A few things to note when making this. You want to use whole rolled oats as the base as you want the granola to have as much bite as possible. You can use whichever nuts and seeds you fancy, I’ve just listed my preferences below. You can also add other flavourings such as ginger, nutmeg or even a little orange zest. Feel free to play with the recipe to your own taste.

If you don’t have maple syrup you can replace it with honey and if you prefer you can use coconut oil instead of olive oil. If you do use coconut oil, make sure you melt it in a pan with the syrup before you add to the dry mix.

If you make any changes to the recipe set out below, remember to recalculate the points/nutritional information.

Keep an eye on the granola when its in the oven as you don’t want to it catch, otherwise it will end up with a slight burned flavour which you don’t want!

I like to serve my granola with 0% fat free Greek Yoghurt and some berries and it is the most delicious way to start the day!

WW POINTS AND NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION

Makes 16 portions of granola – 30g each 

Per serving = 5 points or 208 cals, 13.3g fat, 21.3g carbs, 3.5g protein

INGREDIENTS

1. 200g whole rolled oats
2. 150g nuts/seeds of your choice (I use 50g each of walnut halves and pecans and 25g each of flaked almonds and mixed seeds) – give the larger nuts a rough chop so you don’t have huge chunks)
3. 1 tbsp cinnamon (you can add a little ground ginger if you fancy too)
4. 2 pinches salt
5. 75g olive oil
6. 75g maple syrup
7. 2 tsp vanilla extract

50g mixed dried fruit (I used raisins and cranberries)

METHOD

1. Pre heat the oven to 160c and line a large baking tray with baking paper.
2. In a large bowl add the oats, nuts and seeds, cinnamon and salt and give a good mix.
3. In a large jug mix together the olive oil, maple syrup and vanilla.
4. Pour the wet mix over the dry mix and combine.
5. Add to the lined baking tray and pop in the oven for 20 minutes.
6. Remove from the oven, move everything around so the uncooked bits underneath are on top and then pop back in the oven for another five minutes.
7. Check again and put back in the oven for a final 5 minutes (if it needs it).
8. Remove from the oven and add the dried fruit.
9. Let cool completely then add to an air tight container.
10. Enjoy!
    

    You can keep this for up to 4 weeks in an air tight container and the recipe makes loads. Make sure you weigh out your portion as it’s easy to over pour with this one!

    
    

    I love to serve mine with 0% fat Greek yoghurt and some fresh fruit. All 0 point additions!

    
    

Don’t forget you can find more delicious recipes like this one in my book ‘Slimming Kitchen Secrets’ – get your copy now!

The post Healthier Homemade Granola 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!

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You can top these with whatever you fancy but since the flavour of the scone itself is so lovely, I kept it minimal with a little honey and handful of raspberries. A dollop of FF yoghurt would work too (or even a little ice cream if you are having them as a dessert – just be sure to add the extra points).

The recipe below makes 5 scones for 5sp. The extra 1sp comes from the honey at the end so if you aren’t having honey, reduce the points to 5sp.

Drop Scones

Makes 5 ‘scones’ – 5sp for all 5 plus an extra sp for 1 tsp honey

Ingredients

45g self-raising flour

2 tbsp. powdered sweetener (I use Canderel)

½ tsp baking powder

1 egg

2 tbsp skimmed milk

1 tsp orange extract (or vanilla extract)

Method

Mix the dry ingredients together into a bowl. Mix the wet ingredients separately in another small bowl and then add to the dry ingredients. Mix until well combined – you should have a relatively thick consistency.

Take a large frying pan, spray with 1kal and pop onto a high heat. Drop a tbsp. measure of the mix into one corner of the pan, swirl a little to make a round ‘scone’ shape and repeat with another 2 tbsps. dollops of the mixture. Fry for two minutes (until you see the little bubbles start to form on the surface) and then flip and fry for another two minutes.

Continue until you have used up all of the mixture (I made 5 in total).

Serve with a drizzle of honey and a handful of raspberries.

