Recipe - Tandoori Chicken Kebabs with red onion pickle and yogurt mint sauce

I'm going to say this straight up and get it out of the way - this recipe contains a little cheat. I say that, it might not, but I'm not sure of the reasoning behind why pitta bread is not allowed as a Healthy B choice. If it's just because pittas are generally too big to be counted as a HEB, then as long as you syn the extra (as I did), it's fine. If it's because wholemeal pittas don't contain enough fibre, then you probably shouldn't do it, at least not too regularly. So, Slimming World Purists look away now, and please don't call the tweak police on me...

So, I have to say this dinner was bloody lovely. I'm not really one for a fakeaway as such, but I really enjoyed this, and even Mr MGAMT only said one negative thing about it, which makes a change. It uses your Healthy B choice, although technically it doesn't. Let me explain. I used a large wholemeal pitta to stuff my meat into, which isn't counted as a HEB. BUT my Slimming World bible says you can have 60g of any bread as your Healthy Extra B, which equates to 6 syns. So, as my Tesco Large Wholemeal Pitta comes in at 9 syns, I took off 6 and had a Tandoori kebab for 3 syns and a Healthy B. I hope that makes sense. If you want to make it simpler, use a B-Free wrap, Kingsmill sandwich thin or normal bread instead of the pitta, or save your HEB and just have chicken and salad, and maybe some Slimming World chips or summat. It's still just as good.

To make Tandoori Chicken Kebabs for two people you will need:

• 4 skinless, boneless chicken thigh filets
• 4 tbsp fat free greek yogurt
• 1 tbsp tandoori masala powder
• 1 large clove garlic
• zest and juice of one lemon, plus wedges to serve
• 2 wholemeal pittas (check syns and take off 6 to use as your Healthy B)
• iceberg lettuce
• cucumber
• 1/2 red onion
• salt

For the yogurt mint sauce

• 2 tbsp fat free greek yogurt
• 1/2 tbsp syn free mint sauce (I used Colemans Garden Mint Sauce, check syns on others)
• salt

In a bowl mix the yogurt, tandoori masala, garlic, lemon zest and 1 tbsp of lemon juice. Remove all visible fat from the chicken and add to the bowl with the spice mix, and marinade for as long as you can. I left it for the afternoon, but half an hour is good if that's all you've got. Preheat your grill as igh as it will go, and lay the chicken out as flat as it will go. grill on high for 5-7 minutes each side - don't be scared to let the edges catch a little and go all charred and yummy. Meanwhile, slice your onion as thinly as you can (use a mandolin if you have one - carefully!) and put in a bowl with the rest of the lemon juice and a pinch of salt. This will create a sort of pickle and it absolutely delicious! Shred the lettuce and thinly slice the cucumber. Mix the ingredients for the yogurt mint sauce in a bowl and add a pinch of salt. Pop your pittas in the toaster for a minute or two, before slicing open and stuffing with salad, and the chunked up chicken once it's cooked. Serve with the yogurt sauce and lemon wedges. You could even wrap it all in a plastic bag for a few minutes before serving, if you like that sweaty kebab shop authenticity!

Seriously, so so good. I don't actually like the chicken kebabs from my local late night kebab empire, give me a dirty donner any day, but this I could eat over and over again. It will definitely be a regular in my meal plans. In fact, if I don't post anything for a while it's just because I'm eating this over and over again.

Slimming World Purists, you can syn the whole thing if you don't want to "cheat" with your HEB. But surely a little cheat is better than reaching for takeaway menu...

Hx

Recipe - Fajita Chicken Lettuce Wraps, with home made low syn fajita spice mix

Well hi there, it's been a while. I am so sick. Like, almost dead. I even skipped weigh in today so I didn't infect the whole of my group with the lurgy. It's not even the good kind of lurgy where you go off your food, all I want is creamy soup and bread and cheese and chocolate and bad stuff. Urgh. Kids and their germs, why can't they keep it to themselves? The baby had it last week and has been using me as a human hanky so it was inevitable that I would come down with it sooner or later. URGH! Don't have kids. Oh how I wish that had been my mantra 10 years ago...the eldest turned 9 yesterday so now I'm ill and old. How did that happen? How am I old enough to have a 9 year old kid? Not possible. It's going to be even worse when he's 10 next year...

