Recipes

If you’re familiar with any of the popular weight loss clubs, then you’ll be aware that they score food on a points system, this makes it easier to understand and helps you decide what to put in your mouth. To give a rough idea, the average sausage roll is 15, a pint of decent lager about 12, the less you consume, the more chance of losing weight. I’ve therefore been on a mission to make tasty food that have no points at all, here you’ll find some of my ideas, give them a go and I hope you enjoy.

Mint Yoghurt chicken, with lime and coriander rice.

Ingredients

Two chicken breasts, 300ml fat free natural yoghurt, one tsp each of sugar sweetener, dried coriander, ginger, dried mint, tumeric and fresh coriander. A Mug of jasmine rice, two mugs of water, a lime, fresh coriander and a green chilli.
Prep time: at least 2hrs. Cook time 20 mins Serves: 2

Many years ago I was given a secret recipe for the mint yoghurt you get in an Indian restaurant. It is of course quite high in sugar and fat, so I came up with a slim version, that’s just as tasty. I originally developed this for a national food competition, that unfortunately, didn’t make it past the first stage. Give it a go, I promise you’ll be surprised how tasty it is.

Method

Mix the sweetener, dried coriander, ginger, mint and turmeric with the yoghurt. Cut the chicken into goujons and add to 200ml of the yoghurt, place in the fridge for at least two hours, but ideally, overnight. Put the rice and water into a pan, bring to the boil and simmer until cooked. (It’s entirely up to you how you cook the rice, but I like to rinse with cold water before and after cooking). Allow to cool, then place in a bowl with the zest and juice of the lime and the coriander leaf, then put it into the fridge. When ready to cook, heat a griddle pan with 1 cal spray and fry the chicken goujons until brown. This takes approximately 20 mins and the rice only five, so don’t cook too early. Fry the rice gently in a separate pan and when ready, stir in the fresh coriander then serve with the chicken. You can then add chopped chillies depending how hot you like it. Use the remaining yogurt to either drizzle on the chicken or as a dressing for a side salad.

NB: If you plan to eat it cold, there’s no need to re-heat the rice. It can be used as a really nice Packed lunch, drizzled with the remaining yoghurt.

Beef chilli with rustic wedges

Ingredients

750g 5% fat beef mince, large onion, red pepper, 2 red chilli’s, 2 garlic cloves, 2tsp chilli powder, tin chopped tomatoes, tin chilli beans, 4tbls tomato puree, 1 oxo cube, good splash of Henderson’s relish. a lemon, salt, 4 potatoes.
Prep time 30 mins Cook time 2hrs Serves 4

I know everyone thinks their chilli is the best, but this one is amazing. I’ve been playing with ingredients for years but I honestly think this is perfect. It’s not too hot and should be okay for everyone, obviously it’s got to have some heat, or what’s the point in eating a chilli. It’s the long cooking time that gives it the real flavour, whatever you do, don’t shorten it. I also think that the best thing to go with this is potato wedges leaving the skin on, but please feel free to do whatever you prefer. The ideal food for a Saturday evening, having a beer, watching telly, smelling it cooking……..let me know what you think.

Method

Fry the meat using one-cal spray, sprinkle on the chilli powder and set aside. Rough chop the onion and pepper into 1cm pieces. Gently fry the onion, then add the pepper after a few minutes, along with the finely chopped garlic and sliced chilli’s including the seeds. You can now put the meat back in, with the chopped tomato’s and chilli beans including sauce. Sprinkle the oxo over the top, add the tomato puree and the Henderson’s relish. (This is the Yorkshire version of Worcestershire sauce, much tastier and no anchovies). Finally sprinkle on the salt, about a tsp should be fine, add the zest and juice of the lemon then fill the empty chilli bean can with water, and pour in. You now need to give it a good stir and bring to the boil, then lower the heat, cover and simmer for 90 mins. While this is on the hob, cut the potatoes into wedges, leaving the skin on and par boil, drain and spray with one cal and sprinkle on some salt, place them in the air fryer ready for cooking, or if using an oven, pre heat it. After the chilli has simmered for 90 mins, take off the lid and continue for another 25 mins, at the same time, cook the wedges on 180 degrees, make sure all the liquid in the chilli has gone and serve with wedges, add more red chilli if you like it hotter..

