food optimising

Mithai!

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Mithai an Indian Subcontinent Sweet

Mithai

One of the most common syn value questions I get asked quite often from both my members and other people is the syn values for Mithai and related products. These delicious treats originating from the Indian Subcontinent are often eaten at special occasions like weddings and Eid. Well you can eat (and buy them) them all year round if you wish but be careful of over consuming these lovely delicacies as they are extremely high in sugar and fat content!

To get accurate syn values for mithai is not an easy task. Mithai vary from shop to shop, there are many variations in recipes, different sizes and unfortunately they never come with nutritional information on the boxes.

I have done some research and tried to work out average syn values for common mithai so my members can have an idea on how many syns roughly to count for them. I hope this is useful especially with Ramadan coming up, the Eid celebrations straight after and then particularly the summer Wedding season. Please bear in mind that these are average syns values, not exact figures so please use your best judgement and adjust syn values accordingly. If you are still not sure of syn values, it is better to over estimate rather than under estimate to protect your weight loss.

The values are per one standard ‘shop bought’ piece unless specified.

I have to admit I was so shocked with the syn value for Halwa Puri with Chana. It is crazy how high it is!

Balushai – 6.5 syns

Barfi – 6.5 syns

Bessan Ladoo- 7 syns

Boondi- 13.5 syns

Jalebi – a single piece weighing on average 25g is 4.5 syns

Gajar Halwa – 13.5 syns

Gulab Jamun – 7.5 syns

Habshi Halwa – 41 syns

Halwa Puri with Chana – 60 syns

Kaju Katli – 3 syns

Kheer – 1/2 cup serving 14 syns

Ladoo – 12.5 syns

Patissa – 7.5 syns

Rasgulla – 9.5 syns

Shakarpara – 6.5 syns

White Cham Cham – 9 syns

 

 

 

Egg Fried Rice

4 Comments

This recipe took me less than 10 minutes to prepare using leftover rice! It is a delicious way of using up leftover rice. You can serve it with any meat or fish or have it on its own too. We had it with grilled salmon. You can add any veg to this as it is such a versatile dish, I was pressed for time when I made this so kept it really simple. But veg like peas, sweetcorn, grated carrots, peppers, mushrooms etc work really well with this.

Serves: 2

Syns: FREE

Time Taken: 10 minutes

Difficulty: Easy

Egg Fried Rice with Salmon

Egg Fried Rice with Salmon

Ingredients

  • 3 spring onions, chopped
  • 1 green chilli, chopped (remove seeds if prefer less spicy)
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • 1 tsp Chinese 5 Spice
  • 3 tbsp dark soya sauce
  • 3 eggs
  • 1.5-2 cups cooked rice

Method

In a hot wok fry the spring onions with the chilli for a couple of minutes with spray oil. Add the garlic powder.

Add the cooked rice to the wok and stir to mix everything together. Add the Chinese 5 spice powder (available in most large supermarkets) and soya sauce. Stir again.

Move the rice to one side of the wok and spray more spray oil to the wok and crack the eggs to it. Stir the eggs till cooked and mix with the rice.

Chana Daal

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Another really simple and very easy to make recipe. All my recipes that state curry powder, I use a Bassar mixture. You can get it ready made from most Asian supermarkets or make your own! I don’t know how to make my own so I buy ready made. The one I buy is quite spicy hence why I only use a bit. You can adjust the level of spiciness to your taste.

Serves: 4

Syns: FREE

Time Taken: less than 1 hour plus soaking overnight

Difficulty: Easy

Channa Daal with Boiled Rice

Channa Daal with Boiled Rice

Ingredients

  • 250g channa daal, soaked in cold water overnight
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
  • 1 tomato, chopped
  • 1 tsp ginger/garlic paste
  • 1.5 tsp curry powder
  • 1 tbsp tomato puree

Method

Fry the onion till golden with the cumin seeds. Add the chopped tomato, ginger/garlic paste, tomato puree and curry powder. Fry for around 5 minutes. Add hot water if the spices start to stick to the pan, season to taste.

Drain the water off the daal and add it to the spice mix. Add enough cold water plus a little extra to cover the daal and cook for 30-45 minutes on a low heat. If the daal is too dry, add water accordingly.

Pesto Style Sauce

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This is a really simple way of making a pesto style sauce you can have with pasta or chicken. I don’t have the exact measurements as I knocked this one up really quickly whilst my pasta was cooking. It tasted fine for me but I may tweak it a little bit more in the future, maybe just use the cream cheese with quark possibly? I don’t know yet but will be sure to post on here. I used some of it for my pasta and the leftovers was used for stuffing chicken breasts.

Serves: 2

Syns: FREE if using the cheeses as healthy extra A choice

Time Taken: less than 10 minutes

Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients

Handful of fresh spinach leaves

Handful of fresh basil leaves

1 x 35g Philadelphia light cream cheese

2 x Laughing Cow Blue Cheese triangles

Garlic powder

Seasoning to taste

Method

Mix all the ingredients together adding a little bit of water to it and blitz it altogether using a handheld blender.

Pesto Pasta

Pesto Pasta

Pesto-Stuffed Chicken

Pesto-Stuffed Chicken

 

Pizza-Topped Chicken

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This is a delicious alternative to pizza, saving you syns without compromise on taste! I served it with white flesh sweet potato chips and a large speedy salad.

Serves: 1
Syns: FREE when using cheese as part of your Healthy Extra A choice
Time Taken: 40 minutes
Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients

  • Thin chicken breast fillet
  • 1 tbsp tomato puree
  • Sprinkle of oregano
  • Pizza toppings of your choice – red onion, jalapenos, mushrooms are my favourite
  • 20g light cheddar cheese
Pizza-topped Chicken

Pizza-topped Chicken

Method

Place the chicken breast in a frying pan with lots of fry light and fry on both sides for around 5-7 minutes on each side.

Remove from the pan and spread the tomato puree over the top of the chicken. Add the oregano and all your toppings before sprinkling it with the cheese.

Cook in a pre-heated oven on gas mark 6 for around 20 minutes till the chicken is cooked.

Chicken & Noodle Soup

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I love making this soup when I have leftover chicken to use up from a roast dinner. It is so easy to make and super delicious. If you can’t find celery salt you can use chopped celery (2 or 3 sticks are enough) but I didn’t have any celery today! I haven’t specified the amount of chicken and noodles used as it varies. If I have a lot of leftover chicken, I use half a pack of the noodles pictured (Blue Dragon noodles from Asda). If I don’t have much chicken then I will use a whole pack of the dried noodles.

Serves: 4

Syns: FREE

Time Taken: 25 minutes

Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients

  • 3 medium carrots, peeled and diced
  • 3 medium onions, finely chopped
  • 2 tbsp dried parsley
  • 1 tsp chilli flakes
  • 1 tsp celery salt
  • 2 chicken stock cubes
  • Cooked chicken, shredded
  • Dried noodles
  • Low calorie cooking spray

Chicken & Noodle Soup

Method

In a large pan, spray low calorie spray and add the carrots, onions, parsley, chilli flakes and celery salt. Cook on a medium heat for about 10 minutes till the veg are soft. If you find the veggies are sticking to the pan, you can add boiling water to stop that.

Add the chicken, chicken stock cubes and enough water to cover the chicken. Cook for about 5 minutes.

Add the dried noodles and more water if you need it (depends on how you like your soup, I usually start off by adding 1 litre and add more if needed). Cook for a further 5 minutes till the noodles are done.

 

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

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.