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Thread: Fury's Healthy Cooking Challenge!

  1. #1
    Lovely Gal Night Fury's Avatar
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    Default Fury's Healthy Cooking Challenge!

    So I've been challenging myself to make a lot more healthy recipes lately as I embark on a little bit of a fitness project. I wanted to make a bunch of things I don't often make.

    Today's recipe is Red Lentil Dhal and Cauliflower Rice!

    What I used

    To make the Red Lentil Dhal

    1 white onion
    3 cloves of garlic
    1 red chilli
    Small handful of chopped coriander leaves
    Tsp of ginger
    2 tsp of crushed cumin seeds
    3 tsp of turmeric
    1 tbsp of curry powder
    3 fresh tomatoes
    2 pints chicken stock (you can use veggie stock too)
    2 cups of split red lentils


    1. I diced up all my veggies as small as possible, and added them to the pan with the coriander and a little oil and allowed them to sweat over a medium heat before adding the ginger, cumin seeds, turmeric, and curry powder.

    2. I added a tiny bit of the chicken stock to the pan - just enough to cover the ingredients, but not to drown them. Once the spices had infused with the ingredients I dropped in my finely chopped tomatoes. You can also use a can of crushed tomatoes if you want, I just used fresh this time.

    3. Stir it all together so the flavours combine and the tomatoes are brought up to temperature.

    4. Add in the lentils. I stirred them through the onion mix and let them soak up that flavour for about a minute before I poured in a pint of the chicken stock.

    5. Give it a stir and then leave it cook on a medium heat.

    To make the Cauliflower Rice

    1 Cauliflower
    Olive oil
    Garlic Salt
    Juice of 2 lemons


    6. While waiting for the lentils to cook, I grated up the cauliflower florets into a bowl. I really only used the heads and not so much the stalks, but you can grate that as well, it might just add differing textures to the rice.

    7. Added the juice of two lemons, about a tablespoon of olive oil, and a generous shake of garlic salt to season.

    8. Return to the dhal - keep stirring it. If it's getting dry and the lentils aren't cooked yet add more stock - I got through about 2 pints all together. Also, the best way to break down the lentils is to go through the pan with a wire whisk. It's cooked when the lentils are soft and break down easily.

    9. To cook the cauliflower rice, add it to a pan with enough hot water just to cover and boil for about 3 minutes - or until it's softened. It's quite easy to overcook it to mush so keep an eye on it. If you like it a to have more of a 'crunch' then just cook it for a little less time. Drain and serve.




    I served the Dhal in a big bowl with a dollop of yoghurt swirled through the centre, and a bit more coriander sprinkled on the top. It was actually really easy to make and super delicious - very filling, lots of flavour, and it is vegetarian friendly and with some tweaks can be made vegan friendly too. Better still, there are leftovers today that I'm going to have to lunch!

    Next recipe will be some chorizo and mushroom quesadillas with avocado. Not quite so healthy.... but we'll see!


  2. #2
    Pinkasaurus Rex Pumpkin's Avatar
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    Cool thread!

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    Formerly Important Lonely Paper Star's Avatar
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    Looks so good. ;.;

    Starting on my left with one, your number comes up, you go.

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    Actual cannibal Pheesh's Avatar
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    It was reeeaally yummy, and that is coming from someone that really didn't expect to like it. It tasted really great, especially with the cauliflower rice, and was a nice change from the super spicy curries that we tend to have. Here's another pic that I took with my camera.


  5. #5
    Blood In The Water sharkythesharkdogg's Avatar
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    That looks pretty tasty. What kind of naan is in the background?

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    The consistency of the Red Lentil Dhal looks excellent!


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    noxious.sunshine's Avatar
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    I think I should start using my iPad to take food pix with >.>

    The cam on my phone is UHD / 13MP/Quad HD whatever, but my pix still look like garbage.

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    Very VIP person Tech Admin Rantz's Avatar
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    Damn that looks good. I had dinner not long ago but now I'm hungry again D:

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    Lovely Gal Night Fury's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by sharkythesharkdogg View Post
    That looks pretty tasty. What kind of naan is in the background?
    those are just plain poppadums! I do have a nice naan recipe though I should share sometime!

    And thanks for the kind words everyone! Jinx the cauliflower rice is surprisingly close to the real deal and I was surprised myself - as long as it is seasoned and not overcooked its a really great healthy alternative! Just make him eat it haha


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    Krankzinnigheid ligt dich Colonel Angus's Avatar
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    ​What was that mothersmurfing recipe again?

