Store Cupboard Recipes: 4 Things to Make with Leftover Salad

How’s everyone getting on? It’s pretty boring, this lockdown stuff. I’ve resorted to playing Roller Coaster Tycoon, listening to rewatch podcasts (Office Ladies and Fake Doctors, Real Friends with Zach and Donald if you’re interested) and exercising – FOR FUN. Ew.

But it’s important that we keep plodding along for our own protection and the protection of everyone around us, so well done for doing your bit! While we’re all still pining after our favourite food, I’ve found that coming up with new meal ideas a welcome challenge to distract me from constant daydreams about Nandos and Pizza Express.

I know salad isn’t exactly a “store cupboard” food but, in our house, it’s ALWAYS leftover – I guess that’s what happens when you ignore it and eat pizza instead. Who knew?! And I know we’re not alone, so here are a few ideas for using up that wilting bag of salad leaves before it dies a sad, lonely death in the bottom of the vegetable draw.

1. Lemon ‘n’ lime salad

This is my favourite go-to salad because it’s super easy, really refreshing (perfect for the hot weather we’re having!) and full of flavour. If you don’t have fresh lemon and limes – I literally NEVER do – then bottled lemon and lime juice is something I’d definitely recommend picking up; seriously, so handy. I also find having various nuts and seeds in the cupboard (sesame seeds, pumpkin seeds, pine nuts, cashews – whatever you like and whatever is in your budget) is really useful, especially for dishes like this.

Believe me, those limp lettuce leaves will come ALIVE with this recipe! Empty your leftover salad into a large bowl (along with any other salad ingredients – tomato, cucumber, red onion, grated carrot, etc.) and add a few drops of lemon and lime juice (I prefer more lime than lemon, but each to their own) and season with a pinch of garlic powder, salt, pepper and a teeny drizzle of oil. I also like to throw in pine nuts and sesame seeds, and I have a little shaker of fake parmesan “hard cheese” that I like to use for a delicious savoury flavour. I can find everything here in my kitchen 99% of the time, and they can all be swapped for whatever you have at home.

2. Burrito bowl

I’m seriously missing burritos right now, you guys. No Mexican restaurants are open for delivery near us, the supermarkets have v. limited veggie options and whenever I make burritos at home I always overfill them and they split (me? greedy? never!).  So, right now, a burrito bowl is the closest thing – and they’re awesome! 

Burrito bowls are perfect because you can make them using fairly basic ingredients, swapping most of them out for something else if you prefer. All you need to do is layer a bowl with rice and salad, throw some peppers and onions (with paprika, chilli flakes, salt and pepper) on top with a spoonful of beans – I like black beans or mixed taco beans, but you can spice anything up with garlic and paprika – and finish off with a little cheese, salsa and sour cream. Throw in plenty of spices along the way and you can’t go wrong!

3. Club sandwich

Lunch is something I’ve reeeally struggled with during lockdown – without my Boots meal deal, I’m lost. Trying to make something exciting to look forward to every day (because let’s face it, even from home the best part of the work day is lunchtime) has been hard for me. I’ve fallen back on a pot of Super Noodles more than once these last few weeks, let me tell you!

Club sandwiches are probably the closest to a pub garden lunch we’ll get for a while, and it’s a really good way to use up some of those random fridge ingredients in one big wedge of sandwich-y goodness. Take a few slices of bread, layered up with your choice of main filling – chicken, turkey, or maybe mushrooms or marinated tofu – and then stuff in your salad along with any optional extras like avocado and tomato, perhaps a little mayonnaise or mustard, add in some egg or cheese if you feel like it, and you’ve got a great lunch! Don’t forget that extra slice of bread in the middle to make it a true club sandwich…

4. Mixed bean salad

I’m aware that a mixed bean salad probably sounds like the most boring thing in the world right now and, well, I won’t lie to you – you’re not wrong. It won’t light fireworks, but it’s a healthy, colourful plate, quick to put together and really good way to use up lots of different ingredients. And sometimes, in the middle of a pandemic, that’s all you need.

