Easy-to-make side dishes and dessert

Sometimes an entire meal can be made out of side dishes alone. Here are two recipes for dishes that are sure to please the palette plus one great dessert recipe to finish off. 

For a change, try short grain brown rice. It must be chewed a little longer than long grain rice, and has a hazelnut flavour.

Preparation: 5 minutes
Cooking time: 55 minutes

Ingredients:

• 30 ml (2 tbsp.) tablespoons) olive oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 250 g (1 cup) brown rice
• 110-125 g (1/2 cup) wild rice
• 250 ml (1 cup) orange juice
• 5 g (1 tsp. mL) grated ginger
• 110-125 g (1/2 cup) toasted almonds, chopped
• 110-125 g (1/2 cup) raisins

Preparation:

1. Heat the oil in a large saucepan over a medium heat. Sauté the onion and garlic for three minutes or until it just starts to brown.
2. Add both types of rice, 350 mL (one and one-half cups) of water, the orange juice and ginger.
3. Bring to the boil, reduce heat to a low heat, cover and simmer for 50 minutes, or until the rice is soft through.
4. Stir in the almonds and raisins.

Nutritional value: Calories: 317; protein: 7 g; carbohydrates: 53g; fibre: 4g; fat: 10 g (total); saturated fat: 1 g; cholesterol: 0 mg; sodium: 8mg.

Whole wheat pasta, tomato and rocket make this salad a particularly healthy dish.

Preparation: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 10 minutes
Makes 4 servings.

Ingredients:

• 175 g (3/4 cup) whole wheat pasta shells
• 30 ml (2 tbsp. ) low fat mayonnaise
• 30 ml (2 tbsp. ) low fat natural yogurt
• 30 ml (2 tbsp. ) red wine vinegar
• 30 g (2 tbsp. ) grated Parmesan
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 725-750 g (3 cups) chicken breast, cooked, cut into strips
• 200-250 g (1 cup) cherry tomatoes, halved
• 50 g (1/4 cup) Kalamata olives, thinly sliced
• 500 g (2 cups) of baby arugula leaves

Preparation:

1. Cook the pasta according to directions on the packet. Drain, but do not rinse.
2. Meanwhile, in a bowl whisk together the mayonnaise, yogurt, vinegar, cheese and garlic. Add the chicken, tomatoes, olives and arugula salad and mix gently.
3. Let the pasta cool for about two minutes. Add the chicken mixture and stir.

Nutritional value: Calories: 408; protein: 36 g; carbohydrates: 36 g; fibre: 5 g; fat: 13 g (total); saturated fat: 2 g; cholesterol: 84 mg; sodium: 228 mg.

In this Danish cake recipe, the butter is replaced by yogurt. Cinnamon is known to lower blood sugar and raisins are rich in potassium, a mineral that lowers blood pressure.

Preparation: 1 hour 40 minutes
Cooking time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:

• 200-250 g (1 cup) muesli with almonds
• 250 ml (1 cup) drained yogurt
• 250 g (1 cup) sugar
• 3 eggs
• 175 ml (1/3 cup) canola oil
• 15 ml (1 tbsp. ) vanilla extract
• 5 g (1 tsp. ) ground cinnamon
• 7 g (1 1/2 tsp. ) baking powder
• 5 g (1 tsp. ) baking soda
• 2 g (1/2 tsp. ) salt
• 550 g (2 1/4 cups) whole wheat pastry flour
• 110-125 g (1/2 cup) raisins

Preparation:

1. Preheat the oven to 180 °C (350 °F). Coat a bund cake tin with cooking spray. Sprinkle the bottom of the tin with muesli.
2. Whisk the drained yogurt, sugar, eggs, oil, vanilla and cinnamon in a large bowl.
3. Stir in the baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add the flour and whisk to mix well, then add the raisins. Pour into the tin.
4. Bake for 30minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean.
5. Leave to cool for 10 minutes on a wire rack, then remove from the tin and allow to cool for one hour.

Nutritional value: Calories: 279; protein: 7 g; carbohydrates: 45 g; fibre: 3 g; fat: 8 g (total); saturated fat: 1 g; cholesterol: 55 mg; sodium: 333 mg.

Making dinner tonight doesn't have to take all day. These simple recipes will allow you to have a delicious, light meal in no time.