Eat Yourself Healthy

February Blog - Eat yourself healthy!

For many of us, the start of the New Year brings a renewed focus on healthy living. Reduced alcohol intake, a new gym membership, mindfulness and certainly more home-cooked, healthy food. The food trends for 2020 replicate this too. Look out for healthier ‘on the go’ snacks, with retailers using reduced sugar and fat ingredients to give us healther options. Plus the trend for flexitarian blended foods will continue to grow, with the introduction of 50/50 blended cooking ingredients, such as 50/50 oat milk to dairy milk to try to tempt the shopper to think differently. Finally the use of different sugars to sweeten dishes also is in growth, with natural sweeteners such as coconut and sweet potato syrups being used in favour of traditional sugar.

Our restaurant has started the year with more of an emphasis on vegetarian and flexitarian dishes.

We’ll be showcasing recipes and ingredients that make dishes colourful, nutritious and exciting. Jon Wragg-Chambers, our Head Chef, has shared one of our new recipes, so why not try it at home!

Recipe of the month – Roasted butternut squash, pomegranate and pine nut winter salad

Ingredients

1 x butternut squash peeled and cut into chunks
2 x red onions cut into large chunks
2 x dessert spoons of pine nuts, lightly toasted
2 x dessert spoons of pomegranate seeds (frozen are available from supermarkets)
1 x clementine cut into segments
1 x sprig of rosemary
Rapeseed oil
For the dressing, 50ml of rapeseed oil, 30 ml of red wine vinegar seasoning

Method

Roast the squash and onions with the rosemary for 20 mins until softened and caramelising at the edges – allow to cool slightly.
Dress your plates with some winter leaves, rocket is nice and peppery.
Arrange the roasted squash on top of the leaves with the onions.
Sprinkle over the pine nuts and pomegranate seeds and clementine segments.
Try adding different flavours, feta cheese, crispy bacon, prosciutto or toasted pumpkin seeds.