Category: Dinner recipes

Veganuary- Challenge accepted!

HAPPY NEW YEAR! 2022, please don’t disappoint!

My partner and I are challenging ourselves to have a go at Veganuary and I have created a week by week plan for the month (we’re starting a week later as we have food to eat up!).

As I know others may be on the same venture as us, I thought I would share the plan below (unfortunately it is not editable and please excuse any spelling mistakes!). I found several recipes from Pinterest, as well as from the web, but the names are included so hopefully you’ll be able to find the same recipes. If not, you can easily find alternatives. I am also gluten-free, so where I am having soup or Buddha bowls etc., he is having pasta or rice for lunches. I will use gluten-free pasta/wraps/bread for all the recipes that require it.

I hope you find inspiration and ideas from my plan, and enjoy the recipes as much as I’m hoping we will.

Good luck and here’s to a better, healthier you (and planet!)

Enjoy!

Sophie x

Scrumptious salmon parcels

These are quick, tasty and a great way of getting your vegetables and Omega 3. You can use a variety of vegetables (such as peppers, carrots, green beans, onions, tender stem broccoli or courgettes), but the best are those that are in season at the time of cooking. I served these parcels with new potatoes, but rice, quinoa or noodles could work too.

The only way you’ll get me to eat salmon!

INGREDIENTS

  • 2 Salmon fillets (skin removed)
  • Thumb-sized piece of ginger (grated)
  • 2 Tbsp butter
  • 1 Small red onion (very thinly sliced)
  • Selection of vegetables thinly sliced
  • Drizzle of honey
The more ginger the better. Only add a little honey because otherwise it is too sweet.

METHOD

  1. Preheat your oven to Gas Mark 6. Line a baking tray with 2 large pieces of foil (enough to create a small parcel that’s not too tight)
  2. Pile the cut veg in the centre of the foil and lay the salmon on top.
  3. Rub the grated ginger over the top of the salmon then pop a nugget of butter on top of each fillet.
  4. Season with salt and pepper. Drizzle over the honey
  5. Close the foil together to form a parcel (like in the picture below).
  6. Cook for 25 minutes.
  7. Carefully open the parcel – (hot steam releases from inside so be careful!).
  8. Serve with your side of choice and drizzle with the parcel juices!

I hope you enjoy this recipe!

Sophie x

Courgette, potato and spinach curry

A vegan alternative to your takeaway curry!

This delicious curry was intended as a soup but when I had finished cooking it, the chunky vegetables and the creamy coconut sauce made for a great tasting curry. It’s vegan, contains more than 7 different types of fruit and vegetable (a chilli is a fruit believe it or not) and can be served with flatbreads or rice. What’s not to love?

INGREDIENTS

  • 1 Tbsp. Coconut oil
  • 1 Courgette (cubed)
  • 1 Potato (cubed)
  • 1 Leek (sliced)
  • 1 Large spring onion (chopped)
  • 1/2 Large white onion (chopped)
  • 2 Cloves of garlic (diced)
  • 1 Green chilli (sliced)
  • 1 Can of coconut milk (400ml)
  • 250ml Peanut butter stock
  • 2 Large handfuls of baby spinach
  • 1 tsp. Cumin
  • 1 tsp. Mild curry powder
  • 1 tsp. Turmeric
  • Salt and pepper

METHOD

  1. Heat the oil in a deep frying pan and add the chopped onions and garlic. Let them cook on a low heat for a couple of minutes whilst you cut the other vegetables (remember to stir them occasionally).
  2. Add the spices to the pan and stir and cook for a further minute.
  3. Add the leek, courgette and potato to the pan and season with the salt and pepper.
  4. Place a lid on the pan and let the vegetables cook for 5 minutes, still on a low heat so they do not burn.
  5. Make the stock by adding a tablespoon of peanut butter to 250ml of boiling water. Stir till the butter has dissolved.
  6. Add the stock and the coconut milk to the pan. Bring to the boil, then leave on simmer for 10 minutes.
  7. Add the washed spinach and mix well. Cook for a further 3 minutes until the spinach has wilted.

As stated above, this curry would also make a great soup! It can then be frozen for up to 2 months. If you want to eat in curry form, it will keep in the fridge for up to 3 days. I hope you enjoy this quick, tasty curry as much as I did.

Have a great day!

Sophie x

Black-eyed bean burgers

This is a tasty and nutritional alternative to beef burgers, and with only a few ingredients, they are quick and easy to make too. They can be baked in the oven for around 20 minutes or they can be shallow fried in coconut oil for around 5 minutes either side. I decided to bake them for a healthier eat.

This recipe makes around 6 burgers. I paired it with lettuce and beef tomatoes and two thick sweet potato slices per burger instead of a bread bun.

They are very filling so it makes a great dinner idea if you have worked up an appetite!

INGREDIENTS

  • 600g of black-eyed beans
  • 83g of sweetcorn
  • 2 Large sweet potatoes (thickly sliced)
  • 4 Spring onions (sliced)
  • 1 Red chilli (diced)
  • 2 Egg whites
  • 88g breadcrumbs (plus more for coating the burgers)
  • Lettuce (washed and peeled)
  • 2 Beef tomatoes (sliced)
  • Salt and pepper to taste
The egg whites help the mixture stick together without changing the flavour.

