Healthy Choices

Tasty Salad Roll

Preparation time: 10 minutes

Ingredients:
Long wholemeal roll
Soft avocado
Lettuce or mixed lettuce leaves
Sliced tomato
Sliced cucumber
Sliced beetroot
Shredded carrot
Spinach leaves
Alfalfa
Ground pepper
Add any choice of vegetable you like.

Preparation:
Use small part of avocado as bread spread on wholemeal roll. Add sliced and shredded ingredients in layers. Add ground pepper for taste. Cover with top of roll.

For more varieties chose:
Multigrain bread or roll
Add coleslaw, asparagus, red onion or some cranberry sauce.

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Pumpkin and Spinach Pasta

Preparation time: 20 minutes
Serves: 4

Ingredients:
650 g butternut pumpkin, peeled and seeded
Olive oil
Ground pepper
400g pasta (preferably wholemeal)
½ cup torn basil leaves
2 tablespoons pine nuts
50 g baby spinach leaves
1 punnet grape tomatoes

Preparation:
1. Preheat oven to 220ºC. Cut the pumpkin into 2 cm cubes and toss with 2 tablespoon olive oil and add pepper for taste. Place on baking paper covered oven tray. Cook for about 20 minutes until tender and golden.
2. Cook pasta in large saucepan of boiling water according to instructions. Drain and return to pan to keep it warm.
3. Wash, drain and slice spinach, tomatoes and basil. Mix with 1 tablespoon olive oil. Add ground pepper for taste.
4. To serve, toss the pasta with the pumpkin and the spinach, basil and tomato. Sprinkle with pine nuts.

Tip: Serve with fresh salad.

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Vegetable Couscous

Preparation time: 15-20 minutes
Serves: 4

Ingredients:
Couscous for 4 serves
1 medium size onion finely diced
3 tablespoon vegetable oil (not cold pressed)
1 cucumber finely diced
3-4 tomatoes finely diced
1 red capsicum finely diced
3 zucchinis finely diced
1 clove garlic crushed
1 desert spoon chopped fresh basil
Ground pepper

Preparation:
1. Prepare couscous as per instructions on package.
2. Heat the vegetable oil in a large frying pan. Add the onion and cook for 3-4 miutes.
3. Add vegetables and cook for another 3-4 minutes.
4. Add ground pepper to taste.

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Quick Salad Bowl

Large bag mixed salad
10-12 cherry tomatoes
2-3 spring onion or 1 red onion
Small cucumber
Small bunch chives

For more variety:

Add 20 g chopped walnuts

For dressing:

1 desert spoon balsamic vinegar
1 desert spoon walnut oil
1 desert spoon olive oil (cold pressed)
1 desert spoon water
1 tea spoon mild mustard
Add ground pepper for taste.

Preparation:

1.Wash mixed salad
2.Remove roots and top of green. Cut in small slices.
3. Wash cherry tomatoes and cut in half
4.Wash and slice cucumber
5.Wash chives and cut in small rolls
6.Mix all ingredients in large bowel
7. Add dressing
8. Add chopped walnuts on top.
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Dip Day

Preparation time: 15 minutes
Serves 4

Ingredients:
Broccoli
Carrots
Celery
Zucchini
Cucumber
Cherry tomatoes
Red capsicum (or any other colour if preferred)
Add any vegetables you like
Hummus dip

For Guacamole dip

2 ripe Avocados
1 small onion
1 small tomato
1 ½ tablespoon lemon juice or 1/2 fresh lemon
Add pepper to taste

Preparation:
Wash vegetables thoroughly and cut in slices or large pieces except the cherry tomatoes. Keep cool.
Guacamole: Peel avocados and remove seed. Peel and finely chop the onion. Dice the tomato. Mash avocado in a bowl and then stir in the remaining ingredients.
Serve with some (preferably wholemeal) bread if you like.

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Bean and Chickpea Salad

Preparation time: 10 minutes
Serves: 4

Ingredients:
1 can chickpeas
1 can kidney beans
1 can corn kernels
2 red onions finely diced
1 red capsicum finely diced
1 bunch parsley
2 desert spoons lemon juice
3 desert spoons olive oil
Ground pepper

Preparation:
1. Open cans and drain contents.
2. Wash and finely chop parsley.
3. Add al ingredients into large bowl and mix.
4. Add ground pepper for taste. 

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Energising Fruit Salad

Preparation time: 15 minutes
Serves: 4

Ingredients:
½ rock melon
1 large wedge of water melon
½ pineapple
1 punnet strawberries
2 cups seedless grapes
2 oranges
2 apples
2 passion fruits

Preparation:
1. Remove seeds from rock melon, peel and dice
2. Take watermelon of skin and dice (remove seeds if needed)
3. Cut the pineapple in half lengthways. Peel pineapple from outer skin and remove any eyes left in the outside edge. Cut into pieces.
4. Wash and remove leaves from strawberries and cut in half.
5. Peel oranges and cut wedges in half
6. Wash and remove seeds from apples and cut into wedges.
7. Arrange all fruits in separate bowls per person.
8. Cut passionfruit open and scoop out contents into serving bowls.
Serve chilled

Tip: Sprinkle some muesli on top and serve for breakfast or lunch.

Variations:
You can use any fruit you like. Vary the recipe to how you like it. Add for example mangos, pears, nectarines or bananas.