By Dr Joe
How do you make someone who hates a particular food fall in love with it? That was my challenge 2 nights ago.
My daughter hates parsnips for no discernible reason. So I felt I will take up the challenge of making her fall in love with parsnips again. Why would anyone dislike parsnips is beyond me.
Parsnips are a fantastic source of fibre which translates to overall improvement of your bowel health and there is even some evidence that parsnips may be good for your heart health.
In an attempt to overturn my daughter’s hatred for parsnips, I came up with this parsnip tuna bake with a coconut flavour to boot. This was a challenge I really wanted to win and I did.
What do we need for the Parsnip Tuna Bake recipe?
Ingredients:
Parsnips X 6
Coconut milk (canned) X 400 ml
Tuna (canned) X 1
Sage X 1 tbs and half
Black pepper X 1 tbs
Hot paprika X 1 tbs
Tumeric X 1 tbs
Yeast flakes X 2 tbs
Vegetable stock powder X 2 tbs
Salt to taste
Parsnips nutritional information per 100 g
| Calories | 75 kcal |
| Total fat | 0.3 g |
| Saturated fat | 0.1 g |
| Polyunsaturated fat | 0.0.g |
| Monounsaturated fat | 0.1 g |
| Total Carbohydrate | 18 g |
| Sugar | 4.8 g |
| Fibre | 4.9 g |
| Protein | 1.2 g |
| Cholesterol | 0.0 g |
| Sodium | 10 mg |
| Potassium | 375 mg |
Parsnips also supply you with Calcium, Manganese, Vitamin B6, Vitamin C & Iron.
How to make the Parsnip Tuna Bake
>> Peel parsnips and slice them up into smaller chunks.
>> Put parsnip pieces into a baking tray.
>> Pour coconut milk into a separate bowl. You may need to warm the coconut milk in a microwave for 2 minutes, if when you open the coconut milk can, it has become solidified. That’s the usual behaviour of coconut milk – it hardens at room temperature. So, don’t be alarmed, it hasn’t gone off.
>> Add the sage, black pepper, turmeric, hot paprika, tuna (drained of oil), yeast flakes, vegetable stock powder and a little salt – all of the seasoning ingredients to the warmed coconut milk. Stir together to make a nice coconut milk sauce.
>> Now pour in the coconut milk sauce into the baking tray with the parsnips chunks and mix the parsnips chunks with the coconut sauce. Ensure the parsnips are spread uniformly in the baking tray.
>> Place tray containing the parsnips and coconut milk sauce in the oven and allow to bake for about 25 minutes. Should be less if oven is pre-heated.
>> Parsnips are done when they are beginning to turn golden brown.
That’s it.
Your parsnip tuna bake is ready for munching.
Serve in your favourite dinner plate and garnish with coriander herbs.
Did I pass the challenge of making my daughter love pasrsnips again. Yes, I did. My daughter loved every bit of it. Hear her: “I used to find the taste of parsnips boring, Dad, but you have completely transformed my opinion with the way you seasoned this parsnip dish. I love it”
Does the parsnip tuna bake stand up to my blood sugar test? Yes, it does. I got a blood sugar reading of 6.0 mmol/l (108 mg/dl).
Suggested further reading:
The #1 WORST food for your skin, joints & blood sugar?
Dr. Joe