4 easy and healthy meals to add to your weeknight rotation

1. Hoisin chicken meatballs with spring onion, sesame seeds and sticky rice

Perfect for a healthy mid-week dinner, this uses lean chicken mince, is packed full of flavour and served on a bed of sticky rice. No need to have any takeaway cravings when you can make this fresh from your kitchen! Plus, you can prep in advance, or batch up the raw meatballs and freeze for another night.

Serves 4

Makes approx 18

30 minutes including prep time

Meatball Ingredients:

• 500g chicken mince
• 100g panko breadcrumbs
• 1 large egg
• 3 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 tbsp grated ginger
• 2 tbsp hoisin sauce
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• 1 tbsp of sesame seeds
• 2 tbsp finely chopped spring onions
• Salt and pepper

Sauce Ingredients:

• 6 tbsp Hoisin sauce
• 2 tbsp honey
• 1 tbsp tomato purée
• 1 tbsp sriracha sauce
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• Water to thicken (approx 200ml)

To serve:

• Sticky rice (half a packet per person, or make fresh as per pack instructions).
• Noodles

Optional ingredients:

• Crushed peanuts, cashews or chopped coriander

Method:

1. Pop all the ingredients for the meatballs into a mixing bowl and stir until combined.
2. Measure out 45g of the mix and roll into meatballs with clean hands.
3. Optional step: you can allow these to rest and marinate, covered in your fridge or freezer, and use when you are ready to cook if you want to prep this recipe partly in advance.
4. Add olive oil to a large frying pan and gently fry meatballs, turning until golden brown. Add a little hot water, pop a lid on and allow them to steam slightly until thoroughly cooked (for approx 10 mins). Remove and set to one side on a plate.
5. In the same meatball pan (no need to wash) add all the ingredients for the sauce (except the water) and keep stirring, then gradually add the water and simmer to thicken until nice and silky.
6. On a low heat, add meatballs back into the pan with the sauce and stir until coated, whilst you prepare your rice.
7. Divide your rice between serving bowls and top with meatballs, sauce and crushed nuts and coriander (if using) - enjoy!

Tip: you can keep adding more water or hoisin if you want the dish to be saucier. The tomato purée should help thicken the sauce, but if not thick enough for you, you can try adding some corn flour.

2. Hot honey chicken tacos with a zesty jalapeño, mango and avocado slaw

A super easy and delicious taco recipe, perfect for a night in with friends as you can prep most of it in advance and allow your guests to assemble their tacos themselves. Packed full of punchy, zesty flavours, it’s guaranteed to be a crowd pleaser.

Serves 2 (4 tacos each)

Makes approx 8 corn tortilla

30 mins if using an airfryer/ 4 hours if slow cooking

Chicken Ingredients:

• 6 skinless chicken thighs
• 2 tbsp honey
• 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 2 tsp smoked paprika
• 1-2tsp chilli flakes (adjust for heat)
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tsp onion powder
• Salt and pepper

Slaw Ingredients:

• Half a small red cabbage, shredded
• 1 lime
• 1 avocado, diced
• Half chopped mango, diced
• Jalapenos, plus some juice from the jar
• Salt

To serve:

• 8 corn tortilla
• Fresh red chillies
• Fresh coriander
• Mexican cheese or feta

Method:

1. Pop all the chicken ingredients into a mixing bowl, coat well and allow to marinate.
2. Once marinated for as long as you wish, air fry or grill for 15-20 mins (turning halfway) until nice, charred, and crispy. Or you can slow cook (approx. 3 hours) and shred the chicken off the bone with 2 forks.
3. Whilst your chicken is cooking, assemble your slaw in a mixing bowl. Pour in some pickle juice, the juice of a whole fresh lime and season with salt. Mix well.
4. Heat up your corn tortilla. I like to do this by placing it directly onto my gas hob and turning for a few seconds. Alternatively, you can pan fry or microwave.
5. To serve, take a tortilla, top with chicken and a large spoonful of the slaw. Then crumble over some cheese and garnish with chopped fresh red chili, coriander and an extra wedge of lime. Enjoy!

3. Italian cheesey butter bean and pesto gnocchi bake

I created this recipe for the weeknights where you want something comforting and filling, but with minimal effort. It’s budget friendly, perfect for raiding your cupboard and fridge and can be bulked out to make plenty of portions that you could freeze for another day. This is a versatile dish, so feel free to add in any additional vegetables you need to use up. It’s suitable for vegetarians but would also be perfect with some added protein via your meat of choice.

Serves 4

Prep time: 5 mins

Cooking time: 30 mins

Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp butter
• 1/2 finely chopped white onion
• 3 crushed garlic cloves
• 1 x 500g pack of gnocchi
• 2 x tbsp tomato purée
• 3 x heaped tsp’s of sun-dried tomato pesto
• 400g tin chopped tomatoes
• 235g drained butter beans
• 2 x handful grated mozzarella
• Handful of parmigiano
• Large handful panko breadcrumbs
• 50ml cream
• Salt & pepper
• Bunch fresh basil

To serve:

• Fresh side salad of your choice

Optional extras:

• Add chorizo or bacon to the topping or extra vegetables, such as spinach or peas

Method:

1. Preheat your oven/grill to 180°C
2. In a cast iron skillet, suitable for the oven, add your olive oil and butter (or you can make all of this in a normal pan and transfer at the end to an oven proof dish).
3. Fry the onion and garlic for 2 minutes
4. Now add in your gnocchi and stir continuously for 3-4 minutes until it starts to get a little golden
5. Add tomato purée and stir well, then add pesto and mix through
6. Add the tin of tomatoes & butter beans, stirring all the time
7. Season with salt and pepper, then turn off the heat and fold in your cream and a handful of both cheeses until melted in
8. Fold in a generous amount of chopped fresh basil, flatten the mix a little into the skillet so, and top with more mozzarella. Then add an even light layer of panko breadcrumbs and a sprinkle of parmesan
9. Pop into the oven for 15-20 minutes, or until golden and bubbling
10. Allow to rest for a couple of minutes and serve with a fresh side salad

4. Mediterranean baked cod in parchment paper

This light and flavourful Mediterranean baked cod is perfect for a wholesome weeknight dinner. Baking the fish in parchment seals in all the fresh flavours and it feels like a luxurious, restaurant worthy meal.

Not only is it healthy and balanced, it’s also easy to prep the parcels in advance and air fry or bake them when you’re ready. They can be served with a whole host of sides, such as new potatoes, jacket potatoes, rice, pasta, salad and lots of vegetables.

Serves 4

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cook time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:

To serve:

Method:

1. Preheat your oven to 200°C
2. Prepare parchment paper by cutting into four large sheets, fold each in half, then open them up like a book.
3. On one side of each parchment sheet, place a handful of cherry tomatoes, olives, capers, red onion, courgette/peppers, and garlic. Then lay a cod fillet on top of the vegetable mix.
4. Drizzle each fillet with olive oil and lemon juice, then sprinkle with oregano, chill flakes (if using) salt and pepper. Top each fillet with 1-2 lemon slices.
5. Fold the other half of the parchment over the fish and vegetables. Starting at one end, fold and crimp the edges tightly to seal the packet, creating a half-moon shape. Ensure no steam can escape during baking.
6. Place the packets on a baking tray and bake, or air fry, for 18-20 minutes or until the fish is opaque and flakes easily with a fork.
7. Carefully open the packets (watch out for steam!) and transfer the fish and vegetables to plates. Sprinkle with the garnish of your choice and serve alongside boiled or roasted baby potatoes and a fresh salad.
8. For extra flavour, add a drizzle of balsamic glaze or a spoonful of pesto over the finished dish.