Award winning chef, restaurateur, cookbook author, television presenter and family man Pete Evans enjoys living a healthy lifestyle. Born in Melbourne and raised on the Gold Coast he loves nothing more than being outdoors surfing and fishing and has a real penchant for fresh food. [hr]

Recently seen across Australia as host of My Kitchen Rules, and regularly presenting on nutritional food and wellness, he has become known as a leading authority on healthy cooking. All this has been encapsulated in hislatest release Health Every Day, in which he shares his favourite recipes for good health and vitality.

All recipes are for meals he cooks for his family every day and feature loads of fresh veggies, nuts and seeds, sustainable seafood and meat, and free of gluten, sugar and dairy.

The Retiree magazine is fortunate Pete Evans has shared three recipes we can all enjoy while being nourished and satisfied. 

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Chia seed puddings 

I eat chia seed puddings regularly – sometimes for breakfast, sometimes as a snack and sometimes as dessert.

Chia seeds are absolutely packed with goodies, including omega-3 fatty acids, calcium, potassium, vitamin C and antioxidants. These puddings are really simple to make and the flavour combinations are endless. As the seasons change, you can experiment with different fruits, and instead of coconut cream, try using coconut water, nut milks, vegetable and fruit juices, or even teas.

Ingredients:

• 1 young coconut
• 125ml coconut cream or coconut milk
• 50g chia seeds
• 3 tablespoons honey, or to taste your choice of flavouring (see ideas below)

How To:

Open the coconut by cutting a circular hole in the top. Pour the coconut water into a jug (you should get about 250ml). Use a spoon to scoop the meat out of the coconut (you should get about 120g).

Place the coconut flesh in a food processor with 125ml of the coconut water and process until you have a smooth, thick puree. Pour into a bowl, add the coconut cream or milk, chia seeds and honey and mix well. Stir through your choice of flavouring (see ideas below).

Transfer the mixture to small glasses and refrigerate for at least 2 hours before serving.

 Flavour Variations 

Banana, spirulina and toasted pistachio:
Add 2 mashed bananas and 1 teaspoon of spirulina to the chia pudding recipe above. Serve with sliced banana, chopped, toasted pistachio nuts and a drizzle of honey.

Mixed berry and sunflower seed:
Place 150g of fresh or frozen mixed berries and 1 tablespoon of honey in a blender or food processer and blend until smooth. Pass through a sieve to remove the seeds and set aside. Fold another 100g of mixed berries into the chia pudding recipe above. To serve, pour the puree over the pudding, arrange some extra berries on top and sprinkle with sunflower seeds.

Vanilla bean, macadamia and toasted coconut:
Mix the seeds from 1 vanilla bean and 50 g chopped, toasted macadamia nutsinto the chia pudding recipe above. Serve with toasted coconut

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Nonya chicken curry

Nonya cuisine is a blend of Chinese, Malay and other influences that combine to create the most sublime dishes featuring coconut, galangal, shrimp paste, tamarind, lemongrass and kaffir lime, to name just a few.

When I visit Malaysia I am always astounded by how good the chicken curries are. One reason is that they sell the chickens live, so when you eat a chicken dish, there is a very good chance that the chook was alive only hours before. And then there are the spices that are so artfully woven into the dish, creating a magnificent depth of flavour. Water spinach is available at Asian grocers, but if you can’t find any, you can use bok choy or choy sum instead.

