Healthy cooking sauce?

paulcummins

I am looking for a healthy cooking sauce that I can use. I like spicy sauces but I will try anything. At the moment I use Lloyd Grossman sauces when cooking but I'm wondering if there is a healthier option?

RyanTubs

Use ground spices on your meat pre, during or post cooking - black pepper, cayenne pepper, crushed chillis, etc. There are tons of them out there so experiment to find what you prefer. I usually just use black pepper and soy sauce on most dishes.

And yes those sauces are bad if you're trying to lose weight. Loaded with additives.

eimear10

ok so add loadsa spices but then what to make them into a sauce? like water ? any example recipes going?

RyanTubs

You got me there - they wouldn't technically be sauces but they would have strong flavours. I'm no expert but you could use chopped tomatoes as the base for most sauces and add relevant spices to that.

CatMH

was going to post the same eimear. have used a tin of tomatoes/fresh tomatoes and spices to make a sauce but have gotten tired of this, so any other recipes would be great if anyone has them!

paulcummins

I need some kind of sauce though. I like the tomato idea, I will look into it. I will get some ground spices next time I am shopping. I wonder if I could use tomatos and these spices to make a sauce. I'm not sure what to do though.. grind the tomatos until the juice comes out and use that for the sauce?

Also, aren't the ground spices high in salt? or maybe not?

Oryx

Cornflour will thicken any sauce. Adding tomato puree to chopped tomatoes enhances the taste. After that, experiment. I like tabasco in a tomato sauce myself. As long as you stay away from cream based stuff you shouldnt be too bad.

paulcummins

Oryx wrote: »

Cornflour will thicken any sauce. Adding tomato puree to chopped tomatoes enhances the taste. After that, experiment. I like tabasco in a tomato sauce myself. As long as you stay away from cream based stuff you shouldnt be too bad.

great idea, i love tabasco. il have to look at the sodium content etc though. i found a really good video on cooking a homemade sauce just there, very helpful.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9OTRfbGntGA

RyanTubs

paulcummins wrote: »

Also, aren't the ground spices high in salt? or maybe not?

Don't think so.

eimear10

can people post their fave spices ?

i love chinese five spice in a stir fry,

chilli flakes are good t spice things up , and garlic powder.

had a stirfry for dinner last night , veg cooked light soya sauce with sweet chilli sauce over it at the end, small bitta rice. and chicken fillet coated in chilli flakes and garlic powder!! was delish!!

Anyone else got any easy spices like to throw in with veg an chicken?

The Big Red Button

paulcummins wrote: »

I need some kind of sauce though. I like the tomato idea, I will look into it. I will get some ground spices next time I am shopping. I wonder if I could use tomatos and these spices to make a sauce. I'm not sure what to do though.. grind the tomatos until the juice comes out and use that for the sauce?

Passata is a great base for a sauce, it's just crushed tomatoes in a jar. I prefer using that than tinned tomatoes etc because it's really smooth! For a bolognese type sauce, I'd just use a jar of passata, loads of garlic and basil, and whatever veg I have (spinach, onions, mushrooms etc.)

paulcummins

chatterpillar wrote: »

Passata is a great base for a sauce, it's just crushed tomatoes in a jar. I prefer using that than tinned tomatoes etc because it's really smooth! For a bolognese type sauce, I'd just use a jar of passata, loads of garlic and basil, and whatever veg I have (spinach, onions, mushrooms etc.)

Would you make your own passata or buy it in Aldi/Tesco in a carton?

What do you think of using tomatoes like the girl did in the youtube clip i posted above and making sauce from scratch without passata? (if you didn't watch it, its just the first 20 seconds im talking about).

paulcummins

eimear10 wrote: »

can people post their fave spices ?

i love chinese five spice in a stir fry,

chilli flakes are good t spice things up , and garlic powder.

had a stirfry for dinner last night , veg cooked light soya sauce with sweet chilli sauce over it at the end, small bitta rice. and chicken fillet coated in chilli flakes and garlic powder!! was delish!!

Anyone else got any easy spices like to throw in with veg an chicken?

I'd also be interested to hear, im a big fan of spicy stuff, the hotter the better!

RyanTubs

Paul do you ever just add regular chillis that you can buy in every supermarket to your dishes? I rarely do as they are seriously spicy - just one small one can get a meal for 4 spicy as hell. Maybe give that a go can't imagine they're high in anything.

RyanTubs

Cajun is a personal favourite on chicken but it's really about finding which ones you like. They're pretty cheap so just experiment with every dish and you'll figure out your preferences.

The Big Red Button

paulcummins wrote: »

Would you make your own passata or buy it in Aldi/Tesco in a carton?

I buy it, it's a Supervalu brand one I usually use, you can get it most places though. And it's not expensive.

paulcummins wrote: »

What do you think of using tomatoes like the girl did in the youtube clip i posted above and making sauce from scratch without passata? (if you didn't watch it, its just the first 20 seconds im talking about).

I'm too lazy for that, to be perfectly honest. I like to eat natural unprocessed food as much as possible, and the only ingredient in the passata is tomatoes, so that's good enough for me!

Maybe it's nicer made from scratch, but I just wouldn't have the patience for the boiling and cooling and peeling, like in that video!

Glitter

Curries are dead easy to make from scratch too - you can use tinned tomatoes or light coconut milk from recipe to recipe.
Since all the ones posted so far have been tomato based here's my recipe for low fat "thai style" chicken curry made with coconut milk.
This serves three people generously (you could stretch it to four small portions) and comes in at 316 calories per serving according to the calculator on myfitnesspal.

1 tsp extra virgin olive oil
112g lean, skinless chicken breasts
1 tin of reduced fat coconut milk
35ml lime juice (fresh squeezed or bottled (unsweetened!))
6 scallions
50g Green beans
100g Sugar snap peas
1/2 a red pepper
1/2 a yellow pepper
SPICES:
1-2 kaffir lime leaves
4 cardomon pods
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground paprika
1 tsp whole coriander seeds
1 tbsp curry powder (adjust depending on how hot you like it)

NB - Baby corn also rocks in this if you prefer less peppers.
And you can add garlic when frying teh scallions if you're not a fusspot garlic-hater like my OH.

Method:
Chop all the veg roughly. Chop the chicken into bitesize chunks. Measure out all your spices on a saucer for easy use.
Ina large saucepan lightly fry the chopped scallions in the oil before adding the chicken pieces to brown. Once the chicken starts to brown slightly also add the lime juice.
Brown for a further 4-5 minutes.
Add in the rest of the chopped veg and stir over a medium heat for 1-2 minutes.
Then add all the spices and mix well, cook for another couple of minutes before adding the coconut milk.
Bring to the boil over the medium heat then turn down and simmer for a minimum of half an hour (more if you have time) before serving.

Service with rice (preferably brown), cous cous, quinoa or naan bread. (Calories for this not included above!).