Cooking Healthy Dinner Recipes - Lemon Poached Chicken & Potato Salad

Many people feel that dinner is one of the important meals in the day. Most of the people in the metropolitan cities pursue a very hectic lifestyle. This hectic lifestyle devoid them from maintaining a proper routine for daily breakfast and lunch. It is the most enjoyable meal for some people. You can relax after a hectic day at work and enjoy your dinner with your family in complete peace. On the other hand there are many people that come home and prepare the dinner themselves. It can turn out to be a pretty tedious task. It would be a real blessing if one gets hand on some recipes that are not so time consuming and healthy alike. There are many ways that can make cooking dinner recipes fun, quick, healthy and easy. One must consider it as a time to be involved with the family and kids. There are a number of recipes that even kids can contribute with. These recipes can help you strike a chord between fun, cooking, health and taste. Get the kids involved in helping prepare the meal. They can do things like washing and tearing up vegetables and measuring out ingredients. One must add proper dash of fruits and vegetables to the dinner meals. Vegetables and fruits are often regarded as one of the healthiest ingredients while preparing a dinner meals. These fruits and vegetables are easy on stomach and easily digestible. It also helps in providing a sweet and tangy punch to the meal. Try to chop the essential fruits and vegetables days prior to store it in the fridge. You can store them in containers in fridge and use them as per your needs. This would work wonders for the working class people that cook dinner after reaching home drenched in tiredness. Let us discuss a not so time consuming dinner recipe which is tasty and healthy alike. You can involve the kids too in preparation of it.

Lemon Poached Chicken & Potato Salad

Ingredients

4 small chicken breast fillets, trimmed

1 lemon, rind removed (see hint), juiced

750g kipfler or pink fir potatoes, scrubbed

100ml extra-virgin olive oil

150g baby green beans, trimmed, halved

1 bunch asparagus, trimmed, cut into thirds crossways

1 tablespoon dill leaves, chopped

2 tablespoons chopped chives

Method

Place chicken in a large, deep frying pan with lemon rind. Cover with cold water. Bring to the boil over medium heat. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 12 minutes. Remove chicken from pan. Cool slightly. Slice across the grain.

Meanwhile, cook potatoes in a large saucepan of boiling water for 15 to 20 minutes or until tender. Using tongs, transfer to a chopping board. Stand for 10 minutes or until still warm but cool enough to handle. Peel potatoes and cut into chunks. Place in a large bowl.

Using a fork, whisk oil, 1/4 cup lemon juice and salt and pepper in a jug. Drizzle three-quarters of the dressing over potato. Stir gently to coat.

Place beans and asparagus in a heatproof bowl. Cover with boiling water. Stand for 3 minutes. Drain. Add to potato with chicken, dill and chives. Drizzle with remaining dressing. Toss gently to combine. Season with pepper. Serve.

Hint: Use a potato peeler to remove the rind from a lemon, avoiding the white pith which can make the poaching liquid taste bitter.

This recipe would take 20 mins for preparation & 30 mins to cook.

There are many websites and video channels online that provide many such healthy dinner recipes and cooking tips. India Food Network is one such website which you can refer to learn these easy to cook instant healthy recipes. It also provides many nutritional tips and ingredients list for cooking fanatics. Visit the India Food Network website for more information.

Choose a healthier Life with Organic Food

As we all know, the life in our body is the totality of the lives in our individual cells, which only lively cells create a lively body. For a cell to become lively it needs first to become healthy, and this depends positioned on the way we consume our food. The most recent research has shown that consuming organic foods is really a healthier choice than cooking it which all the nutrients are saved in their original state when heat isn’t applied to the food.

