Butternut Squash, Spinach and Feta Lasagne

Pro Points: 8
Servings: 2
Cooking Time: 30 mins

	Ingredients 450 g Butternut Squash, peeled, deseeded and cut into 1cm cubes
	4 sprays Cooking Spray, Calorie Controlled
	150 g Tomatoes, Cherry, halved
	225 g Spinach, washed
	3 sheets Lasagne Sheet, dried, 20 x 15cm, cut in half
	2 tablespoons (level) Pesto Sauce
	75 g Cheese, Feta, light
	1 pinch Salt
	1/2 teaspoons (ground) Pepper, Black (Whole, Cracked or Ground)
	1 tablespoons Basil, fresh, to garnish

Instructions

Preheat the oven to Gas Mark 6/200°C/fan oven 180°C.

Put the butternut squash into a roasting pan and spray with the cooking spray, tossing to coat lightly. Roast for 20 minutes, or until the squash is just tender, then add the tomatoes and roast for 5 more minutes.

Meanwhile, cook the spinach in a small amount of water for 2–3 minutes, until the leaves have wilted. Drain well, squeezing out the excess moisture with the back of a spoon. At the same time, bring a large pan of water to the boil, add the lasagne and cook for 3–4 minutes.

Remove the squash and tomatoes from the oven and stir the pesto sauce through them.

Drain the lasagne sheets well, and then layer them on to two warmed plates with the squash mixture and spinach. Sprinkle the feta cheese on top, drizzle with any remaining roasting juices, then serve, garnished with basil leaves.

This meal was very different to what I normally cook but it's good to change things up a little. If I made it again I would use more spinach and tomatoes and a little less squash as I found it a little sweet.

Creamy Beef Goulash

Slimming World have just released another amazing cookery book.  If you follow Slimming World I really recommend you purchase a few of their cook books.  They are well priced (this one is just £4.99) and packed full of tasty recipes. 



After flicking the pages and drooling over most of the pictures I settled on creamy beef goulash as the first recipe to try from this book.  It looks amazing!!

Serves 4-6
Free on original
Free on Extra Easy

Freezer friendly
Ready in 2 hours 10 minutes

400g can chopped tomatoes
1 large onion, peeled and finely chopped
300g chestnut mushrooms, sliced (I skipped these, yuck!)
2 red peppers, deseeded and diced
1kg lean braising steak, all visible fat removed, cut into thin strips
2 tbsp smoked paprika
1/2 tsp caraway seeds
1 bay leaf
a pinch of marjoram
1 tsp dried mixed herbs
salt and freshly ground black pepper
250g fat free natural fromage frais

Preheat the oven to 150°C/Gas 2. Put the tomatoes and onion in a saucepan and place over a medium heat.  Bring to the boil, reduce the heat and cook gently for 10-12 minutes, until the onions have softened.

Stir in the mushrooms and peppers and cook for a further 6-8 minutes.

Place the steak in an ovenproof dish, sprinkle over the paprika, caraway seeds, bay leaf, marjoram and dried herbs.  Season well and pour over the tomato mixture.  Cover tightly and cook in the oven for 1½ hours or until the meat is tender.

Beat the fromage frais until smooth and pour over the casserole before serving,  Cabbage and carrots would make a perfect accompaniment.

This recipe would also work well with pork or lamb.

Unfortunately I was so excited I forgot to take a photo! Ooops.  I had my parents round for dinner the night I made this and they both loved it too, my Dad asked for the recipe as he couldn't believe it was diet food it was that tasty, thanks Slimming World!

Guest Post - Mushroom Soup - Ariana from Fatale Fashion

I'm Ariana, a 20-something working girl from New Jersey who determined to finally slim down and get fit! I've lost 15 pounds at this point and already feel stronger and slimmer, and will keep on going. Slow and steady wins the race! I blog about my weight loss journey at Labor of Loss, and about my clothing and style obsession at Fatale Fashion.

My diet plan:

I joined the Weight Watchers online program in May of 2011, and have slowly been dropping the pounds ever since. I also have a relatively relaxed workout regime, which is usually about two workouts a week, or three in a good week. I hope that by making this a lifestyle rather than using diet and extreme exercise as a means to an end, I will be able to lose all the weight (albeit slowly), and keep it off for good :)

Souper Low Fat Mushroom Soup

Get it?? Souper... super...

