Your ultimate healthy living recipes.

[talpiog]

After a scary couple of weeks waiting on a breast biopsy, I have resolved to overhaul my diet. I already don't drink alcohol, and do drink a lot of water, but my diet is a bit hit and miss. I really need to up my veggie intake, but beyond steaming some broccoli I'm a bit stumped (not a big cook!)

Would really appreciate everyone's top recommendations for healthy breakfast, lunch, dinners which are simple and quick to make / take a bit of effort but last for 2-3 days (thinking some veggie said dishes might work here?). Probably also need to get some more fibre in my diet too.

Any ideas or links to inspiration weekly menus would be amazing.

If nothing else it's going to stop me googling atypical cells in a biopsy between now and seeing my consultant next week!!!!

Have you got a juicer or Nutribullet? Zizz up fruit, yoghurt and some protein powder - it's filling and makes a very fast liquid lunch after a little jog!

Try to an avoid processed food (so buy food as close to its natural state as possible).

Lots of salads and make your own dressing. Baked potatoes /sweet potatoes and salad is my favourite fast meal.

Lovely thick homemade soup and homemade bread. Very virtuous!

Make sure you have veggies with each meal (so grilled fish or chicken and a big salad and steamed veggies). Have fruit after (wait a little while) and yoghurt (plain with fruit is yummy).

I eat loads of veg but I love it. For lunch most days i have either a salad or veg based soup.
For evening meals think about making the veg the main event rather than a side. Vegetable curries and chillies are great for this.
Also veg stir fries are great for packing in a ton of veg.
Shakshuka
Root veg casserole
Stuffed butternut squash
Garlic field mushrooms
Ratatouille
Baked sweet potato topped with homemade coleslaw.

Get The Green Roasting Tin recipe book. I use it for batch cooking.

Great ideas thanks. I've just ordered the book.

Any good recipes for homemade coleslaw? I like the thought of it being raw so keeping as much good in it as possible.

I'm sure I have a nutribullet so will dig that out, and maybe make a veggie juice for each day? Any good palatable recipes?

I'm determined to use this as a wake up call to change my relationship with food to seeing it as something which can nourish me and protect me

Super easy is veg omelette/fritata. Few min to make.
I love it with onion, galic, broccoli and peppers or tomatoes (whatever I have). Chop broccoli and microwave for 3 min. Fry onion, add garlic when onion softens, fry another minute or so, add the broccoli, other veg, herbs and spices you fancy, give it another minute, then pour over eggs, mix so it's all relatively evenly mixed. Pop a lid on and on lowest flame. When eggs are cooked add cheese and turn off gas. When cheese is melted, enjoy. You can add sauces like sriracha if you fancy. Sometimes I go withitalian herbs, sometimes I use smoked paprika etc. Omellete is your oyster 😂

Slaw is very customisable. I use yogurt instead of mayo in mine. Yogurt, worcester, mustard, salt, pepper. Just add tiny bit by tiny bit until you like the flavour.

Cabbage is mega underrated healthy veg. And cheap.

Nutribullet - not sure how well veggies juice! Fruit (berries and bananas) best with milk or yoghurt with honey if you need sweetness.

This is my weekday lunch: in a large pan fry (I use spray oil) one leek, one onion, three or four carrots, three sticks of celery with garlic paste and mustard for a few minutes. Add some flour and keep stirring; add milk/water mix and lots of spices/herbs/pepper keep stirring until boiling. In a large ovenproof dish put a punnet of sliced raw mushrooms and quite a lot of spinach. Pour the vegetable mix over the top and I usually add two microwaved, sliced potatoes as topping. Bake for about 40 minutes.

Try poke/buddha/burrito bowls. They’re quick to prepare, often contain raw ingredients and are so healthy and tasty.

Here are my favourites, all under 30 mins:
Sticky aubergine https://realfood.tesco.com/recipes/sticky-aubergine-rice-bowls.html
Spicy tuna https://www.john-west.co.uk/recipes/spicy-tuna-poke-bowl/
Prawn https://www.sainsburys.co.uk/gol-ui/recipes/prawn-poke-bowl

OP very best wishes for a good medical result.

Coleslaw - as others have said, it's a matter of personal taste. This is - to my mind - quite tasty, And very, very easy:
Finely sliced white or red cabbage (the finer the better - just use a sharp knife), or a mixture of the two.
Grated carrot (about 2/3 cabbage, 1/3 carrot)
Spring onions, very finely chopped. About one or two per carrot, depending on carrot size.
Parsley or chives, ditto. Fresh dill also works well if you are serving the coleslaw with fish or eggs.
Mayonnaise (approx 3/4) plus yoghurt (1/4) or - unorthodox - old fashioned salad cream (also1/4). Or even less mayo, and then yoghurt PLUS salad cream.
Mix all together to taste - be very sparing with the mayo/yoghurt/salad cream until you find the amount you like. Too much relative to the cabbage and carrot is not a good thing.
Freshly ground black pepper. Some people add grainy mustard but I'm not keen.

If you make it about an hour or two before serving the cabbage and carrot will soften a little bit, if that is what you like.

