vegan protein – Every Step Fitness

Veggie ‘feta’ roasted veg pasta

March 21, 2021March 22, 2021 Dr Nancy P

I’m sure many of you have seen the posts on social media of the feta and tomato pasta hack. This is my version of it – using a dairy free (vegan) feta! I wanted to see if it would work and it does! Obviously you can use a normal feta if you prefer. I also pimped it up a bit with mixed peppers, mushrooms, spinach and basil.

This serves 5-6 and comes in at around 380 cals per portion.

You will need:

500g pasta

1 200g block ‘feta’ (I used Violife Greek white cheese)

600g cherry tomatoes (1 punnet)

2 small peppers

5 mushrooms

100g baby spinach

Fresh basil

Salt, pepper, mixed herbs

1 cal oil spray (I used the olive oil version)

Preheat the oven to 200 C.

Chop the peppers and mushrooms into chunks. Spray a roasting dish with oil spray and pop the block of cheese in the centre, and throw the cherry tomatoes and peppers around it. Season and spray with oil.

Pop in the oven for 10-15 mins to start with.

While it’s in the oven cook the pasta to your taste. Drain and pop to one side.

Check the oven after 10-15 minsand if the tomatoes are just starting to split a little then add the mushrooms and pop back in the oven for 10 mins or so. Timing will depend a little on how ripe your tomatoes are so check and see if they are soft and that the juices have run into the dish. The feta will have melted too.

Using a wooden spoon stir the veg and feta together and gentle squish the tomatoes.

Add the spinach a little at a time, stirring in each time. Pop back in the oven for 3-5 mins.

Remove from oven Once the spinach has wilted and stir in a handful of fresh basil leaves.

Stir in the pasta

Then serve with a little sprig of basil!

Enjoy! 🙂

Recipes, Uncategorized

Lemon veggie ‘chicken’ and ‘bacon’ rice

May 9, 2020May 12, 2020 Dr Nancy P

This is something I used to make many years ago with ‘real’ chicken and bacon. You can obviously use the real deal if you want, but even if you’re not veggie it’s worth considering the vegetarian alternatives as they do save a lot of calories without sacrificing taste or satisfaction.

This works well with either freshly cooked or leftover rice. The lemon gives it a real freshness which is great for a warm spring/summer dinner or lunch.

It serves 4 and is approx 320 cals a portion.

You will need:

200g rice of your choice (uncooked weight)

300g Chicken alternative (I used Quorn chicken pieces)

120g Bacon alternative (I used Quorn)

1 onion, diced

A couple handfuls of frozen peas

Juice and zest of one large lemon (plus extra wedges for serving)

1/2 tsp oregano (or mixed herbs if not)

Black Pepper to taste

Start by getting the rice going – cook as usual (add to boiling water and boil until as soft as you like it). Drain and put to one side.

Use a little 1 cal oil spray in a hot pan and add the diced onion and sauté until brown.

Add the veggie chicken pieces and allow to brown.

Chop the veggie bacon into small pieces and add to the pan, allowing that to brown too.

Then add the peas – you can use as many as you like!

Cook through for a couple of minutes and then add the cooked rice and stir well.

Then add the oregano/ herbs, black pepper and lemon zest and mix.

Finally pour the lemon juice over and stir in well. Then serve, with a wedge of lemon.

Enjoy! 🙂

Recipes

Spicy Lentil Soup

April 4, 2020 Dr Nancy P

Soup is always a good option for a filling lunch or dinner and this one really packs a punch!

You will need:

1/2 tsp each mustard & cumin seeds
1 large garlic clove, crushed
1 large onion, chopped
3 x celery stick, sliced
1 tsp each chilli powder & paprika
1/2 tsp turmeric & cayenne pepper
2 cups red lentils
2 litres of stock made with vegan stock powder
1 tin chopped tomatoes
2 tbsp tomato puree

Heat the oil on a med-high heat & add the seeds. When they start popping, add the onion, garlic & celery and reduce heat slightly.

Cook for 5-10 minutes until soft & then add all the spices and cook for a further 2-3 minutes. Add the lentils and mix well.

Add the stock, tinned tomatoes and puree and bring to the boil, then simmer for 20-30 minutes.

Blend before serving and add pepper & cayenne to taste.

Enjoy 🙂

Recipes

Quorn mince (or any veggie mince) and sweet potato shepherd’s pie

April 2, 2020April 2, 2020 Dr Nancy P

This recipe should serve 3 – 4 people. You may find you have slightly too much veggie mince if so then simply add some more spices and chili to the left over mince for an easy lunch time chili 🙂

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140g Veggie mince (Soya, Quorn, etc)

450 ml Vegetable stock

1 Onion

1 clove Garlic

1/2 Red pepper

800 g chopped Tomatoes

1 tbsp Tomato puree

Seasoning (I used salt, pepper, celery salt, oregano, mustard seeds and paprika)

A dash of Balsamic vinegar

A dash of Worcestershire sauce

650 g Sweet potato (peeled)

A dash of milk

Dice the onion and pepper and crush the garlic. Place them all in a large saucepan and soften. Add the veggie mince. Add the tomato puree, chopped tomatoes, balsamic vinegar (only a dash!), Worcestershire sauce and all the seasoning. Leave it to simmer for as long as possible – the longer the better.

Meanwhile chop the sweet potato and place in a pan of water. Bring to the boil and simmer until soft. Drain well and then mash – adding seasoning and a dash of soya milk to give a smooth mash.

Place the cooked mince in a large dish, fork the sweet potato mash over the top. Place in the oven (approx 180 C) before serving to brown the top slightly and heat through. Serve with veg of your choice!

Enjoy 🙂

Recipes

Courgette, leek and spinach soup

October 27, 2019 Dr Nancy P

The clocks have gone back and it’s chilly out there today, so it’s definitely soup season!

This is a quick, easy, light soup for these cooler days. It is ridiculously low calorie – at around 100 cals a bowl (less if you leave the goats cheese out)! I made a massive batch as we had an over-grown courgette (basically a marrow) that I wanted to use up so it made over ten servings but the amounts below will make at least 5-6 portions.