This is the perfect stir fry for you if you don’t like things too saucy. Instead of a gloopy sauce, here you have more of a glaze which coats the meat and veggies. I serve mine with 60g (dried) jasmine rice per person for an extra 6 points per portion.

If you can’t get a hold of Thai basil, don’t worry, normal basil will be fine instead.

POINTS AND NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION

Serves 2 – per serving = 9 points or 439 cals, 2.5g fat, 62.7g carbs, 44.2g protein

INGREDIENTS

For the sauce

½ chicken stock cube made up with 100ml boiling water

2 tbsp each oyster sauce and light soy sauce

1 tsp each dark soy sauce, fish sauce and sugar

For the stir fry

120g basmati or jasmine rice

300g chicken breast, chopped into bitesize pieces

200g green beans, trimmed

4 spring onions, sliced into rounds

4 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped

1 red chilli, deseeded and sliced

15g fresh Thai basil (or normal basil if you can’t get it), roughly shredded

Low calorie cooking spray

Salt and black pepper

METHOD

1. Pop all of the sauce ingredients into a jug, stir and set to one side.
2. Pop the rice on to cook.
3. Put the chicken in a large frying pan or wok, season with salt and black pepper, spray with low-calorie cooking spray and then fry for 7–8 minutes until the chicken is cooked through.
4. While the chicken is cooking, pop the trimmed green beans in a pan of salted boiling water and simmer for 4 minutes until al dente. Drain and set to one side.
5. Next, add the spring onion, garlic, chilli and green beans to the wok with the chicken, fry for a minute and then add the sauce. Simmer on a medium/high heat until the sauce thickens and the meat is nicely glazed in the sauce.
6. Finally, remove from the heat and toss through the shredded basil. Serve with the rice and enjoy!

The post Thai Basil Chicken first appeared on Slimming Kitchen Secrets.

Getting back to work on Tuesday meant getting back into new routines, meal planning and a big shop and so now I am firmly back in the land of goodness. Needing a quick and easy lunch for the next few days, I decided to put a new, speedy spin on one of my older soup recipes to come up with this ‘speedy tomato soup’. With minimal ingredients, it couldn’t be more straightforward to put together but the results are so, so good. I’ve used tinned cherry tomatoes here but you can use normal chopped tomatoes if you fancy. Try and use the best quality tomatoes you can get your hands on since the tomatoes make up most of the dish. This dish includes lots of garlic and it’s intentional. I’ve kept other herbs and spices to a minimum so the dish truly tastes of tomato and garlic and the pesto lifts the whole thing to the next level.

The home made basil pesto really is a game changer. It makes a huge batch so you can use in meals throughout the week in anything you fancy. Tossed through pasta, as an addition to garlic bread, tossed through salad as a dressing, the world’s your oyster. The pesto will last 7-14 days in the fridge in an airtight container. You can freeze the pesto too, I usually freeze it in teaspoon sized measures in an ice cube tray so I can just defrost a couple at a time (remember to pop the cubes into a food bag once frozen to minimise storage space). In the freezer the pesto should last 3-4 months.

You can make this recipe vegetarian by replacing the chicken stock cube with a vegetable stock cube and using a vegetarian alterative to parmesan.

POINTS AND NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION

For the Soup – serves 4 – per serving = 4 points or 184 cals, 8.9g fat, 15.9g carbs, 9.2g protein

For the Pesto – this makes around 25 tsp sized portions 

Per serving – 2 points or 56 cals, 5.6g fat, 0.3g carbs,  1.1g protein 

INGREDIENTS

For the Soup 

• 1 white onion, diced
• 5-6 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
• 1 tbsp light butter
• 3 x 400g tins of cherry tomatoes (or chopped tomatoes – Mutti are the best I’ve tried)
• ¼ tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp paprika
• Pinch cayenne pepper
• 1 chicken stock cube made up with 300ml boiling water (replace with vegetable if vegetarian)
• 80ml single cream
• 50g light mature Cheddar cheese, grated

For the Pesto

• 50g pine nuts
• Juice of ½ lemon
• 2 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
• ¼ tsp salt
• 60g basil leaves (two small packs)
• 100ml olive oil
• 50g Parmesan cheese, grated (replace with vegetarian alternative if vegetarian
• Salt and black pepper to taste

