Meal planning makes sense, especially when you’re feeding a family, and stocking your freezer with healthy nutritious frozen vegetables is an important first step. Encouraging households across the country to eat well and reduce food waste, Green Isle has a range of family favourite veg, meal planning tips and delicious recipe ideas to help limit your food waste and save you money too! Check out www.GreenIsle.ie for more details.
With 1 million tonnes of food wasted in Ireland annually, meal planning, savvy shopping and using your freezer could help the average household save up to €700 a year! The good news is that 85% of us are preparing and cooking more meals at home since the pandemic with 66% of people buying more frozen fruit and vegetables now vs pre-pandemic, with nearly three quarters of us now aware that frozen fruit and vegetables offer the same nutritional value as fresh – and your produce will last longer too!
Currently just 60% of Irish households proactively plan their meals in advance, so Green Isle has put together some great tips, hints and recipes featuring some of their most popular products such as garden peas, Asian stir fry and cauliflower rice – so be inspired to enjoy all the benefits of eating better!
Prepped, sliced, and chopped for you, the Green Isle range is an easy and healthy choice to help limit your food waste. Use exactly as much as you need, when you need it, before putting the rest back into the freezer for the next mealtime. On your next shopping trip, plan ahead, be inspired and enjoy all the nutrition and taste of having these Green Isle products ready to enjoy straight from the freezer:
Green Isle Cauliflower Rice – RRP €3.00 – A great low-calorie alternative to rice, potato or pasta for healthy mealtimes across the week, Green Isle Cauliflower Rice includes two steam bags which contain two of your five a day. High in protein and a source of vitamin c which cooks perfectly in three minutes.
Green Isle Asian Stir Fry – RRP €3.00 – A delicious medley of carrot strips, water chestnut slices, cut baby corn, green beans, red pepper, red onion and Chinese mushrooms, the Green Isle Asian Stir Fry is convenient, full of quality vegetable products that are simple to use, delicious and nutritious.
Green Isle Garden Peas 450g – RRP €1.69 or mix and match any 2 packs for €2.50. Green Isle Garden Peas are packed full of nutritional goodness and are a great source of folic acid. Frozen at their freshest, locking in all nutrients, Green Isle Garden Peas are perfect for summer salads or side dish. Vegan friendly and contain no artificial colours, flavours or preservatives, each 80g portion counts as 1 of your 5 a day!
In the spirit of reducing food waste, you can use these recipes as inspiration for your own versions of each dish. Get creative and swap in or add whatever vegetables, fresh produce, pantry items or herbs you have to hand! For example, butter beans would work as well as chickpeas, yoghurt can take the place of sour cream. It’s all about using up what you have. Check out more tips and recipes at www.greenisle.ie
Green Isle Pea Falafels
Serves: Makes 10 - 12 falafels
Total Time: 40 minutes
Ingredients
- 250g Green Isle frozen peas
- 1 x 400g tin chickpeas, drained
- 3 tbsps plain flour, plus a little extra for dusting
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- 2 tbsps tahini
- Small bunch parsley, chopped
- Small bunch coriander, chopped
- Small bunch mint, chopped
- zest and juice 1 lemon
- 200g couscous
- 3 tbsps olive oil
- 1 tsp chilli flakes
- 100g natural yogurt
Method:
Place peas in a sieve and run under the hot tap to defrost. Drain well and then place 200g into a food processor. Add the chickpeas, flour, garlic, cumin, ground coriander, tahini, parsley, fresh coriander and lemon zest and plenty of seasoning. Whizz the ingredients to a paste then add the remaining peas and blitz only a few times to keep some texture in the mixture.
Using wet hands, shape the mixture into 8 patties, dust with flour, then place on a plate and chill for 10 mins in the fridge, or longer if you have time.
Place the couscous in a large bowl, season, then pour over enough boiling water to just cover. Set aside for 5 mins. Heat 2 tbsp of oil in a large pan. Cook the falafels for 2 - 3 mins on each side, until crisp and golden – you may have to do this in batches.
Add the remaining oil, lemon juice and most of the mint and the chili flakes to the couscous.
