Zucchini and feta fritters

I made this up today, inspired by my recent success with amazingly simple and delicious zucchini and haloumi fritters. These are low in sugar and carbs and are of course low GI as well.

The texture of these is lovely, light and slightly crisp; somewhere between a pikelet, an omelette and a fritter. I recommend serving simply with a squeeze of lemon, or some crispy bacon and tomato chutney for something more substantial.

• 2 zucchini, grated, squeezed and drained (the more moisture you can remove, the better – ideally leave to drain for a few hours in a colander)
• 100g Danish-style feta, crumbled
• 2 eggs
• pepper
• chopped fresh parsley, dill or mint
• 2 tablespoons plain flour to help bind (you can substitute with corn flour or almond meal if preferred)

Mix everything together, then fry in small spoonfuls until golden and browed on the edges – they’ll still be quite light and fluffy inside. Voila!

Incredibly easy classic chocolate mousse

This dessert is a real treat for any poor sods who are lactose intolerant, as it’s naturally dairy free (as long as you use proper dairy free dark chocolate). It’s also so easy I’ve been making it since I was a kid, way back in the eighties. Retro!

All you need is:

• 200g quality fair trade chocolate – you can use milk, dark or a combination
• 3 large free-range eggs

That’s it. No cream, no added sugar, no avocado, nothing! (You can add a drop of vanilla, orange essence or booze to the egg yolk and chocolate mixture if you wish.)

Crisp salt and chilli tofu

I find this dish so comforting. Perfect for a Valentines night dinner with yourself! <3

It’s usually made with spring onions too, which are a delicious addition. If using chuck them in towards the end along with the chilli and garlic.

Frittata of baby spinach, pumpkin, feta & jamon

I began this dish thinking I was going to make spanokopita. But having no filo pastry, I added a few eggs to turn it into a frittata. I also decided to throw in some thinly sliced pumpkin to bulk it up and a few slices of jamon because, well pork products make everything better. Obviously you could leave it out if you wanted to keep it vegetarian.

Easy egg-based breakfast bites

For me, the hardest time eating low-carb/low-GI is at breakfast. My usual breakfast involves leftovers of some kind, but occasionally I need something a bit more traditional. These little breakfast ‘bites’ are really simple to make and keep well for a few days once cooked.

A ‘recipe’ as such isn’t really needed. You just need a non-stick muffin/cupcake tin, one egg per hole, and something to make them taste delicious…

Japanese spinach with sesame

Ok, this is not authentic, but it’s a very quick and easy approximation to the delicious horenso no goma ae I always have to order at Japanese restaurants. The classic recipe calls for boiled sake and hand-ground sesame seeds, but hello, it’s Tuesday.

Spaghetti Pollanaise – a recipe inspired by Michael Pollan

Recently, we saw Michael Pollan talk at the Opera House. He was awesome.

The things he spoke of were not new to me. Ideas about eating locally grown produce; not eating too many refined “white” foods; avoiding foods so artificial that our grandmothers wouldn’t recognise them as food… But there was one line which stuck with me above all others:

Moroccan lamb mince, egg and feta ‘breakfast’ tagine

There are few things more delicious than the fragrance of simmering lamb and cinnamon. This breakfast tagine, inspired by the amazeballs one at Kazbah in Balmain (also in Darling Harbour and Top Ryde), makes breakfast worth getting out of bed for.

Cereal? Pah! Toast? Pish! 

Homemade gluten and wheat-free Scottish oatcakes recipe

To me, there is no better savoury biscuit than the humble oatcake. With pate, jam or even a simple scrape of butter, the oatcake provides a crunchy, crumbly, earthy goodness to whatever your topping. They’re also perfect on a cheese platter as a more wholesome, gluten-free/wheat-free alternative to crackers. (My little babies worked out to be only one gram of net carbs per oatcake! Yeah.)

Pork and eggplant adobo

This is one of my absolute favourite comfort dishes. It’s perfect for when you have no fresh vegies, and are feeling unwell or tired, and need something warming and hearty. (Tick, tick and tick!) The ingredients might not sound exciting, but trust me, this dish is more than the sum of its parts!