Food on the Move/working Lunches

A salad doesn't have to mean limp lettuce,soggy tomato and curling cucumber. Add enough interesting, nutritious ingredients, such as those used in these recipes, and it turns into a tasty, satisfying main meal. Plus, it is an excellent way to incorporate plenty of raw vegetables easily into your diet, for fibre and vitamins to keep you feeling and looking in the pink.

A note on dressings

You can use 1 tbsp ready-made dressing (choose one with negligible or no added sugar) or drizzle balsamic vinegar or lemon juice and a Little extra virgin olive oil on your salad to add flavour. You can also add taste without fat by adding full-flavoured ingredients like mustard, tamari or soy sauce, crushed garlic, grated ginger and fresh herbs. Bear in mind that pickles and chutneys can be heavily sweetened so go easy on them.

Chicken, sun-blush tomato and pine nut salad

A classic combination of Italian flavours that is easy to prepare.

SERVES 1

¹/2 x 150g (5¹/2oz) bag fully prepared mixed salad leaves, organic where possible

75g (23/4oz) skinned, cooked chicken meat, or a small cooked chicken breast fillet, sliced into bite-sized pieces

2 tsp pine nuts

4 pieces sun-blush tomato, roughly chopped, or a handful of cherry tomatoes, halved

2.5cm (1 in) chunk cucumber, diced

2 tbsp ready-made dressing (low in sugar or sugar-free)or a mixture of balsamic vinegar and extra virgin olive oil

Freshly ground black pepper

Mix together the salad ingredients, dressing and pepper.

MAINTENANCE PHASE (PER PERSON)

increase to 90g (31/4oz) (dry weight) quinoa or serve the salad with a wholemeal pitta bread

Greek salad

One of the best salad combinations ever. It's ideal for a picnic.

SERVES 1

1 small red onion, diced

6 cherry tomatoes, halved

7.5cm (3in) chunk cucumber, diced

1 tbsp pitted black olives, roughly chopped

75g (2³/4oz) feta cheese Freshly ground black pepper

FOR THE DRESSING

1 tbsp ready-made (sugar free) vinaigrette, or mix together:

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, 2 tsp white wine vinegar,

1/2 tsp dried oregano, freshly ground black pepper

1 Combine the vegetables and olives, add the dressing and toss.

2 Crumble the feta over the top and lightly toss through the vegetables. 3 Season with black pepper and chill lightly or serve immediately.

MAINTENANCE PHASE (PER PERSON)

replace pulses or potatoes with 1 wholemeal pitta bread

Tuna and tomato salad

Try this lower fat, more interesting alternative to tuna mayo. The butterbeans not only add flavour and texture to the dish but they also provide fibre and hormone-balancing phytoestrogens.

SERVES 1

¹/2x 410g (14¹/2oz) can butterbeans, drained and rinsed

¹/2x 400g (14oz) can chopped tomatoes in tomato juice (get thebest quality you can find)

¹/2 red onion, finely sliced or diced

¹/2x 185g (61/2oz) can tuna, drained (140g (5oz) drained weight)

Sprinkle of herbed salt (if you can find it), or use sea salt or low-sodium saltplus ¹/2 tsp dried mixed herbs or Italian mixed herbs (herbs are optional)

¹/2 x 150g (5¹/2oz) bag fully prepared salad leaves, organic where possible,or 75g (2 3/4oz) lettuce

Freshly ground black pepper

1 Place the beans, tomatoes, onion and tuna in a bowl. Mix together and season to taste with herbed salt and pepper.

2 Spoon on top of the salad.

MAINTENANCE PHASE (PER PERSON)

add 3 sun-blush tomato pieces to the tuna mixture

Fish Fish....I love Cooking Fish

Seafood Selection Steamed over Fresh Herbs with Champagne Sauce

8 black mussels, on the half shell

16 scallops with roe (coral)

8 large prawns, deveined; shells on

4 x 80 g portions filleted kingklip, skinned
4 x 80 g portions filleted Norwegian salmon, skinned

salt, milled black pepper, lemon juice plenty of fresh herbs (parsley, lemon grass, basil, coriander)

Champagne Sauce

1 onion, finely chopped

15 ml chopped fresh herbs

(dill, parsley, thyme)

30 ml freshly squeezed lemon juice

250 ml champagne or sparkling wine

60 ml cream

120 g soft butter, cut into cubes

2 ml Worcestershire sauce

Place the seafood in the top layer of a Chinese steaming basket and season with salt, pepper and lemon juice.

