Are you still ‘eating well’ in the New Year, as per resolutions? I bet, as Dry January, Veganuary and Dreadfuluary has finally come to an end, Pringles have crept up to take place of kale crisps. I bet a glass of full-bodied red has replaced the nightly spinach, ginger and almond milk smoothie. I bet creamy cake is on your mind more often than creamy vegan pumpkin soup.
But not to worry – except maybe hold the Pringles. Eating well is all about balancing not deprivation, whatever the proponents of free from something or another will tell you. Inclusive. Liberal. Varied. Your diet should be just like you wish your neighbourhood were.
Fish one night then, if you manage to get a whole fresh sea bream: grilled balsamic bream is a doddle to make and whole fish REALLY ISN’T SCARY. Garlicky runner beans on the side unless they have flown half the world to arrive at your supermarket, in which case zingy carrot salad will be just as good and twice as seasonal.
Another night you could go for the dream dish of cheese and potato known as tartiflette. As long as you eat a sensible size portion with lots of green salad, all will be well. Reblochon might sound hard to procure but it is sure to be found in major supermarkets. The fact is, interesting cheese can make a dish so if you can find scamorza (smoked mozzarella), there’s another meal.
How about lamb cutlets with fondant carrots? That’s a feast. Or no meat, just some rice and creamed Jerusalem artichokes which are nowhere near as popular as sweet potatoes – so unfair as they are more versatile, less starchy and local to us in Northern Europe.
Then another night you could make old fashioned chicken Caesar salad, or my slightly twisted version – and the weekly meals look varied and interesting.
Oh, and cake of course: this week it could be the ultra-easy raisin cake. But if you and your family feel like citrusy flavours, blood orange muffins are the thing to bake as blood oranges have started to appear.
For the weekly newsletter subscribe here.