These tasty (and surprisingly healthy) recipes are extracted from Best of Eating for Sustained Energy by Gabi Steenkamp and Liesbet Delport, published by Tafelberg.
Riana’s energy breakfast trifle
Serves 4
250ml muesli, lower-fat, low-GI
250ml low-fat yoghurt, vanilla-flavoured or plain
400g fruit, such as pawpaw, apple, mango, berries, guava, peeled and sliced as desired
250ml low-fat custard
Spoon half of the muesli into a glass bowl or individual dessert glasses. Layer half of the yoghurt, sliced fruit and custard on top of the muesli. Repeat the layers. Refrigerate overnight to soften the muesli, if desired.
Dieticians’ notes:
- Remember that at least half of the fruit you use should be low-GI to ensure sustained energy levels.
- Note the good fibre content from the low-GI, lower-fat muesli and the fruit. Consuming enough fibre is important for protection from cancer, especially colon cancer. Plenty of fruit, vegetable and cereal fibre also helps to control cholesterol levels.
- If you like a slightly sweeter breakfast, do not use the plain yoghurt option. However, the GL per serving is the lowest (20) when plain yoghurt is used with low-fat, artificially sweetened custard. Usually, we do not recommend the use of artificial sweeteners, but in this case it does help to lower the GL per serving, as this is quite a high-carbohydrate meal. Some of the commercially available artificially sweetened custards contain inulin, which is a soluble fibre and an added bonus.
- The analysis was done using sweetened, low-fat, vanilla-flavoured yoghurt and low-fat, artificially sweetened custard. However, the sugar content per serving is 11g. This is slightly more than the recommended amount for people with diabetes. Therefore, we recommend that those with diabetes use plain, low-fat yoghurt instead of the sweetened vanilla-flavoured yoghurt.
- This is a complete meal. Do not add anything else. However, your usual in-between snack can still be consumed – for example, a fruit or a starch portion, or one of the treats from this book.
Nutrients per serving:
GI low (48) • Carbohydrates 46g • Protein 8g • Fat 4g • Saturated fat 1g • Fibre 5g • kJ 1 031 • GL 22
One serving is equivalent to: 1 starch + 1 low-fat dairy + 1 fruit
Tip:If apple or pear is used, drizzle with a bit of lemon juice to prevent discolouration. If banana is used, dip the whole banana with the skin into boiling water to prevent discolouration.
Energy Boosting Tiramisu
Serves 10
3 extra-large eggs
5ml vanilla essence
60ml sugar
125ml self-raising flour or 125ml cake flour plus 5ml baking powder
7,5ml gelatine
30ml boiling water
30ml instant coffee powder
30ml boiling water
80ml skimmed milk
60ml whisky or brandy, optional
350g low-fat smooth plain cottage cheese
75ml skimmed milk
60ml sugar
5ml vanilla essence
10ml cocoa powder
Preheat the oven to 180°C. Spray a 260mm x 160mm glass baking dish with non-stick cooking spray. This dish will serve as your serving dish as well. Using an electric mixer, beat the eggs and vanilla essence until thick and creamy. Gradually add the sugar, beating until the sugar dissolves, but not for too long. Fold the sifted flour into the egg mixture, but only until just combined, as over-mixing will increase the digestibility and the GI. Spread into the prepared baking dish. Bake for about 20 minutes. Leave to cool in the baking dish. Mix the gelatine into the boiling water in a cup and stir until all the lumps are removed. Cool for 5 minutes. In another cup, dissolve the coffee in the second lot of boiling water; add the milk and whisky or brandy. Pour evenly over the cake. Mix the cottage cheese, milk, sugar and vanilla essence until smooth, using an electric mixer. Gradually pour the gelatine into the beaters while blending the cottage cheese mixture. Blend until well combined. Pour the cottage cheese mixture over the cake and coffee mixture. Sift the cocoa over the tiramisu. Refrigerate for three hours, before cutting into 10 servings.
Dieticians’ notes:
- Tiramisu is a very high-fat, high-GI dessert, as it is traditionally made with high-GI finger biscuits and mascarpone cheese (the highest-fat cheese around). In order to control the GI, we had to opt for making our own “finger biscuits”, and to lower the fat content we used low-fat cottage cheese instead of mascarpone.
- It offers sustained energy instead of an unhealthy blood sugar spike.
- As well as drastically lowering the fat, we have more than halved the sugar content of regular tiramisu. To compensate, we have added vanilla essence, as this helps to give a sweeter taste to a pudding without adding extra sugar.
- Since this pudding has a lower GI and GL per serving, it is quite suitable for those with diabetes, despite the sugar. Remember that research has shown that if you have no more than 10g of sugar as part of a balanced meal, it will not adversely affect blood glucose control. Be sure to keep to the recommended serving size and to leave out the starch in the meal at which you serve this pudding. However, those with diabetes should not use sugar in drinks such as tea, coffee and cold drinks that are consumed between meals.