Ingredients

• 80ml coconut oil
• 1 star anise
• 2 whole cloves
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 200ml coconut cream
• 2 pandan leaves, shredded lengthways and knotted (optional)
• 12 curry leaves
• 600g chicken thigh fillets, each fillet cut into 4 pieces
• 1 sweet potato (about 300g), diced • 150g okra, halved lengthways
• 400ml coconut milk
• 1 tablespoon sea salt
• 2 small red chillies, halved lengthways and seeded (optional)
• 2 large handfuls of water spinach
• Cauliflower Rice, to serve

Spice Paste

• 8 dried red chillies
• 3 tablespoons coriander seeds
• 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
• 1 teaspoon fennel seeds
• 1 tablespoon shrimp paste (belacan)
• 8–10 red Asian shallots (about 270g), chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, chopped
• 6cm piece of fresh turmeric

How To

Start by making the spice paste. First, seed the chillies then place them in a small bowl and cover with boiling water. Soak for 10 minutes, then drain and chop. Toast the coriander, cumin and fennel seeds in a dry frying pan over medium heat for 2 minutes, or until fragrant and beginning to smoke. Grind to a powder with a mortar

and pestle or spice grinder and set aside. Next, toast the shrimp paste in the same frying pan for 1–2 minutes, or until fragrant. Spoon into a small bowl and set aside.

The next step can be done the old-fashioned way or in a food processor. If using a mortar and pestle, pound the soaked chillies, adding a small amount at a time, until a fine paste forms. Continue to pound and add the ground spices, shrimp paste, shallots, garlic and turmeric until you have a smooth paste. If using a food processor, exercise the same patience and add only small amounts of the ingredients at a time.

Melt the coconut oil in a heavy-based saucepan or wok over medium heat. Fry the star anise, cloves and cinnamon stick for about 20 seconds, or until fragrant. Add the spice paste and sauté for 6–10 minutes, or until it is very fragrant and the oil starts to separate from the paste. Add 100 ml of the coconut cream, the pandan leaves (if using) and curry leaves and cook for a couple of minutes, or until the oil separates and rises to the surface. Stir in the chicken, sweet potato, okra, coconut milk and salt. Cover and simmer for 10–15 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked and the sweet potato tender. Add the remaining coconut cream and the chillies (if using) and simmer for a further 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir through the water spinach. Serve with cauliflower rice.

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Cauliflower fried rice

About a decade ago, molecular gastronomy took the culinary world by storm. We saw chefs changing the composition of food and playing with our senses the way a magician challenges our beliefs about what is possible. One dish that gained notoriety was cauliflower rice – great for anyone wishing to avoid grains and wheat. So here is a play on the everpopular fried rice. I’ve replaced bland white rice with nutrient-rich, flavoursome and healthy cauliflower, and added all your favourite ingredients: tamari, egg, veggies, prawns, herbs,

ginger and garlic. Isn’t it great that, unlike magicians, chefs are happy to share their secrets?

Ingredients

• 1½ cauliflower heads (about 1 kg), separated into florets
• 4 slices of bacon or ham, diced
• 4 eggs, whisked
• 2 tablespoons coconut oil
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 200g shelled and deveined small raw prawns
• 100g shiitake or oyster mushrooms, sliced
• 2.5 cm piece of ginger, finely grated
• 100g okra, sliced
• 100g brussels sprouts
• 2 tablespoons tamari
• 1 large handful of bean sprouts
• 2 spring onions, finely sliced
• 2 tablespoons chopped coriander leaves
• 2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley leaves
• 1 tablespoon chopped mint leaves
• sea salt and freshly ground white pepper
• kimchi, to serve• fish sauce, to serve

How To

Pulse the cauliflower in a food processor until it resembles rice. In a large frying pan or wok, fry the bacon over high heat until crispy. Remove and set aside. Tip the eggs into the pan and tilt the pan so that the egg covers the base. Cook for a couple of minutes, or until the egg is set. Remove, slice into thin strips and set aside. Heat the coconut oil in the pan over high heat, add the onion and garlic and cook for a few minutes, or until softened. Stir in the prawns, mushrooms and ginger and cook for another few minutes.

Add the okra and brussels sprouts and cook for 1 minute. Add the cauliflower and cook for 2–3 minutes, or until tender. Add the bacon, egg, tamari, sprouts, spring onion, herbs and some salt and pepper and cook for 2 minutes, or until everything is heated through and well combined.

Serve with some kimchi and a splash of fish sauce.

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