Healthy south Indian chana masala

Hey guys this recipe is one of my all time favourite indian vegetarian dishes. I have posted the step by step guide with photos and recipes of my south Indian version of healthy chana masala. 
Why chana masala? 
This is something i enjoy making at home because its not time consuming and you cant really go wrong with the combined taste between chickpeas, spices and curry. The dish is filling, hearty and dependable.  
This recipe tastes just like the Chana Masala you’d get in a famous Indian restaurant but the best part is it’s super healthy for you! It doesn’t use any cream or butter it’s 100% vegan and gluten free. It’s rich and flavorful with just the right amount of heat and spice.Traditionally Chana Masala has quite a bit of oil in it anyway, but without that, it can actually be a very healthy and well rounded dish

Directions

Step 1: Heat a large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat.
Add the oil and red onion and cook,
stirring frequently until it is deeply caramelized.
Reduce the heat to low.

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Step 2: Add the garlic, cumin seeds, coriander, ginger,
gram masala and cardamom pods, and fry them,
stirring constantly, until the cumin seeds pop and
the spices are fragrant and toasty, about 30 seconds.

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Step 3: Pour in the juice and the tomatoes from the can 
and crush them in the pot with a potato masher. 
Add the salt and the potatoes.
 

 

 

Step 4:  Raise the heat to medium-high, and bring the pot to a boil
Reduce the heat to medium, add the cilantro and cayenne,
and all of the rest of the spices, and simmer the sauce until it
reduces a bit and begins to thicken. Add the chickpeas,
and stir to combine.

Step 5: Keep simmering the curry on low until the chickpeas
and potatoes soften (about 30 minutes). Once the sauce thickens
and reduces down a bit, it will look like this.

 

                                                                         





Step 6: Serve and topwith  coriande.

 
Ingredients

• 1/2 – 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 medium red onion, coarsely chopped
• 3-4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 1/2 tsp ground coriander
• 1/4 tsp ground ginger (or 1 Tbsp minced fresh ginger)
• 1 tsp gram masala
• 4-5 cardamom pods, lightly crushed
• 1 28-ounce can whole peeled tomatoes
• 1 tsp kosher salt, or to taste
• 1 Tbs cilantro leaves, roughly torn, plus more for garnish
• 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper, or to taste
• 1 tsp cumin powder
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 2 15-ounce cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 4-5 baby red potatoes, diced
• 6-8 Tbs plain non fat Greek yogurt, optional

Yield: 6 servings

Calories per serving: 227

Fat per serving: 3.3g

Nutritional Info Per Serving: 227 Calories, 3.3g Fat, 430.2mg Sodium, 44.2g Carbs, 7.3g Fiber, 7.5g Sugar, 9.9g Protein

ASIAN CHICKEN SALAD WITH GINGER SESAME DRESSING

Hey guys this my new post on how to make Asian chicken salad with touch of a ginger and sesame dressing. All instructions and recipes on how to make the dish is included in this post. Its really a tasty and healthy dish hope this works for you guys!
This dish is a combination of cabbage and cilantro mixed with crunchy carrots, bell peppers and snap peas all tossed in a delicious ginger sesame vinaigrette that has me so completely addicted, but whatever the case, this salad is pretty banging.  I usually like to make a big batch of this dressing to keep on hand in the fridge because, trust me, it’s THAT good, and I even like to marinate the chicken with it to add to the salad!  Simply chop up your cabbage, toss all in all your veggies and grill up the chicken.  It’s that easy!  Really you can add whatever veggies you like, I promise you can’t mess this up.  Feel free to add a variation of lettuce such as romaine, kale or spinach so you can get your greens in or you can always just leave it as is.  This really is my go-to salad that I love to make during the week for lunches. 

I do want to take a moment and share with you my obsession with fresh ginger.  Please do not use boring ground ginger that you can find on any given spice rack in this dressing.  Of course that would work too, but the taste will be completely different and the benefits of fresh ginger are really just too good to pass up!  Not only is fresh ginger good for your tummy and digestive tract, but it’s also great for your metabolism and, well, it just tastes so dang good!  

