Wow what a crazy busy weekend! Lots to share with you and my very first meal plan for you to gaze over and salivate 😉

Right, quick recap of the weekend, obviously you know about my amazing Saturday from this post but Sunday was just as wondrous, we headed down to Brentford Market for lunch and my son, Dayan, scored this gorgeous porky muffin from the Muffin Man & Co. Then we took a stroll down by the dock and caught a glimpse of a new Chocolate shop offering delicious dairy free truffles – Bianca Marton – D begged for an ice-cream and hubby and I agreed to select 3 chocolates each and we’d eat one of them each night for the next three nights. I had a peanut flavoured one last night and it was to die for!

I’m in training this week, my lovely friend Holly Champion and I are running the 5K Pretty Muddy in Hammersmith for Cancer Research UK this Saturday (*Shameless please donate plug) – please come down and cheer us on if you can (tweet @elnana) – we’re on at 11.00am. Needless to say, you will see the mud bath pictures afterwards – I’m hoping it’ll at least be good for my skin 😉

We took our pup, Lottie (4 months), to her first Puppy training class yesterday too with Rachel Worley from Reality Pet Dog Behaviour Training in Teddington. We realised all our efforts to train Lottie so far have been incorrect and we’re now trying to identify what we need to change to be model and responsible dog owners!! Looking forward to the next session in St. Margarets Marble Hill Park.

So, on to talking about my food! I’m sharing my first Meal Plan 1 with you today, this is what myself and my family will be eating this week.

The link above is for you to download the spreadsheet, but I’ve also added a photo of it at the bottom of this post if you aren’t on a laptop or struggle for some other reason. I’ve included links in the spreadsheet to my blog for direct access to the relevant recipe. I’ve also attached a picture at the bottom of this post – the links won’t work but you can find the recipes by searching for them using the Laura Of London search box at the top of the screen.

My beetroot falafel salad is a quick clean lunch that I usually throw together, bleary eyed, at about 6.15 in the morning, If I can do it then, anyone can! The beetroot falafels are from Waitrose and the little addition of sweetness from the beetroot transforms this to a very satisfying lunch option, just put the spinach and falafels in a tupperware container with a lemon wedge and any other vegetables or salad items you’d like to include and take a little separate pot of hummus for dipping. Top off with some mixed seeds for added crunch and nutrition. Alternatively, you can take the falafels separately and warm them up in the microwave for 10 seconds or so.

I’ve chosen the BBC Good Foods’ Easy Paella recipe this week, I’m not 100% happy about it but I was outvoted by my family because they want Paella this week and it has to be an unclean recipe from elsewhere for a few different reasons:

1. I haven’t perfected a clean eating Paella recipe yet
2. Mid-week meals require speed and simplicity (this won’t be possible if I haven’t perfected a suitable recipe yet)
3. My husband will be cooking it – he’s a great cook but when cooking unfamiliar recipes its better to keep them easy 🙂

Now I’m very excited about the Curry turkey burger recipe!! I’m going to get these little beauties ready the night before so they have time to sit in the fridge.  I’m using gluten free rolls from Tesco and will serve the burgers with a side salad, spinach in the bun and a little chilli relish that I picked up from Syon Foodie Festival.

Ingredients

500g Turkey Mince – I prefer minced leg
1 egg
1tsp coconut oil
1tbsp Gluten free flour or buckwheat flour
1 diced onion
1 diced/minced garlic clove
1 tsp curry powder
1 tsp ground fenugreek
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground cumin
Handful chopped coriander
4 Buns of your choice
Handful of Spinach
Sauce topping – chilli relish, chilli jam, cucumber raita, mayonnaise – up to you

Method

1. Fry off the onion and garlic for 3-5 minutes until soft.
2. In a bowl, add the turkey, coriander, spices, flour and egg with the cooked onions and garlic and mix really well with your hands. Season well with salt and pepper.
3. Shape them into burger-esque shapes and put them in the fridge for as long as you can – 10 minutes at least
4. When ready to cook. fry them on a medium heat with the melted coconut oil for 4-5 minutes on each side. Check they’re cooked all the way through
5. Toast your buns
6. Add your toppings – spinach, cucumber raita, sauces, onions, herbs etc…
7. Serve with some sweet potato wedges, with a big garden salad or corn on the cob

The pork dinner is a bit of an invention. Its not 100% clean eating but not all of my meals are, and I make no apologies for that!

Ingredients

4 Pork Loin steaks – fat removed
3-4 Sweet potatoes cut into wedges
150ml Sour Cream
1-2 tbsp wholegrain mustard
1tsp paprika 1/2 sliced onion
100ml chicken stock
1tbsp Gluten Free flour or buckwheat flour
Green vegetables of your choice – I went for asparagus and sugar snap peas
Optional – a little rocket to top it off

Method

1. Heat 1tbsp coconut oil in a roasting pan in the oven at 180 degrees for 5 minutes.
2. Remove from the oven, sprinkle in 1 tsp of paprika and some salt and pepper
3. Toss the sweet potatoes in the roasting pan and place in the oven for 30 minutes but turn them over every 10 minutes
4. Meanwhile, season the pork loins, add 1 tsp of coconut oil to a saucepan and fry them for 3-4 minutes on each side.
5. Place on a plate, cover with foil and set aside. You can re-warm them in the oven 5 minutes before serving if you need to
6. Using the same saucepan, add the onion and fry for 5-7 minutes until soft on a medium heat
7. Sprinkle over the flour and mix well. Cook for another 1-2 minutes, lower the heat if you need to.
8. Add the chicken stock, bring to a simmer, stirring all the time.
9. Continue to stir and add the mustard and sour cream. Season the sauce carefully as the mustard will be peppery.
10. Boil your chosen vegetables as per packet instructions.
11. Plate up the pork with the sauce over it and a little rocket on top alongside your vegetables and wedges.

Here’s the image to my meal plan as promised.

As always, keep in touch – let me know what works and what doesn’t – lets do this together!! Laura Nana xxxx