It’s such a cliche but the New Year is the perfect time to start eating more healthy and getting your body (and mind) back in to tip-top shape! After a very naughty December when all rules goes out of the window – hey, it’s Christmas, we’re allowed to eat ALL THE CHOCOLATE we want! – I’m ready for “detox January” and I have found 6 healthy meal ideas to ease us back in to healthy eating. Not to say that I won’t be tempted by a burger (or two) by the end of the month and I’m certainly going to treat myself to a couple of chocolate eclairs from M&S (because they are the BEST and I’m kind of addicted!!) but I’m going to spend the next four weeks eating well and healthy.
For some, eating healthy isn’t appealing. It can seem boring, less flavoursome or the textures aren’t right but that doesn’t have to be the case at all. I personally don’t have a problem with eating healthy, I’d easily swap a bag of crisps and chocolate with a huge plate of salad any day. My issue is the cost of it. It is hard when you’re have a weekly food budget because eating healthy doesn’t come cheap and not to mention how quickly it goes off. Maybe I’m doing it wrong, I don’t know! But I’m going to be smarter with my money, visit the market instead of Sainsbury’s and make an effort to eat well this January. And proving that healthy doesn’t have to equal boring, I have found some delicious, mouthwatering yet healthy food ideas to try out this month! Don’t forget to get yourselves on to Pinterest and you’ll never be out of ideas for a quick and healthy meals!
Grilled kale salad with beets, figs and ricotta
I know I’m starting with a salad, how predictable, but here’s a plate of food that is brand new to my palette! I’ve never tried to grill kale before, and I have only eaten beets that are pickled out of a jar! I’ve also never eaten figs in my life, and I don’t remember what ricotta taste like! It’s not that I don’t like those things, it’s just that I never think to pick them up at the supermarket. I’m almost 100% sure I’ll like this salad though! I have wanted to try figs for so long, so this salad sounds like a good direction to go in! If I’m feeling flash, I may add a bit of parma ham in there as I’ve heard fig and parma ham are a match made in heaven! You can find the full salad recipe from Five and Spice.
Hummus crusted chicken
I would never consider coating chicken with hummus… until now! I love hummus so this is right up my street! It looks great, sounds simple to make, it’s healthy and I bet it tastes sooo good! Discover more on Host The Toast blog.
Kale and blood orange salad
If you want a salad that’s going to kick and tickle your tastebuds, this kale and blood orange salad looks like the one to do the job! It only contains 5 ingredients of kale, orange, shallots, olive oil and malden sea salt – but there’s no denying that even looking at the photos, it’s making my mouth water! See more delicious photos on A House On The Hills.
The ultimate veggie burger
A burger. Ok, now we’re talking. I’ve tried a few veggie burgers in my time on the odd occasions. I’m not a vegetarian but there are moments when I want a break from meat, especially when it comes to burgers because a hunk of meat plus a bap (and a side of fries) can be far too heavy and make you feel bleurgh for the rest of the day. I’ve got to admit though, I haven’t been too impressed with the veggie burgers I have previously tried but I quite fancy making my own and I found this recipe from Pinterest that claims to be the ultimate veggie burger. How can anyone resist?! If you fancy giving this a go, grab the recipe off The Awesome Green food blog.
Rainbow spring rolls
I’m not going to pass up any food that has the word ‘rainbow’ in it! I’ve tried something similar from Itsu before and they are totally different to the crispy spring rolls you’re probably used to. First off, these aren’t crispy because they’re not fried. They’re outer wrapping is thin, see-through and very delicate rice paper. Don’t worry, I promise you that it doesn’t taste like paper at all though! They’re not the easiest things to source but I’m going to try and find them next time I’m at an chinese supermarket. You can use them to wrap any kind of foods, really, but they look so pretty filled with multi-coloured vegetables. The rainbow spring roll recipe I found also shows you how to make a sweet and sour dip to accompany the rolls. Read the full post on Thirsty For Tea.
