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 - Syn Free Bacon, Onion and Potato Hash

I have been making an effort this week to eat more at lunchtime in a vague attempt to stave off the 4pm munchies. Lunch is difficult for me because I often don't eat breakfast until around 10am after school run and general headless chickening in the morning, and the baby has her breakfast at around noon so I'm not always terribly hungry by then. So I have something light (generally avoiding the potato/rice/pasta free foods) and then once I've picked the boys up from school I'm starving. This is when the picking starts. I'll start off with an apple, which is fine. But that's not enough so I'll grab one of the boiled eggs in the fridge, then half a pack of crab sticks, then syn a couple of ryvita with some cottage cheese, then have a mugshot and the other half of the crab sticks before diving headfirst into the biscuit tin. You get the picture. Anyway, this week I've been having a bigger lunch and it's not been quite so bad. This was one of the things I came up with and it was lovely and filling, and I didn't feel like I was looking for something else to have straight after.

To make Bacon, Onion and Potato Hash for one person you will need:

• 1 baking potato
• 1 small onion
• 2 rashers lean bacon
• salt and pepper
• 1 egg
• frylight
• speed veg of your choice, to serve

Cube your potato into rough 1-2cm cubes (no need to peel). Pop them on a plate and microwave for about 4 minutes. Meanwhile, slice your onion and chop the bacon. Spray a frying pan with frylight and get it nice and hot. Chuck the potato in, season well and stir fry until they start to brown. Add the onion and then the bacon and continue to stir fry until cooked. You may need to add more frylight if things start sticking. Just before the hash is done, cook an egg to your liking (poached or fried with a runny yolk is my favourite), and serve the hash with your speed veg and the egg on top.

This was a great quick lunch, hot and filling and the baby had some too (without the salt) so it meant I didn't have to make two different meals. I might add peppers and mushrooms next time too. You could use chicken instead of bacon, or find a low syn sausage that doesn't taste like cardboard and disappointment. Hopefully my strategy of eating a bigger lunch will pa off at the scales next week, we shall see!

What are your lunchtime favourites?

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- 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- Lunchtime Feta Salad

I struggle with lunch sometimes. Somedays I'm ready to dive face first into the fridge by about 10.30, other days I'm not hungry until 3. I try to eat lunch with my little girl, but although she's not a fussy eater (yet) we can't always have the same thing. If I don't want to use my Healthy B a sandwich/something on toast is out of the question and anything else just requires more enthusiasm than I am prepared to give. I have a few staples that I batch cook and eat for a few days, and when it turns colder again I'll be whipping up some soups, but today I wanted something different therefore this salad was born! I made it while little Miss had her morning nap, which gave the veg time to get to room temperature and take on some of the flavours of the dressing, and served with Aldi tomato and garlic cous cous, which is half a syn for the whole packet and doesn't require anything more taxing than pouring hot water on it. If you're doing SP, just add some leaves and grass on the side.

To make Lunchtime Feta Salad for one you will need:

• 45g feta cheese (Healthy Extra A choice - or if you buy a 'light' version you can have 65g)
• 1-2 salad tomatoes, or a handful of cherry toms*,
• a few inches of cucumber
• a spring onion
• a few fresh basil leaves, or dried oregano if you don't have fresh basil (dried oregano is nicer than dried basil, which resembles dandruff)
• a tablespoon or so of balsamic vinegar
• salt and pepper

Cube or crumble your feta into a bowl. Chop your tomatoes and cucumber into chunks and the spring onion into, um, smaller bits of spring onion. Chuck it into the bowl with the feta and grab a few fresh basil leave. Chop it, tear it, snip it, rip it up with your teeth, whatever you feel comfortable with, and throw it in with the rest of the stuff. I was sensible and snipped with scissors. If dried oregano is what you're gong with, about half a teaspoon should do. Add some salt and pepper (careful with the salt as the feta is quite salty, but the tomatoes need it) and the balsamic and give it a stir. Now taste it! If you want more basil, go for it. More balsamic, be my guest. Too much salt, don't say I didn't warn you. I probably left it about half an hour before serving, but you don't have to it just gives it a chance for the acid in the vinegar to get everything nice and tasty. If you've got syns to spare, and you want to waste them on olives, you can add 8 black olives for a syn.

I don't often use fresh herbs in my recipes, but I currently have a mint and basil plant sat on the side in my kitchen that I'm trying desperately not to kill, and they do taste good. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and didn't even miss the olive oil with the balsamic and crusty bread to mop up the left over dressing afterwards. Ok, maybe that's pushing it...

Hx

*If you're thinking hang on, she clarted on about being allergic to tomatoes the other day, I am. But big flavourless supermarket salad tomatoes affect me the least and I'll be paying for it with a sore tongue for a few days. Worth it.

