The ideal Irish diet - eat your way to weight loss with healthy Irish recipes - POLL

Eating the right wholesome Irish foods can have you on the right track for the New Year

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Delicious and hearty lunch of smoked salmon and brown bread

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Irish food has developed a bad rap as being heavy and stodgy but this is not the case. It’s true that you can dine out on full Irish breakfasts and mashed potatoes with cream but there is much more to Irish cuisine.

In fact, the beauty of the traditional Irish diet is that it changed very little between the late 1800s and the mid-1900s. Its ingredients were based on local food or foods that could be easily imported. What was created was a simple diet made up of local and healthy foods.

Here are some healthy Irish food ideas for those of you eating your way to weight loss:

1. Stew

During these cold winter months, a hearty Irish stew is the perfect meal to come home to; what could be healthier than a pot of vegetables, broth and some lean beef.

If you’re launching yourself into an Atkins-style diet for January you can even skip adding the beloved potatoes and replace it with another vegetable.

Here’s our recipe for beef and Guinness stew. Of course you could leave the Guinness out, but come on, you don’t want to go overboard.

2. Oysters and Fish

Great for the brain and your diet - get some fish oils into you this January with some oysters or fish recipes.

Although Chef Gilligan’s chilled kumumoto oysters with sturgeon caviar and vodka recipe might be a little too fancy for a cold January evening, there’s nothing wrong with a bit of grilled salmon or cod and a side of veg.

3. Soda bread

I know, I know, starch and carbs are the weight-watcher’s enemies but if you’re going to break your diet by eating bread, this is the one you want. The simple ingredients in this bread and its great taste make it both healthy and delicious.

Here’s a healthy recipe for Irish soda bread.

Also nothing goes better with soda bread than smoked salmon. Here’s a recipe with a modern twist.

4. Soup

Vegetable soup has long been a staple of the Irish winter diet. There’s nothing better than coming home to a bowl of hearty soup after walking out in the blustery Irish weather.

Not only are these vegetable soups low fat but they’re also nourishing and delicious.

Here’s Chef Gilligan's country potato and cabbage soup recipe and a delicious Guinness French Onion soup recipe.

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