Roasted Carrot and Kale Salad with Grilled Chicken and Lemon Dressing

Looking to mix up your chicken options? This recipe is a great mix of different textures, flavours and colours - and perfect for a summer BBQ or light lunch. Yes, it’s kale, but you could just as easily use a fresh spinach or lettuce base (skip the roasting!).

Use this recipe as a base and adapt to your own tastes - I adapted it myself from one featured in The Women’s Weekly’s ‘Almost Vegetarian’ book. Speaking of vegetarian, instead of chicken, you could easily substitute in some grilled tofu or haloumi, or roasted chickpeas for a meat-free meal.

You could also substitute some feta for the dressing if preferred.

It’s low-carb meal, but you could add in some cooked quinoa, brown rice or roast sweet potato to boost the carbohydrate content.

Serves 3-4

Preparation time – 5-10 minutes

Cooking time – 30 minutes

Ingredients:

1 bunch green curly kale

3tbsp extra virgin olive oil

500g Dutch baby carrots, trimmed and peeled

500g chicken breast fillets

½ small red onion, quartered

2tbsp sunflower seeds

Parsley to garnish

Lemon dressing:

4tbsp mayonnaise

2tbsp lemon juice

2tsp dijon mustard

Method:

Preheat oven to 180 degrees C and line 3 baking trays with paper.

Cut kale leaves from stems, discarding stems.  Spread kale over 2 trays and drizzle with 1 tbsp oil, and make space to place sunflower seeds at one end to roast with the kale.

Place carrots on the other baking tray and drizzle with 1 tbsp olive oil.  Place carrots in the oven to roast for 30 minutes or until tender. 

Add kale to the oven for the last 5-10 minutes of cooking time for the carrots, taking care to avoid leaves and sunflower seeds from burning. 

In the meantime, cut chicken fillets in half horizontally and cook the four thin fillets on a pre-heated and lightly oiled grill plate or fry-pan until browned and cooked through.  Slice thickly.

Make the lemon dressing while the roast vegetables and chicken are cooking by combining the mayonnaise, lemon juice and Dijon mustard.

To serve, place roasted kale and carrot on plates with quartered onion broken into pieces (you can roast the onion with the carrots, or include raw depending on preference).  Top with sliced chicken, sprinkle with sunflower seeds and parsley, and drizzle over dressing (or serve dressing in a small pot).

Quick and easy recipes - soup, salad and snacks

Image by Rosanna Faraci

No doubt about it, COVID-19 has had a significant impact on our lives and livelihoods. All of us have different experiences and have been effected in different ways. For many, it has provided an opportunity to consider our own health and well-being and take a closer look at our nutrition choices and habits. This has resulted in a significant increase in home-cooking (including a contagious interest in sourdough baking!) as well as cooking on a budget.

You may have already been searching your favourite recipe sites, or flicking through old recipe books for meal inspiration. If you are looking for more ideas, I have linked in below a few winter-friendly options that are quick and easy to make, and will help to keep your body and brain nourished and content.

These, along with other recipes, are here on my website, or if you are looking for more ideas you will find over 140 meal and snack ideas in Super Food for Performance - currently discounted.

Pumpkin and Pinenut Spinach Salad
Yes, a salad for winter - you can serve it while the sweet potato is still warm. Great with lamb or chicken, or roast some chickpeas with the sweet potato for a vegetarian option.

Dahl

Perfect for a warming lunch or savoury snack. High in fibre and a tasty way to eat lentils!

Image by Bec Doyle Photography

Salmon and Ricotta Frittata

Works well for breakfast, lunch, dinner or a snack - high in protein and a terrific source of calcium.

Image by Bec Doyle Photography

Mexican-Style Beef with Sweet Corn Salad

More salad! But you can serve it while the corn is still warm. Mix in some black beans for a plant-based lunch bowl on it’s own.

Banana Bread

One of the most searched recipes right now - a great way to use up extra bananas, and lower in sugar and additives than the standard store-bought varieties.

Image by Bec Doyle Photography

Recovery Smoothie

A great recovery option post-training, especially with more of us training from home right now. Mix it up with your favourite fresh or frozen fruits.

Happy cooking and stay safe. I would love to see your creations, so if you post any of your cooking on your social media please tag me in - (these recipes or your own healthy favourites!). You can find me on Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn.

Chicken and Avocado Salad

Image by Bec Doyle Photography

An easy salad rich in protein, healthy fats, probiotics and green goodness. This recipe is low in carbohydrate, but could be adapted for training needs by adding some cooked quinoa or brown rice. Leftover salad also makes a tasty lunch option or sandwich/wrap filling.

Serves 4-6

Ingredients

1 continental cucumber, thinly sliced

2 stick of celery, finely chopped

200g mixed lettuce leaves

1 roast chicken, skin removed OR 800g lean chicken breast,grilled/BBQ’ed

3 tbsp mayonnaise

3 tbsp Greek yoghurt

2 spring onions, finely sliced

Pepper

Method

Combine cucumber, celery, 1 of the spring onions and lettuce leaves in a large bowl. Remove chicken from the bones and chop roughly, or slice pre-cooked chicken breast.  Mix through salad.  Combine mayonnaise and yoghurt, mix well and dollop on top of salad.  Sprinkle with remaining chopped spring onion.

