YMCA Healthy Living Magazine, powered by n4 food and health SPRING 2019 | Page 17

KATE WENGIER
Kate is the founder of Foost, which is the creator of Positive Food Education -
inspiring healthier families by creating happier family mealtimes. Empowering
children to become colourful and adventurous eaters. www.foost.com.au
WONDERFUL SPRING RECIPES
HOMEMADE BAKED BEANS
Serves: 4 | Prep time: 5 minutes | Cooking time: 40 minutes
Baked beans on toast is a famous family favourite. Here’s how you can make and
enjoy baked beans from scratch, without having to worry about the high salt content
of the tinned variety. You can enjoy it as part of breakfast, lunch, dinner or as a snack.
Ingredients
2 cups dried cannellini or borlotti beans
OR
2 x 400g cans of salt-reduced cannellini
or borlotti beans
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion finely diced
1 clove garlic, crushed (or one teaspoon
crushed garlic)
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 x 400g cans tinned, crushed tomatoes
(no added salt)
1 teaspoon mixed herbs (dried or fresh)
1 tablespoon no added salt tomato paste
Pinch of salt
Directions
1
Prepare dry beans as per packet instructions or if using canned beans,
drain and rinse under cold water.
2 Heat olive oil in a large frypan then fry onion and garlic on medium heat
for 5 minutes until softened.
3 Add sugar and stir, cook for 2 minutes.
4 Add tinned tomatoes, herbs, tomato paste, salt and beans.
5 Mix and cook for a further 30 minutes.
6 Serve on roasted sweet potatoes, rice or toast with a side salad.
Notes: You can easily add in extra vegetables, for example, we like to add
freshly diced tomatoes or red capsicum or zucchini (after step 4).
Spice your beans up by adding some chilli or black pepper to taste.
These beans can be frozen for future meals or snacks.
CHICKEN VIETNAMESE PHO
Serves: 4 | Prep time: 10 minutes | Cooking time: 20 minutes
Ingredients:
500ml salt-reduced chicken stock (see
Tip)
1.5L water
1 brown onion, halved, thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, peeled
10cm-piece ginger, peeled, sliced
2 star anise
1 teaspoon black peppercorns
1 teaspoon salt-reduced soy sauce
2 teaspoons fish sauce
2 tablespoons lime juice
4 x 100-120g lean chicken breast fillets
2 bunches bok choy, roughly chopped
150g rice noodles
150g bean shoots
½ cup Vietnamese mint leaves
½ cup coriander leaves
2 spring onions, chopped
2 teaspoons sliced red chilli
4 lemon wedges
Method
1 Combine stock, water, onion, garlic, ginger,
star anise, black peppercorns, soy sauce and
fish sauce in a large saucepan over medium-
high heat. Cover and bring to the boil. Add
chicken breast and simmer for 15-17 minutes
or until chicken is cooked through. For the
last 3 minutes of cooking, add bok choy.
2
Remove garlic, peppercorns, star anise and ginger and discard. Transfer
chicken to a plate, and shred when cooled.
3 Prepare noodles according to packet instructions. Drain.
4 Divide chicken, noodles, bok choy and stock between 4 bowls. Top each
bowl with bean shoots, Vietnamese mint, coriander, spring onion, chilli
and a lemon wedge.
Tip: For a healthier alternative to store-bought stock, use our homemade
chicken stock recipe instead. This recipe can also be made with green
prawns, tofu or sliced beef.
Chicken Vietnamese Pho recipe and image reproduced with permission from the Heart Foundation
website. ©2018 National Heart Foundation of Australia. For more healthy recipes visit www.
heartfoundation.org.au/recipes or speak to the Heart Foundation’s Helpline on 13 11 12.
SPRING 2019 YMCA HEALTHY LIVING MAGAZINE
17