Maria Middlestead - Clinical Nutritionist, Auckland. Call (09) 418 5422

Fish or Chicken

Serves 3-4
(Vegan; no gluten, dairy, egg, nightshades*; with options for legumes*)

Such a rich taste and almost cheesy – yet with no dairy or other animal products, or flour as a thickener. The texture is achieved by warming your choice of Milk Option* and blending it with cashews and onion for a thick, surprisingly buttery result. This gets seasoned and added to colourful veg for a quick, easy meal. A pinch of turmeric (high in antioxidants) gives egg yolk colour with little hint of its heritage. If just serving with veg or pasta the protein content might be light for some so a range of options follow; the legume* ones keep it all vegan. You can also use this recipe to replace cream or cheese-based sauces such as in lasagne.

Vegan/Almost Vegan Chocolate Cake

(No gluten, dairy, egg, soy or cane sugar)

You can dispense with any recitation of this cake’s nutritional virtues and confidently serve it on the basis of great taste alone. Moist, dark with layers of flavours and it improves with age. It is complete without any accompaniment but for a glam occasion you could serve slices with some piped, sunny-hued Apricot Whip along one edge (as below; see also its use with Fluffy Hotcakes).

Pasta Perfecto

Pasta and Noodle Dishes from Around the World

(No gluten or dairy – with options for nightshades*, legumes*, yeast, eggs and cane sugar)

Foods can suffer from discrimination and abuse especially at the hand of science segregationists. Carbs are in and fats are out; then carbs are bad and protein gets celebrity status. What makes for the confusion is looking at foods in isolation when they are rarely eaten that way. If all you ate was any one superb food your health would suffer. Plus different people experience different results from eating the same foods.

Sushi Salad Hot or Cold

Serves 2-3
(No gluten, dairy, or cane sugar; with options for nightshades*)

It is a surprise when something light, balanced and healthful such as sushi becomes a fashion hit across demographics. This simple hot or cold rice main dish has many similar ingredients and flavours. Serve with sliced cucumber, steamed or baked beetroot. Uncharacteristically, basmati rice is used rather than short grain sushi rice. Long grain rice holds a distinct shape better so the salad doesn’t become wet and gluggy. The rice is boiled using the easier, stick-resistant, nutritionally superior absorption method.

Raw Vegan Chocolate Brownies

16-20 small squares
(Vegan; no gluten, dairy, cane sugar, egg, soy, citrus)

You can safely serve this to any fan of rich morsels (ie most females). If preferred, avoid all discussion of its nutritional virtues: it can win on taste and texture alone. A version of this recipe came from the popular Aussie blog Not Quite Nigella, but behind that was a long trail of variations and attributions probably dating back to Eve. My version is below.

Italian Bean Dip

Makes 1¼ cups
(Vegan; no gluten, dairy, egg, soy or nightshades)

If you like to eat foods that bite you back with similar intensity: try this. It resembles a chunky hummus, Italian-style. Use it on bread, crackers or as a dip for raw vegetables and triangles of bread toasted with my dairy-free, herb and garlic version of Better Butter (see website RECIPES). Or add as a flavourful topping on baked or steamed vegetables, salad, poached fish or tofu. Any left-overs can be mixed with an egg and breadcrumbs and used to fill large mushroom caps. Fan Grill about 7 minutes for a vegetarian main. Serve with kumara wedges and salad.

Glazed Orange & Ginger Meatballs

Makes 32; serves 4-5
(No gluten, dairy, legumes or nightshades)

New Zealand supermarket shoppers are fortunate to be able to purchase grass-fed, free range venison without antibiotics or growth-promoting hormones. Farm-raised venison has a mild flavour with many cuts – such as medallions and stir-fry – requiring only a few minutes of cooking. Or make the meatballs using ground lamb. New Zealand lamb is almost all pasture-fed.

Fast Fab Ways with Fish and Seafood

(No gluten, dairy and with options for most diets)

Squillions of possibilities follow from a few core concepts. There is a specific recipe (one of my favourites) and then a range of easy ideas.

Fish is an excellent source of Protein, Zinc, iodine, selenium, Magnesium, Calcium (see related articles under website TIPS), many B vitamins and a good source of iron. Iodine and selenium are low in New Zealand soils so fish and seaweed are critical sources. The darker, oilier types of fish such as salmon, tuna and sardines are high in the anti-inflammatory brain food Omega 3 fatty acids (TIPS: The Fats of Life). These are also critical to heart and arterial health. See the HEALTH STORE page for my report: The Heart of the Matter for how to treat and prevent cardiovascular problems.

Personalised Pizza

(With options for every diet)

Can’t eat gluten, bread, yeast or starch? No cheese? No tomatoes? No problem!

Sometimes your body needs extra care around food choices. You can ignore it; complain about it; or you can be resourceful. As a recent update on the ‘make lemonade’ aphorism advises, “If life hands you lemons, give them back and ask for chocolate”. There are usually innovative options to most predicaments. Diets aren’t limited so much as attitudes are. Read more

Pumpkin Patties

(Vegan; no gluten, dairy or egg; with options for nightshades*)

Some vegetarian food is dull and earnest, chaotically combined, or endlessly chewy. Inexperienced cooks often just remove the meat and compensate with heaps of cheese. Little understanding is shown about contrasting and harmonising shapes, colours, textures and the five core tastes of sweet, salty, sour, bitter, and umami (savoury). Dishes can be low in focus and subtlety – and Protein (see TIPS page) due to poor plant combinations.