food blog – #ThisGirlEats

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!

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.

RECIPE: Homemade KFC Gravy | #ThisGirlEats

If, like me, KFC gravy is one of your favourite fast food pleasures, this recipe means you can now make this tasty treat in the comfort of your own kitchen!

Serves: 2
How much does it cost? This KFC gravy recipe cost me less than 50p per person.
What are the benefits? This dish makes a great takeaway alternative, is lower in fat than the real deal, and can be made completely veggie!

I don’t really venture into KFC anymore because their vegetarian options are basically non-existent, which is a shame because sometimes I get a real craving for an alternative to their delicious fried chicken – to quote Gavin and Stacey’s Smithy, “What is that secret blend of eleven herbs and spices, d’you think?”

Well, sadly I don’t have the answer to that question – although I do make a pretty mean southern fried chicken myself! – but I’ve managed to rustle up my own version of one of the fast food chain’s most popular side dishes; the KFC gravy!

It’s nothing like the deep, earthy gravy we pour over our roast dinners every Sunday. We’re talking about a very different kind of gravy here, with a thick, almost creamy consistency, more like a southern American gravy, and it’s incredibly moreish. Pour over your chicken, use as a dip for crusty bread, whatever you fancy – but prepared to want more as soon as you’ve lick the last drop from your plate!

INGREDIENTS
1 Chicken or Vegetable Stock Pot (try to use the stock that’s more like a jelly rather than a solid dry cube, but if that’s all you have then that’s fine, but you might struggle with the consistency)
2 tbsp Butter or Margarine
3 tbsp Plain Flour
2 Mugs of Boiling Water

SEASONING
Most of the flavour comes from the stock cube, but you need a really decent crack of black pepper here to get that very subtle spice that you find in a KFC gravy.

HOW TO MAKE HOMEMADE KFC GRAVY

1. Dissolve your stock pot or cube in 750ml (approx. 2 mugs) of boiling water.

2. Grab a large roasting tin or deep baking tray, place over a low heat on the hob, add your butter and gently melt it down to liquid.

3. Add 1 tbsp of your flour to the melted butter and stir well to combine – repeat with the second spoonful, then the third, until it forms a thick, grainy paste (it’s about to become much more appetising, I promise!).

4. Pour in a little of your stock and stir really, really well with the paste. Continue to slowly pour the stock, season with pepper and heat very gently as you combine it all together. It should become less grainy and much smoother, like the kind of thick gravy we’re looking for.

5. Turn up the heat just a touch until it’s more of a low-medium temperature, then allow the gravy to simmer for around five minutes. If you still feel like it needs to thicken up, add a little more flour and continue to stir until it dissolves into the mixture.

6. Remove from the heat when you’ve reached that silky consistency and it’s lovely and thick – but still pourable!

*Quorn southern fried bites with mashed potato and sliced onion, smothered with thick KFC-style gravy*

Being Fat Isn’t the Worst Thing a Person Can Be, Y’unno | #ThisGirlEats

There’s a disturbing narrative that exists today, and we just can’t seem to shake it. It’s simple, really: Fat = Bad. It’s everywhere; we see with advertising selling us slimming products, the press fat-shaming celebrities, and people bombarding social media with before vs. after photos. No matter where we might find it, the message is always the same – being fat is the worst thing you can be.

And I’m so sick of it.

My most recent encounter with this was watching the latest TV ad for Weight Watchers. I can’t remember the exact words and, annoyingly, can’t find the advert anywhere online, but I distinctly remember the spokeswoman telling people to sign up on the basis that it will make them a “better version of themselves” – come to think of it, she might’ve even said the best version of yourself.

ww-01 — Weight Watchers: Wellness that Works *(umm…)*

Because apparently, thinner ALWAYS equals better.

There’s absolutely nothing wrong with wanting to lose weight, especially when it’s affecting your health and you think you could be in better shape; hell, I could stand to lose a few pounds myself! But the idea that being slimmer automatically makes you a better person – and, in turn, being bigger somehow detracts from you as an overall human being – is total bullshit.