You can either grab a few different tins of beans yourself, or find a ready-made tin of mixed beans if you can’t be bothered to pick and choose (like me!). All you need to do  is heat them up, season with paprika, garlic, chilli flakes, salt and pepper, and toss them together with your leftover salad ingredients and BAM – you’ve done it! Tuck into this for a quick lunch, or perhaps serve up on the side of chicken or with a garlic flatbread to make more of a meal out of it. Perfect for a lazy summer evening!

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Store Cupboard Recipes: 5 Things to Make with Chopped Tomatoes

With everyone being locked inside right now, more of us are being forced to cook – even on those lazy days when we really can’t be bothered. Takeaways are limited, restaurants are a no-go and it’s hard to justify queuing 45 minutes at the supermarket for a microwave burrito, so we don’t have a whole lot of options…

Being at the mercy of your own kitchen comes with plenty of downfalls. Not only do you have to muster up the energy to cook every. single. night. (seriously, what the hell is that about?), but we’re also having to deal with the fact that our shopping trips are restricted and you never know what will actually be available on the shelves once you get there. It’s really put “making the most of what you’ve got” to the test, food-wise. 

I’m lucky that I enjoy cooking and find the kitchen a creative space; it’s a distraction for me, really. I’ve had fun rummaging through the cupboards, trying to figure out what we can do with the most basic store cupboard ingredients, and I thought it was about time I shared a few ideas with you all – and I’m starting with one of my favourites! If you’re looking for inspiration on what to do with that old tin of chopped tomatoes gathering dust on the back of the shelf, look no further…

1. Quick spaghetti bolognese

It’s the obvious choice, but you literally can’t go wrong with a heap of delicious spaghetti in a sweet tomato sauce topped with a shaving of cheese. The most popular way to make spag bol is with beef mince, but you can use lamb mince, soy mince, or replacement vegetables such as lentils – whatever you’ve got at home!

I make mine with a veggie mince alternative – all it takes is frying off a little onion and garlic, adding the mince (or your weapon of choice) and sliced mushrooms, followed by a cheap tin of chopped tomatoes. Then simply season with a crumbled stock cube, a dash of tomato puree, mixed herbs, a pinch of sugar, salt and pepper and combine with spaghetti until it transforms into that delicious hug in a bowl – i.e. spag bol.

2. Winter stew

You can whip up a super quick stew (yes, there is such a thing) using nothing but the humble chopped tomato as a base. The best thing about this sort of meal is that you can use literally anything – I’ve made this using black beans and sweet potato, chicken and root vegetables, and even a random array of canned and frozen veg that happened to be around.

For the sake of lockdown, I’d suggest going for the latter – grab your unwanted tins of sweetcorn, kidney beans and baby carrots, along with that squashed-down, half-empty packet of Birds Eye Mixed Vegetables in the bottom of the freezer, throw the lot into a pan or slow cooker with chopped tomatoes, 200ml of stock and a little seasoning (whatever you have – I like using garlic, thyme, marjoram, paprika, chilli flakes, salt and pepper in mine) and cook down for 20-30 minutes. 

3. Chickpea chilli

Chickpeas are always knocking about in my kitchen and, given how quickly they disappeared from the supermarket shelves at the start of all this, it makes sense that there are a lot of unwanted chickpeas kicking around in other people’s kitchens up and down the country right now.

I’m a big fan of chilli – especially making my own random versions depending on how bothered I can be or what I have to hand. Sometimes, that’s chickpea chilli. Rinse off the chickpeas and cook them in a pan with onions, peppers, kidney beans and, you guessed it, chopped tomatoes, along with a generous dose of paprika, cinnamon, cumin and chilli. I like to pile my chilli on top of steaming hot jacket potatoes with a handful of cheese and sour cream, my boyfriend prefers to carb-load with a mountain of rice – go with your heart.

4. Patatas bravas (sort of)

Okay, so I probably don’t make this quite right. Patatas bravas is a traditional Spanish tapas dish, and I make some sort of version of it using what I have in my kitchen. I also make it into a larger portion because I’m greedy and tapas is too small for my liking – unless someone else is cooking it, obviously.

