Here’s the thing.
Confession no 1: I’m not much of a meal planner.
Yes, smart and organized people sit down and plan their weekly meals, it has a lot of benefits… but somehow I just can’t make this rigid approach work for me. I do look up a couple of specific recipes I want to prepare in the days ahead, but mostly my weekly shop simply revolves around what fresh fruit and vegetables I see at the market deli. I buy what looks great, is cheap, in season and tickles my fancy. Then I work out what to do with it.
Confession no 2: I’m not great at whipping up fancy meals.
My home cooking is super simple. I prepare food without fuss. Flavoursome recipes with various ingredients are wonderful and they are part of what we eat at home, but the bulk of our meals is made up of simply prepared vegetables. Often with no more than salt to season them. In a food world where everything has a ‘twist’ or a ‘secret ingredient’, where meals consist of ‘superfoods’ and the overwhelm of what to make for dinner is real, I like to go back to basics.
What an average weekly shop looks like for us
In the photo above this post you see a weekly shop of mine for fruit and vegetables. In this particular one are 18 different kinds and I vary what I buy every week. There’s no specific number I try to hit, I just like to eat lots of different things. This is a super simple way to ensure you are getting a varied diet without searching through recipes for different ingredients.
I’ve made a little list below to show you how I would prepare everything. You’ll find it is all very low key, no fuss.
Kale
We just can’t get enough of these kale spaghetti. Usually I go for Tuscan kale in this recipe, but curly kale works just as well.
My Everyday Kale Smoothie is another go-to for this leafy green vegetable.
Broccolini
Tossed with a drizzle of olive oil, lemon juice and sprinkled with salt (and dried chilli flakes if you like it spicy), then roasted on a lined baking tray at about 190C until cooked through and crisp at the ends.
We would have this alongside toasted sandwiches for a lazy dinner.
or steamed and then drizzled with soy sauce and sesame oil for a more asian flavour. Great with some rice and panfried salmon.
or Anchovy, Broccolini and Chilli Orecchiette
Spinach
Wash the whole bunch (divide into two portions if it’s a very large bunch), then toss in a frypan with a drizzle of olive oil and chopped garlic. Fabulous for dinner (or breakfast) with a fried egg and some crusty bread.
Celery
Great in juices or to dip into hummus.
Eggplant
Chopped, tossed in olive oil, sprinkled with salt and oregano and roasted in the oven at about 190C until soft and the edges start to crisp.
You can eat it just like that as a side dish or sprinkle over some feta. Or stir into some couscous along with roasted zucchini, baby spinach, chopped cherry tomatoes and feta for a hearty salad.
or
Tomato, Porcini and Eggplant Penne
Zucchini
Chopped, tossed in olive oil, sprinkled with salt and oregano and roasted in the oven at about 190C until soft.
You can eat it just like that as a side dish or sprinkle over some feta. Or stir into some couscous along with roasted eggplant, baby spinach, chopped cherry tomatoes and feta for a hearty salad.
Mushrooms
Panfried with butter and thyme on toast. Yum. Doesn’t get any simpler or better than that!
Or you can make it along with the eggplant in Eggplant and Broccoli Soba Noodles.
Tomatoes
Raw, sliced on rye sourdough. Unbeatable. Sprinkle of good quality salt and you’re in heaven. Possibly with some of the avocado below…
Avocado
Smashed avocado on toasted sourdough. With feta. For breakfast, lunch or dinner.
Or if you can get your hands on a bunch of basil, then make it into a pesto.
Bananas
Sliced in muesli, granola or simply oats. With yoghurt and a drizzle of honey. Or as banana and honey toast.
And as a snack. No brainer.
Golden Kiwi
Sliced in your breakfast bowl.
Or as a refresher for afternoon tea.
Mandarins
Best snack ever. Also a no brainer.
Oranges
Fresh and juicy. Squeeze in the morning if you’re up for it. I like mine peeled as a hydrating snack in the afternoon.
Watermelon
Chopped, fresh, straight into your mouth. Or I hear it’s great with mint leaves and feta as a salad of sorts, but to be honest ours never lasts that long.
Canary Melon
Chopped, fresh, straight into your mouth. Delicious.
Apples
Grated into oats with milk and nuts to make bircher muesli. Best breakfast staple.
Cut into slices and dipped into almond butter (or any other nut butter) for an afternoon snack.
Rhubarb
Make it into a compote by chopping it up, adding a splash of water and sugar to taste (how much you need may depend on how sweet the rhubarb is to start with, you can add more at the end when the compote is ready to be tasted) and simmering it in a non-stick pan over low heat until dissolved.
Fantastic with semolina pudding or over buckwheat pancakes.
Ginger
Add a couple of slices to a cup, along with 1/2 squeezed lemon and 1-2 tsp of honey. Top with boiling water and enjoy!
Adding it up
There you go. And before you know it you have added 18 different fruits and vegetables into your diet over the course of the week. Hardly any recipe following necessary. And you don’t need to worry so much about your ‘5 a day’ when you can rely on the fact that you will be eating all this plant-based goodness over the course of seven days. It’s like vegetable automation :).
And lastly, if I run out of time or any vegetables are leftover in the end, making mixed vegetable soup or roasting different vegetables together is always my go-to solution.
Much love to you, peace and veggies,
Katrine xx
