It seems the sun is here to stay for a little while, hooray! The warmer weather always seems to make healthy eating easier; with barbecued meat and plenty of salad it's not hard to stay on the right track. This month we have a few favourite summer recipes to share with you, including a healthier version of ice cream that still tastes delicious!
But first up, here’s a dish that works as a BBQ or an evening weeknight dinner. An Asian-inspired family favourite - chicken satay lettuce wraps.
Now, chicken satay instantly makes you think of the local Chinese or Thai - those crispy chicken skewers served with an oily peanut dipping sauce, which taste delicious but still feel incredibly naughty!
This version of chicken satay turns the Asian appetiser into a colourful and healthy main dish, full of fresh ingredients including a homemade satay sauce.
The term 'lettuce wraps' is all about using big lettuce leaves to replace carbohydrates used to wrap and hold food, such as tortilla wraps or pitta bread. You may remember seeing our turkey lettuce wraps when on the road recently; lettuce wraps are a great way of substituting wheat and keeping your carbs down.
This recipe is for two people, but can feed as many as you’d like by increasing the ingredients. You’ll need the following:
Chicken breasts x2
1 tbsp Agave syrup
2 tbsp all natural peanut butter (try Meridien smooth peanut butter)
3 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp sweet chilli sauce
1 tsp sweet chilli sauce
1/3 can of coconut milk
Water (as needed)
2x baby gem lettuce or one romaine lettuce (one with big leaves)
1 red pepper
1 carrot
1 half of a cucumber (optional)
1. First of all, it's best to marinade the chicken in the fridge for a couple of hours but if you’re in a rush you can always go straight to cooking the chicken (step with this simple marinade: mix 1 tbsp soy sauce with the agave syrup and 1 tsp of sweet chilli. Cube the chicken breasts and mix with the marinade in a bowl. Cover with cling film and pop the bowl into the fridge for around two hours.
2. If you’re cooking on the BBQ, skewer the chicken as you would kebabs. These can then be chargrilled on the BBQ until cooked through. Alternatively, the chicken can be cooked in the oven, wrapped in foil for 30 minutes. Whilst the chicken is cooking you can begin preparing the lettuce and vegetables.
3.To prepare the wraps, pull the leaves off the lettuce individually, so you're left with a pile of whole leaves ready to use as wraps.
4. Thinly slice the carrot, peppers and cucumber in to skinny batons. Place all of the vegetables on a place with the lettuce and cover with cling film in the fridge whilst you make the sauce.
5. Keep an eye on the chicken and continue to turn whilst it browns. For the sauce, begin to heat a small frying pan on low heat
6. Add the peanut butter, soy sauce, sweet chilli sauce and coconut milk. Stir continuously as the peanut butter melts.
7. Cook for around two minutes until everything is mixed together and the satay sauce is looking creamy and not too thick (you may need to add a few drops of water).
8. It’s important not to overcook the peanut butter as it will begin to get oily, so once you’ve tested the sauce, remove from the heat and keep warm.
7. Once the chicken is cooked, remove from the pan and serve alongside the lettuce wraps, vegetables and satay sauce. Now it’s time to tuck in a build your own chicken satay lettuce wraps!