Crush the herbs and pack in the bottom layer. Put the layers together, cover with the lid and steam over simmering water for about 12 minutes until the seafood is cooked.

Champagne Sauce: Combine the onion, herbs, lemon juice and champagne in a medium saucepan and simmer uncovered until reduced by half. Add the cream and reduce until thickened to a coating consistency.

Remove from the heat and whisk in the butter and Worcestershire sauce. Season with salt and pepper

To Serve: Arrange seafood on warm plates and offer the champagne sauce separately.

Serves 4

Kabeljou with Mediterranean Flavours

4 x 180 g portions filleted kabeljou, skinned 50 ml extra virgin olive oil

1 onion, finely chopped

5 ml crushed garlic

100 g sun-dried tomatoes, chopped 100 g black olives, pitted and sliced

3 fresh basil leaves, finely shredded 6 sprigs fresh coriander, chopped

15 ml finely chopped fresh Italian parsley

Potato and Corn Risotto olive oil

1 onion, finely chopped

4 potatoes, peeled and diced into 2 cm cubes salt and milled black pepper

1 sprig rosemary

250 ml cream

kernels cut from 4 cooked sweetcorn cobs 50 g butter, cut into cubes

30 ml grated Parmesan cheese

Potato and Corn Risotto: Heat olive oil in a heavy saucepan and sauté the onion until golden.

Stir in the potatoes, season with salt and pepper, and add the rosemary and cream. Cover and simmer gently until the potatoes are soft. Uncovered and simmer briskly until the cream thickens.

Add the corn kernels, butter and Parmesan cheese and heat through.

Heat the extra virgin olive oil in a nonstick frying pan and seal the kabeljou over high heat. Remove from the pan and set aside.

Add the onion to the pan and fry until golden. Add the garlic and sun-dried tomato and simmer for a few minutes until softened. Add the olives, basil, coriander and parsley and season with salt and pepper.

Return the fish to the pan and simmer, spooning the onion-tomato mixture over, until cooked.

To Serve: Spoon potato and corn risotto onto warm plates and top with kabeljou. Serves 4

Lemon Grass Skewered Prawns with Peri-Peri Sauce on Japanese Rice Noodles and Tofu

24 large prawns, shelled and deveined 8 stalks lemon grass

salt, milled black pepper, freshly squeezed lemon juice, olive oil

160 g tofu, cut into strips

100 g rice noodles, cooked

20 g butter

10 ml soy sauce

80 g mixed julienned vegetables

Peri-Peri Sauce 50 g butter

1 onion, finely chopped

7 ml chopped garlic

6 fresh red chillies, seeded and chopped

20 ml tomato paste

50 g tomatoes, blanched, skinned and diced

8 sprigs fresh oregano, chopped

200 ml white wine 50 ml water

Impale the prawns on lemon grass spears and season with salt, pepper and lemon juice.

Peri-Peri Sauce: Heat the butter in a medium saucepan and sauté the onion, garlic and chilli until the onion is translucent.

Stir in the tomato paste, then add the diced tomato and oregano. Add the white wine and water and simmer uncovered until reduced and thickened to a pulp. Season with salt and pepper.

Heat olive oil in a non-stick frying pan and fry the tofu until golden. Season with salt and pepper, add the rice noodles, butter, soy sauce and julienned vegetables and heat through.

To Serve: Grill the skewered prawns on both sides under a hot grill until cooked.

Spoon the tofu mixture onto warm plates, place prawns on top and brush with peri-peri sauce. Offer the rest separately. Serves 4