NB: If you need to re heat, whether in a pan or microwave, it’s best to add a little bit of water.

Char siu pork in cantonese sauce and noodles

Ingredients

600kg Pork fillet, 2 onions, 2 yellow peppers, 4 garlic cloves, 2cm piece of ginger, 2 sticks of pineapple, small tin of water chestnuts, 1tblsp rice wine vinegar, 4tblsp light soy sauce, 2tsp, five spice, 4tsp sweetener, 200ml water. dried noodles. For the glaze 3tblsp tom puree, 3tblsp five spice, 3 tblsp light soy sauce.
Prep time 24 hrs Cook time 30 mins Serves 4

Whilst I’ve written a list of ingredients, I think it’s only fair to say change what you like, everyone has their own idea of what should be in a perfect chinese, so please play around and add or take away whatever you wish. It’s best to leave the yellow pepper and pineapple in though, as they both give a natural sweetness, there’s also no sugar in the marinade for the pork, but I think you’ll be surprised how great it tastes when mixed with the sauce and is an amazing low fat dish.

Method

The first thing you need to do is marinade the meat as it needs 24 hrs before you can cook it. Mix the three ingredients for the sauce together and using two thirds, cover the Pork, place it into a food bag and place it in the fridge. 90 mins before you’re ready to cook, place the Pork in the oven, preferably on a griddle in a baking tray, roast at approximately 150 degrees, basting regularly with the remaining marinade and covering with foil if it looks like burning. 30 mins before it’s cooked, chop the onion, pepper and pineapple into 1 cm pieces. Grate or finely chop the garlic and ginger then slice the water chestnuts. Begin by frying the onions in one cal spray for 5 mins, then add the peppers, garlic, ginger and water chestnuts, after a few more mins, throw in the pineapple. when everything is cooked, add the soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, five spice, sweetener and water, simmer for fifteen mins. boil up some water and place the noodles in it, when cooked, stir into the sauce. Take the Pork out of the oven and cut into slices, serve on top of the sauce and noodles

Cheese and Tomato pasta bake

Ingredients

6oz dried Conchiglie pasta, tin chopped tomato’s, 4oz red leicester cheese, 2 tomato’s, 2 garlic cloves, 1tsp basil. 1 tsp, oregano, pinch of salt, 2 tbsp tomato puree, 50ml water.
Prep time 20 mins Cook time 30 mins Serves 2

As I don’t eat meat on Good Friday, this has been my go to recipe for tea since I can remember. Every time I cook it, something different is added or changed and I very rarely measure anything. I prefer to use Conchiglie pasta, not just because I think it works best, but it’s also my granddaughter’s favourite. Of course I promised to make my recipe’s point free, yet it contains cheese, well everyday you’re allowed to have free dairy items before you have to count them, the cheese used here is the daily amount for two people, I also think red leicester works best. Finally, the dish I baked it in is one for used for pie’s, please feel free to use anything similar in size.

Method

Simmer the pasta, but don’t cook fully, at the same time, gently fry the finely chopped garlic in a pan using one-cal spray, then keeping on a low heat, add the tinned tomatoes. After a minute, grate in 3oz of the cheese then stir in the salt, basil, oregano, puree and water. take of the heat and put the cooked pasta into the sauce, mix and place in the dish. Slice the tomato’s, lay on top and grate the remaining cheese onto them. Place in an oven at 150 degrees for 30 mins. It’s a very simple dish and one you can play around with, try using soft cheese in the sauce and just grate some hard on the

linguine bolognese

Ingredients

500g 5% mince beef, 500g 5% mince pork, 2 tins chopped tomato’s, tin passata, 4 garlic cloves, 2 onions, 2tsp basil, 2tsp oregano, fresh basil, pinch salt.
Prep time 20 mins Cook time 90 mins Serves 4

I’ve never understood why anyone would buy a jar of sauce to make a bolognese, there’s so much sugar in them, I’m also aware that a proper ragu is onion, carrot and celery, but this recipe is so simple and is what we in the UK consider to be the real thing. There are absolutely no points in this at all but if you’re willing to add just a few, then pour some red wine into the sauce while it’s cooking and finish with toasted pine nuts and grated parmesan. I also think linguine works better than spaghetti, as it’s flat and absorbs the sauce better.

