Recipes

Easy Stir Fry

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This is one of the easiest stir fries ever! You can add any meat/fish to it for a more filling meal. We usually have this with chicken mince.

Serves: 4
Syns: FREE
Time Taken: 15 minutes
Difficulty: Easy

Easy Stir Fry

Ingredients

  • Bag of stir fry vegetables
  • Bunch of spring onions
  • 1 red chilli (optional), chopped
  • Dark soy sauce
  • Light soy sauce
  • 1 tbsp ginger/garlic paste
  • 2 cubes of Maggie seasoning, crumbled
  • 1 tbsp Chinese 5 Spice
  • Low calorie cooking spray
  • Egg Noodles

Method

In a wok sprayed with low calorie cooking spray, add 3 chopped spring onions, the ginger/garlic paste and the red chilli (if using). Fry for about 3-5 minutes.

Add the stir fry vegetables, soy sauces, Chinese 5 spice and the crumbled seasonings and stir fry for another 3 minutes.

Add any meat or fish at this stage and cook accordingly before adding the cooked noodles and giving everything a good stir. Adjust the spices if you need more.

Yummy Stir Fry

Overnight Oats

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This is a very popular breakfast option with members in group. I love it too as it is very easy to prepare and it is ready and waiting for you when you wake up! You can add any fruit to it, frozen fruit works really well as it is perfectly defrosted by morning.

Serves: 1

Syns: FREE if using porridge oats as Healthy Extra B choice

Time Taken: 2 minutes plus overnight chilling

Difficulty: Easy

Overnight Oats with Fruit

Overnight Oats with Fruit

 

Ingredients

  • 40g porridge oats
  • 200g fat free natural yogurt or a flavoured variety (check if syns)
  • Mixed blueberries, strawberries and raspberries

Method

Layer the porridge, yogurt and fruit in a jar or bowl. Cover and put in the refrigerator overnight so the porridge absorbs all the yogurt.

In the morning stir so all the layers are mixed together and top with more fruit.

Kheema & Pea Curry

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Love Kheema curry served with boiled rice and a raita. For extra Speed you can serve with cauliflower rice instead.

Serves: 4

Syns: FREE

Time Taken: 30 minutes

Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients

  • Low calorie cooking spray

    Kheema curry

    Kheema curry

  • 450g lean beef mince (5% fat or less)
  • 1 onion, diced
  • 1 garlic clove
  • 1 tsp turmeric
  • 2 tsp chilli powder
  • 1 tsp garam masala
  • 400g can chopped plum tomatoes
  • 200g frozen peas
  • 1 tsp ground coriander
  • 1 tsp salt

Method

Spray a non-stick frying pan with low calorie cooking spray and brown the mince with onion and garlic. Add salt, turmeric, chilli powder, garam masala, and stir in.

Add tin of tomatoes and stir well. Half fill the tomato can with water and add this to the pan. Add the peas and stir well.

Bring to boil and simmer for about 45 minutes. Add more water if necessary.

Remove from heat. Add ground coriander and stir.

Onion Bhajis – Pakoras

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These are a perfect little snack. The recipe should make 12 pieces, making each only 1 syn.

Makes: 12 pieces

Syns: 1 syn each

Time Taken: 30 minutes

Difficulty: Easy


Ingredients

  • 200g onions, peeled, halved and thinly sliced
  • 60g gram flour
  • 1 tsp lemon juice
  • 2 tsp ground cumin
  • 1 tbsp coriander seeds, crushed
  • 1 tsp deseeded and chopped green chilli
  • 1 tbsp chopped coriander leaves
  • ¼ tsp baking powder
  • Salt
  • Low calorie cooking spray

Method

Place the onions, gram flour, lemon juice, cumin, coriander seeds, green chilli, chopped coriander and baking powder in a mixing bowl. Season with salt and add a few tablespoons of water to form a thick batter that coats the onion. Leave to rest for 15 minutes and then, using your fingers, mix again to combine thoroughly.

Preheat the oven to 220°C/200°C Fan/Gas 7. Line a baking sheet with baking parchment and, using your fingers or a dessert spoon, drop small mounds of the mixture onto the prepared baking sheet to give you 12 bhajis.

Spray with low calorie cooking spray and bake for 15-20 minutes until golden. Remove from the oven and serve immediately sprinkled with the paprika.

Mince Tarts

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I have to admit I have never been a fan of mince pies until I made these little tarts – they are so delicious! A lot of my members love these whenever I make them for group tasters. I like to use Asda’s own make of mincemeat!

Makes: 45

Syns: 2 syns each

Time Taken: 25 minutes, plus chilling and baking

Difficulty: Moderate

Mince Tarts

Ingredients
For the pastry:

  • 225g plain flour
  • pinch of salt
  • 110g margarine or butter
  • Cold water, for mixing

For the filling:

  • 16 level tbsp mincemeat
  • level tbsp icing sugar for dusting (optional, I usually skip it)

Method

Preheat the oven to 190°C/170°C Fan/Gas Mark 5. Lightly spray some bun trays with low calorie cooking spray.

Make the pastry. Sift the flour and salt into a mixing bowl. Add the fat, cut up into little pieces. Gently rub it in with your fingertips. Add sufficient cold water to mix to a ball that leaves the sides of the bowl clean. Rest in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
Roll out the pastry thinly on a lightly floured surface. Cut out 32 rounds with a 7½cm fluted cutter. Use to line the prepared bun tins.

Divide the mincemeat between the pastry cases. Roll out the remaining pastry trimmings and make some little stars with a small star cutter. Use to decorate the tops of the tarts.

Bake in the preheated oven for about 15 minutes, until the pastry is crisp and lightly coloured. Cool on a wire rack and dust lightly with sifted icing sugar if using.

