How do you manage to eat well without cooking for hours every single day? Make one wholesome meal at the beginning of the week and make enough to feed yourself for a few days. You might argue that it is better to eat different foods every day, but if you turn to other convenience food anyway, you are already compromising. If you make the dishes yourself, at least you know that you are eating well and then you can vary the ingredients you use each week in order to get all the nutrients you need. These are recipes for easy, balanced main meals that contain lean protein, lots of vegetables and whole grains. All will keep for a few days if you want to make more than 1 portion. The idea is to do your cooking once a week and eat the same meal a few times. Depending on your needs, these might last you 3-4 days, which leaves room for the occasional meal out, or a change on some days.
1) Honey Mustard Chicken with Brown Rice & Veg
Coat 4 chicken breasts (or the equivalent in strips in equal parts honey and whole grain mustard – approximately 2 Tablespoons each.
Add the following to your cooked brown rice (1 cup cooked per serving):
Spring onion
Chopped red pepper
Chopped parsley
Chilli flakes (about ¼ tsp per serving)
1 tablespoon olive oil per serving
Salt & lemon juice to taste
Add 1/2 -1 cup cooked green veg e.g. broccoli, green beans, asparagus, mange tout, baby marrows, spinach PLUS a handful of something fresh and raw e.g. rocket, watercress or sprouts.
Hake & Spinach Pie
For 4 days:
1 kg sweet potatoes, boiled in skins, then chopped (with skins on) and mashed with:
1 tbsp whole grain mustard
2 tbsp coconut oil (or olive, if you prefer) or ¼ cup coconut milk if you have it
salt to taste
In a bowl, combine:
1 box hake medallions, poached gently in stock and cut into cubes
2 packets spinach, washed, steamed, squeezed out and chopped
1 egg, beaten
2 tsp curry powder
Pinch of salt
1/2 cup of the mashed sweet potato
Put the hake and spinach mix into a baking dish, top with mashed sweet potato, 2 rounds of feta, crumbled and lots of paprika.
Bake at 180 degress for about half an hour until the top starts to look lightly browned.
Pork Fillet Stir Fry
You’ll need about 2 whole pork fillets to get you through 3-4 days.
Roast the pork fillets dry, then cut up and coat in a glaze of ½ tsp each chopped garlic and ginger, 2Tbsp soy (or tamari) and 2 Tbsp honey, just warmed and melted together in a pan on the stove.
Use 1 cup cooked whole wheat pasta or wholegrain King Soba noodles per serving.
Make plenty of stir fried vegetables, seasoned with rice vinegar, ginger, garlic, tamari, chilli and sesame oil.
For some freshness, add chopped fresh mint and coriander to each serving.
Mexican Chicken & Rice Salad
Instead of all rice as the carbohydrate source, use 1 tin of kidney beans and mix with 2 cups cooked rice to make 4 servings. The kidney beans are a great, low GI source of carbohydrate and extra fibre.
Add 4 chicken breasts, coated in the following spice rub and baked at 200 degrees for approximately 15 minutes, then sliced.
Spice rub:
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp coriander
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp organum
½ tsp salt
chilli flakes (optional)
Combine rice, beans and chicken with fresh coriander, lots of salad ingredients of your choice, fresh lemon (or lime if you can find it), measured olive oil (2 tsp per serving), or some avocado or a combination – if you use avo, cut it fresh each day or it’ll go brown.