IVE MOVED!

Hi guys just a quick post to let you know i have moved sites but will still continue uploading recipes and videos! up at

www.greedy-me.co.uk

Would love for you to check it out

Seasoning series: pesto

 

Good with pasta, fish, chicken or even mix through yogurt as salad dressing, this recipe is about tasting as you go. You may like more lemon or more pepper or more salt it's entirely up to you!

1 pot/large packet fresh basil

1tbsp grated Parmesan (1syn)

1tsp extra virgin olive oil (2 syns but syns vary so please check!)

1small clove garlic, 

Juice of half a lemon,

Generous pinch of salt and pepper

2tbsp water

Blend together and keep in the fridge for up to 5days, replace the fresh garlic with a pinch of garlic granules to last 10-14 days 

Carrot cake muffins

 

Good as a snack, with fruit or even as a lower sugar alternative for kiddies these are addictive and come out as 1 syn each if you use your healthy extra b!

35g oats

1tsp cinnamon

1tbsp golden syrup (my brand was 2syns but please double check)

1grated carrot

12g sultanas (optional but make the dish! 2syns for my brand)

1 medium egg

Preheat oven to 180oC and spray 4holes in a muffin pan with low calorie spray.

Combine all the ingredients in a bowl mixing well.

Divide into the four holes of the muffin pan and bake for 20 minutes.

Remove from the oven and leave to cool before removing from the pan. 

(If not using oats as your healthy extra.. 6extra syns for the whole dish so 2.5 syns each)

Thai chicken with sticky rice

 

Serves 4-6

6 chicken thighs, bite size chunks 

4large spring onions, thinly sliced

1small head of broccoli in bite sized pieces

1onion and green pepper in bite sized pieces.

1cup/mug of jasmine rice (dry) 

3tbsp dark soy sauce

1large clove garlic grated

1tbsp sweet chilli sauce (2.5)

1tsp cornflour (0.5)

Handful of Thai or normal basil and coriander finely chopped

Marinate the chicken with the soy sauce, garlic, sweet chilli, cornflour together in a sandwich bag massaging to make sure all chicken is fully coated.

Meanwhile add the 1cup of rice to a pot, rinse once then add 2cups of boiling water and cook until almost all the water is gone, cover and leave.

Heat a pan and add the chicken and broccoli cooking for 5minutes until almost cooked through. 

Add the rest of the veggies and stir fry for a further 5minutes.

Add a splash of water and herbs.

Stir until the sauce thickens and serve with a side salad and the sticky rice. 

Satay (chicken,pork, beef of lamb)

 

This is low syn, super easy and you can use it on almost any meat and even white fish or just use as a dipping sauce!

1small red onion

5cloves garlic

1tbsp each of ground coriander and cumin

1 tsp each of tumeric and Tesco Thai massaman curry paste

1tsp black pepper

100ml alp to coconut milk replacement (1syn ATM)

2tbsp soy sauce

1tsp low fat low sugar peanut butter(syns will vary depending on which brand you use so double check)

I like making my marinade with a pestle and mortar as you get more flavour! 

Alternatively chuck everything BUT the peanut butter into the food processor and whizz it up.

Then pour into a sandwich bag with your meat (will do about 700g of meat easily) leave overnight in the fridge in a bowl in case of leakages! 

If you are using fish don't marinate just cook up the sauce and cook the fish separately!

You can use a griddle, grill or BBQ or even your oven but make sure to squeeze off the excess marinade and pour it all into a saucepan with the peanut butter and cook, constantly stirring until the sauce thickens. That's it! 

Thai massaman curry

 

Rich, creamy, vegetarian option or meaty and luscious, this curry has so many options so don't feel the need to stick to the recipe! If making the curry vegetarian friendly just remove the meat and bulk the curry with fresh mushrooms, more aubergine or even quorn!

Serves 4-6 

600g of chicken, beef or lamb,

2large onions roughly chopped,

1green pepper roughly chopped,

3 tbsp Thai massaman paste (Tesco own is 0.5 syn each)

300ml original blue diamond coconut milk (1syn per 100ml)

200ml of water

1small aubergine roughly chopped

200g green beans cut into 1inch pieces

Sear your meat in a frying pan,

 

Meanwhile in a saucepan spray low calorie spray  and stir fry the curry paste for 1minute then add half the coconut milk and stir for 5minutes until most of the milk is absorbed. 

