Thread for delicious and easy fruit / vegetable focused meals

[OhGloriousDay]

Hoping for some genius ideas here - I’ve just hit 40 and my weight (never great but not awful) has started creeping up. Too much alcohol, too many takeaways, not enough sleep. I’m a classic faddy dieter, have recently invested in an unused peloton and injected myself with saxenda!

The new plan - I’ve been listening to Allen Carr this morning and although it’s a bit old fashioned a lot of what he’s saying resonates. I don’t need to cut out meat completely and I don’t intend to become obsessed with avoiding sugar and processed foods. All I want to do is massively up my water intake, fruit and veg.

But I’m so busy, I have several kids and a full time job. I need some brilliant go to easy and good tasting meals that I can throw together, so turning to Mumsnet for inspiration. Things already on my list:

• Greek yoghurt with berries
• massive salad with some chicken and egg (suggestions for a tasty dressing?)
• mixed bean salad (the kind you get ready prepared) and coleslaw or houmous and some chicken
• bruschetta on ciabatta

Can anyone give me some other ideas that we can all share? What I’m after is those combinations of mostly natural foods which you sometimes come across which just taste fantastic.

I’m now off to eat an apple and drink some water!

If anyone wants to join me feel free to use this thread to post delicious healthy things you eat each day - perhaps we can encourage each other

Also trying to lose weight here and what I am doing is
Buy a pre marinated chicken to chuck in the oven to have with a salad, chickpeas, mixed leaf, beetroot, carrots, onions, cucumber and whatever else I can see in the fridge with a dressing of lemon orange and olive oil and lots of salts. This is for dinner.

Cook a pan of meat with garlic, ginger, stock, onion, tomatoes, mushrooms, peppers and have it with a side of kale/spinach/broccoli. This is for lunch.

I also bought a yogurt maker so making my own yogurt which I am going to freeze with some fruits so I can frozen yogurt for after dinner.

I have a juice maker so I tend to make my own carrots, orange, apple juice etc

These have helped before so hoping it helps again.

It's out of season now but I love chopped up cauliflower with a bit of salt and curry/garlic powder chucked in a really hot oven for 15-20 mins.

With a salad and a little springle of vinegar.

Much more satisfying than it sounds.

I've just finished reading Allen Carr (sugar one) and like you have an unused Peloton (well my husband uses it) and a history of faddy dieting...

I've just completed a week of super-clean eating (WFPB (whole foods vegan, no oil) + no potato as Allen's recommendation) and have now slumped after an enthusiastic start. I need to add some stuff back in - potato for a start!

I like having something hot in my salads - like roasted veg (which I cook on a silicon mat covered in concentrated stock and spices rather than oil), or quinoa cooked in stock.

I also really like frozen grapes now and making banana 'icecream' of frozen bananas and a little almond milk.

As for other things to recommend I'm stuck too. I've been having an allplants meal with steamed veg (+ Dijon mustard which I love); a large salad with some grains/beans and basic dressing (made from any combinations of lemon juice, tahini, soy sauce, balsamic vinegar, Dijon mustard - and I am bored of that) and porridge with berries.

I've current got a loads of cookbooks on my desk and I am going to trying and make myself try a load of new recipes - starting with a salad dressings and a black bean salad.

I'm planning on trying an avocado dressing today (garlic, avocado, white wine, lime juice, Dijon mustard, salt and pepper) - will report back on that one.

Some good ideas to try thank you. One thing that struck me was he talked about how the fruit and veg are water based and this (and drinking lots of water) helps to add digestion and absorption of the nutrients needed. Which is what makes you feel satisfied - as opposed to stuffing yourself full of a load of carbs and meat.

I think I just need a ton of veg on my plate every meal, but without stressing about whether the dressings and other accompanying stuff have too many calories / sugar / carbs.