Sheilas' Meals

For those women looking for a more substantial food fix before a long journey to help maintain concentration and aid alertness we've compiled a number of ideal breakfast, lunch and dinner driving recipes to suit all journey start times:

Breakfast recipes

Scrambled egg with watercress
Serves one

Ingredients

One tablespoon of cold pressed virgin rapeseed oil
Two free range flax-fed chicken eggs
Two tablespoons of semi-skimmed or apple-sweetened soya milk
Salt and pepper
Pinch of nutmeg
Sprig of fresh watercress, chopped
Three cherry tomatoes, halved
One slice of wholemeal bread

Method

Break the eggs into a saucepan, add the oil and milk, nutmeg, salt and pepper
Beat the mix together with a fork • Put on a low heat and stir slowly with a wooden spoon
After a few minutes the mixture will start to thicken, remove saucepan from the heat and keep stirring quickly with wooden spoon until the mixture is fluffy and just cooked
Leave to stand with lid on
Toast the bread

To serve

Serve the eggs on the toast with the watercress and cherry tomatoes

Notes

If tired, follow with a piece of fruit for extra energy

Carrot cake porridge
Serves one

Ingredients

One sachet pack of instant porridge (or two heaped tablespoons of porridge oats)
200ml of semi-skimmed or apple-sweetened soya milk
One small carrot, peeled and grated
One small pear or apple, washed, cored, chopped or grated
Half a teaspoon of ground cinnamon
One tablespoon of shelled (shells removed) hempseed
One tablespoon of ground almonds

Method

Heat the milk and add in the instant porridge oats and cinnamon and cook on a gentle heat
Stir until preferred consistency then stir in fruit, carrot, nuts and seeds

To serve

Serve hot through

Lunch recipes

Wholemeal tortilla salad wrap
Serves one

Ingredients

Small tin of sardines (or other fish) or packet of pre-cooked marinated tofu or two ready cooked veggie sausages, chopped
One wholemeal tortilla
One tablespoon of sun-dried tomato flavour hummus
Handful of mixed organic salad leaves or rocket
Two slices of cooked beetroot
Three cherry tomatoes, halved
Half a red pepper, sliced
Sprig of parsley, chopped

Method

Spread hummus evenly on the wholemeal tortilla wrap
Arrange other ingredients evenly in a horizontal line across the middle of the wrap
Fold in edges and roll up into a cylindrical sandwich

Notes

If preparing in the morning and taking to work, keep tortilla and filling separate and assemble when you eat it to prevent it getting soggy
Have with extra salad

Spicy pea pakora pitta
Serves 4-6

Ingredients

Four pakoras (see recipe below) or shop bought falafels
Tablespoon of mustardy yogurt dressing (see recipe below)
One wholemeal pitta bread
Handful of washed spinach leaves

Method

Make pakoras (see recipe below), freeze the ones you don’t need
Make the dressing (see recipe below)
Assemble pitta with the leaves, pakora and dressing

Notes

If preparing in the morning and taking to work, keep pitta and filling separate and assemble when you eat it to prevent it getting soggy
Have with extra salad
Left over dressing can be used as a marinade for chicken or tofu
Pakoras also make a good snack

Spicy Pea Pakora

Ingredients

250g / 9oz / generous cup of yellow split peas or red lentils, soaked overnight
Three - five garlic cloves, chopped
30ml / two tablespoons of roughly chopped fresh root ginger
120ml / 4fl oz / half a cup of chopped fresh coriander leaves
2.5 - 5ml / half - one teaspoon of ground cumin
1.5 - 2.5ml / quarter - half a teaspoon of ground turmeric
Large pinch of cayenne pepper or half of one fresh green chilli, chopped
120ml / 4fl oz / half a cup of gram flour
5ml / one teaspoon of baking powder
30ml / two tablespoons of couscous
Two large or three small onions, chopped
Vegetable oil, for frying
Salt and ground black pepper
Lemon wedges, to serve

Method

Drain the split peas or lentils, reserving a little of the soaking water. Put the chopped garlic and ginger in a food processor or blender and process until finely chopped. Add the drained peas or lentils, 15 - 30ml / one - two tablespoons of the reserved soaking water and the chopped coriander, and process the mixture to form a puree
Add the cumin, tumeric, cayenne or fresh chilli, 2.5ml / half a teaspoon of salt, 2.5ml / half a teaspoon of pepper, the gram flour, baking powder and couscous to the mixture and combine. The mixture should form a thick batter. If it seems too thick, add a spoonful of soaking water and if it is too watery, add a little more flour or couscous. Mix in the onions
Heat the oil in a wide, deep frying pan, to a depth of about 5cm / 2in, until it is hot enough to brown a cube of bread in 45 seconds. Using two spoons, form the mixture into small balls, about the size of a walnut, and lower each one gently into the hot oil. Cook until golden brown
Remove from the hot oil with a slotted spoon and drain onto kitchen paper. Transfer to a baking sheet and keep warm in the oven
Serve the pakoras hot or leave to cool and serve them at room temperature with lemon wedges

