Cook Healthy

We’ll let you in on a little secret — fries can be healthy too. No, seriously. The best news we’ve heard so far this year is sweet potato fries, which taste — hands down — just as delicious as their less-healthy counterparts. Loaded with beta carotene, vitamins, minerals, and fibre, sweet potato fries give you a nutritional punch as well as great flavour. Step up your sweet potato fries game up a few notches with the addition of peanut butter, dark chocolate, pomegranates, and coconut whipped cream with Minimalist Baker’s sweet potato fries recipe. Want, or rather need, more sweet potato goodness in your life? Try this mashed sweet potatoes, a tasty alternative to the regular mash.

Love avocados? And a fan of the green Australian juice bar? Then you’ll absolutely love this Blueberry and Avocado Smoothie recipe — quite literally, a frozen masterpiece. Frozen blueberries and avocados make for a refreshing, naturally sweet dessert, perfect for a sweltering hot afternoon. Blueberries add the sweet, fruity flavour and avocado is the key behind the creamy, smooth texture of this healthy smoothie. Want more of such recipes? Check out these 6 simple smoothie recipes. This recipe uses the Kenwood Blend-Xtract Sport Smoothie Maker and personal blender. If you’re looking for a boost of energy before your workout, this versatile blender will be your go-to grab-and-go solution! This Blueberry and Avocado Smoothie recipe yields about one tall cup. Good luck having just one, though!    '

A healthy chicken meal that takes less than 30 minutes? It’s possible when you tuck in a vibrant mix of sweet potatoes and broccoli with chicken breasts — a one-pan meal wonder! Garlic, rosemary, paprika, salt and pepper are all you need to make the flavours in the chicken pop. If you happen to have cherry tomatoes, they make a brilliant addition as they sweeten and caramelise in the most delightful way when cooked in the pan. Got cherries, cranberries or raisins? Toss them in and let the flavours dance and skittle on the pan. If you haven't got chicken breasts, chicken fillets work as well! This recipe uses sweet potatoes and broccoli, but feel free to customise the meal with asparagus, cauliflower, corn or even red onions!

While the concept of eating clean might be appealing, the hassle of creating a healthy meal from scratch might turn some away. When it comes to creating a clean and green meal, salads are your best friend. Easy, quick and chock full of goodness, a good hearty salad is a fuss-free way of getting your daily nutrients while keeping you satiated. To get you started, here are a few refreshing salad recipes that you can toss-up in a jiffy, and give you the wholesome meal you’ve been dreaming of.

3-Ingredient Mediterranean Salad (By The Mediterranean Dish)

Refreshing, clean and delicious, this recipe only requires 3 ingredients, giving you a quick fresh salad with parsley and light lemon dressing. Straight out of the Eastern Mediterranean kitchen, this traditional dish is called the Salata, and is where salads like fattoush and tabouli derive inspiration from.

• 6 Roma tomatoes, diced (about 3 cups diced tomatoes)
• 1 Large English cucumber (or hot-house cucumber), diced
• 1/2 to 3/4 packed cup/ 15 to 20 g chopped fresh parsley leaves
• Salt, to taste
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1 tsp ground Sumac
• 2 t

We get it, it's hard to make your kids love eating their greens. But fibre is an important part of any diet, especially for young children! Fret not, as vegetables don't always have to be bland and boring. With this vegetarian pizza, we'll guarantee your little ones will gobble down slice after slice.

There are many ways to cook a delicious fish – you can fry it, poach it, and even grind it into a paste for fish skewers or fish cakes. Steaming it, however, remains a popular method of cooking fish, particularly among Asian households, as it brings out the fish’s naturally sweet flavour while retaining the flesh’s soft and flaky texture. This cooking method is also relatively easy for beginners and a good option if you’re pinched for time. You don’t even need to filet the fish – in fact, it is often served whole. All you need to do is to remove the scales and its innards, which oftentimes, your fishmonger will see to. It cooks quickly in a steamer, or on top of a wire rack placed in a wok filled with a little boiling water. It is also a very healthy way of cooking fish, as virtually no oil or fat is used. But not all types of fish are suitable for steaming. Whitefish is most suitable for steaming – popular choices include snapper, grouper, halibut, cod and trout. Salmon works for some recipes, too. The most popular style of steaming fish is Chinese style, which is to flavour it with soy sauce, sliced chilli, spring onion and coriander. This recipe requires very fresh fish – live fish is best, but if you can’t get your hands on one, you need to know what signs to look out for when it comes to choosing fresh fish. Fresh fish have bright, clear eyes and red gills. It should have a mild smell – a strong fishy smell means the fish has been sitting out for too long. Still, even the freshest fish will have a slight fishy odour. To remove the odour, douse the fish in rice wine before cooking, and use generous amounts of garlic and ginger. Or instead, a dash of lime or lemon as a fish “cleanse” during steaming. Here's a recipe for Chinese-style steamed fish adapted from Woks of Life. Tip: Use an oval or oblong plate for steaming, so you don’t have to transfer a fragile steamed fish from wok or steamer to a

Meat from chicken breast and thigh are ground together and then stuffed with smoked turkey ham and good melting cheese. These rolls are then breaded and shallow fried until golden and juicy. A classic demi-glaze sauce is a perfect compliment for this Christmas dinner dish!

Nachos don’t have to be an unhealthy snack anymore! This loaded sweet potato nachos dish is even tastier than the classic ones and will transform your movie nights. Experiment with your favourite toppings to create a delicious, healthy 20-minute dish that can be a great appetiser, movie snack or kid-friendly meal.

This soup makes a perfect starter for Christmas dinners, it is the explosion of flavour in this recipe that is so exciting – the use of carrots and cashew-nuts provides the sweetness and a thick, creamy consistency, while roasted chili and spices provide an extra dimension for the taste buds. This recipe uses KENWOOD kFLEX. Serves 2.

Although commonly used as birdseed, millet was widely consumed in Asia, Africa and Europe in ancient times. Millet can be prepared a number of ways; a porridge for breakfast, salad tossed with other vegetables, mixed into baked goods, and as an alternative to rice, potatoes and even couscous. Here, light and fluffy millet is tossed with generous amounts of chopped herbs and studded with sultanas, pine nuts and crumbled feta. This salad is so good it can hold its own or be served together with grilled meats or cubes of marinated tofu. Wrapped in thin slices of grilled eggplant and served with yogurt sauce, pomegranate, a herb salad and a drizzle of good cold-pressed olive oil, these involtini will make an elegant entrée for your next dinner party. For a hot and comforting dinner, serve these eggplant involtini along with a rich tomato sauce and perhaps some extra cheese. This dish is so complete with textures and flavours that it will not fail to satisfy a discerning vegetarian, or one who is new to the game.