Lentil bolognese

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By far, this lentil bolognese is one of my favourites dishes and I make it at least once a week. If you have only 15-20 minutes to prepare your lunch (or dinner) this is the perfect recipe. My suggestion is to use pre-cooked lentils – I used the puy lentils from Merchant gourment and they work perfectly for this recipe. I love their flavour, taste and texture. 

My tip: batch cook it and freeze it!

Head over to my website for the recipe, ingredients and instructions.

Let me know in the comments if you love lentil bolognese as much as I do.

Lentil Bolognese with basil

Lentil bolognese

  • Servings: 2
  • Difficulty: easy
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Credit: fsnutritionist.com

Ingredients

  • 300g pre-cooked lentils
  • 160g pasta
  • 500 ml tomato sauce
  • 1 Tbsp olive oil
  • 2 big carrots, grated or finely minced
  • 2 celery sticks, finely minced
  • 2 leeks or 2 small red onions, finely minced
  • 2 bay leaves
  • fresh basil
  • parmesan or vegan cheese, grated

Directions

  1. Boil a pot of water and cook the pasta according to pack instructions.
  2. In a mixer finely mince the carrot, celery and leeks.
  3. Heat the olive oil in a large pan. Add the vegetables and bay leaves and gently stir fry for a few minutes.
  4. Add the lentils and combine the ingredients. Add the tomato sauce and season with salt and pepper. Cook for at least 15 minutes.
  5. Once the pasta is cooked, combine with the sauce and serve with fresh basil and grated parmesan.

Beans curry

Cannellini beans and courgettes curry

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Beans curry

I’ve made these cannellini beans with curry powder on repeat the past week – they are quick (ready in about 10 minutes) and delicious. Plus, it’s a way to introduce more plants into your weekly meals, which means more fibre and a happier gut.

Courgette ricotta fritters

  • Difficulty: super easy
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Ingredients

    Ingredients:
  • 2 courgettes, coarsely shredded
  • 1/2 leek, very thinly sliced
  • 2 medium eggs
  • 1 tsp lemon zest
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 95g flour
  • Pinch of salt and pepper

Directions

  1. In a large bowl, combine the courgettes, leek, ricotta, eggs, lemon zest, salt and pepper. Stir well, then stir in the flour mixed with baking powder just until fully incorporated.
  2. Line a large baking sheet with paper towels. In a large pan, heat 1/4 inch of olive oil until shimmering. Add 2 Tbsp of the courgette batter to the hot oil, spreading them to form the fritters.
  3. Fry over moderately high heat, turning once, until browned and crisp, about 3-4 minutes. Drain the fritters on the paper towels and serve right away.
    4. Tip: make them ahead and re-heat in a 180°C oven.

I served mine with brown rice.

Enjoy!

Courgette ricotta fritters

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Do you need a lunchbox inspo? These courgette fritters are packed with nutrients, simply delicious and convenient.
Lunch box: pair the fritters with some roasted vegetables and potatoes. Works well in a buddha bowl too.

Courgette ricotta fritters

  • Difficulty: super easy
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Ingredients

    Ingredients:
  • 2 courgettes, coarsely shredded
  • 1/2 leek, very thinly sliced
  • 2 medium eggs
  • 1 tsp lemon zest
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 95g flour
  • Pinch of salt and pepper

Directions

  1. In a large bowl, combine the courgettes, leek, ricotta, eggs, lemon zest, salt and pepper. Stir well, then stir in the flour mixed with baking powder just until fully incorporated.
  2. Line a large baking sheet with paper towels. In a large pan, heat 1/4 inch of olive oil until shimmering. Add 2 Tbsp of the courgette batter to the hot oil, spreading them to form the fritters.
  3. Fry over moderately high heat, turning once, until browned and crisp, about 3-4 minutes. Drain the fritters on the paper towels and serve right away.
    4. Tip: make them ahead and re-heat in a 180°C oven.

Vegan Meatballs

Vegan Lentils Meatballs

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These Vegan Lentils Meatballs are full of flavor thanks to the dried thyme and soy sauce. Without too much prep needed you will have your lunch or dinner sorted – simply add some grains and veggies to your meal.