Not only is it a load of rubbish, but it’s incredibly damaging. Pushing the “fat = bad, thin = good” narrative is bound to have a negative impact, particularly where eating disorders and mental health are concerned. Imagine telling someone with anorexia, for example, that being the thinnest version of themselves makes them the best version of themselves. Or how this could easily recycle that feeling of guilt in someone with bulimia to the point that they experience dangerous symptoms such as binging and purging. It seems so obviously dangerous to me in this context, I’m amazed we allow it to continue.

It’s clearly designed to make us feel terrible about ourselves. Telling us that we’re better when we’re thinner makes those of us whose bodies don’t fit these very particular – and sometimes unobtainable – specifications feel worthless, unattractive and uncomfortable in our own skin. It also strips us of our identities as people; it ignores all other aspects of our personalities and achievements, reducing how we measure up on the “good vs. bad scale” to nothing more than our weight.

I look at photos of myself from a few years back, before I gained the weight I now carry around with me (mostly in my lil’ tummy pooch), and sometimes I’m swept up in that narrative. I look at photos like the one below and think, “Wow, how did I let this version of myself slip away?!” And literally the ONLY reason I think that is because I’m thinner in those photos. That’s it. It’s not based on where I was at that point in my life, or how happy I was, or what I’d achieved. It’s because I was thinner – so I must’ve been better, right?

NO, SAM! Of course not! That’s just such a ridiculous notion, I can’t believe I bought it for even a second! I look at what’s happened in my life since those photos and almost laugh at how absurd I’m being when I think I’m worse off now simply because of my weight. I’ve achieved bucket loads since then; I’m in a happy, committed relationship, moved out, learnt to drive, started (and ended!) my own music publication, created my blog and worked my way up to my dream job. I’m more accomplished, level-headed, hard-working, ambitious, sociable and confident than the person in that photo. I’m more comfortable with my body and appearance than I’ve ever been, regardless of my size.

I’m a better person for so, so many reasons right now, and it all has absolutely zilch to do with my weight.

I’m lucky enough that I can see that, despite falling down the rabbit hole every now and again. But all the while we give into this narrative that being fat is the worst thing you can be, and the only way to make yourself a better person is to lose weight, then this narrative will continue to win and companies like Weight Watchers will keep making these shitty adverts.

RECIPE: Beans, Greens & Eggs | #ThisGirlEats

Serves: 2
How much does it cost? This recipe cost me less than £1 per person.
What are the benefits? This beans, greens and eggs recipe makes a really great vegetarian meal (and you could substitute the eggs with scrambled tofu for a vegan alternative), is at least three of your five a day, and is a great source of plant-based protein.

It’s June, a time of year when we’re supposed to be seeing sunny days and warm evenings – not that you’d know it with the rain we’ve been having!

Anyway, when the summer months start to roll around, many of us feel like a light, fresh meal hits the spot more than those heavy, hearty dishes we love in the winter. I’m the same, I definitely prefer to keep things on the lighter side when it’s hot outside – but that doesn’t mean I just want to live off of salad and cous cous for the next three months!

I still want proper cooked meals (ya gal gets hungry!) but something nutritious rather than stodge, and something that tastes fresh – even if most of it comes from tins like this one!

This recipe – a bed of lightly spiced tomato beans mixed with spinach and topped with fried eggs – is surprisingly filling but, because of the flavours involved and the fact that most of this dish is made up of vegetables and beans, it’s not too heavy.

I’ve used chopped tomatoes, cannellini beans and spinach all from tins because it was the cheapest option for me. You can use fresh ingredients if you’d prefer, but I promise you won’t feel short-changed if you use the tinned versions – it still tastes great.

