Cooking does not have to involve hours in the kitchen with elaborate ingredients and recipe books to taste great.
Simply look through your cupboards and fridge; grab some vegetables, carbohydrates and protein add some flavouring and you will impress at meal time by following this easy international free style cooking guide:
1. Choose the ingredients you want to eat from the boxes below by basing your meal around the vegetables, then decide your protein and then choose the carbohydrates to go with it (if desired).
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Decide what style of meal you want to have (e.g.Italian, Asian stir-fry, Mexican, Traditional soup, etc – see the following page)
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Create enough to freeze for a tasty fast meal on the go or refrigerate and have for lunch tomorrow.
International Style of Meal
Asian Stir Fry
o Put your chosen ingredients into pan, add sauce.
o Sauces:
- Soy sauce, garlic, ginger, pepper
- 1 Tbsp Peanut butter, soy sauce, garlic, ginger, pepper, little chilli powder if you want
- 2 Tbsp Apricot or Orange Jam, soy sauce, garlic, ginger
o Add thickener if wanted to make a thicker sauce – little cornflour mixed into water then added to pan. Stir until thick.
o May add a small tin of crushed pineapple to add a sweet/sour sauce flavour.
Italian
o Put your chosen ingredients into pan, add sauce.
Sauces:
o Canned flavored chopped tomatoes
o Add herbs:
Rosemary, Basil, Oregano, Thyme, Parsley, Garlic, Pepper
o Can serve with pasta or ideally without
Soup
o Mix your chosen ingredients to the base of the soup and add to the pot:
o Bases:
- Savoury: Water, stock cube, spices, thickener if wanted
- Chowder: Trim milk, spices, thickener if wanted
- Tomato: Canned tomatoes, tomato paste, spices
- Pumpkin: mashed pumpkin, water and milk and/or stock
Mexican
o Put your chosen ingredients in a pan and stir fry to cook.
o Add sauces/spices:
- Jar of Salsa, choose spiciness of your preference
- Garlic, pepper, coriander, lime juice, chilli powder
Indian
o Stir fry the ingredients of your choice in a pan.
o Add sauce:
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Low fat curry sauce
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Curry paste with low fat coconut milk
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Curry powder or paste of your preference along with: garlic, skim milk and plain yogurt to make a sauce of the right consistency of your preference or use a can of light coconut milk.
If it’s a red/orange curry, add about 2 Tbsp tomato sauce or 1 Tbsp of tomato paste along with the above ingredients.