Hi Aussie Friends. I know there is a food and nutrition forum here, don't know about you but I get a bit flummoxed (is that a word?) by the food the americans eat not to mention all those pounds and ounces. I thought we could start a thread for good healthy aussie produce, with metric measurements to give us some inspiration on new band friendly things to eat. Don't know about you all, but I love to cook.

What I'm cooking for dinner tonight:

chicken with Mushrooms: (Serves 2)

225 grams chicken thighs (i'm on mushies, will ask butcher to mince for me)

1.5 tablespoons shallots chopped

1 cup sliced mushrooms

1/4 cup white wine (sub. extra chicken stock if preferred)

100 mls low sodium chicken stock

1/4 cup plain low fat yoghurt

2 tsp chopped tarragon

salt and pepper to taste

In non stick pan (with a little cooking spray) saute chicken and remove from pan. Add shallots and mushrooms to pan and cook for 2 minutes, add wine, increase heat to high and cook for further 2 mintues. Add chicken broth and reduce liquid by half (3-5 minutes). Reduce heat to low and stir in yoghurt and 1/4 packet sweetener if desired. Cook for about 2 minutes until slightly thickened. Stir in tarragon and salt & pepper to taste.

I'm on mushies, so will put my minced cooked chicken and 1/2 sauce through mini processor.

Approximately 200 calories per serve.

What I had for dinner last night:

Salmon with Wasabi Sauce (Serves 1)

Place 120 grams salmon fillet into a non stick pan, and brush with a mix of crushed garlic (1 tsp), light soy (1 tsp), wasabi (1/2 tsp), lemon juice (2 tsp). (I like mine very barely cooked in the centre).

Sauce: Wasabi (1 tsp), Light Soy Sauce (2 tsp), Light Sour Cream (1/8 cup), Light Mayo (1/8 cup), 1 Pkt artifical sweetener (optional, I leave it out). Mix togther and serve with the salmon fillet.

(I'm currently on mushies, so I put through my breville mini processor).

Approx. 250 calories, and very quick. (Yummy)

Edited April 25, 200818 yr by Luscious

We had English backpackers stay with us and they couldnt believe their eyes when we served up a roast dinner with baked pumpkin. They told us that they only use pumpkin as pig food.

hahaha my partner is dutch, and years ago I bought a pumpkin, he says "what do you think you are going to do with that", I'm like "I'm making soup" and he says "we only use those to feed pigs, I'm not eating that"

Ok, so I admit that I didn't "cook" this so much as put it in the microwave for 5 minutes :-) In any event it was quite delicious, very healthy, and just the right serving size.....

Birds Eye Steamed Fish - Lemon and Mild Chilli

125 calories

American here!

only southerners know about grits. My hubby loves them, i hate them. I am from the north.

Peanut Butter and fluff on wonderbread is heavenly. must be on soft white sandwich bread to be delicious.

I have never heard of eating pumpkin roasted! I've only had canned pumpkin pie. I must be missing out. I love pumpkin. i should try roasting it! sounds good.

canned bread is nasty! Most people love it though, I hate it.

Canned whipped cream is sooo good. of course I have never made the real stuff, so i don't know what I'm missing i guess.

Roasted pumpkin is delicious! BEST way to have it, IMHO! Just cut it into large chunks and throw it in the roasting pan with the meat and spuds - you won't be sorry!

all these recipes and especially the roasts! makign me starving. and only on day 8. dammit!

but i have to say i dont like fish, am allergic to it.

(grits used to be made by Granny Clampett, thats all i know of them!)

food PORN !!!

mmmmm Roast pumpkin - my fav. you know its great when you cut it into small cubes, and roast it (just lighly spray with olive oil spray) until golden brown. The roasted cubes are amazing cold, topped on your salad.

Edited May 2, 200818 yr by Luscious

I posted this in the recipe section but thought you guys might be interested. It's not exactly from scratch but has a bit more oomph than the recipe on the jar (which is basically just "brown meat, add sauce").

Ingredients

900g (2lb) lamb chops - all fat trimmed (approx 6 largish chops)

*1 x 540g jar Pataks Rogan Josh simmer sauce

1 large brown onion

1 medium potato

2 small carrots

2 medium tomatoes

1 tsp crushed garlic (from a jar is ok )

1 tsp crushed coriander (from a jar is ok :tt1:)

Method

Brown the chops in a non-stick pan or wok. Add garlic & coriander Dice onions, potatoes, carrots and tomatoes and add to pan. (If you dice and add each vege in the order given, the timing works well). Add jar of Rogan Josh sauce + half a jar of Water (use RJ jar and shake to get all the extra sauce). Cover and simmer for 1 - 1.5 hours.

