34 Tips for Happiness, Health and Living your Best Life

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We all know we should be doing our best to live a healthy life, but it can be quite the task in the midst of summer BBQs, holidays and…just life in general! Everywhere you look, there’s always a popular, new diet that claims to help you lose weight quickly.

But trends and fads aren’t sustainable, nor should they be. In fact, being healthy should be viewed as a lifestyle and not a 3 day juice cleanse. Stop being so hard on yourself and enjoy the wonders that nature has to offer (HINT: #10 on our list). Life is short, so enjoy it while you can with good food, good friends and the occasional glass of good wine!

Download your FREE 34 Tricks to Live Better this Summer Checklist

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A Good Life Starts with Good Food

At THUD, it all comes down to one simple belief:  food is our fuel and real quality ingredients can help us in our quest to live our best life. We believe you should enjoy life’s simple pleasures and find little ways to eat better, and in turn, live better! That’s why we’re focused on creating the UK’s best recipe box with fresh ingredients and delicious recipes.

First, we hand pick high quality ingredients used by top chefs and pack just the right quantities for the meals you order. Each week the Royal Mail posts a THUD box through your letterbox, so no need to be in. Delivery is free. You cook exciting, delicious, healthy meals every week, following our simple recipes.

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Dedication to deliciousness

All of our food tastes – and smells – delicious. We send just the right amount of herbs you’ll need for the recipes in your kit. Give it a sniff and you’ll instantly see why fresh is best!

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Ethical outlook

We care for the environment and aim to produce recipes made or grown in a way that is the most sustainable for our planet. We take a flexitarian approach to our recipes, as they can be eaten with or without meat!

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Quality standards

We believe in high quality and regularly carry out quality control checks to ensure every week your THUD box meets the highest quality standards. We want you to feel confident you’re getting the best veg, herbs and spices that the UK has to offer. If you aren’t happy with your box for whatever reason, we refund you- no questions asked.

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Check out what’s on the menu for next week, but don’t forget to order before Sunday at midnight! Your THUD box will arrive on Wednesday, just in time for dinner. Count us in!

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Smashed Potatoes and Fixin’s

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Comfort food for the soul. Smashed sweet and new potatoes with plenty of fixin’s like sautéed leeks, cherry tomatoes, radishes and rocket. Served with a dollop of yoghurt or grated cheese, this meal goes down a treat!

Serves 2

Ingredients: 1/2 a sweet potato, 4-5 new potatoes, 1 leek, sprig of thyme, 100g tomatoes, 60g radishes, 50g bunch of rocket.

From the larder: 2 knobs of butter, salt and pepper (optional: grated cheese, dollop of yoghurt and/or bacon bits).

Instructions:

  • Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C.
  • Cut up the sweet potato into chunks and halve any of the larger new potatoes. Place in a saucepan of cold water. Bring to the boil and boil potatoes for 15 minutes while you prepare the fixin’s.chopped sweet potato
  • Pop the radishes on a baking tray, drizzle lightly with oil and season with salt and pepper. Place in the oven to roast for approximately 15 minutes or until you’re ready to eat.roasted radishes
  • Meanwhile, slice the leek and melt a knob of butter in a saucepan, add the leek, cover and gently sweat until soft and translucent.sweating leeks
  • Wash the rocket and quarter the cherry tomatoes.
  • When the potatoes are soft to poke with a knife, drain, add a knob of butter and thyme leaves, and then season and crush with a fork.seasoned potatoessmashed potatoes
  • Serve potatoes piled high with leeks, roasted radishes, rocket, tomatoes and optional grated cheese, dollop of plain yoghurt and/or bacon bits.

Stove Top Lasagne

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Enjoy this stovetop lasagne, a little twist on the traditional lasagne, which can sometimes feel like a little bit of an investment of time and effort. This stovetop version is fun to assemble and doesn’t require any oven time, so supper can be on the table in minutes.

Serves 2

Ingredients: 2 cloves of garlic, 2 shallots, 40g wild garlic, 2 baby aubergine, 70g button and 70g chestnut mushrooms.

From the larder: 1 tin of tomatoes, 1tsp balsamic vinegar, 6 sheets of lasagne, olive oil, salt and pepper and 150g ricotta.

