As the winter approaches, my stomach always rumbles for my favourite cold weather classics. At the top of the list is Thai Green Curry, which becomes a weekly staple between September and March. It uses coconut milk instead of cooking oils to cut out hydrogenated fats and provides plenty of slow-release energy when served with brown rice. In this example, I use chicken as my main protein, but you can also make it with king prawns or lean beef strips to mix it up! Let’s get started…

Prepare your ingredients

Keep all the following to hand:

• 2 chicken breasts, cut into strips (or alternative protein source)
• Coconut milk (I tend to avoid the low fat ones as they can be too watery. Plus, coconut milk is a great source of lactose-free calcium, so it does far more good for your body than bad!)
• Nam Pla fish sauce
• Green curry paste
• Brown rice (Uncle Ben’s 10-minute bags are a quick and convenient way to prepare your carbs)
• Button mushrooms, halved
• Green beans or courgettes, sliced into strips (Another choice you can make up to add variety to what will surely become one of your favourite meals!)
• Salad onions, sliced into long strips

Pan-fry your chicken

1. While your rice is boiling, begin by heating one tablespoon of paste in a non-stick pan. If you’re a real spice-lover, go on an add another half a spoonful!

2. Once the paste starts to spit (stand back), turn down the heat on the hob and add the chicken. Fry over a medium heat until the chicken is fully coated and sealed.

3. Now pour in the coconut milk. I like a nice soupy curry so I use about 3/4 of the can, but stick to half if you like a drier mix! Add in a spash of Nam Pla, too. Again, I like it quite salty and put almost a full tablespoon in but you should moderate to your liking!

Stew your curry

4. Add your mushrooms and salad onions and let the curry stew gently on the hob for about five minutes, or until all the chicken is fully cooked and the veggies have softened.

5. Meanwhile, steam your beans or courgettes and begin to prepare your dinner plates… you’re nearly done!

Tuck in!

Spoon your curry mix over your rice and add the steamed beans on top. Garnish with a few raw salad onions and cheers your dinner partner to a job well done. This recipe serves two. Although I do confess I’ve been known to polish off the lot on my own… a girl gets hungry!

Sometimes the happiest accidents happen when you don’t know what to have for dinner. My now-favourite salad recipe was precisely this kind of accident. I’d just survived a tough new workout (one you’ll be hearing all about soon) and my stomach was rumbling when, on my walk home, I was filled with panic at the realisation that my fridge was empty with the exemption of a couple chicken breasts. So I whipped ’round my local Sainsburys and grabbed some ingredients I could only hope would go together.

Now, I once saw chicken a necessary evil.  One time on a plane, I cut into a breast so dry it squeaked. I could barely chew it and when I swallowed it proceeded to slink awkwardly down my throat. I came very close to using the precautionary sick bag in the seat fold, and to ruling out chicken for the rest of my life. But as poultry is one of the leanest and most nutritious protein sources around, it was worth reviving my relationship with it. And this recipe did just the trick.

Not only does it provide that satisfying flavour hit you deserve after a workout, but it also delivers nearly 30g of protein and a host of vitamins to fast-track your recovery. Plus, the satay adds succulent texture to the chicken and sends a small serving of natural sugars to your bloodstream to restore your energy levels. And it’s on your plate in 10 minutes flat!

Fill your basket:

2 x organic chicken breasts

1 bag wild rocket and spinach salad

1 red pepper

1 yellow pepper

1 jar satay sauce (you could make your own, but let’s imagine that like me you’ve just had a big workout and are too ravenous to spend a second more in the kitchen)

1 bottle balsamic vinaigrette

How to make it:

1. Slice your chicken breasts into lean strips and pan fry on medium heat in a non-stick pan.

2. Cut both peppers into long pieces and add to the pan once the chicken is sealed.

3. Mix a tablespoon-size dollop of  satay sauce over the chicken and pepper mix and stir for 3-4 minutes until the chicken is thoroughly cooked and the peppers have softened.

4. Place a generous handful or two of salad in a large serving bowl and spoon in the contents of the pan. Mix well and drizzle with just a touch of balsamic glaze to finish.

5. Dive into dinner for two (or dinner and a leftovers lunch for one).

 Have you added any ‘happy accident’ recipes to your repertoire? Leave a comment and share them with the Fit Brit Collective!