I have spent the past month in New Zealand at the beach, cycling, rafting over the world’s highest commercially rafted waterfall at Rotorua, walking on the beach, seeing friends and family – and eating some great food, not necessarily all healthy. We discovered arguably the best croissants in New Zealand at Oliver’s bakery in Whangamata. Each morning we cycled down to buy these buttery treats, eating them at the nearby wharf with a take-out coffee or carrying them home for a leisurely breakfast. Not exactly healthy but oh so delicious! And our weight didn’t sky-rocket because the rest of our meals included lots of fish, vegetables and fruit.

We had fresh silver beet, kamokamo (a type of marrow), tomatoes, corn and basil which I layered in a dish with canned tuna, then grated a little cheese on top and baked. We had freshly dug new potatoes boiled and served with mint from the garden, or par-boiled and then crisped on the BBQ. A few times I used the silver beet in lasagna. This low fat version has extra vegetables in the lean mince sauce and uses cottage cheese instead of cheese sauce. We ate mussels straight from the estuary and fish straight from the sea, copious quantities of blueberries and stone fruit and the odd 5pm gin and tonic (diet of course because, unlike soda water which is kilojoule free, standard tonic water has similar kilojoules to any other fizzy drink). All in all a healthy, relaxing holiday.

Silver Beet Lasagna

• 1 onion
• 2 cloves garlic
• 500g lean mince
• 1 carrot, finely chopped
• 4 stalks silver beet, finely chopped
• 400g can tomatoes
• 3-4 tablespoons tomato paste (no added salt)
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon turmeric
• 500g light cottage cheese
• Lasaga sheets
• 3/4 cup grated cheese

In a large fry pan, heat a little oil and fry onion and garlic for a few minutes. Add mince and cook until browned. Add carrot, silver beet, tomatoes, paste and spices. Simmer for 10 minutes until cooked.

In a large baking dish layer meat sauce, then lasagna sheets, then cottage cheese. Finish with meat sauce and top with grated cheese.

Bake at 180 (350) for 30-40 minutes until bubbling hot.