Healthy Dinner Recipes That Actually Taste Great
After a long stressful day, it’s all too easy to take one look at the kitchen and think ‘nope’ before calling for a takeaway. We’ve all been there! But regularly...
After a long stressful day, it’s all too easy to take one look at the kitchen and think ‘nope’ before calling for a takeaway. We’ve all been there! But regularly falling back on fast food and ready meals can take its toll on our waist and our health.
Connie Simmonds, health blogger and sister of celebrity personal trainer Bradley Simmonds, transformed her body and health without deprivation or cutting food groups. Connie shares 3 delicious and healthy dinner recipes from her new book ‘Healthy Forever'. These recipes are the perfect choice for when you simply can’t be arsed to cook…
One Pot Chickpea & Spinach Curry
This is great for those nights when you want to come home to a bowl of hot, filling food. It’s great for using up odd vegetables left in the fridge, and the long, slow cooking means it’s ideal for making in advance. It tastes delicious the next day too.
Ingredients (serves 6)
4 x 400g tins chickpeas, drained
1x large white potato, peeled and diced
1x 400g tin chopped tomatoes
1x 400ml tin coconut milk
2x red peppers, deseeded and sliced
2x heaped tbsp medium or hot curry powder 3 garlic cloves, finely grated
1x 200g bag of spinach leaves
Method:
- Put all the ingredients, except the spinach, into one large pan or slow cooker, then cover and cook over a low heat for 1 hour 20 minutes.
- At the end of the cooking time, stir in the fresh spinach until wilted.
- Serve the curry with a mango chutney and my Baked Onion Bhajis (recipe on page 152 of her book).
King Prawn Quinoa & Edamame with a Ginger Vinaigrette
Here’s a simple but super-tasty salad to put together. You can actually get really delicious cooked prawns already marinated in herbs and spices. The coriander and garlic or chilli and garlic ones work amazingly well in this dish.Ingredients (serves 2)
1x 250g pouch ready-cooked quinoa
1x packet (200g) cooked prawns
1x 175g tub ready-cooked edamame beans
For the dressing:
4x tbsp sesame oil
½ tsp ground ginger
1x tbsp balsamic vinegar
Method:
- Pop the quinoa pouch in the microwave to heat up, following the instructions on the packet.
- Put the prawns, edamame and quinoa in a bowl and mix together.
- Combine the dressing ingredients in a cup or jug, stir well and pour over the salad.
- Leek & Sausage Traybake with Sweet Potato Mash
Leek & Sausage Tray bake with Sweet Potato Mash
This is simple, easy to make and a real crowd-pleaser. I recommend choosing very high-quality sausages that contain at least 90 per cent meat (unless you use veggie sausages, of course). You can get really delicious turkey or chicken sausages, which are the ideal alternative to pork.
Ingredients (serves 4)
8 x high-quality low-fat sausages 2 leeks, cut into rough chunks
4 x sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into rough chunks
A splash of milk
A knob of butter
1 x tbsp gravy granules 200ml boiling water
Salt and pepper
Method:
- Preheat the oven to 200°C/gas mark.
- Pile the sausages into an ovenproof dish and spread them out. Place in the centre of the oven for 30 minutes, adding the leeks after 15 minutes.
- Meanwhile, bring a large pan of salted water to the boil and cook the sweet potato until soft.
- Drain and return to the pan with the milk, butter, salt and pepper and mash until smooth.
- Combine the gravy granules and boiling water in a jug; add more granules to thicken the gravy, or more water to thin it.
- Remove the sausages and leeks from the oven and plate up on a bed of sweet potato mash. Offer the gravy separately.
Connie Simmonds decided to get HEALTHY after years of yo-yo dieting and all sorts of attempts to get 'skinny'— the result is her new cookbook Healthy Forever! Healthy Forever comes with 60 delicious, well-balanced meals that Connie has personally devised using her nutritional knowledge and complete and utter love and passion for food. You'll find an array of comforting dishes, chocolate recipes and even recipes for those days that you simply cannot be bothered to cook.
Connie on Instagram @conniesimmonds for recipe posts and videos.
Buy Connie's cookbook.
