Low Carb Beer, Friend or Foe?

A while ago I was asked about my opinion in regards to low carb beer. Channel 7 decided to do a story about it and came for a visit at City Gym in Sydney where I normally work. What do you think? Is low carb the better option for the summer barbeque? What does health professionals think? Watch and find out for yourself.

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Labels: Diet, Media, nutrition

Swedish Cheese Cake

Today Sascha came over for morning tea. Both of us are currently trying to be healthy so cakes and biscuits wasn't really on the menu. I decided to bake a swedish cheesecake. This is a receipt that I have recommended a lot of my clients as it is a perfect snack to make over the weekend for the following week.

The trick with the cheesecake is to put some effort in to the preparations of the mixture as this decides if you are going to get a nice fluffy cake... or a dense pancake kind of snack. So read the instructions and try to stick to them as much as possible.

Swedish Peach Cheesecake 4 Portions

(Per serving: 247 Cal, 10g Fat (2.5 Saturated), 15g Carbs, 25g Protein)

400g Low Fat Cottage Cheese

2 Eggs

75 ml Non Fat Milk

100 ml Raw Almond Kernels

2 Tbsp Splenda

2 Tbsp Wheat Flour

1 Pinch Xanhtan gum

4 Half Peaches in Juice

(Almond essence and Cinnamon)

Margarine and Breadcrumbs for lining the tin.

Put the owen on 225 degrees.

Use an almond grinder to grind the almonds to a flour then mix together with the rest of the dry ingredients. Mix well before grinding the mixture once more to get a smoother mixture. Put to the side. Put the cottage cheese, milk, egg yolks and (almond essence) in a blender and mix until smooth.

Rub the inside of the tin used (1 large or 4 small) with margarine. Then cover the sides in breadcrumbs before gently shake the excess off. Beat the egg whites until stiff.

Start by mixing the dry flour mixture with the cottage cheese mixture. Blend well before gentle fold down the beaten egg whites. Spoon a thin layer of mixture into the tin(s) then place a half a peach on top. Cover the peaches with the rest of the mixture and sprinkle some cinnamon on top.

Put into the middle of the owen for about 30 min for small shapes and 60 min for a large one. If the cake gets enough color cover with tin foil and continue bake until done. The aim is to get the peach to hover in the mixture. This way you keep at the moisture of from the peaches.

Once done, take the cake out and let cool before removing the tin. If you trying to remove the tin right away the cake will collapse. Sprinkle some splenda on top. Serve lukewarm.

Tip: Make sure to use Splenda or any other sucralose sweetener as Aspartame (Equal) breaks down during prolonged heat and taste bitter.

Labels: cooking, Diet, nutrition, recipe

Saturday Night Dinner

Tonight I have decided to stay at home really feel for something different for dinner. I went down to the supermarket and found a great piece of organic eye fillet. I decided that red wine was a must for a steak like that. Here is a dinner which despite the one glass of red wine stay under 500 calories. Awesome!

Portobello Stack with Grilled Eye Fillet and Red Wine Juice - 2 portions

(459Cal, 15g fat, 12g Carbs, 39g Protein, (16g Alcohol/112Cal))

4 large Portobello mushrooms

1 Red Capsicum

12 slices of Coppa (Prosciutto if you can't find it)

1 Tbsp Olive oil (Porcini infused if possible)

6 large leafs Rocket

300g Eye Fillet

2-4 Garlic Cloves

6-8 Schalotts

300 ml Red Wine (+150ml to drink)

Salt/Pepper

Start with cleaning the mushrooms and vegetables. Brush them with the oil and grill in the owen on 225 degrees until baked throughout (15-20 min). Heat up a grill-pan. Spray the meat lightly with olive oil spray then salt and pepper. Grill the meat on high heat. Make sure not to over cook the steak. Put the steak to rest wrapped in tin foil.

Rinse out the pan with the red wine and let the alcohol evaporate. Reduce to half volume and put to the side. Place the rocket leafs on the plate as a base then layer the portobello mushrooms with the coppa and grilled red capsicum. Place the schalotts and garlic cloves together with the steak on the side.

Before serving pour a couple of table spoons of the red wine juice over the meat. Enjoy with a glass of nice red wine.

Labels: food, nutrition, recipe

Swedish Meatballs

Since I got back from my vacation in New Zealand I have been trying to be good with my diet as I put on a bit of weight during the silly season. As they say "shit happens".

The other day I decided that I would cook something I used to cook for my family in Sweden. Here is a slightly modified version of the very first meatballs I learnt to cook. My mother used to use a mix between pork and beef mince as this gives more "flavor" but as it also increase the fat content a lot I have used a heart tick approved beef mince to allow myself to use more olive oil to make the linguini really smooth.

