You know, this eating vegetables thing isn’t so bad. I’ve discovered that bean sprouts are pretty awesome, I’ve learnt that salad needs some kind of dressing or it’s not going in my mouth, and I’ve discovered that mushrooms sort of taste like meat if you pretend really hard. But seriously, except for my slightly dried-out sprouts, it’s been a lot easier than I imagined.
Here’s days 5 and 6 to tempt your tastebuds:
Day 5: Spring Greens
Smoked haddock with sliced greens and poached egg – 340kcal
I knew that I was gonna need something to match the strong flavour in the greens, so I went with a fillet of smoked haddock to bolster the flavours and keep things relatively balanced.
1 fillet of Smoked Haddock
125g British Sliced Greens
1/2 an Onion
2 Cloves of Garlic
1kcal Cooking Spray
1 Chicken Oxo Cube
1tbsp White Wine Vinegar
3 twists of chilli flakes
1 Egg
10g Sunflower Seeds
Place the fish on a piece of tin foil and grind/sprinkle with some chilli flakes, drizzle a tablespoon of white wine vinegar ontop and wrap the foil loosely into a parcel around the fish. Oven cook at 180 degrees (fan) for around 18 minutes. Make up the chicken stock as per the instructions on the Oxo packet and saute the chopped onion, greens, and garlic in a pan, with the stock until cooked. Keep adding a little water if necessary. Poach your egg in a pan of boiling water and serve with the fish on a bed of the greens. Sprinkle with sunflower seeds.
Day 6: Mushrooms and Lettuce
Pan-fried chicken & garlic mushrooms with salad – 490kcal
I think this one may be my favourite so far, I adore mushrooms…
1 chicken breast, cubed
150g mushrooms, don’t chop too small – I halved mine
3 cloves of garlic, crushed
100g salad leaves
5g pine nuts to garnish
1 tsp green pesto
1tbsp olive oil
1tbsp white wine vinegar
1kcal cooking oil spray
Spray your non-stick frying pan with cooking oil spray (around 10 sprays should do) and on a low/medium heat, fry off the chicken and garlic. You may need to add the occasional splash of water to stop the chicken from sticking. Add the mushrooms and pesto, reduce the heat and cook until the mushrooms are softened. Meanwhile, make the (very simple) salad dressing by combining the olive oil and white wine vinegar. Serve with a garnish of sprinkled pine nuts.
Did I mention that I bought some white asparagus for next week? *looks blankly at packet*
Mmm these pics make me wish that I still ate meat. You’ve done a great job, both look really nice and not boring at all.
I adore anything with spring greens!
That chicken and mushroom salad looks AMAZING. I have been on a mission with healthy meals recently. I find that putting asparagus on the griddle (no oil needed at all) with some salt and pepper is really delicious and healthy.
Also, baking large mushrooms brushed with a small amount of oil – so as to use the smallest amount of oil possible – is delish.
Oh, and for dishes that seem a little dry due to lack of unhealthy sauces, try blitzing peas and spinach leaves and some seasoning with a hand blender – soooo yummy and so healthy! great alternative to a sauce 🙂
My goddaughter told me a good one – finely shred cabbage and stir-fry it with lots of salt and pepper, serve with an egg: she cracks hers into the pan with the crispy stir fried cabbage to make it kind of foo-yung but I think I’ll go with a poached one. Allegedly this tastes like that delish crispy seaweed you get in Chinese restaurants. Going to have to try it.
I love bean sprouts in anything! Fortunately my bf loves them too. My mom cooks them somehow (stirfry maybe) with scallions, garlic, sesame oil, and some other seasonings and it’s just so amazing. My bf and I haven’t been able to replicate it yet! It’s also just delicious in pad Thai, pho, and dishes like that. Yummyyy
I’m vegetarian (nearly two years now) and although I love Quorn and Soya mince I try to bulk up my dishes with veggies to make them healthier. Lentils are amazing, I copied Nigella lawson and chuck them into Bolognese and Chilli to add a “root vegetable” sweetness as she called it, nomnomnom. I love curry, ecpecially korma but Korma is full of fat apparently and much to my sadness. I found however that pureeing butternut squash, sweet potato and carrots (in any combination thereof depending what I’ve got in) with some eastern spices makes a gorgeous sweet and creamy sauce that has all the sweet stickiness of a korma sauce with none of the “oh god how long will I have to stay on the treadmill to feel less bad about this” XD