Big mac in a bowl

The real thing will set you back 25 syns!! this will only set you back 5.5 syns.. and that is if you dont use the cheese as your HEA! If you used the cheese slices as part of you HEA it would only be 1 syn!

This serves one person :)

200g extra lean beef mince
1 medium white onion (finely diced as possible)
as many gherkins as you wish
as many tomatoes as you wish
a pile of iceberg lettuce (or if you dont like iceberg romaine)
2 slices dairylea light cheese slices (use as HEA or 2.5 syns for one or 4.5 for 2, you can omit completely though)

Fry off the mince in a pan until it starts to turn crispy.

reserving 1 tsp of the chopped onion, add the rest to the pan and cook until softened, season with a pinch of salt and black pepper.

Put the meat warm on the bed of lettuce, lay over your cheese, sauce, remaining onions, gherkins and tomatoes.

how simple is that?!

you could even have a couple of pieces of cloud bread with it!

BBQ SP Beans

Comforting and good for an SP day, if i'm doing extra easy day i usually do some of the SW iceland sausages like a sausage and bean bake and god is it good and makes a lot.

1 large white onion
2 large carrots
2 sticks of celery
1 red and green pepper.
4 smoked bacon medallions
1 tsp smoked paprika
2 tins cannelini beans
2 tins haricot beans
1 tin of red kidney beans
2 tins of tomatoes
1 jar of passata
2 cloves of garlic
generous pinch of salt and pepper.

roughly chop the veggies then process until finely chopped.

Dice the bacon into small pieces and fry off in fry light in a big pot until turning crisp.

Add the garlic and the vegetables and cook down until most of the liquid is absorbed.

Add the remaining ingredients (fill the jar of passatta halfway with water and rinse it out adding it to the pot).

Let cook for about an hour or until thick and umptuous.

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.

chicken shawarma kebab

This is an extremely tasty, tender chicken dish with a morish char on the outside, there are various ways to cook and serve this dish.

8 large, skinless, boneless chicken thighs. (i just removed all of the extra fat/sinue!)
1tbsp paprika, cumin, garlic granules (or 1 grated clove), ground coriander, dried oregano.
a generous pinch of salt and pepper.
1 tsp baking powder
juice of 1 lemon.
mix the dry ingredients with the lemon, then coat the chicken with the mixture.
Leave to rest for 20 minutes to let the baking powder work its magic.
I just grilled my chicken turning every so often but you could bake or pan fry the chicken too! I am definitely trying this on the BBQ in the summer!

For the white dressing: 200ml 0% fat greek yogurt, squeeze of lemon, finely diced fresh mint and parsley, sprinkle of garlic granules and a pinch of salt and pepper all mixed together!

You could serve as i did with rice and a pile of salad underneath the chicken or you could use your healthy extra b (depending on what wraps and pittas are available) layer some of the sauce, fresh leaves and then add in the chicken.

Chicken Dopiaza

This curry isn't exactly for the faint heart, lots of onion, garlic and a good kick of chilli, but is soothing and soul healing at the same time. This curry is especially brilliant if you have a cold as the garlic, ginger, onion and tumeric all contribute to a better immune system and tumeric is just an amazing spice although not much flavour has a large variety of medical properties! Enough warbling lets get on!

You will need: 4 large onions (2 quartered, 2 sliced)
1 large red and green bell pepper. (bite size chunks)
8 large boneless chicken thighs (skin and excess fat removed cut into bitesize pieces)
2 tsp grated ginger
3 large cloves of garlic
1 tbsp each of coriander and cumin seeds (lightly crushed)
1tsp tumeric
1 tsp chilli powder (or more if you like)
2 large tomatoes finely chopped
1tsp garam massala
1/2 tsp salt and pinch of white pepper
4 tbsp fat free yogurt (to finish the dish, but you can leave it out if you really want)

place the quartered onions, garlic and ginger into a food processor or mini chopper and blend till you get a paste.
meanwhile on a high heat stir fry the sliced onions and peppers until they char a little and the onions become sweeter. (remove to a plate)
on a medium heat stir fry the onion paste until it starts to turn golden brown.
Add in all the spices and stir cooking for 1 minute.
Add the chicken coating in the spice mix.
Add the tomatoes, pepper and salt and a little water, stir and cover letting cook for 20 minutes.
Uncover to let thicken. (this would be a perfect time to sort out your rice)
stir in the onion and bell pepper.
remove from the heat and stir through the yogurt.

This seems long winded but alternately.. you could brown the chicken, sliced onion and bell peppers together to get some colour and put it in a slow cooker, then you could stir fry the onion paste with the spices until it turns brown, add it to the slow cooker then add the tomatoes to the slow cooker, give it a stir and cook for 4 hours on high or 6-8 on low then stir through the yogurt before you serve.

