Secrets and substitutes...

(Pictures appearing soon)

Tasty food tricks and healthier substitutes I've discovered along the way ...

Roast your herbs...
Dry roast your herbs and chilli flakes and then toss them into an 'arrabiata' or a 'bolognaise' for a more aromatic pasta. You can even toss them into your regular bowl of home brand tomato soup to give it a kick and if you want to make it a little more special then stir in a swirl of low-cal single cream/sour cream and add a sprinkle of 'parmigiana'.

Fancy a light and fluffy omelette?...
For an aromatic fluffy omelette, roast some herbs in a pan (thyme, tarragon or basil work well but don't use all of them together)and then toss in some onions and cook till lightly brown. Add in some bits of chopped bacon if you like, maybe some olives or capers and then chopped tomatoes. You can even use sliced mushrooms if you like. Once the tomatoes are cooked, pour in the beaten egg. Scramble it slightly and then spread it to form a round pancake in the pan. When lightly brown, grate some cheese over one half, sprinkle some salt and pepper over it (and some chilli flakes if you fancy)and fold the other half over it to form a semi circle in the pan. Once lightly browned,lift out gently on to a plate and garnish with a sprig of fresh herbs or grated cheese.
*This also works with a whites-only omelette.

Scrambled eggs with a sprinkle...
Don't add salt to your scrambled eggs during cooking because it will release water if you do. For delicious fluffy scrambled eggs add bit of sour cream into the mix at the end and sprinkle with fresh finely chopped parsley, salt, pepper and parmigiana if you like.

Toffee yoghurt, a creamy low-cal custard substitute..
Toffee yoghurt is a great low-cal substitute for ice cream and custard. It tastes just as good in a fruit trifle or with fruit crumble, fruit salad, cakes, tarts and pies. I even used it as a substitute for brandy butter and brandy sauce at Christmas with Christmas pudding, plum cake and mince pies!

Sweetening with honey or jaggery (organic raw cane sugar)...
Honey or ground jaggery is a much healthier and far more flavoursome sweetener than sugar so if you like your cuppa or your coffee sweet, you might want to swap it with your sugar basin. You can even use jaggery in steamed puddings and cookies, but I don't use it in cakes because it tends to make the cake stodgy. That's because it's denser than sugar, so you have to use more baking powder if you do and that's not the best thing for your gut.

A healthier tray of cakes and cookies...
My low guilt baking secret is to use healthy ingredients as far as possible when you're making not so healthy cake-y cookie-ish treats. I always use whole wheat flour for cookies and puddings and for cookies I usually use half oatmeal and half bread flour (varieties which have crushed nuts in them like pine nuts). The body burns calories to digest fibre so if there is roughage/fibre in the cookies, my view is that the body will at least use up some of the sugar in it to digest the fibre and break down the cellulose.

Staying fit and young with pasta...
With pasta dishes I only use the brown stuff and I prefer tomato based variations because tomatoes are high in anti oxidants and have anti ageing properties. This way you can make pasta a feel young meal. I always use garlic too not only because of the flavour but also because of the anti-cholesterol properties which adds one more brownie point to the dish.

Desserts can be healthy too...
Indulging in fruit based desserts is a great way to satiate the sweet cravings (particularly if you've got an overly demanding sweet tooth like mine!). Citrus fruits are great because they're high in anti oxidants which helps prevent cellulite, which is the biggest problem with eating sugary, cakey, creamy things. Dark chocolate has antioxidant properties too, so I always prefer to use 70% or more for desserts. I also like to throw in nuts with a lower glycaemic index like Brazil buts, almonds and hazel nuts.

Cinnamon and Cardammom...
Cinnamon helped me to start enjoying coffee without sugar and cardamom did the trick with tea. Growing up in India, I developed a a liking for sweet tea and coffee; often when you're offered a cup of tea or coffee it'll have a lot of milk and it will be very sweet. Whether you're visiting someone in their office,at home or even ordering a cuppa in a small street café, sweet is the keyword.

So, when I wanted to switch to a healthier lower-cal diet I needed a bit of help to train my palate and that's when cinnamon and cardamom came to my rescue. The funny thing is, now I can no longer enjoy my tea or coffee with sugar in it. I do sometimes like honey though in my tea or in my coffee if I'm making myself a frappé or iced coffee.

Soya Milk is great for shakes...
Soya milk is a great way to shake off the guilt of a chocolate milkshake or any other actually. Whether it's iced coffee, chocolate milkshake or a fresh fruit shake, I always use soya milk and honey. For chocolate shakes I use cocoa powder dissolved in hot water as opposed to the ready made stuff like drinking chocolate or nesquik, which is full of sugar.

Mousse...fruity, light and rather guilt free
I do like fruit soufflés and mousses but thanks to my mum I've got a low-cal solution to that and no it's not got a Sainsbury's 'be good to yourself tag on it'. Yoghurt, with fresh fruit purée and gelatine is a great way to satisfy that guilty temptation and it's healthy too, because yoghurt is great for digestion and gelatine is a great way to boost bone health.

Going 'nutty' in the kitchen...
I think it's alright to go a bit nutty when you're cooking, especially with almonds and pistachios because they go well with savoury items. I like to toss a few roasted pistachios into a simple rice 'pulao' with cumin and maybe some peas and I think pistachios also work quite nicely in lamb kebabs because they really soften as the meat cooks, giving that slightly nutty hint to the succulent bites of spice laced meat.

Kebabs? This is how I do them
When making kebabs, I like to roast whole spices in hot oil, then toss in finely chopped ginger and garlic and then some finely chopped onions and pistachio nuts and cook till the onions are brown. I usually sprinkle a bit of brown sugar to caramelise the onions, a trick I picked up from my dad (who's cooking, especially when it comes to Indian meat preparations for me is second to none). I then add in some turmeric, ground red chilli powder, a pinch of 'garam masala', a pinch or cumin powder and a pinch of coriander powder.

I let it cool, then empty the whole lot into a blender so there are no whole spices. You need to let it cool again before mixing in the mince, then add a few teaspoons of plain yoghurt and a bit of whole wheat flour and chopped green chillies for the kebabs mix. If you add in the meat while the spice mixture is hot the meat will start to cook in the heat and that's not going to be great for the kebabs;they will be lumpy and not so pleasing on the palate.

Lemon marinate your meats...
Lemon juice and olive oil is a great way to marinate your meat and fish and it also gives it a fresh zing which always works, whether you're making a curry, grilling, roasting, barbecuing or tossing it into a pasta sauce or even making kebabs.