vegetarian – #ThisGirlEats

Things I’ve Learnt About Food – and Myself! – Since Becoming Vegetarian | #ThisGirlEats

I haven’t eaten meat for six months now. I told myself one day, yep, that’s it. I’m going vegetarian. And, surprisingly, I haven’t looked back.

Read: The Moment I Decided to Become a Vegetarian

It’s hasn’t always been super easy, but it actually hasn’t been anywhere near as difficult as I thought it would be either. Nonetheless, there have definitely been a few things to learn along the way…

Transitioning made the whole thing possible.

It started with leaving meat off our weekly shopping list to cut costs. Then we decided to only eat meat on weekends or when we went out. Then my boyfriend went vegetarian and I set myself some 30 day challenges to see if I could consistently go without too. And then, eventually, I felt confident and comfortable to stop eating meat altogether.

Not feeling forced or rushed into making any sudden decisions is the reason I was happy to make the choices I have, and it’s also how I’ve been able to stick to it since the day I made up my mind.

Online menus are a must.

Although most restaurants do offer veggie options these days, there’s no guarantee they’ll actually be good. You might find yourself stuck with yet another bean burger or vegetable lasagne – both great, sure, but it gets a bit boring after the millionth time.

Researching menus online before going somewhere is an absolute must these days. If I can’t find one, we ain’t going!

*Menu for plant-based pub The Monument in Canterbury*

Cheese > everything.

People ask if I feel healthier since giving up meat and the honest answer is: no.

Partly because not eating meat has nothing to do with how healthy your diet is, but also mainly because, since becoming veggie, cheese has pretty much become my answer to everything. Pepperoni pizza becomes four cheese pizza; chicken pie becomes cheese and veg pie; spaghetti bolognese becomes cheese and tomato pasta; a BLT becomes a cheese toastie… You get the idea.

It’s the easy option, and it’s also bloody delicious, so I’m not really complaining.

Mealtimes do take some imagination.

When you’ve grown up in a “meat and two veg” environment at the dinner table, it can take a little imagination to keep mealtimes interesting once you start leaving meat off your plate.

Because I love being in the kitchen I quite enjoyed having a new challenge but, over time, it’s become much easier to adjust. It’s all about making smart swaps and thinking outside the box to create food that you and your family will continue to love.

Looking for some inspiration? Check out some of my favourite veggie meals to make at home.

I haven’t once gone hungry.

“Vegetarian? What do you even eat, rabbit food?! lolololol.” Well, no, obviously not.

Look at me. Look at my blog. Look at the NAME OF MY BLOG! Of course I’m not going to follow a diet of lettuce leaves and quinoa. Just because I don’t eat meat anymore, don’t doubt for a second I haven’t found new ways to stuff my face whenever I feel like it.

There are so, so many options available now that cater to meat-free and plant-based diets; burgers, sausages, bacon, chicken, steaks, you name it and there’s a veggie alternative out there. I don’t miss out on BBQs, roast dinners, takeaways, meals out or any of that good stuff (thanks Linda McCartney 😉).

*Linda McCartney’s vegetarian hoisin duck meal kit*

With the right mindset, I can achieve things I never thought possible.

This is something I definitely learnt about myself when I decided to become a vegetarian.

If you told me just a few years ago that I’d make a free, conscious choice to no longer eat meat, I would never have believed it. I would’ve said I don’t have the willpower, I’d miss out on too many foods I love, I’d never be able to stick with it, bla bla bla.

But I’ve proven to myself that I can stick with it and I do have power over my food choices. I am able to resist things, I can turn certain food down, and I can set myself a goal and see it through.

Now it’s time to take that new revelation about myself and apply it to other parts of my life, because I know that I can.

RECIPE: Roasted Vegetable, Mozzarella & Garlic Flatbreads | #ThisGirlEats

Serves: 2 (well, it makes two breads)
How much does it cost? This recipe cost me less than £1.25 per bread.
What are the benefits? This roasted vegetable, mozzarella and garlic flatbread recipe is perfect for vegetarians, contains at least two – if not three! – of your five a day, and it a much healthier takeaway alternative.

