EACH WEEK, WE ask a home cook about the dishes they’ve been whipping up of late – from simple suppers to lavish lunches.
This week, identical twins Jessica and Rachel Hill (@sw_twins) shared five of the recipes that have helped them maintain a healthy lifestyle since overhauling their diet two years ago.
“We’ve always had a keen interest in cooking as our dad is a chef and as children we loved helping him cook in the kitchen,” Jessica told TheJournal.ie. “Knowing that we have each others support has really helped us on our journey, too.”
Over the past two years, Jessica and Rachel have picked up a few tips to help them stay on track, including planning their meals and batch cooking. They also have a savvy trick for cheese-lovers: “Whenever you’re grating cheese, use a parmesan grater. You’ll be surprised by how much further your cheese goes!”
From breakfast to dinner, Jessica and Rachel shared five of their favourite recipes that never let them down…
1. Baked oats: These are so easy to make. They’re really versatile as you can add whatever you want to your oat mix like cinnamon, flavoured essences, jams and marmalades or low sugar chocolate spreads like Lidl’s Proteinella. We serve ours with lots of fresh fruit which keeps us full until lunch time and stops us snacking throughout the day.
2. Cinnamon French toast: We’ve always been huge fans of French toast and love that we can still have it without any guilt. It’s as easy as whisking up two eggs, adding some ground cinnamon, soaking your bread in the mix and frying it off in a non stick pan. Top it with lots of fresh fruit for filling power. Avoid over-loading your toast with syrup by using a measuring spoon.
3. A different kind of ‘sambo’ and soup: This is one of our favourite combinations at the moment. Boxty, a traditional Irish potato pancake, is a great alternative to bread. I normally use boiled boxty, or you can make it at home yourself. To make my boxty sambo, I slice it thinly, fry it off in a non stick pan until it’s crispy on both sides, melt some low fat cheese on top and then add some sliced ham.
4. Keema curry: This nutritious and hearty Indian dish uses lean beef mince and is a great alternative to the usual minced beef meals like spaghetti bolognese or chilli con carne. We love using lots of different spices and flavours. Since discovering this dish, it’s become one of our regular go-to meals and we love making it for groups of friends. It’s great for cooking in larger quantities and freezing for busy periods. This dish is traditionally made with peas, but any vegetables can be added to bulk it up so it goes further.
5. The ultimate ‘fakeaway’: This meal is a healthy alternative to ordering in and is really simple to make. We use low calorie bread to coat the chicken and bake it in the oven instead of buying pre-prepared fillets as they can have unnecessary additives.
The katsu sauce we use is also homemade, fat free, vegan and made predominantly with fresh vegetables like courgette, carrot and butternut squash. It’s a great way of adding extra nutrition to your diet or disguising vegetables from fussy eaters. We serve this with jasmine rice and a green salad with sweet red peppers and shredded carrots.
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