats and oils in foods

-   Glycerol + free fatty acids

-   Stored in adipose tissue (fat tissue)

-   Saturated fats, Polyunsaturated fats, Monounsaturated fats

·        Saturated fats - 

-   From animal sources and solid at room temperature. – ie.  Fatty meat and chicken (especially skin), processed meats, sausages, deep fried foods, full fat dairy products, cakes, biscuits and pastries, chocolate.  (but note: palm oil (50% saturated) and coconut oil (90% saturated))

-   Increase LDL cholesterol.

-   Limit these. 

·        Polyunsaturated fats

-   Plant and animal-based food.  Liquid at room temperature.

-   Omega 3 and Omega 6 = essential fatty acids (can’t be made by the body).

-   Omega 3 – fish and seafood: health benefits: decreases blood clot risk, prevention and treatment of hypertension (high blood pressure), heart disease, arthritis and cancer. Often deficient in the diet.

-   Omega 6 – safflower, sunflower, corn, soybean and cottonseed oil, also found in meat. Generally adequate in the diet.

-   Use instead of saturated fats: dietary sources – vegetable oils, soy products, polyunsaturated margarine, nuts (walnuts, hazelnuts, brazil nuts), seeds (pumpkin, safflower, sunflower, sesame), fish and seafood.

·        Monounsaturated fats

-   Can reduce blood cholesterol, without lowering “good” cholesterol levels.

-   Reduce the risk of heart disease

-   Olive oil is also rich in antioxidants.

-   Use in place of saturated fats.

-   Dietary sources: monounsaturated margarine, olives and olive oil, canola oil, macadamia nut oil, avocado, nuts (peanuts, almonds, cashews), peanut butter.

-   Choose these as your primary source of dietary fats.

Why a low fat diet??

Fat is more fattening than any other nutrient.

It costs 3-5% of energy to store dietary fat, where as to convert carbohydrate into body fat costs 25% of energy.  Under normal physiological conditions, carbohydrate is not converted to fat.  So, although increasing energy intake from any macronutrient (fat, protein or carbohydrate) will result in weight gain, this excess weight can be muscle and carbohydrate stores (glycogen) on a high carbohydrate diet.

Dietary fat is the last nutrient to be used for energy, hence the most likely to be stored when energy consumption is excessive.

Low fat diets are easier to stick to, as it does not need to be particularly restrictive, as many recipes are easily modifiable.

How to reduce fat in the diet

·        Trim all visible fat from meat, or preferably, choose lean cuts of meat.

·        Remove skin from chicken.

·        Consume fish/seafood 2-3 times per week.

·        Fill up on low GI breads, cereals, legumes, fruit and vegetables.

·        Use small amounts of added fat (butter, margarine).

·        Use low fat cooking methods (grilling, baking or dry frying).

·        Limit take-away foods and fried foods.

·        Use low-fat dairy products.

·        Snack wisely on lower fat options.

·        Learn to modify old “favourite” recipes.

But, for the record..

·        When following a low fat diet, weight loss is predominantly fat loss, rather than muscle or water, so weight loss can be slower (though more likely to be permanent!) (0.5-1 kg per week is ideal)

Sweet Potato Fritters with Avocado Puree

Here is a delicious vegetarian recipe.  This recipe originally came from the cookbook "Australian Gourmet Traveller Simple", but I was lacking a few ingredients so I altered it a little.  I will start with the recipe I used and then add the recipe as it was in the book.

Ingredients:

Peanut oil
800 g orange sweet potato, peeled and coarsely grated
6 shallots, chopped
1 tsp ground coriander
2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 cup Italian parsley leaves, chopped
1/2 cup plain flour / spelt flour
3 eggs, separated
150 g (1 cup sesame seeds)
Tomato
Baby rocket/lettuce
Cucumber

Avocado puree:
1 large avocado, seeded, peeled and coarsely chopped
1/2 tsp honey
1 tsp sweet chilli sauce
1 tbsp light Greek-style yoghurt

Wraps to serve

Method:

For avocado puree, process all ingredients in a food processor until smooth.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.  If you don't have a food processor, mash with a fork until desired consistency is reached.

Heat 1 tbsp of peanut oil in a large, non-stick frying pan.  Add sweet potato and stir over high heat for 3-4 minutes, or until just soft.  Cool, then place in a bowl with green onions, parsley, cumin and coriander.  Mix in flour.  Season to taste with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper and combine well.  Add egg yolks and mix until well combined.

Using an electric mixer, whist egg whites until soft peaks form, then gently fold into sweet potato mixture.  Shape 1/4 cupfuls into 12 x 5 cm rounds and coat with sesame seeds.  Place on a baking paper-lined tray and cover and refrigerate for 2 hours.  This will be difficult if the mixture is still warm.  If it is still a little sloppy, fill the bases of a 12-hole muffin tin with sesame seeds and spoon the mixture between the 12 holes and then sprinkle the sesame seeds on top also.  Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours.

If you have used the muffin tin, tip the tin upside down over a baking paper-lined baking tray and tap so the patties drop out.  Heat enough oil to cover the base of a large, non-stick frying pan and cook fritters, in batches, adding more oil when necessary, until golden on both sides.  Drain on absorbent paper.