Instructions:

  • Bring a large pot of water to the boil for the lasagne sheets.
  • Chop the shallots and garlic and slice the mushrooms and aubergine. Spread the slices of aubergine out and sprinkle with salt. Leave to stand and when ready to add to the pan, dab with a tea towel or paper towel. (Salting aubergine can remove bitterness)salted aubergines
  • Add a glug of oil to a sauté pan, add the garlic and shallots. Sauté gently for 2 minutes and then add the aubergine and mushrooms and continue to cook for 5 minutes so that mushrooms and aubergines soften.cooking mushrooms and aubergines
  • Add a tin of chopped tomatoes, oregano and balsamic vinegar and simmer for about 10-15 minutes.cooking with tomatoes 2
  • After 10 minutes, place all 6 sheets of lasagne into the boiling water and cook for approximately 7 minutes. When soft, carefully remove one at a time as you assemble the lasagne on 2 plates. Do not drain, instead remove sheets from the water one at a time.lasagne sheets cooking
  • To assemble: place one sheet of lasagne on each plate, spoon and spread out some of the veggie sauce onto the lasagne sheet followed by 2 spoonfuls of ricotta. Repeat with the layers with the next 2 sheets of lasagne on each plate so that you end up with 3 layers on each. Enjoy!DSC_0063stove top lasagne overhead landscape cropped 2

Quinoa Salad

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A spring salad to boot. Cook the quinoa and everything else is raw- packed with nutrients, vitamins, minerals and flavour!

Ingredients: 50g kale, 5 multi-coloured heritage radishes, 120g cherry tomatoes, 1 baby cucumber, 1 carrot, 2 stems of tarragon and 2 stems of parsley.

From the larder: 160g quinoa, 5tbsp olive oil, 1tbsp balsamic vinegar, 1 tsp honey, juice of ½ a lemon, salt and pepper (optional: any grilled meat or fish).

Instructions:

  • Place the quinoa in a saucepan, cover with double the volume of water, bring to the boil and simmer for 10 minutes.
  • Roughly chop the kale, place in a salad bowl and squeeze over the juice of ½ a lemon and a pinch of salt. Massage for a minute or so that the kale breaks down and becomes slightly softer. Leave in the bowl while you prepare other veg.squeezing lemon
  • Slice the radishes, quarter the tomatoes, quarter the cucumber length ways and then slice it, peel and grate the carrot and chop the parsley leaves.grating carrots
  • Make a dressing by whisking together the oil, vinegar and honey and mix in chopped tarragon leaves.
  • Test the quinoa and if ready (soft but still with a little bite), remove from the heat and drain any remaining excess water.
  • Add the veggies and quinoa to the salad bowl with the kale and then stir in the dressing and mix well to ensure salad is fully dressed.kale in salad bowlmixing salad
  • Serve on it’s own or with any meat/fish accompaniment and enjoy this raw bowl of goodness.DSC_0361

Asparagus Tart with Beet Slaw

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A pretty asparagus tart that’s super simple to make, but looks fancy and fun and is accompanied by a beaut beet salad. This meal is one of our favourites.

Ingredients: 4-5 asparagus spears, 1 beetroot, 1 stick of celery(allergen), 50g bunch of rocket and 2 stems of dill.

From the larder: 1 roll of puff pastry, 100g goats cheese or feta, 1 egg, 4tbsp olive oil and 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar (optional: 1 tsp mayonnaise).

 Instructions:

  • Gather all your ingredients.ingredients
  • Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C.
  • Beat the feta or goats cheese with the egg. It should be thick but easily spreadable.
  • Unroll the pastry onto a small baking tray approximately 20 x 30cm. Fold over or trim off any extra pastry and score a line around the edge of the tart creating a 1-inch border.
  • Cut the asparagus spears in half lengthways. Spread the egg and cheese mixture onto the pastry, lay all of the asparagus on top cut side down, season with salt and pepper and a light drizzle of oil. Bake for 15-20 mins until pastry is puffed and golden and asparagus tender.unbaked tart overhead
  • While the tart is baking, make the slaw: grate the beetroot and finely chop the celery. Combine in a bowl with rocket and dill leaves.beet salad unmixed
  • Crumble in any remaining goat’s cheese.
  • Whisk together the oil, vinegar and optional mayonnaise. Adjust proportions according to taste. Mix into the salad.
  • When the tart is golden, serve slices with the beet slaw.whole tart overheadlandscape whole meal

Vegetarian on a Budget: 5 Affordable Recipes in Honour of National Vegetarian Week 2017

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Eating well and staying within your weekly food shop budget is tough work. You may think in order to eat well, you need to spend a fortune- but that just isn’t the case! In honour of National Vegetarian Week 2017, we’ve pulled together 5 of our favourite recipes that are guaranteed to keep you within budget while helping you to eat well.

Enter your name and email for your FREE “Vegetarian on a Budget” set of recipes

Here’s your sneak peek at the recipes included in the pack. If you’re busy during the week like the rest of us, head over to www.thud.direct/subscribe and take a look at our different recipe kits designed to help you eat better, save money and live well during the week.