Mix the remaining mint into the yoghurt and serve the falafels with the couscous and mint yoghurt.
You can freeze the falafels before cooking, simply lay them on a piece of greaseproof paper on a flat surface and freeze, spaced apart, until frozen - at this point you can place them into an airtight container to store for up to 3 months. To cook from frozen, simply cook on a lower heat for a longer amount of time.
Green Isle Creamy Vegetable Curry
Serves: 4
Total Time: 50 minutes
Ingredients
- 2 tbsps vegetable oil
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 1-inch sized piece of fresh ginger, finely chopped
- ½ tsp turmeric
- ½ tsp chilli flakes
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- 1 tsp curry powder
- 200g red lentils
- 500ml veg stock
- 1 x 400 g tin chopped tomatoes
- 200g Green Isle Frozen Mixed Vegetables
- 4 tbsps Greek yogurt plus more to garnish
To serve:
- Small bunch coriander, chopped
- Naan bread and rice to serve
Method:
Heat the oil in a large pan and fry the onion for 10 minutes until completely softened and translucent.
Add the garlic and ginger and cook for 1 - 2 minutes then add the spices and cook for 1 min, until fragrant.
Stir in the lentils, stock and the tinned tomatoes and bring to the boil, then cover and simmer for 20 mins until the lentils are tender.
Add the Green Isle Mixed Vegetables and cook for 10 minutes then stir in the yogurt and some seasoning.
Sprinkle over the coriander and serve with naan bread and rice with an extra dollop of yoghurt on top.
Green Isle Veggie Fajitas with Cauliflower Rice
Serves: 4
Total time: 25 minutes
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp oil
- 2 red peppers, deseeded and thinly sliced
- 1 green pepper, deseeded and thinly sliced
- 1 yellow pepper, deseeded and thinly sliced
- 1 red onion, peeled and thinly sliced
- 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- For the fajita spice mix:
- 1 tbsp sweet smoked paprika
- 2 tsps ground cumin
- 2 tsps dried oregano
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- ½ tsp hot chilli powder
To serve:
- 1 x bag Green Isle Cauliflower Rice
- Flour tortillas
- Sour cream
- Coriander
- Lettuce
- Grated cheese
- Hot sauce
Method:
Mix all the ingredients for the fajitas spice mix together in a small bowl and stir to combine then set aside.
Heat the oil in a frying pan and fry the pepper strips and the onion until soft and starting to brown at the edges. Add the garlic and cook for a minute, then add the spice mix and stir, cooking for a couple of minutes more until the spices become aromatic.
Whilst the vegetables are cooking, microwave the Green Isle cauliflower rice according to the packet instructions and place into a bowl.
To assemble, place some sour cream in the middle of a flour tortilla then top with some of the cauliflower rice and follow with some of the vegetables. Add more of the suggested toppings as desired and dig in!
Green Isle Carrot & Ginger Soup
Serves: 4
Total Time: 25 minutes
Ingredients
- 2 tbsps coconut oil
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 750g Green Isle Baby Carrots
- 2 sticks celery, roughly chopped
- Thumb sized piece of fresh ginger, finely sliced
- 2 tsps turmeric
- 1 tsp freshly cracked black pepper
- 2 garlic cloves, finely sliced
- 1 litre vegetable stock or chicken stock
- Salt, to taste
To garnish:
- Greek yoghurt
- Chopped almonds
Method:
Heat the coconut oil in a large pot set over a medium heat. Add the onion, Green Isle Baby Carrots and celery and cook for 10 minutes, stirring often.
Add the ginger, turmeric, black pepper and garlic. Mix well and cook for five minutes, stirring occasionally.
Pour over the stock and bring to the boil then reduce the heat, and simmer for 15 minutes or until the carrots are tender. Allow the soup to cool a little and then blitz until smooth. Return to the heat, season with salt and warm through.
Ladle the soup into bowls and top each with a little yoghurt and some almonds. Serve immediately with some bread for mopping everything up!
Tip: you could make a double batch of the soup and freeze what you don’t use.
For more great recipe ideas, visit www.GreenIsle.ie.
