Fish & Coconut Curry

A really simple and easy curry to make – I normally use frozen basa fillets (I let it defrost before using). The syns in this recipe come from the coconut milk, please check the syns if you use a different brand. I get the coconut milk tins from B&M Bargains (4 for £1 – a real bargain!) and it is just the right size. Each tin is only 7 syns, divided by 3 of us works out at less than 2.5 syns per serving. I used to buy the bigger tins of coconut milk and only use half a tin and throw the rest away, so I’ve stopped doing that. This curry is lovely served with coconut rice if you don’t mind using more syns.

Serves: 3

Syns: 2.5 syns per serving

Time Taken: 30 minutes

Difficulty: Easy

Fish & Coconut Curry

Fish & Coconut Curry

 

Ingredients

  • 1 medium onion, finely chopped
  • 3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
  • 200g passata
  • 1.5 tbsp curry powder
  • 1/2 tbsp dried fenugreek leaves (methi)
  • 1 veg oxo cube, crumbled
  • 165ml tin Full Moon coconut milk
  • Firm white fish fillets

Method

Spray a pan with plenty of syn free spray oil and cook the onion till lightly golden. Add hot water if the onion starts to stick to the pan.

Add the chopped garlic and fry for another couple of minutes. Add the fenugreek leaves, curry powder, crumbled up oxo cube and passata and cook the spices down for about 10 minutes.

Add the coconut milk and the fish fillets and cook on a gentle heat. Try not to stir the fish too much or you’ll end up with broken pieces. Instead, gently shake the pan when you need to.

Served with boiled basmati rice and a speedy salad.

Chickpea & Paneer Curry

Paneer is one of my favourite foods! I don’t cook it often as it is quite high in syns so making it in Ramadan is perfect for me as I don’t tend to use syns like I normally would. There just isn’t enough time to eat any snacks!

25g of paneer is 4.5 syns, I used 150g in this recipe for 3 of us but there was enough to feed 4 people. I guess we just don’t eat as much as we normally would in Ramadan! If your serving is for more or less people then adjust the syns accordingly. We had this served with a pea pilau & salad.

Chickpea & Paneer Curry

Chickpea & Paneer Curry

 

Serves: 4

Syns: 7 syns

Time Taken: 25 minutes

Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients

  • 150g paneer, cubed
  • 1 tin chickpeas
  • 1 onion, finely chopped
  • 2 tomatoes, chopped
  • 1/2 tsp chilli flakes
  • 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
  • 1/2 tbsp ginger/garlic paste
  • 1/2 tbsp bassar (or any curry powder of your choice)
  • 2 Maggie seasoning cubes (or salt to taste)

Method

Spray a pan with low cal spray and fry the paneer till its lightly golden and set aside.

Fry the onions with the chilli flakes and cumin seeds till golden. Add water if the onions are starting to stick to the pan. Add the ginger/garlic paste, tomatoes, seasoning cubes and bassar. Cook for around 5-8 minutes (adding a bit of water if needed) till the tomatoes have soften. I then blitz this with a hand blender so that there aren’t any lumps in the sauce. You don’t have to this, it is completely optional but we prefer it this way.

Add the tinned chickpeas without draining the water, cook for a few minutes till the sauce reduces and then add the fried paneer.

Ramadan Meal Planner v.2018

One of the best ways to be successful at food optimising during Ramadan is to plan, plan and plan. Planning is the key to success.

I already have a 7 day planner I did last year. Please click HERE to see the 2017 version of the planner. That page also has a lot of information on how to food optimise during Ramadan. I will be tweaking the planner slightly so it fits into my routine this Ramadan.

As the days are so long and the time we can eat & drink in is really really short (approx. 9pm to 2.30am), I intend on planning my days from iftar to suhoor.

So, fasting starts this Thursday. For me personally I’m changing my view of the ‘day’ – the time in which you can eat. I’ll try to explain:

The suhoor meal I will have on Thursday I will be counting the syns/healthy extras on Wednesday. That means everything I eat from iftar on Thursday night till suhoor very early on Friday morning will be counted as the same day.

You don’t have to follow my logic if it doesn’t make sense to you. Ramadan Mubarak!!!

Ramadan 2018 Meal Planner

Coffee & Almond Rice Pudding

Rice pudding is one of my fave foods ever – it is a complete bowl of comfort food, I could eat it anytime! This is an adapted version from the latest Slimming World magazine issue. The original recipe was coffee and walnut but I didn’t have any walnuts at home so made it with almonds instead. My recipe is slightly higher in syns as I used dark chocolate flavoured almond milk instead of the unsweetened almond milk the original recipe states. But having said that, the extra syns are totally worth it as it makes this rice pudding even more indulging!