Peking duck

What? you can have this on slimming world too?!
well of course you can my friend! Just in the right way!
So i usually serve this with my 'fried rice' and garlic greens or sometimes it's just as good in a lettuce wrapper!
i don't usually have these with pancakes so i don't know the syns of those but i know blue dragon hoi sin sauce is currently at 1 syn per tbsp (i usually water it down with a little soy sauce or water and toss it with my duck.

This recipe is purely for the duck. i don't know how many syns it would be for cooking it with the skin on but we boil off the majority of the fat first!!

Where to get a duck? usually in the freezer section. I know aldi have had duck in their frozen section for the past 6 months so you must be able to find them in normal supermarkets too :)

So first off, if using a frozen duck i cannot stress the important of defrosting properly before use! DO NOT just sit it in hot water because there is more chance of you getting food poisoning! Get your duck out of the freezer 24 hours before you need it.. put it on a tray and leave it to do its thing.

Now. Get a big pot of boiling water. stab your duck all over with a fork and boil for 45 minutes.
Preheat your oven to 200oC. After the duck is boiled remove it from the oily water and place directly onto a wire rack. (make sure you have a tray with foil underneath the rack!) cook in the oven for 45 minutes. turn off the oven 10 minutes before removing and have your windows open as there will be smoke!

Remove to a chopping board, remove the skin (yes i know its easy to eat crispy duck and chicken skin but think how well you are doing) grab 2 forks and start shredding!
Done!
How easy?!
I hope you give this recipe a try, it will save you a lot of money from the chinese and a lot of syns!

seafood paella (well.. sort of!)

I love seafood but im quite picky about how it is cooked. i recently found some amazing deals on asda for clams and some crab meat, but you might be able to find some clams and crab at your local fishmonger or in all honestly you could use tinned!

This serves one very hungry person or 2 people with a side salad :)

You will need: 2 crab claws (or a tin of crab), 2 good sized handfuls of cleaned clams (or a tin of clams or a handful or two of prawns, squid or mussels!)
salt and pepper (very important in ANY dish)
1 large shallot, 1 celery stick & 1 carrot (all finely diced)
1 large clove of garlic (grated)
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 large tomato (roughly chopped)
1 tbsp tomato puree
zest of lemon (and a bit of the juice to serve)
a kettle of hot water (you can make up fish stock if you have it)
and most importantly some form of short grain/ paella or pudding style rice. a generous handful per person!

i used a non stick pan so i could get a nice crust like you do on a paella style dish.

fry the vegetables until they soften, add the garlic & lemon zest and stir until fragrant.
add the tomato puree and paprika with about a tablespoon of water and mix with the vegetables until you get a paste.
stir through the rice and add about 100ml of water along with a generous pinch of salt and pepper.

turn the heat to low and keep cooking, stirring and adding water for about 15 minutes. at this time add a generous squeeze of lemon juice, another 100-200ml of water depending on how dry your paella is looking and top with the seafood. cover with a lid and set your timer for 15 minutes.
Done :)

i hope you give this recipe ago you can really use anything you want. traditionally saffron is used but something in saffron effects my mouth! just add a pinch of saffron 20 100ml of water (the first 100ml you add) and let it steep for 5 minutes before using!

if you have picky children you could always do a chicken paella and top yours off with some grilled prawns or any other preferred seafood :)

Perfect roast potatoes

something so simple can change so so much! i use this technique for chips/wedges too. (i generally leave skin on my potatoes for extra ruffage)

you will need:
whatever amount of potatoes you are cooking according to how many people you are serving
salt, pepper
fry light.

preheat your oven to 200oC
meanwhile parboil the potatoes until fork tender.
drain and shuffle the colander so it ruffles up the edges.
put the potatoes onto a foil lined baking tray and leave until the surface of the potatoes are dry(important step)
spray generously with fry light and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
put in the oven, cook for 15 minutes. or until golden then turn the potatoes spray with frylight and cook until the other side is golden.

Burrito bowls

So, i saw a recipe in the new slimming world magazine and based my recipe around that.
so we start with the base of the bowl/plate
Rice, perfectly cooked rice is a must!
i will say this recipe is for 6 people because this is how much i did for my family. there are 6 of us!