Anyway, did you know that the average tortilla wrap is 9 syns? For ONE measly wrap! There are some gluten free ones you can have as a Healthy B choice, but you only get one (or two on an SP day) and they're not the same. When I made this meal Mr MGAMT had his wraps and I can honestly say I didn't miss them one bit. Using big iceberg lettuce leaves gives you crunch and flavour, and they were no less filling than using a flour tortilla would have been. I was utterly stuffed after three wraps and completely satisfied. Seriously, I am not twisting your melons here, I tell it how it is and these were good. Messy to eat but good. I even made my own fajita mix as a packet of that is usually about 4 syns, but this one contains just 1 for the spoon of sugar. 3 juicy, tasty, crunchy chicken fajitas, packed with LOADS of speed food, for just half a syn? I'll take it.

To make Fajita Chicken Lettuce Wraps for two people you will need:

• 2 chicken breasts, cut into strips
• 1 red onion, sliced
• half each of a red, yellow/orange and green pepper, sliced
• 6 iceberg lettuce leaves (or use little gem and eat them more like the tortilla boats you can get)
• 1/2 tub quark
• 1 tsp lemon or lime juice
• frylight

For the fajita mix:

• 2 tsps chilli powder (I used hot, which was a little too hot for me, so adjust to taste. I will either use mild or use less next time!)
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp sugar (1 syn)
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp cumin

Frylight a wok and stir fry your chicken until browned and then add the veg. Cook for a minute or two before combining all the seasoning ingredients and adding to the pan. Continue to stir fry until the chicken is cooked. In a bowl mix the quark and lemon juice to make a sour cream. Serve with the lettuce leaves and quark and plenty of napkins because it's a juicy one!

When I told Mr MGAMT that I was making my own Slimming World fajita mix he pulled a face, like he does whenever I do a Slimming World "version" of something, but he said if anything it was better than the usual packet I use. You could even make more and save it for next time, if you're that way inclined. I really think the sugar makes a difference here, and sweetener wouldn't do in this instance. Feel free to try it and let me know though, but really it's only half a syn per portion and that's what your syns are there for! Well, there's wine of course, but you don't get much of that for half a syn...

Let me know if you try this, I promise it was delicious!

Hx

Recipe- Slimming World Classic Overnight Oats

In my world, a Healthy A choice is meant for cheese. If you think differently, you're wrong. On the odd occasion where I've had milk for my HEA I've regretted it instantly and been grumpy for the whole of my cheeseless day. But that means I'm limited for breakfast choices as cereal with water does not float my boat. Usually that's ok with me, as I'm not a huge cereal fan but sometimes a bowl of porridge is just what I want after the school run, and that's where overnight oats come in. It uses your Healthy B in the form of porridge oats, yogurt and fruit and it's so easy to make.

To make Slimming World Classic Overnight Oats for one person you will need:

• 35g porridge oats (HEB)
• syn-free yogurt of your choice (I used an Aldi greek style vanilla and coconut)
• fruit - berries (fresh or frozen), banana, apple, pear, peach - whatever you have/like just make sure some of it is speed
• depending on your yogurt you may also want sweetener and a splash of water

Mix the oats and yogurt (add sweetener if it's too sharp, and a splash of water if you think it's too thick). In a suitable receptacle (doesn't have to be fancy, a clean jam jar does the job just as well) layer your fruit and yogurty oats until you've used them all up - I did a layer of blueberries, yogurt/oats, layer of raspberries, yogurt/oats, layer of strawberries, yogurt/oats topped with a layer of banana. Pop a lid on and leave in the fridge overnight (or for an hour or so, at least. I sometimes make it up before I take the kids to school so it's ready when I get back) and enjoy a convenient breakfast in the morning.

You might want to experiment a little with this - some people like to mix their layers before refrigerating so the juices from the fruit soften the oats a bit more, but I like a bit of texture in it. Also, different fruit with give you different levels of moistness (mmm, moist), especially frozen fruits, so see what works for you. If you're leaving it overnight and using frozen fruits, there's no need to defrost them first as they will do their thing in the jar. If breakfast is something you struggle with, give it a go!

Hx 

Recipe- Syn Free Slow Cooker Chicken Chasseur

It's those skinless, boneless (fnar) chicken thighs again. This week I made them into a chicken chasseur in my slow cooker for 2 reasons: 1 - it was literally pissing it down, I got soaked on the school run twice and I wanted comfort food and 2 - Mr MGAMT isn't keen on anything that comes out of the slow cooker and he was being mean to me so I wanted to piss him off. Never annoy the person who cooks your food. Anyway, my mum used to make this a lot (with a packet mix, for shame) but I wanted to create a syn-free version and I think I got quite close. I served with a little rice and a lot of broccoli - speed food a-plenty.

