Day On A Plate: Foodie & Author Nicola Carolan

Searching for some dinner inspo? Or maybe you just like a nose, like us! Either way, we have the scoop on what some of our faves dish up in a day. This month, it’s the turn of self-confessed foodie and author, Nicola Carolan, aka The Naked Blondie. 

What is your go-to breakfast?

My go-to breakfast is homemade granola on busy days, and on weekends we love poached eggs on homemade soda bread.

What do you usually have for lunch and dinner?

For lunch, it could be a simple chicken and avocado salad with a honey lemon mustard dressing, and dinner could be anything from homemade fakeaway chipper/Chinese, or a few spuds from the garden, petit pois, and griller rasher.

What five items do you always put in your shopping basket?

It may seem boring to some but always flour, eggs, milk, butter, and porridge oats. If you have these five items you will never fail to rustle up something wonderful.

 

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What are your favourite snacks?

My homemade peanut butter cups/traybake, pink lady apples, and of course, chocolate!

What are the most used items on your spice rack?

Salt and pepper without a doubt because they are what bring a dish to life. Also chilli flakes, they add incredible flavour to any dish. My go-to herbs are parsley, mint, and basil which I grow in my semi-detached back garden!

Your desert island dish? 

We had a mobile home for 15 years so my desert island dish would be Irish shrimp caught in a net in the rock pools off a little beach in Tramore, Co. Waterford, brought straight home and friend in butter lemon zest and garlic with a crusty loaf to soak up the delicious sauce. Maybe a bag of chips by the sea with a smothering of salt and vinegar wrapped in newspaper would be a strong second.

Would you call yourself a foodie?

Yes! Always have and always will. Food brings me so much joy and happiness when it once was a cause of pain and anxiety.

 

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How do you get motivated when it comes to fitness?

You have to enjoy and love the movement you do every day. I don’t believe in moving your body to change it for someone else’s idealistic view. When you love to do something regardless of if it’s fitness-related, you will never have to want to be motivated to do it.

Describe your ideal workout?

Thirty minutes of Pilates when I wake up and a brisk walk with my family along the river bank.

What is your number one self-care tip?

I spent many, many years hating my body and always wanting to change it because other people thought I should. I bought into the diet world and it nearly ruined me. Having lived in many bodies I know now my happiness and self-worth aren’t based on a number or size. To get to this place of loving the body I am in has taken me 28 of my 33 years. To quote a very wise woman, nutritionist Laura Thomas, we are now living in a world where we trust our phones more than we trust our own bodies. When did we get to a point where food became good and bad, and we left our trust in multi-billion dollar industries to tell us how to eat and live? This is why I have taken the approach of eating intuitively like we were all naturally born to do, and that for me is the biggest self-care tip I can give to anyone. Look after and trust in yourself.

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• food
• what to eat