food optimising

Prawn & Pesto Linguine

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A really quick and easy meal ready in less than 15 minutes! The pesto sauce can be stored in the fridge for a couple of days but I prefer to make it when I need it as it is super quick to prepare. If you do make extra, you can use the spare pesto over chicken and bake it for another quick meal.

This is syn free if you use the cheese as part of your healthy extra A choice (you can have 30g), I only use half the cheese allowance as I use milk in my coffees for the other half of healthy extra A choice. It is perfectly fine to split your healthy extra choices, you may not get the full calcium/fibre benefits but that is okay. I tend to do that with healthy extra B choices too. If you follow me on Instagram (@RahemaSW) you may notice that most of my breakfasts consists of 1 chocolate Weetabix, I almost always have a hifi bar for the other half of my B choice. You can find more information about splitting healthy extra choices on lifeline online if you are SW member, or your consultant can give you more info about it.

I have added chilli to this (I know, you don’t add chilli to pesto) but you can leave it out. I think most people know that I love spicy food so I tend to add chilli in almost everything! This isn’t a conventional pesto sauce as I didn’t use pine nuts (too many syns!) but tastes amazing nonetheless. Let me know if you make this and feel free to tag me if you’re on social media.

Prawn & Pesto Linguine

Prawn & Pesto Linguine

Serves: 2

Syns: FREE if using cheese as healthy extra A choice

Time Taken: Less than 15 minutes

Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients

  • 200g linguine
  • Cooked Prawns

Pesto Sauce:

  • 25g basil leaves
  • 15g rocket leaves
  • 2 garlic cloves
  • 30g parmesan cheese
  • 50ml vegetable stock
  • 75ml fat free fromage frais
  • 1 green chilli (optional)

Method

Cook the linguine according the pasta intructions and whilst that is cooking make the pesto sauce by adding all the ingredients together and blending it all till smooth. Set aside till needed.

Once the linguine is cooked, drain and mix in the pesto and prawns. You can serve this with extra rocket leaves and cherry tomatoes.

Coffee & Almond Rice Pudding

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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.

Falafels

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Delicious little treats, perfect as a snack or as part of a meal.

Makes: 20

Syns: FREE

Time Taken: 30 minutes, plus chilling

Difficulty: Moderate

Falafels

Falafels

ingredients

  • 2 tins chickpeas, drained
  • 2 garlic cloves
  • 4 spring onions, chopped
  • 1 tsp ground cumin
  • ½ tsp baking powder
  • handful of fresh coriander
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • Low calorie cooking spray

method

Put all ingredients together in a bowl and blitz together until the mixture is a coarse paste.

Shape mixture into falafels and chill for at least 15 minutes to set their shape.

Cook them in a preheated oven, gas mark 6 for around 30 minutes turning them halfway.

Caribbean Rice Salad

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Serves: 4

Syns: FREE

Time Taken: less than 30 minutes

Difficulty: Easy

Caribbean Rice Salad

Caribbean Rice Salad

Ingredients

  • 1 cup cooked basmati rice
  • 1 fresh mango, diced
  • 1 fresh pineapple, diced
  • 1/2 cucumber, diced
  • 1 small red onion, finely chopped
  • 1 red chilli, finely chopped
  • Seasoning to taste

Method

Cook the rice, drain and rinse under cold running water.

Mix the rice and all the ingredients together in a large bowl and season to taste.

Minestrone Soup

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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 Pilau

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Serves: 4

Syns: FREE

Time Taken: 60 minutes

Difficulty: Easy

Chicken Pilau

Chicken Pilau

 

Ingredients

  • 3 onion, chopped
  • 1 tbsp cumin seeds
  • 1 tsp chilli flakes
  • 1/2 tbsp ginger/garlic paste
  • 1 packet Laziza Yakhni Pilau spice mix
  • 100g 0% Greek yogurt
  • 2 cubes Maggie seasoning (optional)
  • 3 chicken breasts, chopped
  • 2 cups rice, washed and soaked for 30 minutes

Method

Spray a large pan with plenty of low calorie cooking spray. Add the onions and fry for 5 minutes.

Add cumin seeds and chilli flakes and continue to cook the onions till golden brown (around 15 minutes). Use hot water if the onions start to stick to the bottom of the pan.

Add the chicken, ginger/garlic paste, Maggie cubes (if using, or use salt to taste) and one packet of the Laziza spice mix. Fry until the chicken has browned all over before adding the yogurt. Cook for 10 minutes then add 4 cups of boiling water to the chicken. Check for seasoning and add the drained water.

Cook the rice on high heat till most of the water has evaporated then place the lid on the pan and cook on a low heat for 25 minutes or until all the water has evaporated and the rice and chicken is cooked.

