Food Preparation
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Lesson 10: Food Preparation
Nutritional Independence
Independence with your nutrition involves being responsible for your own food intake and the choices around that. Creating your own meals to eat gives you more control to do that.
To create or change your own meals requires an appropriate set of skills and an appropriate environment (your kitchen).
Kitchen essentials
If you are going to be changing your food habits in order to eat more healthily, it's important to enjoy what you’re eating so that you can maintain consistency and improve your quality of life.
To create meals that are both nutritious and delicious, your kitchen needs to be set up appropriately to facilitate the process of preparation and cooking.
preparation Tools:
Knives: 1 big (chef’s knife), 1 small (paring knife)
Chopping boards
Can opener
Measuring cups and spoons
Mixing bowls
Sieve and colander
Vegetable peeler
Grater
Cooking tools and bakeware:
Pots and pans so that you can fry, sear, or boil food items
Baking trays and casserole dishes for roasting, baking, and braises/stews
Cooking utensils:
Spatula for stirring and mixing
Tongs for gripping food items that are cooking
Serving utensils
Cooking appliances:
Stove top
Oven
Microwave
Kettle
Other essentials:
Food storage containers
Aluminium foil
Baking paper so that food doesn’t stick to your trays in the oven
Cling film
Tea towels
Essential pantry items:
There are going to be many ingredients that you will use on a regular basis when cooking that are convenient to have on hand. These include ingredients to make salad dressings with, spices and herbs to add flavour to dishes with, and canned items as well.
All of these essentials have a long shelf life.
Cooking oils: eg olive oil
Vinegars: eg balsamic, apple cider, red wine vinegar, white wine vinegar
Salt and pepper
Garlic
Ground Spices: eg cumin, smoked paprika, cayenne pepper, cinnamon
Dried Herbs: eg thyme, sage, dill, oregano, mixed herbs
Canned tomatoes: eg chopped, whole, crushed
Canned beans: eg black beans, red kidney beans, butter beans, cannelloni beans
Stock: eg dried or liquid vegetable stock, chicken stock, beef stock
Seeds and grains eg rice, quinoa, buckwheat, oats
Tip: Don’t feel like you need to buy all of these essentials (kitchen tools and pantry items) all at once. You can build up these essentials over time as you learn new dishes that require new ingredients.
Recipes
Time is a precious resource so being efficient in the kitchen is vital to creating delicious meals consistently. Recipes, along with the appropriate kitchen skills, enable you to discover what you can do with different ingredients. It’s always a good idea to make extra for the next days’ lunches and dinners.
Here are a few recipes that we’ve put together for you to try:
Easy salad Meal: 4 servings
Ingredients:
4 closed fistfuls of chopped green leafy vegetables eg kale, silverbeet
2-3 closed fistfuls of chopped ‘other vegetables’ that can include different food colours (aim for 5 food colours total) eg grated carrots, chopped capsicums, chopped green or red cabbage
4-6 palm sizes of a protein eg white fish fillets, rump steak, chicken breast, boneless chicken thighs, pork loin chops, lamb rump, beans and lentils, tofu, tempeh
3 thumb sizes of chopped avocado or other fat source eg nuts and seeds
1 tablespoon of olive oil or other oil for dressing
1 tablespoon of vinegar or lemon juice for dressing
2 tablespoon of olive oil or other oil for cooking
Salt and pepper
Equipment:
Big knife (chefs knife)
Chopping board
Large mixing bowl
Frying pan or oven tray (lined with baking paper)
Tongs
Steps:
Prepare the base of your salad first by adding into a large mixing bowl:
• Chopped green vegetables
• Chopped ‘other’ vegetables
• Nuts or seeds
• Salt and pepperCook your protein:
• Trim fat off of the meat if necessary (steaks or chops can have a thick cap of fat running along one side)
• Cut into bite sized pieces
• Coat in cooking oil
• Fry pieces in a medium-hot frying pan or roast in the oven at 180° celsius until cooked
Note: You can cook meats whole if you have the time as well, just be aware that the larger it is the longer it will take to cookMake the dressing while the meat is cooking:
• Combine 2 tablespoons of olive oil and 2 tablespoons of vinegar with a pinch of salt and pepper
• Add to large mixing bowl with salad base and toss in order to coat the vegetables evenlyEnjoy with the protein on the side or incorporated in the salad
Tips:
Getting in a variety of different textures in your salad makes the experience more balanced.