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    Lovely Gal Night Fury's Avatar
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    Mushroom, Chorizo, and Avocado Tortilla Toasties!

    What I used

    400g pack of Swiss Brown Mushrooms
    1 Chorizo
    1 Avocado
    Lemon juice
    Cheese
    Small size corn tortillas (pack of 10 - 5 each)
    Cajun seasoning
    Garlic salt

    1. I chopped up my chorizo and mushrooms and added them to a hot pan with a little oil and a sprinkle of cajun seasoning and garlic salt.

    2. Let all that cook through and allowed the flavours to penetrate everything and combine then took it off the heat (about 10 minutes) Mashed my avocado in this time and added a little bit of lemon juice.

    3. Take a corn tortilla, spoon on some avocado on one half - then add some of the chorizo and mushroom filling, and as much cheese as you want. I didn't add too much, and instead used the avocado as my 'cheese' as really, the cheese is just what sticks it all together.

    4. Fold the tortilla in half and then place on a hot frying pan - no oil, just be careful nothing seeps out of the sides so try not to overfill it. Just flip it after about 1 minute so both sides get quite toasty and the cheese melts.

    5. Voila! Repeat for the rest of your tortillas!


    Usually when I make these, I use brussell sprouts in place of the mushrooms - they're even tastier and add a bit more texture to the toasties.


  12. #12
    Lovely Gal Night Fury's Avatar
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    Garlic Spaghetti with Sourdough Crumb

    Okay, so not really healthy, but you know if you portion correctly it's a really great meal - especially when you're having a little bit of a cheat!



    What I used


    3 cloves of garlic
    1/2 red chilli
    150g of sourdough (I used one with garlic for extra effective vampire repellent)
    Spaghetti (or linguine - whatever you prefer!)
    2 tbsp of yoghurt
    Olive oil

    1. Start boiling the pasta.

    2. Finely chop the garlic and chilli and toast the sourdough - you can do it under the grill or in the toaster.

    3. Start frying off your garlic and chilli in a little olive oil.

    4. Chop or tear up your toast into tiny little crumbs or crouton sizes and then add it to your pan of garlic and chilli. Let it soak up any excess oil and the flavour of the chilli and garlic.

    5. Once the pasta is boiled, drain it, and add it to your crumb pan. Stir in some fresh yoghurt.

    6. Serve it with a sprinkling of parsley and parmesan!
    Last edited by Night Fury; 05-19-2015 at 02:58 AM.


  13. #13
    Lovely Gal Night Fury's Avatar
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    Ginger Chicken Noodle Soup

    This is one of my ultimate favourite things to bust out. I'm sure I've shared this before on here, but it doesn't hurt to do it again!

    What I used

    1 roast chicken - (I bought a pre roasted chook because our oven is busted but you can definitely roast your own and stuff it with garlic and lemon if you'd like!)
    1 1/2 pints of chicken stock
    1 tbsp of ginger (fresh, paste, powder... doesn't matter!)
    1 red chilli
    4 cloves of garlic
    1 shallot
    2 finely sliced carrots
    Some shredded chinese brocolli
    100g of egg noodles

    1. Stew your chopped garlic, chilli, and shallot in a pan with a tiny bit of oil, once it starts to get really hot just add in a bit of chicken stock to make sure it doesn't start to burn. Stir in your ginger. Get your nose close to the pan and smell it. Mmmmmmm.

    2. Shred up your roast chicken - doesn't have to be neat it all falls apart in the pan anyway.

    3. Add in the rest of your chicken stock to the pan and then throw in the chicken meat. Allow it to simmer for about 10-15 minutes - but not so much so that your stock just reduces down too much, so keep an eye on it.

    4. Add in your noodles and allow them to cook, throw in the carrot slices (I add them in quite late because I like them to be almost raw, just so they add a bit of a crunch! but if you prefer them soft add them earlier.)

    5. Throw in the broccoli leaves and allow them to just wilt into the soup, then you're ready to serve! If you can't get chinese broccoli, spinach is a great substitute!


    This week, I'm cooking....
    Pistachio Dukkah Lamb 'Kebabs'
    Italian Sausage Penne with Spinach


  14. #14
    Formerly Important Lonely Paper Star's Avatar
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    Cannot see the garlic spaghetti pic for some reason?

    Also, I think I'll try making those tortilla toasties sometime. XD

    Starting on my left with one, your number comes up, you go.

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    Actual cannibal Pheesh's Avatar
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    I have a pic of the chicken noodle soup, didn't take one of the spaghetti unfortunately, think I may have been too hungry to be bothered with picture taking.


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