All you need is potatoes and chopped tomatoes – couldn’t be simpler, right? I like to throw in some chopped onions and serve it up on a bed of greens as well, but that’s totally your call. Simply chop the potatoes into cubes and roast in the oven until crispy – in the meantime, simmer the chopped tomatoes for around 10 to 15 minutes with some garlic, paprika, chilli, salt and pepper. That’s all there is to it, and you’ve got a lightly spiced dish with very little effort.

5. Vegetable soup

I know tins of soup were at the top of everyone’s shopping list as soon as whisperings of lockdown started, because it’s a classic, right? If you’re cold, if you’re sick, if you’re feeling a little down… there isn’t much that a bowl of soup can’t solve. I firmly believe that being able to find comfort in the time it takes to microwave a tin of Heinz tomato soup is a blessing, but if your local store is sold out or you just fancy making your own, chopped tomatoes go a long way.

Fry off some onions and garlic, add a litre of stock and literally any vegetables you want – seriously, anything will do – along with a tin of chopped tomatoes, then season (I’m using cumin, coriander, mixed herbs, salt and pepper, with an optional dash of English mustard and tomato puree) and simmer for 20 minutes or so. Cool, blitz in a blender and then heat as and when you want! You can freeze it, keep it in the fridge, batch cook it, reheat it (safely, of course) – it’s the perfect lockdown recipe.

Supermarket Essentials for a Basic Budget Shopping List | #ThisGirlEats

I’ve always shopped on a budget and learnt to create tasty, nutritious meals out of pretty basic ingredients. For many, working out how to feed yourself and your family well when money is tight can be a real nightmare.

I’m going to share which ingredients I’ve always made a beeline for in three of the most essential spots in the supermarket to keep my costs down. Hopefully this will help you in creating a shopping list full of basic, adaptable ingredients for the least amount of money possible!

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Tins, glorious tins

Honestly, if your cupboard is fully stocked with tins you can’t go wrong. There’s definitely some kitchen snobbery around tinned food but the fact it’s cheaper, more widely accessible and very convenient for quick, basic cooking.

Just because your food comes out of a tin doesn’t mean you have to miss out on basic nutrition; tins can be a great way to get healthier food into your life without spending lots of money on fresh produce that goes out of date every week. And don’t forget, some of the nation’s favourite foods – soups, baked beans, and even fish – are commonly found in tins! 

Chopped tomatoes. The most cost-effective and essential basis of so, so many meals.
Beans. Black beans, kidney beans, baked beans – they all count as one of your five-a-day!
Soup. With a chunk of delicious crusty bread, soup is the perfect winter warmer.
Potatoes. Tinned potatoes are pre-peeled (YAY!) and only take five minutes to cook – stir through some butter and mixed herbs, you’d never know the difference.
Mixed vegetables. The most convenient way to get your five-a-day.
Peaches. Tinned fruit usually sits in syrup which whacks up the sugar, but hey, it’s still fruit! Drain them off and enjoy some sliced peaches for a fraction of the cost.
Lentils. Tinned lentils can be used just like beans to bulk up meals as they’re super filling and nutritious. 

Jack Monroe’s ‘Tin Can Cook’ is a great read for inspiring, delicious recipes made from tinned food

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Eat your vegetables

You might want more variety than the tinned aisle can offer, or simply prefer fresh fruit and veggies – and that’s fine! But the problem for many of us is that these ingredients can be more expensive. 

However, if you know where to look you’ll find plenty of low-cost options. I’ve picked up some right bargains before, and most fruit and vegetables that regularly make my shopping list are cheap, versatile crowd-pleasers.

With fruit, you can usually find decent-sized bags of apples, pears, bananas, peaches, nectarines and oranges for under £1 but, if you’re trying to save money, you’ll probably want to avoid melons and berries as these are often the most expensive fruits on the shelves.

With vegetables, you can stock up on carrots, onions, lettuce, cucumbers, courgettes, tomatoes, mushrooms, cabbage and parsnips without breaking the bank; however, you might want to think twice about avocados (I know they’re technically a fruit but whatever), celeriac, sweet potatoes and sugar snap peas because of their price tag.