You will love this if you love coffee and dark chocolate, it is such a perfect combination.

 

Serves: 4

Syns: 5

Time Taken: just over 2 hours

Difficulty: Easy

Coffee & Almond Rice Pudding

Coffee & Almond Rice Pudding

Ingredients

  • 120g dried pudding rice
  • 500ml Alpro Dark Chocolate Almond Milk
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 4 tbsp. Beanies Amaretto flavour  brewed coffee
  • 3 tbsp. sweetener
  • 350ml water
  • 20g almonds, roughly chopped

Method

Pre heat your oven to gas mark 2. Mix the pudding rice with the almond milk, vanilla extract, coffee, sweetener and water in a deep baking dish.

Cover with foil and bake for 1 1/2 hours. Stir, then re-cover with the foil and bake for a further 30-40 minutes, or until the rice is tender and creamy.

Divide the rice pudding between 4 bowls and top each with a quarter of the chopped almonds.

Minestrone Soup

I came across this Jamie Oliver recipe the other day and thought I’d give it a go at making it Slimming World friendly. It was really easy to do and very filling. This recipe would work really well if you are following Extra Easy SP, all you need to do is skip the spaghetti as the rest of the ingredients are all Speed or Protein rich food.

Serves: 6

Syns: FREE

Time Taken: 45-60 minutes

Difficulty: Easy

Minestrone Soup

Minestrone Soup

 

Ingredients

  • 2 tins of chopped tomatoes (without the juice, save the juice for a curry/pasta based dish)
  • 3 medium carrots, peeled and chopped
  • 3 medium leeks, sliced
  • 5 sticks of celery, chopped
  • 2 red onions, chopped
  • 1 small white cabbage, sliced
  • 5 cloves of garlic, crushed
  • 1tbsp fresh rosemary, chopped
  • 1lt chicken/vegetable stock (use more if needed)
  • a handful of spaghetti, cut into small pieces
  • tin of mixed beans
  • a handful of chopped fresh basil
  • chilli flakes, optional
  • 1cal cooking spray oil

Method

Spray a large pan with plenty of 1cal spray oil and cook the carrots, leeks, celery, onion, garlic and rosemary over a medium heat for about 15 minutes.

Add the chopped tomatoes and cook for a further couple of minutes.

Add the stock and bring to the boil before adding the cabbage and cook for a further 10 minutes, covered on a low heat. Add the spaghetti, the mixed beans and the basil and cook for a further 8-10 minutes till the spaghetti is cooked. Add chilli flakes and season to taste.

 

 

 

Chicken Fajitas

This is perfect if you have a fussy family like mine. My girls love this recipe as they get to add whatever they want in their wraps and always have fun trying to stuff it with as many fillings as they can! I use a Weight Watchers wrap for myself which is a healthy extra B choice or 5.5 syns each and use cheese as part of my healthy extra A choice. If you want to save syns, you can use iceberg lettuce leaves instead of wraps. I tend not to use sauces like ketchup or mayo, but if you do use them, remember to syn them accordingly.

Serves: 4

Syns: FREE

Time Taken: 30-45 minutes

Difficulty: Easy

Chicken Fajitas

Chicken Fajitas

Ingredients

  • 3 chicken breasts, cut into strips
  • 2 red onions, finely sliced
  • 1 green, 1 red and 1 yellow pepper, deseeded and finely sliced
  • 1 tbsp ground cumin
  • 1 tbsp smoked paprika
  • 1 tbsp soy sauce
  • 1 tsp chilli flakes
  • Juice of 1 lime

Method

Spray a large wok with a free spray oil and place over a medium heat. Add the chicken and stir fry for 10-15 minutes until the chicken is mostly cooked.

Add the peppers and all the spices to coat the chicken spices and cook until the chicken is fully cooked.

Serve on a wrap with salad and cheese.

 

Baked Eggs with Spinach & Tomatoes

I initially came across this recipe when one of my members tagged me in one of those short recipe videos, I can’t remember if it was Tasty Food or something similar! I then saw this on Instagram on this lovely lady’s page (@whatsianeats check her page out for the most amazing plates of foods) and thought why not give it a go myself, it is such an easy way of making egg and beans. I served it with Slimming World chips that were seasoned with JD Seasonings Chips & Wedges seasoning. If you haven’t come across them do check out their website for all other spices and seasonings to add flavour to your meals.

My members absolutely them, there is such a huge range of products to choose from. I tend to buy the same ones, I guess I need to be a bit more adventurous with trying out different seasonings! What is fab about their products is that they are all Syn Free, so it is great for us Slimming World foodies and come with the easiest instructions on how to use them. I have been using the code ‘Slim20’ to get 20% off.