....well, I giggled!

Here's a recipe I made from Skinnytaste - creamy mushroom soup! This soup is so so so delicious, I'm still in disbelief that it's only ONE POINT for a 1 1/4 cups of soup!! And it's super easy to make! This soup has become a staple in my house.

Low Fat Creamy Mushroom Soup
Gina's Weight Watcher Recipes 
Servings: 5 • Serving Size: 1 1/4 cup • Old Points: 1 pts • ProPoints: 1 pts
Calories: 49 • Fat: 1.8 g • Carb: 6.6 g • Fibre: 1.1 g • Protein: 3.2 g

• 3 tbsp flour
• 4 cups water
• 2 chicken bullion cubes
• 5 oz shitake mushrooms, sliced
• 8 oz baby bella, sliced
• 1 celery stalk, whole with leaves removed
• 1 tbsp light butter

Place cold water and flour in a blender and blend until smooth, pour into a medium pot and set heat to medium. Add celery, mushrooms, chicken bullion and butter and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer until vegetables are soft, about 20 minutes. Remove celery and a cup of soup, blend, then return back to the pot.

Ta da!! Quick and easy and so tasty!! I didn't bother to blend the celery, my soup was creamy enough so I simply discarded the stalk and served. I had 2 cups for dinner, and plan on a cup for lunch to go with my salad :)

Guest Post - Homemade Burger and Slimming World Chips

This weeks guest post was written by Jen from Lets All Do Colouring In.

I’m Jen from Manchester. After years of yo-yo dieting and getting nowhere, I’m back on the straight and narrow and losing weight on Slimming World. I’m aiming to be a few stone lighter for a trip to New Zealand and so I can fit into more pretty vintage dresses!

Homemade Burger and Slimming World Chips

I’ve found that since starting Slimming World I have eaten burger and chips more times than I have in the last few years. “Burger and chips?!” you cry; “Yes!” I reply. Unbelievably, they are entirely free on Slimming World and probably none too bad on any other healthy eating plan you care to mention!

The chips are a creation of Slimming World (http://www.slimmingworld.com/recipes/syn-free-chips.aspx), but the burgers are my mum’s recipe. As a hater of Marmite, I know you’ll be worried about the marmite content in the burgers, but trust me, you can’t taste it (you just have to touch it).

Serves 4

Ingredients

For the chips:

908g/2lb medium sized Maris Piper potatoes
Fry Light spray
crushed sea salt and malt vinegar

For the burgers:

500g pack extra lean mince

1 small onion, very finely diced

1 tsp marmite

Salt & pepper

1. Preheat the oven to 240°C/Gas 9. Peel the potatoes using a potato peeler and remove any blemishes or 'eyes'. Slice lengthwise into approx ½in/1cm thick rectangular chips.

2. Bring a large saucepan of salted water to the boil. Add the chips and cook for 4 minutes. Drain and leave aside for 10 minutes to dry.

3. Return the chips to the dry saucepan, cover with a lid and shake to ''rough up'' the edges of the chips - this roughness is important to the texture of the chips.

4. Spray a metal baking tray with Fry Light. Transfer the chips to the tray, spray lightly with Fry Light and bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes, turning occasionally.

5. While the chips are cooking, place the mince in a large bowl and add the onion, salt and pepper and the marmite. You’re going to have to get mucky (and covered in marmite) as you need to mix/squidge all of this together with your hands.

6. When the burger mix is combined, it should stick together nicely. Form into large balls and flatten into patties (this much mince makes 4 MASSIVE burgers which is fine if you’re on Slimming World as it’s all free, but adjust the size if you’re following another programme).

7. Cook the burgers. I tend to fry them for about 5 minutes on each side on a griddle pan using Fry Lite, but you could grill just as easily.

8. When the chips are golden brown, drain them on absorbent kitchen paper and serve with salt and vinegar. When the burgers are ready, serve in wholemeal baps with salad and your sauce of choice!

OM NOM NOM!

Broad Bean and Rocket Linguine

We asked all of our twitter followers what they would like to see here on Where Are My Knees and we got a few replies asking for more vegetarian recipes so here is a  lovely veggie recipe from the Weight Watchers Simply Enjoy cookbook.