Enjoy!

The post Drop Scones– 6sp first appeared on Slimming Kitchen Secrets.

Poached Eggs with Romesco Sauce, Parma Ham, Wilted Spinach 

Serves 2 = 4sp per serving (flex)

Ingredients

1 portion of my Romesco sauce (click here for the recipe if you are making from scratch) or see below

4 large eggs

1/2 tbsp white wine vinegar

2 large handful of fresh spinach

3 slices of parma ham, shredded

2 tsp light lurpack

Method

Warm the Romesco for around 1 minute in the microwave (add a little water if it has thickened when cooled too much).

Then add the spinach to a bowl, add a splash of water and cover with cling film. Pop in the microwave for 1-2 minutes until the spinach starts to wilt. Add the butter, let it melt and then toss through the spinach.

Bring a pan of water to a simmer and add the white wine vinegar. Crack one egg into a cup, swirl the water and then add one egg at a time. Poach for 3 minutes until the white is set and the yolk is still nice and runny.

To serve, pop the spinach on the plate, top with the eggs, parma ham and drizzle over the Romesco Sauce. Finish with a twist of salt and black pepper.

Enjoy!

Romesco Sauce

For the sauce (note – the sauce makes 4 portions at 3sp per portion, you only need two portions for this recipe, make the whole batch and it can be used for several days after).

300g roasted peppers (from a jar)

2 large tomatoes, cores removed and roughly chopped

1 garlic cloves, peeled and roughly chopped

20g panko breadcrumbs

20g ground almonds

1 tsp smoked paprika

Pinch of cayenne pepper

1 tbsp red wine vinegar

1 tbsp olive oil

100-150ml cold water

1 tsp salt

Ground black pepper

Method

Pop all the ingredients for the sauce (except the water) in a blender and wizz to a smooth paste. Add the water as you are going until you get a nice thick but loose consistency. Pop into a pan and warm up and then keep on a low heat while you prepare everything else.

The post Poached Eggs with Romesco Sauce, Parma Ham, Wilted Spinach – 4sp first appeared on Slimming Kitchen Secrets.

Chocolate Orange Baked Oats

Ingredients

Serves 1 = 6sp (Flex)

For the oats

35g porridge oats

1 egg, beaten

50ml skimmed milk

2 tbsp sweetener

1 level tsp each of cinnamon and cocoa powder

Juice of half an orange

To finish

1 tbsp fat free Greek Yoghurt

1 tsp chocolate orange choc shot

Method

Pop all the ingredients for the oats into a large bowl and combine well. Take a small baking dish (I used an individual pie dish), spray with 1kal and add the mixture. Pop in the oven on 200c for 25-30 minutes. Serve with a dollop of low fat yoghurt and top with a squirt of chocolate orange choc shot.

Enjoy!

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Tip: If you don’t have any leftover sweet potato, you can bake one just for the recipe. Preheat the oven to 200°C (fan). Rinse a sweet potato in cold water, pierce with a fork, pop on a baking sheet and bake for 30–40minutes until the potato is soft when pierced with a knife. Remove from the oven and let it cool before you scoop out the inside to mash up.

POINTS AND NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION

Serves 2 – per serving = 1 point or 195 cals, 7.7g fat, 19.6g carbs, 12.3g protein

Ingredients

150g cooked sweet potato, mashed

40g tinned sweetcorn, drained (or 40g corn, sliced from the cob)

2 spring onions, finely chopped (reserve a few for dressing)

