syn free

Chicken Biryani

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This is one of the easiest ways of making a delicious and syn free biryani. If you don’t use Fry Light you can replace it with oil and just syn accordingly. You can also use any other brand of Biryani masala, I love the Laziza brand plus it is syn free!

Chicken Biryani

Chicken Biryani

Serves: 6

Syns: FREE

Time Taken: 60-90 minutes

Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients

  • 4 onions, finely chopped
  • 4 tomatoes, chopped
  • 750g chicken breast, cubed
  • 1/2 packet Laziza Chicken Biryani mix (use more if you prefer spicier, I keep it mild so the kids can eat it too)
  • 2 cups of basmati rice
  • Yellow food colouring
  • 1/2 bunch each of fresh mint and coriander leaves, finely chopped (optional)
  • Fry Light

Method

Spray lots of Fry Light in a pan and add the onions. Cook them on a moderate-high heat until golden brown. Add boiling water to the onions to stop them sticking to the bottom of the pan as needed. Keep stirring, this should take around 20-30 minutes.

Onions

Onions

Add the chicken, tomatoes and the spice mix and cook for a further 5-10 minutes until the tomatoes have softened and the chicken is no longer pink.

Chicken, tomatoes and spice mix

Chicken, tomatoes and spice mix

Lower the heat, cover the pan and cook for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, cook the rice. Add the rice to double the quantity of boiling salted water and cook till half done, around 8 minutes. Drain the water, rinse it in cold water and set aside till needed.

Once the chicken is cooked you can start to layer it with the rice. Use the pan you’ve used to cook the rice and add a third of the rice to the bottom of the pan. Top it with half of the chicken, then rice again, chicken, and finish off with a layer of rice reserving some to mix with the food colouring to add colour to the rice. Add the mint and coriander if using at this stage.

Cover the pan and cook the biryani on a low heat for 30 minutes.

 

 

Sweetcorn Soup

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One of my favourite soups from the Slimming World ready meals frozen range is the Sweetcorn Chowder soup, it is super delicious. So I though I’d try to recreate my own version of it and it came out quite nice! Here’s the recipe below.

Serves: 2

Syns: FREE

Time Taken: 30 minutes

Difficulty: Easy

Sweetcorn Soup

Sweetcorn Soup

Ingredients

  • 1 medium potato, peeled and chopped
  • 2 celery sticks, chopped
  • 1 tin of creamed sweet corn
  • 1tsp dried basil
  • 1 tsp chilli flakes
  • 1 stock cube

Method

Put the potato, celery and stock cube in a pan with enough water and cook for about 15-18 minutes till the potato is cooked.

Once cooked, blitz. Add the basil, chili flakes and tinned sweetcorn and cook for a further 5 minutes. Adjust any seasoning if needed.

Nacho-Style Feast

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This is such an easy meal packed full of flavour. The original SW recipe uses Primula cheese but I didn’t have any in the house so just used what I had in – light cheddar cheese and it was still delicious! Using Primula cheese will give you a more creamier topping.

Serves: 2

Syns: FREE if using cheese as healthy extra A choice

Time Taken: 60 minutes

Difficulty: Easy

Nacho-Style Feast

Nacho-Style Feast

Ingredients

  • 2 baking potatoes, cut into wedges
  • 250g lean beef mince
  • 1 onion, sliced
  • 250g passata
  • 1 tsp cumin
  • 2 tsp fajita seasoning
  • 1 tsp paprika
  • 1/2 tsp chilli flakes
  • 80g light cheddar cheese, finely
  • Jalapeno peppers

Method

Chop potatoes in wedges and cook them in the actifry for around 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, spray a frying pan with low-calorie cooking spray and place over a medium-high heat. Add the mince and stir-fry for 10 minutes, then add the onion and cook for 5-6 minutes, or until softened. Stir in the passata and sprinkle in the cumin, fajita seasoning, paprika and chilli flakes. Cook for 10-15 minutes, until most of the liquid has evaporated.

Remove from the heat. Preheat your grill to high. Tip the wedges into two ovenproof dishes, spoon over the mince equally and sprinkle 40g of the cheese into each dish. Add the jalapenos and grill for 8-10 minutes, or until the cheese starts to brown.

Nargisi Kofta Curry

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Nargisi Koftas are basically an Asian version of a Scotch egg! It is packed full of flavour and can be served on its own with a salad or chaat, or you can make it into a curry and serve it with boiled rice and/or chapattis and naan bread. I’ve used Laziza Kofta spice mix to the mince to add more flavour but if you haven’t got that you can use curry powder instead.