Linguine with broad beans and rocket

8 Pro Points Serves 1

 

60g shelled broad beans

60g dried linguine
calorie controlled cooking spray
1 garlic clove, chopped finely
2 tablespoons of low fat soft cheese
1 tablespoon lemon juice
25g rocket leaves
salt and freshly groung black pepper

1. Bring a saucepan of water to the boil, add the broad beans and cook for 2 minutes then refresh under cold water. When cool, slip them out of the grey inner shell to reveal the bright green bean inside.

2. Meanwhile, bring another saucepan of water to the boil, add the pasta and cook until al dente. Drain, reserving 2 tablespoons of the pasta cooking water.

3. Heat a non stick frying pan and spray with the cooking spray. Cook the garlic for 1 minute then add the soft cheese, lemon juice and reserved water. Add the pasta and broad beans and toss until combined and warmed through.

4. Remove from the heat stir in the rocket. Season before serving. 

I found this recipe cheap, easy to make and very tasty. Let us know if you make it or any of the recipes on Where Are My Knees. Have you tried any of the recipes on this blog? My favourite is Charlene's Crispy Greek Pie.

If you have any healthy recipes you would like to share with us or an inspirational health or weight loss story then send an email to wherearemyknees@gmail.com and you could be our next guest blogger.

Slimming World Syn Free Quiche

I really wouldn't have made this quiche if I hadn't have tried it first.  It contains pasta. Not just any pasta but a packet of pasta n sauce!! I normally hate the stuff but at my last class we had a tasting night and I decided to live dangerously and give it a try.  And boy am I glad I did, it is seriously amazing!!  I have made a few amendments to the original recipe and made a massive quiche for my dinner tonight and the next few lunches.  I don't have a flan tin so I just lined an 8" cake tin with grease proof paper and it worked just as well.

Ingredients
One packet of pasta n sauce ( I used a cheesy one)
One onion roughly chopped
Four eggs
A tub of very low fat cottage cheese (I chose the chive variety)

Make up the pasta n sauce as directed but replace the milk with water.  Add the onions at this stage.  Once cooked whisk in the eggs and add the cottage cheese.  Pour into your dish and cook at 200° until set.  Mine was in the oven for about 30 minutes.

The basic syn free quiche is really versatile, incredibly yummy and just as simple to make.  You can add any veggies you fancy or even ham or salmon depending on which plan you are following.

Basic syn free quiche recipe
One large tub of very low fat cottage cheese
Four eggs

Whisk the ingredients together and cook as above.  You can line the dish with spinach leaves, add peppers, leeks, onions or even top with tomatoes slices.  The choices are endless!

Weight Watchers Simply Enjoy - Honey Soy Salmon and Vegetable Stir Fry

The lovely people at Weight Watchers sent me a copy of  their new book called Simply Enjoy, I was really interested to see what types of recipes it contained and if they would be quick meal ideas as well as something more elaborate. I will be trying a lot of the 'Working Lunch' recipes and I can't wait for Christmas party season so I can try out the Poppadum Crab Bites and the Red Currant and Cranberry Glazed Turkey.

I have really enjoyed trying to cook a few new dishes and it has given me a bit of a boost this week. Eating the same old dull dishes can really get you down and when you have been on a diet for a few months you really start to lose motivation.

Simply Enjoy is divided into chapters including: lunches; vegetarian ; quick and easy; picnics and BBQ’s; cooking for friends; Christmas; side dishes; snacks and sweet treats. There is something to suit all tastes and cooking abilities. I really like the index at the back of the book which arranges the dishes in to ProPoints values so if you can easily plan what to eat according to how many points you have left.The book also lets you know if the recipe is suitable to freeze which is very handy.

You can get hold of a copy of Simply Enjoy at your local Weight Watchers class or you can buy it online here (there are three free recipes if you follow that link)


Honey Soy Salmon and Vegetable Stir Fry


I decided to try the honey soy salmon and vegetable stir fry first because I already had some of the ingredients which you need to make it and at only 8 ProPoints it seemed like a filling but low point lunch option. I put way more veg in that it said in the recipe because I was pretty hungry and veg is 0 points. The recipe suggests that you can make this more filling by adding 50g of dried brown basmati rice per person for an addition 5 pro points.


