This is only going to be a very short blog today, mainly because both my lunch and dinner were very simple. Delicious, but simple. I mostly just want to add a few pictures and a note here or there about my day.

My breakfasts haven’t been planned, but I have: gluten free porridge oats, fruit, eggs and bread so I’ve been trying to vary it each morning. I was really craving scrambled eggs this morning, so I had one slice of seedy GF bread and eggs- delicious. However, this did then alter my lunch choice, which was supposed to be a tuna salad sandwich. As much as I love bread, I thought a double whammy would be too much, and the fact that GF bread over hear costs about $7-$10 a loaf, I have to use it sparingly.

Instead I opted for a tuna salad, quick and easy after uni. Oddly so, Mum sent me a picture of her lunch today and she too had a tuna salad… spooky stuff! Anyway, I chucked in everything I had in my fridge: mixed leaves, cucumber, spring onion, avocado, feta cheese and one small tin of tuna. I added a big squeeze of lemon, a drizzle of oil and a splash of balsamic vinegar on top to prevent it from being dry. Lemon and fish go perfectly together, and tuna is a great source of protein, low cost and easy to prepare.

I did stick to the plan for dinner, roasted veggies with brown rice. It sounds very boring, but, if done right, it is very tasty- and it was. The ingredients I used for the veg were:

• Sweet potato*
• Courgette
• Red Pepper
• Red Onion
• Brocolli
• Enoki mushrooms (new to me!)
• Garlic (1 clove)
• Paprika
• Oil
• Salt and Pepper

Roasted veg is great because you literally just chop it up and bung it in the oven. I added all of the chopped veg to my roasting tin, apart from the broccoli and mushrooms, and poured over a glug of oil and sprinkles paprika, salt and pepper. The oil acts as a binding agent to make sure the veg gets coated with the seasoning. If you’re not a fan of paprika you could use garlic salt, rosemary or even maybe some cayenne if you like it a little spicier.

*When roasting sweet potato, it can take a lot longer than other veggies, the smaller you chop it, the easier it is to keep it in time with the other ingredients!

After 20 minutes I added the broccoli, giving everything a good mix again, and after another 5 I added the enoki mushrooms. I was unsure how was best to cook these, and although I have read that they’re great for stir-fries I thought I would take a risk and them to the roasting tray. I didn’t mix them in with the other veggies, instead I just kept them to one side, and after 5 minutes I removed the tray from the oven. They had softened, and they actually looked yummy. I am only a new mushroom eater, so it is exciting finding new types that I enjoy and that are versatile. I’m not sure where you can buy these from at home, but I purchased these from an Asian veg stall in the market, they’re worth hunting down. The whole pack only cost me $3 and I’ve barely made a dent in the pack after today.

The brown rice took about 30 minutes to cook so it tied in well with the veg. Once it was all finished, I plated up. I have some leftover rice and veg which is good because I will add it to my salad tomorrow lunch time for a bit of variety. The paprika-y oil from the veg acted as a great sauce, but I also added a drop more oil and some mayo before I gobbled it down.

Although this isn’t a really quick dinner it is hassle free and when the components are cooking you can fanny around doing whatever you please. The veggies can be changed depending on what is in season and it is a great way to cook up food before it goes past its best. Also, roasted veg can be cooked and frozen too, so nothing goes to waste.

Very easy and very tasty!