Doing January properly? These three healthy recipes won’t leave you cold or hungry
January has a funny habit of swinging between extremes. On the one hand, there’s the collective urge to “be good” after a December defined by cheese boards, second helpings and the kind of desserts that don’t ask to be justified. On the other, it’s cold, dark and damp, and nobody genuinely wants to live on limp salads and good intentions alone.
The sweet spot, as ever, lies somewhere in the middle: food that feels restorative without tipping into joyless, and comforting without undoing all that new-year resolve.
That’s where this trio of recipes comes in. Pulled together by The Groovy Food Company, they’re quietly sensible rather than shouty about health – the kind of dishes you’d happily cook on a weeknight when you want something warming, filling and balanced, without feeling like you’re on a cleanse.
There’s a richly spiced aubergine curry that leans on lentils and whole spices for depth rather than excess oil, a Mediterranean vegetable soup lifted by salty, golden halloumi “croutons” (because January shouldn’t be entirely punitive), and a smoky take on baked beans that feels grown-up, indulgent and still very much anchored in comfort.
What unites them is that they don’t ask you to overhaul your entire way of eating. These are proper meals – bowls you can sink into, toast you actually look forward to – that just happen to tread a little lighter. They’re also refreshingly unfussy: store-cupboard spices, frozen veg doing a lot of the heavy lifting, and flavours that feel bold enough to banish the post-Christmas food fatigue many of us hit by mid-month.
Think of this as January cooking with its feet on the ground: nourishing, warming and realistic – and all the better for it.
Vegan aubergine curry
Ingredients:
100g red lentils
3 sprays oil cooking spray
1 large onion, grated
400g tin cherry tomatoes
1 tsp ground turmeric
2 large aubergines, cut into 3cm chunks
2 tbsp groundnut oil
2 tsp cumin seeds
2 tsp ground coriander
4 cardamom pods, split
4 cloves garlic, crushed
Small bunch coriander, chopped
1 tsp garam masala
Rice and naan, to serve
Method:
1. Put the lentils, onion, tomatoes, turmeric and 1 teaspoon of salt in a pan with a tomato-tin of water.
2. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 20 mins until lentils are tender.
3. Toss the aubergines with the oil and seasoning. Fry in batches until golden and soft.
4. Return the aubergines to the pan, add spices (except garam masala) and cook 2 minutes.
5. Add the garlic, then the lentil mixture and 200ml water. Simmer for 20 minutes.
6. Stir in fresh coriander and garam masala, simmer for 2 minutes more. Serve warm with rice or naan.
Mediterranean vegetable soup with halloumi ‘croutons’
Ingredients:
3 sprays olive oil cooking spray
500g frozen chargrilled Mediterranean veg mix
4 celery sticks, finely sliced
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 tsp onion granules
1 tsp dried mixed herbs
227g tin chopped tomatoes
600ml chicken stock
½ lemon, juiced
10g parsley, finely chopped
For the halloumi ‘croutons’:
2 sprays olive oil cooking spray
1 tbsp sesame seeds
200g halloumi, cut into 1cm cubes
Method:
1. Heat oil in a large saucepan. Cook the vegetable mix, celery and garlic for 10 minutes. Add onion granules, herbs, tomatoes and stock. Simmer 20 minutes. Season and finish with lemon and parsley.
2. For the croutons, spray a pan with oil, coat the halloumi in sesame seeds, and fry until golden (5-7 minutes).
3. Serve the soup topped generously with warm halloumi cubes.
Smokey baked beans on toast
Ingredients:
2 red onions
40ml apple cider vinegar
4 garlic cloves
200g bacon lardons
40ml olive oil
4 slices bread
2 tsp smoked paprika
1 dried bay leaf
3 × 400g tins cooked cannellini beans
50g The Groovy Food Company Chipotle Agave
Method:
1. Thinly slice half the onions and toss with vinegar, sugar and salt. Set aside.
2. Mince garlic and finely dice remaining onion. Cook lardons in a pan until crisp; set aside.
3. Add the olive oil to the pan, and fry the bread until golden. Remove.
4. Add the diced onion and garlic to the pan and cook for 6-8 minutes. Add the paprika, chipotle agave and bay leaf. Return lardons.
5. Add beans with liquid, simmer 4-5 minutes until thickened. Season well.
6. Spoon beans over toasted bread and top with pickled onions.
Recipes from groovyfood.co.uk