Notes

As a variation, finely chopped green beans or roughly mashed green peas can be added to the final pakora mix. They will add some extra colour and increase the nutritional value

Mustardy yogurt dressing

Ingredients

Two tablespoons of live natural whole-milk (or soya) yogurt
One tablespoon of cold-pressed rapeseed oil
One scant teaspoon of Dijon mustard
One splash of lime juice
Two fresh chives, chopped
Black pepper to taste

Method

Blend ingredients until dressing is smooth

Dinner recipes

Aubergine, olive and bean tagine with quinoa
Serves 4

Ingredients

One small aubergine cut into 1cm / ½in diced
Two courgettes, thickly sliced
60ml / four tablespoons of olive oil
One large onion, sliced
Two garlic cloves, chopped
150g / 5oz / two cups of brown cap (cremini) mushrooms, halved
15ml / one tablespoon of ground coriander
10ml / two teaspoons of ground turmeric
225g / 8oz of new potatoes, quartered
680ml / one pint / two and a half cups of passata (strained tomatoes)
15ml / one tablespoon of tomato puree (paste)
15ml / one tablespoon of chilli sauce
75g / 3oz / half a cup of ready-to-eat dried apricots
400g / 14oz / three cups of canned butter (lima) beans, drained and rinsed
Salt and ground black pepper
15ml / one tablespoon of chopped fresh coriander, to garnish
Couscous or quinoa, to serve (optional)

Method

Sprinkle salt over the aubergine and courgettes and leave for 30 minutes. Rinse and pat dry with a dish towel
Heat the grill (broiler) to high. Arrange the courgettes and aubergine on a baking sheet and toss in 30ml / two tablespoons of the olive oil. Grill (broil) for about 20 minutes, turning the vegetables occasionally until they are tender and evenly browned
Meanwhile, heat the remaining oil in a large, heavy pan and cook the onion and garlic for about five minutes until softened, stirring occasionally. Add the mushrooms and cook for three minutes until just tender. Add the spices and cook for one minute more, stirring, to allow the flavours to mingle
Add the potatoes and cook for about three minutes, stirring. Pour in the passata, tomato puree and 150ml / a quarter of a pint of water, cover and cook for ten minutes or until the sauce begins to thicken
Add the aubergine, courgettes, chilli sauce, apricots and butter beans. Season and cook, partially covered, for 10-15 minutes until the potatoes are tender. Add extra water if the tagine is too dry. Serve with couscous or quinoa (if using) and garnish with coriander

Notes

Health benefits: butter beans, like many pulses, contain a good amount of protein, potassium and iron

Tropical curry
Serves 4

Ingredients

Three chicken breasts (chopped) or one block of tofu
One medium parsnip (150g), peeled and chopped
One medium carrot (125g), peeled and chopped
One large onion, peeled and chopped
One medium courgette, chopped
One small aubergine, chopped
One large red pepper, deseeded and chopped into 1.5cm squares
Half a cup of pistachio nuts (shelled, unsalted) or pine nuts
Three tablespoons of tomato puree
Two or three cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed
2cm piece of fresh root ginger, peeled and finely grated
Two teaspoons of turmeric
Two teaspoons of garam masala
One small can of pineapple in juice, drained (reserve juice)
200mls of coconut milk or soya milk
Olive oil for frying
Brown basmati rice to serve

Method

Put the rice on to boil
Boil the parsnip and carrot until just cooked and then drain (this prevents the other vegetables from being over-cooked and losing nutrients)
In a pan, heat the olive oil and fry the onion, chicken (if using), courgette and aubergine
When the aubergine is becoming soft, add the cooked carrot and parsnip, red pepper, garlic and ginger and fry for a few minutes. Add more oil if needed
Add the tofu, if using
Stir in the turmeric, garam masala and tomato puree and heat for a few moments stirring until the vegetables are coated with the spices
Add the pineapple chunks (you can add some of the juice if you like a sweeter curry), nuts and the milk, heat through and serve
Serve with a small portion of brown basmati rice

Notes

Only have a small portion of rice as the curry already includes starchy vegetables