Right now is the most perfect time to start preparing our festive menus! Especially if you have guests coming who may have very different dietary requirements to you! One brand who can help create easy dishes from breakfast to dinner is the incredible Irish company Strong Roots, who have made an amazing collection of vegetable based items! Find out about them right here!

Good Morning Lovelies, 

Being a vegetarian with a load of allergies and health problems has brought a lot of hardships when it comes to finding things to eat. Unable to eat most meat replacement dishes, I have found myself relying a lot on vegetables to make dishes more exciting. From sweet sweet potatoes to crunchy carrots, I adore them in all forms. 

Often basing my meals around them, I have used vegetables before to make lasagnes, risottos and more. Yet, I often struggle on how to adapt them for others' tastes. Especially at Christmas time. For me, a stuffed butternut is incredible, yet, I know that isn’t for all. And I definitely couldn’t serve it at breakfast. Thankfully, this year I have the amazing Strong Roots to help me come up with a menu for all. 

The Irish B-Corp frozen food brand has been a staple in many freezer aisles for a long time, helping to make vegetable based dishes a breeze. However, this year they will become more than just a family favourite. They will be a breakfast, buffet and dinner saviour. 

With so many versatile ways to cook and eat them, the brand has gone above and beyond this year to make it easier than ever to incorporate them by delving into the air fryer trend, with some very handy recipes. Recipes that have got it all completely right!

Having kindly gifted me some of their amazing Cauliflower Hash Browns and Sweet Potato Fries to try, I used their recipes to create dishes that left my whole family happy. Now, on Christmas Day, we will happily recreate them to use as a starter and as a new option on our buffet table in the evening. 

To start with, we will use the Cauliflower Hash Browns to make as a part of a fried breakfast or as a starter during the main event with the help of the following recipe: 

Ingredients

One to Three Strong Roots Cauliflower Hash Browns

Creme Fraiche

Fresh Dill

Coarse Black Pepper

Lemon Zest

Tools

A Plate

A Teaspoon

Method

1. Start by pre-heating your air fryer to 200°C and cook the hash browns for 10 to 12 minutes or until golden and crispy. 
2. Once cooked, place onto a plate before scooping two teaspoons of creme fraiche onto each one. 
3. On top of the creme fraiche, sprinkle the pepper and a little lemon zest on top, before adding a sprig of dill to them. 
4. Serve and enjoy as a starter or with extras at breakfast.

We will later add the Sweet Potato Fries to our buffet or even serve them with cold meat or snacky bits on Boxing Day. Spicing up some leftover turkey or vegetarian options, these Strong Roots Sweet Potato fajita fries would go down well with everyone who eats them. Honestly, this recipe is lush…

Ingredients

One Little Gem Lettuce

Five Cherry Tomatoes

Two Mixed Peppers

One Bag of Strong Roots Sweet Potato Fries

Two Red Onions

One Fajita Spice Mix

One Tin of Black Beans

Two Tablespoons of Garlic Mayonnaise

One Tablespoon of Creme Fraiche

One Jalapeno

Olive Oil

Tools

A Chopping Board

A Knife

A Frying Pan

A Teaspoon

A Spatula

A Mixing Bowl

A Mixing Spoon

A Serving Bowl

Method

1. Start by pre-heating your air fryer to 200°C for a few minutes. 

2. Whilst the air fryer is warming up, take your chopping board and knife and slice up the peppers and onions into thin strips. Place to one side. 

3. Once the air fryer is ready, add the Sweet Potato Fries into the air fryer and cook for nine minutes. 

4. As the fries cook, heat up a frying pan, adding in the olive oil, onion and pepper to cook over a medium heat until soft. 

5. When soft, add in a teaspoon of the fajita spice, coating the vegetables, before reducing the heat and continuing to cook. 

6. While waiting for them to cook, make the mayonnaise dressing in a separate bowl by adding two tablespoons of garlic mayonnaise and one tablespoon of creme fraiche before mixing together. 

7. Before the fries come together, use your knife and chopping board to finely cut the lettuce, slice the tomatoes in half, before draining the tin of black beans. 

8. Finally, using another bowl, add the fries and all the vegetables together.  If you have any leftover turkey or meat, you can also add this in here.

9. Then drizzle the sauce on top and serve! 

Strong Roots is a brand I have often seen but never tried before and I feel like I have been letting myself and my family’s meals down by not adding them in. Perfect for all year round, the ease of popping them into the air fryer makes them even more accessible. Whilst we may love the normal spud in our house, our Christmas Day and other dishes are about to be even more exciting with these additions! Strong Roots definitely lives up to its name!

Joey X