Just under 2 mugs (tea mug/cup) of basmati rice. (rinse it well to get rid of unwanted starch!)
3.5 mugs (same mugs for rice) of water.
4 large chicken breasts
2 onions
1 small red and green bell pepper. (sliced)
2 limes
2 cloves of garlic
1 can of sweetcorn
1 can of black beans (or buy dried and cook a mug as per packet instruction)
2 large tomatoes
handful of coriander
salt and pepper
1 tsp paprika
1tsp cumin
2tbsp tomato ketchup

i know it sounds like a lot but its all done in advance. we are going to start with the chicken!
grab a sandwhich bag and add 3/4 of a tsp of cumin, the juice and rind of a lime, the paprika, salt, pepper, a grated clove of garlic and 2 tbsp of tomato ketchup.
cut the chicken breast into bitesize pieces, add into the sandwhich bag mix, do up the bag, give it a rub and leave to marinate until you need it.

mix the sweetcorn, black beans (if youve cooked your own make sure to cool them allunder cold water), zest and juice of half a lime, 1/4 tsp of cumin, 1/2 grated garlic clove of garlic and a pinch of salt and pepper.

next chunk up the tomatoes, finely dice 1/2 of one of the onions, add to a bowl with the zest and juice of half a lime 1/2 a grated clove of garlic and a pinch of salt and pepper and the handful of chopped coriander.

To cook the rice add the water and rice to a pot, turn the heat on high, when it starts to boil turn the heat to medium and boil until little holes appear on the surface of the rice. turn off the heat and cover. (20 minutes)

once the rice is covered fry the onion and peppers then add the chicken cooking till cooked through.

i usually serve the chicken on the rice and everything else on the side next to it. i usually chop a little lettuce to have on the side aswell.
its just nice with the chicken and rice you dont need to use the black beans and salsa you could just have lettuce or steamed veggies on the side!

Ramen (noodle soup)

comforting, soothing, delicious, warm noodle soup, healing to the heart, mind and soul and brilliant for leftovers.
use whatever topping you have but you can never beat adding a soft/medium boiled egg, the yolk enrichens the soup!

serves 1.
1 packet low fat super noodles (i use ko lee low fat chicken, beautiful in flavour before adding anything!)
1 grated garlic clove
1/2 tsp grated ginger
1/2 tsp sesame oil (1 syn)
1/2 tsp yellow bean sauce (optional but is so soothing, just add it to the broth)
good pinch of black pepper
I happened to use leftover turkey on my ramen today but you can use a couple of slices of ham or leave the meat out completely!
1 small shredded or grated carrot
2 leaves white cabbage finely shredded
1 shredded spring onion
handful of beansprouts (if you have them)

So the basics of ramen is the sauce and the noodles then you can add whatever toppings you like!
cook the noodles according to packet instructions. meanwhile, in the bowl you are going to serve in mix the soy, sesame oil, ginger, garlic and black pepper, mix thoroughly.
remove the noodles to the soy mixture coating them in it.
add the toppings then pour over the soup!

Easy or what?!

My ultimate comfort food: carbonara

I cannot even fathom where to begin in explaining this low syn, delicious dish! Comforting, creamy, savoury and only 2 syns a portion? what.. the.. heck?
This is my twist on carbonara, it is closely related to the traditional version, this is (i think) a rather big portion so you could probably split it between 2 if serving with a side salad (or veggies) and some form of meat!

Now, i know i am likely to get lots of questions about the 'raw egg'. The raw egg you add, is cooked by the heat of both the pasta and heat of the pan, if you are that worried add a little water or stock, top with cheese and bang it in the oven for a good 15 minutes at 200oC for a delicious mac and cheese!

You will need:
150g pasta of your choice (if you are baking do not use spaghetti etc)
2 slices of fat removed bacon (chopped into smallish dice)
5 medium mushroom (white mushrooms or the brown chestnut mushrooms will do (if you can get a bag of mixed mushrooms around mid autumn why not turn this from a carbonara to a creamy mushroom carbonara?)
100g small cut broccoli florets.
1 egg
2 tbsp grated parmesan (1 syn per tbsp)
salt, pepper

Start by getting your pasta on the go with the broccoli, (while you are doing this get a large frying pan hot with fry light) but cook it for 2 minutes less than it says on the packaging.
While your pasta is cooking, fry your bacon until it is crispy with fry light.
Add the mushrooms and cook until softened.
By now your  pasta should be cooked. use a slotted spoon or tongs to move the pasta from the water directly to the pan with the bacon in, stir and add a good pinch of salt and pepper. (keeping the pan on the heat.
crack an egg into a cup, add the parmesan and whisk well. turn the pasta off the heat, pour in your egg and stir constantly until the sauce thickens (if it is too thick add a little more of the pasta water)
You are done and ready to serve.