Serves: 4

Syns: FREE

Time Taken: 60 minutes

Difficulty: Moderate

Nargisi Kofta Curry

Nargisi Kofta Curry

 

Ingredients

  • 4 hard boiled eggs, peeled and chopped in half
  • 500g lean mince
  • 3 tbsp Laziza Kofta mix
  • a handful of fresh coriander, chopped
  • 4 onions
  • 1 tsp ginger/garlic paste
  • 2 tbsp tomato puree
  • 5 tbsp passata
  • 1 tbsp hot curry powder
  • 2 tbsp fat free natural yogurt

Method

Chop 2 of the onions finely and blend using a hand blender. Add the onions, fresh coriander and Laziza spice mix in to the mince and mix well.

Flatten some of the mince into the palm of your hand and add one half of the boiled egg and cover it completely with the mince. Repeat this until all the eggs are covered in the mince. If you have any leftover mince you can shape them into meatballs without the egg.

In a frying pan, gently fry the koftas till all the meat is sealed around the egg. Remove from the pan and set aside till needed.

Chop the other two onions finely and fry in a pan with the ginger/garlic paste for around 10 minutes till the onion are lightly golden. If the onions start to stick to the bottom of the pan, add hot water to stop it sticking.

Add the tomato puree, passata and curry powder and cook on a medium heat for 5 minutes before adding the koftas in to it. Lower the heat and cook gently for around 20 mintutes until the mince is cooked all around. Try to be very gentle when stirring the koftas to avoid them breaking up. Add the yogurt in the last 5 minutes of cooking.

Serve with boiled rice.

 

 

Vegetable Risotto

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You can add anything to the risotto, meat, fish or other veggies of your choice. I kept it really simple by using what I had in the house. Adding the dairylea cheese triangle at the end gives this risotto a lovely creamy texture. One triangle is 1.5 syns only or you can use it as part of your healthy extra A choice (5 triangles) making this dish completely Free!

Serves: 2

Syns: FREE

Time Taken: 30-45 minutes

Difficulty: Easy

Vegetable Risotto

Vegetable Risotto

Ingredients

  • 125g risotto rice
  • 500ml chicken stock, use more if needed
  • 1 tsp dried mixed herbs
  • 1 shallot, finely chopped
  • 1 celery, finely chopped
  • 1 red chilli, chopped
  • Handful of frozen peas
  • Tinned sweet corn
  • Artichoke hearts
  • 2 dairylea blue cheese triangles (optional)

Method

Spray a pan with fry light and fry the shallot, celery, chilli and rice for 5 minutes.

Mix the dried herbs into the stock. Add the stock, a little at a time, to the rice whilst mixing it throughout.

Keep mixing the rice until all the stock has been used. If the rice still feels too Al dente, add more stock if needed.

Add the veggies and cook for a further 5 minutes, mixing all the time.

Add the cheese triangles, if using, and stir till melted into the rice. Serve the risotto immediately.

Aldi Shopping Essentials

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Below are my Slimming World friendly goodies I picked up from Aldi today. I find Aldi such good value for money. My must-haves I get from there:

  • Cauliflower rice – I usually make pizza with this (recipe here)
  • Cottage cheese – Aldi one is the best cottage cheese. I absolutely love the onion and chives cottage cheese, it is syn free too! I top a jacket potato with it or make crustless quiche with it (recipe here) or eat it straight from the tub! It is sooo good.
  • Fry Light – when on offer I buy a few to keep me going.
  • Salmon – although the price has gone up recently, Aldi salmon is still the best value. I keep it simple by just grilling it for around 10 minutes and add salt and chilli flakes to it once cooked.
  • Quark – you can make so many things with it. Use it for savoury or sweet dishes. I like to make pancakes with it (recipe here)
  • Skinny Latte Brooklea Yogurt – I have to admit that I am slightly fussy when it comes to yogurts. My absolute favourite are the Alpro yogurts. I tend to find other yogurts a little bit too thin in texture. I like the creamier versions and this one from Aldi although is not as creamy as I’d like it to be, it is an amazing flavour and syn free unlike the Alpro yogurts!
  • Passata – you can this in most of the supermarkets and I don’t think there is much difference to the taste. Passata is great for pasta sauces or curries. Syn Rree and Speed Food.

What are your must-haves? Please comment below with your favourites.

 

Aldi Essentials

Aldi Essentials

 

 

 

Masala Fish

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Those who know me know that I am all for convenience when it comes to cooking! I don’t like spending hours in the kitchen if I can help it. This is another one of my favourite short cuts to make masala fish that packs loads of flavours without any syns. I find that I do not need to add any extra chilli when using Laziza spice mixes when cooking for the whole family, but if the children are having something else I do add chilli flakes for an extra spicy kick.

You can use any white fish for this but I find that the Aldi frozen Basa fillets are perfect for this and they won’t break the bank! Just check how many fillets you have in the packet before adding it to your trolley/basket as sometimes you only get 3 fillets!!