To make Syn Free Slow Cooker Chicken Chasseur for 4 people you will need:

• 500g pack skinless, boneless chicken thighs
• 1 onion
• 2 cloves garlic
• 2 carrots
• 1 tin chopped tomatoes
• 300ml chicken stock
• 1 tbsp dried mixed herbs
• 200g mushrooms
• salt and pepper

Chop your onion, mince your garlic, slice your carrots and quarter your mushrooms. Throw everything into a slow cooker (or oven dish if you don't have one) and season to taste. Cook on low for 8 hours (or in a low oven for 2 hours). That's it, done! 

This recipe would be good to make one of those "dump bags" with if you're an annoyingly organised person - just throw everything into a freezer bag, freeze, and then just defrost and "dump" into the slow cooker when you want it. A word on slow cookers - if you don't have one, you need one! They are so handy for soups, stews, chilli, ratatouille, curry, and great for using up what's in the bottom of the fridge. I have a Morphy Richards Sear and Stew with a metal pot which means you can brown your meat in the pot then stick the whole lot straight into the slow cooker - less washing up! Genius, and it's lighter than a ceramic pot so it doesn't make my bingo wings flap. The chicken is so tender cooking it this way, it will just fall apart - so even if you don't use the boneless thighs the meat falls off the bone anyway. 

Although it's been positively roasting here this week (34 degrees in mid-September!) it's time to face up to the fact that Autumn is coming, and so it'll be less salad, more stodge as the hunter-gatherer instinct make us want to lay down our winter fat stores, you can look forward to more SW stews and casseroles you lucky lucky buggers!

Ohh and if you're of the Pinterest persuasion, you can now pin me to your heart's content! 

Hx

Slimming World Classic - Crustless Quiche

When I did Slimming World for the first time around 7 years ago, in between offspring numbers one and two, this was a favourite recipe of mine. It's so versatile, easy to make and handy to have in the fridge that it still appears on my plate virtually weekly. You can chuck any old gumpf in it, make individual ones, add your HEA of cheese on top, throw it all in the oven  and 30-40 minutes later have something that doesn't even slightly resemble a quiche, but is pretty tasty anyway. Today I made pea, ham and tomato, which is SP friendly too, and enjoyed it with a big salad for lunch. The rest will go in the fridge for those moments when I need something a bit more substantial than another bloody apple to snack on. They're good cold too, so packed lunches, taster night and picnics are go.

To make Pea, Ham and Tomato Crustless Quiche for four you will need:

• 6 eggs
• 150g fat free cottage cheese
• 5 slices wafer thin lean ham
• 2 tomatoes
• half a cup frozen peas
• salt and pepper

Beat the eggs with the cottage cheese and season well. Chop the ham and tomatoes and add to the egg mix with the peas, and stir to combine. Slop it all into a flan dish (I use a silicon one so it slides out easily) and bake at 200/gas 6 for 30-40 minutes until set. Don't leave it too long, it goes a bit rubbery if overcooked. Serve with a big salad for a perfect SP lunch, or add some Slimming World chips if you're not into the SP life. SP Army represent! OK, I'm having a few SP days because I ate too much cake last week...I'll be back to bananas, chips and mullerlights after weigh in...

Other favourite combos to use are leftover roast veg, bacon, onion and mushroom (fried off first or the mushrooms go a bit watery), or onion and potato for a spanish style tortilla but really anything goes. I've seen it made with rice or pasta in (obviously avoid if you're following SP) and I tried it once with tuna and grated carrot, although I wasn't keen. Oh, and if you don't like cottage cheese, you can use the same amount of quark instead. I didn't realise that you could have peas on an SP day until yesterday - they're a P not an S, and I bloody love peas so they might just be going in everything from now on!

What are your favourite crustless quiche fillings? Let me know!

Hx

Recipe- Syn Free Butternut Squash Macaroni Cheese

Good morning! I'm full of the joys today as I actually got a full night's sleep! Well 11.30pm-5.50am but that counts as a full night when you have a 10 month old! I'm coffee'd up and ready to go so I thought I'd crack on with posting what we had for dinner last night because it was yummy. I've seen recipes and videos on Buzzfeed etc where people used butternut squash or cauliflower to make a creamy sauce, but as seems usual with Buzzfeed recipes they were usually packed full of cream and cheese and oil so any health benefits of taking out the flour and butter in a cheese sauce were immediately wiped out by whacking in a load of fat instead. I googled a couple of recipes and kind of bodged some together to come up with my own version suitable for slimming. It uses your HEA of cheese, or 6 syns if you don't want to use your healthy extra. But come on, a Healthy A is meant for cheese and anyone who tells you otherwise is wrong.