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For the carnivores

I don’t eat meat myself anymore – one of the reasons being it’s too expensive! – but it was part of my regular shopping list for years, so I know what it’s like to hunt down the cheapest cuts in the supermarket.

Buying meat does tend to hike up the price of your shop but, for some, it’s part of their diet that does need to be catered for. Unfortunately, most cheaper options are the least healthy, being higher in fat or more “processed”; however, if you look after yourself you can still work these ingredients into a healthy diet.

I always had three main meats that got me through the week and still stayed within my budget.

1. Sausages. A staple of working class diets for donkey’s years, and with good reason. Sausages are reliable family favourites and you can pick up sizable portions for very little – especially if you venture down the frozen aisle.
2. Mince. Is there a more wonderfully versatile thing than a pack of mince? It’s much cheaper than other cuts of beef and can go into endless meals – a winning combo!
3. Chicken thighs. Chicken is one of the UK’s most popular meats, but it can be pricey. Chicken thighs give the best bang for your buck, and are more flavoursome than other cuts too.

Sausage Party / giphy

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The Moment I Decided to Become a Vegetarian | #ThisGirlEats

I’ve been vegetarian for three months now and haven’t fallen off the wagon once, which I absolutely thought I would! One question people ALWAYS ask upon finding out I’ve gone veggie is: why? So, if you happen to be one of those people, I can pinpoint the exact moment I decided to become a vegetarian.

I’d not really eaten meat for a month or so because, at the start of the year, I set myself a few little foodie challenges – just to test myself, really. One of those challenges was to go meat-free for January, which wasn’t pretty easy, especially as my boyfriend doesn’t eat meat so it wasn’t a massive part of our diet anyway.

But I never went into that challenge with the intention of giving up meat for good. I’d already reduced my animal consumption in a huge way so didn’t feel the need to push myself any further and was already proud of what I’d done. The first thing I did after completing my meat-free month? I went straight to McDonald’s and bought a chicken and bacon wrap. I didn’t even hesitate.

Well, I say that, but I suppose that’s not completely true. I’d definitely started having feelings of guilt around eating meat since Andy became veggie, thinking about the animals, the environment, all that stuff we know is a affected by animal produce. And feeling guilty around food really isn’t good for me. I’d been working super hard to remove the idea of guilt from my food (and still am!) so having to deal with the repercussions of meat leading to a pang of guilt every time was something I’d already started to struggle with.

Anyway, so I went to Maccy’s for this chicken wrap that I was really craving, took it back to my desk, started to munch away on the familiar delicious taste.. But then I bit into one piece of chicken that had obviously slipped through the cracks in quality control because it was truly DISGUSTING. It was tough, chewy, just absolutely revolting.

I spat it straight out and then thought to myself: why am I doing this?

Like, seriously. Why?

This food was completely gross and all I could think was that this animal definitely didn’t need to die for this crap! It was totally unnecessary for this living, breathing creature to have its life cut short just to make a sub-par, cheap, inedible wrap that literally no-one needs to be eating. It’s cruel, it harms the environment, it’s bad for your health and the end product didn’t even taste good!

I just thought to myself, you know what? I can live without this. So I did.

From the moment I threw that dodgy McDonald’s in the bin, I haven’t eaten meat at all. I’m not going into the pros and cons, I’m not going to preach or badger, I’m not going to do any of that. But if you wondered how I ended up a vegetarian, that’s your answer.

Don’t Blame People Who Buy Detox Teas – Blame the Culture That Promotes Them | #ThisGirlEats

Tea detoxes – skinny teas, tea-toxes, etc. – are a diet fad that has stuck around like a bad smell for years now, promoting flat tummies and rapid weight loss just by drinking a couple of magical cups of tea every day. Who knew it was so easy?!

Well, most of us know that, actually, it’s not. Almost all of these tea detoxes contain ingredients that work as laxatives and digestive aids which give the illusion of weight loss but, really, just make you go to the toilet all day. Makes sense that you’d loose weight if most of it goes down the loo!

