Delicious braai recipes that will keep you in beach bod shape

While the festive season is, for many, synonymous with over-indulgence, the Heart and Stroke Foundation SA has put together a cookbook full of healthy yet delicious recipes.

The foundation’s Cooking from the Heart cookbook series will help you keep your festive season calories in check.

The aim is to eat mindfully over the holidays, so if you’re trying to maintain your weight, here are a few simple strategies you can follow:

1. Fill up on vegetables first. The more colourful your plate, the healthier
2. Take a break between bites so your body has time to process the food
3. Wait at least 20-30 minutes before having dessert. This gives your body time to figure out if it’s still hungry. Listen to your body, and stop eating when you’re full
4. Focus on having a good time with the people you’re with, rather than just on the food
5. Be aware of the amount of food you eat, and adjust it based on its nutritional value and the goals of your eating plan

Here are some healthy braai recipes from Cooking from the Heart’s special braai edition that won’t compromise your weight:

VEGGIE SKEWERS
These are delicious when braaied over the coals.

Ingredients
125g button mushrooms, halved
3 baby marrows, thickly sliced
200g baby tomatoes
1 green, yellow or red pepper, seeded and cut into large cubes
15-20 bay or fresh lemon or lime leaves (optional)
8-10 metal skewers or wooden kebab sticks, soaked in water for 30 minutes
¼ cup (60ml) olive or canola oil
3 Tbsp (45ml) lemon juice
1 Tbsp (15ml) finely grated lemon rind
2 tsp (10ml) each of chopped fresh thyme, origanum and parsley
1 clove of garlic, crushed black pepper to taste
½ tsp (2.5 ml) salt

Method
1. Place mushrooms in a shallow dish and cover with boiling water. Soak for 8–10 minutes to prevent the mushrooms from breaking apart when skewered. Drain well and pat dry.
2. Thread mushrooms and veggies onto skewers or kebab sticks, alternating the different veggies for a colourful end result. Add 1-2 bay, lemon or lime leaves in between veggies.
3. Mix oil, lemon juice and rind, herbs and garlic together and season with pepper.
4. Brush oil mixture onto skewers on all sides and marinate for 30 minutes. Season skewers with salt.
5. Grill over medium to low coals or until the veggies are just cooked, but not too soft. Brush with more of the marinade, while braaing, if necessary.
6. The kebabs can be served with pea and yoghurt dip or cottage cheese dip. Serve with a protein-rich vegetarian dish for a balanced meal.

Tips
1. Add pineapple to the skewers for a sweet flavour – it is delicious with pork or chicken.
2. A pinch of cumin or paprika or a chopped chili can be added to the oil mixture if preferred.
3. For a different flavour add 1 Tbsp (15ml) finely grated fresh ginger or add 1 tsp (5ml) mild mustard to the oil mixture.

COLOURFUL SLAW WITH GINGER & PEANUTS

Dressing
¼ cup (60ml) olive or canola oil
3 tbsp (45ml) red grape or apple cider vinegar
2 tbsp (30ml) soy sauce
4 tsp (20ml) finely grated fresh ginger
1 small red chilli, seeded and finely chopped, or to taste (optional)
3 tbsp (45ml) chopped fresh coriander or parsley
¼ cup (60ml) finely chopped unsalted peanuts lemon juice and black pepper to taste

Salad
500ml (2 cups) each shredded white and red cabbage (or more white)
1 large spinach leaf, shredded
2 carrots, peeled and coarsely grated
¼ cucumber, quartered and thinly sliced
1 medium pineapple, quartered and thinly sliced
1 celery stalk with the leaves, thinly sliced
½ red or green pepper, seeded, quartered and thinly sliced

Method
1. Dressing: Stir all the ingredients together in a mixing bowl.
2. Salad: Mix all the slaw ingredients together in a large bowl. Pour the dressing over and toss well. Allow salad to stand for 10 – 15 minutes before serving it. This will allow the salad to marinate.
3. Serve slaw as a side dish at a braai.

Tips
1. This dressing can be used as a marinade for fish, chicken, pork or veggies.
2. Add toasted coconut to the dressing instead of the peanuts.
3. Serve with steak or leftover braaied chicken in whole-wheat rolls or pitas.

MEALIE MEAL & CORN BAKE

Ingredients
3 cups (750ml) coarse mealie meal
2 cups (500ml) water
1½ cups (375ml) low fat milk
½ tsp (2.5ml) salt
¼ cup (60ml) olive or canola oil
1 x 410g tin cream style sweetcorn
1 small onion, cut into thin wedges
3 tbsp (45ml) chopped fresh parsley
¼ cup (60ml) coarsely grated cheddar cheese
1 corn on the cob, kernels cut from the cob or ½ cup (125ml) frozen whole kernel corn, rinsed

Method
1. Preheat oven to 180°C. Place the mealie meal, water, milk, salt, oil and sweetcorn in a large mixing bowl. Stir well so that no dry meal is visible.
2. Lightly grease a 20 x 27 cm oven dish with oil and spoon mealie meal mixture into dish.
3. Arrange onion wedges on mealie meal. Mix parsley, cheese and corn and sprinkle evenly over onions.
4. Bake for 1 hour or until the mealie meal is cooked through. Serve hot.

Tips:
1. Serve with Barbecue sauce.
2. Bake the mealie meal mixture without the onion and cheese mixture until cooked. Mix 1 x 410g tin onion and tomato mix with the parsley and onion wedges. Spoon onto cooked mealie meal bake, sprinkle with cheese and corn and bake for another 10–15 minutes or until the cheese has melted and the tomato layer is heated through. Serve immediately.