Healthy recipes for work from home days

Spiced carrot dip, a delicious Greek salad and refreshing cucumber water. Do some armchair travelling while you take a break from working at home. Light, easy to digest recipes from the pip kitchen.

You’re working from home today. Well, you’re currently staring out the window, thinking of your last holiday. There was a beautiful, fresh salad topped with a slab of fetta cheese that you’ve often recalled. Okay, you can’t eat a slab of fetta for your work lunch. But you do have all the ingredients to make a Greek-inspired salad, and that’s what you do at 12 o’clock.

There’s leftovers, so after arranging your salad in your favourite bowl you decide to layer up the rest of the ingredients in an old jar. It will be perfect for lunch at the office tomorrow. You smugly take your jug of infused water back to your workspace (desk/kitchen table/ironing board). Later, you’ll chop vegetables to go with a dip you made last night, with some crunchy pretzels on the side. Call it a good day’s work?

• Spiced carrot dip with crudites and crackers

• Greek-inspired salad with couscous

• Cucumber water

Spiced carrot dip with crudites and crackers

Ingredients: 500g carrots, peeled and cut into 2cm chunks · 3 tbsp olive oil ·2 tsp ras el hanout spice blend (or use a mix of ground cumin, paprika and cinnamon) · 1 tbsp lemon juice · cracked black pepper · 1 tsp sesame seeds · pretzels and cucumber sticks to serve

Method: In a large saucepan, cover the carrots in boiling water and bring back to the boil. Simmer for 20-25 minutes, or until tender. Drain. Toast the ras el hanout for 20-30 seconds on the lowest heat in a frypan, without any oil – don’t leave the pan unattended or the spice blend will burn.

Put the carrots back into the saucepan, and add the olive oil, toasted spices and lemon juice. Season with black pepper. Using a hand blender, potato masher or food processor, blend to the consistency you enjoy – either a dip that’s completely smooth, or with a few carrot pieces for texture. Put in a fancy bowl, sprinkle with sesame seeds and serve with pretzels, cucumber sticks or rustic oatcakes.

Greek-inspired salad with couscous

Makes 2 portions, one for today and one for lunch tomorrow

Ingredients: Vinaigrette: 1 tbsp red wine vinegar · ½ tbsp lemon juice · ½ tsp Dijon mustard · ½ tsp dried oregano · 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil · pepper Salad: 1 cup couscous · 1 tsp olive oil · 60g Greek feta · ½ cucumber, cut in half and thickly sliced · ½ cup kalamata olives, whole or ⅓ cup sliced 1 tomato, chopped · 3-4 tbsp vinaigrette

Method: To make the vinaigrette, put all the ingredients in a small jar with a lid. Screw the lid on and shake to combine ingredients. Set aside. Add 1 cup boiling water and 1 tsp of olive oil to couscous and leave for 3 minutes, covered. Fluff up the cooked grains with a fork.

Use half the salad ingredients to make your lunch. Put the couscous, feta, cucumber slices, olives and chopped tomato into a bowl. Pour over half the vinaigrette, and gently toss the salad.

To make the salad jar, pour in the remaining vinaigrette, then add the ingredients one by one. Start with the cucumber slices, then layer couscous, feta, olives and tomato. Put the lid on and store in the fridge for tomorrow. When you are ready to eat your jarred salad, pour it into a serving bowl. The dressing will coat the ingredients.

Cucumber water

Ingredients: Jug of tap water, refrigerated · ¼ cucumber, thinly sliced · small sprig mint

Method: Add the sliced cucumber and whole mint leaves to the jug, and refrigerate for 1-2 hours. Pour and sip whenever you are thirsty. Lasts 1-2 days in the fridge; the flavour will get stronger the longer you leave it.

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Make it work for you

Try a ginger, lemon and honey infusion if you are sensitive to chamomile tea. Couscous contains FODMAPs, so stick to half a cup in your salad or try gluten-free couscous made from maize or corn. Tomato also contains FODMAPs and can trigger acid reflux for some people, so reduce the amount slightly if you are sensitive to them.

The ritual

Go for a short walk to break up your work day. This could be a ‘fake commute’ before you start, a stroll to the local park and back after eating lunch or winding down with a podcast walk after packing away your computer. Schedule it in if you have to.

Author: Kym Lang. Photography: Kym Lang.