POINTS AND NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION

Serves 2 – per serving = 14 points or 532 cals, 8.7g fat, 74.6g carbs, 42.5g protein

Ingredients

For the chicken

2 tbsp cornflour

½ tsp salt, black pepper, chilli powder and garlic powder

1 tsp paprika

300g chicken breast, diced into medium sized chunks

1 tsp sesame oil

Low calorie cooking spray

For the sauce

3 garlic cloves, peeled and grated 

Thumb sized piece of ginger, peeled and grated 

2 tbsp dark soy sauce

2 tbsp chilli jam or sweet chilli sauce

2 tbsp reduced salt and sugar tomato ketchup

1 tbsp rice wine vinegar

½ tbsp honey

Juice of 1 lime

For the stir fry

1 tsp sesame oil

2 peppers, deseeded and diced

2 chillies (1 or if you don’t like things too hot), sliced (reserve a few to dress the dish at the end)

4 spring onions, sliced (reserve a few for garnish)

To serve/finish

100g basmati rice

1 tsp sesame seeds

Method

1. To begin, put the cornflour, salt, pepper, garlic powder, chilli powder and paprika in a large bowl. Mix to combine and then add the diced chicken. Toss the chicken in the flour mixture until it is well covered.
2. Take a large wok, pour in 1 teaspoon of the sesame oil, pop the heat on and add the chicken. Fry for 5–6 minutes until the chicken is cooked through. Add a little low-calorie cooking spray to the pan if needed to stop the pan going dry (don’t add water as this will stop the chicken crisping up).
3. While the chicken is cooking, you can get on with making the rest of the dish. Pop the rice on to cook. Then add all the sauce ingredients to a small bowl with 50ml cold water, stir and pop to one side.
4. Once the chicken is cooked, remove from the pan and keep to one side in a bowl.
5. Pour 1 teaspoon of sesame oil into the same pan you used for the chicken and then add the peppers, chilli and spring onion. Stir-fry for 2–3 minutes until the peppers start to soften, and then remove the veg from the pan into the same bowl as the cooked chicken.
6. Pour the sauce into the same pan again and bring to a simmer, then add the cooked veggies and chicken back to the pan. Simmer for another 3–4 minutes. This will give the sauce a chance to thicken and stick to the chicken nicely.
7. Pop the rice into bowls and then add the sticky chilli chicken. Top with a sprinkle of sesame seeds and the reserved chilli and spring onion.

The post Sticky Chilli Chicken first appeared on Slimming Kitchen Secrets.

Sticky Hoisin Pork Fillet with Sesame Greens and Noodles

Serves 4 =  10sp on BLUE and PURPLE, 11sp on GREEN per serving

417 calories per serving

Ingredients

For the pork

2 tbsp hoisin sauce

1 x 400g pork fillet, raw, fat and sinew trimmed

For the stir fry

300g pack of egg noodles, fresh

1 tbsp sesame oil

3 cloves of garlic, peeled and finely minced

Thumb size piece of ginger, peeled and grated (or ½ tsp lazy ginger)

2 red chillies, sliced

300g spring greens (or swiss chard), sliced and hard ends removed

6 spring onions, sliced into small rounds

100g edamame beans (I used frozen)

1 tbsp sesame seeds

1 tbsp rice wine vinegar

2 tbsp each hoisin sauce and dark soy sauce

Juice of ½ orange

Sriracha/ ½ tsp crushed chillies to taste

Method

Pre heat the oven to 200c. Brush 2 tbsp worth of hoisin sauce onto the pork, pop into a foil lined baking tray and roast in the oven for 30-40 minutes (until cooked through). Baste the pork with more hoisin and its own juices every 10 minutes as it cooks. Once cooked, remove the pork from the oven and leave to rest for 10 minutes before you serve.

When the pork has 10 minutes left of its cooking time, begin the stir fry. It’s very quick!