Ive been a veg dodger most of my life ( child of the 60s and too many memories of over boiled soggy veg ) but Im now embracing them

I add veg to near on everything. Bacon butty, I use rocket and tomatoes - BLT
Curry - spinach, mushrooms, onions, chick peas
Mince dishes - frozen mixed veg - you get the idea

For me I breakfast on oats, with added flax, HM greek yoghurt and frozen mixed berries

Lunch if home will be an open sandwich of piles of salad veg and pickles, topped with tinned fish or lean meat. I also make soups, whatever there is. Last one was roasted sweet potato, red pepper and chillies with a dash of coconut milk. Ive even made soup with frozen peas, lettuce and stock

I have a lot of frozen veg now, so I can always have veg of some description with as many meals as I can. Keep a bag of frozen pepper, frozen mushrooms and frozen onions and an omelette takes 5 mins

Also a tray of roasted "Mediterranean" veg cooked and kept in the fridge is lovely either hot or cold. A fav of mine is a bagel of cream cheese smothered in room temp veg - yum. I also stir it into pasta and gnocchi

And look at Asian cookery, favs are afghan aubergines and braised cauliflower in oyster sauce and peppers in black bean sauce

Ive upped the fibre with the oats and flax and swapping pasta and bread to wholemeal - it works for me unless Im shoving too much spinach in me :)

Mixed veg omelette, with homemade lentil and veg soup

Soup:

2 onions
A big leek
3 big carrots
1/4 of a green cabbage

Fry the above veg in butter and oil for five mins. Add handful red lentils. Just about top up with water. Add chicken stick cubes, garlic and bay leaf. Simmer till carrots are soft.

Blend if preferred.

Super nutritious and filling.

An easy one if you're not a big cook is the bags of frozen steam veg. There's different varieties and I have them with most stuff just as an extra portion

For fibre - I like porridge for breakfast with some chia seeds or a seed topper (most supermarkets sell them) and raspberries

@talpiog head on over to Downshiftology https://downshiftology.com/ and Eating Well Magazine https://www.eatingwell.com/.

Both sites are good sources of approachable nutrient dense and veg packed food.

The thing about home made coleslaw is that it's counterproductive if a commercially produced mayo is used. It isn't hard to make but needs a light olive oil.

Breakfast: generous tablespoon fage greek Yoghurt, tbs all bran, tbs nuts and seeds, top with two tbs fruit (raspberries, blueberries, mango, pineapple are all contenders and at this time of year, stewed plums with a little honey).

Cut out trans and sat fats, refined carbs and anything shop bought and full if UPFs.

A bag of spinach added to things like cottage pie, stews, etc is a good move.

Good luck with the results.

Wonderful that your biopsy result was clear! And well done on using a horrible experience to improve your health and life!
I agree with what others have said- baked potatoes, soups and salads for simple quick lunches.
Eggs are great to fill you up.. lovely on salads or made into an omlette.
Good idea to buy yourself some cookery books- or go to the library and get some inspiration for free!
I would say, for me, my slow cooker and soup maker are invaluable for cooking healthy lunches and teas- of course you don't NEED any gadgets but if they make life easier, why not!
I rarely make my own coleslaw but I do remember once making it with horseradish sauce- it was lovely- I prefer crunchy to creamy though!
Enjoy your journey!

I love the Bored of Lunch slow cooker book and always add in an extra portion or two of veg (spinach/mushroom/courgette depending on the recipe). Lunch is usually a salad (chicken, mango and avocado is a winner) or soup (brocolli, leek, onion, carrot, potato, courgette, stock, seasoning into a soup maker and served with a crusty roll). I try and snack on crudités and hummus or Greek yog with berries, and pinch of nom has a great recipe for sweet potato brownies!

Lentils are a wonderful way of filling yourself up so you don't feel you even need carbs/ meat etc. There are a couple of good recipes below that make reasonable-sized batches you can have either when just cooked or for lunch the next day. Tip: I always soak packet lentils for about half an hour first, then drain and rinse them, otherwise they can give me tum trouble!
https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/red-lentil-sweet-potato-pate

https://www.waitrose.com/ecom/recipe/warm-lentil-salad-roast-cherry-tomatoes-red-pepper?srsltid=AfmBOopEcABSle1b4SSRAJUYq2-Z80dLw78aY1EM2wci6KXBZNGxnWNz

There are some lovely recipes on here so thanks for starting this thread. Wonderful news about your health and good luck with your healthy eating plan OP.

Coleslaw: cabbage (red or white), carrots, beetroot or celeriac, onion (red, white or spring) cut, grate and add a little salt. The salt draws out some water and makes it easier to add less mayo. Stir well.

The best mayo for coleslaw is Waitrose essential: Ingredients : rapeseed oil, pasteurised free range egg (8%), spirit vinegar, water, pasteurised free range egg yolk (2%), lemon juice from concentrate, sugar, salt, mustard extract, colour (paprika extract).

Use as little mayo as possible, add in some vinegar or yogurt.
You can always add a bit more when serving a portion.

The slaw in my fridge at the moments is Spanish onion (huge and mild), red cabbage and the last of some polish pickled vegetables. Dressed with olive oil and cider vinegar.
If you like a vegetable raw, it can go it. Cucumbers do get a bit watery.

Another vote for lentils.
Make a batch of dal. First day you get curry and dal, second day you discover dal is good breakfast / brunch food. Day three you are getting bored so add frozen whole leaf spinach, mange tout and spring onions plus water, to make soup.

I love this recipe, holycowvegan.net/misir-wot-ethiopian-red-lentils just use some garam masala if you can't get the right spice blend. Spices are really nice with lentils and vegetables so work getting some extras. Ring the changes by grating some carrot, sweet potato or celeriac into the dish just after you add the lentils.