To make Syn Free Butternut Squash Macaroni Cheese for four you will need:

• half a butternut squash (cut one lengthways, and save the other half for my Moroccan chickpea tagine, coming soon!)
• 320g macaroni pasta (I used penne because I'm a rebel and that's all I had, but use what you like)
• 400ml chicken or veg stock, from a cube is fine
• half an onion
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1.2 tsp paprika
• 4 lean bacon medallions
• 160g grated reduced fat cheddar, or 120g full fat cheddar - pick and nice strong one (4 x HEA)

Scrape out the seeds from your butternut squash and spray the cut side with frylight/spray oil, before roasting for about 45 minutes. You can do this earlier in the day to save time, or you can chop it up and boil it but roasting saves you having to wrestle it get it peeled. When you're ready to cook get the pasta going in a large pan of salted boiling water. Soften the onion and garlic in a large frylighted pan for a few minutes before scooping out the flesh from the squash and adding it to the pan. Break up a little with the back of your spoon before adding your stock and bringing to the boil for a few minutes. Pop your bacon under the grill to go nice and crispy while you blend the sauce. You can either use a stick blender (so so cheap if you don't have one, and they're a kitchen essential!) or a food processor like mine (which I love). Get it nice and smooth and creamy before returning to the pan and adding the paprika. Throw in your cheese, reserving one HEA's worth (30g if full fat or 40g if reduced fat) to sprinkle on top. Stir until melted and when your pasta is cooked to your liking drain and add it to the sauce. Reserve a little of the pasta water if the sauce is too thick, and add a splash to thin it down a little. Divide between 4 plates and sprinkle with the reserved cheese, before crumbling your crispy bacon over the top. Delicious!

Mr MGAMT said the sauce tasted like cheesy soup, but I don't think that's a bad thing. He's a veggie dodger though, so I didn't tell him it was made of butternut squash, or I'd have got scalped. The little ones ate it without complaint too. And butternut squash is a great speed food, so you don't even have to add salad on the side to get your 1/3 in. Leave the bacon off if you want it veggie. I love anything cheesy, and while this is nothing like the creamy, gooey, drool worthy mac and cheese I'm dreaming of, it does the job!

Hx

Recipe- End of the week Veggie Dhal

Picture the scene - it's the end of the week, the fridge is looking bare, and you don't have the energy to drag the kids around the supermarket, the only things in the cupboard are a few tins of pulses that you've had in there since the millennium bug threatened the end of the world and the wrinkly carrots in the veg rack are begging to be put out of their misery. Plus, payday is still 2 days away and you're already watering down the gin to make it last. Throw together a veggie curry, use up those last bits and relish in how tasty and healthy it is. I used to be a vegetarian (but I'm alright now) as a student and curries were a staple - the chick peas and lentils are a cheap source of protein and you can make a huge batch for around £3. Can't say fairer than that.

To make a massive cauldron of End of the week Veggie Dhal you will need:

• 1 large onion, diced
• 2 cloves of garlic, crushed
• 2 tablespoons of curry powder of your choice (I use medium and adjust for the kids with yogurt)
• 1 teaspoon garam masala
• 1 tin chopped tomatoes
• 1 veggie stock cube
• 1 can of chick peas
• 1 can of green lentils
• plus whatever veg you have lurking in the fridge or freezer - I used half a sad butternut squash, a wrinkly leek, two forgotten carrots, and about 4 lumps of frozen spinach. I would have used half a cauliflower as well, but it was just too far gone. RIP little choux-fleur.
• frylight, or your favourite oil-spray

Sweat off your onions in a generous spray of frylight for a few minutes before adding the garlic for a minute more. Add the spices and toast for about 30 seconds before adding a splash of cold water - this cools the pan and stops the spices from burning. Add the rest of your veg chunked up any old way you like and stir to coat in all the spices. Add the tomatoes, then fill the can with water from a recently boiled kettle and add that too, with the stock cube. Drain and rinse the lentils and chick peas, and throw them in then cover and bring to the boil. Once it's boiling turn it down to a gentle simmer and leave it alone for at least half an hour, but the longer the better. You could chuck it all in a slow cooker and come home to your kitchen smelling like a delicious armpit if that's your thing. I jest, it doesn't smell much like an armpit, but I promise it's tasty and makes enough easily to serve 6 adults depending on how much of a veg hoarder you are (I hold my hands up). Some other good veg to use up would be courgette, squash, peppers, sweet potato, mushrooms (but add these at the end), baby corn, green beans, fresh tomatoes - anything you need to use up really. And it's perfect for SP as long as you don't add potato, parsnip or sweetcorn, yogurt at the end, or serve it with rice. Freezable too, so fill your boots!