Pop the wok onto a medium heat, add ½ tbsp sesame oil and fry the garlic, ginger and chilli for 1 minute (add a little water if the pan starts to get dry). Then add the spring greens and fry for another 3-4 minutes (with a splash of water) until they start to soften. Next add the spring onions and frozen edamame. Fry for another 3-4 minutes until the veg is tender. Then add the sesame seeds, rice wine vinegar, hoisin and soy sauce. Toss so the veg is coated well.

In another pan, fry the noodles in ½ tbsp sesame oil til piping hot. Once hot, add the noodles to the vegetables with ½ tsp crushed chillies or a squirt of sriracha (to taste). Add the juice of ½ orange, toss and then serve the veg and noodles into bowls.

Slice the pork and serve on top of the veg and noodles. Serve with a little extra hoisin if you fancy.

Enjoy!

The post Sticky Hoisin Pork Fillet with Sesame Greens and Noodles first appeared on Slimming Kitchen Secrets.

POINTS AND NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION

Serves 4 – per serving = 11 points or 513 cals, 23.6g fat, 48.7g carbs, 25.2g protein

Ingredients

For the duck

400g duck breasts fillets, skin removed, raw

1 tsp Chinese 5 spice

Low calorie cooking spray

Salt and black pepper

For the stir fry

1 tsp sesame oil

1 carrot, peeled and cut into fine matchsticks

1 pepper, deseeded and sliced

4 spring onions, finely sliced

200g white cabbage, finely sliced

100g beansprouts

2 tsp each of Chinese 5 spice and chilli powder

3 tbsp light soy sauce

3 tbsp hoisin sauce

1 tsp honey

1 tbsp rice wine vinegar

10g fresh coriander, roughly chopped

1 chilli, finely sliced (and deseeded if you don’t like things too spicy)

400g fresh egg noodles

1 lime

Method

1. Begin by making the duck. Preheat the oven to 180°C (fan). Take a baking dish, spray with low-calorie cooking spray and add the duck breasts skin-side up.
2. Season with salt and pepper and the 5-spice, spray the duck again with low-calorie cooking spray and then roast in the oven for 25–30 minutes until cooked through. Remove the duck from the oven, rest for 10 minutes, and then shred with two forks.3
3. While the duck is cooking, you can prepare the rest of the stir-fry. Take a wok or large frying pan, pour in the sesame oil and bring to a medium/high heat.
4. Add the carrot, pepper, spring onion, white cabbage and beansprouts. Stir-fry for 4–5 minutes until the carrot starts to soften. Add the 5-spiceand chilli powder, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, honey and rice wine vinegar. Pour in a splash of cold water and toss everything together, continuing to fry on a medium/high heat.
5. Add the shredded duck, coriander and chilli to the pan, toss everything together again, and check for seasoning. Season with salt and pepper if required.
6. Add the egg noodles to the pan with a splash of water, toss to combine, and fry on a medium heat until everything is piping hot.
7. Finally, remove the stir-fry from the heat and squeeze in the lime juice. Serve in nice big bowls.

The post Hoisin Duck Stir Fry first appeared on Slimming Kitchen Secrets.

If you don’t like things too spicy, just add the one chilli and leave out the chilli oil. If you like a nice heat, make as below and when you add the chilli oil, make sure you get some of the crushed chillies from the bottom of the jar as they add a lovely warmth. I use Chiu Chow chilli oil which you can get in most supermarkets now but you can also find it in Chinese supermarkets and on Amazon or Ebay. It tastes amazing and is great added to loads of things to make them a bit more exciting – from scrambled eggs to dumplings.

For this dish I used lean beef frying steak but you could also use lean rump steak if you prefer. The dish would also work nicely with chicken (this would reduce the points to 2sp per serving) just make sure you cook the chicken through before removing from the pan.

This is a dish packed with veg and so I just served it as below however I served my hubbies with 60g of plain boiled rice. Egg fried rice or noodles would also work well but remember to add the extra points.

