Learn to cook 10 super quick & healthy meals

Several things have recently changed to make this meal ethically possible for me. Hellman’s mayo switching to free range eggs and The Marine Stewardship Council approved fish finally beginning to make it’s way into local supermarkets.

I had my first serving for lunch today and it’s heavenly, superbly healthy and quick as a flash. I can keep everything but the salad in the store-cupboard and use it as the best tasting emergency meal on the planet.

1/2 can of tuna (marine stewardship council approved)
1/2 can sweetcorn
2 big dollops of light mayo
small mountain of salad leaves

Lay out your salad mountain on a plate. Mix all other ingredients in a bowl then arrange on top of the salad.

My next job is to write to Hellmans and thank them for making the egg switch.

This is really just posh mushroom pasta – but it takes 20 mins exactly and tastes heavenly.

Ingredients:
200g dried pasta
1tbsp Olive Oil
1 clove garlic crushed
125g Oyster mushrooms torn into bite sized pieces – keep a few whole for the look of the thing.
1 can of artichoke hearts
Seasoning
6 sprigs of basil, chopped
25g fresh parmesan grated or flakes

Put the water on for the pasta as you begin the sauce. Drop pasta in when the water boils & drain when ready.
Heat the oil & add the garlic, then the mushrooms. Cook until tenter – 5 mins approx. Add the chopped artichoke and season. Mix the drained pasta with the sauce and add the chopped basil and dress with the Parmesan.
Yum!

Takes barely longer than the pasta.

Ingredients:
1tbsp Olive Oil
1 Onion
1 Garlic clove, crushed
1 Can of Tomatoes
1 can of chickpeas
Dried Basil & Oregano to taste
Seasoning
1 tbsp vegetable stock

Put the water on for the pasta as you begin the sauce. Drop pasta in when the water boils & drain when ready.
Heat the oil & add the onion then the garlic.
Cook until soft.
Add tomatoes & seasoning and break up with a wooden spoon as they cook. Cook until sauce thickens. Add the pasta to the sauce and serve immediately.

My new best dish – serves two (but was so yummy we could have eaten double that – be warned)

Ingredients:
1 can of butter beans
1 Bag of salad leaves
6 spring onions
Fresh coriander

For the dressing:
2 tbsp maple syrup
1 tbsp dijon mustard
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp olive oil

heat the beans in their juice from the can for 5 mins on the stove. Chop the spring onion & coriander and add to the salad leaves in a bowl. Mix all the dressing ingredients together and then add to the leaves. When the beans are heated through drain and add to the salad. Toss it all together and serve.

We thought some warm fresh bread would have been ace for mopping up the juices – it takes about 10 mins to prepare and hit the plate. Perfect.

1 Avacado (sliced or cubed)
1/2 tbsp lemon juice
2 handfuls of salad leaves
2oz Walnut halves

dressing:
1/2 tbsp walnut oil
1/2 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp cider vinegar
1/2 tsp lemon juice

It’s so easy peasy I have no excuse. And it barely takes longer than cutting an avacado in half!

I have found a plethora of books on quick cooking – and a few on quick and healthy cooking. There seem to be several categories – 10 minutes, 15 minutes, 20 minutes and 30 minutes. I think 20 minutes is the one to aim for for now.

Olive oil
1 onion (finely chopped)
1 teaspoon rosemary
1 red pepper (chopped)
1 courgette (chopped)
2-3 cloves garlic (crushed, or at least perturbed)
Quorn/veggie mince
1 tin chopped tomatoes
2 teaspoons basil
1 teaspoon oregano
Salt and pepper to taste
1 teaspoon powdered vegetable stock
Tomato juice (splash)
Tomato puree (squirt)
Optional: a sprinkling of paprika
Optional: a sprinkling of crushed chiles

Red wine (for drinking whilst cooking – essential!)

Saute the onion, rosemary and red pepper in the olive oil until the onion is translucent. Add the courgette and garlic and cook for another 3 minutes. Add the veggie mince and cook for another 3 minutes. Add the rest in the order listed, heat through and simmer for 10-20 minutes or until your pasta is ready.

You can put the pasta on and generally have this ready by the time the pasta is cooked. You can add pesto to the pasta, then the sauce over the top and finish off with grated parmsan.

So called because I cry when I chop onions. Friends with various woes have felt strangely comforted if we cry together… and we get tasty food to share too.

So, not a new recipie to me – in fact it was the first thing I ever learned to cook. But fits the bill for health and timing and as this list is a reminder that I can cook perfectly good food without spending the whole evening in the kitchen… this is going in at No3.

I’ve also cooked both 1. & 2. since my last entry – Yummy!

1. Red Kidney Bean Hotpot (from the detox book)

2. Richards Yummy Corn Pasta & Tomato Sauce

These both take less than 20 mins from walking into the kitchen to sitting down with a bowl in your lap. They both taste amazing and they both have more healthiness in them than you can shake a stick at. I think I should make them on my own one time to say that I actually know them properly – but it’s a very good start.
I’ll add the recipies in here some other time as a useful reminder.