This is great if you have picky kids who refuse to eat broccoli because it breaks up completely and coats the pasta. If your kids do not like mushrooms, just omit them and add a couple of handfuls of peas :)

I hope you enjoy this quick recipe. I will post again soon my lovelies! :)

Update!

Hey guys, i know i haven't posted recipes in a few days, but i am hoping thats what i will be doing over the next few evenings!
So my weight loss has been up and down due to personal and... female problems!
but im pleased that i actually lost weight this week and its not even been a full week.
So far total loss is -1lb but hey ho its what is like at this time of year.
The next two weeks i will be religiously filling in my food diary to make sure i eat plenty of speed food!
I might go wild and do an SP day or two!!
Look out for more recipes!

:)

Easy family pasta/spaghetti Bolognese

So anyone that knows me, knows that i am OBSESSED with pasta, which is good because on slimming world the majority of pasta is syn free :D
Here is my family favourite of spaghetti bolognese, very filling, very easy. if you haven't got a food processor you could just grate the majority of these vegetables. If you want to make this meat free just replace the beef mince with quorn.
If you dont have much time, just fry off your mince grate your veg and bung it all in your slow cooker!

serves 6 people generously (good to take to work though)
500g pasta/spaghetti of your choice.
500g extra lean beef mince (or leftover beef or lamb from a roast)
2 large carrots
2 red onions
2 cloves of garlic
1 small aubergine
1 medium courgette
(you can always add mushrooms too!)
2 tins of tomatoes
1 large broccoli head. (cook this with your pasta, optional)
1 tsp garlic italian by schwartz
1/2 tsp salt and pepper
1 tsp oregano
fry light
2 tbsp tomato puree
Get your trusty food processor out, set it up to grate.  peel and chop your onion in small dice.
It a large pan start browning your mince until it gets crispy.
while your mince is cooking grate all your veggies  (other than the onion)
Once your mince is brown add all your veggies in and cook until they start to soften, add your tomatoes, tomato puree, salt, pepper, herbs and half a tin of water.
cook for 20 minutes.
after the 20 minutes is up cook your pasta according to instructions (but cook for 2 minutes less and save some of the pasta water)
Drain, add back to the pot you were cooking it in and stir through your mince.
if you are cooking this in the slow cooker just add the pasta to the slow cooker and stir through,.
Done!
i hope you enjoy this dish. :)

Pasta primavera

I was in tesco yesterday and i saw some asparagus and it reminded me of my favourite ever pasta dish.. Pasta primavera! Full of fresh veggies and basil (or in our case low fat green pesto, i find the tesco own brand is the best!) This dish is great with fish or chicken or just on its own with a side salad! AND Low in syn coming in at 4 syns for the whole lot and it will serve 4-6 people (and its a hit with the kiddies or to freeze!!)

you will need
500g pasta of your choice
half a head of broccoli cut into small florets
1 pack of asparagus (trimmed and cut into bitesize pieces)
200g trimmed and chopped green beans
200g frozen peas
1 leek finely sliced
2 tbsp reduced fat green pesto (3 syns)
2 tbsp quark
1tbsp grated parmesan cheese (1 syn, this stuff is my pride and joy in the kitchen)
salt and pepper to taste
First, cook your pasta, look at the packet instructions and cook for 2 minutes less than it says on the pack. (this is crucial)
While the pasta is cooking add in the broccoli to the pasta.
While the pasta is cooking mix together the quark, pesto, parmesan, a pinch of salt and pepper and some of the cooking water. This is crucial for making the pasta creamy. Save some cooking water trust me!
2 minutes before the end of cooking time add the asparagus and peas to the boiling pasta.
Drain the pasta (again remember to save some cooking water!!!!)
while the pasta is draining, in the pan you boiled your pasta in, lightly fry the leeks. When they become soft and translucent add the sauce, stir, cooking for 30 seconds, add some more pasta water then the pasta, stir, thoroughly coating the pasta and the job is done!

YUM YUM YUM :') i love this dish i hope you do too!

Chicken casserole

The best chicken casserole/stew is done by using roasted bone in meat, unfortunately if you roast skinless chicken it becomes dry. So we have an alternative! Packed full of speed veggies this meal would be suitable for SP day, you could always have with singing swede mash, if you aren't having an SP day you could always chuck in a couple of tins of potatoes or something! you can also use any P beans you want i just prefer haricot :)

4-6 people
4 rashers extra lean smoked bacon (visible fat removed and cut into small pieces)
6-8 skinless (bone in if you can get it) chicken thighs
4 large carrots (into slices/chunks)
4 large celery sticks (sliced)
2 large leeks (washed, trimmed and sliced)
2 large red onions (peeled and medium diced)
1 large courgette (medium dice)
1 small swede (peeled and diced)
2 tins of haricot beans
salt and pepper to taste (at the end)
chicken bovil 2 tsp in 500ml of hot water
if you have it, 1tsp each of fresh rosemary and thyme, or 1 tsp mixed dried herbs.

