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!

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.

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)

Healthy Greek salad

This salad may not be slimming world or weight watchers but this is a relatively healthy salad that is delicious on its own or on a bed of salad leaves.

Serves 2-4
2handfuls of your favourite olives
1/4 cucumber in small bite sized chunks
3 large tomatoes or a pack of cherry tomatoes in bite size pieces
1small red onion, halved and finely sliced
Half a pack of feta crumbled into pieces.
3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive
2tablespoons lemon juice
1tablespoon white wine vinegar
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1small clove grated garlic
Generous pinch of salt and black pepper

Mix the garlic, olive oil, salt, pepper, oregano, lemon juice and vinegar in a salad bowl.
Add in the rest of the ingredients and toss in the dressing.
Let sit for at least 20 minutes, toss again before serving.

crispy garlic chicken

This really adds something to a salad or is a good way to start a curry as the cornflour keeps the meat nice and moist!

4 large bone less skinless chicken thighs, cut into small 1 or 2 cm cubes.
1/2 tsp garlic granules
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp mixed white and black pepper
1 tbsp cornflour (1 syn)

mix all together in a bowl ensuring the chicken is coated all over with the cornflour garlic mixture
set for at least 20 minutes.

get a frying pan nice and hot with low calorie spray and lay the chicken in an even layer.

let cook for 1 minute then flip and cook for a further minute.

keep tossing the chicken until it is cooked through.

leave the chicken to rest for a couple of minutes as it helps the meat to relax and reabsorb its juices.

it just adds something to a plain salad, my little sister said they taste like chicken nuggets!

fresh asian salad/slaw

okay so this may not be 'chinese' but is a good accompaniment to the previous dishes i have posted.

2 handfuls fresh bean sprouts
1 tbsp mixed chopped coriander, mint and basil
1 large carrot shredded
4 large spring onions, thinly shredded
1/4 head of white cabbage finely shredded
1 mild chilli finely chopped

1tsp soy sauce
1tsp fresh squeezed lime juice (or white vinegar)
pinch of sweetener

the key to this dish is balance, if you like it sweeter, add more sweetener if you prefer it more sour leave out the sweetener and so on.

toss all together and you are ready to go!

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!