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Carrot and Lentil Soup March 7, 2012

Filed under: Healthy Eating,Soups and Stews — delishuss @ 10:41 pm
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I think I have a couple of versions of carrot and lentil soup on the blog so apologies for adding another one but I just saw this in a magazine (Womens Fitness to be exact) and the picture looked nice. It’s pretty handy to make as well, although you do have to grate a load of carrots. You could do them in a food processor if you have a grater attachment. I had a conversation with my colleague about food processors and he thinks they are great, maybe it’s just me but I just don’t like the hassle involved in cleaning the thing. Okay back to the recipe after my rant 🙂

Ingredients

2 tbsp olive oil

600g carrots, grated

140g red lentils

1l vegetable stock

125ml milk

2tsp cumin

Pinch of chilli

Plain yoghurt

Fresh coriander, chopped

Method

1. Heat the olive oil in a pan then add all the ingredients.

2. Bring to the boil and simmer for 15 minutes until the lentils have softened.

3. Whizz in a blender (I just used a stick blender) until smooth.

4. Season to taste and add a dollop of plain yoghurt and some chopped coriander before serving.

Note: I always add onion and garlic to soup, so I fried this off before adding the rest of the ingredients.

 

Creamy Sweet Chilli and Bacon Penne February 20, 2012

Filed under: Fast Food,Healthy Eating,Meat,Pasta — delishuss @ 10:50 pm
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My mum passed this onto me this week. I wasn’t so sure about it but I’m up for giving most things a try. I haven’t pointed it but I reckon it wouldn’t be too bad.

It probably took me about 20 minutes in total to prepare.

Serves 1

Ingredients

40g pasta

2 medallions of smoky bacon, chopped

1 large tablespoon of sweet chilli light philadelphia cream cheese

1 large tablespoon of light cream cheese

1 small onion, finely chopped

1/4 red pepper

1/4 orange pepper

1 clove of garlic, crushed

One cal cooking spray

 

 

Method

1. Boil the pasta according to the packet instructions, normally 8-10 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, heat a large frying pan and spray with the one cal spray. Add the bacon and fry for 4 minutes.

3. Add the peppers and onion and fry for a further 4 minutes. Add the garlic and fry for another minute or so.

4. Pour a little of the pasta water into the frying pan with the veg and bacon. Stir in both cream cheeses and blend in. Once the sauce has been heated, drain the pasta and add to the frying pan. Stir everything together.

I was going to say that you should add some chopped parsley but there’s no real need, there’s enough going on as it is.

 

Hope you enjoy.

 

 

 

Italian Pork Bolognaise with Spaghetti February 13, 2012

Filed under: Healthy Eating,Meat,Weight Watchers Recipes — delishuss @ 10:32 pm
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I tried this recipe tonight as I thought the picture in the booklet looked nice. It’s a recipe from the Weight Watchers- Filling and Healthy Day booklet. I’ll be straight with you there wasn’t a whole of flavour in it, so I added some liquid stock and some tomato relish along the way to give it a bit of umph!

There’s no propoints for this recipe, it’s one from the new plan where you can just choose foods from the filling and healthy list. They also didn’t include the quantities for this recipe so I have added my guesstimates below.

Serves roughly 4

Ingredients

500g pork mince meat

1 onion, finely chopped

1 carrot, diced

1 celery stick, diced

2 garlic cloves, crushed

1 can tinned tomatoes

1 tsp healthy oil

1 tsp chopped fresh rosemary

1 tsp chopped fresh thyme

2 tsp liquid stock

3 tsp tomato relish

Salt and pepper

 

Method

1. Fry extra lean pork mince with the oil.

2. Add diced onion, carrot, and celery.

3. Stir in the garlic, rosemary and thyme

4. Add the tin of chopped tomatoes, relish, and stock and simmer until reduced and thick.

Serve with cooked wholemeal pasta and a green salad dressed with lemon juice.