METHOD

1. Begin by making the soup. Take a large saucepan, spray with low-calorie cooking spray, and then add the onion. Fry for 4–5 minutes until the onion starts to soften (add a little water if the pan gets dry).
2. Next, add the garlic and butter and fry for another 2 minutes. Add the tomatoes, salt, paprika and cayenne pepper and stir, and then add the chicken stock. Stir, bring to the boil, and then reduce to a simmer for 30 minutes.
3. While the soup is simmering, you can make the pesto. Put all the ingredients in a food processor with 30ml cold water and blitz, adding more water to get your preferred consistency. I like mine so it’s still a little chunky but nice and wet. Pop the pesto into an airtight container and set to one side.
4. Once the soup has simmered for 30 minutes, blitz with a hand blender until smooth (or if you have a bench-top food processor, wait until the soup has cooled a little to blend).
5. Pour the soup back into the pan, add the cream and cheese, then simmer until the cream is well combined and the cheese has melted. Taste and season as required. Add a little more water to get the consistency of soup you prefer. I like it so it’s not too thick.
6. Serve in bowls and top with a teaspoon of the homemade pesto, a drizzle of cream and a twist of black pepper.

The post Speedy Tomato Soup with Home-Made Basil Pesto first appeared on Slimming Kitchen Secrets.

POINTS AND NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION

Serves 1 – per serving = 3 points or 355 cals, 11.4g fat, 57.9g carbs, 19.0g protein (or with toppings 416 cals, 13.4g fat, 62.7g carbs, 25.1g protein)

INGREDIENTS

30g raspberries, fresh or frozen

¼ tablespoon chia seeds

50g porridge oats

1 medium egg, beaten

50ml skimmed milk

METHOD

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C (fan).
2. Put the raspberries in a small pan with a dash of water. Turn the heat to high and simmer the raspberries until they start to soften and break down. Mash with the back of a wooden spoon when they get soft enough.
3. Add the chia seeds, simmer for another minute, and then remove from the heat and pop to one side to cool. The chia seeds will thicken the raspberry mush into a jam-like consistency.
4. Meanwhile, in a large bowl mix the oats, egg, milk, baking powder, sweetener, vanilla extract and peanut butter powder.
5. Take a small baking dish, spray with low-calorie cooking spray and add half the oat mixture. Top with half the raspberry jam, swirl through the oats, and then add the rest of the oats and the jam. Swirl again and then pop in the oven and bake for 20–25 minutes, until cooked through.
6. Remove from the oven and leave to cool a little. The texture should be set on top but still a little soft and squidgy inside (not quite as dry as a cake). Serve with a dollop of fat-free yoghurt, peanut butter and fresh raspberries

The post Peanut Butter and Jam Baked Oats first appeared on Slimming Kitchen Secrets.

You will see that I’ve calculated the SP’s for each of the new plans below which I will do for all of my recipes moving forwards. Eventually I hope to be able to repoint all of my previous recipes too but this may take a little time so you may need to pop them back through your own recipe builder if you are on the green or purple plan now (all of the previous recipes are pointed for the old plan which is now the blue plan).

Mince Pie Baked Oats

Makes 6 Muffins = 4sp for 3 muffins or 8sp for 6 muffins (on the Blue Plan)

5sp for 3 muffins or 10sp for 6 muffins (on the Green Plan)

2sp for 3 muffins or 4sp for 6 muffins (on the Purple Plan)

Ingredients

50g porridge oats

1 medium egg

50ml skimmed milk

2 tbsp artificial sweetener

3 tsp mincemeat (I used Sainsbury’s own)

Method

Preheat the oven to 200c.

Pop all the ingredients except the mincemeat into a bowl and mix well.

Take six silicone cases and pop a tsp of the mixture into the bottom of each (use up to half of the mixture). Add half a tsp of mincemeat to each case and then top with the remaining oat mixture.

Pop in to the oven for 20-25 minutes.

Serve warm with a sprinkling of icing sugar.

Enjoy!

The post Mince Pie Baked Oats first appeared on Slimming Kitchen Secrets.

Chicken, Beans and Greens with a Harissa Feta Dressing

Ingredients

Serves 2 = 2sp per serving (Flex)

Large handful of kale, raw and roughly shredded

½ pack of green beans, trimmed

200g mixed beans (I use a small tin)

250g cooked chicken breast meat, roughly shredded

1 heaped tsp harissa paste

70g light feta cheese, crumbled

3 tbsp fat free natural yogurt

¼ tsp red wine vinegar

Juice of ½ lemon

Sprinkle of crushed chillies

Method

Pop the kale and green beans into a pan of salted boiling water and simmer for 4-5 minutes until the kale is wilted and green beans have softened a little. Drain and add the green beans and kale to a large mixing bowl.