Add the rest of the liquid and the meat, meanwhile in the pan you seared the meat in, get the pan hot and char the onions and peppers then add to the curry letting it simmer for 20 minutes. 

Add the green beans and cook for another 10 minutes before serving. 

Mongolian beef

 

1 steak thinly sliced 

1/2 white onion thinly sliced

3 spring onions cut in half and in 2'' pieces

4shitake mushroom thinly sliced 

1tsp each grated ginger and garlic

3tbsp light soy sauce

1tsp sugar (or sweetener - 1 syn)

(Steamed broccoli and rice or noodles to serve) 

Heat a non stick pan for 5minutes, spray with low cal spray, add the vegetables and garlic and ginger, stir fry for 5minutes and move to a plate. 

Heat the pan for a further 2minutes, add the steak and stir fry for 2minutes.

Add the vegetables and the soy sauce and sugar, stir fry until the sauce thickens then serve with coriander and chilli sprinkled over the top.

Creamy chicken and bacon pasta

 

Serves 2 (rather large portions!!!)

200g dry pasta

6 medium chestnut mushrooms

2rashers extra lean bacon1large leek

2 egg yolks

2splashes of milk (1syns)

5tbsp fresh grated Parmesan (5syns in total) 

Salt pepper and fresh parsley

Chop the leek and mushrooms thinly.

Chop the bacon and chicken into bite size pieces.

Get a frying pan hot and dry the bacon until crispy then add the chicken till half cooked.

Add the pasta to boiling water now as this will take the time the rest of the sauce takes to cook.

Add the leeks and mushrooms to the chicken add salt and pepper.(cook for 5-7 minutes)

Meanwhile mix the egg yolks with the milk and parsley.

Drain the pasta and add to the chicken mixture.

Stir through, turn off the heat, add the sauce mix stirring constantly until the sauce thickens and sticks to the pasta (this means the egg is cooked) 

Serve immediately! 

Paella

 

You will need: 1 red onion, 1 large red pepper, 1 large grated garlic clove, 1 lemon (zested then in wedges), 1tsp smoked paprika, 1 chicken breast (in bite size chunks), 2handfuls mixed seafood, 200g risotto or paella rice, 500ml fish stock or chicken stock, 1/2 cup of peas, 1 large tomato  in small chunks and a rough chopped handful of parsley. 

Chop the onion and pepper into small chunks while a pan is heating.

Spray the pan with low cal spray and add the chicken, cook until browned around the edges but only half cooked then add the peppers onions and a generous pinch of salt and pepper.

Once softened (usually takes 10minutes) add the paprika and garlic and stir for a couple of minutes.

Add the rice and stock, cover in foil and bake for 30 minutes at 180oC.

Check if you need to add more liquid, then add parsley a generous squeeze of lemon juice, top with the seafood and put in the oven uncovered for 10 more minutes.

When serving top with a handful of rocket and a lemon wedge.

Serve 2-4 people. 

Food trends: Fruit pops

So the most popular food trend at the moment seems to be either those crazy milkshakes that have everything but the kitchen sink in, or these lushious fruit pops. Normally they are made with coconut water but thats not syn free so i usually use diet lemonade and sometimes even add mint and a splash of balsamic vinegar like a pimms ice lolly.


All you have to do is choose your favourite fruits and put them into an ice lolly mold or even cheap plastic cups.
put in your stick and pour over your chosen liquid then freeze for at least 4 hours..
i can't really even call this one a recipe!
its healthy, quick, easy and even the kiddies love them!

Ice cream

Yes, i said it.. ice cream!! i bought a cheap ice cream maker on amazon a few years ago for 20 and it is still going strong, i know they have a lot of offers at the moment so don't miss it! okay so this ice cream is made with yoghurt.. and depending what you put in, it isn't always going to be syn free BUT it will save you the syns of a lifetime compared to eating normal ice cream!!

The basic mix is 1 pot of the total 0% fat greek yoghurt. You then add sweetener to taste and a few drops of vanilla EXTRACT. i cannot stress that you use EXTRACT not essence.. essence is vile and chemical tasting!

From that mix you then add a muller light yoghurt. if you want vanilla, add a vanilla yoghurt..