 

 

Sweet and Sour Chicken February 8, 2012

Filed under: Chicken,Healthy Eating,Rice and Grains,Weight Watchers Recipes — delishuss @ 10:51 pm
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I was going through an oldish Weight Watchers magazine to see if there was anything nice to cook and I realised that I never posted this recipe. This is yummy, it’s not that gloopy texture that you can get in the Chinese take-away. Don’t get me wrong, I like Chinese but I think it often leaves you feeling bloated and stodgy. This is nice and light, might be a good one for a Friday night.

36 propoints per recipe

9 propoints per serving

Serves 4

15 minutes prep, 15 minutes cooking time

 

Ingredients

230g can pineapple chunks or rings in natural juice

100ml chicken stock

1 tbsp soy sauce

1 tbsp rice or white wine vinegar

2 tsp tomato puree

1 tsp clear honey

2 tsp cornflour

200g long grain rice

Calorie controlled cooking spray

500g skinless boneless chicken breast, chopped

1 onion, sliced

1 large carrot, sliced thinly

1 courgette, chopped

1 red pepper, de-seeded and chopped

1 yellow pepper, de-seeded and chopped

2 tomatoes, chopped

Fresh coriander leaves, to garnish

 

Method

1. Drain the juice from the pineapple into a jug and add the chicken stock, soy sauce, vinegar, tomato puree, honey and cornflour. Stir to blend, then set aside. Chop the pineapples into pieces if you’ve bought rings.

2. Cook the rice according to the pack instructions.

3. Meanwhile, mist a wok or large frying pan with cooking spray. Add the chicken and stir fry over a high heat for 3-4 minutes, until browned.

4. Add the onion, carrot, courgette and peppers to the chicken and continue to stir fry for 3-4 more minutes.

5. Stir sauce and add it to the chicken and vegetables, along with the pineapple and tomatoes. Stir until thickened, then turn the heat to low and cook for 4-5 minutes. Serve with the rice, garnished with coriander, if you like.

 

 

Quick Vietnamese Curry Noodles

Filed under: Fast Food,Healthy Eating,Weight Watchers Recipes — delishuss @ 10:28 pm
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This is a really tasty one. I took it from Weight Watchers The Complete Kitchen Cookbook. I didn’t have Thai curry paste so I used korma paste, it sounds a bit weird but it actually worked quite well. Give it a whirl. I finished off writing the recipe below and realised that I never tell you how long the recipe takes. You see with me I just do it and then realise half way through that it takes 3 hours and it’s already 10 o’clock at night 🙂 So I have taken a mental note and I will add the times in any new recipes.

This one takes 15 minutes in total.

19 propoints value per value

10 propoints per serving

Serves 2

Ingredients

Calorie controlled cooking spray

3 shallots, sliced

1 level teaspoon red Thai curry paste

1 teaspoon medium curry powder

200ml reduced fat coconut milk

1 teaspoon soft light brown sugar

200ml vegetable stock

100g sugar snap peas, halved

150g sachet pre-cooked rice noodles

75g beansprouts, rinsed

150g cooked lean roast beef, shredded

a squeeze of lime juice

2 tablespoons chopped fresh coriander, to serve

 

Method

1. Spray a medium non stick frying pan with the cooking spray and cook the shallots for 2 minutes. Add the curry paste and powder and fry for 1 minute, stirring, to bring out the spice flavours. Pour in the coconut milk which will bubble and thicken slightly.

2. Next add the sugar, stock and sugar snap peas. Cook for 3 minutes then sprinkle in the rice noodle, separating them with your fingers as you do. Mix the beansprouts and roast beef then heat through for 2-3 minutes until piping hot.

3. Stir in the lime juice to taste and serve scattered with coriander.

 

Roasted Vegetable Pasta Bake January 30, 2012

Filed under: Healthy Eating,Pasta,Weight Watchers Recipes — delishuss @ 10:14 pm
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The leader at my Weight Watchers gave us this recipe. It’s from the Filling and Healthy Day booklet. It’s really good. You could make a batch and freeze it, although I haven’t tried freezing it yet. The recipe doesn’t mention salt and pepper but I think it needs a fair bit. Also I over complicated the method, word of advice follow the method below and it will save you a lot of time. There’s no points value for this one but it’s pretty low, just calculated whatever weight of pasta you use, the oil, the quark and the egg.

