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- 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

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- 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

Recipe- Speedy and Saintly Chicken Stir Fry

This meal is a bit of an unappetising looking bugger, but it is packed with flavour and amazingly saintly. It's also ready in just minutes which is great if your 8 year old has developed a vocabulary that would make a sailor blush, your 6 year old has crapped himself 3 times, the baby had a meltdown because you wouldn't let her empty the bin and play with the contents or if it's generally just been a long day. AAAND it's 75% speed food, perfect for EE:SP if you're that way inclined (more on that another time), and so will definitely compensate for earlier when the spoon jumped into the nutella jar and straight into your mouth. Twice.

To make Speedy and Saintly Chicken Stir Fry you will need:

• One chicken breast
• One small onion
• One garlic clove
• One small courgette
• One small carrot
• Half a small cauliflower (or half a tub pre-prepared cauli rice)
• Soy sauce
• Pinch of chilli flakes (or more if you're brave and have toilet paper on standby in the fridge)

First of all, unless you've cheated and bought pre-prepared cauli rice, you're going to need to either blitz your cauliflower in a food processor until it resembles couscous, or grate it (messy, very messy!). Once that's done, spray a wok or large frying pan with frylight and get it hot while you slice your chicken and onion, and mince or finely chop the garlic. Once the wok is hot chuck in the chook until browned all over, then add the onion and garlic. Let that cook while you go at your courgette and carrot with a speed peeler to get nice long ribbons. You could use a spiraliser if you haven't lost it at the back of a cupboard somewhere like I definitely haven't done. Well, maybe I might have. Anyway, chuck the veg in the pan with a good glug of soy and a pinch of chilli, and stir fry until the chicken is done. Add your cauli rice and cook for 4 minutes more, serve and polish your halo.

The recipe serves one very generously, so just increase the quantities or add whatever veg you like to increase the volume. You could chuck in a stir fry pack, chop up some peppers, add beansprouts, mange tout, green beans, cabbage, brussels. Really fart it up.

Hx