School lunch ideas

Are your children heading back to school soon? Give their lunch box a healthy make-over, select a combination of foods containing carbohydrates, calcium, vegetables, fruit and proteins.

Here are four healthy lunches to get you started:

Tuna rolls: Split wholemeal rolls and spread with mayonnaise, then fill with canned tuna, corn kernels and semi-dried tomatoes. Pack with popcorn, dried apricots and a carton of yoghurt.

Pita sandwiches: Halve pita pockets, spread with pesto and fill with slices of roasted or barbecued chicken, brocconcini, watercress or lettuce and grilled zucchini. Add a small container of fruits in natural juices, grape tomatoes and almonds or walnuts.

Roll ups: Place lavash bread on a sheet of baking paper. Spread with hummus, then top with grated carrot, sliced cheese and avocado. Roll up tightly, using paper as a guide. Cut into thirds. Pack with a small mandarin, a bunch of grapes and a few miniature cheese wedges.

Frittata: Make a frittata, starting with 6 whisked eggs. Add cooked sliced potatoes, cherry tomatoes, cheese and herbs, or canned salmon or tuna. (Frittatas are a great way to use up leftover vegies.) Add mixture to a hot frying pan and cook over medium heat until 3/4 cooked, then transfer to a hot grill and cook for
a further 5 minutes or until browned. Cool. Serve, cut into slices, with sticks of cucumber and carrot, along with a bottle of water, a muesli bar and an apple.

Warm Salmon Potato Salad

Try this easy summer dish with pan-fried salmon, warm potatoes, dill and watercress salad. The garlic–lemon dressing adds instant flavour, while the fennel and tomato give a wonderful raw crunch. If cooking for more than two, fire up the barbecue and grill the salmon for that great barbie flavour.

For The Salad

400g kipfler potatoes, washed, skin on
2 x 180g salmon fillet
½ bulb fennel, sliced thinly
1 lemon, zested
½ punnet cherry tomatoes, cut in half
1 red onion, sliced
½ bunch watercress, picked and washed
12 sprigs dill, picked

For The Dressing2 tbsp whole-egg mayonnaise
2 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp hot water
½ clove garlic, crushed
Salt and pepper

Bring potatoes to the boil from cold water. Cook gently till just done, drain and set aside. Brush the salmon skin with olive oil and place, skin down, into a warm nonstick frypan. Cook salmon for about 5 minutes till skin crisps. Turn over and cook another 3–4 minutes. Remove from pan. Meanwhile, to make the dressing, whisk all the dressing ingredients together.

In a bowl toss together fennel, lemon zest, cherry tomatoes, red onion, watercress and picked dill. Slice warm potatoes and toss into the salad with the dressing. Serve on large plates and place salmon fillet on top, or see this week’s tip for a flaked version.

You can also serve this dish by flaking the salmon and tossing it through the salad. Once salmon is cooked, discard the skin, flake into large pieces and lightly toss with salad and dressing.

Preparation time: 20 mins
Serves: 2

Salmon Salad with Tarragon & Caper Dressing

Server 4 for lunch

100g green beans
1 x 400g tinned salmon
12 cherry tomatoes, halved
4 spring onions (scallions), finely sliced
1 cos (romaine) lettuce, torn into pieces

Dressing:
1 Tbsp capers, finely chopped
1 Tbsp tarragon, finely chopped
2 tsp lemon juice
1 Tbsp olive oil

Bring a small saucepan of lightly salted water to the boil. Blanch beans for 5 minutes. Drain and cool under cold running water.
In a small bowl mix all dressing ingredients and season to taste.
Drain salmon and place in a salad bowl with beans, tomatoes, spring onions and lettuce. Pour dressing over salad, toss well and serve immediately.

Source: the CSIRO total wellbeing diet

Salmon Poached in Thai Coconut Broth

Preparation time: 15 minutes

Cooking time:15 minutes 

Total time: 30 minutes 

Serves: 2

1 tbsp Oil
1 tbsp Thai green curry paste
270ml Light coconut milk
1 cup Chicken stock
1 packet John West Chilled Atlantic Salmon portions
100g Fresh baby corn, chopped
1 Carrot, cut into julienne strips
100g Snow peas, sliced
1 tbsp Fresh coriander, chopped
200g Rice or udon noodles, cooked
Fresh coriander, to serve

Heat oil in a medium frying pan and cook curry paste for 1 minute or until fragrant. Add coconut milk and stock and heat until simmering.
Add John West Atlantic Salmon Portions, baby corn, carrot strips, snow peas and chopped coriander. Cover and cook on low heat for 5-7 minutes or until salmon is cooked through.
Place cooked noodles into serving bowls and top with salmon and broth. Serve garnished with fresh coriander

TIP: John West Chilled Atlantic Salmon can be pan-fried and served with noodles and broth

30 Oct 10 Special K
I made this tonight and it was delicious. Fresh baby corn was super expensive so I substituted pak choy and decided to pan fry the salmon to get a lovely crispy skin. I served it with fresh udon noodles and placed the salmon on top of the noodles and vegetables, pouring the sauce over the top. I paired it with a lovely Sauvingnon Blanc.