Chinese Spicy Orange Beef Stir Fry

Ingredients

Serves 4 = 4sp per serving (Flex)

For the stir fry sauce

2 large oranges

3 tsp Shaoxing rice wine

1 tbsp light soy sauce

1 tbsp dark soy sauce

1 tsp sesame oil

2 tsp cornflour

For the stir fry

600g lean raw stir fry beef, cubed

1 red onion, peeled and sliced

1 white onion, peeled and sliced

2 peppers, deseeded and sliced

2 chillies, finely sliced (or 1 chilli if you don’t like things too hot)

3 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped (or 2 tsp of lazy garlic)

Thumb sized piece of ginger, peeled and finely minced (or 2 tsp of lazy ginger)

Pack of mange tout, halved

Pack of baby corn, halved

1 tbsp dark soy sauce

1 tsp chilli oil (I use Chow chilli oil which I get from the Chinese supermarket)

Method

Begin by using a potato peeler to peel the skin of one of the oranges (try to avoid the white pith closest to the flesh as this is very bitter). Slice the peel into small matchsticks and set to one side. Then slice both oranges in half and squeeze out the juice. You should end up with around 6-8 tbsp of orange juice. Take a bowl and add the orange juice to it with the rest of the sauce ingredients. Stir to ensure the cornflour is dissolved into the liquid. Pop the sauce to one side.

Next, take a large frying pan or wok, spray with 1kal and add the frying steak. Season with salt and pepper and fry for 5-6 minutes until browned (or cooked to your liking). Remove the beef from the pan and pop on a plate to one side.

To the same pan, spray again with 1kal and then add the onions, peppers and chilli. Stir fry for 5-6 minutes until the onion starts to soften (add a little water if the pan gets a bit dry) and then add the orange peel, garlic, ginger, mange tout and baby corn.  Once all of the veg is cooked to your liking (I like my mange tout and baby corn with a bit of a bite), add the beef back to the pan with the sauce, 1 tbsp dark soy sauce and the chilli oil (if you are having). Toss everything together and simmer for a few more minutes to heat the sauce through. Taste and season further if required.

Plate up and enjoy!

The post Chinese Spicy Orange Beef Stir Fry – 4sp first appeared on Slimming Kitchen Secrets.

I’ve written a few Chinese Fakeaway recipes over the past few years but this one has been requested many a time and I’ve never got round to reworking it. Well good news…. now I finally have!!

I’ve tested this recipe a few times now and tried a few different cooking methods but this one is my favourite. If you prefer the chicken a little more crispy you can toss the raw chicken in 1 tbsp of corn flour and half the spice mix before the first fry (this will make the dish 5sp per person). You can also cook the chicken coated in half the spice mix and corn flour in the oven for 20-25 mins on 180c (spray with 1kal) and then add to the cooked veggies and continue from there. I like the method I’ve gone with below as it keeps the chicken nice and juicy!!

The use of spinach and lime aren’t a traditional addition but I think the spinach bulks the dish out nicely (if you aren’t going to serve with rice) and the lime adds a lovely freshness at the end.

I served this as it was without any rice but I served the hubbies with a 60g portion of egg fried rice (6sp) for a grand total of 10sp.

Chinese Salt and Pepper Chicken 

Serves 2 = 4sp per serving (Flex)

Ingredients

For the spice mix

2 tsp salt flakes

1 tsp ground black pepper

1 tsp white pepper

1 tsp Chinese 5 spice

1/2 tbsp brown sugar

Pinch of chilli flakes

1/2 tsp garlic powder

For the stir fry

2 large raw chicken breast fillets, sliced into strips

1 onion, peeled and finely sliced

2 peppers, deseeded and finely sliced

3 spring onions, sliced

1 tsp sesame oil

2 tbsp dark soy sauce

1/2 tbsp honey

Handful of beansprouts and washed spinach

Method

Begin by toasting the salt flakes in a dry frying pan until they start to brown (this will only take a few minutes). Then, in a small bowl mix the toasted salt, ground black pepper, white pepper, 5 spice, sugar, garlic powder and chilli flakes together.

