A quick post for you today, something a little healthy for the new year. This meal could be a great lunch or dinner when you want to keep things simple but still tasty. It’s pretty simple to make this and you can always switch it up depending on what your favourite vegetables, salads or seeds are. For me, meals are all about vibrant colours, textures and appearance and this meal covers it all.
Today I have a delicious vegetable curry perfect for all the family. I’ve added a little brown sugar for sweetness, even though it isn’t traditional in a curry it really adds to the flavour. I’ve used dried chickpea’s which have been soaked overnight to aid in better digestion and also help with reducing the cooking time. Although the chickpeas were cooked for just over 25 minutes, they still had a bite to them but delicious nonetheless.
Recipe: Chickpea cauliflower and coconut curry (serves 2-3)
Ingredients
1 tsp oil
3 slices of red onion, diced
150g dried chickpeas, soaked overnight
1/3 turmeric
Pinch of salt
½ tsp cumin
1/3 coriander
400ml coconut milk
1 tsp tomato puree
100g cauliflower, chopped
100g broccoli, chopped
1 leaf kale, shredded
½ tsp brown sugar
20g cashew nuts, toasted
1/2 tsp sesame seeds
Serve with rice or flatbread
Method
Prepare all of the ingredients above first. Remember to soak the chickpeas overnight so that they are easier to cook and be absorbed in the stomach. Cut a few slices of onion and then dice, wash and chop the vegetables and then lightly toast the cashew nuts and set aside.
Heat the oil in a pan and once hot, add the onion cooking for a few minutes. Drain the chickpeas and add to the pan, season the chickpeas with cumin, salt, turmeric and coriander.
Stir in the coconut milk and tomato puree then cover with a lid on a medium simmer for 15 minutes.
Next stir in the broccoli, cauliflower, kale and sugar, leave on a gentle simmer for 7-10 minutes depending on how soft you want the vegetables to be.
Once everything is fully done, sprinkle on the toasted cashew nuts and sesame seeds, then serve and enjoy.
This is probably the third stir fry recipe I’m posting and it gets better every time. It can be quite hard to replicate a dish when you’re not following a specific recipe but a stir fry is great because as long as you use specific ingredients like ginger, garlic, wok oil and soy sauce, it should taste good. I used to love following recipes completely from beginning to end but I’m much more relaxed now and I really enjoy adding/taking away ingredients depending on my preferences.
Another reason why I love a stir fry is because you can add so much vegetables which count towards your 5 a day. I made this stir fry after work in a bit of a rush so I opted for dried garlic and ginger but you could always use them fresh which provides a more mellow taste.
Recipe: Quick veggie stir fry (serves 1)
Ingredients
Egg noodles (1 portion)
Handful of corn
1 tsp sesame wok oil
Handful of broccoli
100ml vegetable stock
Handful of kale
1/3 carrot, cut into sticks
1 spring onion, finely sliced
1 tbsp soy sauce
Pinch of brown sugar, salt, chilli flakes, garlic powder and ginger
Method
Cook the egg noodles according to the packet and set aside.
Heat the sesame oil in a deep pan, once hot, add the broccoli and cook for a few minutes.
Add the stock, kale and carrot to the pan, mix well.
Then mix in the spring onion, soy sauce, sugar, salt, chilli, garlic and ginger. Cook for 3-4 minutes.
Turn the heat off, mix in the noodles and keep covered for a couple of minutes before serving.
Hey Everyone, thanks for stopping by my blog today!
Today I’m sharing a delicious recipe for all the pasta lovers. When I think of pasta, it’s usually fusilli or spaghetti that comes to mind but pasta shells are a little more sophisticated and give off the impression that you know your way around the kitchen. These stuffed conchiglioni shells are a perfect way to make a basic pasta dish seem impressive without the fuss. I’ve used a mixture of vegetables for the filling but you could also add any meat of your choice. This pasta dish was something I enjoyed making and the end result is pretty filled pasta shells.
I love one dish meals because once the pasta shells have been filled, it goes into the oven and you can sit back and chill whilst you wait for it to cook. This pasta is very filling and full of so much flavour, definitely something to make when hosting friends or family.
Recipe: Stuffed conchiglioni shells (serves 2/3)
Ingredients
1 garlic clove, crushed
1/2 small onion, finely diced
Handful of kale, shredded
1/3 broccoli, diced
1 heaped tbsp of corn
1 heaped tbsp of peas
Pinch of chilli flakes
Pinch of salt
1 tbsp pesto
400g pasta sauce
200ml water
140g pasta shells
50g cheese, grated
Method
Preheat the oven to gas mark 6 and set aside a 24cm x 24cm oven dish.
Prepare all of the vegetables and put into a bowl, mix in the salt, chilli and pesto.
Pour the sauce and and water into the oven dish and mix well.
Then, one by one stuff the pasta shells as much as possible and gently place into the sauce. Repeat until the oven dish is full, sprinkle over the grated cheese and cover with foil.
Bake in the oven for 50 minutes minimum until the pasta is cooked and serve with a salad.
This recipe is fairly quick and simple, it does require a bit of veg preparation which probably takes the most time. It’s also somewhat healthy and great for a satiate, nutritious lunch. Vegetable stir-fry’s are a great way to get your 5 a day, especially when you use a range of different, colourful vegetables. I’ve posted a couple of stir fry recipes before but I think this is my favourite so far, the taste is amazing and I think I’ve got the combination of ingredients just right.
Stir-frying is a great, quick cooking method, perfect for any night of the week and if you love a takeaway stir fry, this would be a nice, healthy alternative. Another bonus is you can customise this recipe with whatever vegetables you have in your fridge. I’ve used 2 types of cabbage which are both fairly inexpensive and high sources of vitamin C and K, aiding in healthy cells and helping the body to heal.
Recipe: Veggie noodles stir-fry (serves 2)
Ingredients
Handful of broccoli
1 heaped tbsp of sweetcorn
1 heaped tbsp of peas
1 tsp, oil for frying
1/2 carrot, finely sliced
1 garlic clove, crushed
30g red cabbage, finely sliced
1 leaf savoy cabbage, finely sliced
Egg noodles, 1 portion
1 tsp brown sugar
1 tbsp oil
2 tbsp soy sauce
1/4 tsp chilli flakes
1/3 tsp ginger powder
Pinch of salt
50ml water
Sprinkle of nuts, crushed
Method
Firstly, prepare all of the ingredients and set aside.
Bring a small pan of water to boil and add the broccoli, sweetcorn and peas for 3 minutes.
In the meantime, bring a pot of water to boil for the noodles and cook according to the packet.
Drain the water from the vegetables and noodles once cooked.
Heat 1 tsp of oil in a frying pan on a medium heat, once hot add the garlic, cabbages and carrot. Cook for 3-4 minutes.
In the meantime mix the sugar, oil, soy sauce, chilli, ginger, salt and water together in a bowl and add to the pan, stirring well.
Add the noodles to the pan and cook for a further 3 minutes until most of the liquid is dissolved.
Portion the stir fry into 2 bowl and sprinkle with crushed nuts before serving.
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