IN THE GI NEWS KITCHEN

STICKS, SEEDS, PODS AND LEAVES 
Kate contributed the recipes to Ian Hemphill’s best-selling Spice and Herb Bible. You will find more of her recipes on the Herbies spices website. Or you can follow her on Instagram (@herbieskitchen).

Kate uses Herbies spices and blends in her cooking, but you can substitute with what you have on hand in your pantry.

APPLE AND ALMOND OVERNIGHT OATS WITH CHIA SEEDS 
Based on a bircher muesli recipe, these oats are a delicious, ready-made breakfast to kickstart the day. Herbie’s Fragrant Sweet Spices blend contains coriander seed, cassia, cinnamon quills, nutmeg, allspice, ginger, poppy seeds, cloves, cardamom and rose petals. Quick steel cut oats (Uncle Toby’s) have a low GI (53). • Prep time: 10 mins • Refrigerate: 12 hours (overnight) • Serves: 6

2 cups quick steel-cut oats
¼ cup white chia seeds
1½ cups cloudy apple juice
2 cups reduced fat milk (or almond milk)
1 granny smith apple, grated
1 tsp Herbies Fragrant Sweet Spices

Topping
1 granny smith apple, cut into matchsticks
½ cup slivered almonds
½ cup flaked coconut
Honey (optional)
Plain Greek yoghurt

Combine the oats, chia seeds, apple juice, milk, grated apple and spices in a bowl and mix well. • Place in an airtight container and refrigerate overnight. • Serve topped with apple matchsticks, almonds and coconut, a drizzle of honey if using and a dollop of yoghurt.

Per serve (with milk) 
1395kJ/335 calories; 11g protein; 16g fat (includes 4g saturated fat; saturated : unsaturated fat ratio 0.5); 32g available carbs (includes 16g sugars and 16g starches); 8g fibre; 63mg sodium; 504mg potassium; sodium : potassium ratio 0.13

CHRISSY FREER’S FOOD WITH ADDED LIFE 
As a qualified nutritionist, Chrissy’s philosophy is simple: limit the amount of processed food in your diet and focus on whole foods. “By returning to eating whole foods, that is foods in their most natural state, we allow our bodies to benefit from all the available nutrients that food can provide.” Steer clear of food fads and miracle cures, if it sounds too good to be true then it probably is!

CHIA-CRUSTED SALMON WITH STIR-FRIED ASIAN GREENS AND TAMARI DRESSING
Chia seeds are a great alternative to breadcrumb crusts (and are gluten free). Combining them with and salmon ensures this meal is packed with essential fatty acids. It’s also packed with the goodness of Asian greens. Stir frying or lightly steaming these greens is the best way to preserve their nutrients and flavour. Prep: 10 minutes • Cook 10 • Serves 4

2 tbsp white chia seeds
2 tbsp black chia seeds
4 x 150g (5oz) skinless salmon fillets
2 bunches choy sum, washed and trimmed
2 tbsp sunflower oil 3
cm (1½in) piece ginger, peeled and julienned
2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
Tamari Dressing
2 tbsp oyster sauce
2 tbsp tamari
1 tbsp Chinese rice wine
1 tsp caster sugar

Combine white and black chia seeds on a plate. Press each salmon fillet in the chia seeds to evenly coat one side, then set aside. • Remove the stems from the choy sum, cut in half if long and reserve. To make the tamari dressing, put all the ingredients in a small bowl and stir to dissolve the sugar. • Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a large non-stick frying pan over high heat. Cook the salmon, chia side down, for 2–3 minutes or until golden. Turn and cook for a further 2 minutes (for medium), or until cooked to your liking. Set aside and keep warm. • Meanwhile, heat the remaining oil in a large wok or frying pan over high heat. Add the ginger and garlic and stir fry for 30 seconds. Add the choy sum stems and stir fry for 1–2 minutes, then add the choy sum leaves and stir fry for 1 minute more or until almost wilted. Add half the dressing and toss to combine. • To serve, divide the choy sum between serving plates, top each with a piece of salmon and drizzle over a little of the remaining dressing. •Serve with steamed noodles or rice.

Per serve (without rice or noodles) 
1919kJ/457 calories; 38g protein; 30g fat (includes 5g saturated fat; saturated : unsaturated fat ratio 0.56); 5g available carbs (includes 5g sugars and 0g starches); 4g fibre; 560mg sodium; 630mg potassium; sodium : potassium ratio 0.89

INDIAN SCRAMBLED EGGS 
Delicious for breakfast or brunch, spicy scrambled eggs with mushrooms makes a tasty light meal any time of day. Portabella mushrooms (sometimes spelled Portobello) are larger than the regular white mushroom with an almost meaty texture and the perfect partner topping scrambled eggs on low GI Burgen toast. As dietitian Glenn Cardwell reminded us in GI News, “mushroom eaters get many health benefits (one serve provides more than 20% of our daily needs of the essential nutrients riboflavin, niacin, pantothenic acid, biotin, copper and selenium)”. Recipe courtesy Total Wellbeing Diet’s new Protein Balance program. Prep 5 mins •Cook 10 mins • Serves 1

1 tsp olive oil
2 Portabella mushrooms, sliced (60g/2oz)
2 garlic cloves, sliced (optional)
cooking oil spray
2 x 60g/2oz eggs
¼ cup milk
1 tsp turmeric
½ teaspoon cumin seeds
25g (¾oz) cheddar cheese
1 tbsp coriander leaves
1 slice low GI Burgen bread, toasted

Heat olive oil in a small frypan over medium-high heat. Cook mushrooms and garlic for 2–3 minutes or until golden. Set aside. •Whisk together eggs and milk in a jug. •Heat a small frypan over medium heat and spray with cooking oil. Add turmeric and cumin seeds and toast for 1 minute or until fragrant. Pour in egg mixture and grate over cheese. Once eggs are set around the edges, begin to fold egg mixture over itself until almost cooked. • Serve scrambled eggs and mushrooms on toast topped with coriander leaves.

Per serve
1884kJ/451 calories; 33g protein; 26g fat (includes 9g saturated fat; saturated : unsaturated fat ratio 0 : 53); 14g available carbs (includes 5g sugars and 9g starches); 4g fibre; 464mg sodium