Method

Fry both of the mince until brown using one cal spray then set aside. Chop the onion into 1cm pieces and gently fry, then rough the garlic and add after 2 mins. When the onion’s brown, add all the other ingredients and the mince, stir together and gently simmer on a low heat with a lid on for 90 mins. If it looks dry, add some water and take the lid off at the end of cooking, alternatively, it it looks like there is too much juice, remove the lid at the end. It’s worth playing around with different ingredients and herbs, but keep it simple, let it simmer and you’ll have a tasty sauce. Stir in the pasta and serve with basil leaves.

Lamb Rogan Josh with Pilau rice

Ingredients

500g diced lamb, 250ml natural yoghurt, 1 tsp Garum masala, 1 onion, 4 garlic cloves, 2cm ginger, 2 red chilli’s, 1 can chopped tomato’s. 1tbl spoon tomato puree, 2 tomato’s. half a teaspoon of…..chilli powder, cumin, coriander, tumeric, Cardamon pods, cinnamon stick, bay leaf, pinch of salt, 300ml water.
For the rice, 150g basmati rice, 2 tsp pilau rice spice, veg stock cube, 500ml boiling water.
Prep time 2hrs Cook time 60 mins Serves 2

I promise, if you put time and love into this, it will taste as good as a takeaway/restaurant, but is zero points in the fat club world. It needs to cook for an hour and it’s entirely up to you how it happens, either oven in a covered dish, or on the hob, just keep an eye on it and add some water if you think it’s needed. Regarding the rice, you can use individual spices in the same way to suit your taste, but this is a simple method to help you get pilau rice, to make it properly you would add butter while cooking, but this method still works,

Method

The Lamb needs to marinade for a bit, 2 hours is enough, but if you can do longer that’s great. mix the garum masala spice with half the yoghurt and stir in the Lamb, cover and leave for at least 2 hrs. When you’re ready to cook, dice the onion and fry in one cal, finely chop the garlic, ginger and chilli, then add to the onion. This is where the flavour comes from, don’t let it burn, but make sure it’s all cooked nicely. Add the chopped tomato’s and pinch of salt, next, the tomato puree, water and all the spices plus the rest of the yoghurt, then blitz with a hand blender. Gently fry the lamb and add to the sauce with the cardamon pods, bay leaf and cinnamon stick, this is when you need to gently cook for an hour using whichever method you wish. Twenty minutes before the curry will be ready, put the rice in a pan with the spices along with the stock and water, cover fully and simmer on a very low heat. Serve the curry and rice together with whatever you like.

Bacon and tomato pasta salad

Ingredients

6 rashers of thick smoked bacon, tin of tomato’s, 1 onion, 2, tomato’s, 2tsp mixed herbs, pinch of salt & black pepper, 250g macaroni, 1 red chilli.
Prep time 10 mins Cook time 20 mins Serves 4

I wanted to create a pasta dish that you could batch cook and use for lunches on the go, one of my favourites to but is bacon and tomato, but it’s always very high in calories, so I wanted to make one that wasn’t. I’m not a huge fan of smoked bacon but for this recipe, feel it’s a necessity. If you like more sauce then please add some tomato puree and water, but I think it works better being dry.

Method

Start by putting some water in a pan and heating ready for the pasta. Cut the bacon into 1 cm pieces and dice the onion finely. Next de-seed the chilli and chop very fine, then cut the tomato into small pieces. Normally I never take the seeds out of a chilli, but think it’s best not to have it spicy for this recipe. Cook the pasta slowly, while gently frying the bacon using one cal, after a few minutes add the onion, then the chill. when cooked, poor in the tinned tomato’s then a pinch of salt, black pepper and mixed herbs, simmer until the pasta is done, then mix together. When cool, add the fresh tomato’s, you can eat cold served with mixed salad leaves.