1/4 tsp paprika

Sprinkle of chilli flakes

Handful of coriander, finely chopped

3 medium eggs – 1 beaten and 2 for poaching

1 tbsp plain flour

1 teaspoon white wine vinegar

Handful of salad leaves

Balsamic glaze or sriracha

Low-calorie cooking spray

Salt and black pepper

Method

1. Put the mashed sweet potato, sweetcorn, spring onion, paprika, chilli flakes ,coriander and 1 beaten egg in a large bowl. Mix until the ingredients are well combined and then add the flour, season and mix a little more again until combined.
2. Take a large frying pan, spray with low-calorie cooking spray and bring to a medium heat. Take a quarter of the fritter mixture, add to one corner of the pan and flatten into a rounded patty (about 1cm thick). Repeat with the rest of the mixture, so you have four fritters in the pan in total.
3. Fry for 3–4 minutes and then carefully turn over each fritter, frying for another 3–4 minutes on the other side. The fritters should take on a nice golden colour.
4. While the fritters are cooking, poach your eggs in boiling water (with a little white wine vinegar added) for 2½ minutes. Remove the eggs from the water and pop onto a little kitchen paper to soak up any excess liquid.
5. To serve, put some salad leaves onto two plates, top with two fritters, and then add the poached eggs. Finish with either a splash of balsamic glaze or Sriracha chilli sauce and the reserved spring onions, then pop the egg yolks so they ooze all over the fritters.

The post Sweet Potato and Sweetcorn Fritters with Poached Egg first appeared on Slimming Kitchen Secrets.

Having seen someone tucking into a hash stack at a local café (and practically drooling over their plate) it I knew I would have to make my own healthy version of this lovely colourful dish. The result was delightful. If you want to alter the amounts of sweet potato vs BNS feel free to do so but remember to amend the points to suit (pop it back through the recipe creator). Otherwise give it a whirl, you won’t be disappointed!

Note: I buy the pre diced mixed packs of sweet potato and BNS from Sainsbury’s for this recipe to save chopping up a whole one of each. If you can’t find this and have to use one of each, roast the rest and whack it in a soup!

Sweet Potato, Butternut Squash and Chorizo Hash, Smashed Avocado and Poached Egg Stack

Serves 2 = 8sp per person (Flex)

Ingredients

100g sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 cm cubes

200g butternut squash, peeled and cut into 1 cm cubes

½ tsp cumin and paprika

30g chorizo, diced

½ red onion, finely chopped

80g avocado flesh

1 lime

Pinch of crushed chillies

Handful of salad leaves

Dash white wine vinegar

2 eggs

Method

Bring a pan of salted water to the boil. Add the potatoes and BNS and boil for 5-6 minutes until they have started to soften (alternatively you can pop them in the microwave with a little water for 4 minutes). Drain and keep the pan to one side.

Take a large frying pan, add 1 tsp olive oil, heat and then add the potatoes, BNS and spices. Fry for a few minutes until they start to colour. Add the onion and chorizo and fry for another few minutes until the onion starts to soften and the chorizo releases a little oil. Add a splash of water/1kal to the pan if it starts getting a little dry.

Meanwhile, mash the avocado flesh with the juice of ½ lime, salt, pepper and a pinch of crushed chillies. Pop to one side until you are ready to assemble.

In the pan you kept from the potatoes, refill with water, add the white wine vinegar and bring to a simmer. Crack each egg into a separate cup. Swirl the water with a spoon and then add the eggs to the pan. Poach for 2-3 minutes (if you like them runny). Remove from the water and pop onto some kitchen paper to absorb any excess water.

To assemble, pop the sweet potato and BNS hash at the base (I used a scone cutter to mold the shape!), top with the avocado smash, then a few salad leaves, then the egg. Finish with a sprinkle of crushed chillies and a little salt and pepper. Serve with ¼ lime per person.

Enjoy!

The post Sweet Potato, Butternut Squash and Chorizo Hash, Smashed Avocado and Poached Egg Stack – 8sp first appeared on Slimming Kitchen Secrets.

This style of omelette is a little different as it’s stuffed rather than the usual method of setting the ingredients into it – a much better way to serve an omelette in my view as it means you can stuff it with lots of veg to make it super filling. In Mexico, I garnished the omelette with guacamole, salsa and a little sour cream. I’ve recreated it at home so many times with either all or one or two of these accompaniments, depending on what I have in the fridge (be sure to adjust the calories depending on your accompaniments).

