I’m a working woman with an 8 to 5 job, and I enjoy my sleep. But during Ramadhan (fasting month for Muslims) I won’t be fully functional in the day if I don’t eat a full breakfast in the morning! But since I don’t want to spend so much time making food in the wee hours of the morning, I came up with a few recipes that are max-packed with protein and other good stuff to get me through the day.

Here’s a quick recipe of a really, really good wrap that takes minutes to prepare (even less if you make the avocado smash the night before), and is proven to give me less hallucinations of a car-sized burger walking around at lunch time.

Here’s what you need:

A ripe avocado (you know this when the skin is blackened)
Lemon
A good sized steak (around 300 gm should be enough for 2 people)
Tortilla wraps
1 chilli (optional)
Hot sauce (optional)

Here’s what you do:

1.      To make the avocado smash, cut up the avocado and scoop out all the flesh in a bowl.
2.      Season generously with salt and pepper, add in some chopped chili if you have any.
3.      Squeeze in some lemon juice and mash together with fork.
4.      Put the pan on high heat. Season steak with salt and pepper, drizzle over some olive oil.
5.      Place the meat on the hot pan for 3 minutes on one side, then 2 minutes on the other.
6.      Remove meat from heat and let rest for a couple minutes. Meanwhile, spread the avocado smash on the          tortilla wrap.
7.      Cut the steak at an angle, then arrange on tortilla.
8.      Eat. I think you have ten more minutes to go.

I don’t eat meat on Mondays. Mostly because I think I consume too much meat than I actually need, so it’s good to give it a break sometimes. ‘Meat Free Mondays’ is also a great opportunity to dedicate one day a week of eating just clean, healthy meals that are plant-based or recipes that are low-cal and low-fat.

Admittedly, going meat free can sometimes be a challenge if you love the rich taste of meat. So to avoid the craving I experimented with a lot of recipes to make sure I don’t miss flesh at all. Here is a recipe of a super easy basil pesto. I made it for my parents last week and they loved it! It may require you to hit Cold Storage, but it’s worth it.

Here’s what you need:

A good bunch of fresh basil
1 clove of garlic
A handful of pine nuts (slightly pricey, but lasts long on the shelf!)
Olive oil
Parmesan cheese, grated
Pasta
1 large tablespoon Capers
Sage leaves (optional)

Here’s what you do:

1.      Boil pasta according to packet instructions. Save some of the pasta boiling water.
2.      In a small food processor/blender/pestleandmortar, place the basil, garlic, pine nuts (you can toast them          if you like), salt, pepper, and a good glug of olive oil. Blend/pound these into a pulp.
3.      Place the pesto in a large mixing bowl.
4.      Add drained pasta into the mixing bowl.
5.      Mix pasta, the basil pesto, cheese and pasta cooking water until you get a nice sauce consistency and            the pasta is all nicely coated.
6.      Taste and adjust with salt if needed.
7.      In a small pan, heat some olive oil and fry the capers until they look crispy (you can fry the sage leaves            as well if you have them). Remove capers from oil.
8.      Put the pasta on a plate in the fanciest way you can possibly manage and top with the capers, sage and          a drizzle of the olive oil from the pan.
9.      Eat to your heart’s content.