Start your year off right with these tasty New Year’s resolutions ideas for healthier meals. Embrace healthy eating with this mixture of oven recipes as well as slow cookers and air fryers recipes, perfect for creating effortless, flavourful dishes. From time-saving meal prep ideas to delicious healthy dinner ideas, we’ll show you how to make the most of these kitchen essentials to prepare nutritious meals with ease. Whether it’s slow-cooked stews or air-fried favourites, let us help you stick to your resolutions while enjoying every bite!
1. Slow Cooker Vegetable Curry
Using your Morphy Richards Slow Cooker, discover the ultimate comfort food with this slow cooker curry recipe—a delicious, hassle-free way to create a wholesome veggie curry that is perfect for busy days. Packed with wholesome vegetables and spices, this recipe is ideal for healthy eating as well as delivering the answer to meal prep ideas as it lets you cook in bulk with minimal effort!
Ingredients
- 400ml can light coconut milk
- 3 tbsp mild curry paste
- 2 tsp vegetable bouillon powder
- 1 red chilli deseeded and sliced
- 1 tbsp finely chopped ginger
- 3 garlic cloves sliced
- 200g butternut squash (peeled weight), cut into chunks
- 1 red pepper deseeded and sliced
- 1 small aubergine
- (about 250g), halved and thickly sliced
- 15g coriander chopped
- 160g frozen peas defrosted
- 1 lime juiced, to taste
- wholemeal flatbread to serve
Method
Step 1: Begin by pouring the coconut milk into your slow cooker along with the curry pasta, bouillon powder, ginger, chilli, garlic, pepper, butternut squash and aubergine. Stir well and cover with the lid and chill overnight.
Step 2: The next day, cook on low for 6 hours until the vegetables are tender, then stir in the coriander and defrosted peas. Once cooked, remember to taste and add a squeeze of lime juice if you like an extra zing! For dipping in the sauce, serve with a wholemeal flatbread.
2. Slow Cooker Ratatouille
Using your Morphy Richards Slow Cooker you can create a flavourful slow cooker ratatouille recipe—a classic French dish! Perfect for anyone who is wondering how to make ratatouille, this recipe combines fresh vegetables like courgette, aubergines, and peppers, gently simmered with rich tomato sauce and aromatic herbs. With the ease of a slow cooker, you can create a wholesome, versatile dish that’s perfect as a healthy main!
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 red onion sliced
- 2 garlic cloves
- 2 large aubergines cut into 1.5cm pieces
- 3 courgettes halved and cut into 2cm pieces
- 3 mixed peppers cut into 2cm pieces
- 1 tbsp tomato purée
- 6 large ripe tomatoes roughly chopped
- Small bunch of basil roughly chopped, plus a few extra leaves to serve
- Few thyme sprigs
- 400g can plum tomatoes
- 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
- 1 tsp brown sugar
- Sourdough to serve (optional)
Method
Step 1: First, take a large frying pan and heat the oil to fry the onion for approximately 8 minutes until they are translucent. Add the garlic and fry for a further 1 minute. Reduce the heat to medium-heat, add the aubergines and fry for a further 5 minutes until golden.
Step 2: Next, add the tomato puree, fresh tomatoes, herbs, canned tomatoes, sugar, vinegar as well as 1 tsp of salt and bring to the boil.
Step 3: Following this, transfer to your slow cooker and cook on low for 5-6 hours or until the sauce has thickened and everything is soft. Sprinkle over some extra basil and serve with sourdough if you like.
3. Healthy Chicken Pasta Bake
Whip up a delicious and healthy chicken pasta bake, the perfect combination of comfort and nutrition. This easy-to-follow pasta bake recipe features tender chicken, wholemeal pasta, and a medley of fresh vegetables, all topped with a light, cheesy crust for a guilt-free indulgence. Ideal for a weeknight dinner or meal prepping, this dish delivers hearty flavours and wholesome ingredients with minimal effort.
Ingredients
- 300g wholemeal penne
- 2 tsp olive oil
- 2 peppers (we used 1 yellow and 1 orange), deseeded and chopped
- 1 large courgette (160g), coarsely grated
- 3 large garlic cloves finely grated
- 500g carton passata
- 1 tbsp smoked paprika
- 1½ tsp vegetable bouillon powder
- 1 tsp chilli powder (optional)
- 25g Kalamata olives (about 8), sliced
- 400g chicken breasts
- (2 large), cut into pieces
- Large handful of basil chopped, plus extra to serve
- 100g ricotta
- 20g finely grated mature cheddar
Method
Step 1: Boil your pasta following the instructions on the packet and preheat the oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4.