    Hope you all enjoy this salad and please let me know what other posts/recipes you’d like to see on the blog!       Any inspiration would be much appreciated!

INSTRUCTIONS

1. In a large bowl, combine cabbage, shredded carrots, snap peas, baby corn, bean sprouts, red bell pepper, green onions and fresh cilantro. Set aside.
2. To make the dressing - Using a blender or food processor, combine rice vinegar, soy sauce, garlic clove, honey and fresh ginger and pulse to combine. With the motor running, slowly add the olive oil in a steady stream and continue blending until mixture is creamy.
3. Using a meat pounder (or empty bottle), pound out the chicken breasts to a uniform thickness. Place chicken breasts in a plastic bag and add 2 tablespoons of the salad dressing. Make sure the chicken is completely coated and allow chicken to marinate for 30 minutes to an hour.
4. To make the chicken - Pre-heat a grill pan or an outdoor grill on medium-high heat and add marinated chicken breasts. Sprinkle with a little salt and pepper and cook chicken about 4 to 5 minutes on each side until juices run clear. Transfer chicken to a cutting board and let rest for 15 minutes before cutting. This keeps them juicy!
5. Add cut up chicken to the salad and toss with the dressing OR keep dressing in a jar and distribute salad with chicken to 4 individual containers for lunches that week. Enjoy!

INGREDIENTS

• 4 cups napa cabbage, chopped
• 2 cups red cabbage, chopped
• ½ cup shredded carrots
• ½ cup snap peas
• ⅓ cup baby corn
• ⅓ cup bean sprouts
• 1 red bell pepper, sliced
• 4 green onions, chopped
• ½ cup fresh cilantro, chopped
• 2 chicken breasts, pounded out
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• For the dressing:
• 2 Tbsp rice vinegar
• 1 Tbsp light soy sauce
• 1 clove garlic
• 1 Tbsp honey
• 1 Tbsp fresh ginger, peeled and minced
• ¼ tsp. toasted sesame oil
• ¼ cup olive oil

NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION

Serving Size: 2 cups of salad, 2 Tbsp of dressing + ½ chicken breast • Calories: 282 • Fat: 16.2 g • Carbs: 18 g • Fiber: 3.8 g • Protein: 16.3 g • WW Points+: 5 pts

     Tuna sweetcorn burgers

Method

1. Whizz the bread in a food processor to crumbs, tip into a bowl, then whizz half the sweetcorn until finely chopped. Add the chopped corn, remaining whole corn, tuna, cheese, spring onions and some seasoning into the bowl with the bread and mix well. Add the egg, bit by bit (you may not need it all), until the mixture is sticky enough to be shaped into four even-size burgers.
2. Heat the oil in a non-stick pan, then cook the burgers for 5 mins on each side until golden and hot through the middle. Stuff into wholemeal buns with your favourite lettuce and a good dollop of salsa.

Ingredients 

85 g white bread, torn into pieces
198g can of sweeetcorn
2 cans of tuna (princess)
25g grated cheddar
3 spring oninons
1 beaten egg
2 tbsp of vegetable oil
wholegrain bread rolls, lettuce, salsa to serve with

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     Zucchini Noodles made with lemon and garlic spicy shrimp 

Today it's finally starting to feel like spring! Before you know it summer will be here. I've been concern about my unhealthy eating instead eating unhealthy food with lots of fats then going to gym to burn the fat instead I could eat healthy and reduce working hard in gym. Eating unhealthy and working out in gym does not have any potential benefits it’s pointless so it’s great to start the workout in in the kitchen first so now that winter is over I have been cutting down on my carbs and making my calories count. 

So I decided to make the spicy shrimp with garlic, zucchini noodles, tomatoes and a squeeze of lemon juice I enjoyed making this Easy low-carb, gluten-free and paleo-friendly dish for lunch. In this dish instead of using pasta I swapped it for zucchini noodles. It’s easier to make zucchini noodles using vegetable slicer as this can also help to cut sweet potato spirals, carrot ribbons and more!

