Our recipes are specially created to be healthy, nutritious and family friendly. Tuck in!
All tagged make ahead
Good habits start with breakfast. Making ahead is one of the best advice we can give. Those overnight flaxseed and chia breakfast pots take 10 minutes to prepare the day before and keep in the fridge for 2-3 days. Ideal to make on a Sunday afternoon and that’s Monday and Tuesday’s breakfast sorted. They are balanced, high in protein to keep you full until lunchtime and just delicious.
Great option for those short on time but wanting flavour! Packed full of goodness with chickpeas, tomatoes, peppers, mushrooms and spinach this is a vegetarian option but you could add any leftover roast chicken. This takes very little prep, especially if you decided to go for ready chopped frozen vegetables. As always, make extra and save yourself portion for lunch the next day!
The breakfast debate ( to have or not to have, what and when) is still going strong! The other question is whether you prefer sweet or savoury!
My answer for now is that I love a breakfast that’s made ahead, balanced delicious and nourishing. So here’s another overnight recipe to help you out! Making ahead is one of the best advice I can give if you want to ensure you fuel properly! Use any seasonal fresh fruit to top up or your go to handy frozen fruits!
Kat and I pride ourselves with how simplicity is the key to eating well and creating healthy habits for the long term. That is why, sometimes, as is the case for this recipe, it barely feels like a recipe! A marinade doesn’t have to be “chef” like or complicated with loads of ingredients. Just 2 staples here :plain yoghurt and a good quality harissa paste! In the summer, this is perfect for a BBQ and for the rest of the year, I grill those in the oven. Add to a wrap with hummus for a delicious picnic or lunch at work.
At the Health Boost we are not vegetarian but we encourage everyone to increase the consumption of mostly plant based meals a couple of days a week if possible. With some pulses providing some good quality protein such as the quinoa and chickpeas in this salad and the added halloumi we make sure to provide a balance of all macro nutrients. We also get asked often what to do with aubergines as they are a good source of fibre, vitamins and minerals and low in calories for those counting.
We love black rice. It is higher in fibre than the other rices. It also contains some protein and so this salad will fill you up and keep you satisfied all day long. This is perfect on its own for lunch or you could serve in the evening alongside some grilled salmon, chicken or a BBQ.
A Tian is a classic dish from my beloved childhood southern France. It is perfect served alongside grilled meat or fish, or just aside salad for a light lunch. It is perfect to use up all of your summer vegetables. I like to use mixed provencal herbs and garlic for the seasoning but dried oregano works brilliantly too. A super easy one to make vegan by simply skipping the cheese. It’s a bit like a structured ratatouille!
This was inspired by a jar of Brindisa Monjardin organic lentils. The lentils looked so pretty that I wanted them to be the star of the salad. Do use whatever lentils are your favourite - although if you do find the Brindisa brand then I urge you to give them a go. This salad takes minutes to make and can be enjoyed on its own or alongside some grilled salmon or chicken.
When you love asparagus, the season is not really long enough, so I really try and come up with new recipes to include them at least a couple of times a week. This new recipe could very quickly become a seasonal staple for my family. It is quick to prepare, nutritionally balanced, can be adapted, can be eaten hot or cold, makes a perfect picnic or lunchbox item and when cut into squares it's a great finger food for the younger ones. What are you waiting for?
Good old fashioned oat cakes are so so delicious and versatile. They are also super easy to make, as a batch and keep. With the main ingredient being pinhead oats (or steel cut oats) they make the perfect high fibre savoury snack teamed up with our smoked mackerel pâté or French sardine pâté. Another French way to enjoy those is with a little butter, some sliced radishes and a little salt. I like to vary the herbs or spices I mix in them; I have tried and tested rosemary, oregano, garlic, turmeric, curry powder, cumin and paprika. If you want to have them with cheese, I recommend to stick to herbs.
With BBQ season kicking off soon and 2 teens looking forward to make up for lost social time, weekend gathering around food will hopefully be regular occurrence. There seem to be more and more vegetarians amongst my teens’ friends so I am busy creating, planning and testing some new recipes to suit all dietary requirements. This is so so tasty with a nod to my home country with French goats cheese and caramelised red onions! And no processed fake meat in sight!
When trying to get clever and time efficient with meal planning and food prep, we often go for the simple crowd pleasing classics that you can batch cook and freeze. And what better than a batch of meatballs. Turkey mince is very affordable too. The beauty of meatballs is that they are so so versatile: added to a lunchbox, to comforting pasta bowl, served with simple mediterranean roasted veggies, one pan meal. Leftovers are perfect sliced in a wrap with salad and avocado for lunch!
A little breakfast pot packed with healthy seeds. Seeds are a great addition to our diet as menopause women. These little pots have worked very well for me as a breakfast option. They would work well before any workout and as a post-workout refuel. If you use the 120g of Greek yoghurt specified then you’ll be hitting 28g of protein per pot.
When it’s all about meal planning, food prep and making sure you have good nutritious home cooked food ready when you need it, these are perfect to make all year round. Very quick and easy to assemble with no blender or processor, those lamb koftas can be served with a side salad or some quinoa and steamed greens. I like to serve them with a side of cumin and parsley yoghurt.
Creating good breakfast habits is often a very hard one to crack! Making ahead is one of the best advice we can give. Those overnight chia breakfast pots take 5 minutes to prepare the day before, keep in the fridge for 2-3 days, are rich in protein to keep you full and can be made with an endless list of fruits! What’s not to like! You can easily make a “pick & mix” batch to suit everyone in the family! Any fresh or frozen fruit can be used! Today’s choice is frozen mango!
In the summer I love nothing more than a lovely fresh green smoothie for breakfast. If it’s a spin class morning, I like to enjoy it after but if I am strength training, I need a boost of power before I hit the weights. This is my recent most favourite to give me that boost on a summer’s morning! One of my favourite Plant based protein powder is by ThatProtein and contains Baobab, recognised for its immune boosting properties, high iron and vitamin C nutritional profile!
I never drink smoothies in the winter or cooler months - but in the summer they make a lovely light breakfast. I especially enjoy them if I am not feeing that hungry - or have trained before eating and then it might only be a few hours before lunch. I always include some protein - but if it’s close to lunch then I don’t need to go overboard. I have included flaxseed in this smoothie for its importance in female hormone health - see tip below.
Why have we called this smoothie help your hormones? We originally designed it for those that came to our Menopause workshop to highlight some fantastic hormone balancing ingredients. We have shared with you all as it’s also perfect for hormones at any age, not just women going through the peri-menopause. See our tip at the bottom for why these ingredients are perfect for your hormones. And also note the warning about grapefruit if taking some medications.
This is hand on heart the easiest flatbread you can make and it’s naturally gluten-free! Socca is a traditional French dish from Nice where I partly grew up. It was probably my favourite street food. Cooked on very hot grills, they were usually served in a cone of brown paper with a sprinkling of coarse sea salt and pepper, maybe thyme or rosemary. It it was one of those South of France classic for which everyone has their own technique for cooking, but the ingredients however are pretty much always the same: equal parts chickpea flour and water, add olive oil, that’s it. That simple!