Thankfully, people have started to see the light with these skinny tea diets and many influencers are now urging their followers to avoid like the plague. Loads of the brands that sell these “miracle” teas use celebs with massive online followings to promote them – Khloé Kardashian, Cardi B and Iggy Azalea are just a few recent examples – but, luckily, people are finally fighting back.

An unfortunate side product of this, however, is that some people who have joined the crusade against tea-toxes are directing their frustrations towards, in my opinion, the wrong people.

I’ve been there, in that place. I’ve been that young, insecure teenage girl with serious body image and self confidence issues, battling feelings of anxiety, desperation and helplessness. I’ve seen the ads for these “amazing” tea detoxes, sharing before and after photos with noticeably flatter tummies that I so badly wanted and testimonies from customers who swear they lost 20lbs in two weeks just by drinking a few cups of tea. I fell for it.

“All it takes is twenty quid and a couple of cups a day, and all my insecurities would be gone? Sounds too good to be true – sign me up!”

Shameless mirror selfie taken somewhere along my recent journey to loving myself

When people see a young girl online tweeting about how she’s thinking of trying a skinny tea diet, or posting a photo of her tea-tox haul with a caption about how she’s excited to try it out, a flood of comments soon follow, brandishing her stupid, ignorant, unhealthy, all sorts.

But she’s not. She’s naive, sure, but she’s just another victim of this diet culture. She’s just a girl looking for a way out and falling into their traps. One day – hopefully – she’ll learn to love herself, she’ll realise that these fads are dangerous and looking after her body comes first. But she’s not the bad guy here.

If you want to blame someone, look at the companies that sell the damn things in the first place. Teasing audiences with photos of miraculous weight loss, tempting us with their discount codes and trying to promote products under the facade of health when, in actual fact, they are ridiculously dangerous.

We’ve also got to point the finger at celebrities who are telling their young, impressionable followers that losing weight is apparently important enough to fill your body with laxatives twice a day and worth damaging yourself with quick fixes. I know advertising for brands helps you lot earn that dollar but, please, think about what you’re doing. Think about the times you’ve been in a bad place, when you haven’t loved yourself and would’ve risked anything to help you get out of that funk. Think about that before you propel this kind of bullshit to your fans (or at least be honest, as Jameela Jamil hilariously demonstrates in this parody video).

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A post shared by Jameela Jamil (@jameelajamil)

Young women aren’t the ones to blame here; don’t let the brands trying to sell unhappy people a fake dream and celebs refusing to take on the responsibility that comes with millions of followers get away with it.

“Accidentally” Vegan Products I Found in My Kitchen | #ThisGirlEats

We all know that reducing the amount of animal products we eat is going to help the planet, right?

It means less greenhouse gasses, more land freed up by less animal agriculture, more grain and safe, clean water that can be used for human consumption, and less deforestation.

I’m not vegan, so I’m not going to preach about how we should all go vegan overnight. Going vegan is great, and definitely something we should all at least consider working towards. My diet is vegetarian though, but it took me a HELL of a long time to get there, so it’s definitely a case of taking baby steps in this household.

Point is, we could all probably reduce our meat and dairy consumption, but the word “vegan” scares people. I think it conjures up ideas of being expensive, health obsessed, inaccessible, too far out of the comfort zone – the same ideas that, just a few years ago, would’ve scared me too!

But, in reality, our kitchens are probably all full of foods that are “accidentally” vegan – i.e. you didn’t go out of your way to buy any special vegan alternatives, they’re just everyday products. Obvious examples are fruit and veg, of course, but there are so many more!

I had the briefest root around my kitchen, grabbed some of the most common products I use all the time and snapped a couple of photos to dispel the negative, scary connotations around vegan food.

“It’s expensive!” – as you can see, a lot of these items are value brand, which is often the cheapest on the shelves. Things like chopped tomatoes, passata and kidney beans cost around 30p, give or take a few pence, and can usually make up a meal for four.

“It’s just healthy food!” – being vegan cuts out a lot of fatty foods, but that doesn’t mean being vegan is always super healthy! I’m sure you’ve noticed the jam, peanut butter, ready salted crisps and french fries in this photo.