Serves: 4

Syns: FREE

Time Taken: 10 minutes plus marinade

Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients

  • 1 pack of Basa fillets
  • 2 tbsp Laziza Fish masala
  • 2-3 tbsp lemon juice
  • 1 tbsp tandoori masala (optional – great to add colour to the fish)
Masala Fish

Masala Fish

Method

Defrost the fish for a few hours or overnight in the fridge if time permits.

Mix the spices with the lemon juice to form a paste and cover each fish fillet with it.

Let it marinade in the fridge for at least 30 minutes, the longer you leave the better.

Spray a large frying pan with a low calorie spray oil and cook the fish fillets for about 5-7 minutes on each side. You can serve it with anything you like – chips, salad etc.

 

 

Dhaal & Rice

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This is one of our favourite family meals – pure comfort! I like to use Toor Dhaal but I am sure you can replace it with your favourite.

Serves: 4

Syns: FREE

Time Taken: 30 minutes

Difficulty: Easy

Dhal & Rice with Fish

Dhal & Rice with Fish

Ingredients

  • 200g Toor dhal, washed and soaked (if time permits)
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 1 tomato, chopped
  • 3 garlic cloves, finely crushed
  • 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
  • 1/2 tsp black pepper
  • 1/2 tsp chilli flakes
  • 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
  • Salt to taste
  • Boiled rice to serve

Method

Place the dhal with the onion, tomato and salt in a pressure cooker covered with enough water and cook for around 20 minutes. If you don’t have a pressure cooker, you can make this in a standard pan but it will take longer for the dhal to cook. I put enough water to cover the dhal and a little bit extra on top. It is best to not put too much at this stage or you will end up with a thinner dhal. You can always thin it down if too thick but harder to do it the other way round!

Once cooked, blend the dhal with a hand held blender.

In a pan spray lots of frylight (or any other spray oil – count syns if needed). Add the garlic, turmeric, black pepper, cumin seeds and chilli flakes and fry for about 3-4 minutes. Keep stirring so that the garlic doesn’t burn!

Add the blended dhal and check for seasoning. If needed, add boiling water to thin the dhal if too thick.

Serve with boiled rice and a speedy salad. We like to have fish with it too.

Chicken & Egg Fried Rice

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Great way of using up leftover rice or you can make a fresh batch of boiled rice for this. You can replace the chicken for prawns or leave it plain.

Serves: 2

Syns: FREE

Time Taken: 25 minutes

Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients

  • cooked rice
  • 2 chicken breasts, chopped
  • 3 spring onions, finely chopped
  • mushrooms, chopped
  • 1 tsp garlic granules
  • 1 green pepper, chopped
  • 1 grated carrot
  • 3 tbsp soy sauce
  • 2 tbsp tomato puree
  • 1 tbsp Chinese 5 Spice powder
  • 1 tsp chilli flakes
  • 2 eggs, beaten
Chicken & Egg Fried Rice

Chicken & Egg Fried Rice

Method

Spray a large frying pan with low calorie cooking spray and cook the spring onions, pepper, carrot and chicken for 5-8 minutes.

Add the tomato puree, garlic granules, Chinese 5 spice, chilli flakes and soy sauce. Stir fry for another 5 minutes.

Add the cooked rice.

Once the chicken is cooked pour the eggs over the mixture and cook over a low heat stirring occasionally for 5 minutes or until the egg has set.

Crustless Quiche Muffins

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I love making this SW crustless quiche recipe. There are so many variations to it but this one has to be my favourite. The basic essentials you need are eggs, cottage cheese and Pasta ‘n’ Sauce, you can then add anything you want to it –  any veg or meat/fish of your choice. The possibilities are endless! I made them into muffins but you can easily just make a large one and then slice it up before eating.

Makes: 15

Syns: FREE

Time Taken: 30-45 minutes

Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients

  • Packet of Batchelors Pasta ‘n’ Sauce Cheese & Broccoli flavour (0.5 syn for whole pack)
  • 4 eggs
  • 1 tub of cottage cheese
  • Any veg of choice – I used mushrooms, 1/2 red pepper and some spring onions

 

 

Basic Quiche Essentials

Basic Quiche Essentials

Method

Cook the pasta in 350ml of boiling water for 10 minutes.

Pre heat the oven at gas mark 6.

Blend the cottage cheese with the eggs in a large bowl and then add the veggies you are using.

Once the pasta is cooked, mix in the cottage cheese mixture with the veggies and place the mixture in silicone muffin cases.

Bake in the oven for around 20-25 minutes till cooked. If you like you can also add some cheese from your healthy extra A choice before placing the muffin cases in the oven.

 

Crustless Quiche

Crustless Quiche