A big thank you to Jenn at Peas and Crayons for hosting, yet another, What I Ate Wednesday!
For my second ‘What I Ate Wednesday’, I have decided to post about simple meals that can be made in advance. I don’t know about anyone else but when the calendar is turned to December, I find my life becomes really hectic and spare time can be somewhat sparse! This year I have several work parties, friends visiting, two weekends away and still lots of Christmas shopping, card writing and baking to do!! I love meals that can be prepped in advance and what better time to use them than in the run up to Christmas!
Breakfast – For breakfast, I had a slice of breakfast frittata that I had made the night before. I am not particularly a morning person, so I find that I often do not time for anything more than a hurried piece of toast (I have been known to still be eating it whilst rushing to my car) and some fruit after I have arrived at work. However, making a breakfast frittata is a great way to ensure that you have a healthy and filling breakfast dish for at least a couple of days. As I have a rather large frying pan, my frittata will do 4 – 8 portions depending on how greedy you want to be! It contains low-fat sausages, sometimes bacon, new potato slices, onion, mushrooms, tomatoes and, of course, eggs. All in all a nutritious breakfast that will keep hunger ‘locked up till lunch’ much better than a bowl of sugary cereal would! I will be posting the recipe later this week….
Snack – Today’s snack was an apple, Satsuma and a Slimming World mint chocolate hi-fi bar. I love satsumas so try to eat as many as possible at this time of year – I find an extra dose or two of vitamin C doesn’t go a miss when winter sets in. A really easy grab-and-go snack that requires zero preparation.
Lunch – My lunch today was so delicious, I almost forgot to take a photo of it! Unfortunately, I am in the habit of eating lunch at my desk so I tend to make dishes that are easily transportable and can either be eaten cold or blasted in a microwave; all my lunches are prepped in advance. Today’s was an ever so simple salad of chicken and roasted vegetables with a bit of lettuce. We really like roasted vegetables in my household and I make a mean roasted vegetable frittata however, they are also very versatile and can be used as a side dish or as the main ingredient in a salad or couscous. I like roasting a massive bunch of peppers, tomatoes, red onion, sweet potato or butternut squash, courgette and aubergine and once cool, I leave them in the fridge to use for a speedy lunch or to add to dishes as and when I need a little sweetness. We also always have some cooked protein in the fridge, like ham or chicken, for when we want a lean snack or to throw together a quick salad.
Snack – My boyfriend and I viewed a house this afternoon as we are thinking of moving. After the viewing we popped into my Mom and Dad’s and when my Mom offered us a naughty mince-pie each, we just couldn’t resist!! Obviously not very healthy but mince pies are one of my favourite calorific treat and it is almost……well, maybe not Christmas, but it is almost December!! Of course shop bought mince-pies involve no preparation and are made in advance also….by someone else that is!
Dinner – Tonight I tried out a new recipe for low-fat Moussaka, inspired by a recipe in this month’s Good Food magazine. I have made quite a few changes to make the dish even healthier but it does not compromise on taste at all. I seem to be cooking a lot of hearty dishes at the moment like cottage pie, stews, and I’m planning on making my balsamic beef casserole this weekend – the cold weather is most certainly getting to me! This dish gives you a taste of the Mediterranean but is certainly warming, check out my blog later this week for the recipe!
