Eating healthily does not have to be difficult and time consuming.
Here are 5 quick and easy recipes for weekday dinners, 2 of which can be made into 5 lunches.
Healthy weekday meals sorted!
Griddled chicken with quinoa Greek salad
+ Quinoa Greek salad with chickpeas
+ Chicken salad and oatcakes
100g quinoa
1 red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
1 garlic clove, crushed
200g chicken mini fillets
150g vine tomatoes, roughly chopped
1/2 red onion, finely sliced
50g feta cheese, crumbled
small bunch mint leaves, chopped
juice and zest ½ lemon
olive oil
Cook the quinoa following the pack instructions, then rinse in cold water and drain thoroughly.
Meanwhile, mix olive oil, chilli and garlic into a paste.
Toss the chicken fillets in the garlic and chilli oil. Lay in a hot griddle or frying pan and cook for 4
mins each side or until cooked through (or grill).
Transfer to a plate, drizzle with 3/4s of the spicy oil mixture left in the pan and set aside.
Next, tip the tomatoes, onion, feta and mint into a bowl. Add the cooked quinoa. Stir through the
lemon juice and zest, and season.
Serve half of the quinoa Greek salad with half of the chicken fillets on top.
Future lunches
Quinoa Greek salad with chickpeas – add the rest of the spicy oil mix and a small tin of
chickpeas to the remaining quinoa Greek salad. Place in an airtight container and refrigerate for
lunch tomorrow.
Chicken salad – wrap remaining chicken in foil/cling film and refrigerate. Serve with a large
mixed salad topped with pumpkin seeds and oatcakes for another lunch.
O’Kelly fish with new potatoes
+ Roasted vegetable and hummus wrap
+ Salmon wrap
+ Salmon and new potato salad
2 handfuls of trimmed green beans, blanched
8 broccoli florets, blanched
4 asparagus spears, blanched
(or a mixture of other veg such as peppers, courgette, aubergine)
juice of 1 lemon, plus husks
1 tbsp olive oil
a little rock salt and pepper
½ tsp chilli flakes
tbsp black olives
10 cherry tomatoes
3 salmon fillets
New potatoes
Preheat the oven to 200C/400F
Place all the vegetables in a roasting tin. Place salmon, skin side down, on top. Sprinkle over
seasoning and chilli flakes. Squeeze lemon over the top and add husks to the tin. Drizzle over
the olive oil.
Place in oven and cook for 20 minutes
Place new potatoes in a pan and boil for 20 minutes
Serve 1 salmon fillet with ½ the vegetables and ½ the potatoes
Future lunches
Salmon wrap – lay a wholemeal wrap out flat, spread with tahini and a squeeze of lemon. Flake
the salmon on top. Add some green salad leaves. Roll up the wrap and cut in half.
Salmon and potato salad – chop the potatoes into smaller chunks, flake the salmon. Mix
together with a little olive oil, chopped dill and seasoning. Serve with a mixed salad.
Hummus and roasted vegetable wrap – lay a wholemeal wrap out flat, spread with hummus
and add roasted vegetables. Roll up the wrap and cut in half.
Meals in minutes
Salsa sardines with spaghetti
50g whole wheat spaghetti
1 large ripe tomatoes, finely chopped
½ red onion, finely chopped
10g pitted black Kalamata olives, quartered
½ red chilli, finely chopped
Zest and juice of ½ lemon
Handful basil, shredded
120g cans sardines in olive oil
Boil the spaghetti following pack instructions.
Mix the tomatoes with the onion, olives, chilli, lemon zest and basil.
Heat the sardines in a pan.
Drain the pasta, return to the pan and toss well with the tomato mixture. Add the sardines in
chunky pieces. Season with lemon juice and pepper.
Super Speedy Stir fry
150g protein e.g prawns, fish, beef, chicken, pork, tofu, quorn
1 pack of stir fry vegetables
A little oil
Garlic, ginger, chilli, coriander, all chopped
low salt soy sauce
½ pouch ready cooked whole grain rice or quinoa
Heat a little oil to a wok or large fry pan
Add the garlic, and fry for a few seconds
Add the chill and ginger, fry for a further few seconds
Add the protein, stir fry until cooked through (~ 5mins)
Add the vegetables from the stir fry pack, stir fry for a further 3 minutes
Add in soy sauce, stir fry for 1 minute
Add in coriander.
Microwave rice or quinoa to packet instructions
Mediterranean Cod
Cod fillet
½ jar of good quality, low salt. low sugar tomato pasta sauce
2 cubes of frozen spinach
Small tin chickpeas
Tablespoon black pitted olives
Microwave fish per pack instructions
In a saucepan heat the tomato sauce, chickpeas and spinach
Add the fish and break into chunks
Add the olives, warm through.
For all of the above adjust portion size to requirements