I’m not even going to pretend; I’m rubbish at baking. Bread, in particular, never quite goes right for me. I don’t know, perhaps it’s just a knack I haven’t picked up yet but, thankfully, flatbreads I can juuust about handle.

I need help when it comes to baking though, and can’t just throw things together like I can when I’m cooking (and yes, baking and cooking are very different things!). To get the hang of how to make the base for this roasted vegetable, mozzarella and garlic flatbread recipe, I looked to the internet and one of my favourite back-to-basics chefs Jack Monroe for inspiration.

I jiggled around the measurements and methods a little and came up with this version. But really, for me, the bread isn’t even the most important thing (thank god!). It’s all about what goes on top.

Smothering these breads in delectable, mouth-watering garlic butter is flippin’ gorgeous, and then covering them in delicious roasted vegetables and melting mozzarella is what really starts me salivating.

I love making this bread because it’s super simple, combines three of my favourite things – veggies, garlic and cheese – and works as a tasty homemade alternative to takeaway pizza. And remember kids – carbs are our friends. 💛

*Sliced roasted vegetable, mozzarella and garlic flatbread*

INGREDIENTS

BREAD
350g Plain Flour
250ml Milk (or milk alternative)
5g (or 1 tsp) Dried Active Yeast
Pinch of Salt
Pinch of Sugar

GARLIC BUTTER
1 Garlic Bulb (or 1 tsp dried garlic)
5g (or 1 tsp) Grated Hard Cheese
15g (or 1 tbsp) of Butter or Spread
Pinch of dried parsley

TOPPINGS
1 Onion, Sliced
1 Red Onion, Sliced
1 Bell Pepper, Sliced
1 Aubergine, Chopped
6 Cherry Tomatoes, Halved
1 Ball of Mozzarella (light if possible), Drained

SEASONING
For the garlic butter, don’t be afraid to really pile on the garlic but also don’t forget to season with a teeny tiny touch of black pepper, salt and dried parsley – failing that, mixed herbs will do. With the roasted veggies, make sure to season really well with some dried garlic, chilli flakes, dried herbs, black pepper and salt.

HOW TO MAKE ROASTED VEGETABLE MOZZARELLA FLATBREADS

1. Mix the milk (it needs to be at least room temperature, don’t take it cold right from the fridge) with the yeast. Sieve the flour into a large bowl and, into the middle, pour the milk and yeast with a pinch of salt and pepper.

2. Combine the ingredients together until they form a dough, then split the dough into two halves, cover and leave for around 20 minutes.

3. Heat the oven to around 200°C. Throw all your chopped vegetables into a roasting tin together, cover with cooking spray or a little oil, season and cook for around 20 – 30 minutes.

4. In a small bowl, add your butter or spread and pop into the microwave for a few seconds until melted (this literally only takes about 10 seconds!) and stir in the hard cheese, garlic and herbs.

5. Uncover the dough, roll out into flatbreads, brush the melted garlic butter all over them and place them on a large baking tray. Remove the roasted vegetables from the oven and leave to one side; replace with the flatbreads. Leave to cook for around 6 – 8 minutes.

6. Take the breads out of the oven, scatter the vegetables and the torn mozzarella over the top and pop them back into the oven for 3 – 5 minutes, just enough time for the cheese to melt and everything to cook through.

7. Leave to cool if you want to eat later, or scoff a few slices straight from the oven if, like me, you just can’t wait!

*Roasted vegetable, mozzarella and garlic flatbread*

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.

“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!

RECIPE: Slow Cooked BBQ Aubergine | #ThisGirlEats

Serves: 4
How much does it cost? This recipe cost me less than 50p per person.
What are the benefits? This slow cooked BBQ feast is totally veggie-friendly, low in fat compared to pulled pork and provides one of your five a day.

We’ve never really eaten much meat at home, even more so since my boyfriend decided to become a vegetarian. It’s been pretty decent, actually; our shopping has been cheaper (see ‘We Cut Down Our Family Food Shop to £25 Per Week – And Now There’s No Looking Back! Here’s How…‘), we’ve both felt healthier and, best of all, it’s forced me to think of even more recipe ideas!