Next take a large wok or frying pan, spray with 1kal and add the chicken with half of the spice mix. Fry for 8-10 minutes until the chicken is cooked through (add a little water if the pan gets a little dry). Once the chicken is cooked through and golden, remove from the pan and pop on a plate to one side.

Spray the pan with 1kal again and fry the onion, peppers, spring onions (reserve a few spring onions to dress at the end) and half of the remaining spice mix until the onions start to soften about 5-6 minutes). Once the onions have started to soften add the chicken back to the pan with 1 tsp of sesame oil. Taste and then add more of the spice mix to the pan as required/to taste. Stir fry for a few seconds and then add the soy and honey to the pan. Toss everything together then add the spinach and beansprouts. Stir fry for a few more minutes until the spinach has wilted.

Serve topped with a sprinkle of spring onions and a squeeze of fresh lime juice.

Enjoy!

The post Fakeaway Salt and Pepper Chicken – 4sp first appeared on Slimming Kitchen Secrets.

As always, the heat of a stir fry is personal taste. If you like things spicy, add a few chilli flakes to the sauce and leave the seeds in the chilli. If not, omit the chilli altogether.

POINTS AND NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION

Serves 2 – per serving = 7 points or 534 cals, 11.7g fat, 56.7g carbs, 49.8g protein

For the sauce

2 tbsp Thai red curry paste

2 tbsp powdered peanut butter (I get mine in Sainsbury’s but most big supermarkets sell it next to the normal peanut butter)

1 tbsp dark soy sauce

½ tbsp honey

1 tsp curry powder

Juice of 1 lime

½ tsp cornflour

For the Stir Fry

1 red onion, sliced

1 pepper, deseeded and sliced

3 garlic cloves, finely chopped

Thumb sized piece of ginger, peeled and grated

1 red chilli, deseeded and sliced

100g mange tout, halved

300g chicken breast, diced into 1cm cubes

200g pack fresh egg noodles

1/2 lime, quartered 

Low calorie cooking spray

Salt and pepper

Method

1. Begin by making the sauce. Pop all the sauce ingredients into a small bowl with 2 tablespoons water, mix together and put to one side.
2. Next, take a wok, spray with low-calorie cooking spray and fry the onion and peppers for a few minutes until the onion softens a little. Then add the garlic, ginger, chilli and mange tout. Fry for another few minutes and then remove the veg from the pan, popping to one side on a plate.
3. Spray the same wok again with low-calorie cooking spray, add the chicken, season with salt and pepper, then fry for 6–7 minutes until cooked through.
4. Add the sauce and toss through the chicken. Simmer for a minute or two until the sauce starts to thicken a little and then add the veggies back to the pan.
5. Add the noodles to the pan and toss through the chicken, veggies and sauce.
6. Once the noodles are hot, split between two bowls and serve each portion with a wedge of lime for squeezing.

Variation – I’ve made this stir-fry with traditional fresh egg noodles but you can also make it with butternut squash noodles, which are equally delicious but have significantly fewer calories. You can find them pre-prepared in some supermarkets or you can spiralize them yourself. If you’d like to use them, make sure they are softened in the microwave for about 3 minutes (either in a bowl, covered in cling film with a few holes, or in the plastic bag from the shop), shaking halfway through.

The post Malaysian Chicken Satay Stir Fry first appeared on Slimming Kitchen Secrets.

The end result was better than I would have hoped for. Bursting with flavour and pack with delicious meat and vegetables, this really is a fulfilling evening meal. Best of all, its incredibly easy to put together. I buy my steaks from Aldi usually and (after removing the fat), find the portion size left per person lovely and generous, especially for the price.