 

Chicken Kebabs

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Who doesn’t love chicken kebabs?! You can use any other type of meat if you want, but chicken is our favourite. We like to have these on their own as a starter, or you can serve them with a huge salad and some Slimming World chips.

Serves: 4

Syns: FREE

Time Taken: 30 minutes plus marinade

Difficulty: Medium

Chicken Kebabs Recipe

Chicken Kebabs preparation

Ingredients

  • 1kg chicken mince
  • 2 teaspoons garam masala
  • 2 teaspoons ground cumin powder
  • 2 medium onions, minced
  • 3 green chillies, minced
  • 1 tbsp ginger/garlic paste
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon black pepper

Method

1 Mix everything together until it is evenly distributed, let it marinate for a couple of hours minimum or overnight (in a fridge) if time permits.

2 Shape into patties and grill sprayed with fry light, turning halfway. Takes about 10-12 minutes depending on how thin/thick they are.

Easy Pasta Sauce

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One of our favourite family meals has to be pasta! We all love it so much. We are quite happy just having plain pasta topped with cheese for a quick meal but on the days we need a sauce this tomato sauce is a saviour. It is super easy to make! You can also add pretty much anything to it if you wish – tuna, chicken, mince etc.

Serves: 4

Syns: FREE

Time Taken: 10 minutes

Difficulty: Easy

Easy Pasta Sauce Ingredients

Easy Pasta Sauce Ingredients

Ingredients

  • 1 tub of passata
  • 1 tsp garlic granules
  • 1 tsp onion granules
  • 1 tsp chilli flakes (optional)
  • 1 tbsp dried basil
  • 1 stock cube or 2 Maggie seasoning cubes
  • Seasoning to taste

Method

In a pan pour out the passata and add all the rest of the ingredients and heat through thoroughly for about 5-8 minutes. Once heated through, you can add any chicken/tuna/veg you may be using and cook till it is done. And that is it! How simple is that?

Leek & Potato Soup

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This is a delicious creamy soup, adding the fromage frais really makes a difference to the taste.

Serves: 4

Syns: FREE

Time Taken: 45 minutes

Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients

  • 1 large onion
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1.2 litres chicken or veg stock
  • 700g potatoes
  • 1 large leek
  • 150g far-free natural fromage frais
  • 2 tbsp freshly chopped chives

Method

Peel and finely chop the onion. Place in a large saucepan along with the bay leaves and 150ml of the stock. Bring to the boil, cover and simmer for 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, peel and finely dice the potatoes. Trim the leek and slice lengthwise. Rinse under cold water to remove any trapped earth. Shake well to remove excess water and then shred.

Add the potato and all but a few shreds of the leek. Pour in the remaining stock and season well. Bring to the boil, cover and simmer for 25 minutes until tender.

Discard the bay leaves and transfer the mixture to a food processor or blender. Blend until smooth and return to the saucepan.

Blend in the fromage frais and reheat gently without boiling. Adjust the seasoning if necessary. Ladle into warmed soup bowls, sprinkle with black pepper, reserved shredded leek and chopped chives.

Cauliflower Pizza Recipe

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Cauliflower Pizza

Cauliflower Pizza

Who doesn’t like pizza right? And as a slimmer we all know how high in syns pizza can be, so this cauliflower base pizza alternative is just a god-send! For those of you thinking how can you eat a cauliflower tasting pizza, fear not! You cannot taste the cauliflower at all, and I am not a fan of cauliflower.

Serves: 1

Syns: FREE (if using cheese as Healthy Extra A choice)

Time Taken: 40 minutes

Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients

  • 1 tub of cauliflower rice with parsley (from Aldi)
  • 1 egg, beaten
  • Dried mixed herbs
  • Garlic granules
  • Chilli flakes
  • Tomato puree
  • Cottage cheese – trust me it makes a huge difference to the taste!
  • Any cheese of your choice as your healthy extra A choice – I like using 40g light cheddar cheese
  • Your fave pizza toppings – chicken, mushrooms, sweetcorn, chillies etc

Method

In a large frying pan, pour the cauliflower rice and cook for around 5 minutes with 1 tsp each of garlic granules and dried mixed herbs and 1/2 tsp chilli flakes (optional). Remove from heat and let it cool slightly before adding one beaten egg. Season and mix well.

Cover a baking tray with parchment paper and spoon the cauliflower mix thinly on it.

Cook it in a pre heated oven, gas mark 6 for about 8-10 minutes. Once cooked on one side, turn it over and cook for a further 8-10 minutes on the other side.

Once cooked on both sides, spread some tomato puree thinly all over the cauliflower base before adding your favourite toppings with cottage cheese and cheese from your healthy extra A choice and back in the oven for a further 10 minutes till golden.

Butternut Squash Soup

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This soup is perfect for those of you that like smooth soups. To make this even easier you can buy pre chopped chunks of butternut squash from most large supermarkets.

Serves: 4

Syns: FREE

Time Taken: 30 minutes

Difficulty: Easy

Butternut Squash Soup

Ingredients

  • Low calorie cooking spray
  • 1 onion, peeled and diced
  • 1 medium butternut squash, peeled, deseeded and cut into wedges.
  • 1 small potato, peeled and quartered
  • 2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 900ml vegetable stock
  • A few thyme sprigs to serve

Method

Spray a large pan with low calorie cooking spray and place over a low heat, add the onion and cook for 1-2 minutes.

Add the butternut squash and potato and cook for 2 minutes over a medium heat. Add the garlic and season to taste. Pour in the stock and simmer for 25 minutes.

Using a hand-blender or food processor, blend until smooth and serve sprinkled with thyme sprigs.