This recipe has a ProPoints value of 8 per person and serves 4 people.

You will need:
4 tablespoons light soy sauce
2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons clear honey
4 x 125g skinless salmon fillets
Calorie controlled cooking spray


For the stir fry:
2 large garlic cloves, chopped finely
30g of grated ginger
350g pack of mixed vegetable stir fry


1. Mix together half of the soy sauce, all of the balsamic vinegar and honey in a shallow dish. Add the salmon and spoon over the marinade until coated. Cover and leave in the fridge to marinate for 30 minutes.


2. Heat a large non stick frying pan, spray both sides of the salmon with the cooking spray and cook for 3 minutes until golden. Spoon over more marinade, spray with the cooking spray, turn over the salmon and cook the salmon for another 3 minutes. Keep the salmon warm while stir frying the vegetables.


3. Heat a large wok or pan, spray with the cooking spray and stir fry the garlic and ginger for 30 seconds, toss in the vegetables and cook until tender. Add the remaining soy sauce and toss until combined. Serve the salmon on top of the vegetables.

It tasted so good and I think mine looks a lot like the photo in the book, what do you think?

I have now lost over 40 lbs since joining Weight Watchers and I'm hoping that the recipes in this book will help to keep me motivated to lose an extra 40lbs. Dieting really doesn't have to be boring or restricting and great recipe books like this really do help.
Do you have any of the Weight Watcher cookbooks? This is my first one and I'm tempted to invest in a few more. What are your favourite healthy cookbooks?

Getting through BBQ Season!

Well, the summer holidays are about to start, and the weather is, well, sort of okay, in between rainshowers. This means that the smell of charred meat on a Saturday afternoon is becoming a regular occurrence – yep, it’s BBQ time.

I’ve always found BBQs a real test of dieting willpower – any social event that revolves around food is always going to be difficult – but they needn’t be. It’s kind of ridiculous to go home feeling sick as you’re so full, isn’t it? Barbequing is actually one of the healthiest ways to cook food – no additional oil required – and it’s totally acceptable to bring your own food, too.

Here are some of my tips…

Don’t forget what a normal meal looks like.
Even in an epic pig-out session, would you normally eat a burger in a bun, a hotdog, chicken wings, a lamb kebab… plus crisps and lashings of mayonnaisey salad? Yet somehow it’s okay at a BBQ.

Hit the salad.
I’m not suggesting you tuck into a plate of dry lettuce when the rest of the party is on the burgers, but do load up your plate with the healthy options first. You’ll be less inclined to want one of everything if your plate is full already.

Decide what you really want.
Personally, it’s not a BBQ for me unless I have a real burger. So bring a pack of low-fat burgers, and make up your proper, perfect burger. There actually aren’t that many calories in a slice of cheese, either, so allow yourself that. Fill the bun with lots of salad, too – it’ll seem HUGE.

Put out low fat dressings and sauces.
Sweet chilli, caramelised onions, balsamic glaze, yogurt, etc. Or make your own! Yogurt is such a great base for a dip, and ridiculously low in fat. Salsa is fat free and you can often get Tzatziki that’s under 5% fat.

Watch the booze.
I am a great believer that you do not have to quit alcohol to diet successfully. However, what you drink can make all the difference – there are about 500 calories in a bottle of white wine. Switch to a spirit and diet mixer and 500 calories = 10 single vodkas and diet cokes! And it’s pretty unlikely you’ll drink all that. Probably. If you’re worried about drinking too fast, use less coke – if it’s strong, you’ll have to sip it!

Go gourmet.
Fun fact - often fancy food seems to be lower in calories. Put out exotically marinated chicken (I recommend soy and ginger). Instead of burgers, do toasted pittas filled with rocket, caramelised onions, barbequed Portobello mushrooms and a little feta or goats cheese (strong cheese is always best as you eat less, keeping fat down). If you’re feeling crazy, you could even cook kangaroo! It’s one of the least fattiest meats around.

Seafood.
I don't eat fish (because it is disgusting) but I am told that seafood is awesome on the BBQ - practically fat-free, cooks fast, and filling. If you like that sort of thing. *gags*

Check the labels.
Did you know that McCain’s potato wedges are only about 5% fat? And that you can get lots of pizzas from Tesco, Coop and Pizza Express that are just over or even under the 5% fat mark? I was amazed when I found out that low-fat junk food DOES exist.

