Balsamic lamb with eggplant and spinach Recipe

Photography by Louise Lister

Hearty comfort meets healthy eating in this delicious barbecued lamb recipe.

Serves: 4

Time to prep: 1.15 minutes

Time to cook: 15 minutes

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons rosemary leaves, roughly chopped
• 550g lamb loin fillets
• olive oil cooking spray
• 6 baby eggplant, trimmed, halved lengthways
• 100g baby spinach
• 250g hommus dip, to serve

Method

• Combine vinegar, oil, rosemary and salt and pepper in a shallow ceramic dish. Add lamb. Turn to coat. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour (or longer if time permits).
• Preheat a barbecue plate on medium-high heat. Remove lamb from marinade. Barbecue for 5 to 6 minutes each side for medium or until cooked to your liking. Transfer to a plate. Cover with foil and set aside for 5 minutes to rest.
• Spray eggplant with oil. Barbecue for 1 to 2 minutes each side or until tender.
• Slice lamb. Arrange spinach on a serving platter. Top with eggplant and lamb. Season with salt and pepper. Serve with hommus.

(Source).

My Story - A Weight Loss Journey

Julie - Before and After photos

A very inspiring story from one of our Members, Julie Lamb.

In my early 40’s I suddenly developed extreme pain in my ankles and then my feet, it was like walking on glass. I had tests done for all sorts of possible causes and nothing showed up. Some minor osteoarthritis in the joints, but needless to say the pain was unexplainably awful and it limited my ability to walk and I simply became obese from too much food and drink and no exercise whatsoever as we lived on a small property out from town.

I turned 48 in May 2011, I didn’t own scales but I knew I was getting really heavy as most of my cloths weren’t fitting and I’d had to keep buying larger sizes, it was becoming more difficult to walk even short distances. 

One day I got brave and put $2 in one of those weighing machines and when I saw the figure flash at me, I was shocked, Wow! I couldn’t get away from that number fast enough! I was 105 kilos and I had no idea what to do about it due to my limited mobility. I just couldn’t stand the pain to walk off the weight. 

As life would have it, my husband got a job in Brisbane and in June 2011 we moved to the Peninsula and I started to walk for a small amount of time everyday, 10 minutes tops as it all hurt to much and some days I didn’t want to walk at all but I couldn’t get that figure of my weight out of my head. 

In November 2011, I read about Aqua classes at Dolphins Health Precinct and its Aquatic Centre simply by chance as we were becoming members of the Leagues Club, they had a pamphlet sitting on the counter and out of curiosity I grabbed one to take home and have a read. 

I saw the timetable and read about all the different classes. I knew I was incredibly unfit and I was a little fearful about others knowing this but really they knew by simply just looking at me. I’d never joined a gym in my life and I didn’t really know what to expect but with my families encouragement, I took myself off to my first ever exercise class, the Aqua Splash. 

I thought oh my god! No Pain! I can actually do this! And it was so much fun!!! 

Aqua exercising has changed my life, with watching what I eat and drink and going to the Aquatic Centre as part of my lifestyle routine, I have lost 28 kilos and most of it in the first 8 months. I am now maintaining and I won’t mind if a little bit more comes off in its own good time. I turn 50 this year and I think I look 10 years younger as I certainly feel it! 

Now I walk everyday for at least 30 minutes usually 40 and I attend the Aqua gym classes sometimes 6 times a week, I do Mix, Circuit, Deep and I’m still doing the occasional Splash. I also have a small lifting routine I do at home with bar, dumbbells and resistance bands. 

I'm still suffering foot problems but I do have a lot more mobility and I really trust it can only get better!  

Many Thanks to the Trainers (especially the Aqua ones) and the staff at  Dolphins Health Precinct for making me feel welcome and like anything is possible, and for helping me with my many questions about health and fitness along the way. 

Cheers! Julie Lamb xx 

Lamb Moussaka with Yoghurt Topping

Serves: 4

Time to make: 1 Hour 45 mins

High Calcium | High Fibre | High Iron | Low kJ | High Protein

Ingredients: 

• 480g lean lamb steaks, trimmed
• cooking oil spray
• 1 red onion, finely diced
• 1 large carrot, finely diced
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 2 tablespoons reduced-salt tomato paste
• 400g tin no-added-salt chopped tomatoes
• 2 medium eggplants, trimmed, cut into 5mm thick slices
• 1 cup low-fat Greek yoghurt
• 1 egg
• 1/3 cup crumbled low-fat feta
• steamed vegetables, to serve

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 200ºC. Process lamb in a food processor to make mince. Set aside.
2. Spray a large saucepan with oil and cook onion and carrot over medium heat, stirring occasionally, for 6–7 minutes, until vegetables are soft. Add garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add mince and cook, breaking up with a wooden spoon, for 5 minutes. Drain any excess fat from pan. Add tomato paste, stirring, for 1 minute, then add tomatoes. Bring to the boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes, or until thick. Season to taste and remove from heat.
3. Meanwhile, spray a large chargrill pan or frying pan with oil and place over high heat. Chargrill eggplant, in batches, for 2 minutes each side, until lightly charred and tender.
4. Whisk together yoghurt, egg and feta in a bowl until well combined. Season to taste.
5. Spoon 1/3 of the lamb mixture into the base of a 1.5 litre (6-cup) capacity ovenproof dish. Top with 1/3 of the eggplant slices, to evenly cover the lamb. Repeat with another 2 layers of lamb and eggplant. Spread yoghurt topping over the top layer of eggplant and bake for 35–40 minutes, until topping is golden brown. Serve with steamed vegies.

(Source).