You could use the latte muller light to make a coffee ice cream.

You could do a mango passion fruit ice cream and add in chunks of mango or sieved passionfruit.

Add an after dinner mint with peppermint extract instead of vanilla and add some chocolate ontop (or choc shot of course)

Peanut and caramel frozen with chunks of banana in (for a chunky monkey ice cream)

Add 2 of the pineapple crush (1/2 syn each) and if you wanted a shot of coconut rum for a pina colada style ice cream with chunks of pineapple swirled through.

As long as you have imagination the possibilities are endless.

To freeze if you aren't using an ice cream machine you should pour into a freezable container and whisk up every hour for 4 hours. just take the container out of the freezer 15 minutes before serving so it is scoopable!

Using an ice cream machine follow the instructions as every machine is different then  when donw, put into a container or seperate containers and freeze!

Cloud bread

The new phenomenon, i wish i had thought of this as this is the basic way i make a slimming world syn free cake, just adding sweetener and vanilla! you can toast this 'bread' lightly if you want to make it a little more durable but is good for burgers or even sandwiches and the best thing? ITS SP FRIENDLY!!

3 large eggs seperated
2 tbsp quark
pinch of salt
(any flavourings you wish to add e.g garlic or italian herbs)

Preheat your oven to 180oC

Add the salt to the egg whites and whisk until stiff peak.

Add the quark to the egg yolks and whisk until creamy and well incorporated.

Fold in 1/3 of the egg whites and continue until you have a light mixture.

Spoon mixtures onto a baking sheet and bake for about 30 minutes until lightly browned, just keep an eye on them.

I will suggest not to make a huge batch of them as they go stale quite quickly! If adding seasoning, add them to the egg yolk and quark before adding the egg white.

Grilled steak kebabs

There is something primative about grilled meat. so what could be better than a grilled steak, potato and mushroom kebab that you can lay on a bed of crisp salad and drizzle over your favourite salad vinaigrette.

500g very lean steak ( all visible fat removed and cut into bite size pieces)
500g salad/baby potaotes (preboiled until only just fork tender)
200g baby mushrooms
salt, pepper
1tbsp freshly chopped thyme and rosemary or about tsp dry thyme.
1 tsp olive oil (2syns)

Put the steak into a sandwich bag with salt, pepper, herbs and olive oil, do the bag up and massage the seasoning into the meat and leave for at least 20 minutes. (this would be a good time to be boiling your potatoes then cooling them, this would also be a good time to soak your wooden skewers to stop them from burning)

Alternate the steak, mushrooms and potatoes on the skewers until the ingredients are used up.

Grill on the BBQ or griddle pan for about 2 minutes a side or cooked until the meat is to your liking.

Serve over salad or with coleslaw, grilled tomatoes and mushy peas like a mixed grill style dinner. yum!

Luscious leek and potato soup

Something so simple can be so so comforting when you are under the weather or the weather is getting you down. Shut the curtains, curl up on the sofa with this addictive soup, and the best thing is it is free and easy!

2 large baking potatoes (i find they break up easier, washed and roughly chopped)
1 large white onion (roughly chopped)
3 large leeks (washed and sliced roughly)
1 large clove of garlic
generous pinch of salt and pepper
(parsely or chives to top is completely optional)
2.5 litres of vegetable stock

In a large soup pot, in fry light, fry off the onion, garlic and leeks until they start to soften and colour a little.

Add a generous pinch of salt and pepper.

Add the potatoes and stock and cook until the potatoes start falling apart.

Turn off the heat and use your immersion blender to blend the soup to the texture of your liking.

Taste and season to your liking.

Amazing beef stroganoff

Quick, easy, delicious, mid week, weekend, dinner party.. anytime! (4-6 people)

400g Lean beef rump steak (all visible fat removed)
300g mushrooms (preferably mini mushrooms like small button or small chestnut mushrooms)
1 large red onion finely chopped
1tbsp dijon mustard (double check your syns my mustard i use is 1/2 a syn)
1 heaped tbsp tomato puree
3tbsp weight watchers west country thick cream (3 syns - 1 syn per tbsp)
handful of roughly chopped parsely.
200ml beef stock.
salt and pepper.

slice the steak as thin as possible.

Sear all the meat in a pan then move aside to rest then brown the mushrooms on a high heat till browned, add to the same plate as the steak.