Hx

Recipe- Breakfast Stuffed Peppers

Howdy, it's been a while! Life got busy for a bit; the baby started crawling so I've been on constant is-she-eating-catfood-again watch, then she cut a tooth, then she decided sleep is for the weak. Plus the boys are off school for a few more days so I've been made to go Pokemon hunting every waking hour of the day. They're back on Monday and me being me I've left all of the school uniform buying to the absolute last minute so my weekend will be spent crying in a corner in Clarkes. Fun times! On the bright side, I did get my Club 10 last week (meaning I lost 10% of my starting weight) and lost another 2lbs this week, so all that Pikachu hunting paid off.

Today's recipe is a breakfast favourite of mine; despite being fairly small it packs a punch and is really filling. The cheese is either 1/4 of your Healthy A, or 1 and a half syns, or if you want to be really saintly leave it out altogether (but don't, it's worth it). I think the pepper and mushrooms should cover your 1/3 speed, but if you want chuck some cherry toms in to roast with it. SP friendly too.

To make a Breakfast Stuffed Pepper for one person you will need:

• one good-sized red or yellow pepper
• 2 mushrooms
• 2 lean bacon medallions
• 1 big tablespoon baked beans
• 10g reduced fat cheddar
• 1 egg
• salt and pepper

Carefully take the top off your pepper and remove the seeds and membrane-y bits. If your pepper wont stand up, carefully slice the bottom so it's flat (If you accidentally cut a hole through the pepper, use the bit you cut off to plug it up or your filling will leak out). Pop it in the microwave for 2 minutes to soften. Meanwhile chop your mushrooms and bacon, and once the pepper is done nuke that for 2 minutes too. Season the inside of your pepper and put the cooked mushrooms and bacon in the bottom. Top that with the beans, then the cheese, making sure you have room to crack your egg on top. Season again and pop in the oven at about 200/Gas 6 for 15-20 minutes until the egg is cooked to your liking - but if you can get a runny yolk you're a better woman than me!

These really make a great breakfast, and for fairly little effort. For even less effort, forget the pepper and just layer up the fillings in a ramekin (to be fair, that's what I usually do, but I was feeling fancy). You can experiment with different fillings too; onions, tomatoes, cooked sausages, ham - anything goes I guess. Just don't over fill them or you'll end up with spillage akin to a Ben and Holly jelly flood. If you don't get that reference, you obviously don't have kids (or at least not young ones) you lucky lucky bastard. I'm off to get ready for the weekend, wish me luck and pass the prozac!

Hx

Recipe- Chicken Tikka-ish

Being a Mum you sometime (aka always) have to be sneaky creative when getting your kids to eat decent food. My eldest boy will eat pretty much everything, so I know if he tells me he doesn't like something he really means it. However the middle child is a fusspot. I have to bribe, coerce, force feed and use one of those funnel things they fatten up geese for foie gras with to get him to eat. He eats fruit and veg fine, he's one of those kids who skips to the dinner table singing "I can smell broccoli" in delight, but dish up a lovely spag bol, pasta bake or hearty stew and the funnel has to come out. And for God's sake don't give him a baked bean. After Bean-gate 2014 (I made him try one and he immediately vomited all over his plate) even the sight of a baked bean has him heaving. But, one thing he will eat is curry thanks to a trip to Costco last year. We were hungry and broke, and so headed to Costco in the hopes we could go round a few times and get enough samples to class as lunch. They had lentil curry being dished out in tiny cups by a woman whose make-up was as orange as the turmeric in the curry, so we took a cup each. It was actually pretty good, and surprisingly Master J agreed. I recreated the curry a few weeks later and again, eaten with gusto and "mental curry" was ranked as a favourite. Now, everytime I make a curry we tell him it's mental curry and most of the time he eats it. It's tikka-ish I'm not sure the sauce is a tikka sauce, but I like it saucy *winkwinknodnod*. This recipe can be adjusted to suit your tastes and how spicy you like it, I usually fling a bit more yogurt and a squirt of ketchup in at the end for the kids, and another SW friendly meal the whole family will eat. Hashtag winning.