Nutrients per serving
GI intermediate (60) • Carbohydrates 17g • Protein 8g • Fat 3,5g • Saturated fat 1,6g • Fibre negligible • kJ 620 • GL 10
One serving is equivalent to:
1 starch + ½ low-fat dairy
Annekie’s health bread for sustained energy
Makes two loaves – cut into 16 slices each
500ml fat-free milk, lukewarm
15ml raw honey or molasses
10ml bicarbonate of soda
750ml bread or cake flour
5ml salt
10ml baking powder
250ml lower-GI oats
250ml oat bran
500ml digestive bran
15ml chopped nuts, any kind
15ml sunflower seeds
15ml sesame seeds
15ml linseeds
15ml poppy seeds
15ml brown sugar
250ml sultanas
2 medium apples, peeled and grated
1 large carrot, peeled and grated
60ml oil, canola or any nut oil
Mix the milk, honey and bicarbonate of soda in a medium bowl or jug and leave to foam slightly. Set aside. Preheat the oven to 180°C and spray two 220mm x 120mm loaf pans with non-stick cooking spray. Sift the flour, salt and baking powder into a large mixing bowl. Add the rest of the dry ingredients, excluding the fruit and carrot, and lift up a few times with a spoon to incorporate air. Add the sultanas, grated apples, carrot, oil and the milk mixture. Mix well. Spoon into the prepared loaf pans and bake for about 45 minutes, until a skewer inserted into the centre of each loaf comes out clean. Remove from the oven and cool for 30 minutes on a cooling rack before removing the loaves from the bread pans. Slice into 16 slices per loaf, and serve one slice as the starch with any meal.
Dieticians’ notes:
- The apple and carrot not only add moisture and colour, but also help to lower the GI of this health bread.
- This is the perfect bread for open sandwiches; serve one slice each for women and two slices each for men, unless you are carbo-loading for a sports event, in which case you can have more.
- Provides a real sustained energy boost.
- The light meal example shown contains only one serving of about 30g of lean protein per person – shaved ham, shaved cheese and low-fat cottage cheese – together with generous amounts of vegetables and/or fruit.
Nutrients per slice:
GI intermediate (60) • Carbohydrates 21g • Protein 3g • Fat 3g • Saturated fat 0,4g • Fibre 3g • kJ 548 • GL 13
One slice is equivalent to: 1½ starches + ½ fat
Energy Sustaining Chicken and mushroom pie
Serves 6
5 chicken breasts, skinned
5ml oil, olive or canola
1 medium onion, peeled and chopped finely
2 slices lean ham, chopped, or 2 strips lean bacon, all fat removed, chopped
1 clove garlic, peeled and crushed
250g mushrooms, sliced
4 courgettes (baby marrows), coarsely grated (optional)
1,25ml salt
2,5ml freshly ground black pepper
15g mushroom soup powder
60ml skimmed milk
300ml boiling water
30ml oats
2 sheets (2 double A4 sheets) phyllo pastry
1 egg, beaten
Preheat the oven to 220°C. Spray a 200mm x 200mm ovenproof dish with non-stick cooking spray. Cut the chicken breasts into small pieces. Pour the oil into a large frying pan over a medium heat. Add the onion, ham or bacon, chicken and garlic, and gently stir-fry until brown. Add the mushrooms, courgettes, salt and pepper, and cook until just tender. Mix the soup powder with the milk in a cup or mug. Add some of the boiling water to fill the cup and mix well. Pour over the chicken and mushroom mixture in the frying pan. Add the rest of the water and the oats, and stir until the sauce has thickened slightly. Pour the pie filling into the greased ovenproof dish. Take the phyllo pastry sheets and loosely pile them in a ruffled heap on top of the chicken filling. Brush lightly with the beaten egg. Turn the oven down to 180°C and bake for 15-20 minutes, until the pastry is golden and the filling is heated through. Serve with a large tossed salad or two cooked vegetables to make a balanced meal.
Dieticians’ notes:
- The salad or cooked vegetables make this a balanced meal, as the pie contains only half a vegetable portion per serving.
- This is an ideal supper for slimmers who have been out to tea, and have had a muffin or a thin slice of cake. To compensate for cake, at least a starch and a fat should be omitted at the next meal. This chicken pie does just that.
- Phyllo is a useful pastry because it is fat-free. However, it has a high GI, so use it sparingly. This pie contains only two sheets of phyllo with other low-GI ingredients, which lower the GI and GL per serving.
- Lower-GI oats are used to thicken this dish, instead of high-GI cornflour, flour or gravy powder.
Nutrients per serving
(without starch and vegetables, but including the pastry)
GI low (39) • Carbohydrates 10g • Protein 32g
- Fat 6g • Saturated fat 1,6g • Fibre 2g • kJ 1 139 • GL 41 starch + 1 low-fat dairy + 1 fruit
Tip: Each sheet of phyllo pastry is normally brushed with melted butter, which increases the fat and saturated fat content of a dish. However, lightly brushing the top pastry sheets with beaten egg instead gives a lovely golden-brown colour to the baked pastry.