Tasty yet healthy festive delights

It is time again for many of us to start wondering how to get through the festive season without piling on the kilos, which may last weeks and probably persist into the new year.

Eat healthy

If you are one of those who think they are going to binge now and go on a diet or start eating healthy later in the new year, beware — you are going to enter the new year miserable because your couldn't fit into that favourite pair of jeans.

To ensure you don't have to encounter this kind of scare, here are a few recipes that will help you enjoy the festive season without bursting out of your clothes.

Stuffed chicken

Ingredients

• 1 roasting chicken, whole
• Whole spices: cardamom, cinnamon, clove
• 1 cup tomato purée
• 2 onions
• 1 bunch coriander, fresh
• Garlic and ginger, fresh

For the stuffing

• 1 pound chicken, minced
• 2 cups rice
• Saudi feta cheese
• Garlic and ginger, fresh
• Salt
• Pepper
• Lemon

Method
Skin and clean the chicken. Wash and prick the meat all over with a fork. Apply a mixture of salt, lemon, garlic and ginger and leave aside.

In the meantime, put the onions, coriander, allspice and tomato paste in the blender and give it a good whizz.
Apply this mixture on the whole chicken and cover with cling film.

Once this is done, get the mince chicken ready.

Put in a pan with finely chopped onions and whole spices.
In the meantime, wash and soak the rice. Sauté until the mixture is well browned.

Pour in the drained rice and sauté for five more minutes. Add salt.

Add some water until the rice is fully covered and the water is at least an inch above the rice level.

Cook until the rice is done and the water has been absorbed.
Add cashew nuts and crumbled feta cheese to the ready rice mixture when cool.

Remove the cling film from the chicken and stuff it with the rice mixture.

Tie up the legs of the chicken to ensure no rice mixture falls out.

Place the chicken in an oven-proof dish and put it in the oven. Cover with foil and bake for 60-75 minutes until the chicken is cooked.

Bake for 10 minutes without the foil to brown all over.
Serve hot with fresh salad greens and laban.

Cranberry and poppy-seed muffin
Wheatgerm is a natural and delicious source of zinc, which helps the body maintain its energy level. Seeds, particularly poppy seeds, are another great way of introducing zinc to the diet.

Quick and easy to make, serve this for a New Year brunch or take to work to help keep you going during the busy hours.
Serving: 16 muffins
Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients

• 115g golden castor sugar
• 165g wholemeal flour
• 3 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 75g wheatgerm
• 100g cranberries, dried
• 25g poppy seeds
• 300ml yoghurt, low-fat, plain
• 2 eggs, free-range, medium
• 6 tbs canola oil
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Method

Heat the oven to 190°C (170°C fan). Line a muffin tin with bun cases (you may need to cook these in two batches if one muffin tin is all you have). Put all the dry ingredients into a bowl and mix. Beat the yoghurt lightly with the egg, oil and vanilla extract. Pour into the bowl and quickly mix together.
Be careful to not over mix. Spoon into the cases, then bake for 15-20 minutes. Remove from the oven and transfer the muffins to a rack to cool.

Chocolate pudding
The two most important ingredients to give the preparation an extra boost of iron are cocoa and prunes.

Time: 45 minutes (plus overnight soaking time for the prunes)

Ingredients

• 125g prunes, pitted, ready-to-eat
• 3 tbs orange juice
• 115g flour, self-raising
• 25g cocoa
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 75g sugar, muscovado, light
• 2 eggs, medium
• 100ml canola oil
• 4 tbs milk, skimmed

Method

Chop the prunes, put into a bowl and pour in the orange juice. Cover and leave overnight.

Grease four pudding basins and prepare a large steamer. Sift the flour, cocoa and baking powder into a bowl and stir in the sugar.

Beat the eggs, oil and milk together and then beat into the dry ingredients. When smooth, fold in the prunes.
Spoon the mixture into the pudding basins. Cover with greased foil and tuck the edges of foil around the basins.

Place in the steamer and steam for 30 minutes.
Run a palette knife round the edge of the puddings, invert on to plates and serve with vanilla custard or ice-cream.