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, Dubliner Niamh Cleary shared five of her favourite quick, easy and healthy meals with us.
While preparing to study for her professional accounting exams a few years back, Niamh was concerned about how the long hours and inevitable stress would affect her diet.
“I was worried that being indoors studying all day and being so close to the fridge I was going to mindlessly gorge on unhealthy fatty foods while stressed out,” she recalls.
Niamh created an Instagram account (@irishhealthygal) where she could share new recipes, in the hopes it would help her “stay on track” as she faced into three months of study. After the exams, the home cooking habits stayed around.
“I love food and crave it all the time so I try to ‘cook my cravings’ in a nutritionally conscious way without compromising on taste,” she said.
Here are the recipes Niamh turns to time and time again, from Indian curries to big batch soups.
1. Make-ahead curry: I’m a big believer in meal prep but ultimately if you don’t look forward to eating something you’ve brought in, you might “forget” your lunch and opt for some fast food option instead. I find curry is packed with flavor, so versatile, you can use whatever vegetables that are in your fridge not to mention it’s freeze/reheat friendly. You can never cook a curry for one person so make a family portion and freeze for future occasions!
2. Roasted red pepper soup: I like to make a fresh batch of soup on Sundays for the week ahead. If like me, you get outrageous night time cravings while you’re watching TV, I find a cup of soup helps settle things because it’s nice and warm and delicious too. Any tomato based soup is really versatile as it can act as a pasta sauce too. A personal favorite is my roasted red pepper and tomato soup. You don’t have to be a master chef to make soup -essentially chop all ingredients, balance the flavors and blend. It couldn’t be easier!
3. Chilli that tastes just as good on day two: For me, meal prepped and reheat friendly dishes are key for staying on track and saucy foods don’t tend to dry out in the microwave. I probably make a batch of chilli every week because, again, it’s so versatile and you can throw in whatever vegetables you have. You can easily adapt the core ingredients too for your dietary needs, like lentils for meat or quinoa instead of rice!
4. No-fail chicken adobo: I love to travel and have gotten the opportunity to try a wide variety of dishes all over the world. While in the Philippines I was lucky enough to try chicken adobo cooked by a lovely local woman. I set myself the task to try and recreate this dish at home while making some small swaps to make it more nutritional. I was delighted to keep the sticky garlicky elements of the dish and sub in some broccoli for some much needed green. It’s always a win when delicious food is nutritional as well.
5. Rojan josh at home: If I’m trying to be health conscious but am craving a takeaway at the weekend I set myself the challenge of trying to cook it at home, whether it be a Thai or a burger and chips. More often than not, however, it’s an Indian. The great thing about Indian food is that they use a lot of natural spices and fresh ingredients. I really enjoy picking something from a menu to try out at home over the weekend. One of my all time favorites is rogan josh. And because you are making it at home you can control the spice factor (in my case: very spicy!)
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