“It’s too inaccessible!” – some of it can be. But pretty much everything here can be found in most major supermarkets. Things like tins of soup and tortilla wraps (hidden at the back) are versatile and relatively easy to prepare, cook, eat and use up.

“It’s all too weird and way out of my comfort zone!” – I don’t know about you, but the likes of tomato ketchup, baked beans and dried pasta are very much in my comfort zone!

In this photo you’ll find a packet of crisps, apples, satsumas, passata, kidney beans, chopped tomatoes, tomato ketchup, peanut butter, strawberry jam, tomato soup, vegetable soup, tortilla wraps, wholewheat pasta, onion gravy and frozen french fries.

I’m pretty sure there’s loads more in my kitchen – maybe you’ll be surprised how many “accidentally vegan” products are in your own homes. See, they’re not so scary after all!

Healing My Unhealthy Relationship with Food | #ThisGirlEats

Me and food, we’ve got a love-hate relationship. Sometimes it’s my best friend, sometimes it’s my enemy. The problem is, no matter how unhealthy my relationship with food might be, I need it to, y’unno, stay alive. That’s the bottom line, right?

I’ve got an ongoing battle between my love of food and the issues it causes me when it comes to weight, body image and self-consciousness. It’s something I’ve never known how to overcome and, truthfully, never thought I could.

But lately something has changed. I don’t know if it’s the conscious effort I’ve been spending on positive self-image, the incredible body positive women I follow online, or just the fact that I’ve coloured my hair recently and it looks great (not even gonna lie). We all know that when a gal changes her hair some serious shit is going down!

Point is, even though I’m probably at my biggest right now, have stretch marks all over my body and took an incredibly lax approach to shaving my legs this winter, I have been feeling so much more positive about myself, my body and my relationship with food. My mind is like a sat nav, healing my deep-rooted problems with food and rerouting itself down a much better path.

I think this revelation started when I read Ruby Tandoh’s ‘Eat Up’ last summer. It made me start to listen to my body and really enjoy food instead of always fighting against it – you can read more about my thoughts on the book here.

Since then, I’ve definitely realised how negative it is to think some foods are “bad” and that I should feel “guilty” for eating, and that really made a difference.

For example, when me and my boyfriend go out to eat now it’s not about feeling bad for the three-course meal we’ve devoured and how we have to pop open the top button on our jeans on the car ride home. It’s about the quality time we spent together; the laughs we had trying to order items from the menu we couldn’t pronounce, the ideas we came up with for the future while dipping dough balls into garlic butter, the holiday we planned over a margherita pizza, the content quiet between us as we savoured delectable, sweet spoonfuls of chocolate ice cream.

Pizza Express margherita pizza

It’s about getting out of the house and enjoying what life has to offer. It’s about loving food and company and conversation. It’s about caring for ourselves and nourishing our bodies, minds and souls. It’s about looking after relationships with each other, with ourselves, with food.

I currently have the healthiest view of food and myself that I’ve had in a long, long time. I don’t really know how it happened, or why it’s happening right now. But it is, and I’m happy.

Is There Really Such Thing as a “Healthy Weight”? | #ThisGirlEats

Before fitness fanatics, diet gurus and outraged lunatics on the internet start screaming at me, just HOLD YOUR HORSES.

I’m perfectly aware that, given our height and age, yes, there is an ideal healthy weight for each of us. I understand that, I get that, I agree with that. For our bodies to function at their absolute best, sure, figuring out a healthy weight plays a part.

But the real issue here is that, with nothing more than a look, people feel they can decide if someone is fat or thin and, in turn, determine their health.

That’s really, truly not the case.

More specifically, people will take one look at a bigger person and decide that they are definitely, undoubtedly, positively unhealthy. Full stop, no questions asked. If you’re overweight, you can’t be healthy.

Again, I completely understand and accept that being overweight can put physical strain on our bodies – as can doing shots of vodka until we black out, chain smoking Mayfairs and not peeing after sex. We’re all agreed there, I’m sure.

giphy.com

But the problem is our perception when it comes to body weight and what that means in terms of health. If you see a fat person and think, “Wow, they must be grossly unhealthy to be that size!” you might be right. Might be.