I’ve always tried to base my recipes around “alternatives”, ways to still eat our favourite foods but healthier versions. Not eating meat means we’ve had to think of ways to still enjoy the food we’ve been used to our whole lives, but without actually eating it.

That’s how I came up with this recipe for slow cooked BBQ aubergine. We both love pulled pork, but obviously that’s a big no-no these days; that doesn’t mean we don’t still enjoy the flavours though. Smokey, spicy BBQ sauce and a soft, succulent filling for the ultimate juicy burger… We just had to find a new way to eat this!

Aubergine has a thick, creamy texture that your teeth just sink right into, and this wonderfully versatile vegetable soaks up almost anything you cook it in, meaning it really takes on the BBQ flavour in this dish.

Using a vegetable replacement absolutely demolishes the fat content of this dish when compared to pork shoulder, and it ups your five a day too! It’s definitely a leaner alternative and, at just under 30p per person, it’s a cheaper option as well.

INGREDIENTS
1 Large Aubergine
2 tbsp Runny Honey
6 tbsp BBQ Sauce
1 tbsp Tomato Purée
1 Mug of Vegetable Stock
4 Burger Buns (optional – burgers are just my serving suggestion, you can do whatever you want with it!)

SEASONING
The BBQ sauce obviously is the main source of the flavour here, but adding garlic, cumin, paprika and chilli flakes into the mix really helps pack a punch.

So, this is how I did it…

1. Bake the whole aubergine in the oven for 20 minutes on 200°C, turning once halfway through.

2. Allow to cool and peel off skin (optional – I peeled most of the skin off mine but also couldn’t be bothered to do the whole thing so some got left on and I couldn’t really tell the difference after several hours of slow cooking!). Tear into strips.

3. Add the aubergine strips along with the garlic, cumin, paprika, chilli flakes, honey, BBQ sauce, tomato purée and a mug of vegetable stock.

4. Cook for 4 hours on high, 6 hours on low. Carefully remove the strips from the slow cooker and serve in the burger buns – or however you prefer!

Tips & Tricks

You don’t need a slow cooker for this recipe – just throw it all into a large stovetop pan or dish and leave on a low heat for a similar time, you’ll get the same results.

Make this even more vegelicious (yes, that’s now a word) by throwing in some cherry tomatoes and sliced red onion, these make excellent additions.

If you’ve got leftovers, make up some smokey barbecue wraps for your lunchbox, or serve with rice the next day to stretch it out for another meal. It’s a very adaptable dish.

RECIPE: English Breakfast Bake | #ThisGirlEats

Serves: 2
How much does it cost? This recipe cost me less than £1 per person.
What are the benefits? This dish provides three of your five a day, is low in fat, and is suitable for vegetarians.

Brinner. Breakfast for dinner, right? I like a fry up, but I don’t like how bloated and gross I feel afterwards, or how the guilt lingers with me all day (unless I’m hungover, in which case it’s not an indulgence, it’s a necessity!).

This oven-baked, breakfast-inspired dinner is a healthier, fresher version of your typical greasy spoon serving and makes a great evening meal – although I suppose you could always save some up for breakfast too!

It’s a brilliant source of veggies with three of your ‘5 A Day’ in there (baked beans count as one, how bloody great is that?!) so it feels like a fry up but you’re actually feeding your body total goodness. And, hey, at only 93p per person you can get your fill of “brinner” for only a fraction of the cost!

INGREDIENTS
2 Baking Potatoes, Cubed
2 Onions, Sliced
10 Mushrooms
1 Tin of Baked Beans
4 Eggs

SEASONING
When the potatoes go into the roasting tin, they’ll want to be seasoned pretty heavily – you want a good heap of dried rosemary or dried thyme (or both!) all over them, as well as some dried garlic, salt and pepper. Make sure whenever new vegetables are added to the tin they are seasoned with a teeny tiny bit more salt and pepper, and also add a pinch to the fried eggs.

So, this is how I did it…

1. Add the potato cubes to a large roasting tin, coat with a drop of oil or cooking spray and all of the seasoning, and cook on 200°C for 40 minutes.

