Whilst it’s an ideal veggie dish, it’s also lovely served with some roasted chicken thighs on the side (which I roasted in a lemony, garlicky, herby marinade) or you can add 200g of lean beef mince to the sauce (fry this off first before you start frying the garlic for the sauce) if you want to bulk it out further. Just remember to tweak the points/calories to suit. Best of all, this dish is quick and easy to prepare and requires minimal chopping!

WW POINTS AND NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION

Serves 4 – per serving = 5 points or 182 cals, 11.6g protein, 7.8g fat, 28g carbs

INGREDIENTS

2 large aubergines, halved

2 tsp olive oil

1 tsp each oregano and garlic powder

2 cloves of garlic, finely minced

Pinch of chilli flakes

400g tin of chopped tomatoes (Mutti are my fav)

1 tsp oregano

½ tsp each white sugar and balsamic vinegar

200g reduced fat feta

Handful of fresh basil, shredded

METHOD

1. Pre heat the oven to 180c.
2. Take each aubergine half and using a sharp knife, lightly score a ‘criss cross’ pattern into the surface. Pop face up in a baking tray and brush with olive. Season with salt and pepper and sprinkle over 1 tsp oregano and garlic powder. Pop into the oven, uncovered for 45 minutes until the aubergine is soft and juicy.
3. Meanwhile take a small pan, spray with 1kal, heat to medium and gently fry the garlic for a minute. Add the chopped tomatoes, half a can of water, a further teaspoon of oregano, a pinch of chilli flakes as well as the sugar and balsamic vinegar.  Season with salt and pepper and simmer on a medium heat for 20-25 minutes until the sauce is reduced and has started to thicken. Remove from the heat.
4. Once the aubergine is cooked, remove the baking dish from the oven and pour over the reduced tomato sauce. Crumble over the feta and then pop back in the oven for 15 minutes to melt.
5. Remove from the oven and finish with a good sprinkle of fresh basil.

Enjoy!

As always, if you like my recipes. Don’t forget my cookbook ‘Slimming Kitchen Secrets’ is available now!

The post Feta Baked Aubergine first appeared on Slimming Kitchen Secrets.

The freekeh (a roasted grain a little bigger than giant cous cous) adds a lovely smoky flavour to the dish and the lemon lightens everything up nicely at the end. Freekeh is farily easy to get a hold of these days as they sell it ready prepared in most supermarkets (with the microwaveable rice and grains) but if you can’t find it, it can be replaced with another grain (brown rice, quinoa, bulgur wheat, whatever you fancy).

The pomegranate seeds in this dish are optional but add the most delicious fruity burst at the end of the dish.

The recipe below makes 6 generous servings but if you fancy a little more, the smart points for four servings (also included below) aren’t too many more.

Moroccan Roasted Butternut, Freekeh and Feta Salad

Serves 6 – 4sp per serving (Flex) or serves 4 at 6sp per serving

Ingredients

2 x large butternut squash, peeled, deseeded and diced into ½ inch chunks

1 x tbsp Moroccan spice mix (I used Shwartz)

1 x pack of Merchant Gourmet Ready to Eat Freekah (if you can’t get this you can use any microwaveable grain – I got mine in Sainsbury’s)

1 x 200g pack light feta cheese (I use the Sainsbury’s Be Good to Yourself Salad Cheese), crumbled

3 x roasted peppers (from a jar in brine), sliced

Large handful cherry tomatoes, halved

3 spring onions, sliced

Small pack of pomegranate seeds (optional)

Handful of fresh parsley, roughly chopped

1 lemon

Large packet of salad leaves

Method

Preheat the oven to 180c.

Take a large roasting tray, add the diced BNS, sprinkle with the Moroccan seasoning, salt and pepper and toss to coat. Spray with 1kal and then pop in the oven for 35-40 minutes until the squash is soft and starting to get nice crispy edges. Remove from the oven and pop to one side.

Cook the freekeh in the microwave according to the packet instructions (mine took 45 seconds at 900w). Once cooked pour the freekeh in the tray with the BNS along with the feta, roasted peppers, cherry tomatoes, spring onions, pomegranate seeds and parsley. Toss everything together and then squeeze in the juice of one lemon.

Pop a few salad leaves in the base of each lunch box and then share the BNS mixture evenly between each. Pop in the fridge once cooled and enjoy being uber prepared for the week ahead!

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The beauty of this recipe is how quick it is to make. Once the tomatoes are cooked it takes less than 3 minutes from your pan to the plate. If you want to  make this dish more substantial you could add some meat or prawns to it too. Just stir fry the meat/prawns before you add the courgette noodles to the frying pan.
Ingredients
Serves 2 = 4sp per person (Flex)
250g baby plum/vine tomatoes (vine removed)
½ tsp olive oil and ½ tsp coconut oil (or 1 tsp olive oil)
1/2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
3 cloves of garlic, lightly crushed (but left mostly whole)
2 large courgettes, spiralised (or 300g pack of pre spiralised courgette, you can get in most supermarkets now)
½ tsp oregano
Juice of half a lemon
Two large handful of spinach, shredded
Handful of fresh basil, shredded (optional)
100g half fat feta cheese, roughly crumbled
Method
Pre heat the oven to 200c. In a roasting dish add the tomatoes, drizzle over ½ tsp olive oil, 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar and season with salt and pepper. Throw in the garlic cloves, toss everything together and pop in the oven for 30-35 minutes until the tomatoes have started to pop a little.

Once the tomatoes have cooked turn off the oven and leave them inside so they stay warm. The rest of the recipe comes together really quickly after this.

Take a large frying pan, add the coconut oil (or rest of the olive oil ), warm to a medium heat and then add the courgetti and oregano. Stir fry for 2 minutes. Take off the heat, add the lemon juice and give a good toss. Add the spinach and basil and toss through the courgette. Separate between two bowls and then top with the tomatoes and feta cheese.

Plate up and enjoy!

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