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Healthy recipes for the bachelor(ette)

They say men cook better than women, but that’s as debatable as deciding whether to leave Cape Town via the N1 or N2 on a Friday afternoon. And when you get home after a long and tedious drive in peak traffic, who has the energy left to prepare a wholesome meal?

But, what if we told you that nourishing doesn’t mean long hours of preparation? What if you can prepare a healthy meal in under 20 minutes?

Here are three quick and healthy recipes for you bachelors:

Grilled steak with a twist

By far one of the more popular choices in any guy’s fridge, a good steak will hardly be given a miss. And when prepared correctly, you may just shed a tear of joy.

Ingredients

  • 1 cored fresh pineapple (reserve any juice in container)
  • 1/4 cup pineapple or orange juice
  • 4 pieces steak or beef fillet (200g each)
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 of each: green, red, and orange or yellow sweet pepper, sliced into 4 flat pieces
  • 2 tbsps packed dark brown sugar
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 tbsp chopped fresh ginger
  • 2 tsps cornstarch
  • 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper
  • 1/4 tsp ground black pepper

Method

  1. Cut the pineapple into 8 rings, and pour the juice, along with the pineapple or orange juice, into a cup until a third full.
  2. Season your meat on all sides with salt and grill on medium-high. The pineapple rings and sweet pepper must now be coated with non-stick cooking spray and seasoned with salt.
  3. In a separate saucepan, whisk the juice that was set aside with ¼ cup water, brown sugar, olive oil, ginger, cornstarch, crushed red pepper, the remaining ¼ teaspoon salt, and black pepper. Place these contents over a high heat until it boils and then let it simmer for a minute.
  4. Now grill the meat and pineapple slices for three minutes, covered. Turn the meat over and let it grill for another three minutes on the covered heat. When done, allow the beef and pineapple to rest for 5 minutes, during which time the peppers can be grilled.
  5. Add the dish to a plate and drizzle the pineapple glaze over the beef. Enjoy!

Power veggie sandwich

Okay, before we get into the finer details of this sandwich, preparation for this snack needs to start about 24 to 48 hours before fixing it. But fixing the actual sandwich shouldn’t take longer than five minutes.

Ingredients

  • 400g can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
  • 1 large ripe avocado
  • 2 tsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
  • 1/4 cup dried cranberries
  • Freshly ground salt and pepper
  • Bread
  • Toppings: Arugula, red onion, or spinach

Method

  1. In a medium-sized bowl, use a fork to smash a can of chickpeas until finely ground.
  2. Add a whole avocado to the mix and smash the avocado until it’s smooth, but keep a few chunky pieces. Add lemon juice and cranberries to the bowl and season with salt and pepper. When this process is complete, place the contents in the freezer for a day or two.
  3. When the yearning for your day-old spread is ready to be tamed, toast 2 slices of bread. Spread half of your day-old salad on the one slice and place the other slice on top and enjoy.
  4. This is quite a healthy meal and if the sugar content seems a bit much, reduce the amount of cranberries used the next time you prepare this meal. Wholegrain bread is recommended, but do keep in mind that different breads have different nutritional contents. As an alternative, the spread can be enjoyed on lettuce instead.

Sausage, polenta and marinated peppers

You’re revved and ready to cook up a huge meal. All you have in the freezer are sausages… no problem!

Ingredients

  • 2 tbsps fresh lime juice
  • 1 tbsp olive oil, plus more for the grill
  • 2 tsps honey kosher salt and black pepper
  • 1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
  • 1 small red onion, thinly sliced
  • 8 small links Italian sausage (about 700g total)
  • 400g store-bought cooked polenta, sliced into thick rounds

Method

  1. On a medium-high temperature, bring the pan up to temperature and grill the sausages until charred and cooked through for 10-12 minutes.
  2. Whilst grilling, in a separate bowl, whisk the lime juice, oil, honey, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper until the honey dissolves. Now add the bell pepper and onion to the bowl and, in a 15-minute window, toss it occasionally.
  3. As the meal enters the last 5 minutes of preparation, add a bit of oil to your pot or pan and grill some polenta.
  4. Once that’s done, the meal is ready to be served.

References