While the kale and green beans are boiling, pour the mixed beans into a saucepan and heat gently for 4-5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Don’t allow the beans to boil. Drain once warmed through and add the beans to the mixing bowl.

Add the shredded chicken to the bowl, season with salt and pepper and squeeze over the juice of ½ lemon.

In a blender, blitz the harissa pasta, 40g of the feta cheese, yogurt and red wine vinegar. Season with salt and pepper (you could also just mash up the feta and mix through the other ingredients). Toss half of the dressing through the contents of the mixing bowl.

Split the contents of the mixing bowl between two serving bowls. Finish with a final crumble of feta, drizzle of dressing and sprinkle of crushed chillies (if you like a little heat) on both.

Enjoy!

The post Chicken, Beans and Greens with a Harissa Feta Dressing – 2sp first appeared on Slimming Kitchen Secrets.

Creamy Roasted Tomato Soup

Serves 4 = 2sp per serving

Ingredients

2 punnets of salad tomatoes, halved (around 12 large salad tomatoes)

4 cloves of garlic, skins on and lightly crushed

1 large onion,  peeled and finely sliced

1/2 jar of roasted peppers, roughly chopped

2 tsp paprika

Pinch cayenne pepper

1/2 tsp salt

1 vegetable stock cube

4 tbsp elmlea single cream

Handful of fresh basil, roughly torn

2 tbsp fresh parmesan, grated finely

Method

Pre heat the oven to 180c.

Pop the tomatoes, cut side down into a large roasting tray, season with salt and pepper, drizzle with a little balsamic vinegar and scatter the garlic cloves into the tray. Roast uncovered in the oven for 40 minutes.

Meanwhile, take a large sauce pan, heat to medium and spray with 1kal. Fry the onion until it starts to soften (add a little water if the pan gets a little dry), then add the sliced peppers, paprika, salt and cayenne pepper. Fry for another few minutes and then add the vegetable stock cube with 600ml boiling water.

Remove the roasting tray from the oven and add the tomatoes to the pan. Squeeze the roasted garlic out of the skin, discard the skin and add to the garlic and any juices left in the baking tray into the pan. Bring the soup to the boil and then reduce to a simmer. Simmer for 10 minutes and then remove from the heat.

Blend (using either a food processor or stick blender) and then add the elmlea and parmesan. Stir to combine and then add the basil. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Enjoy!

The post Creamy Roasted Tomato Soup – 2sp first appeared on Slimming Kitchen Secrets.

POINTS AND NUTRITIONAL INFROMATION 

Serves 4 – per serving = 4 points or 288 cals, 12.7g fat, 16.7g carbs, 26.3g protein

Ingredients

For the fish 

Spice Mix – mix together 1 tsp each paprika, smoked paprika, chilli powder, ground cumin, dried oregano, garlic powder and, salt

4 large basa fish fillets

Juice of 1 lime

Low-calorie cooking spray

For the mango salsa 

240g tub pre-prepared mango

Handful of fresh coriander

2 x spring onions, roughly sliced

½ red chilli, deseeded and roughly sliced

Juice of ½ lime

Salt and black pepper

For the avocado cream

1 ripe avocado (150g flesh)

3 tbsp light sour cream

Handful of fresh coriander

¼ tsp garlic powder

Juice of ½ lime

To serve

Mixed salad (ingredients of your choice, I use tomato, cucumber, red cabbage, sweetcorn, salad leaves and spring onion)

You could also serve with taco shells or mini tortillas but be careful to add the extra points.

Method

1. Put all the spices for the spice mix into a large bowl and stir to combine. Add the fish and the lime juice and coat everything well. Cover and pop in the fridge until you are ready to cook.
2. Next, make the salsa. Put all the ingredients into a blender, season with salt, and pulse until it is the consistency of your choice – I like it almost smooth with a few chunky bits. Empty the contents of the blender into a bowl and pop in the fridge.
3. Rinse out the blender and then add all the ingredients for the avocado cream. Season with salt and black pepper and then blend until smooth. Add a little water if you would like the cream a bit looser. Empty the contents into another bowl and pop in the fridge.
4. Prepare any salad ingredients you are having. Then, once everything is prepped, take a non-stick frying pan, spray with low-calorie cooking spray, and heat to medium/high. Fry the fish on one side for 2–3 minutes, then turn over and fry for 2–3 minutes on the other side until cooked to your liking.
5. Serve the fish on a bed of salad with the salsa and avocado cream drizzled across the top.