Bring healthy options.
If you can’t rely on the host to make the food healthy, do it yourself. Here are some of my favourite healthy BBQ options:
- Sweet potato wedges (toss them in lots of honey, rosemary and a capful, tops, of olive oil. Chuck in oven for 30-40 mins.) They’ll fly off the plate AND fill you up.
- Couscous/pasta/rice salad. There are loads of low-fat options in the supermarket, or make your own!
- Love coleslaw and potato salad? Use half low-fat mayo, half yogurt. I swear it’s nicer.
- Chicken and fresh pineapple kebabs. Practically fat-free and so delicious.
- Put out a big bowl of cherry tomatoes for people to pick at. Always popular.
- Marinate Portobello mushrooms in garlic and plonk them on the BBQ. Yuuuuum.
- Bring crudités to nibble while food is cooking.
- Instead of cakes or ice cream, barbeque fruit for dessert. Barbequed pineapple and bananas are amazing.

What are your best tips for BBQ season?

Graze Boxes

I know a lot of people have probably already heard of, or are already subscribed to, Graze Boxes but I thought I'd share them anyway in case there's people who haven't.

Basically, Graze are an online company who specialise in delivering healthy snacks right to your door. I'd heard of them for a while before I tried it out, but since my first box, I've been having them delivered every Monday for about 3 months or so now and I absolutely love them. You can choose what day you want them delivered - I thought choosing Monday seemed like a logical idea!

You don't get to pick what you want in the boxes but you can give the people who make them a rough idea of things you like and don't like and you can go through the list of things on offer and choose whether you like the sound of it or not. There's also the option to pick boxes with foods that will improve your energy levels, help you lose weight, that boost immunity or that can help a varied & balanced diet.

It seemed I was relatively fussy when it came to my likes & dislikes, I don't like nuts or olives and these two things seem to form the basis of most of the snacks available although there ways around this, which I found out! (although they're not ideal if you're allergic to nuts, I don't even think they let you sign up if you tell them you're allergic) Flapjack!

The boxes cost £3.49 per week, although if you sign up using somebody else's code you can get your first one free and your second one half price, and then if you decide you're not a fan after that then you can cancel your boxes. If you decide you do want to carry on receiving the boxes then it does it all for you, but on the same token they're so easy to cancel if you find you're not enjoying them so much or just don't want to part with the money every week.

There is a massive selection of stuff available too, I personally love the flapjacks and some of the crackers are amazing! I really want to try the deli topped focaccia they do but I'm yet to receive any.

If anybody wants to try a box or two then you can sign up by clicking here and my code is Z8TRX74 which will get you your first box free and the second half price (and if any of you do use my code then instead of getting money off my boxes I'll donate the money I get to charity)

Are any of you already signed up to Graze or thinking about it now? What are your favourite snacks?

Slimming World - Joe's Sausages

Since starting Slimming World I have practically become a vegetarian.  I am a carb addict so find it much easier to follow green days over red days and don't trust myself not to over indulge on extra easy so cutting out meat has been the easiest solution.  As summer is coming up and BBQ's suck without sausages and burgers I decided to give Joe's Sausages a go and see how I get on following red days.

Joe's sell sausages, marinated meats, grill sticks and burgers all of which are certified free foods on Slimming World red days:

I placed my order and chose my delivery day and then dreamed about sausages!  I ordered several packs of sausages, burgers and various flavoured chicken.  Joe's has a minimum order of 8 packs so you could always order with a friend or another Slimming World member at your local group.

I wanted some meat for a family BBQ but couldn't wait and planned a red day in anticipation of their arrival...I decided to treat myself to a mixed grill along with some gammon and steak and syn free pepper sauce, yum! 

The chicken was gorgeous, exactly as I had expected it to be.  The sausage looked like a normal sausage but had a firmer texture.  I guess that's from removing the fat and packing more lean meat into it.  My boyfriend also tried both and gave them the thumbs up too.  Can't wait to try the burgers at the BBQ now!

Oh and Joe's website says that each sausage is only 1 point on Weight Watchers so you guys can join in on the action too, I definitely recommend them.

