Winter Warmers: 3 Recipes, Perfect for Meal Prep

With summer in the rear-view mirror, it’s time to switch up the foods you’re plating up in the kitchen. In order to keep your body ticking over after a hard day’s training and to fuel your brain for a week of work in the colder months, it’s more important than ever to make sure you’re eating healthily, without sacrificing on taste or using up hours and hours of your time. This means that warming and nutritious meals, that can be made in batches, are very much on the menu. 

Below, Natural Fitness Food’s Head of Nutrition, Rachel Butcher, serves up three of her tastiest, warming dishes to keep you fuelled, satiated and motivated to stick to your goals this winter. 

Spiced Tomato and Lentil Shakshuka

A classic North African-inspired dish, the ideal weekend brunch post-workout with a wedge of crunchy bread. Perfect for brunch, lunch or dinner.

Makes 4 servings

Prep: 10 mins

Cook: 30 mins

Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 red onion, halved & sliced
• 1 red chilli, finely chopped
• 2 red peppers, finely sliced
• 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 2 tsp ras el hanout (or ½ tsp ground cumin, ½ tsp smoked paprika, ½ tsp ground coriander, ½ tsp chilli powder)
• 2 400g tins chopped tomatoes
• 400g tin lentils, drained & rinsed
• Handful flat leaf parsley, stalks finely chopped, leaves roughly chopped – keep separated
• 4 free-range eggs
• 60g feta (or Greek salad cheese alternative)
• ½ tsp dried chilli flakes
• Crusty bread to serve

Method

1. Add oil to a large lidded frying pan and set over a low-medium heat. Add the onion, chilli and peppers, stirring often, for 10 mins until softened but not browned.
2. Add the garlic, spices and parsley stalks. Cook for 2 mins, then add the tomatoes. Season, turn up the heat and simmer for 5-7mins until the mixture thickens.
3. Stir in lentils and simmer for a couple more minutes.
4. Make four evenly spaced wells in the sauce using a wooden spoon, and crack an egg into each well. 
5. Cover and reduce to a low heat and cook for 7-10mins, until the egg whites are firm throughout and the yolks are set to your liking. Remove the lid and scatter over parsley leaves, feta and chilli flakes, and serve with crusty bread.

Nutrition information per serving (without bread):

302 kcal | Protein 18g | Carbs 20g | Fat 15g

Meatballs With Tomato and Basil Sauce Recipe

Ingredients:

• 1 medium onion
• 6 garlic cloves
• 1 small red chilli (remove seeds for the sauce to be less spicy)
• 1 small carrot
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 1 small bunch of fresh basil
• 1 tbsp maple or agave syrup or any sugar
• 500g tin chopped tomato or tomato passata
• Sea salt (to taste)
• Black pepper (to taste)
• 300g mince chicken or turkey breast
• 300g mince chicken or turkey thighs
• 1 ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ tsp black pepper
• ½ tsp chilli flakes

For the sauce:

1. Finely dice your onion, garlic, carrot and chilli with seeds
2. Heat your saucepan with 3 tablespoons of olive oil, add dice onion, garlic, carrot and chilli, and sweat them on medium heat for 3-5min.
3. Add in tinned chopped tomato or tomato passata and cook for 30 min on low heat, keep mixing from time to time. In the meantime, prepare your meatballs.
4. Add maple or agave syrup (sugar will work well too) to reduce sourness
5. Season to taste with salt and fresh cracked black pepper
6. Mix in chopped fresh basil
7. Cool down before blending or keep it chunky

For the meatballs:

1. Fill up a saucepan with water and bring to a boil, add 1 teaspoon of salt
2. Place your mince chicken breast and mince chicken thighs into a mixing bowl
3. Season mince with salt, pepper and chilli flakes (optional add some mixed herbs)
4. Combine all together and leave to stand for 15 min in the fridge
5. Roll the mixture into 20 equal-size balls
6. Cook the balls in salted boiling water for 5-10 min
7. Remove the balls from the water and add to tomato and basil sauce, cook for 3 min before serving with a pasta of your choice

Carrot Cake Protein Oats 

Serves 2

Ingredients:

• 50g oats
• 250ml water or milk of choice
• 50g grated carrot
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 scoop NFF vanilla protein powder (whey/vegan)
• 30g sultanas
• 15g crushed pecans
• 1 tbsp Greek yoghurt/skyr
• ½ tsp maple syrup

Method:

1. Add oats and liquid to a saucepan over low heat. Cook for 3-5 mins stirring until the oats have softened
2. Add grated carrot and cinnamon, and continue to stir
3. Stir in protein powder (if using, you may need to add a dash more liquid). Once oats have reached the consistency you want (we like ours thick and creamy), remove them from the heat and add sultanas, yoghurt and crushed pecans. Mix well

Nutrition information (per serving):

312 kcal | Protein 20g | Carbs 37g | Fat 8.2g