Serve fritters immediately either on their own with avocado puree, on top of a salad topped wrap (as shown) or as a burger patty.

HINT:  If you do not have a non-stick frying pan, line the base of your frying pan with baking paper before adding the oil.  This makes the patties much easier to handle. These could also be cooked on a baking paper-lined BBQ plate.

Makes 12.

The recipe straight from the book

Ingredients


Peanut oil
800 g orange sweet potato, peeled and coarsely grated
6 shallots, chopped
6 kaffir lime leaves, centre vein removed and thinly shredded
1/2 cup coriander leaves
2 fresh red serrano chillies, seeded and finely chopped
1/2 cup plain flour / spelt flour
3 eggs, separated
150 g (1 cup sesame seeds)
Baby rocket to serve

Avocado puree:
1 large avocado, seeded, peeled and coarsely chopped
1 tbsp lime juice
1 tbsp sour cream

Method



For avocado puree, process all ingredients in a food processor until smooth.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.  If you don't have a food processor, mash with a fork until desired consistency is reached.

Heat 1 tbsp of peanut oil in a large, non-stick frying pan.  Add sweet potato and stir over high heat for 3-4 minutes, or until just soft.  Cool, then place in a bowl with green onions, shredded lime leaves, coriander, chillies and flour.  Season to taste with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper and combine well.  Add egg yolks and mix until well combined.

Using an electric mixer, whist egg whites until soft peaks form, then gently fold into sweet potato mixture.  Shape 1/4 cupfuls into 12 x 5 cm rounds and coat with sesame seeds.  Place on a baking paper-lined tray and cover and refrigerate for 2 hours.  This will be difficult if the mixture is still warm.  If it is still a little sloppy, fill the bases of a 12-hole muffin tin with sesame seeds and spoon the mixture between the 12 holes and then sprinkle the sesame seeds on top also.  Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours.

If you have used the muffin tin, tip the tin upside down over a baking paper-lined baking tray and tap so the patties drop out.  Heat enough oil to cover the base of a large, non-stick frying pan and cook fritters, in batches, adding more oil when necessary, until golden on both sides.  Drain on absorbent paper.

Serve fritters immediately with avocado puree and rocket to the side.

Carbohydrates. The good, the bad and the ugly!

Carbohydrates – the good, the bad and the ugly

To classify carbohydrates into goodies and baddies, we are going to use the glycaemic index. 

Really, no carbohydrate is really good or bad, they are just better for different purposes. 

The glycaemic index ranks foods on a scale from 1-100, based on the immediate effects they have on blood sugar levels.  Basically, carbohydrate foods that break down quickly during digestion have the highest GI factors. Their blood sugar response is fast and high.  Carbohydrates that break down slowly, releasing glucose gradually into the blood stream have low GI factors.

Low GI foods are the best for most people and low GI diets have been shown to have numerous health benefits.  A fabulous website explaining the GI in more detail is:

http://www.glycemicindex.com/about.php

Hi GI foods are beneficial for people such as athletes, where a high, sudden, readily available store of energy is required, such as before or during endurance exercise, or after exercise to quickly refuel glycogen stores.  For the general population, however, they should be regarded as "sometimes" foods.

You may have heard of the Glycaemic Load (GL).  This measurement is a modification of the GI that takes into account both the quality (GI) and quantity of carbohydrate in a food.  This is the best guide to blood sugar response from certain carbohydrates, though it is less often reported.

Influences of food GI

·        Degree of processing/cooking – for example, a hot potato has a higher GI than a cold potato, due to cell breakdown when the potato is hot and subsequent reformation when it is cold.  In the case of grains, if their fibrous coat is intact, this coat acts as a physical barrier and slows digestion.

·       Presence and interactions of other food types eg.  Protein or fat can slow the blood glucose response.

·        Food absorption blockage. 

Some low glycaemic foods – CHOOSE THESE MOST OFTEN

·        Apples, pears, grapefruits, peaches, plums, oranges, cherries, firm bananas.

·        Sweet potato, sweet corn.

·        All bran, rolled oats, barley bran, rice bran. 

·        Pumpernickel, rye, mixed grain bread and crispbreads, oat-based breads and fruit loaf.

·        Spaghetti, pasta, basmati rice.

·        Lentils, kidney beans, chick peas, butter beans, haricot beans, black-eye peas, baked beans.

·        Milk, yoghurt, custard, low fat ice cream, chocolate. 

Some moderate glycaemic index foods – CHOOSE THESE SOMETIMES

·    Crumpets, pita bread, arrowroot biscuits, Ryvita, Vita Brits, one minute oats, mini wheats, Nutrigrain.

·        Ripe bananas, mangoes, pineapples, sultanas, orange juice, beetroot, broad beans, new potatoes.

·        Cous cous, taco shells, pastry.

·        Regular ice cream.

High glycaemic foods – AVOID THESE

·        White bread, wholemeal bread, bagels, scones, pre-split muffins, rice cakes.

·        Coco pops, cornflakes, rice bubbles, weet-bix

·        White rice, brown rice

·        Parsnips, potatoes, watermelon

·        Pretzels, morning coffee biscuits, jelly beans

·        Glucose, sucrose, sports drinks. 

You can search for the glycaemic index of certain foods via this website: http://www.glycemicindex.com/index.php