To make Chicken Tikka-ish for 4 people you will need:

• 500g skinless and boneless chicken thighs - or use breast if you prefer
• 4 big tablespoons of fat free natural yogurt
• squirt of lemon or lime juice (I use a bottle of lime juice and just shake in a dash or two, probably half a fruit's worth)
• 4 tablespoons tikka spice mix
• 1 onion
• 1 tin chopped tomatoes
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 tablespoon mild curry powder (or whatever curry powder you like, just have tp in the fridge if necessary)
• small pack baby corn
• extra yogurt to serve
• don't forget the frylight!

Chop your chook into cubes and fling in a bowl with the yogurt, tikka powder and lime juice and stir it all around. Leave in the fridge for as long as you can but if you're pressed for time half an hour will do. When you're ready to cook, spray a deep frying pan or wok with oil spray and get it nice and hot, before putting the chicken and yogurt in and cooking it through. Set aside, and in the same pan soften the onion and garlic. Now, I blend the sauce the get it nice and smooth so just roughly chopped the onion and garlic and threw it in, but if you don't have a blender or cba to wash it up after chop as fine as you can. Once softened add the curry powder and cook a few minutes more before throwing the tinned tomatoes in and bringing it all to the boil. If you're going to blend transfer it to the blender or use one of those stick things and blend blend blend until it's nice and smooth, before returning it to the pan. I microwaved the baby corn for a minute or two to soften them up but you don't have to, you can just throw them in the pan at this point along with the yogurty chicken and cook for a few minutes more. Serve with a boob of rice, a drizzle more yogurt and extra speed veg if you wish. Chicken Tikka-ish. Done.

Hx

Recipe- 5-a-day Turkey Bolognese

Now while this recipe alone wont give you your five a day in one meal, it contains 6 different veg so it'll get you on your way. It's healthy, tasty, something the whole family can eat, and it's cheap. I quite often think that Slimming World think we're made of money - if you were to follow one of their weekly eating plans from the mag or website you'd either need to remortgage or sell a kidney. And I'm quite fond of my kidneys. It makes a big old pan of hearty bolognese for around a fiver, can't say fairer than that. Ok, so it doesn't contain the 3 tins of caviar, 17 lobsters and half a lamb that you may be accustomed to if you like a SW recipe, but I guarantee it's a lot more tasty. And I couldn't get my kids to eat lobster anyway...

To make Recipe- 5-a-day Turkey Bolognese for 6-8 people (depending on how much you eat yourself while it's cooking...) you will need (count the veggies with me! Can you tell I'm a mum?!):

• 500g turkey mince (less than 5% fat)
• 1 large onion (1)
• 2 gloves garlic
• 2 tbsp tomato puree
• 1 courgette (2)
• a big pepper, or couple of handfulls of frozen peppers (3)
• 1 big carrot or a couple of small ones (4)
• around 8 mushrooms (5)
• 500g carton of passata (6)
• 1 beef stock cube
• dash of worcestershire sauce
• dash of balsamic vinegar
• dried Italian herbs - I used basil and oregano
• salt and pepper

Throw your mince into a large pan and break up with a wooden spoon. While the mince is browning chop your onion, garlic, peppers and mushrooms. Add the onion and garlic to the pan and soften, before adding the tomato puree and cooking a few minutes more. Grate your courgette and carrot straight into the pan and combine it all together. At this point chuck everything else in - and fill the passata carton half full with water, swill it around to get every last bit, and add that too. Season with plenty of pepper, but check the salt - you might not need it as the stock cube and worcestershire sauce are quite salty. Let it all simmer for around half an hour and serve with your choice of pasta or, if you must, courgetti *shudders*

This makes a huge pan - plenty to feed my brood plus enough for 2 adult lunches the next day. It's a good job too because I came downstairs after settling the baby for the twelfth time this evening to find the cat helping herself to my plate. I'm not fussy usually, but she licks her arse and I've seen what comes out of it. Anyway, you can use the bolognese for lasagne too - use fat free cottage cheese for the white sauce and your healthy a of what ever cheese you like on top. Yum!

Hx

Recipe- Fish pie-cakes

Everyone loves a fish pie, don't they? Well apart from my kids, they'd only eat it if it came in a red cardboard box with a pair of golden arches emblazoned across it. But, fish pie isn't exactly slimming friendly with its creamy sauce and ton of cheese on top. Of course you could make a slimming version, probably using quark and a toffee mullerlight or something (they always use a toffee mullerlight), but it's never quite the same is it? It's like the infamous slimming world cheeseburger in a bowl - it's just mince and salad at the end of the day. Just have a proper burger! I digress, these fishcakes use a fish pie mix, which makes them full of fish pie flavour, but without the syns. And my kids will eat them. Bonus!