Ingredients

Any vegetables that you like and are suitable for baking (e.g. celeriac, butternut squash, courgette, red pepper, and red onion)

1 fresh chilli, chopped

1 1/2 cans tinned tomatoes

150g wholewheat pasta

1 tub quark

chopped fresh herbs of your choice

1 egg

chopped fresh basil

 

Method

1. Roast veg with 1 teaspoon of healthy oil and the chilli until soft and coloured.

2. Add chopped tomatoes and plenty of fresh herbs and continue to cook in the oven until reduced and thick.

3. Add the freshly cooked wholemeal pasta and top with a mixture of quark and beaten egg.

4. Bake until golden and garnish with torn fresh basil leaves.

 

Tip:  Beat the egg and the quark together in a bowl. Then use a spatula to spread the quark and the egg mixture.

 

 

Vietnamese Beef Salad with a Ginger & Lime Dressing January 21, 2012

Filed under: Favourites,Healthy Eating,Meat,Starters — delishuss @ 9:17 pm
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As it’s January I’m on a health buzz. I nearly caved and got a Indian take-away. Not the healthiest of fast food choices but my conscience (my boyfriend Stephen) steered me away. Thank the maker he did. I had planned to make this recipe this evening and I’m so glad I did. It’s fantastic. This recipe is from Ballyknocken Cookery School. Stephen’s sister in law Sinead went to a Taste of Thailand and Vietnam class so she kindly passed on the recipes. Because it’s for a main meal, I made some fried noodles to go with it. I’ll just tell you before you start the meat needs 1 hour to marinade, just in case you are in a rush. Otherwise it’s really quick to put together.

Serves 6

Salad Dressing:

3 tbsp fish sauce

2 tbsp sugar

2 tbsp fresh lime juice (1 lime)

2 tbsp water

1 tbsp freshly grated ginger

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 tsp chilli, minced

Salad:

Mixed lettuces

Half a cucumber, thinly sliced

18 cherry tomatoes, halved

Half a cup of basil

Marinade:

2 beef fillets

2 tbsp oyster sauce

1 tbsp medium dry sherry

2 tbsp soy sauce

2 garlic cloved, minced

Method

For the marinade:

1. Cut the beef into 3/4 inch strips. Mix all the ingredients and add to the beef. Refridgerate for 1 hour minimum.

For the salad:

1. Wash the salad leaves and tear into bite size pieces. Prepare cucumber and tomatoes as directed above. Mix the salad dressing ingredients and set aside.

To finish:

1. Add oil to the frying pan and heat until searing. Add beef and marinade and fry quickly on full heat until brown on all sides and still pink in the centre (or to taste).

2. Stand back when you can- you will need to be careful as the pan will “spit” a lot.

3. When the beef is ready, remove immediately from the pan and set aside.

4. Mix half of the dressing with the salad leaves. Divide between plates.

5. Arrange the beef on the plates, resting on the salad.

6. Sprinkle some of the dressing around the plate with a teaspoon.

7. Tear the basil leaves and place on top of the salad leaves.

 

Indian Chickpea and Vegetable Soup January 16, 2012

Filed under: Healthy Eating,Soups and Stews — delishuss @ 10:30 pm
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I get these email updates from the goodfood channel. They had a couple of soup recipes so I said I would give this one a try. Some more to come. I added some potato to it as well just to bulk it up. It’s a good one I have to say. It’s nice to get away from the bog standard veg soup. Here it is.

