I don't smoke and only drink very occasionally. Good food and a natural laziness are my real vices. I have always meant to eat healthy meals, but find salads boring and a chore to get through.
As part of my Fit for 30 campaign I intend to change what I eat. To simplify and clean out my diet. Here is a collection of new healthy meals that I actually enjoy eating.
I include them as part of my journey. Alongside exercising properly, healthy food is very important. The body is a biological machine, and If you fill the tank with crap it wont run properly. We all know the 5 fruit and veg a day moniker. Here are my attempts at filling that quota without sacrificing my love of yummy food.
I wont include comfort/junk recipes as I am working to stop making them. Enjoy!
French Onion Soup
What a great soup this is. It's a little time consuming to make, but well worth the effort. A popular favourite with many. Taken mostly from the Vegetarian Student Cookbook.
Ingredients:
- 50 g butter.
- 1 kg of onions, finely sliced.
- 50 g plain flour.
- 1 litre of hot vegetable stock.
- 1 tablespoon of olive oil.
- 1 tablespoon of castor sugar.
- Salt and pepper.
- 8 - 12 thick slices of bread. French stick works best.
- 1 tablespoon of olive oil.
- a large garlic clove.
- 125 g of grated Gruyère.
Melt the butter in a large saucepan with the olive oil. Add the castor sugar, salt and pepper, stir, and add the onions. Stir well. Cook over a low heat for 20 - 30 minutes stirring often to stop any caramelising onions from sticking to the pan. When golden brown sprinkle the flour the onions and stir until there are no white specks left. Add a ladle of stock and stir well. Add the remaining stock and stir well. Simmer part-covered for 20 - 30 minutes. Add salt and pepper to your taste (I don't add any more here).
Meanwhile, preheat the oven to gas mark 3 and put the bread on a baking tray to toast. Leave for 15 minutes. Remove and brush both sides with olive oil. The traditional recipe says to rub with the cut garlic clove, but I love garlic, so I crushed the clove instead and rubbed the flesh into the bread, removing any excess before putting back in the oven for 15 minutes.
Fill a heat proof bowl with soup, put the croutons on top, and grate the cheese over both. Return to the oven until the cheese has melted. Remove and enjoy!
This soup was great. It took a lot longer than other soups, with a lot of time being taken up finely slicing a kilogram of onions, but was worth the effort. I added sugar into the recipe to caramelise the onions a little. This is included in some French onion recipes, but not originally in this one. I also improvised with strong cheddar as I didn't have any Gruyère. However you finish it off it will be delicious. .
A note on time. I listened to the greatest hits of Johnny Cash twice through from preparing to serving. Make sure you have enough time before hand.
Baked Sweet Potato Omelette
A delicious satisfying type of omelette of my own recipe that has overtones of Spanish and Greek recipes.
Ingredients:
- Half of a sweet potato grated.
- 3 eggs beaten.
- 1 tomato diced.
- Half of a red pepper diced.
- 1 shallot diced.
- Chorizo peeled and diced.
- A handful of strong grated cheese.
- Garlic. Add amount to your preference.
- Chilli powder. Add amount to your preference.
- Salt and pepper to season.
- Olive oil.
A simple recipe to make. Grate the sweet potato and cheese. Dice the tomato, shallot, pepper, and chorizo. Beat the eggs and stir in the potato. Add the tomato, shallot, pepper, chorizo, cheese and stir again. Add the garlic, chilli, salt, and pepper and stir a final time. Use a generous amount of olive oil to coat an oven proof pan (including the sides of the pan) and add the mixture. Bake in the oven at gas mark 6 for 15 to 20 minutes. Put under a hot grill for 5 minutes to crisp off the top. Put in the oven for a further 5 minutes if needed.
Serve with a side salad for a delicious supper.
Banana Grape Smoothie.
An energizing smoothie that's more filling than you'd think.
Ingredients
- 1 Banana
- 1 lime
- A good handful of grapes. You can use loads if you like.
- Glass of water
This is very easy to make. Throw everything but the lime in a blender. Half the lime and squeeze out the juice. Blend it all down. You may need to do it a couple of times to get out any lumps. Drink and enjoy. It will be a little bitty from the grape skins, but I don't mind that.
You may want to rinse your mouth afterwards, as all the citric acid will do horrible things to your teeth if you drink this regularly.
Red Pepper Soup.
A delicious healthy soup based on a Weight Watchers Recipe.
Ingredients
- 3 red peppers.
- 1 onion.
- 1 clove of garlic, crushed.
- 200 g of chopped tomatoes.
- 1 pint of vegetable stock.
- Salt and pepper to season.
- Basil to season.
Half the peppers, de-seed, and put them under the grill for 10 minutes to blacken. Finely dice the onion and stir-fry for 5 minutes. When the peppers are done seal in a plastic container and leave to cool. The plastic container will keep them moist.
Add the chopped tomatoes, fried onions, and crushed garlic into a medium sized pan.
Once the peppers have cooled, remove the skins and add the flesh into the pan. Add the vegetable stock and mix well. Bring the whole thing to the boil and simmer for 10 minutes.
When done put into a blender and liquidise. Return the soup to the pan to warm through and check the seasoning. Add the basil on serving.
Yum yum yum. This soup was great tasting, simple, and quick to make. It felt lighter and more satisfying than some of the other soups I make as it doesn't use a roux in the base. That said, it isn't the thickest soup either. Tomato purée can be added to sweeten and thicken slightly if that is to your taste, or a little cornflower paste. I love it as it is, and there is nothing quite like the smell of peppers blackening under the grill. I can see this soup being made a lot, and taken to work for lunches.
*Disclaimer* I do not assert the rights to any of the recipes I include here. Credit where credit is due. I normally take existing recipes and alter them to suit my tastes. I will always credit the original recipe and its creator. I apologise if this infringes on any copyrights. I will remove the recipes immediately at the wishes of the original creator/s.
