7 quick and healthy dinners to prepare when you are away on business

The joy of renting a serviced apartment is that you will have a fully fitted kitchen in which you can prepare and cook your own food. After the excesses of the Christmas period, you’ll probably relish the opportunity to have healthier meals whilst you’re away on business, rather than compound the naughtiness with even more eating out. So here are our top suggestions for 7 quick and healthy dinners:

Steak and chips

Yes, you can have a healthy steak and chips, especially if you’re happy to forego any sauces. Try experimenting with different meats which can be a lot healthier than beef but just as tasty. The major supermarkets have now started selling ostrich steaks which are as rich in protein than other meats, but much lower in fat and calories than red meat. You may even find kangaroo steaks on sale which are also lower in fat than other red meats, but actually taste like beef.
Forget the chip shop, there is a very healthy way of making your own fries which are even lower fat than oven chips. All you have to do is cut your potatoes into chunky chip shapes. Using spray oil, cover a baking tray with a thin film of oil, arrange the chips on it and spray them with another thin film of oil. Cook in a hot oven for around 25-30 minutes until the chips are golden brown.
This produces a delicious and amazingly healthy plate of steak and chips which you can enjoy with a nice healthy side salad (with low fat dressing or no dressing at all) or lots of fresh vegetables.

Omelette

An omelette is a very simple dish that’s quick to prepare, but not so easy to execute. Luckily you’ll be able to utilise the free WiFi to check the internet for advice on making the perfect omelette. Once you’ve mastered the basic omelette, then you add anything you like to make it even tastier, e.g. mushrooms, cheese, ham, herbs etc.

Stir fry

Another very simple meal that’s also good for you, and very quick to make if you buy a packet of pre-prepared vegetables! Don’t buy the ready-made sauces as they won’t do your New Year’s diet any favours – use soy sauce or find a basic sauce recipe to follow instead. If you want meat in your stir fry, try turkey which is slightly lower in fat, cholesterol and calories than chicken, or for a veggie alternative, throw in a handful of cashew nuts. You can buy fresh noodles from the supermarket to add to the stir fry or, if you’re watching your pennies, get a packet of dried noodles.

Tomato pasta

Instead of buying an expensive ready made pasta sauce, buy some fresh tomatoes and make your own instead. You can even use tomatoes which are past their best (if you want to use up the sad-looking ones you’ve got in the fridge or look for the yellow stickers in the supermarket). All you need do is fry some chopped onions until they’re soft; chop the tomatoes and add them to the pan with a squirt of tomato puree, a few herbs and any seasonings you want to add, and cook for about 15-20 minutes until the sauce has reduced to the consistency you like and, hey presto, a deliciously fresh and healthy pasta sauce to add to your pasta.

Mushroom ‘pizza’

With a little bit of creativity and a large portabello mushroom as your base, you can whip up a healthy version of pizza. All you need to do is prepare your favourite ingredients – say, spinach and ricotta – and place them on top of the mushroom. Then grill for 5-10 minutes until everything is cooked through.

Baked beans

We may associated baked beans with children’s food, but in fact they’re also healthy and count as one of your five a day. They’re an important source of protein and fibre, and also contain calcium, potassium and some iron. What’s more, beans on toast is probably one of the quickest and easiest meals to cook.

Salad

Salads don’t have to be confined to a boring lettuce, tomato and cucumber combo as you can add almost anything to them. Check the internet for healthy ideas or just throw things into the mix and see what happens!
If you’re looking for a luxury serviced apartment in Hemel Hempstead, click here to find out more about our apartments and check out the facilities you’ll have available to you. Bon appetit!