Monday, 27 February 2012

A Healthy One-Dish Meal!

A one-dish meal is a dish that has ingredients from all four food groups from the Healthy Diet Pyramid, and the dish that I am going to cook for my practical is an example of a healthy one-dish meal. Here are the recipes for the dish; the first recipe is the original recipe that I found on the internet, while the second recipe is a modified version of the recipe that is healthier.


Original recipe: 
(obtained from http://allrecipes.com/recipe/bow-ties-with-sausage-tomatoes-and-cream/detail.aspx)
Bow Ties with Sausage, Tomatoes and Cream
Ingredients:
            336 g bow tie pasta
            30 ml olive oil
            455 g sweet Italian sausage, casings removed and crumbled
            2 g red pepper flakes
            80 g diced onion
            3 cloves garlic, minced
            1 (28 ounce) can Italian-style plum tomatoes, drained and coarsely chopped
            355 ml heavy cream
            3 g salt
            10 g minced fresh parsley

Procedure:
1. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook pasta in boiling water for 8 to 10 minutes, or until al dente; drain.
2. Heat oil in a large, deep skillet over medium heat. Cook sausage and pepper flakes until sausage is evenly brown. Stir in onion and garlic, and cook until onion is tender. Stir in tomatoes, cream, and salt. Simmer until mixture thickens, 8 to 10 minutes.
Stir cooked pasta into sauce, and heat through. Sprinkle with parsley.


Modified Recipe:
Penne with Tomatoes, Chicken and Cream

Ingredients:
            336 g (approx. 1 cup) penne whole-grain pasta
            1 tbsp olive oil (according to preference)
            400 g chicken fillet, chopped into small pieces
            1 teaspoon of red pepper flakes
            80 g diced onion
            3 cloves garlic, minced
            2 tomatoes, chopped
            5/6 cup milk
            1/6 cup butter
            A pinch of salt
            1/2 carrot, sliced 
            1/2 capsicum, chopped
            10 g minced fresh parsley
            
 Procedure:
1. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook pasta in boiling water for 8 to 10 minutes, or until al dente; drain.
2. Melt the butter. Pour it into the milk and stir. Use in place of heavy cream.
3. Heat oil in a large, deep skillet over medium heat. Cook chicken and pepper flakes until chicken is evenly brown. Stir in onion and garlic, and cook until onion is tender. Stir in tomatoes, heavy cream substitute, and salt. Simmer until mixture thickens, 8 to 10 minutes.
Stir cooked pasta into sauce, and heat through. Garnish with carrot and capsicum; sprinkle with parsley.




I made several modifications to the original recipe to make it healthier and more appealing. Firstly, I changed the bow-tie pasta to penne whole-grain pasta, and I find penne pasta more appealing, and whole-grain pasta is healthier than normal pasta as whole grain is linked to lower risk of heart diseases, certain types of cancer, diabetes, and other health problems. Furthermore, whole grains are better sources of fiber and other important nutrients, such as selenium, potassium and magnesium as they have not undergone any processing that may remove these nutrients from the original grains.

Next, I changed the Italian sausages to chicken fillet, as sausages, being processed meat, are rather unhealthy as they are usually high in additives and preservatives which may harm your body if consumed too often. 

I also changed the heavy cream to a substitute: a mixture of milk and butter. Heavy cream is quite unhealthy as it is usually full of fat; hence, by using this substitute the amount of fat being consumed is lower.

Lastly, I also added carrots and capsicums into the ingredients section to be used as garnishes for the dish, to ensure that the dish looks appealing and colorful, rather than dull and boring, as the look of a dish can indeed affect a person's desire to consume the dish.


Sources used:
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/bow-ties-with-sausage-tomatoes-and-cream/detail.aspx 
http://frugalliving.about.com/od/makeyourowningredients/r/Heavy_Cream_Sub.htm
http://recipes.howstuffworks.com/tools-and-techniques/how-to-garnish-cooking7.htm
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/whole-grains/NU00204
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080511032046AA26GzW
http://www.ehow.com/how_2215860_find-low-fat-substitutes-heavy.html 


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