Fry off the bacon until it is crispy. (add it to your slow cooker)
Sear the chicken thighs in the same pan (and then into your slow cooker with the swede and carrot)
Fry off the celery, onion, courgette and leeks in batches giving them a little colour.
Add all the ingredients to the slow cooker, cover and cook for at least 4 hours on high or 6-8 on low.
If you do not have the time to add the extra flavour by frying off first, you can always just add everything to the slow cooker.
Enjoy :)

Garlic greens

This recipe is versatile as really it goes with most greens, just use whatever you have to hand.

I use frozen green beans because why not! (just defrost half a bag)
1 large onion (chopped into bitesized pieces)
1 small red and green pepper (into bit size pieces)
3 large garlic cloves finely chopped or 3 tsp of garlic paste
2 tbsp soy sauce
1tsp sesame oil (2 syns)

get a pan nice and hot
add the onion and green pepper, toss regularly till slightly charred and onion is just turning translucent.
add your garlic, green beans and sesame oil.
Toss the pan or stur the garlic and beans witht he rest of the ingredients until the garlic becomes fragrant.
Add the soy sauce and toss. cook for a further 2 minutes.

Done :D delicious garlicky green beans, like i said use what you have to hand whether it be brocolli, spring greens or cabbage!

I would love some feedback so leave a comment below!

Vietnamese beef stew (my version)

Not long ago i became unhealthily obsessed with asian, vietnamese and thai food!
I came across this aromatic soothing beef stew, full of the herbs and spices needed to cure a cold!
Perfect for a cold evening!
It really is a slow cooked dish so if you dont have a slow cooker use a dutch oven!

4-6 people
1kg stewing steak.
4tbsp soy sauce
1tbsp fish sauce (yes i know it smells but trust me!)
3 lrge garlic cloves grated
1tsp grated ginger
1 tin of tomatoes
2 tbsp romato puree
200ml beef stock
1 bay leaf
6 carrots peeled and in bitesize pieces
3 spring onions in chunks.
2 star anise and 1 cinnamon stick
1 tsp 5 spice
generous amount of black pepper
2 large white onions (in bitesized chunks)
2 large green pepper (in bitesized chunks)
1tsp sesame oil (2syns)

Marinate the beef with the garlic, ginger, soy sauce, fish sauce and 5 spice over night. or 2 days in advance!
put all of the ingredients (just not the green pepper or onion and sesame oil) in the slow cooker.
Let it cook until you are ready to eat (i serve with rice)
Before you cook the rice, get a frying pan EXTREMELY hot and chuck in the onions and peppers let it sit for 20 seconds, flip it, let it sit again for another 20 seconds. Repeat and add to the stew with the sesame oil and stir through.
Serve whilst hot, sprinkle with spring onions (optional but adds another dimension)

Jambalaya

This recipe is brilliant for leftovers or if you just want to make a delicious dish!
serves 4-6
6 boneless skinless chicken thighs (in bite sized cube or use leftover roast chicken!)
4 heck chorizo style sausages (currently 2.5 syns each so 2.5 if serving 4 but 1.5 if serving 6, skin removed)
3 sticks of celery and 2 carrots (finely diced or grated)
1 large white onion (diced finely)
1 large green pepper (slightly larger dice)
1 large red pepper (same as green pepper)
4 large tomatoes (cut in half and grate into the stock, its the easy way to remove the skin!)
3 cloves garlic
1tbsp paprika (not smoked)
450ml chicken stock
250g long grain rice (basmati works well)
1 bay leaf
1tsp dried thyme and oregano
sprinkle of chilli flakes (optional)
(6 large prawns to serve ontop are optional)

okay it sounds like a lot of ingredients but its a very very easy recipe.
Fry the sausage braking it up while it cooks. when it is cooked add in the chicken. cook until the chicken is 3/4 of the way done. add all the vegetables and garlic. stir until the onion becomes translucent. add in the rest of the ingredients. stir thoroughly, sprinkle in some salt and pepper, cover, cook on low for 15 minutes, remove the lid give it a stir. cover and let cook for a further 10 minutes on low.
Done :D

enjoy.. i know it sounds like a lot but this recipe is pretty basic 4 tomatoes, 450ml of stock, garlic, paprika 250g rice.. then you can add anything else you want! any veg that is starting to go over (fry that first though to give it a head start)
and the best thing... its a one pot meal! yaaaahhh!

Enjoy!