Healthy Food Solutions in Maynooth

Convenient Solutions in and around Maynooth

There are many terrific solutions to eat healthy in a grab and go manner in and around the Maynooth area. WIth most meals you want them to adhere to a certain set of principles namely:

1) Minimally processed

2) Decent source of protein

3) Good source of fibre

4) Not too high in calories

Apologies if I have left off any! I haven’t tried them yet!

Your Options in Maynooth

Here are few tried and tested

Shoda is a terrific cafe. You can grab something like an egg and fish based frittata and combine that with 2 of their salads for a minimally processed lunch.

At the same venue, breakfast is just as good with something like asking the place for some eggs and a bowl of porridge. If you are looking for a more rib sticking breakfast, why not try poached eggs with a slice of bacon, pudding, mushrooms and tomato?

In Manor Mills you have little choice but to go to Chill. There they have omelets and fairly substantial salads to go healthy on.

As you enter the main street, most of the lunch time restaurant options provide a great salad offering. I would go for salads from their menus of you are looking to maintain a healthy approach. Picaderos do a Chicken Tequilla Salad. The Avenue do a Chicken and Cranberry salad. Oak Alley do a pan seared sea bass.

If you are on the run and have to grab something quick the Maxol garage on the main road can do you a salad box. You can add a protein bar to this, cottage cheese and or greek yoghurt. I like the Liberte unflavoured brand for this.

If you are need of quick breakfast grab a McDonalds (!) porridge and add a protein bar into this mixed up. Not bad option for 6am in the morning if your tummy is rumbling and you need something.

There are some great convenience options in most major supermarkets. Supervalu do ready cooked chickens. These can be added to a salad bowl for a quick and very fulfilling meal. Aldi and Lidl do the same salad bowls but you can add things like ready cooked fish or smoked salmon and sliced deli meat. A tin of tuna or wild red salmon is also a great option. Check the calorie difference when you shoot for the wild salmon. 1 tbsp of Light mayonnaise with some salt, pepper and cayenne pepper make those tins come alive!

Anne at the award winning  ‘Fishmarket’ next to Supervalu is also a little gem in Maynooth if you are looking for some fish options. They do up fish bags where you can grab a fillet add a few vegetables and bung it in the oven all at once. It is done in 10-15 minutes. Grab 4-5 of those and that is lunch done for the week. They retail around €5 per bag and are great as the main feature of your lunch.

Beetroot just tucked away in the Maynooth arcade is great for a vegetarian/vegan lunch. €7 will get you a fairly substantial lunch that is meat free. Tasty too!

The best coffee for that pick me up is

If you are already in the office some staples that you can pick up in Maynooth are quick oats, protein bars (looking for around 20g of protein per bar) and plastic cutlery. Nuts? I tend to avoid them if you are looking to diet. They are easy to over consume. Instead, portion them out and try them chopped on a meal.