Tomato and Kale Bake

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Check out the full recipe here

Butternut Squash Risotto w/ Crispy Sage

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Check out the full recipe here

Red Lentil Stew with Hasselback Potatoes

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Check out the full recipe here

Sweet Potato Rosti

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Check out the full recipe here

Butternut Squash Daal

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Check out the full recipe here

Fresh ingredients delivered through the letterbox

We all want to be eating the best and freshest ingredients without breaking the bank, that’s a no brainer! But how can you guarantee you’re getting the freshest veg, herbs and spices from your local supermarket? Especially after a busy work week, that last thing you may feel like doing is popping into the shop in search of the perfect avocado.

Try out one of our THUD boxes for next week- you’ll get recipes with easy to follow instructions and delicious ingredients delivered right through your letterbox! Our recipe kits include the Fresh Veg Kit, Meal Kit and Fresh Family Veg Kit.

If you have any questions or would like a bit more information, just send us an email at veg@thud.direct!

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Garlicky Samphire Pasta

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This is an interesting and slightly different pasta dish. Salty samphire, lots of garlic, yellow chilli, parsley, tomatoes and bread crumbs make a tasty and very flavoursome meal.

Ingredients: garlic, chilli, shallots, tomatoes, samphire, spinach, parsley.

From the larder: 200g tagliatelle or spaghetti, 40g breadcrumbs (1 slice of bread finely grated), 5 tbs olive oil, juice of ½ a lemon, salt and pepper, 2-3 big dollops of crème fraiche.

Instructions:

  • Bring a large pot of water to the boil for the pasta.
  • Finely slice the chilli and dice the garlic. Quarter the tomatoes and roughly chop the spinach.
  • Start cooking the pasta.
  • Heat a frying pan and dry fry the bread crumbs for 2-3 minutes until they are crispy but not burnt. Remove from the pan and set aside in a bowl.
  • Return the pan to the heat and add a glug of oil. Add the chilli, garlic and shallots and cook for 2-3 minutes.
  • Add the tomatoes, spinach and samphire and cook for a further 5 minutes.

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  • Stir in 2-3 dollops of crème fraiche, the breadcrumbs, a pinch of salt and squeeze in the juice of half a lemon.
  • When the pasta is al denté, drain and stir in a generous glug of olive oil and a pinch of salt and then combine with the sauce.
  • Serve with chopped parsley sprinkled on top.

Sweet Potato Rosti

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This is a delicious and light mid-week meal: a yummy roasted sweet potato rosti is beautifully topped off with swiss chard, peas, mint and a poached egg.

Ingredients: Sweet potato, potatoes, swiss chard, peas and mint.

From the larder: 80-100g feta cheese, 3 eggs, oil, salt and pepper.

Instructions:

  • Preheat the oven to 200 degrees C.
  • In a bowl, grate all the potatoes. Season with salt and pepper and mix in 1 egg.
  • Heat a glug of oil in an ovenproof frying pan or casserole dish. Pour the rösti mixture into the pan, spread out and push down gently so that it fills the pan. Cook for 4-5 minutes, check the underside and when browning, place the pan in the oven to roast for 15-20 minutes.frying rosti 600pxroasted rosti 600px
  • Meanwhile, chop the mint, chard and shell the peas. When the rösti is almost ready, in another frying pan, add a glug of oil and then sauté the greens, starting with the stems and peas for a minute followed by chard leaves. Sauté until stems soft and leaves wilted.DSC_0316
  • While the veggies are sautéing, poach 2 eggs.
  • When the rösti is browning and crispy, remove from the oven. Serve half the rösti per person with a poached egg, greens, mint leaves and crumbled feta piled on top.yellow background 600px

Cucumber Stir Fry

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We love this stir fry with cucumber, green beans and carrots adding the crunch and the peanut soy sauce adding a punch.

Ingredients: 2 round shallots, 1 clove of garlic, 10g ginger, 1 carrot, 1 baby cucumber, 100g green beans, 2 stems of Thai basil.

From the larder: 3 tsp oil, 175g noodles, 2 tbsp soy sauce, 1 tbsp peanut butter* and 2 tsp honey (optional extra: prawns, beef strips).

*Alternatively, use 1-2 tbsp sesame seeds.

Instructions:

  • Prepare all the veg: chop the shallots, and garlic. Grate the ginger, thinly slice the carrot and cucumber into batons, top, tail, and halve the green beans.chopped stir fry veg 2
  • Mix the peanut butter*, soy sauce and honey together in a small bowl and set aside.
  • Bring a pot of water to the boil so that you are ready to cook the noodles according to packet instructions when you start stir-frying.
  • In a wok, or large frying pan, on a high heat, heat the oil and if using, cook the meat. Add shallots, ginger, carrot and green beans in that order. Fry for 5 minutes, or until the vegetables are just reaching the right level of crunch.
  • Add the cucumber and sauce and fry for 2 more minutes.overhead stir fry
  • Drain the noodles and serve immediately with stir-fried veg and torn Thai basil on top.

