Johannesburg - Don’t stop at the salt shaker, start by cutting your salt intake by half.
The WHO recommends that everyone strive to restrict salt intake to 5g a day (about 1 teaspoon) from all food sources, which is about 2 000mg of sodium. Choose fresh or frozen vegetables. Canned varieties often contain a lot of sodium. Limit cured foods such as bacon and ham. Limit foods packed in brine (salty water) such as pickles and olives. Limit condiments such as mustard, horseradish, tomato sauce and soy sauce. Choose low- or reduced-sodium, or no-salt-added versions of foods and condiments when available. Cook rice and pasta without salt. Cut back on instant or flavoured rice and pasta mixes, which usually have added salt. Choose traditional cooked porridges rather than ready-to-eat breakfast cereals that tend to be high in sodium.
Limit or avoid using convenience foods. Cut back on frozen dinners, ready-to-eat meals such as pizza, packaged mixes, canned soups and salad dressings, which often have a lot of sodium. To flavour food during cooking and at the table, use herbs, spices, lemon, lime, ginger, garlic, vinegar or salt-free seasoning blends. Rinse canned beans to remove some of the sodium.
Citrus chicken with chickpea salad
Serves 4
Energy = 1 463 kJ
Fibre = 4.8g
Fat = 11.8g
Carbohydrates = 29.7g
Protein = 28.5g
Calcium = 64mg
Potassium = 610mg
Sodium = 72mg
4 small chicken breast fillets
15ml grated lemon rind
15ml finely grated lime rind
400g can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1 medium red onion, chopped finely
2 medium tomatoes, diced
15 finely chopped fresh coriander leaves
1 medium avocado, peeled, seeded and diced
15ml lemon juice
30ml olive oil
Combine chicken, lemon rind and lime rind in medium bowl.
Cover and refrigerate for at least 3 hours or until required.
Combine chickpeas, onion, tomato, coriander, avocado, lemon juice and olive oil in medium bowl and mix well. Cook chicken on heated oiled griddle until chicken is browned on both sides and cooked through.
Spoon chickpea salad into serving bowls and top with warm chicken.
Tomato pesto hake with cashews and capers
Serves 4
Energy = 1 110 kJ
Carbohydrates = 6.7g
Protein = 31.6g
Fat = 12.2g
Sodium = 143mg
Potassium = 626mg
Calcium = 57mg
10ml olive oil
1 large red onion, finely chopped
3 medium tomatoes, chopped
5ml sugar
4 fillets hake
20ml ready made sun-dried tomato pesto
30ml capers, well rinsed
10 cashew nuts, finely chopped
Heat oil and fry onion and tomato until softened, then add sugar.
Place hake fillets in an ovenproof dish and spread 15ml of pesto on each fillet. Pour tomato and onion mixture over the fillets and sprinkle with capers. Bake fish for 25 minutes at 180°C.
About 5 minutes before the fish is cooked, sprinkle the cashew nuts over the fish and cook for the remainder of the allocated cooking time. Serve with basmati rice.
Raspberry and pomegranate meringues
Makes 18
Energy = 260kJ
Carbohydrates = 9.1g
Protein = 3.2g
Fat = 1.6g
Calcium = 31mg
Potassium = 87mg
Sodium = 67mg
2 egg whites
5ml lemon juice
125ml castor sugar
50g shelled pistachios, chopped finely
250ml fat-free smooth cottage cheese
250ml vanilla yoghurt
half a fresh vanilla pod, seeds removed
75g fresh raspberries
50g pomegranate seeds
Beat egg whites in small bowl until soft peaks form. Beat in lemon juice. Add sugar, 15ml at a time, beating well after each addition.
The mixture should be thick and glossy. Line 3 oven trays with baking paper, trace 12 x 5.5cm circles on each sheet. Spread meringue thinly over circles. Sprinkle with nuts. Bake at 150°C for about 40-50 minutes or until crisp.
Cool in oven with door ajar. Combine cheese, yoghurt and vanilla seeds, and refrigerate until ready to use.
Place a meringue on a serving plate, spoon on some yoghurt mixture and then scatter over pomegranate seeds and raspberries.
Top with another meringue disc and repeat. Serve immediately.
Apple pear strudel
Serves 2
Energy = 494kJ
Protein = 23.9g
Carbohydrates = 3.1g
Fat = 1.8g
Calcium = 97mg
Potassium = 211mg
Sodium = 68mg
1 medium apple, peeled and chopped
1 medium pear, peeled and chopped
15ml castor sugar
3ml finely grated lemon rind
2ml ground cinnamon
30ml water
3 sheets phyllo pastry
beaten egg for glazing
Custard sauce
15ml custard powder
15ml castor sugar
180ml skim milk
Combine apple, pear, sugar, rind, cinnamon and water in a saucepan. Cook until fruit is soft, then cool.
Layer pastry sheets together, and fold in half.
Spoon fruit mixture along centre of pastry. Fold in ends and roll up.
Place strudel with folded edge underneath on a lined baking tray and brush with egg.
Bake at 180°C for about 15 minutes or until well browned. Serve with custard sauce.
To make it, combine custard and sugar and 50ml of the milk and mix until smooth.
Bring rest of milk to the boil and gradually stir in custard.
Stir until sauce boils and thickens.
ANGELA DAY
* For household queries, recipes and tips, call The Angela Day Helpline at 011 836 7181 from 8.30am to 12.30pm weekdays, or e-mail Janice at [email protected]
* See www.angeladay.co.za.
* Follow us on Twitter @verveangeladay.
Saturday Star