Lots of excitement round here as I’m heading off tomorrow for a week in London with the kids. Chloe and Belle keep popping their heads around the door and yelling “girls’ trip!” at random moments.

One has an apocalyptic bedroom and it’s hard to tell what is packing and what is just general chaos. It’s amazing because she is so pristine in person. The other has had a mental list since March and clothes laid out for a week. I also found her scrubbing her trainers with a dish sponge on the kitchen island (deeeeeep breath) and handwashing her laces in the sink. But I’ve been so busy planning activities, I haven’t packed a thing.

As for the activities, it’s a good thing the Irishman is staying at home for this one. He was recently off adventuring in Guatemala; whereas we have booked ourselves into a Kitten Cafe and set aside a night for the Barbie movie. Don’t get me wrong, I would love to adventure around magical lakes and mountains but we needed to get to the UK, so London it is! And I’m not going to lie, an hour playing with kittens while drinking a coffee and eating an oversized muffin sounds pretty heavenly. Also on the very eclectic teen wish list: thrift shopping; horse riding; Sephora; a crystal shop; Borough Market; the BBC Earth Experience; something called Dopamine Land; a gluten-free bakery; and a Korean skincare store. I am weirdly just as excited as them! We will be catching up with family too, which is my favourite part.

As usual, the pre-holiday week is of course a bit chaotic. If I didn’t need a holiday before, I definitely need one now. Amid all the craziness though I discovered this gem of a recipe. It is extra simple, delicious made warm, but it’s also great cold. So double-batch this one and halve your dinner prep the next night! The great thing about the cold option is that while chilling, the potatoes develop resistant starch – a kind of starch that steadies the release of glucose into the bloodstream. This means better, long-lasting energy and less pressure on your insulin response. It's also a little on the healthier side because using whole baby potatoes (and keeping the skins) increases the fibre: potato ratio. I used the three colour baby potatoes (white skins, red skins and blue potatoes), which look pretty. The blue potatoes contain naturally occurring anthocyanins, meaning you get an extra dose of antioxidants too.

Making the vinaigrette from scratch will remind you how easy it is to make your own dressing. Doing so is a great way to avoid GMO oils and include more extra virgin olive oil. You will also skip the added sugars in many commercial dressings. Finally, tossing on fresh herbs is another great way to up the antioxidants. Tip: if you have leftover chives, add them to salads over the coming days rather than just letting them wilt in the fridge. They add tons of extra flavour.

Baby potato salad with lemon, mint and chive dressing

Ingredients:

2lbs baby potatoes, three-colour if you like. Washed well, skins on.

1 tsp salt

4 tbsps fresh lemon juice or Acid League Meyer lemon vinegar (Miles)

4 tbsps EV olive oil

Lemon zest, from 1 lemon

1 clove garlic, peeled and crushed

½ tsp flaky sea salt

1.5 tsps wholegrain mustard

Pinch black pepper

2 tbsps snipped fresh chives

2 tbsps finely chopped fresh mint

1 bunch spring onions, trimmed and finely chopped

Method:

Add one tsp salt to boiling water and cook potatoes until tender.

While the potatoes are cooking, snip/chop the fresh herbs/onions and set to one side.

Also make the dressing, using all the ingredients from lemon juice, through to black pepper.

Drain the potatoes, toss in the dressing and scatter with the herbs and spring onions. Serve warm or cold. Enjoy!