Easy & Healthy Zoodles

I don’t really have too much to update on this week since I’ve just been busy with UCAS. so. much. UCAS. But because of this, I’ve been super into easy meals and this is the perfect thing to make after a long day – fresh, light, easy and obviously, herby!

Easy & Healthy Zoodles vegan, gluten free, dairy free
Serves 1

This is one of my favourite quick lunch recipes – it’s so easy to throw together and perfect for the warmer weather! It’s perfect as a light main dish or as a side to accompany your meal. Feel free to keep the zoodles raw to keep it more ‘salady’.

1 zucchini
Handful of cherry tomatoes, diced
Handful of fresh parsley, chopped (cilantro also works wonderfully!)
Chickpeas
Juice of 1/2 lemon
Extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper, to taste

Spirlaise your zucchini.

Heat olive oil in a pan and add zoodles.

Season with salt and pepper and cook for about 1-2 minutes.

Turn heat off and add tomatoes, chickpeas, cilantro and a big squeeze of lemon.

Stir around and serve with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.

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Baked Chicken with Celery, Onion and Fennel

There are a few recipes that I always go back to, basically every week, because they’re so easy to put together and I can have a meal in 30 minutes, with barely any prep!

Chicken is such a versatile meat – you can roast it, bake it, sauté, deep fry – anything really! I find baking is such a great way to cook it, as

a) it requires very minimal effort (no basting to Barry about)

b) doesn’t make your whole house smell (yes, I’m looking at you sautéed chicken).

c) barely need to clean up anything (just a chopping board basically!)

The celery, fennel and onion really compliment eachother with the chicken – I also love adding leeks, so if you have that on hand, slice it thinly and add it in! Once it’s cooked, all the vegetables melt into a delicious sweetness that goes amazingly with the chicken, and when served with couscous, all the sauce is soaked up and it’s just amazing.

Also, it’s practically fat free as no oil is used in this recipe, but don’t worry, it’s still super moist! So it’s really a win win situation for all!

Baked Chicken with Celery, Onion and Fennel gluten free and dairy free
Serves 1

1-2 chicken thighs
1 stick of celery
1 small white onion
Few slices of fennel
Salt and pepper
Dash of white wine

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees celcius.

Slice the vegetables thinly so they are all even thicknesses. Put in a foil lined tray and season with salt (Don’t skimp on this because the salt makes the vegetables sweet and delicious)

Season the chicken with salt and pepper and put in the tray, ontop of the vegetables.

Pour some white wine ontop of the chicken, don’t go crazy, but make sure there is a sufficient amount so that a ‘sauce’ will be made.

Cover with another piece of foil and put in the oven for 30 minutes.

5 minutes before the end of cooking time, I would recommend taking off the foil ‘lid’.

Serve with greens and couscous.

Spanish Lentil Soup

Lentils are just so hard to take a photo of. Ok, so many they’re not the most photogenic food, but you know what they say – don’t judge a book by it’s cover. Funny story (but not really), when I was in primary school I saw a book called ‘Thief‘ on the book shelf for so long and for the longest time I didn’t read it because the cover was not the best, but when I caved in and read it, it was like the best book I had read (at the time).

Ummm, yep, back to the soup: Lentils are packed with FIBRE which is super good for you and get’s your body going and makes you feel super full without getting all that bloatiness (not even a word) and it’s just an all round star to be honest!
Strictly speaking this isn’t the real deal genuine Spanish lentil soup but it’s as close as I can get and it tasted so darn delicous!

ps. I’m aware it doesn’t look very soup-y but I just didn’t add the liquid as I like mine more lentil-y.

Spanish Lentil Soup vegan, gluten free and dairy free
Serves 2

1/2 cup puy type lentils
1 onion, cut up
1 carrot, cut into small pieces
1 clove of garlic, minced
1 small bay leaf
Thyme
1/2 chicken or vegetable stock cube
Salt and pepper, to taste

Sauté the onion and carrots in olive oil for about 5 minutes until soft (be sure to add salt so the sweetness comes out).
Add garlic and saute until fragrant.

Add the lentils and stir around then cover with water until about and inch above the lentils are covered with water.
At this point, add in the thyme and bay leaf.

Simmer uncovered for about 20-30 minutes, check it at about 20 minutes to see if it is done.

Season with any more salt and pepper if needed and serve with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil on top.