Mother and daughter team Amanda and Georgia Takacs never intended to launch a health and wellbeing business. But shortly after Georgia left university Amanda was diagnosed with cancer.

Georgia moved back to the family home in Cambridge to support her mum and began researching nutritious, healthy food. Before long they were eating a wheat-free, sugar-free, organic, plant-based diet. Georgia says: “I moved in and said we have nothing to lose, let’s cut out the sugar, let’s cut out wheat, let’s go full-scale plant-based, as organic as possible. And we will do it together.”

Amanda describes herself as naturally a very energetic person, but months of chemotherapy, radiotherapy and surgery had left her feeling drained.

At first she found the new diet challenging – encountering superfoods she had never heard of before – but it had some unexpected benefits. “We cut out wheat and sugar and that means your plate becomes 10 times more colourful,” says Georgia. “Instead of toast for breakfast you have something bright and colourful and it lifts your spirit.”

Now Amanda is fully recovered, and Georgia believes their diet helped her mum to keep a positive mental attitude during her illness.

Georgia and Amanda, who used to run a restaurant in Islington, London, launched a business, Noel Road, earlier this year to encourage others to eat healthily. They make hampers filled with health foods, tips and recipes. “The health hampers were a reaction to our own struggles,” says Georgia. “My long-term mission and ultimate aim is to make Noel Road into a platform for people to connect through nutrition and wellbeing. Our health hampers are only the beginning, there are so many other ideas that we are thinking up at the moment.”

The pair have created five healthy lunchbox recipe ideas for readers of the Small Business Network, each recipe makes two generous sized portions:

Smoked paprika and sweet potato soup

Serves 2
2 tbsp sunflower oil
1/2 white onion, minced
3 medium sweet potatoes, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
2 tsp smoked paprika
1l of vegetable stock
cracked black pepper and himalayan pink salt to taste (we suggest 1/4 tsp of each) – himalayan pink salt is our choice of salt (available in most health food shops) but any good sea salt is fine
extra virgin olive oil to drizzle

1 Heat the oil in a large saucepan, and sauté your onion for a few minutes until it begins to become translucent.

2 Add your cubed sweet potato and stir to semi-cook through for about five minutes, adding some himalayan pink salt to begin to season.

3 Add the smoked paprika and the rest of your salt and pepper, stir, and then pour in the vegetable stock.

4 Allow everything to simmer (with the lid off) for about 15 minutes, or until the sweet potato is thoroughly cooked through. Then use an immersion blender, or another blender or food processor, to puree until smooth. Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil to finish.

Non-vegan option: Swirl in some cream or creme fraiche, just before serving.

Serving suggestion: We serve ours with toasted rye bread, topped with coconut oil, avocado and a pinch of himalayan pink salt.

Sweet potato and black bean bowl

Serves 2
2 medium sweet potatoes, cut into 1/2 inch cubes – 200g cooked black beans
a handful of fresh coriander leaves
a handful of halved cherry tomatoes
1/2 a medium red chilli, finely chopped
juice of 1 lime
a good glug of extra virgin olive oil
a couple of good pinches of himalayan pink salt

1 Place your cubed sweet potato into a medium saucepan, cover with cold water. Over a medium-high heat, bring to a boil and allow to simmer for about 10 minutes or until the sweet potato is cooked through but still firm. At that point, take off the heat and run under cold water.

2 Drain your sweet potato immediately, and add to a bowl with your black beans, cherry tomatoes and red chilli. Delicately toss these together.

3 Add your lime juice (and zest if you fancy it), olive oil and himalayan pink salt and lightly toss into the mix. Finally, delicately fold in your fresh coriander leaves, and you’re ready to serve.

