Super-star foodies, Sally Obermeder and Maha Corbett (you might know her as Maha Koriem, she married the love of her life this year and has made the name transition) are at it again with the newest book in thier Super Green series, Super Green Super Easy.
We caught up with Sally and Maha on the release of thier new book to see what was happening in their lives!
Give us a quick run-down of the new book? Where did the inspiration come from?
Our recipes are easy – super easy! We’ve created delicious meals that are simple to prepare so you won’t need to be in the kitchen for hours on end. We’ve also designed whole sections to help anyone who is time-poor. One-pot recipes have the added bonus of less washing up, and sheet-pan recipes let you get on with other things while the oven does the work for you. Of all the recipes, the smoothies are the quickest to prepare, so these are a great option if you’re rushed in the morning. While some of the salads and bowls require you to cook a couple of things, we try to keep it as simple as possible – that’s what this book is all about. One thing we like to do is cook in big batches and store in the freezer. We also like to use microwave rice and quinoa, and pre-bagged salad greens from the supermarket, to speed things up.
What are your top tips for keeping fit and healthy with such busy lives?
When it comes to staying lean, healthy and strong, it doesn’t have to be hard or time-consuming. You just need to be organised and use shortcuts. And who doesn’t love a good short cut? Our tips for cutting corners will save you time and money, and quite often, washing up!
1. Be prepared – before you start preparing food, always make sure you have the right equipment.
2. Take shortcuts – washing, chopping, grating and slicing can take up a lot of time, so it’s perfectly OK to buy pre-washed and bagged salad greens.
3. Pre-portion – when it comes to dishes you’ll be making fresh on a daily basis, it helps to pre-portion the ingredients. For example, if you make a smoothie every day, try dividing leafy greens into 1 or 2 cup portions to take the time out of measuring.
4. Goodness all year round – just because your favourite fruits or vegetates aren’t in season doesn’t mean you have to miss out, frozen and tinned are totally acceptable options.
Do you have any tips for parents who are struggling to convince their little ones to eat their greenie bowls and super salads?
Sally: I LOVE my food processor – it just does all the hard work for you. When you’re struggling to convince little ones to eat their daily five, it’s best to disguise vegetables in foods you know your child likes to eat. For example, you could include grated and chopped vegetables in pasta sauce or soups. Included in our SWIISH WELLNESS range, we’ve got a KIDS SUPER GREEN POWDER. Just one teaspoon a day of this blend of over 40 fruit, veggies, superfoods, nutrients and probiotics will help support their digestive system, boost their immunity, keep their tummies happy and aid their overall health. With no artificial sweeteners or flavours and no added sugar, the natural pine-punch taste will also make the fussiest of eaters happy!
Your little ones are growing up so quickly, how do they feel about your healthy (and of course delicious for us) recipes? Do they ever complain?
Sally: Annabelle and Elyssa are fortunately very good eaters – but they have different styles. Annabelle is a vegetable eater but I struggle to get her to eat meat. While Elyssa is a meat eater and I struggle to get her to eat vegetables! I find getting them involved in the kitchen, and making it fun really does get them engaged and means they are more likely to eat the food.
How do you both push past the old ‘I just can’t be bothered today’ mind-set, if it ever creeps in?
Maha: I have two words for you – ONE TRAY. I turn the oven on, throw everything onto the tray and walk off. 30 minutes later dinner is done with no effort.
Sally: I double up when I cook and I freezer stash. That way on those days when I’m exhausted I just pull a freezer meal out, and it feels so good to be able to eat well but know that I didn’t actually have to do anything!
Do you have a few favourite must-try recipes from the new book?
Sally: One-Pot Mediterranean Prawns with Feta. It’s extra mouthwatering served with fresh crusty bread – I love prawns and this dish is just bursting with flavour. The best part – it’s all done in one-pot leaving you with less washing up!
Maha: Three Cheers Mexican Corn Salad. We called this our Three Cheers Mexican Salad because every time we make it, it gets devoured and then we all say ‘three cheers to the cook!’ Hence the name – it’s so yummy!
On the SWIISH front, what’s your focus on with your online business and blog at the moment?
Maha: I think when it comes to the online business; we will keep growing our fashion label and SWIISH WELLNESS ranges. Our entire mission is about helping women feel amazing inside and out. Our SWIISH tribe keeps asking us for more products, so we are knee deep in product development. For us we’re passionate about solutions … about products that work. We spend years developing and creating and evolving products until they are perfect, and it thrills us no end when that hard work is appreciated by our customers and we get their amazing feedback.
In terms of the blog – our content team at SWIISH has recently expanded and we are super excited to see the blog share some really rich and interesting content with readers. Every Wednesday at SWIISH we tap into the hottest wellness topics – it’s like your weekly does of wellness from the experts, straight to your inbox. Our readers are super engaged with this content and we get such a positive feedback from them each week.
What can we look forward to from you both in the new year? (OMG, can you believe we’re talking about next year already?!)
Maha: A massive focus for us is in the coming year is building on the SWIISH WELLNESS product line. Earlier this year we launched SLEEP Superfood Powder and GLOW Marine Collagen Powder. We have been so overwhelmed with the response to the products – the SWIISH community have been nothing short of amazing – and I can let you know that we have a few more products to launch very soon too. Super exciting, and crazy busy times at SWIISH
‘Images and recipes from Super Green Super Easy by Sally Obermeder and Maha Corbett (Allen & Unwin, RRP $24.99) Photography by Rob Palmer.’
