Category NutritionAdvice

Image found here

Choosing Low GI carbohydrates can sometimes be a bit of a guessing game.  While the website The Glycemic Index provides a comprehensive database, sometimes you just want to quickly know what brands to buy.  I’ve found a very useful table designed by  the NZ Heart Foundation which has been published as a part of their guide on heart healthy eating.  You can find the full version of the table resource here. I’ve copied some of the information below.

High fibre foods are highlighted in bold.

Made with brown rice, this fried rice has a lovely nutty texture. Although it may be Gwynnie’s recipe, I don’t think this alone will give you her long, lean toned body. But on the upside, it’s full of nutrients and tastes great too.

My version is slightly modified (she uses spring onions but I used red), and I added some cashews.

Here’s how to make it:

Ingredients:

225g kale, stems discarded
1 tablespoon olive oil
One red onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
175g brown rice, cooked
1 1/2 tablespoons reduced salt soy sauce
sprinkle of cashew nuts

1. Cut the kale in half lengthways and then in half again. Slice into very thin strips. Steam for 7 minutes.
2. Heat the vegetable oil in a pan, add the onion and cook for around 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook for an extra 2 minutes.
3. Add the steamed kale and brown rice to the pan. Add the soy sauce and stir well. Cook for another 4-5 minutes.

I’m a bread lover from way back, but I rarely make it because of the time it takes (i.e, I’m too lazy!). So if you’re like me and can’t be bothered with the all the kneading and waiting around then this is the bread for you. Aside from the fact it’s simple to make – no kneading, no proofing – the best thing about this bread is that it is really similar to my all time favourite bread brands Vogels/Burgen.  This bread is made with wholemeal flour and scattered with pumpkin seeds and chia seeds it has the same great texture with the crunch and goodness of pumpkin seeds which are a good source of zinc and healthy fats.

Busy People’s Bread – Adapted from Annabel Langbein’s recipe by the same name

Makes one loaf

1 cup boiling water
2 teaspoons honey
1 cup cold water
3 1/2 teaspoons dried yeast granules
2  1/4 cups wholemeal flour
1/2 cup white flour
1/2 cup pumpkin seeds (original recipe uses sunflower so you could use these too – I just had pumpkin in the cupboard)
2 tablespoons chia seeds
1 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 80C. Grease and line a 25 x 10 cm loaf tin with baking paper.

In a large bowl, mix the boiling water with the honey to dissolve. Add the cold water and yeast and put to one side for 10 minutes.

Whisk the yeast mixture and then add the flour, salt and seeds and mix with a large spoon until evenly combined. It will be a loose, wet batter.

Place the mixture in loaf tin, spread evenly and flatten the top. Sprinkle an extra tablespoon of pumpkin seeds over the top of the loaf and run a sharp knife through the top of each loaf in at least 3 or 4 places so that it rises evenly without splitting.

Bake for 20 minutes at 80C and then turn the oven up to 210C and bake for a further 35-40 minutes.

When cooked the bread will sound hollow when tapped. Turn out of the tin while still hot and peel off the paper, otherwise it will stick to the bread (as I learned the hard way…).

It’s lovely with strawberry jam or marmite and cheese.