METHOD

  1. Preheat the oven to Gas Mark 4.
  2. Peel the sweet potatoes and slice them. Place the slices on a baking tray and spray with oil. Season lightly. Place in the oven for 15 minutes, turning them over half way through. Take them out of the oven once cooked and place on the side.
  3. Mash the black-eyed beans and sweetcorn in a bowl until mushy.
  4. Add in the spring onions, chilli, egg whites and seasoning. Mix well.
  5. Add the breadcrumbs and mix till combined.
  6. Mould into patties and place on a baking tray covered in tin foil.
  7. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes.
  8. Take out of the oven and assemble using the cooled sweet potatoes, lettuce and tomato.

I hope you enjoy this recipe!

Sophie x

My go-to cottage pie

This recipe is quick, easy and fills you full of veggies! It is also really tasty to say it has nothing but vegetables and mince in it. I used to use beef mince but I decided to give up eating red meat at the beginning of this year (6 months and counting!); I have therefore adapted it and used turkey mince in this recipe instead. It is equally as yummy. Turkey mince has also got a lot more to offer over beef mince, such as higher protein and less fat. I’d say its a no-brainer to make the swap!

A mix of vegetables and mince… no naughties or nasties here!

INGREDIENTS

  • 1 Small onion (chopped)
  • 2 Carrots (chopped)
  • 2 Sweet potatoes (chopped)
  • 50g Chestnut mushrooms (sliced)
  • 1 Tin of sweetcorn
  • 90g Frozen peas
  • 500g Turkey mince
  • Salt and pepper (1 tsp of each)

METHOD

  1. Heat the oven to Gas Mark 5.
  2. Grate the carrots and sweet potatoes and cut into chunks.
  3. Place into a pan of boiling water and boil on high for around 10 minutes (or until they fall off a knife when stabbed). Whilst the carrots and potatoes are cooking, chop the onion and the mushrooms.
  4. Spray a couple sprays of fry light into a frying pan and add the onion. Cook for around 3 minutes.
  5. Add the turkey mince and break it up with a wooden spoon. Cook for around 8 minutes until it is brown.
  6. Add the sliced mushrooms, peas and sweetcorn. Cook for a further 5 minutes. Whilst this is cooking, mash the carrots and sweet potatoes to form a mash. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
  7. Add the turkey mixture to a ceramic or glass dish. Spread out evenly to line the bottom.
  8. Add the mash on top and use a spatula to spread the mash so that it covers the turkey mixture.
  9. Cook in the oven for 25-30 minutes, until the mash has browned slightly.
  10. Serve while it is still hot!
3 portions left for me to take to work or have as a quick dinner.

This can be cooled, covered in foil and chilled so that it can be eaten at a later date. Eat within two days or freeze for future dinners.

I hope you enjoy this recipe!

Sophie x

6-nut roast

This recipe is adapted from a couple of recipes I have found online. I have substituted certain ingredients as well as adding my own so that this meal contains healthy yet delicious flavours. It stands out from your average nut roast because it contains 6 different types of nut! Just think of all the protein, fibre and vitamins you will receive from just one slice.

Full of flavour yet nutritional… why wouldn’t you want to try it?

There are quite a few ingredients required for this recipe so it is not one of my cheapest or easiest meal ideas. Overall, it took me around 1 hour 45 minutes to make this (it will take longer if you don’t use precooked lentils), but I would argue that it is worth it. It also provided me with lunch for the next 2 days.

INGREDIENTS

  • 200g mixed nuts (I used walnuts, hazelnuts, cashews, pine nuts, pistachios and almonds)
  • 2 Eggs (beaten)
  • 20g Sunflower seeds
  • 1 Onion (diced)
  • 1 Leek (diced)
  • 50g Cranberries
  • 3 Garlic cloves (diced)
  • 1 Red chilli (diced)
  • 1 Large carrot or 2 small carrots (grated)
  • 100g Red lentils (I used Aldi’s pre-made lentils to save time)
  • 50g Breadcrumbs
  • 150g Mushrooms (diced)
  • 2 tbsp. Tomato paste
  • 2 tbsp. Parsley (chopped)
  • 1 tsp. Paprika
  • 1 tsp. Moroccan seasoning
  • 1 tsp. Mixed herbs
  • 1/2 tsp. Chilli flakes
A mixture of ingredients equals a whole lot of flavour!

METHOD

  1. Heat the oven to Gas mark 4 and line the base and sides of a loaf tin with greaseproof paper.
  2. Spray a few sprays of fry light into a large frying pan and cook the diced onion and leek for around 5 minutes to soften.
  3. Add the chopped garlic and mushrooms and cook for a further 8 minutes.
  4. Stir in the diced chilli and grated carrot and cook for about 3 minutes. Then add the mixed herbs, paprika and Moroccan seasoning and cook for a minute.
  5. Add half the packets of lentils and the tomato puree and cook for 3 minutes. Take off the heat to cool.
  6. Weigh out around 35g of each nut. Place into a food processor and whiz them on high until they are finely chopped. If you don’t own a food processor, the nuts need to be hand-chopped. This may take some time but they need to be small to give the nut roast the right consistency.
  7. Add the nuts, along with the breadcrumbs, eggs and parsley, into the lentil mixture and stir to combine. Season with salt and pepper.
  8. Spoon the mixture into the prepared tin and press down the surface.
  9. Cover with foil and bake for 30 mins, then remove the foil and bake for a further 30 mins until firm when pressed gently.
  10. Take it out of the oven and leave to cool in its tin for around 10 minutes. Turn out onto a serving board or plate and cut into slices.

The best thing about this recipe is that it can be cooked in advance and then chilled, sliced and reheated. I reheated mine in the microwave for about 2.5 minutes. Don’t overheat it otherwise it will burn and will go extremely dry.

I hope you enjoy this recipe and if you have any ideas on how to improve it, please leave a comment.

Have a great day!

Sophie x