vegetables – #ThisGirlEats

RECIPE: Lean ‘n’ Green Pasta | #ThisGirlEats

Serves: 4
How much does it cost? This lean ‘n’ green pasta recipe cost me less than 25p per person.
What are the benefits? This dish is suuuper high in antioxidants, very low in fat and somewhere between two to three of your five a day.

When you’re trying to eat healthier, it’s very easy to get swept up in the diet culture of calorie counting and restrictive eating, and I’ve had to really train myself out of those habits (I still fall off the wagon, believe me).

Nowadays, when I want to eat a little healthier, I just try to think of obvious changes, like making sure you eat your five a day, cutting down on processed food and, of course, eating your greens.

Recently I made a very conscious effort to inject some more “green” into our diets. It’s not my favourite colour to serve up on the plate, but many green veggies are super good for you, full of health benefits and definitely worth making space for. For me, it’s about combining these sorts of ingredients with things I love and eat regularly, like pasta.

That’s how I came up with this lean ‘n’ green pasta recipe, which can be pretty much made up with any leftover greens you’ve got at home, a spoonful of pesto and whatever pasta shape you can find. I’ve used broccoli, peas and kale, but these are totally interchangeable!

INGREDIENTS
300g Dried Pasta
1 Large Onion, Chopped
8 Small Broccoli Florets
50g Curly Kale
300g Garden Peas
2 tbsp Green Pesto
1 Vegetable Stock Cube

SEASONING
I know not everyone is the biggest fan of green veggies and their often unique flavour, so a great way to disguise this is using plenty of garlic (dried or fresh), salt and pepper, as well as the pesto, to season this dish.

HOW TO MAKE LEAN ‘N’ GREEN PASTA

1. Put on a large pan of salted water, bring to the boil, reduce the heat to simmering and cook the pasta according to packet instructions (mine takes around 15 minutes!).

2. In a decent-sized frying pan, throw in the onion and garlic, cook for a couple of minutes until soft and then reduce the heat.

3. Add the broccoli, crumble in the vegetable stock cube and scatter in some salt and pepper. Pour in 200ml (or around one quarter of a standard mug) of water and simmer for around 5 minutes.

4. Throw in the peas and kale and finish cooking for another 5 minutes, or until the liquid dries up.

5. Drain the pasta, combine with the veggies and stir in a couple of spoonfuls of pesto, and that’s that!

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: Sausages with Winter Vegetable Mash | #ThisGirlEats

Serves: 4
How much does it cost? This recipe cost me less than 75p per person.
What are the benefits? This winter vegetable mash serves at least two of your five a day, is high in fibre and high in antioxidants.

I know everyone is into cool hipster gastropubs and cute boutique cafes serving insta-perfect plates, and that’s all well and good – I like taking pretty pictures of food that no-one cares about as much as the next blogger. But, even so, there’s no excuse to look down your nose at a good ol’ plate of bangers and mash!

It’s comfort, it’s warmth, it’s familiarity. It’s food from childhood, from the local pub menu alongside ham, egg and chips and steak and kidney pie, from family dinners where the mash and gravy were as lumpy as each other but no-one really paid attention because Neighbours was on the telly.

Simpler times, right?

Using carrot, squash and sweet potato alongside the humble white potato still makes a smooth, creamy, delicious pile of mash but with more zing, more colour and, most importantly, more veggies! These classic winter vegetables are full of fibre, vitamin C and antioxidants, and most of them can be found either tinned, frozen or pre-prepared to make life just that much easier.

Using either pork or veggie sausages, these ingredients from my local supermarket served four people at just 68p per person.

INGREDIENTS
2 Carrots, Peeled & Chopped
1 Butternut Squash, Peeled & Chopped
1 Large Baking Potato, Peeled & Chopped
1 Sweet Potato, Peeled & Chopped
8 Pork Sausages (or veggie alternative)
1 Onion, Sliced
250ml Onion Gravy

SEASONING
For me, well-seasoned mash makes all the difference. As usual, be generous with salt and pepper, but also throw in some dried rosemary, dried thyme and a squeeze of mustard with the vegetables to make a completely mouth-watering mash.

So, this is how I did it…

1. Add the chopped winter vegetables to a large saucepan of water, bring to the boil and simmer for 20 minutes until everything has gone soft enough to mash.

2. Meanwhile, cook the sausages according to packet instructions (mine are usually oven-cooked, but grilling or frying will do the job too if that’s what you prefer).

3. Heat a frying pan with cooking spray or a very light dash of oil and cook the sliced onion on a low heat for around 10 minutes, until softened.