*Tomatoes, cannellini beans and spinach topped with fried eggs*

INGREDIENTS
1 Large Onion, Chopped
400g Chopped Tomatoes
400g Cannellini Beans, Drained
Tin of Spinach Leaves (approx. 400g), Drained
1 tsp Tomato Purée
4 Eggs

SEASONING
Without a good dose of seasoning this recipe could easily be quite bland; to make sure that doesn’t happen, add a whack of garlic in with the onions (dried or fresh, either is fine), a little paprika and chilli (I use dried chilli flakes), a generous helping of mixed herbs, a touch of salt and loads of pepper.

HOW TO MAKE BEANS, GREENS & EGGS

1. In a large pan with a drop of oil or cooking spray, fry the onions and garlic for a few minutes until they begin to soften.

2. Pour in the chopped tomatoes and cannellini beans, add the tomato puree, and season with mixed herbs, a pinch of paprika, a few dried chilli flakes, plenty of black pepper and salt. Simmer on a gentle heat for 20 minutes, adding in a splash of water if necessary.

3. Heat up a small amount of oil or cooking spray in a frying pan, crack in the eggs, reduce the heat and fry until cooked – should take around 5 – 7 minutes.

4. For the final 5 minutes of cooking, add the spinach in with the tomatoes and beans and stir through.

5. Serve up the tomato, beans and spinach and top with the fried eggs straight from the pan.

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.

RECIPE: Lazy Aubergine Lasagne | #ThisGirlEats

Serves: 4
How much does it cost? This recipe cost me less than £1.25 per person.
What are the benefits? This lazy aubergine lasagne recipe is at least two of your five a day, a lighter low carb option, and is much lower in fat than regular lasagne.

I love cooking – but I’m definitely a lazy cook. If you can sling it in the oven, leave something simmering or chuck everything in the slow cooker, that definitely ticks boxes for me ✅

We’re under so much pressure these days with – well, just about everything! With so much spotlight on things like healthy lifestyles, diet culture and obesity, there’s a lot of pressure on us to make sure we’re filling our bodies with the “right” things (although how anyone outside of a medical profession supposedly knows what’s “right” for my own body is beyond me..).

We want our food to help fuel long, healthy, vibrant lives, but we also need to fit this around the chaos of work, family, studying, commuting, socialising and just about everything else in between! It’s hard work, yet we still often feel bad for choosing the easy option.

I think this aubergine lasagne is a fabulous compromise for those of us who can’t be bothered – or literally don’t have time! – to stand over the stove for hours but also don’t want to eat freezer food and takeaways every night 🥡

I call this aubergine lasagne “lazy” for a few reasons: the filling is a quick mince and tomato sauce instead of a slow-cooked ragu; we’ve got sprinklings of gooey grated cheese instead of whipping up a bechamel sauce; and the whole dish is topped with seasoned creme fraiche straight from the carton. It’s still a totally scrumptious home-cooked meal with plenty of nutritional value – but none of the faff.

INGREDIENTS
1 Aubergine, Sliced
1 Large Onion, Chopped
500g Mince (or meat-free alternative)
400ml Carton of Passata
1 tsp Tomato Purée
200g Grated Cheese (low fat if possible)
200g Creme Fraiche (low fat if possible)

SEASONING
There’s nothing too outrageous here, it’s all pretty standard stuff; the key with this recipe is how much seasoning. And the answer is: a lot! With the aubergine slices, sprinkle a little salt and pepper before baking in the oven. Then, when it comes to the mince filling, chuck in loads of garlic, basil, oregano, salt and pepper – honestly, don’t hold back! And, finally, when you top everything with creme fraiche, make sure that layer is covered with plenty of cracked black pepper.

HOW TO MAKE LAZY AUBERGINE LASAGNE

1. Slice the aubergine length-ways in slices approx. half a centimetre thick and bake in the oven for 15 – 20 minutes on 200°C with seasoning and a small dash of oil or cooking spray.

2. While the aubergine is cooking in the oven, brown the mince in a pan with diced onion and garlic until this has softened. Turn down the heat, add the passata and season with basil, oregano, salt and pepper and simmer for 10 – 15 minutes.