 

Cottage Pie

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This is a comforting, warm dish perfect for the winter days and it is so versatile too. I use the same recipe (minus the mixed frozen veg) for spaghetti bolognaise. You can use chicken mince too but I prefer using beef.

Serves: 4

Syns: FREE

Time Taken:  60 minutes

Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients

  • 500g lean beef mince
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 1 large carrot, peeled and grated
  • 3 celery sticks, chopped
  • 4 garlic cloves, chopped
  • 400g tin chopped tomatoes
  • 500g carton passata
  • 4 tbsp tomato puree
  • 1 tsp dried mixed herbs
  • 1 tsp chilli flakes
  • 2 cubes of beef stock, crumbled
  • A cupful of mixed frozen veg (broccoli, carrots and peas), optional
  • 4 large baking potatoes, boiled and mashed
  • 1 egg, beaten
  • Cheese (optional)
Cottage Pie

Cottage Pie

Method

Spray a large pan with spray oil over a medium heat and stir fry the mince till it is browned. Then add the onion, carrot, celery, garlic and chilli and cook for another couple of minutes.

Add the chopped tomatoes, passata, tomato puree, mixed herbs and the crumbled stock cubes. Cook over a low heat for 30 minutes stirring occasionally.. Season to taste. If using frozen veg add the veg towards the last 10 minutes of cooking.

For the mash, peel and boil the potatoes and mash. Once the potatoes are mashed, add the beaten egg to it and keep stirring so there are no lumps in the mash.

Put the cooked mince into a shallow oven proof dish. Top with the mashed potato (and cheese if using) and bake at gas mark 6 until the top is golden (around 20 minutes).

Chicken Fajitas

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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.

 

Sausage Rolls

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This is another quick and easy recipe perfect for taster sessions in Slimming World groups. These work out at only 1 syn each for a bitesize sausage roll. It only needs 3 ingredients! It can’t get any easier than that.

You can use any sausages of your choice but remember to find out syns before you make them as sausages tend to be quite high in syns!

I have used the Linda McCartney’s vegetarian sausages which are only 0.5 syn each. I am on the lookout for low syn halal sausages, if you know of any, please comment with what you use.

Sausage Rolls

Sausage Rolls

 

Makes: 18

Syns: 1 syn each

Time Taken: less than 30 minutes

Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients

  • 6 Linda McCartney’s Vegetarian Sausages
  • 3 Kinsmill thins
  • 1 egg, beaten

Method

Cook the sausages according to the packet instructions, but don’t fully cook them as you will be cooking them again for a few more minutes later.

Once the sausages are mostly cooked, remove them from the oven and set them aside.

Brush the inside of each Kingsmill thin with the beaten egg. Place a sausage in each half and roll.

Brush the egg all over the outside of the thins and place them in the oven for around 10 minutes (or less) till the rolls are nice and golden.

Once cooked, remove from the oven and cut each sausage roll into 3 pieces.

Chicken Tikka Pizza

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A super easy cheat’s pizza ready in less than 20 minutes! This is syn free when using the wrap as healthy extra B choice and the cheese as part of healthy extra A choice. You can add any of your favourite Free Food toppings, I’ve used Haloodies Chicken Tikka slices for this pizza as they are pre-cooked already making this even easier! You can find the syn values for Haloodies products here. The chicken tikka is available in most supermarkets in the halal chilled food section.

I cut these into slices of 8 making it perfect for tasters sessions for Slimming World groups or any other party.

You can get the pizza seasoning from Aldi, I’ve recently picked it up from my local Aldi for a bargain 29p!!! If you can’t find the pizza seasoning then you can use mixed herbs instead as it works quite well too.

I know cottage cheese may sound weird on a pizza but believe me it does not taste like it once cooked. The cottage cheese gives the pizza a lovely effect, it looks like mozarella cheese once cooked!

Serves: 1

Syns: FREE

Time Taken: 20 minutes

Difficulty: Easy

Chicken Tikka Pizza

Chicken Tikka Pizza

Ingredients

  • 1 Weight Watchers white wrap
  • 20g light cheddar cheese
  • Tomato puree
  • Pizza seasoning or mixed herbs
  • Mushrooms
  • Haloodies chicken tikka slices
  • Cottage cheese
  • Spinach
  • Cherry tomatoes

Method

Spread tomato puree all over the wrap and sprinkle some of the pizza seasoning. Add all of your favourite toppings and a dollop some of the cottage cheese around the pizza before sprinkling the cheddar cheese on.

Bake in a pre heated oven on gas mark 6 for around 12-15 minutes till the cheese is melted and golden.