One of the first things anybody should do when they are going to choose healthy snacks and appetizers over their normal choice of food is to prepare a list before they go shopping and then make sure that they stick to it. Just because you have decided to take on a healthier life style it does not mean that you have to give up on all the foods that you have previously eaten, you just need to learn to make better choices and try to eat more organic and organic foods instead. Even if you find that you are not overweight a diet that also consists some integrated foods will be healthier for you in the long term. So make your list and stay well away from the biscuits and sweet aisles. The first thing you really need to do if you are serious about having a more healthy diet and lifestyle is to clear your kitchen cupboards and fridge/freezer of all those fatty foods that are lurking there. Items that you should no longer have in your cupboards or fridge/freezer are chips and microwavable foods. Once you have rid yourself of all that old junk food and made room for the healthier options, you now need to replenish your cupboards with the healthy options. At the shop buy fruit, vegetables and nuts, which you will be able to use to make fresh appetizers and snacks from.

You may even consider purchasing some dried fruits (bananas, apricots, peaches etc.,) as they are good for snacking on, but remember to keep away from those that have added sugars. If you are able to invest a good quality food process and juicer or just a juicer on its own for making natural juices and smoothies (yoghurt and fruit juices combined) and for helping to chop up all those fresh fruit and vegetables that you are now going to eat. Ensure that you have plenty of space in your fridge for keeping all those healthy vegetables and fruit fresh when you bring them home. A perfectly healthy appetizer for either in the evenings or at dinner parties for guests to snack on is slices of carrots, cauliflower, broccoli, cucumber and olives placed on the table with a small container of low or fat free ranch dressing in to which the vegetables can be dipped. However, if you are the kind of person who really must have some sort of meat in their diet, then try having fish or fresh tuna (which can be cooked (seared) quickly) and provide with it some soy sauce for dipping into. If you really do want to stay as fat free as possible and live a more healthy life style then eat as many healthful foods as you can.

Health Benefits of Organic Food

Scientific researches show that eating a varied diet of healthful foods like vegetables, fruits and various types of nuts can help to eliminate the risks of cancers; also, using essential honey rather than sugar or sweeteners will also help reduce diseases like diabetes. Honey is worldwide known for its many uses and qualities and contains been used because the earliest times for colds, sore throats which is even now used in fighting the most popular flu.

How can you consume a raw foods diet nowadays with the temptations around you? This was probably the most frequent one which occurred to those who have heard about living-eaters. And the response to this question was probably “with difficulty”. Everywhere, the countless fast-food places, with bright lights and tempting smells, can often be very difficult to avoid noticing, but a powerful will power can help you fight this battle. Even if you’re not consuming integrated foods at this time, you can start with small steps, like using honey rather than sugar with your tea or coffee, after which go even further and quit coffee all together and all sorts of other foods which are harmful for your body and mind.         

Organic Foods are Best

When considering food nutrition, organic may cost a bit more, but it is the wise choice. People feel best when they include good clean food in their diet. Take the time to investigate this for yourself and you will see that organic is the way to go.

Combat Summer with delectable recipes from India Food Network

Mumbai, May 2013 – India Food Network for all its food lovers brings some summer special recipes this May. Beat the Heat with Basil Punch, Chilled Cucumber and Mint soup, Falafel Salad and much more.

Its that time of the year when eating ice creams and sipping on coolers is a must. Summers are here and you can feel it every waking minute with the scorching sun leaving its after effects. India Food Network brings some interesting recipes which will keep your body temperature in check, weight in place and score a ten on ten on the yummy food meter.

During summers its important to eat food that will keep you hydrated and healthy. Light to digest, water-based vegetables are recommended for the summer. However, it doesn’t seem to excite the taste palettes. India Food Network chefs Asha Khatau an Indian author whose book, ‘Exciting Vegetarian Cuisines of the World’ won Honours at the Gourmand World Cookbook Awards 2011 and Seema Gadh  who runs a popular show on the channel called IFN kaa Dhaba share some lip-smacking recipes for summer.

Celebrate good food and easy to make to make recipes with India Food Network .  Watch the channel on Youtube to learn some exciting recipes like Palak Raita, green pea and lettuce soup , Basil Punch, Chilled cucumber and mint soup and Falafel Salad, etc...