A simple stir fry!

When I'm trying to eat healthily, I find myself extremely reliant on the humble stir-fry. It's a great way to get loads of vegetables into you, and also manages to be full of flavour whilst scrimping on the fat content.

If you've never made a stir-fry before, it's the easiest meal. My method is...

1 - Cook some chicken. I normally toss a little bit of water into the pan to stop it sticking, rather than use oil. You can always drain this if it doesn't all evaporate. I also sometimes add a little Thai Five Spice for flavouring, and Soy Sauce.
2 - Once chicken is cooked, throw in chopped onions and mushrooms.
3 - Throw in any vegetables you want al dente - aka a little bit crunchy - peppers, mange tout, baby corns, beansprouts.
4 - Once everything is cooked to your liking, chuck in a sachet of sauce. The Amoy ones are my favourite, particularly their Chow Mein. Yum.
5 - Add straight-to-wok noodles. I adore udon ones.
6 - Eat! And if, like me, you're incapable of making a single portion, take to work for lunch tomorrow, too!

Hummus Recipe

A good friend of mine, Alison kindly sent me the following recipe after she saw my food tweet.  It's so quick and easy to make and you can adapt it to your own taste so I followed the recipe below and added some chillies and a bit of chilli powder to give it a kick.

1 tin of chick peas
Juice of half a lemon (adjust depending on taste)
1 clove of garlic (miles best if roasted but I generally add raw for convenience)
1 large red pepper (roasted skin side up under the grill until black and then sweat and peeled the skin off)
Smoked paprika
Salt & pepper
Fresh basil (or fresh herbs of your choice!)

Chuck all ingredients in the food processor (except red pepper) blend as much as you want then i add the pepper at the end and pulse a bit so it's still lumpy.

I find the trick is to add flavours to compensate for the lack of fat and I usually do roasted red pepper hummus.

Most of the low fat hummus recipes add fat-free yogurt/fromage frais but I think it ruins it, so I don’t bother. I just add a little bit of water if it’s too thick.

I play around with other flavours such as
Olives (low syn) coriander and ground cumin.
Sometimes I drain all the oil off a couple of sun dried tomatoes (with kitchen towel) like a mentalist and add those!
a SMALL blob of tahini if you fancy (non-essential) BUT what you can also do is add some dry toasted sesame seeds and mash them in a pestle and mortar and add them if you want to make it a little sesamey.

Thank you Alison this definitely makes all those veggies go down much easier and the amount I made using the recipe above makes enough for about 5 days so that's my snacks at work sorted for the week.  Alison has managed to lose a massive 23lbs this year following Slimming World principles, WELL DONE!!

Royal Wedding / British Inspired Foods

Hello everyone! Apologies for the lack of posts this week, we've all been rather busy enjoying the sunny weather (and perhaps a few cheeky chocolate easter eggs too!) so haven't been able to post as often as usual. A few people I know are hosting Royal Wedding parties with plenty of cakes, fatty foods and plenty of alcohol today so I thought I'd put together a little menu of foods fit for a king that fit in with a British theme and won't sabotage your diets!



RYVITA ROYALS

Whilst everyone eats their neatly-cut-but-carb-ridden cucumber or egg mayo crustless sandwich fingers you can tuck into a delicious Ryvita cracker with a whole range of toppings. There are literally hundreds of recipe ideas (and a lot of royal wedding recipe ideas too!) on the Ryvita website, although my personal favourite has to be cream cheese and cucumber. I've also heard that adding some salmon or ham is delicious, if you're not vegetarian! The cream cheese feels so naughty, but as I'll be using the low fat version it's not too bad.

Philadelphia Light - 47 calories per 30g.
Ryvita Pumpkin Seed & Oats Crispbread - 45 calories per slice.
Cucumber - something ridiculous like 8 calories for every 50g.
TOTAL: (approx) 73 calories.



STRAWBERRY MERINGUES

Okay so it's not quite the same as a crumbly scone loaded with clotted cream and strawberry jam, but it's almost as good and less than half the calories! Sarah actually posted a recipe using meringue here but this one is much quicker to put together as it uses pre-made meringue nests! As an extra treat you can also add a little bit of cream if you like, or maybe Lucy's suggestion of using some Total Greek yoghurt with a few extra ingredients instead of cream (as discussed in this post) would be better if you're being really strict?

