planning the revolution

So, if you've been around my eljay for a significant while, then you probably already know that I don't like food of any kind, but I happen to eat a lot of it anyway. But since Easter I've been steadily trying to clean up my bad food habits. I tried to start by cutting out the crap, but that sort of failed miserably around deadline time (I stress eat. I also eat when bored, so). Thereafter I tried something else: making sure that the meals I eat are healthy.

Cooking for me is HELLISH. I should know, obviously. I'm so picky! I don't like any sort of food that comes in a (near-) liquid state (so: soup, yoghurt &c.) and I freak out with vegetables that have a tendency to afflict my tongue (by which I mean, I CAN TELL YOU'RE IN MY MOUTH, SPINACH/BROCCOLI, STOP ATTACKING MY TEETH/TONGUE/CHEEK-WALLS). There's also a lot of foods that I either (a) can't eat because I can't look at them or (b) just don't like. Fussy doesn't know where it's at until it's come face to face with me. Also (yeah, there's more) I get stressed out when I have to cook. I just do, nothing can help me. I find it uncomfortable, messy, time-consuming, and then there are dishes to wash afterwards.

This summer was disastrous, too, because I wasn't the one cooking, and for the first month or so, I went from being a really fussy vegetarian to an even fussier vegan. Shopping for vegan food in The Dad's store is Really Difficult so that came to a stop.

Anyway, basically, Denz and I were talking, as we do, and now I have some recipes to share. Nearly all of them have spices of some sort (cinnamon, chili) but you don't have to add those, or you can reduce the seasoning. They're mostly healthy, a couple involve frying but if you're being careful over how many fried foods you eat, on the whole it's negligible.

Let's do this!

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( (Not) Mushroom Risotto. Serves four. )

( Vegetable Bake. Serves four. )

At this point, I was going to put in a recipe for curry but I couldn't work out a way to simplify it without adding pre-made curry powder which is so many levels of disgusting. Also, if I even tried to put up a recipe with pre-made curry powder in it, Denz would likely disown me. So. Moving on.

( Vegetable Kebabs. SO EASY. SO EFFORTLESSLY SCRUMPTIOUS. )

( Stuffed Peppers. Serves four. )

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Some shortcuts! If something needs a tomato-base sauce of some sort, use pasta sauce. For example, I make fajitas by cooking chillies, peppers, sweetcorn and courgettes together (maybe paneer) with diced onions, a little garlic, a dash of tomato puree, and two or three tablespoons of water (to make sure it doesn't burn). Once cooked, I add half a jar of spicy pasta sauce, wait until the sauce starts spitting (that means it's hot enough, obvs) and then serve with the usual accoutrements.

If you, like me, freak out about spinach, I find that chopping it finely makes it easier to eat. Alternatively, green pasta is made from spinach so stock up for your proteins, huzz! If you like stir fry (veg stirfry is FOR THE WIN and so freaking easy) but don't like soy sauce, just use LOTS OF WATER. You'll be stirring like crazy but it really works.

If you're low on iron but freak out about your greens, there are three things you can do. (1) Disguise your greens (chop them up so that they're really small, and then put them in a sauce of some sort; or, use coriander) (This works for a lot of veg. Unfortunately, it does not work for lettuce or cauliflower). (2) Eat lentils. Lentils are fabulous. When I'm at home, I have lentils two or three times a week, especially moong beans and different kinds of dhal. I'm not big on other kinds of beans, so it's a good thing I'm Indian. (3) Eat nuts. Buy nut mixes. Swap out your snacks for nuts. Nuts are crazy full of protein, and they're dry, and they don't freak your mouth out.

You should really try to eat breakfast, guys, but sometimes it's difficult, sometimes your stomach complains, yadda, yadda, whatever. I love breakfast but these days I don't have any. I do, however, stock up on fruit juices, normally four cartons when I go to the store (I love saver deals!) and I drink it A LOT. I have to, just to make up for all the fruit I don't/won't eat (yeah, fruit is another thing that freaks me out a little. It's all those mixed textures, I can't handle them). But fruit juice is really good for you in the morning, and it's a nice breakfast. I drink water mostly, but that's gross first thing in the morning, so FRUIT JUICE. Cranberry juice is tres, tres good for your intestines, but it's also disgusting, so try mixing it with something else. I actually buy cranberry&raspberry which is tolerable; also, full of VitC, huzz.

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OK, lecturing over. But the above are yummy.

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eta: ( sweetcorn fritters. )