Recipe- Roasted Sweet Potato Hummus, a taster night fave

Every now and then at most Slimming World groups they have what they call a taster night (or morning if you go to a morning group. Who doesn't love a bit of diet coke chicken at 10am?) Everyone (or those who can be bothered) makes a Slimming World friendly dish and brings it along for everyone to try, along with the recipe. Everyone is so hungry after starving themselves in anticipation of weigh in the food gets inhaled within seconds, and everyone declares how good it was. You then go home and try to recreate it, but find out it was only nice because you were so hungry and actually you'd rather have a ryvita. I don't always bring something along but since the biggest two offspring were staying at their Nan's a few days this week I had time to whip up some hummus in between sitting up the baby umpteen times because she gets onto her tummy and can't get back up again. Oh, my life is just go go go. Anyway, this hummus was actually bloody lovely, nothing like proper hummus but a good substitution and syn free so good to have in the fridge for when you just neeeed something. I've been looking for a good hummus recipe, and kind of mashed a couple together here and I was pretty happy with the result. I used cottage cheese because I've found in the past that yogurt or fromage frais it a little bit tart, cottage cheese gives the creaminess without the sourness. If you are of the opinion that hummus is just mashed chickpeas without tahini, I respect your opinion. Add a tablespoon of tahini paste for 4 1/2 syns.

To make Roasted Sweet Potato Hummus you will need:

• 1 medium/large sweet potato
• 400g tin of chickpeas
• juice of 1 lemon
• 1tsp paprika
• 1 tsp cumin
• 2 cloves of garlic (or more if you're single)
• 2 tablespoons of cottage cheese
• salt and pepper

Roast the sweet potato in it's skin for about an hour and then leave to cool. Drain the chickpeas, but keep the water. Crush the garlic. Once it's cool enough the sweet potato skin should just slide off and you'll be left with the mushy flesh. Chuck everything except chickpea water in a blender and blend to a smooth paste. If you find the hummus is too thick, add a bit of the chickpea water until you get the consistency you like. I think I added about 6 tablespoons to mine. You can also add some fresh coriander if you like it, but I think it's foul so have a word with yourself. Serve with crudites (raw veg dear) or toast/pitta from your HEB. It also makes a great topping for a jacket spud, or is lovely in a sarnie with some warm roast veg.

I dished this up at a taster morning on Tuesday and everyone lapped it up (not literally, that would be a little bit inappropriate. I know us fatties can't control ourselves but we're usually ok in public) and said it was lovely. Maybe they were just being polite, but I liked it.

Hx

Recipe- Go-with-anything Roasted Veg

Hello!

Roasted veg may be a bit of a no brainer but it's something I often over look in favour of yet another salad. I know Slimming World say you should have 1/3 of your plate with speed food, but sometimes you just want to chuck something in the oven and forget about it until the smoke alarm goes off (just me?) and not faff about with ricing a cauliflower or spiralising the contents of your veg rack. This is perfect for that. You can use pretty much any veg you like, cook a massive tray of it and save what you don't eat in the fridge, reheat or eat it cold and even use it in other dishes. Easy.

To make Go-with-anything Roasted Veg you will need:

• Vegetables - I would suggest onion and peppers as a minimum but then you can add anything you like. I used a red onion, a big courgette, couple of handfuls of frozen peppers, half a butternut squash, and a few baby leeks because that was what I had sat wilting miserably in the bottom of the fridge but you could add aubergine, cherry tomatoes, sweet potato, carrot, cauliflower, parsnip, asparagus, baby corn, celeriac, fennel, marrow, mushrooms - if it's a vegetable throw it in and see what happens. 
• Fry light or spray oil, or syn some olive oil.
• Balsamic vinegar.
• Dried oregano, basil, rosemary or thyme - or any other hard herb you like.
• Salt and pepper

You can also chuck a few cloves of garlic in, but I find it makes it bitter. Not sure why, but I just can't get garlic right so I leave it out. 

Just chop all your veg so they're roughly all the same size. It's going to be impossible to get a cauliflower floret the same size as an asparagus spear so don't go whittling them down, just get them roughly similar. Chuck it all into an oven dish and add a splash of balsamic, a sprinkle of your herb of choice and salt and pepper. Then spray it all with fry light until your finger hurts. Give it a mix around and bung it in the oven for about half an hour-45 minutes, giving it a wiggle around halfway through.

I chucked a frozen fish filet on top about 10 minutes before the end for a light lunch (perfect for SP if you've not used sweet potato or parsnip), but you can serve it with whatever you like - chicken, pork chops, sausages, or mix it into some cous cous, chuck it in a crustless quiche or add some passata for a quick speed-packed pasta sauce.

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