POINTS AND NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION

Serves 1 – per serving

without accompaniments – 5 points or 308 cals, 20.6g fat, 7.5g carbs, 24.0g protein

with accompaniments – 10 points or 472 cals, 35.9g fat, 10.6g carbs, 26.0g protein

INGREDIENTS

2 medium eggs, whisked in a bowl

15g chorizo, peeled and finely diced

4 cherry tomatoes, finely diced

¼ small red onion, finely diced

½ pepper, finely diced

Small handful of spinach, finely shredded

1/2 teaspoon paprika

20g light mature Cheddar cheese, grated

Low calorie cooking spray

Salt and black pepper

Accompaniments

1 tbsp hot salsa

½ tbsp light sour cream

1 tbsp cheats guacamole (mash together the flesh of 1/2 ripe avocado – about 75g, juice of 1.2 lime, 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder, a pinch of chilli flakes and salt and pepper)

Sprinkle of fresh coriander

Method

1. Whisk the eggs in a jug and pop to one side.
2. Spray a small frying pan with low-calorie cooking spray, heat, and then add the chorizo, tomato, onion, pepper, spinach and paprika. Season with salt and pepper.
3. Once the onion has started to soften after 3–4 minutes, remove the filling from the pan and pop onto a plate to one side.
4. Spray the same small frying pan again with low-calorie cooking spray. Tip in the beaten eggs and season. Leave to set for a few minutes until the base is firm and the top has started to bubble. Then add the stuffing back to the pan, distributing over one half of the omelette.
5. Top the stuffing with the cheese and then, using a spatula, fold the non-filled side over on top of the filled side.
6. Leave to cook for another minute and then slide out onto a plate. Serve with your chosen accompaniments.

The post Mexican Omelette first appeared on Slimming Kitchen Secrets.

Posh BLT

Serves 1 = 8sp each (Flex)

1 x Warburton’s seeded bagel thin (or any other bagel thin of your choice)

30g low fat cream cheese

1/2 tsp green pesto

2 x bacon medallions

2 x cherry tomatoes

Couple of lettuce leaves

Method

Cook the bacon to your liking (I did it in a griddle pan so it was nice and crispy).

Then, pop the bagel in the toaster for a few minutes until toasted to your liking. Remove from the toaster and spread both halves with cream cheese and then pesto. Pop the lettuce leaves on the bottom half, top with the bacon and then the tomatoes. Pop the lid on the bagel and give a little push down to hold everything together.

Enjoy!

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Knowing bacon and eggs aren’t too bad points wise, I knew it was the hollandaise I would have to take on. I experimented with a few different versions but the end result, as posted below was my favourite. The use of fat free yogurt and minimal butter means sauce still retains it creamy, glossy texture but makes the whole thing so much lighter than  your regaular hollandaise. To up the flavour even more, I added a little basil pesto to the sauce however if you don’t fancy this you can replace it with dijon mustard.

Twisted Eggs Benedict 

Serves 4 = 3sp each (flex)

Ingredients

4 x slice of bread (whichever you fancy)

4 eggs

8 x bacon medallions

Handful of spinach/rocket

Light Pesto Hollandaise

Serves 4 = 1sp per serving (flex)

200ml fat free natural yoghurt

3 egg yolks

1 tsp butter

Juice of 1 lemon

½ tsp pesto (or Dijon mustard if you don’t fancy pesto)

Salt and pepper

Method

Pop a pan of water on a simmering boil on the hob and top with a bowl (making a ban marie styley look). To the bowl add beaten egg yolks, yogurt, butter and lemon juice, whisk and simmer for 10-15 minutes until the sauce starts to thicken. Take off the heat and add the pesto (or Dijon) and a good twist of salt and black pepper.

Toast your bread, grill the bacon and poach the eggs. Arrange the toast on the bottom, bacon on top and poached egg on top of the bacon. Scatter the rocket/spinach across the plate and finish with the pesto hollandaise.

Enjoy.

The post Twisted Eggs Benedict – 4sp first appeared on Slimming Kitchen Secrets.