4 Ingredients Fast Fresh and Healthy

4 Ingredients Fast Fresh and Healthy

In this latest edition, Kim and Rachael have come up with over 400 incredibly delicious recipes based on Deepak's nutritional principles.

This book will transform the way you eat as you discover the wisdom of nutritious food that is healthy, fresh, appetising, as well as being quick and easy to prepare using just four or fewer ingredients.

Considering the notion 'We are what we eat' Deepak, Rachael and Kim have developed a sensational book that successfully combines modern nutritional science with the oldest healing system in the world, Ayurveda.

Kim and Rachael take all the guesswork out of choosing meals that are good for you with this easy to follow cookbook. Using ingredients easily sourced, the book is jam packed full of delicious recipes that combine nutrient packed fresh vegetables, fruit and herbs with other ingredients such as seafood, poultry, legumes, rice, pasta and much, much more.

If you've ever wanted to indulge in a healthy chocolate mousse guilt-free, then this book is for you!

4 Ingredients Fast Fresh and Healthy
Hay House
Author: Kim McCosker, Rachael Bermingham and Deepak Chopra
ISBN: 9781401924348
Price: $19.99

Interview with Kim McCosker

What fun and fast recipes can we see in 4 Ingredients Fast Fresh and Healthy?

Kim McCosker: There are over 400 and I am very please to tell you that every single one of them still follows the 4 Ingredients philosophies of quick, easy and delicious. It's quite hard to choose, but some of my personal favourites are; Almond Stuffed Dates, Jaffa Lychees, Mango Friands, Coconut & Pea Soup, Rosemary Chicken Skewers, Bang, Bang Asian Salad, Sesame Cucumber Ribbons, Balsamic Chicken, Green Curry Salmon Cakes, divine recipes for homemade Pasta and Pasta Sauces, Kulfi (it's a must) and Chocolate 'tofu' Mousse ... I could go on!


What was your favourite recipe to create?

Kim McCosker: Very hard to split the cleverness of both the Rosemary Chicken Skewers, where we are using the actual rosemary stalk as the skewer and a fabulous flavour enhancer and the surprise of the texture and taste of a heavenly Chocolate Mousse made on Tofu ... Who would ever have thought!?

What recipe does you family like best?

Kim McCosker: As a family we are loving the Banana Bread ... After 22 attempts we bring to life the world's most searched recipe made with only 4 ingredients ... This was a personal triumph the day it worked out!


Why do you think it is so important to create recipes with less than four ingredients?

Kim McCosker: We wrote 4 Ingredients to save ourselves time and money in the kitchen. We knew you could cook successfully with only 4 ingredients, my Mum passing on recipes for her Apricot Chicken with only 4 ingredients and her 3 ingredient Lemonade Scones, and it generally stands to reason that a recipe made with just 3 or 4 ingredients is going to cost you less than if it required 7, 8 or 9! What is important to realise though, is what can be made with so few ingredients and how good it tastes!


Can you tell us about how Deepak Chopra helped in creating 4 Ingredients Fast Fresh and Healthy?

Kim McCosker: Our forte is in making meals simple and easy to prepare. So when the opportunity arose to work with the foremost authority on mind-body medicine in the world we believed this was perfect timing. And through our collaboration, we believe we have come up with the best of all worlds when it comes to delivering healthy and simple meals. Deepak follows Ayurvedic Principles for his own health and well-being. He and many others follow these principles much deeper and more precise than what we have presented in 4 Ingredients Fast, Fresh and Healthy. Our intention is to simply introduce the concepts of what has worked so well in the East for so long, in the hope that our readers can apply them to their very busy and demanding lifestyles and derive benefit from the ease of the recipes and also the goodness they deliver.

Christmas Meal Planner

Hot on the success of their fourth book, 4 Ingredient Fast, Fresh and Healthy with Deepak Chopra, Kim McCosker and Rachael Bermingham love nothing more than quality time with family and friends. It's just one reason why the girls believe that Christmas Celebrations should be simple, delicious and give us all more time to join the festivities rather than spending too much time in the kitchen. So what's the difference with this easy 4 ingredients menu? These dishes are full of flavour, satisfy the six essential tastes of the Ayurvedic principles, and ensure that the tradition of a Christmas feast is not lost in the process. It's a balanced approach and essential for a healthier mind and body.

Christmas Tip: While we all like to indulge at Christmas, if possible, eat your heaviest meal at lunch time because digestion is stronger at midday and is more efficient at converting food into energy instead of into fat.

