Magic Meal Plans Week 33

NOTE: Don’t feel like you’re supposed to make all these recipes.
Choose just one to experiment with each week.

MONDAY

Chinese Noodle Not-Bolognese – This unusual take on bolognese was one of my first success stories when I started using my slow cooker again.

It’s just 3 ingredients to muster in the morning. And then I use the slow cooker to steam some noodles (for the boys) and veg (for me) for literally 5 minutes before we sit down to eat.

Of course if you don’t have a slow cooker – you can easily pull the whole meal together in a frying pan or wok in 15 minutes.

Spinach Okonomiyaki – My humble spinach version of Okonomiyaki makes no claims about replicating the original. So if you’re a purist, better skip ahead to the next recipe.

The idea is super simple, we use eggs, frozen spinach and sesame seeds to form the basis of our ‘pancake’. But rather than cook it in a pan, I prefer to set and forget in a hot oven.

Then it’s a matter of drizzling over some mayo and topping it with a savory sprinkle (or just more sesame seeds) and dinner (or lunch) is ready.

Tofu Not-Pizza – Credit where credit is due. The idea for this came from Dhanya, the daughter of one of the founding members of my Naturally Healthy Club coaching group.

I’ll let Supraja (Dhanya’s Mum) tell you about it…

“This (Grilled Cheese Tofu) has to be the most brilliant recipe I have seen in recent times. My daughter watched the video with me and insisted we try it. She also suggested another version with pizza sauce and mozzarella. We tried both and loved it. Only problem- I made two servings and there were the four of us so there was a bit of fighting in the house.”

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THURSDAY

Surprise Chicken & Broccoli Bake – My friend Kate used to tell a story about her sister working in a pub in England and was put in charge of cooking even though she had zero restaurant experience. One day she put ‘Tuna Surprise’ on the menu. And the surprise was that the pasta dish didn’t actually contain any tuna.

You’ll be happy to hear this Surprise Chicken & Broccoli Bake recipe isn’t one of those types of surprises. There is chicken. There is broccoli.

The surprise is just how tasty these two everyday ingredients can become. All you need to do is give them a blast in a hot oven (or air fryer) and then serve them with a creamy dip come sauce and some pistachios for crunch.

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FRIDAY

Fish with Lime & Miso Butter – Ever since I realised that you don’t need to make them in advance, I’ve been getting more and more into flavoured butters.

I mean it’s butter with extra flavours. And it only takes a few minutes to make the most amazing sauce.

What’s not to love about that?