2. Add the onions to the roasting tin for the last 20 minutes of cooking time. Then, 5 minutes later, add the mushrooms for the final 15 minutes of cooking time.

3. Heat a large frying pan with a very small amount of oil or some cooking spray, crack the eggs into the pan once the oil is hot, and fry until cooked (on a high heat this should only takes 5 minutes or so).

4. Empty the beans into a bowl and microwave according to packet instructions (usually a couple of minutes minutes), or heat in a saucepan on the hob – whichever you prefer!

5. Remove the roasting tin from the oven, pour the beans over the potatoes, onions and mushrooms, and place the eggs on top. Perfect! 🍳

Tips & Tricks!

Mix things up! Give it some more veggie goodness by throwing in both sweet potato and normal potato cubes 🍠

You could easily downsize this and actually make a tray bake breakfast out of it! It is the most important meal of the day, after all.

If you have meat in the fridge that needs using up, sausages and bacon could obviously be included with this dish and make a very tasty addition – but, of course, it won’t be quite so low fat so bear that in mind 🥓

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.

I Gave My Boyfriend a New Recipe to Make By Himself, This is What Happened! | #ThisGirlEats

We like a challenge. Last week, I decided to challenge both myself and my boyfriend. I always cook but, since we started scheduling our entire lives around the World Cup, Andy got home before me and offered to make dinner so no-one was cooking by time the England game started. Which is great, but his idea of cooking generally involves transferring food from the freezer to the oven. You know, fine, but a bit uninspiring.

That’s when I came up with the GENIUS idea – to test run one of my recipes! This was brand new, something totally made up and never tried before. Philly cheese “steaks” made with aubergine and sweet potato fries on the side (find the recipe here) is tricky, I won’t lie. I really did throw him in at the deep end!

I left the ingredients and a very detailed recipe, but didn’t want to make things too easy with hints of “Maybe you should do it this way…” I just sat on the sofa quietly and waited. That was my challenge!

And you know what? He only went and bloody did it! It went really well, too. I’m actually incredibly proud of how he pulled it off, he made everything as it should be and it tasted amazing!

It just goes to show that a-n-y-o-n-e can cook. As long as you’ve got ingredients and a recipe to follow it doesn’t matter about the bumps along the way, something messy and delicious and wonderful can still come out of it. If my boyfriend can do it, so can you!

But just to prove that it doesn’t always go perfectly, here are just a few of the more stressful moments from Andy’s time in the kitchen…

“Does aubergine go bad if you cut it and then leave it out? Like avocado?” – good question! No idea tbh.
“What consistency am I looking for here?” – it’s sauce, babe. It’s meant to be the consistency of.. sauce.
“Mate, it’s REALLY hot in here.” – I say this all the time, it’s now fully appreciated just how bloody hot our kitchen gets.
“This is crazy, I’m trying to get ready and cook everything at the same time!” – literally every. day. of. my. life. Get used to it hun.

Recipe: Veggie Philly Cheese “Steaks” with Sweet Potato Fries

RECIPE: Sweet Potato and Red Pepper Jambalaya | #ThisGirlEats

Serves: 2
How much does it cost? This cost me less than £1 per person.
What are the benefits? This recipe provides at least two of your five a day, is full of fibre and a great vegan meal.

Apparently, I’m going through a “rice phase”. Since discovering how cheap it can be, how long it lasts and how versatile it is, I’ve realised it’s the perfect ingredient for creating a bunch of budget meals, so a lot of my recent recipes have been bulked out with brown rice. I think the other people in my house are getting a little sick of it, actually… 🍚

But who cares when you can make brilliant dishes like this with it?! Jambalaya is something I wasn’t all that familiar with if I’m honest, but my limited experiences with it have always been amazing. The flavours, textures, sights and smells of this gloriously exciting meal are a real pleasure, and I enjoyed experimenting with different jambalaya recipes until eventually coming up with my own take on it.

