Food: We have a chat with our favourite instagram chef ‘Bored of lunch’.
Nathan Anthony: Bored of Lunch
With the launch of his newest book “Bored of lunch - Healthy Slow Cooker - even easier'“, it seems that Nathan is unstoppable so I think its time ‘The Mum Space’ sat down with the social media star and home cook to get some of his top home cooking tips!
When I came across Nathan Anthony; aka Bored of lunch I felt disappointed that I hadn’t found him sooner. The insta famous chef's viral specialities include his slow cooker cottage pie to his air fryer ‘Loaded Nachos’. He has a 1.7million strong following who, like me, now have some really easy midweek meals and the dreaded ‘What shall we have for dinner?’ debate is no longer an issue in our household.
Hi Nathan, thank you so much for taking time to speak with us. We love you here at ‘The Mum Space’ so we want to start off by saying thank you for saving our mealtimes and most likely our relationships! lol
• Both "bored of Lunch' and 'The Mum Space' were created during lockdown, did you think back then you would be writing books and followed by millions of people?!
First of all thank you so much for chatting to me. Never in a million years did I think a home cook with no cheffing experience would be writing 2 No1 cookbooks. It’s such a big community now and the buzz is amazing. Lockdown feels like such a long time ago but it’s been such a crazy few years since setting BOL up.
• You really have created such a buzz! Our Mum Space Community love your books. What are your top tips for us mums to make mealtimes easier and hopefully quicker?
Plan your weekly meals & make a shopping list, for example Lasagne Monday, Saag Alloo Tues, Lamb Curry on Thurs it means you can save money by not buying ingredients you won’t use and batch cook or meal prep on a lazy day, a Sunday is perfect for those.
Use an Airfryer. I rarely use my oven, you can throw a chicken breast in and it’ll be ready in 17 minutes compared to an oven it’ll take 30-35 mins. Throwing veg into the airfryer will also save on hob space, they’re also perfect for cooking frozen foods and reheating.
Meal prep or batch cook and freeze. You can even use freezer bags and add raw food, let them defrost and add directly to the slowcooker on a day that suits.
• What are your top 3 no fuss recipes from your current book 'Bored of Lunch'?
These are throw & go recipes perfect for busy Mums!
- Classic Chicken Curry with peas & onions. A real childhood dish I loved.
- Irish Beef & Potato Stew with Guinness.
- Chicken Fajita Pasta
• Do you have any ingredients that you think we should always have in our kitchen?
Cornflour - thickens any sauce, a slowcooker holds a lot of moisture.
A decent small range of dried herbs and spices, these can totally transform a dish and last a lifetime in your pantry
• Is there an exclusive crowd pleaser recipe you could share with our Mum Spacers?
My slowcooker honey chilli beef noodles, anytime I make this people go wild for it. It’s such a popular recipe in the book too. A total one pot dish the fry egg noodles even cook in the sauce, perfect time saver.
HONEY CHILLI BEEF NOODLES
This is a quick and lean version of one of my favourite local Chinese takeaway dishes, and one of the most popular recipes I have ever shared with my online followers.
SERVES 3
400g beef steaks, thinly sliced
4 tbsp dark soy sauce 5 tbsp light soy sauce
2 tsp rice vinegar
5 garlic cloves, crushed 2 tbsp hoisin sauce
3 tbsp orange juice 4 tbsp honey
2 tsp chilli flakes
1 tbsp cornflour, mixed to a
paste with 1 tbsp water
1 red pepper, sliced
200g dried egg noodles 350ml hot chicken stock chopped spring onions and
sesame seeds, to garnish
1 Place all the ingredients, except the red pepper, noodles and stock, in the slow cooker and stir. Cook on high for
2 hours. Add the red pepper, noodles and stock, stir and cook for another 15–20 minutes, stirring after 10 minutes. Garnish with spring onions and sesame seeds.
Extracted from Bored of Lunch: The Healthy Slow Cooker Book
by Nathan Anthony (Ebury Press, £18.99) Photography by Clare Wilkinson
• What’s next for ‘Bored of Lunch’?
I’m so excited, for 2024, I’ll have two very different new cookbooks out, hopefully helping a lot of Mums make meals easier. Working on my own cookery show which will air in the UK along with my live tv slots and then my website, this will have a tonne of free recipes for everyone to use.
Wow, it all sounds very exciting, we can’t wait to see it all! Thank you for much for your time Nathan and we wish you all the success with your new book!
Nathan’s new book, Bored of Lunch Healthy Slow Cooker: Even Easier is out on the 4th January
Want to try Nathans recipes you can get his cookbooks here:
Bored of Lunch Healthy Slow Cooker: Even Easier Hardcover
AFFLINK