Serve with Jasmine rice and green Beans.

Makes enough for 6 child/bandster sized portions or 2 adults/2 kids.

Nutrional Value per serve (assuming 6 serves, ie 1 chop + 1/2 cup veges/sauce, not including rice or beans)

321 calories, 13g fat, 13g carb, 34g Protein

* I counted the calories, etc, using the Patak brand sauce but noticed that other brands had quite different calorie/fat numbers, so the numbers above are only correct when using that brand.

Edited May 6, 200818 yr by Fanny Adams

Another American here. Grits are actually quite delicious, but if you ever get here and try them make SURE they are not instant. (Kind of like the difference between canned pumpkin and fresh pumpkin.) Now, I was raised eating grits and even I cannot clue you in as to what "pork" grits are.

Yes, canned whipped cream. There is ONE decent brand you can buy, the rest of them are NASTY.

And I hate to tell y'all, but yeah, Vegemite is, uh, different. :thumbup: (I have put my Aussie friend on notice that if he EVER brings it back for me again, I will NEVER speak to him again. lol)

Heheh - think you have to be weaned on Vegemite to get the taste for it. I've known a few converts but they are very rare. BTW, when I say weaned, I really mean it. My daughter was breastfed and the very first thing she ever had that didn't come out of my body was boiled water with a half teaspoon of vegemite (it was summer and she needed extra fluids, but not extra milk). She was around 5-6 months at the time. Also, toast with vegemite cut into fingers is an absolute staple in any Aussie toddler's diet.

Yes, Vegemite is one of those very odd foods - I can objectively understand why those not weaned on it will hate it.

Last night I tried the weight watchers frozen cottage pie - it was OK for those times you need a freezer emergency dinner - just the right size, around 250 calories, satisfying and easy to eat.

Tonight I stir fried some chopped chicken thigh with some fresh basil, chilli, light soy, honey and some broccolli, capsicum strips, carrot strips. Yummy !!!

OK, I have to tell y'all the real reason for even wanting to try vegemite. It was all from the danged Men at Work song. I had been wanting to try it since I was 13 or so when that song came out. EEEK! (BTW...please tell me that Foster's really isn't Austrailian for beer as they claim it is here in the States!!!)

I said, "Do you speak-a my language?"

He just smiled and gave me a vegemite sandwich :thumbup:

Fosters is a brand of Australian beer, but it is mostly made for the export market these days. It would be hard to find an Aussie that will admit to drinking it. If you want to taste a beer that is popular within Aus, look for Victorian Bitter, Carlton Draught or Emu Export.

I had Salmon Ramen tonight from Wagamamas.... they have several restaurants around Australia.

This was VERY good (and enough for me to bring half home in doggie bag for tomorrow night too). Ramen is very healthy.

I got the crock pot out this weekend ... this was DELICIOUS (and even better the next day).

1.5 kgs lean lamb fillet (cubed)

2 lebanese eggplants chopped (I like them peeled, personal choice)

2 onions chopped

6 teaspoons minced ginger

1 teaspoon tumeric

2 cloves garlic

2 teaspoons green curry paste

1 teaspoon minced chilli (or 1 chilli pod chopped)

110grams (1 cup) coconut milk powder

1 cup boiling Water

In pan:

Brown the lamb in batches, placing on paper towels to absorb

Cook the onion until golden

Add the eggplant and cook 1 minute

Add mixture of tumeric, ginger, garlic, green curry paste, chilli - cook for 1 minute or until fragrant

Add the contents of the pan, and the lamb to crock pot

Cook on auto for 6 hours - one hour before needed, add coconut powder mixed with boiling water and stir through.

YUMMY CURRY I worked it out to be around 350 calories per cup.

I just went for the plain old steak and veg tonight, but it was yum and oh so filling!! There was nothing about the meal that screamed "DIET!!" and the portion size would look normal on anyone's plate (just not on my pre-banding plate! I love that now that I am no longer focussed on buying the largest possible steak for my money, I can focus on buying the best cut! Previously I would have looked for the biggest rump steak I could find, this time I was stoked to get a beautiful piece of filet that was less than a third the size but soooo tender! I had:

150g filet steak (pan fried, no added oils)

1 tbsp tomato sauce

2 baby potatoes boiled in their skin

1/2 onion and 5 button mushrooms sliced and fried in a tbsp of light butter (50% less fat)

1/4 cup peas & corn (boiled from frozen)

1/2 carrot (boiled from fresh)

All up, 470 cal for the meal, which fits in beautifully with my goal of 1200 for the day (200 Breakfast, 300 lunch, 200 Snacks, 500 dinner).