This meal is really great if you’re trying eat more healthily – there’s no dairy, barely any fat, very little sugar… basically, it’s just rice and vegetables! Sweet potatoes and brown rice are excellent ways of getting energy into your system without the sugar rush and inevitable crash of processed carbs. On top of that, you’ve got Vitamin C from the onion and pepper, fibre from the sweetcorn and antioxidants from the chopped tomatoes – who says nothing good can come from a tin?!

INGREDIENTS
2 Medium Sweet Potatoes, Chopped
1 Red Bell Pepper, Sliced
1/2 Cup of Frozen or Fresh Sweetcorn
1 Large Onion, Chopped
1 Mug of Vegetable Stock
1 Tin of Chopped Tomatoes
140g Brown Rice

SEASONING
There’s a really lovely, mild spice to this recipe, and it’s very rich in warm flavours but still fresh and not too heavy. This balance comes from using just the right seasoning; dried garlic flakes are added at first with the sweet potatoes, while paprika, cumin, dried chilli flakes, dried basil, pepper and salt (or onion salt, if you’ve got it) go in with the stock, tomatoes, etc..

So, this is how I did it…

1. Heat a large pan or stove-top dish and throw in the sweet potato, onion and garlic and fry on a medium heat for around 10 minutes, but make sure the potato doesn’t stick to the bottom – keep stirring! 🥄

2. Once the onion has softened, add the red pepper, stock, chopped tomatoes, spices and rice. Simmer on a medium heat (and cover if possible!) for 30 minutes. Check on the rice – if it’s still crunchy, it needs more time! If your rice takes a while to cook you may need to add a little more liquid so it doesn’t dry up.

3. For the final 5 minutes of cooking, add the sweetcorn and stir through so all flavours are well-combined.

RECIPE: Mushroom Pesto Pasta | #ThisGirlEats

Serves: 2
How much does it cost? This recipe cost me just over 50p per person (56p to be exact!).
What are the benefits? You’ll find at least one of your five a day within this recipe, not to mention it’s suitable for vegetarians (as long as the pesto is veggie-friendly!) and is a great source of fibre.

My boyfriend hates mushrooms and, guys, it really annoys me. It’s weird! Okay, I actually know a lot of people who don’t like mushrooms – but they’re weird too! Mushrooms are immense – in a burger, wrap, pasta… embrace the funghi, people! 🍄

This recipe is quick, easy and made up of three essentials – pesto (totally delicious), pasta (the best) and mushrooms (I don’t care what anyone says). Chuck them all in together and you’ve got a pretty good thing going.

Don’t stress about pesto’s fat content – “good” fats from olive oil and pine nuts, both found in pesto, can be great for your cholesterol, heart and blood pressure. On top of that, this dish also contains three different vegetables (please don’t start with that whole “but tomatoes are a fruit!” thing, you know what I mean) and, made with wholewheat pasta, it’s going to keep you fuller for longer. An easy, hearty, yummy midweek dinner.

INGREDIENTS
6 Medium Mushrooms, Chopped
6 Cherry Tomatoes, Halved
1 Medium Onion, Chopped
140g Wholewheat Pasta
2 tbsp Green Pesto
Handful of Low Fat Grated Cheese
1 tsp Tomato Purée

SEASONING
Lucky for us, pesto does a lot of the work on this one so there isn’t a whole load of effort that goes into seasoning here. Just add a few dried garlic flakes in with the onions, sprinkle over some dried thyme when the mushrooms go in and, as always, finish with a pinch of salt and pepper.

So, this is how I did it…

1. Bring a pan of salted water to the boil, add enough pasta for two and cook according to packet instructions, usually takes around 10 – 15 minutes.

2. Coat a frying pan with cooking spray or a tiny drop of oil and then add the onion, cooking for only a couple of minutes on a steady medium heat.

3. Add in the mushrooms, tomatoes, tomato purée and a splash of water and fry on a medium-low heat for no longer than 10 minutes, until the veggies are softened and cooked through.

4. Drain the pasta and combine with the vegetables, stirring through a heaped tablespoon or two pesto. Of course, adjust according to taste!

5. Top with grated cheese (and drizzle with a small amount of oil if you wish).