I love cooking at home, it’s a lot cheaper than going out to eat all the time (especially in London) and it means you know exactly what’s going into your meal. I’m no Nigella, but there are a few staple dishes that I can make really well and I thought I’d share a few of them with you…

Courgetti with Pesto & Salmon

If you haven’t heard of spiralizing then you’ve probably been living under a rock… either that or you have way more fun things to do than play with vegetables! However, we all gotta eat, right? And if you have to eat you may as well do it the quick and healthy way.

Substituting pasta or noodles for veggies is great for people who are gluten intolerant (or pretending to be), or those of us who bloat after a good spag bol. Courgette noodles or ‘courgetti’ are probably the most popular vegetable to spiralize, you can use carrots or squash, and to do so you need to buy a spiralizer… or do you? Well, the answer is no. Save yourself the £10-£25 it costs to buy a spiralizer and just follow my tips for how to make yourself some courgetti with just your normal kitchen tools.

HOW TO MAKE COURGETTI WITHOUT A SPIRALIZER
Slice your courgette longways with a cheese slice until you have thin sheets or slices, then chop the slices into fine ribbons. Rinse and drain using a colander… how simple is that? Place them in salted boiling water for 2-3mins to cook.

SERVE WITH…Toss your courgetti in green pesto and serve with pan fried or poached salmon – add some sesame seeds and pepper to serve.

50p Homemade Hummus (That Takes 2 Minutes To Make!)

Seriously, stop eating shop-bought hummus, it’s gross! Tasteless and full of added sugar, hidden calories and preservatives. Luckily making your own is ridiculously easy…
Like, piss take easy, and it works out cheaper than buying it too! A tin of chickpeas will set you back no more than 50p (mine were 29p, grab them from the world foods section or an indian supermarket) and the other ingredients are ones that you’ll most likely have lying around anyway.

INGREDIENTS
1 Tin Cooked Chickpeas
Juice of 1 Small Lemon
Tbsp Sesame Seeds
1 Clove of Garlic
Glug of Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper to Season

METHOD

To make this simply drain and rinse your chickpeas, chuck everything in a blender or Nutribullet and blitz. Don’t make it too smooth, it’s nice to have a bit f texture. Season to taste, and add extra lemon, garlic or sesame seeds to your liking. You can add cooked beetroot to this recipe, pumpkin seeds, soaked cashews – anything. Just experiment, this is a great base that takes less than 5 minutes to make. Serve with crudités or toasted pittas. YUM.

Superfood Green Smoothie

It’s time… time to start preparing that summer body. This healthy, quick and filling smoothie is the perfect breakfast.
INGREDIENTS
3 Handfuls Washed Spinach
1/2 Avocado
1/4 Cucumber
1 Inch Chopped Ginger Root
1/2 Apple
1 Teaspoon Chia Seeds
Squeeze of Lemon Juice

Be sure to rinse all your veg thoroughly to get rid of any residual pesticides and nasties, throw it all in a Nutribullet or blender and drink.

Red Cabbage & Lemon Salad

This colourful salad is ideal for a healthy and delicious lunch or as a side dish, plus it’s incredibly easy to make and the cabbage is a nice crunchy alternative to leaves…

INGREDIENTS
Red Cabbage
A Ripe Lemon
Cucumber
Red Onion
Mixed Seeds
Salt & Pepper to Season

METHOD

Thinly chop your cabbage and onions, I like to slice the cucumber into ribbons but you can chop it into cubes or circles, whatever you fancy. Squeeze the juice of the lemon all over your salad, season, add the seeds and evenly toss. Leave to rest for a few minutes to let the lemon penetrate the salad… then eat! This is a great recipe because the dressing is soooooo simple and very low calorie, perfect for those of us that are olive oil addicts.

Quick Chicken Curry

Chances are you’ll be having a Roast at some point in the next week – for my non-UK readers (hiiii) this is a big thing in England – and Chicken is always a firm favourite. When I moved out of my parent’s home and lived alone I was scared of Roasts, they seemed an awful lot of work for not a lot of people, but they’re actually really easy. Now, what to do with the leftover Chicken – and there’s always some left over. Here is my super super simple recipe for a curry that’ll take no more than 30 mins and that includes prepping and cooking. Read on for how to make this tasty dish…

Ingredients
1/2 Roast Chicken (pull everything off the bone)
1 Red Pepper
2 x Tomatoes
1 1/2 Red Onions
1 Tin Chopped Tomatoes
1 Tbs Cumin Seeds
1 Tsp Chilli Powder
1 Tsp Turmeric
1 Tsp Ground Coriander
1 Tsp Black Pepper
Pinch Salt
Pinch Cinnamon

Method
Dice the tomatoes and onions roughly and sauté in a pan in a bit of oil for 2-4 minutes. Add the tined tomatoes and pepper (diced) and then throw in everything else. Cook for 15-20mins. Serve with rice or cous cous and a squeeze of lemon.

And there you have it, a healthy curry that tastes great and is easy to make!