What is Ayurveda? Ayurveda (pronounced ah-your-vah-duuh) is a tradition Indian science of health, focused on the principle that body, mind and soul are completely dependent on one another.

"Christmas is the time to celebrate your family and friends, relax, enjoy and really appreciate everyone in your life. We all love Christmas traditions, but it's so important to realise it can be done simply, without the huge costs and not take forever to cook!" says Kim and Rachael. "We all like to be healthy, but it's just a case of listening to your body and eat only when you are truly hungry."

Deepak Chopra adds, "your relationship with food needs to provide you with a sense of joy, growth and enrichment. You don't need to count calories, kilojoules or grams of fat; you need to simply develop more of an awareness around the food, you are choosing to eat day to day. When you pay attention to what your body wants to eat and when it wants to eat, you will experience positive change."

Top 4 Tips for a Relaxed Christmas
1.Plan Ahead: Set a menu and pre-prepare. From out Menu Planner, everything can eb made and prepared ahead of time, leaving only the main meal to cook on the day

2.Decorate Using a Colour Theme: Keep your colour theme simple using just two or three colours that will help create that designer look and keep the cost down.
3.Bauble Bowl: Create a table centrepiece by filling a large glass bowl with Christmas baubles (in your chosen colour theme!) or use pinecones.
4.Homemade Gifts: Friends and family love handmade Christmas gifts. Take our 4 Ingredients Fruit Cake recipe, excerpt use a muffin tray lined with Christmas papers. Spread the mixture between each and half the baking time. When cool, wrap in cellophane, holly and ribbon!

New Year's Eve Tip: Healthy eating = healthy weight. Your cells recreate themselves over and over millions of times in your lifetime. We are being created anew every day. The skin, for example, replaces itself once each month, the stomach lining every five days, the liver every six weeks, and the skeleton every three months. In face each year around 98% of each one of us is made up of brand new cells. So even if you are feeling overweight or unhealthy today, there is no reason that you have to stay that way.

Meal Planner
Starter: Avocado Salsa
Entrée: Vegie Kebabs
Main: Baked Chicken with Preserved Lemons with Seasonal Roasted Vegetables and Herbed Zucchinis
Dessert: Chocolate Tofu Mousse.

Avocado Salsa

Serve 4
Ingredients
2 ripe avocados
½ Spanish onion, finely chopped
¼ bunch coriander, chopped
1 lemon, juiced.

Method
Peel and dice avocado into 1cm cubes.
Add onion and coriander. Drizzle with lemon juice to taste and season as desired.
Optional: Serve with a plate of freshly cut carrot sticks.
Tip: If prepared ahead of time, return seed dip to stop discoloration. Cover and place in refrigerator until ready to serve.

Vegie Kebabs

Makes 16
The word 'kebab' is Arabic and means 'on a skewer'!

Ingredients
1 red capsicum
1 Spanish onion
¼ fresh pineapple
8 large mushrooms, washed and halved

Method
Cut first three ingredients into large chunks and threat alternately with mushrooms onto a soaked skewer.
Grill on a hot BBQ for a couple of minutes, each side, or until soft and warm.

Baked Chicken with Preserved Lemons

Serves 6

Ingredients
1 chicken, cut into pieces
2 lemons, quarted
2 tbs. honey
2 sprigs rosemary

Method
Preheat over to 180 degrees.
Put chicken skin side up in a large baking dish.
Mix the juice of the lemons with the honey in a small bowl and pour over chicken pieces.
Place squeezed lemon pieces in the baking dish for extra flavour. Season with sea salt and pepper.
Cook for 40 minutes or until chicken is cooked and skin golden.
Remove from over and discard lemon halves.
Pour juices into a saucepan and boil uncovered for five minutes or until the juices have thickened slightly.
Serve with your families favourite roasted or green vegetables, such as zucchinis sautéed and sprinkled with parsley.

Chocolate Tofu Mousse

Serves 4

Ingredients
350g pkt silken tofu (bought to room temperature)
280g dark chocolate chips
1 tbs pure maple syrup
1 tsp. Vanilla extract

Method
Blend tofu in food processor, blender, or hand held mixer until just smooth.
In a double boiler, melt chocolate chips over low heat, stirring constantly.
Add maple syrup to melted chocolate and combine.
Add to tofu and mix until creamy.
Pour into four small serving dishes and chill until serve.