Salmon and Wasabi Ravioli with Kaffir Lime Sauce

1 quantity or 250g (8 oz) fresh pasta or 40 wonton wrappers

Filling
300g (10 oz) salmon fillet
1/3 cup creme fraiche* or sour cream
125g (4 oz) ricotta cheese
wasabi to taste (about 1/2 teaspoon)
1 tablespoon chopped dill
cracked pepper
kaffir lime sauce
1 cup (8 fl oz) fish or vegetable stock
6 kaffir lime leaves, shredded
3/4 cup (6 fl oz) cream

Cut pasta into 10cm (4 inch) squares and set aside.

To make filling, cut salmon into slices 2cm (3/4 inch) thick.

Place salmon, creme fraiche, ricotta, wasabi, dill and pepper in a bowl and mix to combine. Place spoonfuls of filling on pasta squares or wonton wrappers and top with anotherpasta square or wonton wrapper. Press squares firmly around edges to seal.
To make sauce, place stock, lime leaves and cream in a saucepan and simmer gently until reduced by half.
To cook ravioli, place it in a large saucepan of boiling water and cook for 6-8 minutes or until pasta is al dente. Drain and place ravioli in serving bowls and spoon sauce over it. Top with cracked pepper.

Serves 4 to 6.

* creme fraiche - a mixture of sour cream and fresh cream.

Source: Marie Claire Cooking

Special K 16Feb03 We cooked this last night and although it was time consuming, because we made the fresh pasta as well, it was definitely worth the wait. We cut the salmon into bite sized pieces instead of slices and ended up making them into tortellini instead of ravioli because there was plenty of salmon mixture to make about 30 large pieces. We used dried kaffir lime leaves and vegetable stock and the sauce was delicious.

Char-grilled Salmon with Parsley Relish, Asparagus & Pumpkin

400g butternut pumpkin, peeled and thickly sliced
1 Tbs olive oil
4 x 200g salmon fillets
16 asparagus spears
4 Tbs Parsley Relish
lime wedges

Preheat oven to 180C (350F).
Place pumpkin in a bowl with half the oil and toss to coat. Transfer to a baking dish and lightly season. Bake for 20 minutes, or until soft and golden.
Meanwhile, heat a non-stick grill plate or barbeque grill to high. Lightly brush salmon fillets with remaining oil. Place salmon on grill, flesh side down, and cook for 4 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside, covered.
Bring a saucepan of lightly salted water to a boil. Add asparagus and blanch for 2 minutes, then drain. Arrange salmon on pumpkin slices, then top with parsley relish and add asparagus spears.Serve with lime wedges.

Serves 4 for dinner

Parsley Relish
1 bunch flat-leaf (Italian parsley
6 anchovy fillets
2 Tbs baby capers
grated zest of 2 lemons
1/2 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup olive oil
freshly ground black pepper

Place all ingredients except oil in a food processor. Lightly process, then, with the motor still running, add enough oil to form a thick paste.
Season to taste with pepper. Serve cooked lamb, beef or salmon with a dollop of relish on top.

Makes about 1 1/2 cups

Source: The CSIRO Total Wellbeing Diet

Ocean Trout in Citrus Marinade

4 x 150g skinless ocean trout fillets, boned (or salmon)
2 Tbs olive oil
1 handful flat-leaf Italian parsley
grated zest and juice of 1 lemon
grated zest and juice of 1 orange
500g vine-ripened tomatoes, finely diced
2 spring onions (scallions), finely sliced
1 Tbs salted capers, rinsed
Slice the trout into 4cm (1 1/2 in) wide slices.

Heat half the oil in a large, heavy-based frying pan over medium heat and sear the trout for 1 minute on both sides.
Put on a serving dish and season with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.
Scatter the parsley over the fish. Add the lemon juice, orange juice, zest, tomato, spring onion and capers to the pan and cook for 1 minute.
Pour over the fish and drizzle with the remaining olive oil.
Allow to sit in the refrigerator for 1 hour before serving with a spoonful of the marinade.

Serves 4

Source: Marie Claire, Kitchen - the ultimate recipe collection