Fry off the onion and add in the stock, mustard and tomato puree and stir in until dissolved.

Return the steak and mushrooms to the pan and cook for 3-5 minutes, remove from the heat and stir in the cream and parsely.

serve with rice, potatoes or pasta or on its own with veggies. yummy!

smoked salmon linguine

simple, quick, easy, tasty.. what more could you want?

serves 4 or is good the next day for lunch

200g smoked salmon, roughly chopped into bite size pieces.
300g spaghetti or linguine.
250g cherry tomatoes halved.
2 generous handfuls of rocket.
Juice of half a lemon.
1 bunch of asparagus, trimmed and in bite size pieces.
2 tbsp (i used tesco its 2 syns per tbsp) reduced fat red pesto (also works with green pesto)

Start by cooking the pasta for 2 minutes less than the packet says. About halfway through cooking add the asparagus (reserve about 1/4 tea cup of the water)

mix the lemon juice, pesto and water together with a generous pinch of black pepper.

drain the pasta, add back to the pot you boiled it in, pour over the pesto and add the salmon coating the pasta, add in the cherry tomatoes too.

Serve and top with the rocket.

Chicken parmigiana

good for leftovers or to freeze after cooked, you could have this with pasta or potatoes and veggies or even just have a side of salad with it.

8 chicken breasts
1 large red onion (finely diced)
3 cloves of garlic
2 tins of tomatoes
8 tbsp of parmesan (1syn per person as 1 syn per tablespoon)
1 tsp dried basil
2 tbsp freshly chopped parsley.
salt and pepper

preheat the oven to 180oC

Season the chicken breasts generously on both sides.

sear both sides of the chicken breasts.

Meanwhile fry off the onion and garlic until softened.

Add in the basil and tinned tomatoes and cook down for 10-20 minutes.

lay the chicken breasts in a tray and spread the tomato mixture evenly between the chicken breasts and sprinkle each chicken breast with 1 tbsp of parmesan.

Bake for 20 minutes or until cooked through.

Sprinkle over the parsley before serving.

hunters chicken

okay so hunters chicken isn't going to be syn free but its sure going to be delicious!

1 chicken breast per person (you could always use a turkey breast steak instead)
1tbsp BBQ sauce per person (usually around 1 syn depending what brand you use)
1 bacon medallion per person
25g low fat grated cheddar per person (4 syns or you could always use your HEA)

heat your oven to 180oC

season your chicken breast generously with salt and pepper then wrap the bacon medallion around the breast (or place on top)

bake for 15 minutes then coat the chicken breast/bacon in the tbsp of BBQ sauce

cook for a further 5 minutes.

Top with the cheese and leave till melted.

Coleslaw

This goes with everything in our house.. from grilled meats, burgers, chicken, pork to fish or as a side salad. you can top it with what you want but we usually dress it with the dressing that i will add to the bottom of the slaw recipe. its also lovely with light salad cream.

1 red onion
2 large carrots
half a small white cabbage

we use a mandolin as we have always had it in our family but you could use a food processor or if you are good with a knife do it that way.

peel then grate the carrot into a bowl.

peel and cut the onion in half and slice as thin as you can.

cut the half of cabbage in half then shred it.

combine together and that is the basic slaw.

for the dressing we use white or rice vinegar and tesco extra virgin olive oil spray we use 20 sprays (2 syns) we coat the slaw in the oil then add the vinegar.

the slaw will last 3-4 days in the fridge if you DONT add a dressing. ( you could always individually dress the slaw on the plate)

yorkshire puddings!!!

yorkshire puddings are my weakness.. i don't know why but they always have been, here is my slimming world recipe.

50g plain flour (8syns)
150ml unsweetened almond milk ( i use alpro which is hald  syn per 100ml atm so 1.25 syns may as well say 2)
2 eggs

get a muffin tin very hot in the oven

meanwhile blend the mixture or hand whisk or use an emersion blender to blend the heck out of the mix till fully combined and creamy.

spray the pan with fry light and divide the mixture into the 12 hole tray

*TOP TIP: make the mixture in a jug so you can just pour it in!*

Bake at 200 for 15-20 minutes (just keep an eye on them) depending on how many you make divide the total syn mixture by that much e.g whole mix = 10 syns so if you make 10 it would be 1 syn each