I used chilli baked beans in this recipe but you can replace them with regular beans if you prefer.

Serves: 1

Syns: FREE

Time Taken: 20 minutes

Difficulty: Easy

Baked Eggs with Spinach & Tomatoes

Baked Eggs with Spinach & Tomatoes

Ingredients

  • 1/2 tin Heinz chilli baked beans
  • Handful of baby spinach
  • 75g cherry tomatoes, cut in half
  • 1/2 tsp dried oregano
  • 2 eggs

Method

Preheat the oven to gas mark 6.

In a small shallow baking dish layer the spinach leaves at the bottom, followed by the beans and scatter over the cherry tomatoes.

Make 2 indents with the back of a spoon and crack an egg into each.

Scatter the oregano and some black pepper over the whole tray.

Cover with foil and bake in the oven for 15-18 minutes or until the whites are just set.

Homity Pie

This is one of my favourite Slimming World’s recipe, it is such a good comfort food. Perfect for cold nights. I also added some broccoli to mine as I had some that needed using up, you can add any extra speedy veg to it that you like. In the past I’ve added carrots in it too!

Serves: 4

Syns: FREE when using cheese as a Healthy Extra A choice

Time Taken: 60 minutes

Difficulty: Moderate

Ingredients

  • Low calorie cooking spray
  • 340g potatoes, peeled and cubed
  • 225g onions, chopped
  • 225g leeks, thinly sliced
  • 198g frozen peas
  • 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
  • A handful of fresh parsley, chopped
  • A handful of fresh thyme, chopped
  • 2 eggs, lightly beaten
  • 85ml of vegetable stock
  • 160g reduced-fat Cheddar cheese, grated
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Homity Pie

Homity Pie

Method

Preheat your oven to 220°C/200°F/Gas 7. Spray a medium-sized, ovenproof dish with low calorie cooking spray.

Boil potatoes for 15-20 minutes, or until tender. Drain return to the pan and mash. Set aside until needed.

Spray a large non-stick frying pan with low calorie cooking spray and stir-fry the onions, leeks and peas over a medium heat for 6-8 minutes, or until the vegetables have softened.

Add the mashed potatoes, garlic, parsley, thyme eggs, stock and half the cheese, season and stir to combine. Spoon the mixture into the prepared ovenproof dish and scatter over the remaining cheese. Bake for 20 minutes or until golden.

Rice Pudding – Slimming World style

In group this morning we were talking about rice pudding amongst all other things! My gorgeous members were sharing some pudding ideas and somehow we all ended up talking about almond milk, then cheese and then bread, suddenly we were talking about crustless bread!! It is funny how talk of one thing can lead to something completely different.

I absolutely love rice pudding, it is one of those comfort foods that makes you feel all warm inside. This is one of the easiest ways I have found of making it Slimming World friendly. I find that it does dry up if you leave it till the next day but I don’t mind cold rice pudding! I love it when it is all stodgy.

All you need is 125g pudding rice (you can find this on the baking aisles in the supermarkets, or you can use any type of short grain rice), 1lt of unsweetened almond milk (healthy extra A choice or 6 syns), 1 tsp nutmeg and sweetener (0.5 syn per tbsp.) to taste (it is best to add this at the end of the cooking) and cook it in the slow cooker for around 4-5 hours on low. I also like to add a bit of cinnamon once cooked, but this is optional. You can leave it out if you prefer it with just nutmeg.

Mmmm! Simply delicious.

Topping mad

Although this pudding tastes perfectly delish on its own, sometimes a little dollop of that certain something can top it off perfectly:

  • Sweeten it up with one level tablespoon of reduced-sugar jam for 1 Syn or 1 level teaspoon of honey for 1 syn
  • For a chocolatey treat, why not indulge in a 15g bag of Cadbury Chocolate Buttons stirred in until they melt, for an additional 4 Syns (soooo good)
  • Bananas, blueberries, raspberries or strawberries can be added for Free
Supermarket sweep

Ready made rice puddings tend to be quite high in Syns, due to the sugar content. Co-op’s Truly Irresistible Clotted Cream Rice Puddings are a whopping 23½ Syns per portion!!! And a 180g pot of Mulle Rice Original (described as low-fat) is a surprisingly high 9 Syns. Here are a couple of selections that are better options for us slimmers:

  • Ambrosia Rice Pudding, light, 115g pot, 5 Syns
  • Ambrosia Rice Pudding, Chocolate , 120g pot , 6½ Syns

How do you make your rice pudding Slimming World friendly? If you do it differently please comment below how you make them.