Garlic Linguini w Swedish Meatballs - 4 Port

(Per Serving: 472Cal - 15g Fat, 42g Carbs, 40g Protein)

600 g Lean Beef Mince

500 g Linguini Cooked

1 pc Medium Egg

2 tbsp Skim milk

30 g Bread Crumbs

4 tsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil

4-6 tbsp Finely Chopped Parsley

250 g Cocktail Tomatoes

200 ml Chopped Garlic Shoots

2 pc Garlic Cloves

Salt/Pepper

Mix the egg, breadcrumbs, milk and some salt and pepper in a big bowl. Put this to the side meanwhile you boil up a large pot of water together with 1-2 tsp of salt. Mix the beef mince together with the breadcrumb mixture and shape the meatballs. When the water is boiling, add the pasta. Fry the meatballs in 1 tsp of the olive oil. Once they are almost done, add 50ml of water and braise them until the water has evaporated. Keep the meatballs warm meanwhile you drain the pasta. Use the pasta pot and add the rest of the olive oil, parsley, pressed garlic, salt and pepper. Once this mixture has a golden color add the pasta and re-heat. As you serve the pasta and the meatballs give the garlic shoots and cocktail tomatoes a quick turn in the same pot to heat up as well take up some of the garlic flavor.

Pasta got a bad reputation in media lately. In my opinion this is due to the distorted portion sizing we have and most people doesn't know how big a serving of pasta should be. Also choose as dense pasta as possible as this means a lower GI. Enjoy the pasta but if you have a "Lady & The Tramp" night, make sure to ease off on the garlic...

Labels: cooking, nutrition, recipe

Pan Fried Barramundi

After the great seafood I had a the aussieBum Christmas party I decided to give you a taste of a classical meal that with some modifications can fit into a healthy, nutritious and tasty eating plan. Pan fried fish battered in bread crumbs and parmesan cheese.

After the 90's low fat hype many people stayed away from fat all together which is equally as bad as eating too much. A general guideline is to eat as many grams fat as body weight in kilos. Make sure that the fat you eat comes from good sources such as nuts, seeds, avocado, fatty fish and most vegetable oils. Avocado oil which I use in this recipe is not only healthy but also add some lime flavor to the fish.

Parmesan Battered Barramundi With Taste of Lime (3 Port)

Per Serve: 469 Cal, 18g Fat (3g saturated), 36g Carbohydrate, 40g Protein

430g Barramundi fillets

120g Large Prawns (Tails on)

30g Bread crumbs

15g Finely grated Parmesan cheese

Salt/Pepper

4 Tsp Avocado oil with lime infusion

300g Cocktail potatos

450g Baby Carrots

Lemon and Fresh Dill

Boil the potato until tender. Use a steamer to steam the carrots on top of the potatoes for the last 10 minutes. Pour of the water and spray lightly with olive oil spray, then add some salt. Meanwhile the potato and carrot are cooking prepare the fish.

Clean the fillets and pat them dry with paper towels. Grate the parmesan cheese with a microplane and mix with bread crumbs, salt and pepper. Turn the fish into the mixture and let rest on a dry plate. Butterfly the prawns (Cut lengthwise over the back, halfway through) and turn these in the mixture as well.

Add half the avocado oil in a good teflon coated frying pan and fry the barramundi on medium heat until golden. As you flip the fish add the second half of the avocado oil and fry equally golden. Turn up the heat and fry the prawns until they curl up nicely and turn golden. Make sure not to over cook the prawns.

Place the boiled cocktail potatoes and the carrots onto the plate, top with the barramundi and fried prawns. Finish of the meal with a slice of lemon and fresh dill.

Simple, nutritious and divine...

Labels: cooking, nutrition

Nutritious and delicious...

After a couple of weeks with less training and more food I am now back on track with a more calculated diet. I have put on a bit of weight over the last few weeks which necessarily isn't a bad thing. To be able to stay fit and lean year round both your mind and you body needs a break now and then.

As I have a good cooking background and love my food I have never understood the chicken, rice and broccoli diet... sure it might "work" but I believe in a variety of food that taste great is the way to go. Here is last nights dinner... who know, you might want to give it a go.