But what about when you see a slim person? Do you ever think about their health? When you see someone looking like Kate Moss in the ’90s, do thoughts about how healthy they are even cross your mind? No. Probably not.

The issue here is the assumption that size must ALWAYS equal health and how our perception is that big people = unhealthy and slim people = healthy. That’s simply not true.

Of course there are overweight people who are unhealthy and slim people who are healthy, but you can’t know these things. Take me, for example. I’m somewhere in the middle – definitely not slim, on the bigger side of the scale but not really “large”. I don’t struggle to find clothes on the high street, put it that way (and yes, there are plenty of high street shops that don’t stock over a size 18 and leave many women at a loss – but that’s another issue for another time!).

I’m not particularly active. I don’t really exercise much, I sit on my arse all day at work and I’d quite happily mooch around at home doing absolutely zilch in my downtime – not very healthy, right? When it comes to food, I don’t eat meat, make lots of fresh, home-cooked meals and vegetables make up a huge portion of my diet, but I also would like to be drip-fed chocolate and can consume an entire large pizza like no-one’s business. In my case, my weight probably does reflect my health – not great, but not the worst.

Tucking into a burger at Byron Burger last year

But I know people the same size as me who run every week, are regular gym-goers and climb mountains on their days off. I also know people much smaller than me who basically live off McDonald’s, act like they’re allergic to exercise and would snort sugar like cocaine if they could.

Is that healthy? No, obviously not. But it’s funny how people only seem to pipe up about someone’s health if the person in question is – you guessed it – fat. It’s like you’re allowed to eat all the junk food in the world and be as lazy as you want, as long as you stay thin while you do it.

The point is, you just don’t know. People of any size can be unhealthy, and in lots of different ways too. It comes down to so many things, not just fat or thin. Our weight isn’t the only determining factor in our health.

So, until you do know, please don’t comment on whether you think someone is or isn’t a “healthy weight”. In fact, unless you’re a healthcare professional, don’t do at all, because commenting on someone’s weight is just a pretty shitty thing to do.

Sitting in the sunshine

5 Great Tips on How to Cut Down Supermarket Spending | #ThisGirlEats

Lots of people said they found one of my recent posts about saving money on our weekly shop pretty helpful (‘We Cut Down Our Family Food Shop to £25 Per Week – And Now There’s No Looking Back! Here’s How…‘) which is, obviously, bloomin’ awesome!

So I thought I’d follow it up (sort of) with a few little tips and tricks on exactly how we stick to our shopping budget. I touched on a few things here in the previous post, but hopefully this goes into a little more detail and is useful enough to perhaps give you one or two ideas on how to save a few extra quid on your own food shop.

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Make full use of scan ‘n’ go.

Many supermarkets now offer an in-store system where you pick up a little handset and scan the items yourself as you shop, then simply connect the scanner to a till at the end of your shop and pay the total.

As well as being super quick and convenient, this fairly new way of shopping can really help you save money. As you scan the item, its price will show on the screen and you can keep an eye on the total cost of your trolley as you go. This can be incredibly useful if you’re trying to be mindful of how much you’re spending and can stop you going over budget. We all know how easy it is to just pull things off the shelves and end up spending way more than planned, so these scan and go systems are a pretty handy tool.

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Stay away from the reduced section, unless you have lots of willpower.

This might sound like an unusual one. It’s fair to say the reduced section of the supermarket does have some great price cuts and if you stumble across a good bargain then it’s well worth it.

But the problem with the reduced section is that it also persuades us to buy things we don’t really need. I don’t think I’ve ever been lucky enough to find anything from my shopping list hidden in the reduced section, but I have found plenty of other tempting treats lurking there, like half price ready meals and cream cakes. That’s all well and good, but if you’re looking to keep costs at a minimum you’re likely to be swayed into spending unnecessary pennies in this aisle so, unless you’ve got tremendous willpower, I’d say you’re better off just steering clear altogether.

Don’t forget about the world food aisle.

You might think that going for supermarket value brands is always going to be the cheapest options and, in the majority of cases, you’d be right. But there are a few ingredients you can actually pick up at a cheaper price if you just check out the world food aisle.