7 Tools You NEED In Your Kitchen + FREE GIVEAWAY

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This week’s blog post is written by THUD’s very own chef and recipe creator extraordinary, Triona. She can be found in the THUD kitchen, testing and cooking up our next culinary masterpiece. She definitely knows her stuff and loves to incorporate exciting ingredients into recipes that are guaranteed to keep you feeling well. 

Enter your email to WIN your FREE basket or essential kitchen tools

When creating recipes for THUD, I’m keeping one thing in mind- simplicity. Life is busy enough and cooking shouldn’t be an added stress for anyone. I love simplicity in the kitchen and don’t like to have more utensils or gadgets than necessary. I have a relatively small kitchen (like many other Londoners!) so I love any tool that doesn’t take up too much room- and if possible can serve a dual purpose. It follows then that my list of essential kitchen gadgets would be fairly simple too, but hey they do the job! I’ve also included my favourite recipes that you can make with each gadget.

1. Zester

I’ve had my zester for about 10 years and hope it lasts me a life time, because I can’t bare to be without it! It’s perfect for so many things and I keep finding new ways to use it in the kitchen. As it says on the tin, it’s “grate” for grating the zest of a lemon or lime, excuse the pun! But, it’s also great for grating small, fresh spices like ginger and turmeric, as well as finely grating hard cheeses, like parmesan.
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Use your Zester in our Cavolo Nero Curry

2. Peeler

A good peeler is a good thing. I have to confess I don’t particularly like peeling veg and often feel it’s a waste of time. Anyone else agree? Whenever I can, I wash the veg well and keep the skins on. But, when I can’t get away with leaving the skin on and peeling does matter, it makes a difference to have a peeler that is comfortable to hold with a sharp blade. When I’m feeling fancy, I also like to use peelers to make vegetable ribbons out of carrots and courgettes to make pretty salads.
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Use your Peeler in our Fennel and Dill Tart Recipe

3. Knife

When I got married, I got a set of inexpensive knives with a longer term goal of collecting good knives slowly over the years as they don’t come cheap! Recently I was given a beautiful large knife and it has changed my life – well almost, it’s changed my cooking experience at home for sure! It really does make a difference to have a knife with a comfortable, well weighted handle and a beautifully sharp blade. The great thing is, having this one good knife does the job for everything, I’m happy with the one. So, just remember that one good knife makes all the difference.
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Use your knife in our Asian Noodle Salad

4. Pestle and Mortar

I first saw a pestle and mortar being used when taking a cooking course in India. Our teacher gathered her spices and then placed the pestle and mortar on the immaculately clean concrete floor, crouched down and fully committed to pounding the spices until completely blended. I was totally enamoured by the way she became one with her implement and was fully inhabiting her kitchen. I bought a little pestle and mortar for about £1 in India and use it to this day, albeit not crouching on my floor and probably not making such incredible spice mixes!
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Use your Pestle and Mortar in our Kale and Sweet Potato Tacos with Coriander Cream

5. Blender (stick or counter top)

A blender is just plain useful. There’s no super interesting story or history to mine, it’s just one of those gadgets that makes things in the kitchen easy and quick. However, I do get great use out of it. I use it to make bircher muesli, nut butters, and my favourite of all, sauces.
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Use your Blender in our Oregano Pesto Pasta with Roast Veg

6. Citrus juicer

I think I’d be happy to have lemon and lime in almost every meal I make and for this reason, a citrus juicer is essential in my life. It’s one of those gadgets that I think doesn’t get the credit it deserves. Even if you’re not citrus obsessed like I am, once you have a citrus juicer in your life I promise you’ll find new and creative ways it in your everyday life!
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Use your citrus juicer in our ‘Shroom Pasta with Gremolata

7. Small selection of spoons

Okay, my final choice may seem like a given but much like a good, sharp knife a set of small spoons are essential in my kitchen. I can’t cook in the kitchen without a set of spoons including a fresh combo of wooden, metal and the new fangled silicone ones to do the trick. Who would have thought a small selection of spoons could help sort out all of your cooking woes?
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Use your selection of spoons in our Kobucha Squash with Salsify

As a special bonus, we’re running a great giveaway where you can win your own toolkit of kitchen essentials. All you have to do is enter your name and email and one winner will be chosen at random in a week’s time. What have you got to lose other than some old kitchen tools?
Enter your email at the beginning of the blog post along with your name for your chance to win! The winner will be chosen at random and will be announced next Friday.