Tescos meringue nests - 55 calories per nest.
Fresh strawberries - approx 5 calories each.
Double Cream - 140 calories per 30ml.
TOTAL: 150 calories.



PIMMS & LEMONADE

And you can wash everything down with a great big British glass of fruity Pimms and lemonade. Sarah V touched on the issue of which alcoholic drinks are better than others in this post, and generally spirits with mixers (especially diet mixers) are the best option for keeping within your calorie count.

Pimms - 25 ml will have 40 calories
300ml can of Diet Schweppes Lemonade will have 5 calories
330ml can Full Fat Schweppes Lemonade will have 90 calories
TOTAL: 45 calories with diet mixer, 130 with full fat mixer.

Whether you're celebrating the Royal Wedding or trying to ignore it completely I hope you have a lovely day! We'll be back on Sunday with our weekly Summaries, and we've got a new guest post lined up for tomorrow!

Potato and Chickpea Curry

I found this lovely recipe on the Total Greek Yoghurt website and knew that I had to give it a go.  I love curry and chickpeas and potatoes make for the perfect combination.  I have altered the recipe to make it lower in syns and have added potatoes as they are amazing in a curry. 

My total life savers since starting Slimming World are both used in this recipe.  They are:

 

Ingredients

150g TOTAL 0% Greek Yoghurt
2 sprays of frylight
1 small onion, peeled and diced
4 cloves garlic, crushed
3 tbs Madras curry paste
2 tins of chick peas, drained
200ml of tin chopped tomatoes
200ml vegetable stock (use a cube they are really good these days)
Half a bunch of coriander roughly chopped

2 Potatoes cubed and par boiled
 
Method
Peel and dice a couple of small potatoes and par boil them.

 

Dispense a couple of sprays of oil and heat in a thick bottomed pan.

 

Add the chopped onions and fry until soft but not coloured, add the crushed garlic and curry paste.

Cook for a further 2 minutes then add chickpeas, par boiled potatoes, tomatoes, Total Greek Yoghurt and vegetable stock.

Simmer for 30 minutes, until reduced and a creamy sauce has been achieved.  I also added some chilli powder to give it a kick.

I cooked some wholegrain basmati rice and allowed it to cool.  I then added a few sprays of frylight to a frying pan and fried the rice along with an egg.

Yum, yum, yum!

All the ingredients used are free on a green day except for the Madras paste which is 2 syns per tablespoon.  I used 3 tablespoons which equates to 6 syns for the total recipe and just 2 syns per portion.  I had the leftovers for lunch the next day, bonus!

Surviving diet saboteurs!

Am I the only person who feels like I have to apologise for being on a diet? Whenever there’s a weekend away or a meal out, just being conscientious about what I eat seems to irritate people. I’ve found myself giving into chips or crisps just to appease them, with the logic that it’s just one day, after all, but when you feel you need to start a diet, it’s normally because there have been an awful lot of ‘just one days’.

I’m still struggling with this, to be honest, but I’m starting to come up with some useful tips to help myself survive these occasions. I’d love to know what you all think though – please contribute!





The above technique is not recommended for weight loss.
The Pub
I am always outraged when I find out that alcohol has calories in it. I can't shake the assumption that anything liquid is calorie-free. It's not, of course. Alcohol is evil to the dieter - not least it severely weakens your willpower, both at the end of the night and during the morning after. Of course, the best thing to do is cut out booze entirely if you're dieting, but if you don't want to do that, there are ways to get round the badness and still enjoy a drink. Your best options are spirits and diet mixers. A single shot of gin or vodka is only 50 calories, and if you have it with a diet mixer you're not adding much on there. Beer and cider are shockingly high in calories, as are cocktails and alcopops. There's about 100 calories in one glass of wine, so not too bad... but it quickly adds up if you're drinking a few!

Fry Up
If you’ve had a few too many the night before, this bad boy is hard to resist. I’ve tried to do it when I’ve been staying in a Premier Travel Inn and go for the cereal option, but when everyone is tucking in to nice hot breakfasts, it’s a miserable existence. Now, I go for the best of both worlds – BEANS ON TOAST. Scrambled eggs are normally full of butter, and not many places do poached or boiled eggs, but EVERYWHERE does beans. Brilliant.