Blueberry salad with basil, ricotta and a coconut, white chocolate dressing
I am rounding this up with yet another salad but I couldn’t pass this by! This surely has to be the one recipe that proves how interesting salads can be, the flavours are so unique! It’s from a Polish food website so you may need to translate it but it seems pretty simple. It consists of blueberries, basil and ricotta. The dressing is made of coconut milk, white chocolate and orange juice for a kick of citrus. I love adding blueberries to a salad, it’s a superfood that’s high in antioxidants. It doesn’t seem to look as filling as the other 5 meals that I’ve picked out but this seems to be an interesting recipe if you’re after a light lunch! Here’s the short but sweet recipe here.
What are your tips in eating more healthy? And what healthy recipes are you trying this month?
For more inspiration on healthy eating, check out my board on Pinterest!
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Definitely going to give the hummus crusted chicken a go – looks delicious!
Jen xx
http://www.kitsch-n-sync.com
Delicious ideas there! It's so easy to get stuck in a rut when you're trying to eat healthier so will definitely be looking for inspiration.
Our health kick started at the weekend and I must admit our grocery bill was huge! Some of that may have been down to the £6.99 Simon insisted he needed to spend on men's health and exercise magazines !
Chloe x
newgirlintoon.co.uk
Oooh the blueberry salad sounds delicious! I would love to eat a much more balanced diet than I currently do but my student budget doesn't always allow for it. I have been trying to cook from scratch a bit more lately which has made a bit of a difference though! x
Charlotte / coloursandcarousels
Great, yummy recipes, the rainbow spring rolls look delicious 🙂 I find eating healthier (my case Vegan) isn't really more expensive, because I'm eating food that keeps me fuller for longer and I don't feel like crap. (my experience 🙂 ) also shopping around and buying in bulk and using the Freezer helps :). Make vegetable soups and freeze them 🙂
Everything looks so yummy and I'd really to try and eat better this year.
Jackie | fashionxfairytale | bloglovin' |
I always find it really interesting that people find eating more 'healthy food' is more expensive- in leaner times, there's no way we could have afforded to eat anything but fresh food we put together ourselves. One thing we also found is that eating seasonally really helps keep the cost down, because wherever you shop, those are the products that are most likely being promoted, and means the item has likely done fewer miles to get to your plate. I also try and cook in batches of 4 portions religiously- 2 portions for now, 2 portions for the freezer so it doesn't get too monotonous.
Loving the idea of Hummus crusted chicken, something I've not seen before and might have to give a go soon.
The Hummus chicken literally look incredible, as does the rainbow spring rolls! I definitely need to start eating healthier- but being a uni student and being under stress and I have less and less time to be able to cook such wonderful dishes!
Dandy Girl
These all look so yummy! I'm always trying to eat healthier but I too find it to be quite costly, but I'm determined to find a way to do it on a budget! 🙂 xx
Omg! I'm in love with the salads *drooling*. They both look so delicious X
THEFASHION-JUNKIE
The hummus crusted chicken looks sooo good! x
All the meals look so gorgeous, the hummus crusted chicken I'd have never thought to pair those flavours together. Everything looks so fresh and yummy really want to start trying to prepare more healthy meals this year 🙂 xx
http://www.rinicawrites.com
That chicken looks delicious, and I would love to eat those rainbow spring rolls 🙂
Emily // ahemitsemme.blogspot.com
The hummus toasted chicken looks amazing! I don't eat meat but maybe I can substitute it with tofu.
Yum! I love how healthy food is so colorful 🙂
Jessica
the.pyreflies.org
I like eating healthy too, the problem I have is the time and organisation. There's always loads of ingredients to buy apwhich I forget and after a long day at work it's so much easier to bung something in the oven. I need to make the effort in January though, get back on track
Lauren
livinginaboxx
I relly want to try the hummus crusted chicken and the rainbow spring rolls! They both look delicious! I'm trying to get into the habit of cooking more so I'll have to add these to the list! I've still got SO much chocolate left over from Christmas – it's never ending!
Sarah 🙂
Saloca in Wonderland