January dieting didn’t go too well for me after I put on 3lb. Towards the end of the last week in January, I decided that I had better start dieting. It’s so unfair that it’s really easy to put on weight and seems 10 times harder to lose it. I knew I needed to look at my eating patterns and make sure I cut out all the crap that I’d been eating lately. I looked at some diet plans and recipes but some of them just looked far too complicated and time-consuming.
I’ve been doing a fair amount of research and found a load of recipes that are really tasty and more importantly – easy to make! I wouldn’t say that I’m a great cook and to be honest, I don’t want to spend a long time having to prepare things that sound and look complicated. Here are some healthy meal ideas to get you started.
Cottage Pie
It’s still cold outside, and to me – this is one of the best ways to warm up. I love a pie, not going to lie. I’ve bought ready made ones in the past and there’s probably a whole bunch of stuff in that which isn’t good for you. So I decided to make my own.
What you need
To serve 2 people you will need
- 250g of mince (preferably the 5% fat)
- ½ a large onion
- 1½ carrots
- 2 x beef stock
- ½ TBSP Worcestershire sauce
- 300g potatoes (peeled and cut into chunks)
How to make it
- Fry the mince until it’s browned
- Add onions, carrots, stock and Wourcestshire sauce
- Bring to the boil and simmer for 20mins
- As the mince mixture books – boil the potatoes
- Once boiled, drain and mash
- Pour mince mix into a large shallow dish and leave to cool slightly
- Spoon mash on top of mince mix and use a fork to make the texture
- Place in a preheated oven (200°-220°)
- Cook for 25-30mins
Recipe can be found here
Syn free Nando’s rice
Like Niall Horan, I am partial to a Nando’s now and again – erm who isn’t? You know what it’s like when you go to any restaurant these days, they have all the calories listed next to all the food which can put you off. So what if I told you that you can make Nandos spicy rice which is healthy AND means you can eat it within the comfort of your own home – guilt free. This is no lie – check this out.
What you need
To serve 2 people you will need
- 150g of rice (I’d say about 3/4 of a cup full)
- 500-600ml water
- 2 chicken stock
- ½ onion
- ½ red pepper
- Handful of frozen peas (not pictured)
- 1 green chilli
- Chilli powder
- 1 TSP Cumin
- 1 TSP Paprika
- ½ TSP Tumeric
How to make it
- Spray pan with fry light and dry fry the rice for 3-4 mins until browned
- Add the water to cover the rice along with chilli powder, chicken stock and turmeric
- Bring to the boil
- Simmer until water is absorbed (stir often to avoid sticking to the pan)
- In a separate pan, fry the onion, red pepper, frozen peas, cumin, paprika and chilli until cooked
- Add rice and stir thoroughly
Recipe can be found here
Garlic, chicken and pasta
Because I love Nando’s then I obviously love chicken. You’ll find a load of chicken recipes about. This one caught my eye because I really enjoy pasta too and find that it’s a really filling meal.
What you need
To serve 2 people you will need
- 200g pasta of your choice
- ½ red onion, finely chopped
- 2 bacon medallions
- 1 chicken breast
- 3 cloves of garlic, chopped
- Half a tin of tomatoes (or 250ml passata) but I prefer tinned tomatoes as passata is runny
- ½ TSP paprika
How to make it
- Cook the pasta drain and set aside
- Fry the onion until softened
- Chop the bacon and chicken into small pieces and add to the pan, reduce the heat slightly and cook until they meat is browned all over
- Add the paprika and garlic to the pan stirring constantly
- Add the tinned tomatoes, stir and cook for about 15mins until the mixture has thickened
- Add the pasta back to the pan, stir through and heat for about three minutes
Recipe can be found here.
Syn free salt & pepper chips
What I struggle the most with on a diet is not being able to eat chips. Well, not anymore. Imagine my excitement when I saw a recipe for healthy chips. Not only that, but ‘salt and pepper’ style chips like you get at a takeaway. I was sceptical at first thinking that they wouldn’t taste as good. I was wrong. I made these quite spicy, but if you don’t like things too spicy I’m sure it’ll be fine to not use the chillis.
What you need
To serve 2 people you will need
- 3 large potatoes
- ½ onion
- 1-2 chillies
- ½ TBSP 5 spice
- Pinch of chilli flakes
How to make it
- In a small pan warm the 5 spice and chilli flakes
- Preheat oven to 200°
- Cut potatoes into chunky chips and place into a pan of boiling water (boil for 5mins)
- Drain and put onto a baking tray – spray with fry light
- Sprinkle the chips with the 5 spice and chilli flake mix
- Cook for 15-20mins
- In a frying pan, fry onions and chilli
- Add potatoes to the frying pan and mix together
Recipe can be found here
In 1 week I have lost 2lb in weight, which may not seem a lot at first but I’m glad that I have lost some weight. By continuing to go to the gym and making healthy recipes, I’m hoping that I can lose that bit more.
Let me know if you make any of these recipes and what you think of them. If you found this post helpful I’m sure I will be making more recipes along the way. If you would like to see more healthy meal ideas then get in touch. There are loads of meals I want to make so watch this space!