The Chippy
Just the thought of real, proper chip shop chips is making my mouth water. Oozing vinegar… YUM. There’s an especially awesome one around the corner from my house. Now, I don’t eat fish, so I can’t help you there, but my favourite healthy takeaway solution is actually a KEBAB. I know, I know. But stay away from the scary Doner wheel, and instead order a chicken kebab. It’s basically grilled chicken and salad in a pitta. If you’re eating it at home, ask for no sauce and then add some light mayo and sweet chilli sauce. So yummy. Super healthy.

Pizza
PIZZA EXPRESS PIZZA EXPRESS PIZZA EXPRESS. They’re doing some fab low-fat options at the moment, and they really are nice. But if you’re in the supermarket, take a look at their oven pizzas. They are AMAZING. Really flavoursome, sure, but most of them are around 600 calories FOR THE WHOLE THING and 5-7% fat. The Leggera range are all awesome, but you’ll be pleasantly surprised by the calorie info on the (not marketed as low-fat) Polla Pesto, La Reine and Sloppy Guiseppe.
NOTE: If you’re in a Pizza Express restaurant, make sure you check out the nutritional info on their website first. The salads aren’t always the best option – the Pollo salad is worse than most of the pizzas!

Chinese/Japanese
If you’re having a fierce craving for noodles, try to resist the local takeaway and pop down to Wagamama. Most of their food is cooked on griddles. My personal favourite, the Ginger Chicken Udon, is about 500 calories and super low in fat. Also, order Edamame beans – they’ll fill you up, and they’re basically just peas. Yum. If you just HAVE to have a real chinese though, go for boiled rice and avoid anything battered, fried or described as 'crispy'. Chicken is your best bet - try it with oyster sauce, mushrooms or chicken chop suey. Also, Google tells me that chow mein dishes aren't too naughty, but I have my doubts - they always taste so greasy from my local!

Chinese Food Aftermath. Carnage.

Indian
I live with my sister, and her boyfriend’s favourite food is curry. I am quite the wuss when it comes to spicy food, so I tend to stick to the mild options. Yup, the ones that are FULL of cream. They’re awful. I’ve never looked up the calories and fat content in a chicken korma because I just don’t want to know. However, there are lots of dry options you can order, such as tandoori chicken or mixed grills – very low in fat, and you can have them with steamed rice, salad - and you can even add some of the little sauces like mango chutney and raita. They’re not all amazingly low in fat, but they’ll be a LOT less than a whole curry.

I think that’s my inspiration run dry for now – also I’m writing this at the start of my lunchbreak and I’m really quite hungry now – but how are you all finding it? What are your secret tips for surviving Diet Saboteurs?

Moroccan Chickpea Soup

Soup can be very low in points on the Weight Watchers plan and I find that it can be very useful food. It's great to have for lunch when you are dining out in the evening with friends, it leaves you with enough points to get a nice dressing or sauce that you might have said no to if you hadn't had a light lunch. I often have soup as a starter so that I don't over indulge when I have a main course; I'm less likely to have a high point bread roll or extra potatoes if I have already filled up on soup.

The Moroccan Chickpea soup is pretty cheap to make and veggie friendly so what’s not to like? This recipe serves 4 people, takes 20 minutes to make and is only 3 pro points per serving.

To make the soup you will need:

1 large red onion

½ tbsp olive oil

2 vegetable stock cubes

1-2 tsp harissa paste

1/2 tsp cumin

2 tbsp tomato puree

1 x 400g tin of chopped tomatoes
1 x 400g tin of chickpeas

(look at me trying to hide the smart price tomatoes at the back haha)

Make 2 ¾ pints of vegetable stock. Heat the olive oil and add all of the sliced red onion, fry over a high heat until golden. Add harissa pasta, ground cumin, tinned chopped tomatoes,  tomato puree, tinned chickpeas-drained and rinsed, and the vegetable stock. Bring to the boil and simmer for 15 minutes. Season to taste and serve. Simple!

This soup is super tasty and very filling, let me know if you try this recipe. Have you made any nice soups recently? Hope all you pledgers are sticking to your goals.
Gemma xx