3. Once both the filling and aubergine has cooked, remove from the oven and grab a large ovenproof dish. Start to layer up – one layer of filling, sprinkle of cheese, layer of aubergine, repeat.

4. Top the final layer with creme fraiche, plenty of cheese and a generous dose of cracked black peper.

5. Pop this back in the oven to bake for a further 20 minutes. Serve and enjoy!

RECIPE: Sweet Chilli Tofu with Vegetable Stir Fried Rice | #ThisGirlEats

Serves: 4
How much does it cost? This recipe cost me less than 75p per person
What are the benefits? This sweet chilli tofu with vegetable stir fried rice recipe is really high in protein, high in fibre and low in fat.

I’ve spent a good few years being scared of tofu, but it turns out if you season it properly, toss it in vegetable stir fried rice and drizzle sweet chilli sauce all over it, it’s pretty damn good!

Probably about.. four years ago? Maybe five? Anyway, a few years ago, I dived into my very first, very spontaneous foray of vegetarianism and decided I’d give it a crack (I was incredibly unsuccessful and bombed in about two weeks, but whatever).

Where I worked at the time had limited lunch options and, being a brand new and totally clueless herbivore, I panicked and just went with the first thing I saw – sweet chilli tofu from Wasabi. And it was gross. Like, really disgusting and I had to throw most of it away. It was like chewing on pieces of sponge – not nice.

I was completely put off of tofu and have always been wary of cooking with it, even though I’ve educated myself massively on veggie food since then. But I started getting bored with meat replacements and decided it’s about time I faced my tofu fears and give it a try – and it was awesome!

This sweet chilli tofu is oven baked and high in protein while the vegetable rice is a great source of fibre, and the whole shebang is really low in saturated fats. Tofu can be a little more pricey than I’d like, I won’t lie, but a little goes a long way. We ate leftovers for lunch the next day and it lasted well, so you can definitely stretch this one out.

INGREDIENTS
400g Firm Tofu
240g Brown Rice
1 Bell Pepper, Diced
1 Onion, Diced
1/2 Mug of Sweetcorn (fresh or frozen)
4 Mushrooms, Chopped
4 tbsp Sweet Chilli Sauce

SEASONING
Okay, so it turns out when cooking tofu it’s super important to season things really well. I marinated my tofu in a combination of soy sauce, ground coriander, chilli flakes, salt, pepper and some chilli oil from the cupboard that I hardly ever use. I also gave the rice a pinch of salt and pepper before blitzing it in the microwave and seasoned the veggies with garlic and, you guessed it, a little more salt and pepper.

HOW TO MAKE SWEET CHILLI TOFU WITH VEGETABLE STIR FRIED RICE

1. Drain the tofu (I cut mine into chunks, sandwiched it between two paper towels, rested a book on top and left for about an hour to try and squeeze as much moisture out as possible) and then marinade in a dish or bowl with a combination of soy sauce, ground coriander, chilli flakes, salt, pepper and a chilli oil if you’ve got it for at least half an hour – longer if possible – before it’s ready to cook.

2. Empty the marinated tofu onto a baking tray (you might want to use greaseproof paper to make sure it doesn’t stick) and bake in the oven for 30 minutes.

3. Cook the rice according to packet instructions (30 minutes in the microwave does the trick with mine).

4. Add the diced onion, pepper, mushroom and sweetcorn to a pan with garlic, salt and black pepper and stir fry on a low heat for 10 minutes with a splash of oil or cooking spray.

5. Drain the cooked rice and add into the pan with the vegetables. Fry everything together for the last couple of minutes until well combined.

6. Serve the veggie rice, remove the tofu from the oven and place on top, then drizzle generously with sticky sweet chilli sauce.

Mixed vegetable stir fried rice topped with oven baked tofu and drizzled with sweet chilli sauce.

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.

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.

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.

Me eating a cheeseburger at Byron Burger last year — *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.