Veal Rack with sweet-potato, beet root and green pepper sauce (4 port)

(471 calories, 41g Protein, 54g Carbohydrate and 11g Fat per serving)

800g Veal Rack (Lean and all fat trimmed away)

600g Sweet Potato

600g Beet root

Salt and Olive oil Spray

Marinade

2 Tbsp Olive oil

2 Tbsp Lemon Juice

2 Tbsp Soy sauce

Salt/Pepper/Ground Sage

Green Pepper Sauce

2 Tsp Wheat flour

200 ml Beef or Veal Stock

100 ml Skim Milk

2 Tsp of canned green peppercorn

Marinate the meat in for a minimum 30 min, over night is ideal. Put the oven on 200 degrees and scrub the sweet potato and beet root well. Spray lightly with olive oil spray and salt after taste.

Before throwing the roast into the oven make sure to brown all sides of the roast in a deep pan together with some of the marinade oil. This will seal the meat so you will get a juicy and tender roast. Put the deep pan aside but do not clean as this will be the base to the sauce.

Bring out the roasting dish and cut a onion in quarters and spread the pieces in one end. This is where you place the roast so that it doesn't have direct contact with the roasting dish itself as this will make the meat over cook in the bottom. Then spread the sweet potato and beet root on the other side of the dish. Last thing is to cover the ribs/bones with aluminum foil. The bones leads the heat and will over-cook the meat next to these.

Veal is perfect pink at 60 degrees temperature. You could either make it a guess around 30-40 minute mark or get yourself a meat thermometer and get a perfect roast every time. The choice is yours. Once 60 degrees is reached take out the roast and let rest for 10 minutes wrapped in tinfoil. The temperature will continue rising to 61-62 degrees which is perfect. Turn up the oven to 225-250 degrees to get a crisp surface on the roasted vegetables and start making the green pepper sauce.

Put the deep pan that you used to seal the meat on a hot plate, add 2 tsp wheat flour to the fat and stir as it heats up. Then add the green peppercorns and pour the stock into the pan. Let simmer until reduced to half amount. Add the skim milk and whatever meat juice that has leaked from the roast. Simmer up once more. If the sauce is too thick add more milk and if too light shake another 1-2 tsp wheat flour in 50 ml of cold milk and pour into the sauce. Simmer for another 5 minutes to get rid of any "flour taste".

Cut up the roast and you are ready to enjoy...

Labels: food, nutrition, recipe

Sunday roast

Sunday, a day that for the last couple of years been my “day off”. The day when I spend most of my day doing very little. Breakfast in bed, coffee with friends and dining out.

This weekend I decided to do something I haven’t done for a long time. A traditional sunday roast. Four spatchcocks in the oven, pumpkin and asparagus in the steamer and of a good bottle of red wine. I was ready to relax. I had forgotten how much I actually enjoyed cooking. The smell of roast dinner spread through the apartment building. I felt good making the effort of cooking up a nice, nutritious dinner.

I wasn’t trying to make this dinner “healthy” as there was full cream in the gravy and a good amount parmesan in the stuffing but I think that real home cooked dinners are underestimated both from a culinary and nutritional point of view.

If more people learnt to cook basic foods from scratch rather than using all those processed foods that most of us eat today, if people sat down to eat rather than throwing down a pre made lunch in the matter of minutes I am sure that we would have a healthier and less over weight Australia. Sound nutrition is not about cutting out any foods but to understand and balance the foods you eat. Everything in moderation is what nutrition is all about. Sure I wouldn’t eat creamy sauces and drink wine everyday but now and then they still have a part in my diet.

Labels: cooking, Diet, nutrition

The choice is yours...

You always have a choice. How easy is it to make the right once?

The other morning I had an early start. At 5 am my alarm clock went off and I made myself ready to get my cardio done. After breakfast and a shower I headed of to work in a rush. I stopped at a cafe to get a coffee and a snack for later on. Normally I would have planned my day better and already have pre maid meal in my bag but this morning was one of those mornings when the bed seemed so much more tempting than normal and I ran out of time.

Facing the limited choices of food at this particular cafe made me realize how hard it is to do the right choices. I had pies, sausage rolls, pastry or a shiny pink glazed doughnut in front of me, neither that caught my attention. Each one of these most likely contains half my daily

intake of fat and way more calories than I really should have for morning tea. For a “healthier” options there where banana bread and low fat muffins which still contains 300-400 refined calories.

Sure, there is good choices out there, but how hard are they to find? My choice for this morning was to wait with morning tea until later on when I could get my hands on some almonds and a piece of fruit.

Education is the base in making a lifestyle change and to find out where you are going wrong I recommend all my clients to have a look at www.calorieking.com.au and search their favorite foods to learn what choices to make. Then at least we know what foods to eat. Next step will be to locate the better options.

Labels: Diet, food, nutrition