Amelia Freer's guide to easy-going healthy dinners in January

‘January is a cold and tiring month, so it’s no time for a diet,’ says Amelia Freer matter-of-factly. The nutritional therapist, bestselling author and favourite cookery writer of Carole Middleton (as Stella readers found out in her exclusive interview for the magazine before Christmas), instead encourages her clients to set ‘small, realistic goals, with the simplest being to teach themselves a handful of healthy midweek suppers they can cook from scratch. After the tension and indulgence of Christmas, January is a month of gentle self-care.’

Amelia admits she used to roll out this advice a lot more freely before her daughter Willow was born (she is now one). ‘Before I became a mother I had the luxury of time, but now I don’t have enough of it, nor energy! So I need ideas that will get a healthy meal on the table in under 15 minutes.’

Amelia herself has ‘a rotation of five or six meals’ she turns to. ‘Willow loves fishcakes, which are such an easy option for the whole family. Four of my evenings each week are vegan, so on those nights I’ll sauté some onion and garlic, add celery and whatever vegetables I have lying around, some stock and tinned tomatoes, and let it simmer away.

'To turn it into a curry, I simply add coconut milk and curry spices like turmeric, ginger and chilli. For the vegan days I’ll add chickpeas and lentils, or if not, I’ll have it with fish or chicken.’

To make life easier during the week, she tells me, ‘I also make a huge tray of roasted vegetables every Sunday and use those midweek: either chopped and added to a bolognese sauce or a frittata, or warmed up with poached salmon.’

For the rest of us endeavouring to uphold our good intentions until the end of the month and beyond, Amelia suggests keeping things simple, with quick-to-chop salads, easy tray bakes, and fast-cook recipes such as the ones below from her website.

‘Let yourself off the hook. Banish the idea that healthy meals take time and need to look beautiful. My tastiest and healthiest evening meals are often thrown-together leftovers. Don’t overcomplicate things: January is often tough enough already!’