The post Fish Taco Bowl first appeared on Slimming Kitchen Secrets.

This recipe makes 24 small parcels however if you fancy making them as a starter for Christmas Day you could make them twice the size and only make 12. They would be 4sp instead of 2sp each.

These are best served hot as, once they start to cool down, the filo pastry can go a little soft. Still delicious but the crispyness of the pastry is lovely too. If you are making for a party contribution, make them up at home and take them with you uncooked. Then quickly cook them at the party for maximum oooooo’s.

I made these and took them along to class last week and they went down a storm. They are so simple to make and feel like a real treat for only 2sp. The perfect treat to take along to any festive party to make sure you can eat and stay on track!

Turkey, Brie and Cranberry Bites

Makes 24 = 2sp each (flex)

Ingredients

150g filo pastry (from a 220g pack)

500g 2% fat turkey mince, raw

3 spring onions, finely chopped

2 cloves of garlic, finely minced

1 chicken stock cube (to be crumbled so not a stock pot)

Grating of nutmeg

1 small orange

5 tbsp cranberry sauce

100g brie, diced into 25 cubes

Salt and pepper

80g lightest lurpack

Method

Preheat the oven to 180c and line a large baking tray with baking paper.

Take a large bowl and add the turkey mince, spring onion, garlic, crumbled stock cube, a little grating of nutmeg and the zest of the small orange. Pop 4 tbsp of the cranberry sauce into the microwave for 30-40 seconds so it melts and add to the bowl. Season well with salt and black pepper. Mix everything together until well combined and pop to one side.

Lay the filo pastry out on a chopping board (one sheet on top of another) and cut all the sheets into 9 equal sized squares. You will only need 6 of the square piles so save the others for another day. Cover pastry with a tea towel (you want to work quite quickly as the filo can dry out quickly and go crispy making it difficult to work with).

Pop 80g of light butter in a bowl, microwave for 20 seconds to melt and pop on the side with a pastry brush.

Pop the brie cubes in another bowl and get ready to assemble.

Take one square of pastry, brush with a little butter, add another square on top of it to form a ‘star’ shape, brush again and then top with a third. Add a heaped tsp of the turkey filling and push a cube of brie right into it (the meat should surround the cheese to stop it spilling out the pastry when cooking). Fold the corners of the pastry in to the centre to formal a little parcel, sealing with a little more butter.

Place each parcel on the baking tray. Repeat 23 times to make 24 parcels in total. All parcels should have a little butter on top before they go in the oven.

Pop the baking tray in the oven for 15-20 minutes until the pastry goes golden, the turkey mince is cooked through and the brie has started to melt.

Finally, mix 1 tbsp cranberry sauce with the juice of the small orange. Pop in the microwave for 30 seconds to melt the cranberry sauce and stir both together to form a loose dipping sauce.

Serve hot with either the dipping sauce in the centre or drizzled over the top. Finish with a little orange zest over the top (not essential but looks pretty!).

Enjoy!

The post Christmas Canapés 2 – Turkey, Brie and Cranberry Bites – 2sp first appeared on Slimming Kitchen Secrets.

Remember to adjust the level of chilli to your taste here. We like things hot so we added fresh chilli at the end but without the fresh chilli it has a lovely underlying warm heat.

This curry is a real treat and for only 2 sp per portion, people will never believe this is a diet friendly meal. I served this with 60g basmati rice (6sp) and a large dollop of fat free yoghurt (0sp) so the meal was a grand total of 8sp. An absolute bargain points wise. Careful to add the points for your chosen amount of rice!

If you are in a rush you don’t necessarily need to remove the beef and then the veg from the pan as you go. If you have time though it really is worth it as the beef ends up melting in the mouth!

