TREATS FOR YOUR HOLIDAY FEAST

Celebrate the end of 2020 and usher in a bright new year with these sinfully delicious recipes from ‘Banting 7 Day Meal Plans Vegetarian’ – as good for your waistline as they are for the soul!

---

SUMMER SPINACH STRAWBERRY SALAD
Jacolise de Beer’s salad is one of the most delicious you’ll ever taste – savoury, sweet, crunchy, smooth and acidic notes all blended perfectly together. Serves 6-8

• 100g baby spinach
• 200g strawberries, sliced
• 2-3 handfuls blueberries
• 1 round feta cheese, crumbled
• ¼ red onion, sliced
• 1 avocado, sliced
• 1 handful chopped pecans
• 1 handful pumpkin seeds

DRESSING

• ½ cup light-tasting olive oil/high-oleic sunflower oil
• ¼ cup white wine vinegar
• 1 tsp sweetener
• 1 tsp Dijon mustard
• ½ tsp minced garlic
• ½ tsp salt
• ¼ tsp black pepper
• ¼ tsp paprika

1. Layer salad ingredients in a large salad platter.
2. Mix dressing ingredients.
3. Pour dressing over salad, at least half an hour before serving, to allow dressing flavours to infuse into salad.
4. Serve chilled

SUNFLOWER NACHOS
Feel free to add other sides like pickled red onions, lime wedges, fresh coriander and tomatoes. Plus the cooked salsa is great on roasted vegetables. Serves 4

• 90g sunflower seed (or cake) flour
• 180g grated cheddar
• 1 tbsp onion powder/garlic
• powder (optional)
• 2 Tbsp cream cheese
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 egg

TOPPINGS (optional)

• Avo mash/chunks of fresh avo
• Grated cheese
• Coriander chutney
• Sour cream

COOKED SALSA

• 8 tomatoes, chopped
• 4 large chillies, finely chopped
• 2 Tbsp crushed garlic
• 2 green peppers, chopped
• 2 Tbsp coconut oil
• 1 large onion, chopped
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• 1 tsp sweetener/coconut sugar (optional)

1. Make the salsa first. Place all the ingredients in a saucepan and bring to the boil, then leave to simmer on low for about 3 hours, until everything is soft and the mixture is thick.
2. Adjust seasoning to taste – you may need to add a little sweetener/coconut sugar to counter the acidity.
3. Preheat oven to 200˚C.
4. Mix the flour and cheddar cheese in a bowl. Microwave for 1 minute. Stir, then microwave again for 45 seconds. Mix together to form a dough, add the cream cheese, salt and egg, and mix well.
5. Roll dough into a ball and place in the centre of a sheet of baking paper. Put another sheet of paper on top and roll the dough out as thin as possible.
6. Remove top sheet of paper. Slide the dough gently, with the sheet of baking paper underneath, onto an oven tray.
7. Bake for about 10 minutes.
8. Remove from the oven and cut dough into nacho shapes, turn them over and bake for another 10 minutes. Watch that they don’t burn.
9. Allow to cool completely so that they crisp up nicely.
10. Serve nachos with cooked salsa and toppings.

Tip: No microwave? Melt the mixture slowly in a double boiler.



SWEET OOPSIES WITH BERRY COULIS
Makes 6

• 3 large eggs, separated
• Pinch of cream of tartar
• Pinch of salt
• 2 Tbsp sweetener/coconut sugar
• 190g cream cheese
• Coconut oil, for greasing
• ½ cup cream, whipped

COULIS

• 2 cups frozen berries
• ¼ cup sweetener
• ¼ cup water

1. Preheat oven to 150˚C. Grease a sheet of baking paper and use it to line an oven tray.
2. Whisk egg whites with salt until they reach soft-peak stage, then gradually whisk in cream of tartar and sweetener/coconut sugar.
3. Blend egg yolks with cream cheese until smooth. Gently fold in the egg whites.
4. Dollop six mounds of the mixture on the lined oven tray. Bake for 15-20 minutes until they are golden brown and cooked through.
5. Make the coulis by cooking the ingredients in a saucepan on medium heat until the berries are soft. Blend with a stick blender, then cook for 5 minutes more to thicken.
6. Allow the oopsies to cool, then top with fresh cream and a swirl of berry coulis.

COCONUT CHOC MOUSSE
A vegan-friendly treat that easily satisfies any craving for chocolate. Makes 4

• 1 tin coconut cream
• 4 Tbsp cocoa powder
• 3 Tbsp sweetener/coconut sugar
• 3 tsp low-carb flour
• Raspberries, for serving (optional)

1. Whisk together coconut cream, cocoa and sweetener until mixture becomes thicker.
2. Add flour and keep whisking.
3. Decant into glasses and serve chilled, with berries if you like.

If you prefer something a little more traditional, here are two meaty recipes to try.



GARLIC ROAST CHICKEN
Serves 4-6

• Whole chicken
• Half a lemon
• Half an onion, peeled
• 2 heads garlic, bulbs separated but left unpeeled
• ¼ cup olive or vegetable
• oil of your choice
• 1 sprig fresh thyme or ½ tsp dried thyme
• About 10 fresh rosemary leaves or pinch dried rosemary
• 1 tsp salt and generous amount
• freshly ground black pepper
• 4 carrots, washed, peeled and diagonally chopped into 3cm chunks
• 6 potatoes, washed, peeled and halved

1. Preheat oven to 220˚C. Wash chicken and pat try.
2. Put the half lemon and half onion into the chicken’s cavity.
3. Place the whole, unpeeled cloves of garlic on the bottom of a large, heavy oven dish that has a lid.
4. Place chicken, breast side up, on top of garlic cloves and push them in under the chicken.
5. Mix the olive oil with the herbs, salt and pepper and stir well.
6. Arrange the carrots around the chicken and pour the olive oil mixture over chicken and carrots. Cover with lid and place in oven. After 20 minutes turn heat down to 180˚C and continue cooking.
7. Boil potatoes in salted water until tender outside but still firm inside. Drain well.
8. Remove dish from oven and add potatoes, basting with the juices.
9. Cover with lid, return to oven and cook until done to your liking – around 45 minutes.

MELT-IN-THE-MOUTH LAMB SHANKS
Serves 6-8

• 4 large lamb shanks
• About 6 large cloves garlic, peeled and each one cut into thick slivers
• Butter, softened – enough to rub all over shanks
• 3 sprigs fresh rosemary or ²⁄³ tsp dried rosemary
• 4 sprigs fresh thyme or 1 tsp dried thyme
• Generous amount of salt and ground black pepper
• Juice of ²⁄³ lemon

Optional:

• ¼ cup balsamic vinegar
• 1 Tblsp brown sugar

1. Preheat the oven to 220°C. Rinse the shanks and dry very well.
2. Make slits in the shanks and insert the slivers of garlic, pushing in well (about four slivers per shank).
3. Mix the butter with the herbs, salt, pepper and lemon juice (if using fresh herbs, pull leaves off stalks).
4. Rub the butter mixture all over the shanks and place in an oven dish with the thickest parts towards the middle of the dish.
5. Cover with the lid, place in the oven and allow to cook for about 20 minutes.
6. Without opening the oven, turn down to 180˚C and cook for about an hour.
7. Remove from oven and baste shanks with juices.
8. Cook for another hour, remove and pour over the balsamic/sugar mixture if using. Baste again and return to oven, uncovered.
9. Continue cooking until done to your liking. Serve with plain yoghurt mixed with salt, black pepper, crushed garlic, chopped mint and lemon juice.