4 servings

 

Ingredients

1 tbsp vegetable oil

1 large onion, chopped

1 large potato, chopped

1 tsp finely grated fresh root ginger

1 garlic clove, chopped

1 tbsp garam masala

850 ml vegetable stock

2 large carrots, chopped

400g can chickpeas, drained

100g green beans, chopped

 

Method

1. Heat the oil in a medium saucepan, then add the onion, carrot and potato and fry for 5-6 minutes. Reduce the heat and cover with a lid to saute for a couple of minutes. Remove the veg from the saucepan and set aside.

2. Fry off the garam masala, garlic and ginger for 2 minutes.

3. Add the chickpeas, beans and re-add the veg.

4. Add the stock, bring to the boil and reduce the heat. Simmer for 20 minutes.

5. Use a stick blender to whizz a little to your required texture.

 

The recipe says to serve it with naan bread. I didn’t have any to hand. The tesco’s light choices one is really good.

 

Linguine with roasted cherry tomatoes and garlic breadcrumbs January 2, 2012

Filed under: Healthy Eating,Vegetarian,Weight Watchers Recipes — delishuss @ 9:15 pm
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I got this recipe from the Weight Watchers magazine. The jury is a bit out on it but I decided to post it anyway, you might like to try it. I just think it’s a bit dry, big lashings of olive oil would probably sort it out but that’s not really the Weight Watchers way.

10 Propoints per serving

Serves 2

 

Ingredients

125g linguine

30g coarse fresh white breadcrumbs

1 garlic clove, crushed

1 tbsp olive oil

250g cherry tomatoes

2 tsp low fat spread

15g finely grated Parmesan

A splash of balsamic vinegar

A few fresh basil leaves, torn

 

Method

1. Preheat the oven to gas mark 6/ 200 degrees celsius/ fan 180 degrees. Cook the pasta according to pack instructions.

2. Meanwhile, mix the breadcrumbs with the garlic and olive oil and some seasoning. Set aside. Put the tomatoes in a small baking dish and place in the oven for 8 minutes.

3. Scatter the breadcrunbs over the tomatoes and return to the oven for about 7 minutes or until the crumbs are golden and the tomatoes are starting to split.

4. Drain the pasta and toss with the low fat spread and Parmesan. Divide between 2 plates and top with the tomatoes. Splash a little balsamic vinegar over the scatter with the basil. Serve.

 

Cod Pilaff December 4, 2011

Filed under: Curries,Fish,Healthy Eating,Weight Watchers Recipes — delishuss @ 10:11 pm
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Hi everyone,

I kind of went off the grid there for a while but had a week off this week so I tried lots of  new recipes. This one is an adaptation from Weight Watchers one: Smoked Haddock Pilaff. I’m not gone on smoked fish so I just used plain cod and spiced the recipe up a bit. I only added extra spices so I would imagine the propoints values haven’t changed.

8 Propoints value per serving

Serves 1

 

Ingredients

Low fat cooking spray

1/2 red onion, sliced

2 whole cardamon pods, crushed lightly

1 tablespoons of curry powder

1 tablespoon of smoked paprika (I know not authentically Indian)

1/2 teaspoon cumin

1 teaspoon of garam masala

40g dried basmati rice

250 ml vegetable stock

60g green beans, trimmed and chopped

100g skinless cod fillets, cut into chunks

25g frozen sweetcorn, defrosted

1 tablespoon of chopped fresh parsley

 

Method

1. Spray a medium sized, non stick lidded saucepan with the cooking spray and heat until hot. Add the onion and cook for 5 minutes until softened, adding a splash of water if it starts to stick.

2. Add the spices except for the paprika and cook for a few minutes, before adding the rice. Stir to coat then add the stock.

3. Bring to the boil, cover and cook for 8 minutes. Coat the fish in the smoked paprika. Add the beans and the fish to the pot. Cover again.

4. Continue cooking for 3-4 minutes until everything is cooked through. Most of the water should have been absorbed but drain any that hasn’t.

5. Remove from the heat, flake the fish, stir in the sweetcorn and leave to heat through for about 2 minutes. Serve the pilaff, garnished with the parsley.