Black beans, for example, are 65p in ASDA if you go for the supermarket brand. However, in the world food section you’ll find a tin of Sammy’s Black Beans exactly the same size for 50p. Again, 400ml of ASDA coconut milk will cost you 79p whereas 400ml of Caribbean Choice coconut milk comes in at just 63p. This isn’t the case with every product, but it’s a similar story in most major supermarkets and is worth having a look to save some extra money. Check on comparison websites (mysupermarket.com is always a good shout!) to find the cheapest option before you shop.

Be careful bulk buying fruit and vegetables.

Large, prepackaged bags of onions, potatoes, apples, bananas, etc. can seem quite good value for money, and that’s because they often are. If you quite regularly use fresh ingredients when you cook, or your family eat quite a lot of one particular fruit or veg, buying in bulk is great value for money.

But be careful with this. If you only need one or two portions of a certain fruit or vegetable, it’s probably worth just picking up exactly what you need. It might not strike you as the best value option at first, but think about whether you’re going to actually eat it all. If it’s going to go off and get thrown out, then that’s the absolute opposite of saving money. Basically, the advice here is if you’re using a large quantity of a particular produce then buy in bulk but, if you’re not, just pick up what you need from the loose fruit and veg crates so nothing goes to waste.

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Don’t buy so much meat!

I’m not just saying this as a veggie – I’m saying this as someone who only turned veggie because they literally couldn’t afford to buy meat! Even without taking anything else like ethics or the environment into consideration, you’ve got to admit that cutting down on meat will almost always equal cutting down on costs.

Even if you don’t go full-on veggie, you can always just consider making some swaps here and there to save a few pennies. For example, in ASDA (I’m using this supermarket again because it’s my local), 500g of even the cheapest, fattiest mince costs £1.89, while a 454g packet of their own brand meat-free mince costs only £1.50 and has waaay less fat in it (500g of leaner, lower fat mince ranges from £2.28 to £3.31!). Also, you can get 6 Quorn Meat Free Chicken Fillets (approx. 300g) for £1.70, whereas 250g of actual chicken mini fillets costs £1.99. See, we’re not just pushing an agenda – it really can save you money!

 

My 5 Favourite Healthy Lunchtime Ideas | #ThisGirlEats

I don’t know about you, but I always find lunch the hardest meal to plan.

It’s especially difficult to think of something that is good for you, keeps you full all afternoon, can be taken in as part of a packed lunch AND doesn’t take too much faff to make the night before.

I really struggle to come up with new ideas to stop things getting boring, and surely I can’t be alone! If you find yourself getting stuck for lunchtime inspiration, check out the list below of five of my favourite healthy lunch ideas.

If you’ve got any ideas for me to try, let me know in the comments!

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Lentil and veggie pasta

Cook down some red lentils and chopped tomatoes along with vegetables of your choice (mine are always onion and mushroom, everrrry time) and season, then serve with some pasta. It tastes delicious hot or cold so makes great leftovers, and the lentils make a thick sauce so it won’t go runny or watery overnight.

Avocado, tomato and hummus sandwiches

Smoky, creamy grilled avocado, thick slices of juicy tomato and red pepper hummus is a totally different and super healthy way to jazz up your sandwiches!

Burrito bowls

Burrito bowls are an absolute fave of mine. You can mix and match the filling to suit your taste (or whatever you’ve got to hand!). I usually opt for brown rice, peppers and onions, sweetcorn, mixed beans, salad, avocado, cheese and sour cream, it’s yummy all thrown together in a bowl but, of course, you could always wrap it up into a traditional burrito.

Sweet chilli wraps

Sweet chilli is a brilliant flavour to use for packed lunches as it won’t lose its kick. Also, I often make my wraps with mixed vegetables and they can go a little limp overnight so the punchy sweet chilli sauce helps to hide that.

Vegetable soup

The only one on this list you have to heat up, vegetable soup is a really tasty, nutritious option if you’ve got a microwave to nuke it in for a minute or two. Check out my recipe for a really cheap, incredibly scrumptious frozen vegetable soup!