Low GI Recipes of the Month

Our chef Kate Hemphill develops deliciously simple recipes for GI News that showcase seasonal ingredients and make it easy for you to cook healthy, low GI meals and snacks. For more of Kate’s fabulous fare, check out: www.lovetocook.co.uk. For now, prepare and share good food with family and friends.

Kate Hemphill

Udon noodle stir-fry with curry and coconut
Stir-fries are generally just a combination of whatever’s in the fridge. Feel free to add whatever vegetables you like to this. The problem with a lot of stir-fries is that they are overcooked. Here’s a tip. To avoid doing this, keep the heat fairly high and the ingredients moving in the pan and as soon as they’re cooked, slide them into a bowl and eat straight away.
Serves 2-3

1/2 brown onion, finely chopped or grated
1 tablespoon medium or madras curry powder
1 tablespoon (30 ml) vegetable oil
1 large skinless chicken breast, halved horizontally and cut into pieces
8 heads of bok choy or choy sum, washed, trimmed and cut into 5cm pieces
100 g (31/2 oz) sugar snap peas, cut in half on the diagonal
200 g (7 oz) udon or Shangahi noodles
¾ cup (180 ml) light coconut milk (or coconut flavoured light evaporated milk to reduce the saturated fat)
handful of fresh coriander leaves, to garnish

• Heat a wok over medium heat and add onion. Stir for one minute, then add curry powder and vegetable oil to make a paste. Add the chicken pieces and continue to stir while cooking. After 3–4 minutes, add the vegetables, and after another 3 minutes, add the noodles and coconut milk. Keep the ingredients moving in the pan
• Season to taste and top with coriander leaves, you might want to add some Asian chilli sauce at this point if you like a bit of heat.

Per serve (based on 3 servings)
2507 kJ/597 calories; 49 g protein; 17 g fat (includes 3.7 g saturated fat); 58 g carbohydrate; 6.4 g fibre

Avocado, sesame and sumac quinoa in baby gem leaves
This is a nice healthy and very versatile dish that can be eaten for lunch (you’d need a couple of leaves), or served as a canapé – it is easy finger food – when entertaining indoors or out. You can also stuff a pita pocket with the quinoa mix for a substantial sandwich or eat it on its own as a grainy salad side dish with a main meal.

Quinoa

Makes 16 lettuce ‘cups’

300 g quinoa, cooked and drained
1 avocado, diced into 1 cm (1/2 inch) pieces
4 spring onions, finely sliced
2 teaspoons sesame oil
2 teaspoons soy sauce
¼ cup (4 tablespoons) lemon juice
2 tablespoons (30 ml) extra virgin olive oil
2 heads of baby gem lettuce (16 leaves), washed and drained
sesame seeds, to serve
sumac, to serve

• Place the quinoa in a bowl and combine with the avocado, spring onions, sesame oil, soy, lemon juice and oil and season to taste. Spoon into lettuce leaves and sprinkle with sesame seeds and a little sumac.

Per lettuce cup
358 kJ/85 calories; 1.4 g protein; 6.7 g fat (includes 1 g saturated fat); 5 g carbohydrate; 1 g fibre