You can batch cook them and leftovers can be used for your lunchbox the next day.

Vegan meatballs

Vegan lentils meatballs

  • Difficulty: super easy
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Ingredients


* 1 can of green lentils (250g), drained and rinsed
* 1 Tbsp olive oil
* 1/2 large onion or 1/2 leeks
* 1 heaping Tbsp low sodium soy sauce
* 1 1/2 tsp dried thyme
* 1 Tbsp tomatoes purée
To serve:
* Giant wholegrain cous cous (or other grains)
* Mixed stir fry vegetables or a salad
* Datterini tomatoes sauce or standard basil tomatoes sauce
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Directions


1. Preheat the oven to 180°C.
In a food processor add the lentils, olive oil, onion or leeks, thyme, pepper, tomatoes purée and the soy sauce. Blend together.
2. If need add 1 or 2 Tbsp water (be careful not to add too much water) and add 2 -4 Tbsp breadcrumbs (again, be careful not too add too much breadcrumbs – the exact quantities will depend on how much water you add and how soft is your dough).
3. Line a baking tray with parchment paper.
4. Scoop out 1 Tbsp of dough and roll into balls and place on the lined tray. You should end up with 12 balls (it depends on their size).
5. Drizzle the balls with some olive oil.
6. Place in the middle of the oven and bake for around 20 minutes.
7. Serve with a cous cous salad and some tomatoes sauce or with a tomato pasta using your vegan meatballs.
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[\recipe]

Courgette and spinach pesto pasta

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A quick and delicious very GREEN pasta recipe. A little different from a traditional pesto recipe but with definitely more nutrients thanks to the added vegetables. 

For a bit of fun: You can use kale instead of spinach and edamame beans instead of peas. 

You can also make a big batch of pesto and store it in the freezer. I love it spread on a toast with some hummus. 

Courgette and spinach pesto

  • Difficulty: super easy
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Ingredients

  • 80g fresh basil leaves
  • 30g grated parmesan (or Nutritional yeast flakes for a vegan version)
  • 2 Tbsp olive oil
  • 20g pine nuts
  • 2 big courgettes or 3 – 4 small courgettes
  • 160g pasta
  • 2 handful of fresh spinach
  • 2 full spoons of boiled peas
  • 1/2 lemon juice

Directions

  1. Finely slice the courgettes. Heat 2 tbsp olive oil on a saucepan and add the courgette. Cook until soft and season with salt and pepper. You can sauté the courgette with some garlic if you like it. Set aside the courgettes to cool.
  2. Meanwhile, cook the pasta according to the pack instruction and keep some of the cooking water.
  3. In a tall container or a large bowl of a food processor blend the 1/2 or 3/4 of the cooked courgettes with the pease, basil, parmesan, 1 Tbsp olive oil, pine nuts, spinach and lemon juice. Blend the ingredients together until smooth and creamy.
  4. Drain the pasta and add to the frying pan over a medium heat with the remaining courgettes. Add your pesto and 1 or 2 tbsp of the cooking water.
  5. Toss well to coat evenly the pasta and serve with extra fresh basil leaves, parmesan and pine nuts.

Hummus

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A quick and versatile recipe and a source of plant based protein.

Try it spread on a toast, used as a pasta sauce or paired with carrot sticks as a snack.

Chickpeas Hummus

  • Servings: 2
  • Difficulty: easy
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Credit: fsnutritionist.com

Ingredients


1 tin of cooked chickpeas (250g), rinsed
1 tablespoon of tahini
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
3 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 lime or lemon juice
salt
pepper
fresh coriander to garnish
3/4 tbsp water

Directions

  1. In a tall container add the chickpeas, tahini, smoked paprika, olive oil, salt, pepper and lemon juice. With a blender combine all the ingredients together.
  2. Gradually add some water until you obtain a smooth texture.
  3. Add some coriander to finish garnish.
  4. You can add some roasted chickpeas too: Preheat the oven at 180°C and on a baking tray cover with baking paper add some chickpeas and sprinkle with smoked paprika. Roast for 10/15 minutes.

Nutrition

Per Serving: