Pasta only comes around once in a blue moon in my diet (maybe once every other month) I cut it out for health reasons a good few months ago. Over the past month we've had a butternut squash lying around the house and the last few days I've found myself dreaming of all the possible dinner options. Pasta in a creamy vegan butternut squash sauce was the first thing I had to try out. It was sooo tasty, I am even going to go as far as saying it gives mac & cheese a run for its money!
Ingredients
- 60g pasta
- 1 1/2 cups chopped butternut squash
- 1 small yellow onion, roughly chopped
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1 tbsp coconut oil
- 1/2 vegetable stock cube
- 1/4 cup boiling water
- 1/2 cup almond milk
- 1/2 tsp fresh rosemary, finely chopped
- salt & pepper
Method
- Place the chopped butternut squash, onion, garlic, coconut oil, salt and pepper in a roasting dish and roast at 170C until browning at the edges.
- In a small bowl mix together half a stock cube and the boiling water until the stock cube had dissolved.
- Bring pasta to the boil
- Once the butternut squash, onion and garlic is done, take out of the oven and place in a blender along with the dissolved stock cube and fresh rosemary and blend. Add the almond milk.
- When the pasta is cooked. Drain and place back into the pot along with the butternut squash sauce and mix until the pasta is well coated and the sauce is piping hot.
- Plate up and serve with the optional grated cheese, sea salt or pepper on top.
Are you tired of left overs, fast food and sandwiches for lunch? Look no more! Here are 6 Lunch ideas you are going to love! From simple a 'chuck it together' fruit plate to a hearty 'make the night before' sriracha rice.
Ramen On-The-Go: Fo' sure my favourite lunch at the moment. Place shredded carrot, sweetcorn, chopped coriander, chopped spring onions and glass noodles, with 1 tsp sriracha and soy sauce in a jar. Add a cup of boiling dissolved chicken stock cube, shake and leave for covered for 5 minutes. Bobs your uncle.
Fruit Bowl: A simple but goodie, a selection of fresh fruit laid out on a plate for you to dig into! Shop in season for super sweet and delicious fruit and add a little zing to the afternoon.
Rainbow Wraps: Spinach wraps filled with colourful goodness of shredded carrot and red cabbage, sweetcorn, tomato, coriander and hummus. Simply place all ingredients in the wraps and fold. The great thing about this lunch is you can use petty much whatever vegetable is in the fridge, why not try a bell pepper?
Sriracha Rice: Get a bit spicy at lunch with sriracha rice. Cook the rice and add in shredded carrot, 1 fried red onion and peas with a splash of sriracha and a sprinkle of sesame seeds. Place in a frying pan to keep it warm and mix well.
Super Sushi: Just roll with lunch with this super easy and healthy sushi. Cook yourself up some rice, place it on a roasted seaweed sheet along with spinach, cucumber and avocado and roll it all up. If you don't have a sushi roller you a non fluffy tea towel - tutorials can be found on YouTube.
Quac on Toast with a Poached Egg: Avocado mashed with salt, pepper, garlic and lemon juice placed on wholemeal seeded bread with a poached egg. This lunch just screams 'I am healthier than you'.
Lentil Burger With Sweet Potato Fries: Time to get mashing again with this lentil burger, mix the the mashed lentils with a range of spices such as cumin, curry powder and paprika, throw in a chopped cooked red onion and fresh coriander, fry and serve with home made sweet potato fries with a side of sriracha mayo.
I hope you enjoy these lunches. Don't forget to follow me on Instagram @gingerandthekitchen for more food inspiration.
Until next time,
Holly
x
Snacking is a great way to give your body a little boost of energy. Reach for a healthy homemade snack and you'll be happy as Larry between meals. Here are some or my favourite healthy noms.
Sweet Potato Crisps (<--Click me for recipe)
I hope you enjoy!
Don't forget to show your results @gingerandthekitchen
Until next time,
Holly
x
By now it's no secret that I am a lover of oriental inspired food. Just the smell of it has me weak at the knees. I was so happy with this Sriracha Prawn Ramen Noodles that keeping the recipe for myself would just be selfish. It was so delicious I made the extra effort of bringing out my chopsticks all the way from South Korea (those lovely red ones on the left).
Ingredients
- 12 prawns
- 2 tsp sesame seed oil
- 1/2 tsp dried basil
- Pinch of salt and pepper
- 1/2 yellow onion, chopped
- 2 tbsp siriacha sauce (or less depending on how spicy you like it)
- 1 tsp powder garlic
- 1 tsp powder ginger
- Chicken stock cube, follow packet guidelines
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 75g noodles (I used fine rice noodles, but any kind will do)
- 1 spring onion, chopped
- 1 carrot, grated
- 1/4 cup sweetcorn
- Juice from 1/2 a lemon
- 1/2 cup fresh coriander, chopped - plus extra for sprinkling
- Sprinkle of sesame seeds (optional)
Method
- In a pot place the prawns, dried basil, salt and pepper along with 1 tsp of sesame seed oil and cook the prawns until the are pink on both sides and tender. Once they are cooked remove from the pot.
- In the same pot, place the other half of sesame seed oil along with the chopped onion and siriacha sauce. Cook the onions until they are transparent (aprox 5 mins). Add in both the garlic and ginger powder and stir a few times.
- Following the pack guidelines, add the chicken stock cube with the said about water and bring to the boil. Add the soy sauce and noodles and leave to simmer until the noodles are cooked.
- Once the noodles are cooked, add the spring onion, grated carrot, sweetcorn and chopped fresh coriander and give it a couple of stirs.
- Place in a bowl, add a squeeze of lemon and sprinkle with sesame seeds and fresh coriander.
- Enjoy
If you try out this recipe for Siriacha Prawn Ramen Noodles, I would love to hear how it turned out. Either comment below or tag me on Instagram @gingerandthekitchen.
Health, Happiness & Positivity!
Until next time,
Holly
x