Fresh Tip

For a portable lunch on the go, use leftover salad as a delicious filling for a wholegrain sandwich, roll or wrap. Line the bread with lettuce leaves that have been washed and dried to create a barrier between the filling and bread to avoid a soggy lunch.

Recipe from Super Food for Performance in Work, Sport and Life

Dahl

Dahl     

Serves 6

A popular vegetarian soup option, dahl is also one of the easiest and quickest soups to prepare. Red lentils don’t require soaking so you just rinse them and add to your soup. This meal freezes beautifully too, so feel free to make double and keep individual serves in the freezer for easy winter lunches.       

*Recipe from Super Food for Performance in Work, Sport and Life                                              

Ingredients:                                  

1 tbsp olive oil

1 small onion, finely chopped

2 tsp cumin, ground

1 clove garlic, crushed

1 tbsp fresh ginger, grated

½ cup red lentils, rinsed

400g tinned diced tomato

1½ cups vegetable stock

2 tsp lemon juice

Chopped coriander and Greek yoghurt to serve (optional)

Method:

Heat the oil in a large saucepan or non-stick pan. Cook the onion for 2-3 minutes until soft, add the cumin, garlic, ginger and lentils and cook for 1 minute. Add the tomatoes and stock, bring to the boil then reduce the heat to low and simmer for 20-25 minutes until soft (you may need to add more water/stock, especially if you like a thinner-style soup).

Add the lemon juice and process in a food processor if desired. Serve with finely chopped fresh coriander and natural Greek yoghurt.

Fibre-rich, Vegetarian, Vegan, Gluten-free (if gluten-free stock is used)

10 of the best restaurant meal choices for athletes

Sleep, train, recover, eat, work/study, eat, train, recover…..the life of an athlete can be super-structured and this repetition can also apply to meals and snacks. Some athletes feel it is too difficult to eat out at restaurants when they are trying to meet their performance nutrition needs, so end up avoiding eating out, or find it quite difficult and stressful to make choices when they do venture away from home.    

But looking after yourself doesn't mean you have to lock yourself in an altitude tent for a month and live on steamed chicken, broccoli and rice! There are a feast of nutritious eating out options around that contribute to athlete health, nutrition and performance goals. Here are 10 of the best choices to help you enjoy eating out with friends and family, while keeping your training goals on track:

• Eye fillet steak with vegetables

Dinner at the pub should never be a problem - you can always find a grilled steak on the menu. Order with steamed vegetables and baked/roast/sweet potato instead of chips for a meal rich in lean protein, iron, zinc and vitamins. You may need to add some extra carbohydrate to help meet your training needs.

• Thai beef or chicken salad

With plenty of fresh herbs, garlic, chilli and fresh vegetables for vitamins and antioxidants, a Thai salad is terrific choice. Vermicelli noodles will provide some fuel, while the meat or chicken provides high quality protein and minerals.

• Prawn and vegetable stir-fry

Seafood is a great eating out option, but it’s often served deep fried. Prawns in a stir-fry give you extra vegetables, and by ordering the rice or noodles separately you can vary the amount of carbs to your needs.

• Poke bowl

You can get just about anything in a bowl these days, even smoothies (which I still don’t quite understand!). Poke bowls originate from Hawaii but are now widely available and traditionally contain plenty of fresh vegetables, rice, pickled vegetables, seaweed, edamame, rice and raw fish.

• Steamed fish and greens

Most menus these days will offer a grilled or steamed fish options, and it will often be served with green vegetables and soy/ginger/garlic/chilli style sauce. Check out my Instagram for some examples of these, it’s one of my favourite choices when I go out for dinner!  If you don't eat much fish at home, choosing it when you are out will help to boost your omega-3 intake.

• Grilled haloumi and vegetable stack

For a vegetarian option, grilled vegetable stacks can be a great choice, just make sure there is a decent source of protein like haloumi or ricotta cheese or tofu.

• Fajitas

Fajitas are the perfect Mexican dish to share with friends. Everyone can pick their own favourite fillings - lean meat or chicken, plenty of vegetables and soft tortillas make for a well-balanced and filling meal.

• Lamb Greek salad

Protein, minerals, healthy fats, vitamins – lamb and Greek salad are the perfect match.  Like many salad meals, you may need to serve with some bread, rice, quinoa or sweet potato for extra energy, depending on your goals and needs.

• Vietnamese Pho

Asian-style vegetable/noodle soups are a great eating out option, containing lean protein like beef or chicken, plus fresh herbs, vegetables and noodles.  Soup is hydrating and assists with recovery and fuelling. 

* You may have noticed some common elements to all of these meals - vegetables, herbs, good quality protein, healthy fats and adjustable carbohydrate according to individual needs.  Go for nutrient-density and quality for health and performance benefits                 

* Of course, if you don't eat out too often and are heading out for a celebratory dinner you can throw all this advice out the window and just choose what you really feel like! You never know though, it could still be one of the options above.....

If you are interested in more sports nutrition info, recipes and tips, please add your details for my free newsletter, at the bottom of any page on my website.  You can also follow me on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram and look out for my new book Super Food for Performance available for pre-order now, due to arrive in December 2017!