4. Once the vegetables are soft, drain the water from the pan, season really well and mash. I’ll leave this part up to you – I usually make my mash with a tablespoon of spread and a few splashes of milk, but use whatever method you like.

5. Whip up the gravy by stirring the granules with hot water, according to packet instructions.

6. Serve up the rich vegetable mash and top with cooked sausages, onions and gravy.

Tips & Tricks

There is absolutely nothing wrong with using frozen or tinned vegetables, and you can do so for any included in this recipe. It cuts down prep time and makes these ingredients more accessible and, sometimes, even cheaper.

Plenty of other vegetables, such swede, celeriac, cauliflower and beetroot, could easily make a good mash for this recipe, so don’t be afraid to chop and change your favourites!

Vegetarian sausages are usually a much lower fat option compared to pork sausages, but they aren’t the only option – chicken and turkey sausages might sound a little unusual, but they’re definitely a leaner meat alternative.

RECIPE: Five Bean Chilli | #ThisGirlEats

Chilli was probably the first meal I learnt to cook from scratch and really “perfected” (there’s always room for improvement, but my chilli is pretty damn good I’ll be honest) and it’s still my favourite home cooked meal. 🌶️

It started with beef mince, then I moved onto using Quorn or mince alternatives to experiment with different versions of my most cherished recipe. I fancied trying something new, so I thought I’d have a go at making a bean chilli which bursts with colour, flavour and texture, as well as being an excellent choice for vegetarian or vegan meals.

You could make this recipe even easier by just buying a couple of tins of mixed beans rather than buying each individually – this will shrink both the cost and ingredient list – but I prefer choosing which beans go into my chilli and having the option to chop and change each time I make it.

Beans are honestly so, so good for you. First off they count as one of your ‘Five A Day’ so, along with the carrot, onion, pepper and chopped tomatoes, you’re well on your way with this recipe! Beans also help with heart health, are a good source of protein and fibre, and keep you fuller for longer. They’re cheap, too, so make a great base for eating on a budget.

So, this is how I did it…
(Serves 4)

1. Heat up a large pan with a touch of oil (or some light cooking spray) and gently fry the onion and carrot on a low heat for 10 minutes.

2. Pretty much everything else goes in once the carrot and onion have softened. Add all of the beans (make sure you drain the ones in water), chopped tomatoes, chopped pepper, a crumbled stock cube, tomato puree and the seasoning.

3. Simmer for 10 – 15 minutes, giving the flavours a chance to develop.

4. Serve with a jacket potato, rice, flatbreads, whatever you fancy! 🍚

The prices below are the cheapest I could find when doing a comparison and are accurate at the time of publishing!

INGREDIENTS
1/2 Tin of Baked Beans – Reduced Sugar & Salt Baked Beans in Tomato Sauce – 30p – Sainsbury’s
Tin of Cannellini Beans – Cannellini Beans in Water – 42p – ASDA
Tin of Black Eye Beans – Black Eye Beans in Water – 55p – ASDA
Tin of Pinto Beans – Pinto Beans in Water – 55p – ASDA
200g Tin of Kidney Beans in Chilli Sauce – Chilli Beans in Chilli Sauce – 40p – ASDA
Tin of Chopped Tomatoes – Smartprice Chopped Tomatoes in Tomato Juice – 29p – ASDA
1 Carrot, Chopped – Carrots, Loose – 6p – Tesco
1 Onion, Chopped – Grower’s Selection Onions by Weight – 15p – ASDA
1 Bell Pepper, Chopped – Red Pepper – 41p – Tesco
Vegetable Stock Cube – Stock Cubes, Vegetable – 39p – ASDA
1tsp Tomato Puree – Double Concentrated Tomato Puree – 37p – ASDA

SEASONING
When you start frying off the vegetables, throw in some dried garlic flakes along with them. Then, once you’ve added the beans and tomatoes, season with a generous helping of paprika and cumin, a pinch of dried chilli flakes and salt and pepper to taste.

RECIPE: Cheese “Steak” Subs & Sweet Potato Fries | #ThisGirlEats

Serves: 2
How much does it cost? This recipe cost me less than £1.25 per person.
What are the benefits? This recipe is low fat compared to an original cheese steak, helps you out with at least two of your five a day and, best of all, is great substitute for vegetarians!

First off, I’m super excited to share this totally delicious recipe with you! What’s even more awesome about it is that the trial run was actually carried out by my boyfriend, who is somewhat clueless in the kitchen but managed to cook this all by himself (following my very detailed instructions, of course). But more on that coming soon…

Cheese sauce is cheese sauce, I’m not gonna pretend it’s a health food. But #ThisGirlEats is all about giving food we know and love a healthier twist.

