Nutritious main meal ideas for a gradual diet overhaul

[AtLeastInHeavenICanSkate]

Inspired by some other threads (NC alert) I’ve decided the time is ripe for an overhaul. My plan is to make significant changes over a period of time and do a new one each month whilst keeping the old changes- nothing revolutionary but needed and I hope to get long term benefits/results.

at the moment my diet is pretty crap- too many microwave meals, way too many sweets, chocolate and crisps.

In the short term before as I’m making bigger adjustments I’m hoping to get some advice on what are the most nutritious main meal ideas. Ideally max 20 min prep, max 60 mins cooking, no dietary restrictions, open to all foods and flavours.

How many people are you cooking for @AtLeastInHeavenICanSkate or will you be cooking and then saving some portions?

One thing you could do, which isn’t what you’ve asked about I know, is to swap some of the bags of crisps to bags of sweet & salty popcorn. They contain much more fibre

What kind of food do you like? Are you just cooking for yourself?

In terms of making your diet healthier I would start with breakfast. It always feels better when you’ve go the day off to a good start and it’s easy.

Thank you for replying. Cooking for 2 and happy eating pretty much all food styles. Trying to include more some fish too. Good point about breakfast.

How about trying a traybake like this one? Generally trsybakes take very little prep and you can do something else whilst they cook

Watching with interest as trying to do similar and also reduce upfs

I’ve started out with some simple swaps to see if they make a difference.

So for breakfast instead of cereal and milk I’m having Greek yoghurt and fruit. Also adding some seeds like chia seeds / pumpkin seeds

I’ve swapped my normal bread out for soughdough and for lunches trying to have eggs / avocado on toasted or hummus ans roast veg (big peppers / mushrooms / courgettes as a tray bake last for a couple of days in the fridge) with hummus

Batch of boiled eggs for snacks and also batch of chopped salad in the fridge to just have with evening meal as a side

Crisps are guilty pleasure so looked at plain crisps which are literally potatoes oil and salt flavouring

And drinking more water too even instead of cordial - that’s made a big difference

I swapped to plain, ready salted crisps after watching You Ate What You Eat. I’m not sure I could give up crisps completely and in not sure I’d want to either

I’m a big fan of making a huge pot of something lovely that feeds us for a while or does 1 for now and 2 for the freezer.

The best is bolognaise and chilli but you can easily make them with chicken and same spice mix.

My difference is that I absolutely load them up with veg and lentils so it’s only about 40% meat.

Onion, red onion, 3 types of pepper, carrot, celery, courgette, mushrooms, aubergine - that’s 10 plants in one meal. Plus lentils and tomatoes.

Lots of chopping but then it’s just stirring and leaving to simmer.

Have you got an air fryer? For me it’s about developing a repeatable format which for us is essentially a modern meat-and-3-veg.

Chicken (butterflied breast or thighs), frozen cod/haddock and salmon cook really well in the airfryer. Douse them with spices before cooking & a little oil. The spice mix in this BBC recipe is good www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/air-fryer-chicken-breasts

Roast a handful of baby potatoes sprayed with EVOO spray at the same time. Potatoes aren’t the devil and are one of the highest satiety foods.

Then whatever veg you fancy on the side. This time of year mixed salad dressed with a low calorie yoghurt dressing like this https://hannahmageerd.com/blender-ranch-dressing-with-greek-yogurt/ is really nice. It stores in the fridge as well.

Or, boil the potatoes & steam some green veg, and toss the lot in some pesto.

The whole shebang is a few minutes to prepare assuming youre not making salad dressing, albeit the recipe I linked isn’t onerous.

If time is short I would do something like batch cook a veggie chilli and change it up what I have with it. So one night rice and broccoli, another jacket potato or wedges.

Fish is quick and easy and can be delicious done fairly simply

salmon in your air fryer, new potatoes, a fresh salad
sea bass in air fryer with mixed frozen vegetables puréed to a mash is lovely
jacket potato with tuna
fish pie - use frozen fish pie mix, a white sauce, top with mash or grated raw potato for a lighter option and bake in oven
tuna steaks brushed with oil and sprinkled with sesame seeds are lovely with stir fried vegetables and soy sauce
salmon with green veg and rice and soy sauce is also lovely
salmon chopped into pieces and mixed with low fat crème fraiche and dill, then wrapped in puff pastry and baked makes an easy salmon en croute
smoked salmon and feta cheese are lovely in a frittata

I think my favourite is pea and ham soup. I just use 1/2 pack of chopped cooking bacon and throw in a box of Soaked bigga marrowfat peas, a cup of red lentils and another of split yellow peas and then peel and chop 2-3 carrots, an onion and a stick of celery. Throw in a chicken stock cube and bring to the boil. Skim any scum from the top and leave to simmer until the lentils have fallen in. I like to blitz mine so it’s a mix of smooth and chunky but my sister likes hers “as is” and chunk af. It freezes beautifully and is perfect for lunches and meals on the go and it’s packed with protein and fibre.

i use the other half of the bacon to make a crestless omelette type dish for my DH. Just a pot of cottage cheese in a bowl, fill the pot with the same amount of eggs, pour it in and blitz it. Then add whatever. I use finely chopped bacon ( or ham/chicken/whatever Veg from the fridge). Season. Poor into a shallow glass dish so it’s about 4cm thick and bake at 160-180c until cooked in the centre. It’s delicious and can be served hot or cold and keeps great in the fridge for 3-4 days. He pretty much lives on it with home made coleslaw and salad in the summer heat waves. Again, loads of protein and’s it’s an easy quick way to use up random bits of broccoli, cheese ends, peppers, onions etc .

for coleslaw I just very finely shred half a drum head cabbage and then finely slice an onion. Julienne a bunch of carrots. Mix up a few spoons of Greek yogurt and mayo, a tsp or two of mustard, season and then mix thoroughly. Top with a tsp of crushed nuts when I serve it.

Some ideas:

• Make friends with beans, lentils and chickpeas - cheap, nutritious, full of fibre.
• Chilli-inspired meals: Beef / turkey / soya mince / lentils, or just use a variety of beans / peas. Whack in whatever veg might need using up. Add tomatoes and spices. Service with brown rice, buckwheat, quinoa... Make a double / triple / quadruple batch and freeze leftovers.
• Jacket potatoes. Use leftover chilli on a jacket sweet potato. Don't knock it 'til you've tried it. If you've a bit of extra time, make some guacamole, salsa, add some cheese. Put some salad on the side for the extra nutrients. Other low effort toppings: baked beans, tuna mayo with peas / corn / spring onions, cheese...
• Keep things simple. Roast some chicken thighs, add a carb of choice, put some veg on the side.
• Roast veg: Peppers, onions, courgette, aubergine... Add garlic and whatever herbs you like. They'll keep in the fridge to be added to sandwiches, as a side, used in sauces, or can be frozen and whacked in a pasta sauce.
• Soups. Great for using up vegetables, including leftover mashed potato.
• Snack on nuts and seeds.
• Look at your meal plated up and think: Can I add anything to this now, or next time I make this?
• Fish: thai-style curry, paella-type dishes, baked, pan-fried, breadcrumbed...

Use leftover rice / quinoa / buckwheat in an egg fried [carb of choice] breakfast. Drizzle some olive oil over it for serving.

Enjoy!