Grilled peach salad with creamy honey and mustard dressing

Serves 2
2 peaches, halved and stoned (you can use flat or normal peaches)
a large handful of rocket leaves
a large handful of spinach leaves
a small handful of fresh basil leaves
a small handful of chopped fresh chives

Dressing
3 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp white balsamic vinegar (or white wine vinegar)
2 tbsp unsweetened almond milk
1 tsp honey
1 tsp dijon or wholegrain mustard
himalayan pink salt and pepper

1 Take your prepared peach halves, top with a good drizzling of olive oil and a pinch of himalayan pink salt and place under a grill on a medium-high heat for about 10 minutes (turning over to brown and caramelise both sides).

2 In a large bowl, toss together the rocket, spinach and chopped chives. Whisk up all ingredients of your creamy dressing and use almost-all of it to thoroughly cover your greens.

3 Lay the grilled peaches on top, add a little more dressing and top with a sprinkling of your fresh basil leaves and a few more chives.

Non-vegan option: Add some strips of fresh buffalo mozzarella to the salad.

Tip: This is perfect with the peaches served warm, but is even more delicious when they have been refrigerated.

Supergrains in lettuce wraps with green tahini dressing

Serves 2
little gem lettuce leaves (or other lettuce of choice)
1 cup quinoa
1/2 cup millet
2 tbsp coconut oil
1/2 white onion, minced
1 lg garlic clove, minced
2 tsp mixed dried green herbs
2 cups vegetable stock
1 cup water
himalayan pink salt to taste
assorted seeds to top (optional)

Green tahini dressing
2 tbsp hemp seed oil (or extra virgin olive oil)
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1-2 tbsp raw tahini (or regular tahini)
1/2 ripe avocado
juice of 1 lemon
125ml water (plus more, depending on desired consistency)
himalayan pink salt and black pepper to taste

1 Using a medium saucepan, heat the coconut oil over a medium heat, and sauté the onion, garlic and herbs until the onion begins to become translucent.

2 Add the millet and keep stirring to cook through for about 5 minutes.

3 Add the quinoa (and a little more coconut oil if needed) and continue to stir to cook through for at least another 5 minutes.

4 Add the vegetable stock and water, and allow to simmer for at least 10 minutes until the liquid has been absorbed and the millet and quinoa is cooked through (stirring often to avoid sticking). Take off the heat and allow to cool a little.

5 To make the dressing, simply whizz all ingredients in your food processor or blender.

6 Spoon a generous amount of your super grain mixture into your lettuce leaves. When ready to eat, drizzle and dollop your green tahini dressing on top (with an optional sprinkling of assorted seeds).

Fried tofu on asian slaw

Serves 2
Fried tofu
2 heaped tbsp coconut oil
200g fresh tofu, cut into 2cm thick slices
rice flour

Asian slaw
1/4 red cabbage, shredded
1 large carrot, shredded
3 spring onions, cut back and sliced diagonally
a large handful of fresh coriander leaves
half a medium red chilli, finely chopped
3 tbsp rapeseed oil
1 tbsp sunflower oil
2 tbsp rice wine
1/2 tsp soy sauce
juice of 1 lime
pinch of himalayan pink salt

1 Begin with the Asian Slaw: mix your red cabbage, carrot, spring onion and chilli in a bowl. Then whisk up the rest of the ingredients to make the dressing and toss into your slaw thoroughly. Finally, fold in your fresh coriander leaves.

2 Heat your coconut oil in a shallow frying pan, so that you have a good layer of hot oil.

3 Toss your fresh tofu slices in a layer of rice flour (you can mix some crumbled vegetable stock into the rice flour for extra flavour). Then place your tofu in the pan and fry for a few minutes on each side until they begin to brown (or more, depending on your preference).

4 Lay your tofu on a generous bedding of asian slaw, and top with extra spring onions, coriander and chilli to your liking.

Tips for healthy lunching

• Prepare your lunches for the next day during or just after you’ve made dinner, to save time spent in the kitchen.

• Prepare larger batches of dishes such as the supergrains and the asian slaw, so that you have extra sides for dinners.

• Batch prepare dressings in mason jars, to seal and keep in the fridge and last you for the next coming days.

Noel Road are also on Instagram, where they share other recipe ideas

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