Easy Weeknight Meals

by Nadia Lim, My Food Bag

Here is the solution to every cook's weeknight dilemma - what to cook tonight? Delicious, simple-to-follow, nutritious recipes that your family and friends will love from the My Food Bag team and Nadia Lim. These recipes have been rated as favourites by My Food Bag customers, so you can relax in the knowledge that each recipe is tasty, easy to make and foolproof. They're organised by season, and Nadia's background as a dietician and her strong healthy food philosophy ensures that they are nutritionally balanced and good for you. This is the one cookbook you need for cooking successfully during the week, and getting back to loving your weeknight meals.

Genres: Cookbooks, Cooking

192 pages, Paperback

First published March 21, 2014

About the author

Nadia Lim, winner of Masterchef NZ in 2011, trained as a dietician and nutritionist at the University of Otago.She has a bachelor's degree in Applied Science in Human Nutrition and Post Graduate Diploma in Dietetics.

Born in Auckland, she lived in Malaysia for seven years with her family. Growing up in two different cultures helped broaden Nadia's food knowledge and palate greatly. As a teenager she discovered her natural flair for cooking and knew she wanted a career in food.

She worked for Auckland District Health Board for a few years, before winning MasterChef, after which she has worked for Regal Salmon and in the kitchen of Simon Gault's restaurant, Euro.

Her major project has been the weekly home-delivery meal service My Food Bag, which she set up with 2012 Businesswoman of the Year Cecilia Robinson and prominent business leader Theresa Gattung: Nadia provides nutritious seasonal recipes with all the required quality, free-range ingredients.

She writes regularly for the New Zealand Herald's Bite magazine, and for Food Magazine.

Reviews

[Shelleyrae at Book'd Out]

Founded in March 2013, My Food Bag is a service that aims to provide simple and healthy recipes, along with the all of the ingredients to create them, to families in New Zealand and Australia. Firm believers in the real (or whole) food philosophy, My Food Bag recipes rely on 'farm-gate to plate' ingredients which are ethically sourced and delivered fresh to subscriber's doorsteps.

Easy Weeknight Meals is the company's first cookbook. While all of the recipes have been developed by professional chef's, a team led by Nadia Lim, My Food Bag claims all of the recipes have been tried and tested by home cooks.

The cookbook is organised seasonally, taking advantage of in-season produce in line with the company's whole food policy. The recipes are well set out with a bolded list of ingredients (metric measurements), and have clear instructions for prepping, cooking, and serving the dish. Prep and cook times are included as well as the nutritional information for each recipe.

Each recipe is a complete main meal often including vegetable or salad sides, as well as sauces. Almost all claim a serving size of 4-5 persons (2 adults and three young children or 2 adults and two teenagers). All of the meals can be prepared and served within an hour, most within 30 minutes.

There is a strong Asian influence amongst the recipes in the cookbook with dishes like Asian Pesto Fish with Sesame Spring Toss and Coconut Rice, Korean Beef and Shitake Mushroom Bibimbap, Sticky Hoisin and Ginger Pork with Rice and Bok Choy and Chicken Katsu Skewers with Cabbage and Sugar Snap Soba Noodles.

Middle Eastern inspired dishes are also popular including recipes such as Baked Lamb Kofta with Tomato Pilaf and Yoghurt Dressing, Harissa Chicken with Fennel, Orange, Baby Beet and Feta Tabouleh, and Hummus, Grilled Haloumi with Israeli Couscous, Yams and Herb Vinaigrette.

Traditional recipes are 'upgraded' with meals like Fish and Crispy Potatoes with Apple and Rocket Salad and Lemon Caper Aioli, Giant Pork, Pumpkin and Sage Sausage Rolls with Coleslaw, Venison Burgers with Roast Pepper and Blue Cheese, and Pizzettes with Olives, Feta, Oregano Oil and Greek Salad.

If I'm honest most of the recipes in Easy Weeknight Meals are too 'gourmet' for my family's taste, but for parents whose children are adventurous eaters, this cookbook could be a great resource for weekly meals. I also think Easy Weeknight Meals would be a useful reference for busy professional couples.

[Kathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

In another gorgeously photographed recipe book by Lim, we see recipes from her thriving Food Bag business that delivers healthy recipes and required ingredients for meals to doorsteps.

Haven't had a chance to try anything but having a quick read, found it time consuming as with previous recipe books I have tried/ browsed of hers. Will definitely need to give one a spin at some point. Am definitely curious about what sort of creations the Food Bag gives. Worth a look- especially if you are a seasoned fan of the Bags.

[Andrea (mrsaubergine) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Have bookmarked a lot of these recipes to try. There's a reason Nadia Lim is so popular.