 

 I find that the trick with zucchini is to not overcook it. Zucchinis are naturally pretty watery and if you cook them down too much, they turn into watery mush. This applies to all zucchini, but especially so with zucchini noodles. They really don’t need too much heat, all you want to do is soften them a bit. Zucchini noodles work awesome in this recipe but you can also use pasta instead. I found this gem of a recipe in last month’s skinny taste web site which happens to be one of my favourite sources for inspiration. The original recipe called for linguine and squid, but I swapped both out for zoodles and shrimps.

 

Directions

Step 1

Heat a medium non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Add 1 teaspoon of the oil and crush red pepper flakes, add the shrimp and season with pinch salt and pepper; cook 2 to 3 minutes. Add half of the garlic and continue cooking 1 more minute, or until the shrimp is cooked through and opaque. Set aside on a dish.

Step 2

Add the remaining 1/2 teaspoon oil and garlic to the pan, cook 30 seconds then add the zucchini noodles and cook 1 1/2 minutes. Add the shrimp and tomatoes to the pan and squeeze the lemon over the dish. Remove from heat and serve.

Ingredients

·         1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil

·         pinch crushed red pepper flakes

·         4 oz peeled and deveined shrimp

·         2 cloves garlic, sliced thin and divided

·         1 medium zucchini, spiralled

·         pinch salt and fresh black pepper

·         1/4 lemon

·         1/4 cup halved grape tomatoes

Zucchini Noodles (Zoodles) with Lemon-Garlic Spicy Shrimp 

Servings: 1 • Size: 1 zucchini + shrimp • Points +: 6 pts • Smart Points: 8

Calories: 235.5 • Fat: 9 g • Carb: 14.5 g • Fibre: 4 g • Protein: 25 g • Sugar: 4 g

Sodium: 179 mg (without salt) • Cholesterol: 173 g

Kale juice

 In this post i am going to share something that really makes me passionate about It’s no secret that kale is good for you and the whole idea of juicing is certainly not new to us either. I always have  been a typical man who loves his meat,  chicken wings and pretty much anything with cheese…..I mean if I'm  being honest, vegetables were never at the top of my "must-have” food items.  However eating lots of vegetable can help you maintain good health. 

Eating Kale on its own of course has amazing benefits, but it’s sometimes hard for people to eat because of its texture and bitter taste.  Juicing kale is perfect because you can sneak it into almost anything giving you all those vitamins and nutrients for your body to absorb in its raw state so  adding  a lemon or lime to the juice (or even pineapple) to cut any bitterness and it’s great because you can’t taste the kale.

Instructions 

First wash the fruits and veggies, leave the kale leaves and celery as is, these can go in your juicer whole. Chop your green apples and pears in half with the skins on it but make sure to remove the seeds. Cut the lime in half and feel free to leave the rind on , the juicer blender will do the rest of the job. Finally put everything into the juicer and watch the trick happens! Mix it well and put it in the fridge to drink it with a cold temperature. 

Ingredients 

6 leaves of kale (bunch) 
2 stalks celery 
2 green apples 
2 pears 
1 lime 

Nutritional information 

Serving size: 8oz 
Calories: 168
Fat: 1.5 g 
Carb: 46.5 g 
Fiber: 1.2 g

Spanish style egg with spinach and tomatoes 

Today's dish that I'm going to introduce will be an quick and easy way to eat healthy. This is a perfect dish designed with a delicious combination of flavors and the best part of the dish is that you only need just four ingredients, five minutes to prepare and fifteen minutes to cook which means it will be handy for people who want to eat healthy and  don't have enough time for cooking. Easy peasy and absolutely lovely!

Ingredients

100g spinach
400g chopped tomatoes
1 tsb chilli flakes
4 eggs

Direction

Step 1 
Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Put the spinach into a colander, then pour over a kettle of boiling water to wilt the leaves. Squeeze out excess water and divide between 4 small ovenproof dishes.

Step 2 
Mix the tomatoes with the chilli flakes and some seasoning, then add to the dishes with the spinach. Make a small well in the centre of each and crack in an egg. Bake for 12-15 mins or more depending on how you like your eggs. Serve with crusty bread.