Step 2: In the meantime, heat the oil in a large pan over a medium heat and begin to fry the peppers for approximately 8 minutes until they have softened, remembering to stir them. Next, add the garlic as well as the courgette and stir for a few more minutes. Add in the passata and stir in the smoked paprika, bouillon, chilli, and if using, olives. Simmer for 3-4 minutes.
Step 3: Drain your pasta and reserve the pasta water. Tip the basta into the passata mixture along with the chicken, half a mug of the pasta water and basil. Stir well, then tip into a baking dish.
Step 4: For the final touch, mix the ricotta in a bowl with 5 tbsp of the pasta water and spread across the top of the pasta. Sprinkle over the cheddar and bake in the oven for 35 minutes. If you like, scatter a few extra basil leaves and serve!
4. Healthy Chicken Burritos
Discover the ultimate recipe for healthy chicken burritos! If you’re curious about how to make a chicken burrito, this easy-to-follow recipe combines tender, seasoned chicken with fresh veggies, wholegrain rice, and a zesty sauce, all wrapped in a soft tortilla. Perfect for quick dinners or meal prep, these burritos are a versatile and satisfying option.
Ingredients
- 2 tsp rapeseed oil
- 1 large red pepper halved lengthways, deseeded and cut into thick strips
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 2-3 tsp mild chilli powder to taste
- 400g can black beans
- 198g can sweetcorn drained
- 1 tbsp tomato purée
- 1 large garlic clove finely grated
- 220g pouch cooked wholegrain rice (or leftover cooked brown rice)
- 300g cooked chicken sliced or shredded (or a combination of leg and breast meat left over from a roast)
- 15g chopped coriander
- 2 small avocados stoned and quartered
- 1 lime juiced
- 4 large wholemeal tortilla wraps
Method
Step 1: To begin, heat the oil in a large non-stick frying pan and cook the pepper on a low heat, covered for approximately 10 minutes until softened and lightly charred.
Step 2: In the meantime, using a dry frying pan gently toast the spices on a low heat for 2-3 minutes until fragrant, then add in the beans, sweetcorn, garlic and tomato puree. Stir well, turn the heat up to medium until the mixture bubbles, then add in the rice, coriander and chicken. Cook for a further 3-4 minutes until the mixture is piping hot.
Step 3: Following this, add the avocado and lime juice into a bowl. Place the tortillas on a worktop surface and pile the rice mixture down the centre leaving space at either side. Top with avocado and peppers then fold up the tortillas at each end to enclose the filling and roll up the wrap. To lightly toast, place the wrap seam-side down into the pan that you cooked the peppers in and cook gently on each side over a low heat, this can take approximately 2-3 minutes.
5. Air Fryer Sesame Salmon with Broccoli & Sweet Potato Mash
Create a restaurant-quality meal at home with the help from your Morphy Richards Air Fryer! Using the convenience of air fryer salmon, this dish delivers tender, flaky fish with a crisp sesame coating in minutes. Paired with broccoli and sweet potato mash, it’s a healthy, balanced meal that’s as easy to prepare as it is delicious.
Ingredients
- 1 ½ tbsp sesame oil
- 1 tbsp low-salt soy sauce
- Thumb-sized piece ginger grated
- 1 crushed garlic clove
- 1 tsp honey
- 2 sweet potatoes scrubbed and cut into wedges
- 1 lime cut into wedges
- 2 boneless skinless salmon fillets
- 250g purple sprouting broccoli
- 1 tbsp sesame seeds
- 1 red chilli thinly sliced (deseeded if you don't like it too hot)
Method
Step 1: Preheat your air fryer to 180c. Following this, mix together ½ tbsp sesame oil, ginger, garlic, honey and the soy. Then put the sweet potato wedges into a glass bowl with the lime wedges, cover with cling film and microwave on high for 12-14 minutes until soft.
Step 2: Meanwhile, spoon the marinade over the salmon fillets and broccoli and place into your air fryer on 180c for 8-10 minutes. If you have larger salmon fillets they will need to be cooked for longer – keep checking after 10 mins and cook in 1-2 min blasts, until ready. When cooked, sprinkle over the sesame seeds.
Step 3: Next, for the sweet potato mash, remove the lime wedges and roughly mash the sweet potato with a fork. Mix in the remaining sesame oil, chilli and seasoning of choice.
Step 4: Plate up and enjoy!
All recipes sourced from BBCGoodFood