Removing red meat for aubergine rich in fibre, potassium and magnesium? That’s a big tick! Not to mention wholemeal rolls instead of sugary subs, low fat cheese sauce and a side of veggies – that’s right, sweet potato fries are vegetables!

This recipe is full of benefits and is honestly so tasty, I’d really recommend giving it a go.

INGREDIENTS
2 Sweet Potatoes, Sliced Into Chips
1 Onion, Sliced
1 Green Pepper, Sliced
3 Mushrooms, Chopped
8 Slices of Aubergine
2 tsp of Plain Flour
1/2 Mug of Milk or Milk Alternative
Handful of Low Fat Cheddar Cheese
Handful of Spicy Grated Cheese
1/2 tsp of American Mustard
4 Wholemeal Hot Dog Rolls
The pickle on top is optional!

SEASONING
When the sweet potato chips go into the oven, make sure they’re seasoned with plenty of salt and pepper, as well as a sprinkling of dried thyme and dried garlic. You’ll need the garlic, salt and pepper again to season the veggies, and the slices of aubergine will need a pinch of salt and pepper too.

So, this is how I did it…

1. Heat the oven to 200°C, lightly coat a baking tray with cooking spray or a dash of oil and spread the chips across it. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, garlic and thyme and cook for 45 minutes, turning halfway through.

2. Add cooking spray (or oil), onions and garlic to a pan and fry on a medium heat for a couple of minutes. Add the peppers and seasoning, and cook for a further 5 minutes.

3. Lower the heat, add the mushrooms and cook for a final 5 minutes. If the vegetables start to stick, add a splash of water to the pan 💦

4. With a touch of cooking spray, grill the aubergine slices for around 5 minutes on each side.

5. To make the cheese sauce, add the flour to a saucepan, very slowly pour in the milk and whisk gently with a fork over a low heat. When the mixture has been simmering for a minute or so, remove from the heat and add the cheese and mustard, stirring until melted and combined.

6. Either serve the sauce immediately or, if you’re not quite ready, return the pan to the hob but on a really, really low heat. Keep stirring too! If the sauce is allowed to cool, it’ll go thick and gloopy.

7. Serve the aubergine, toppings and cheese sauce in the rolls and plate up with the fries 🍆

RECIPE: Low Fat Roasted Vegetable Lasagne with Home Made Chips | #ThisGirlEats

Serves: 4
How much does it cost? This recipe cost me less than £1.50 per person.
What are the benefits? This recipe is totally vegetarian-friendly, provides at least two – if not three! – of your five a day and is low fat.

I remember the first time I ever made lasagne at home and you know what I thought? “I am never doing this again!” There were so many components that seemed like very hard work for something I could nuke for two minutes in the microwave 🤷‍♀️

Credit where it’s due, this recipe on BBC Good Food inspired me to reconsider this classic pasta dish. No meat ragù, no béchamel sauce, just sieved tomatoes, a dollop of crème fraîche and a handful of cheese. So it got me thinking, if I made this at home myself, how would I do it..?

This is my take on a low fat roasted vegetable lasagne with the addition of a few home-cooked chips, because I love dipping chips in my lasagne! This recipe easily packs in your five a day, not to mention being much lower in fat than the traditional version. There are so many health benefits here – potassium from tomatoes and potatoes, Vitamin C from onions and peppers, protein from mushrooms, antioxidants from courgettes and aubergines, fibre from sweetcorn and carrots… the nutrition is endless!

INGREDIENTS
2 Medium Onions, Quartered
2 Bell Peppers, Sliced
1 Aubergine, Chopped
1 Courgette, Chopped
1 Medium Carrot, Chopped
4 Mushrooms, Chopped
4 Medium Tomatoes, Quartered
4 Medium Baking Potatoes, Sliced Into Chips
1/2 Cup of Frozen Sweetcorn
1 Carton of Passata
4 – 6 Fresh Lasagne Sheets
300ml Low Fat Crème Fraîche
1 Cup of Low Fat Cheese, Grated

SEASONING
When the veggies go into the roasting tin, add some dried garlic flakes and dried thyme as well as the usual salt and pepper to get the most out of them. Do the same with the chips, swapping out the thyme for dried rosemary if possible. When it comes to the passata sauce, we want to make this simple ingredient taste as rich as possible, so stir in a good helping of dried garlic flakes, dried basil, dried oregano, salt and pepper to give it flavour. With the top layer of crème fraîche, add a pinch of salt and pepper to increase its savoury taste.