Fiery Beef Madras

Sauce Serves 4 = 2sp per portion (Flex)

Ingredients

For the curry paste 

½ tsp each cumin and coriander seeds

2 large garlic cloves, peeled and roughly chopped

1 inch piece of ginger, peeled and roughly chopped

2 tsp each garam masala and curry powder

1 tsp chilli powder

½ tsp turmeric

Juice of ¼ lemon

For the curry

400g Lean stewing beef, diced

1 large onion, finely sliced

2 peppers, deseeded and finely sliced

1 pack of mushrooms, sliced

1 tbsp tomato puree

1 beef stock cube

400g tin of chopped tomatoes

1 tsp garam masala

1 fresh red or green chilli, finely chopped (optional if you like it fiery hot!)

Handful of fresh coriander

4 x tablespoons of low fat Greek yoghurt (to serve)

Method

Heat a large saucepan to a medium heat and pop in the cumin and coriander for around 30 seconds until they start to toast and pop and you can smell the lovely aromas. Remove from the pan and pop in a pestle and mortar and grind to a fine powder. Add the garlic and ginger and mash to a pulp and then add the rest of the paste ingredients with one tbsp. water and combine into a paste. Pop to one side.

Spray the same large saucepan with 1kal and then add the beef, seasoning to taste, and fry for a few minutes until the outside is sealed. Remove the beef from the pan and pop into a bowl to one side. Add the onions and fry for a few minutes and then add the peppers and mushrooms. Fry for a few minutes until the pepper starts to soften. Remove the veg from the pan into another bowl.

Spray the pan with 1kal again and add the curry paste to the pan with enough water to loosen it a little. Fry for a minute or two and then add the beef back to the pan, coating well in the paste. Add the veg back to the pan with the tomato puree and fry for another minutes and then add the stock cube and tin of tomatoes. Fill the empty tin with boiling water and add to the pan and stir to combine everything.

Turn the heat down to low and then cover and simmer for 1 hour (if you would like to cook the curry for less time, turn the heat up a little).  Take the cover off for the last 15 minutes to thicken the sauce. If the sauce won’t thicken, mix 1 tsp corn flour into a little cold water making a paste and pop into the curry. This will thicken it nicely.

Finish by stirring through a further tsp of garam masala, fresh chilli and fresh coriander. Season to taste. Remove from the heat and serve with some fluffy white rice and a dollop of fat free natural yoghurt, topped with a little fresh coriander.

Enjoy!

The post Fiery Beef Madras – 2sp first appeared on Slimming Kitchen Secrets.

Having savvy ways to use up leftovers is not only way the perfect way to keep your portions under control on the big day, but it will also save you a lot of time and money at a manic (and frankly rather expensive) time!! The lovely Asian salad is one of my favourite ways to use up left over Christmas Day turkey. Its packed with flavour and lovely and light and healthy. Best of all, its only 2sp. The perfect Boxing Day lunch!

This fabulous recipe was featured in the December issue of Weight Watchers magazine so if you have a copy, you can find it in there too!

If you fancy making this lovely salad even more filling, you could also fry up some egg noodles and spilt between the bowls for an extra 5sp per person.

Asian Turkey Salad

Serves 4= 2sp each (Flex)

For the salad

200g leftover turkey, white meat, shredded

1 tsp Chinese five spice

½ tbsp honey

Zest of ½ lime

1 carrot, shredded

3 spring onions, shredded

½ cucumber, peeled and cut into matchsticks

150g cherry tomatoes, halved

Small bag of mixed salad leaves

Handful of beansprouts

Handful of fresh coriander and mint, roughly chopped

20g peanuts, roughly crushed

Dressing

Juice of 1 lime

1 tbsp dark soy sauce

1 tsp fish sauce

½ tsp light brown sugar

1 tsp each of fresh ginger and garlic, grated

Small splash of water

Method

Spray a frying pan with low calorie cooking spray, heat and add the turkey. Sprinkle over the 5 spice, fry for a few minutes until the meat is heated right through and then add the honey and lime zest. Toss into the turkey, fry for 2 minutes more and then remove from the heat.

Blanch the beansprouts in boiling water for 1 minute, drain and refresh under cold water. Pop into a large bowl.

Add the rest of the salad ingredients, expect the peanuts, to the large bowl and toss together.

In a small bowl, combine the dressing ingredients. Mix until the sugar is dissolved (a minute or so). Then pour the dressing over the salad mix.

Share the salad between four bowls, top with the hot turkey and finish with a sprinkle of crushed peanuts.

Enjoy!

The post Boxing Day Leftovers – Asian Turkey Salad – 2sp first appeared on Slimming Kitchen Secrets.