To make 8 big Fish pie-cakes you will need:

• 350g pack of fish pie mix,
• 4 large baking potatoes,
• 1 tsp salt,
• 1 tsp dried parsley
• plenty of pepper
• frylight, or your preferred oil spray
• one small egg (optional, see recipe!)

Peel and dice the potatoes so they're fairly small - the smaller they are the easier they are to mash! And they cook quicker too. Boil them in salted water until tender (ie forget about them until they're falling apart). While the potatoes are boiling, put your fish pie mix onto a plate and season well. Microwave for 4-5 minutes until it's just cooked. You don't want it tough and rubbery, especially as you'll be cooking again. Once the potatoes are boiled to death, drain them really well, add a tsp of salt and mash to within an inch of their lives. Because you're not adding any milk/butter/cream/cheese you want a really smooth mash. Add your cooked fish and the parsley to the mash and stir it through. The fish will break up while your stirring so don't break it up any smaller first. Check the seasoning - you shouldn't need more salt but a bit more pepper probably wont hurt! At this point you should be able to tell if your mash is going to hold together in a patty, or if it's too dry and crumbly. If it's the latter, chuck an egg in to bind. I used a large cookie cutter to shape my fish cakes, just by putting it on a chopping board and filling it up, but you could just shape using your hands. Leave the top a little rugged so you get crispy bits! At this point I chucked them in the freezer (on the chopping board) for half an hour to firm up, but you don't have to. Spray a baking tray with frylight/oil spray, pop on your fishcakes and then spray the top with more frylight. Bake at 200/gas 6 for 20-30 minutes until golden and crispy. Serve with salad or veggies, or whatever speed food tickles your pickle - ooh pickles!

These freeze well, in fact I made up half of the mix in large fishcakes for me and Mr MGAMT, made the rest into smaller ones for the offspring and froze half. Just increase the cooking time by 5 or 10 minutes if cooking from frozen. If you're a real heathen, you could even use *LeGasp* instant mash (check the SW website for a syn free version, if you're that bothered). Syn free on EE, and handy to have in the freezer, too. Tuck in.

Hx 

My Slimming World week in review #1

In case you were wondering-

What I've eaten:

• Two Chubby Cubs Houmous Topped Chicken
• Pinch of Nom Bacon Bean and Egg Bakes
• Pop Chips (4 syns a pack)
• Slimming World Sausages from Iceland
• Strawberry and White Choc Baked Oats

Syns used:

• 88 1/2

Exercise done:

• 2k walk along the River Ouse in Bedford

Where I've shopped

• Aldi
• Tesco

Total Speed Foods eaten:

• 21

And finally, weight lost:

• 1 1/2 pounds

Bringing my total weight loss so far to:

• 1 stone 8 1/2 pounds
• 22 1/2 pounds
• 10.2 kilos
• two average house cats plus half a guinea pig
• half a pound off 10% grrrrrrr!

How have you done this week?

Hx

Recipe- White Chocolate and Strawberry Baked Oats

Yep, you read that right. Chocolate. You can eat chocolate on the Slimming World plan, that's what your syns are for! Some people use their syns on booze, some prefer crisps or takeaways, but I keep sane with a chocolatey treat most days. Now, that's not to say you can have a family sized bar of Galaxy and a tub of Roses every day, but there are a few low-syn chocolates that can be enjoyed guilt free. This includes some low calorie hot chocolate powders, and they come in lots of different flavours including white choc which just happens to be my weakness. It's surprisingly satisfying, too. Don't go mixing it into quark or microwaving it with an egg to try and make a cake, because all you're heading for there is powdery disappointment. But with a bit of planning you can make something actually edible, chocolatey and good for you. What more do you want? A half naked man to feed it to you? I'll see what I can do.

To make White Chocolate and Strawberry Baked Oats for one you will need:

• 35g of any old porridge oats (HEB)
• 1 egg
• 100g strawberries (1 1/2 syns since they will be cooked)
• 1 sachet Options white hot chocolate powder (2 syns)
• 90g vanilla mullerlight (about half a pot) or any syn-free vanilla yogurt you like
• Tablespoon sweetener of your choice.

