Healthy Eats: Five Simple Dinner Recipes To Follow This Week

In need of some tasty meal inspiration? Look no further.

We’ve teamed up with Centra and dietician Sarah Keogh to bring you five simple and healthy dinner recipes to take you through a busy week.

Did you know that the average Irish daily consumption of fruit and veg is only  3.2 of the recommended 5 servings?

Give that number a boost this week by following these easy-to-make dinner recipes. Check them out below.

Monday: Spinach, Tomato & Feta Frittata

Quick, easy and delicious. These healthy veggie frittatas are a midweek must.

You’ll need:

• 1 pack baby leaf spinach
• 1 pack feta Greek cheese
• 12 medium eggs
• 6 tbsp. milk
• 1 tbsp. oil
• A muffin baking tin with 12 compartments

Method:

• Preheat oven to 200C and using the oil, lightly grease your muffin tin

• Place a small handful of spinach in each compartment and top with one chopped cherry tomato and 1 tbsp. of crumbled feta cheese

• Whisk eggs and milk in a jug. Carefully pour the egg mixture into each tin compartment. You should have approx. 1 egg for each compartment.

• Bake in the oven for 10 – 15 minutes and carefully remove from the tin.

Tuesday: Healthy Vegetable Korma

This easy-to-make curry is packed full of flavour. Just what’s needed after a long day at the office.

You’ll need:

• 1 tablespoon coconut oil
• 1 small onion, diced
• 1 teaspoon ginger, grated
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 medium potatoes, cubed
• 4 carrots, cubed
• 1/2 cauliflower, chopped
• 1 red chilli, finely chopped
• 3 tablespoons ground unsalted cashew nuts or almonds
• 1 can tomatoes (or fresh tomatoes)
• Pinch of salt & pepper
• 1 & 1/2 tablespoons curry powder
• 1/4 teaspoon turmeric & cumin
• 1 cup frozen green peas
• 1/2 green pepper, chopped
• 1/2 red pepper, chopped
• 1 cup coconut milk
• Fresh coriander for garnish

Method:

• Heat a large pan or wok and add the oil, all the chopped vegetables and the spices together. Stir fry on a high heat for five minutes
• Add the can of tomatoes and coconut milk and cook on a medium heat for 10 minutes
• Finally, add your ground almonds or cashew nuts along with the frozen peas and cook for further 5-10 minutes
• This can be served with rice and finished with finely chopped nuts and fresh coriander

Wednesday: Lasagne with Sweet Potato

A tasty twist on one of our favourite recipes. Sweet potatoes are a healthy alternative to pasta sheets to bring a sweet note to a delicious classic.

Serves 4

You’ll need: 

• 440g steak mince
• 1 onion
• 1 475g jar original pasta sauce
• 2 bell peppers
• 4 sweet potatoes
• 200g white cheddar cheese
• 1 sachet white sauce

Method:

• Slice the sweet potato and place on a baking tray, par bake these in the oven on 180 degrees for 10 mins.

• In the meantime, dice the onion and sautee in a pan. Add the mince and cook until brown. Chop the pepper and add to the pan. Then add the pasta sauce. Cook in the pan for 5 mins then remove from the heat.

• Prepare the white sauce in a pan using a sachet of white sauce and milk

• Layer the sweet potato, mince mixture and a light layer of the white sauce into a small baking pan, sprinkle some cheese on top. Bake in the oven for 25 mins or until golden brown. Serve with a side salad and enjoy!

Thursday: Garlic and Oregano Chicken

Get your week off to a healthy start with this flavoursome garlic chicken, served with a green salad.

Serves 2

You’ll need:

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 sliced chicken breasts
• 1 clove crushed garlic
• 2 teaspoon oregano
• 2 teaspoon water
• 2 tomatoes
• Handful of green leaves for each serving

Method:

• Mix the oregano, garlic, olive oil and water together with a pinch of salt.
• Add the chicken slices. If you can do this the night before then cover the chicken and leave it in the fridge overnight. You can cook this straight away but even half an hour in the mixture makes a difference.
• Heat a non-stick frying pan over a medium to high heat.
• Add the chicken slices and cook on each side until golden brown and cooked through, about 10-12 minutes.
  Serve with a mixed salad or with frozen peas and corn and baby potatoes.

This article is brought to you by Centra. For lots more healthy recipes visit Centra.ie