Recipe for Basil Punch By Seema Gadh from India Food Network

Ingredients:

§  2 glasses of cold water

§  5 tbsp of powdered sugar

§  A pinch of black salt

§  Basil leaves grounded into a paste with 1 tbsp of water

§  Juice of 2 lemons

§  Ice cubes

 Procedure:

§  In a jug transfer the basil paste

§  Add the lemon juice

§  Add black salt

§  Add 5 tbsp of sugar

§  Stir well

§  Add the ice cubes

§  Add 2 glasses of water

§  Stir well

Recipe for Chilled Cucumber and Mint Soup By Asha Khatau from India Food Network

Ingredients:

§  450g cucumber, peeled, sliced and salted

§  2 cups thick yoghurt

§  2 cups cold water

§  2 tbsp lemon juice

§  1/2 cup vegetable stock

§  6-7 cloves garlic

§  2 tbsp fresh mint leaves

§  Salt to taste

 Procedure:

§   Put the cucumbers in a liquidiser

§  Add the yoghurt

§  Ice cold water

§  Lemon juice

§  Vegetable stock

§  Garlic

§  The mint leaves

§  And finally salt to taste

§  Churn together till well blended

§  Tip - This drink/ soup is best enjoyed on a hot summer day

§  Your Chilled cucumber & mint soup is ready to serve

Tip - Discard the water remaining in the cucumber bowl to avoid a bitter taste

 Recipe for Falafel Salad By Asha Khatau from India Food Network

Ingredients:

§  4-5 cups of mixed salad greens, torn with hand and soaked in ice cold water (you can either use iceberg lettuce, romain lettuce, lollo rosso or a mixture of all),

§  ½ cup green olives, sliced

§  ½ tomatoes, deseeded and cut into cubes

§  1 green cucumber, sliced and halved

§  ¼ cup spring onions, sliced

§  6-8 falafel bullets (green gram soaked overnight have been pasted and made into bullets)

§  7-8 mint leaves, torn roughly with hands

§  ½ cup feta cheese, crumbled

§  1 tsp sumac

§  For dressing:

§  ½ cup thick yogurt

§  2 tbsp lemon juice

§  ¼ cup ice cold water

§  2 tbsp virgin olive oil

§  2 tbsp tahini paste

§  Salt and pepper to taste

§  Mild paprika for garnish

Procedure:

§  Start by putting all the salad ingredients in a bowl

§  Put the lettuce leaves first

§  Scatter the sliced olives over the lettuce leaves

§  Add tomatoes

§  Add cucumber

§  Add spring onions

§  Add mint leaves

§  Add feta cheese

§  If the feta cheese appears somewhat gooey, cut it with the edge of a knife

§  Add 1 tsp sumac

§  Sumac  adds a nice tangy flavour to the salad

§  Place the falafel bullets last

§  You can either use whole falafel bullets or cut them into two as per your convenience

§  Keep the salad in the refrigerator and allow it to chill for a while

§  For dressing:

§  All the ingredients have to go into a blender

§  Start with the yogurt

§  Add 2 tbsp tahini paste

§  Add 2 tbsp lemon juice

§  Add 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

§  Add salt and pepper as per taste

§  Add about ¼ cup of chilled water

§  Shut the lid of the blending jar and churn it in the liquidizer

§  Add dressing as per your requirements

About India Food Network:

India Food Network is India’s first full HD food network & a step by step guide to simple and delicious home cooking. From regional Indian cuisine to popular dishes from around the globe, the focus is on make cooking simple and accessible to all including beginners  IFN videos have loads of quick tips and easy tricks & the recipes are shot and produced in natural home environments. So you too can cook the perfect dish right at home.

Ping Digital Broadcast is a Mumbai-headquartered, start-up broadcast network for digital audiences, building content across knowledge, utility and talent genres. India Food Network  is a part of Ping Digital, a YouTube Partner