Whip the tops off the strawberries and chop up into smallish pieces - I cut each berry into 8. Combine all the ingredients and give them a good stir. Pop it all into a small oven proof dish and bake at 200/gas 6 for about half an hour, until the middle is set and it's golden on top. Serve with more strawberries and the rest of your yogurt, and pretend you're noshing on a Milkybar.

This isn't something I'd have everyday - at 3 1/2 syns it's quite indulgent for a breakfast, especially when you can have a full on Slimming World style fry up for free. If you're that bothered you can swap the strawberries for raspberries and save yourself a whole half a syn. 

Well, I'm off to find that half naked man to see if he fancies taking the bin out for me...

Hx

Salad days

A couple of years ago, I developed an allergy to tomatoes, which, in my world, is devastating. I love and adore tomatoes, in all shapes and sizes and various forms. I was practically weaned on tomatoes and usually grow my own in the summer (although this year's monsoon weather put paid to that). Now, if I eat them, it makes my mouth really sore and my chest tight  which is just a bit scary.

To me, a salad isn't a salad without a tomato. Or it used to be. This recent allergy has made me look at the way I see salads. A salad is a dieter's friend, but it can soon get rather boring if you're eating lettuce, tomato and cucumber at every meal... So I've been coming up with some ways to spice up your salad.

Chose your leaves

Are you an iceberg fan, or do you favour a little gem? The leaf is usually the basis for a good salad, and there are so many available now there's no reason not to vary them. I like to buy bags of pre-washed salad leaves, for convenience mostly, but also because of the variety. Our favourite is a babyleaf salad, but you can try rocket, spinach, beetroot leaves, watercress. Whatever takes your fancy. A good old round lettuce can be a nice change from the more "exotic" too!

Once you've got your leaves, what goes on top. I often find myself piling everything remotely salad-like on top, but you really don't have to. Chose three or four "toppings", such as:

• cucumber
• tomato *sob*
• peppers
• carrot (grated, cubed, thinly sliced with a speed peeler or get the flipping spiraliser out if you must)
• olives (8 for a syn)
• herbs (I like basil or mint)
• beetroot
• mushrooms
• radish
• celery
• onions

Know your onions

A good onion can add a sharp kick to your salad, but again you can vary them. Spring or salad onions are quick and convenient (snip them with scissors) but try red onion, spanish onion or even a couple of pickled onions for variety.

Pickle it

Talking of pickled onions, pickled beetroot, gherkins or cauliflower can also be a great addition to a salad. Add a blob of sweet pickle to turn your salad into a ploughmans (check the syns though).

Fruity twist

Still missing that tomato? I've been experimenting with adding fruit to my salad. Grapes, strawberries (great with balsamic dressing), melon, mango, apple or raisins will make a great addition to a good salad.

Protein power

Now you've got your basics, add the protein you need to make this a meal. Chicken salad will get boring really quick if you have it regularly, but combine it with bacon and a mustard dressing, or with mango and a curried mayonaise and it's a completely different meal. Other great protein sources for salad are:

• lean ham
• prawns
• tuna
• boiled eggs
• cottage cheese
• chorizo (quite fatty but a little goes a long way!)
• lean bacon or turkey bacon
• crab sticks
• omlette
• reduced fat cheese (try feta or mozzarella)
• quiche (crustless quiche recipe coming soon!)

Dress it up

Now here's a stumbling block - the dressing. You don't want to add a load of calories at the last minute, so chose wisely. I like to use balsamic vinegar, but raspberry vinegar is nice too. If you're buying a shop bought dressing, go for one that contains less than 50 calories per 100mls or is marketed as a lighter choice (my current favourite is honey and mustard). If you're a fan of mayonnaise or salad cream, chose on that's "extra light" or "lighter than light" and try mixing it with fat free fromage frais to make it go further. Or water down some fat free natural yoghurt and add some finely chopped mint, for a dressing that feels really creamy and indulgent, without all the fat.

Things to avoid

This may sound obvious, but if you're trying to keep your salad healthy there are some things to avoid:

• croutons
• full fat cheese
• crispy onions
• crispy bacon
• creamy or oily dressings
• chips on the side!

And here's a bit of a contentious one - avocado and nuts. Both of which are insanely healthy (in moderation, I'm not talking about a giant pack of dry roasted) but are very high in syns, so use them wisely. To be honest, I'd avoid slimy green bastard avocado completely. Yuk.

I enjoy salads, and I always have, but it can get boring, very quickly. I hope I've given you some ideas and inspiration to spice up your salad! Let me know your suggestions too.

Hx