So, this is how I did it…
(Serves 4)

1. Throw the onion, aubergine and carrot into a roasting tin, coat with cooking spray or a drop of oil along with salt, pepper, garlic and thyme. Roast on 200°C for around 45 minutes, adding the pepper, tomatoes and courgette to the tin after about 20 minutes.

2. Pour the passata into a bowl with garlic, basil, oregano, salt and pepper and mix well so the sauce has plenty of flavour.

3. Meanwhile, spread the sliced potato chips out on a baking tray with cooking spray or oil, season with salt, pepper and rosemary (or thyme) and cook for 50 minutes, turning halfway through.

4. Once all the veggies are cooked, begin layering the lasagne. In an ovenproof dish, start with one layer of roasted vegetables, as well as the uncooked mushroom and sweetcorn. Spoon over a layer of the passata, sprinkle over a small amount of grated cheese and top with a lasagne sheet. Repeat until the dish is full.
For the final sheet of lasagne, spread a layer of the crème fraîche on top, add a pinch of salt and pepper and top with a generous helping of cheese.

5. Pop the dish back into the oven for around 20 – 25 minutes until cooked through – make sure the cheese doesn’t catch on top!

6. Serve the lasagne with homemade oven-cooked chips for dippin’!

RECIPE: Turkey Burgers with Homemade Guacamole | #ThisGirlEats

Serves: 2
How much does it cost? This recipe cost me less than £1.50 per person.
What are the benefits? Turkey burgers are a much leaner source of protein than other burgers, while the guac provides at least one of your five a day and the wholemeal roll is a healthy helping of fibre.

I think I could eat guacamole every day for the rest of my life. It’s just scrumptious, isn’t it? Until now I’ve been content with store bought guac, but I recently purchased a fancy food processor and, boy, it’s changed my life!

This guacamole was the very first thing I made with it and I promise you, I guarantee you, it tasted better than anything I’ve ever found in the supermarket – and I’m pretty sure that’s not just because of the smug sense of satisfaction I got from assembling and working out how to use a food processor all by myself.

It’s irresistibly creamy but with thick chunks of sweet, sharp onion and juicy tomato. I’m obsessed with it and, after trying it alongside these tasty turkey burgers, you will be too! 🥑

These burgers are a lean source of protein, avocados are packed with healthy fats and the wholemeal roll is rich in fibre so this recipe makes a really nutritious burger alternative. 👍

INGREDIENTS
250g Turkey Mince
1/2 Medium White Onion, Diced
1/2 Medium Red Onion, Diced
1 Large Avocado, Peeled, Halved and Pit Removed – Lidl Avocado – 99p – Lidl
1 Tomato, Diced – Large Beef Tomato – 80p – Sainsbury’s
2 Wholemeal Rolls

SEASONING
I cheat a little when I make burgers because I’ve got some super yummy TGI Fridays burger seasoning that I just LOVE using at every given opportunity! However, I reckon you could make equally great burger seasoning with a dash of salt, pepper, dried garlic, paprika, chilli flakes and, for this particular meat, a sprinkle of dried thyme and dried rosemary. For the guacamole, I added a pinch dried garlic flakes, plenty of dried coriander and, of course, salt and pepper.

So, this is how I did it…

1. Place the turkey mince and diced white onion in a bowl, along with plenty of seasoning, and squidge together with your hands (I’m aware “squidge” isn’t a word but you still know exactly what I mean!)

2. Separate the turkey mixture into two halves and shape into burger patties – thickness and width is up to you.

3. Spray a frying pan with cooking spray or throw in a tiny dash of oil, put on a medium-high heat and add the burgers, cooking for approximately 5 minutes on each side. I emphasise APPROXIMATELY, because it depends on how thick you’ve made your burgers. Check they are cooked through and there is no pink left inside the burger before serving.

4. For the guacamole, add one avocado, diced red onion, diced tomato, plenty of seasoning and a teeny tiny drop of oil – seriously, like a drop – to a food processor. A squeeze of lime juice is optional, it’s part of that classic guac flavour but, personally, I prefer the creamy texture without that sharp hit of acidity 🍋

5. Whiz the ingredients in the food processor, preferably pulsing with the chopping blade until a chunky, creamy consistency is reached. If you don’t own a food processor, add exactly the same ingredients and mash together with a fork or potato masher.

6. Serve the burgers in a wholemeal bun, topped with lashings of delicious guacamole!