As you become more proficient with your cooking and preparation skills, you can re-order the steps to be even faster. Eg you can start by cooking the meat whole and chopping the raw vegetables while it cooks (as long as you can cut the vegetables fast enough!).
One Pot (Monster Mash): 6-8 Servings
Ingredients:
500g beef mince
1 can of black beans (400g)
1 can of tomatoes (400g)
1 onion - diced
2 carrots - chopped or grated
1 capsicum - diced
350g spinach
2 cloves of garlic - finely chopped (or 1 tablespoon of crushed garlic)
2 tablespoons of cooking oil to line the pan
Salt and pepper
Optional:
1 teaspoon of cumin
1 teaspoon of paprika
Pinch of chilli flakes
4 sprigs of fresh thyme
Equipment:
Big knife (chefs knife)
Chopping board
Large pot or pan (deep dish)
Spatula
Can opener
Steps:
Prepare your vegetables:
• Dice onion and capsicum
• Finely chop garlic
• Grate carrot
• Wash spinach (if necessary)In a deep dish pot or pan:
• Fry mince and diced onions in the cooking oil for 10 minutes on a medium-high heat or until both onions and mince have a brown edge to them, stirring occasionally (give them time to develop colour from the heat)
• Add grated carrots, diced capsicum, and spices (optional) and stir continuously for 1 minute.
• Add the spinach, beans, and can of tomatoes
• Bring to boil and then turn the heat down to simmer for 10 - 15 minutes. Adjust moisture levels by adding water if it gets too dry and add seasoning as neededEnjoy with brown or wild rice, quinoa, or root vegetables
Slow Cooked Pulled Beef: Serves 8-10
Ingredients:
1kg flank or chuck steak, lean brisket, or gravy beef
1 red onion - diced
2 cloves of garlic - finely chopped (or 1 tablespoon crushed garlic)
2 tablespoons of cumin
½ - 1 tablespoons of chilli powder
2 tablespoons of tomato paste
100ml of water
Salt and pepper
Equipment:
Big knife (chefs knife)
Chopping board
Slow cooker or large oven dish (deep dish)
Can opener
Steps:
Prepare your ingredients:
• Dice onion and finely chop garlic
• Trim excess fat off meat if necessaryPrepare the slow cooker:
• Add in all of your ingredients and cook on low for 8 hours
Note: If you don’t have a slow cooker, you can add all of your ingredients into a large deep dish oven tray (lined with baking paper) and put into the oven at 135° celsiusPull the beef:
• Using forks or tongs, pull at the beef to create ‘pulled beef’• Stir to incorporate cooking juices into the pulled beef
Enjoy with brown or wild rice, quinoa, or root vegetables
Optional:
Fry your beef on high heat in a pan until dark brown to add colour and increase depth of flavour before placing in slow cooker
Fry your onions and garlic in the same pan as you fried the beef before placing in the slow cooker
One tray bake: Chicken and vegetables - 4-6 Servings
Ingredients:
4 medium-large chicken breasts, skin on
4 courgettes - cut into bite sized chunks
1 onion - cut into bite sized chunks
2 - 3 chorizo sausages - cut into bite sized chunks
2 handfuls of cherry tomatoes
3 large handfuls of baby spinach
1 teaspoon of dried thyme
2 tablespoons of olive oil
2 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar
Equipment:
Big knife (chefs knife)
Chopping board
Large oven tray (lined with baking paper)
Tongs
Steps:
Preheat oven to 220° celsius
Prepare your ingredients:
• Cut onion, courgettes, and chorizo sausages into bite sized chunks
• Wash spinach if necessary
• Coat chicken breasts in olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and dried thymeRoasting:
• Once the oven is at 220° celsius, place your chicken breasts in, on a baking tray (lined with baking paper).
• 10 minutes after your chicken, add your courgette chunks to the tray
• 5 minutes after your courgettes, add your onion and chorizo sausage chunks
• 5-10 minutes after your onions and sausage chunks, check the chicken for doneness by slicing through the thickest part. The juices should run clear and the meat shouldn’t be pink or translucent. If so, leave in oven until cooked.
• Once cooked, remove from oven and add the baby spinach, stirring it throughEnjoy with brown or wild rice, quinoa, or root vegetables