Personally I love the look of arranging a whole sliced steak on top of my stir fry but if you prefer, feel free to add the beef back to the sauce mixture at the end and toss to coat.

Feel free to add any of your favourite veg to this. Next time I’m going to get some beansprouts, carrots and courgettes involved. You could replace the rice with noodles or even carrot and courgette spiralized noodles (this would lower the points to 9sp per potion). The world’s your oyster!

Korean Beef Stir Fry 

Serves 2 = 13sp per serving (Flex)

For the sauce

1 tsp corn flour

2 tbsp dark soy sauce

2 tbsp sriracha chilli sauce

½ tbsp brown sugar and honey

1 tbsp fresh ginger, peeled and grated

2 garlic cloves, peeled and grated

2 tbsp water

For the stir fry

80g basmati rice

Small pack of tender stem broccoli

2 x rump steaks (150g each), seasoned with salt and pepper

1 x chilli, finely chopped (and deseeded if you don’t like it too hot)

2 x peppers, deseeded and sliced

Handful of mushrooms, sliced

4 spring onions, sliced into rounds

½ bag of spinach

Large handful fresh coriander, roughly chopped

2 tsp sesame seeds, toasted (optional)

Method

Pop the rice on to cook in some salted boiling water. Five minutes before it is ready, pop a steamer (or colander) over the top of the pan to steam the broccoli.

Next put the corn flour into a bowl or jug and add a little cold water to turn into a paste. Add the rest of the sauce ingredients a whisk together until well combined.

Next, spray a large frying pan with 1kal, heat the pan and then cook the steaks to your liking. I cook them for two minutes on one side, then flip and cook for two minutes on the other side. Remove the steaks from the pan and pop onto a plate to rest.

Then in the same pan, add a little of the sauce and then stir fry the chilli, peppers, spring onions and mushrooms until softened a little (2 or 3 minutes). Then add the rest of the sauce and simmer until it starts to thicken (add a little more water if it gets too thick). Turn the heat down and then add the spinach. Once wilted, add the coriander, stir through and switch off the heat.

In a bowl, pop your rice in the bottom. Next using tongs, lift the veg out of the sauce and pop onto the rice. Then, slice the steak to your preferred thickness and arrange on top of the veg. Pour the sauce over the steak and then sprinkle with sesame seeds. Top the steak with the steamed broccoli.

Enjoy!

The post Korean Beef Stir Fry – 13sp first appeared on Slimming Kitchen Secrets.

After I set it up I crossed my fingers that it would be just as good and I’m happy to report it really was!  I decided to combine spiralizing my carrot and courgette noodles (the veg I had in the fridge) with a prawn stir fry recipe as I wanted something tasty and filling but VERY low in points – specifically for those days when you accidentally overindulge and need to pull it back in an evening.

The result was delicious. The king prawns were juicy and moist and took on the flavour of the sauce beautifully. The thick sauce coated the noodles perfectly so the dish was packed with a vibrant and fresh flavour.

I had this as per the recipe below – my OH insisted on me adding some regular noodles to his (he wanted man carbs) so ladies, if you are cooking for a hungry/difficult to fill male, you may want to add a handful of egg noodles to his bowl!

Spicy Prawn Stir Fry with Carrot and Courgette Noodles

Serves 2 = 4sp per serving (Flex)

Ingredients

For the sauce

100ml chicken stock (1/2 chicken stock cube made up with 110ml boiling water)

2 tbsp hoisin sauce

1 tbsp hot chilli sauce (I used sriracha)

½ tbsp. soy sauce

1 tsp corn flour

For the noodles

2 large carrots, peeled

1 large courgette

For the Stir Fry

1/2 tbsp seasame oil

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

Thumb sized piece of fresh ginger, peeled and finely grated

180g king prawns, raw, deshelled and deveined

Pinch of Crushed Chillies (optional)

1 red onion, sliced

2 peppers, deseeded and sliced

Handful of Mange tout, roughly halved

1 lime, quartered

Method

Begin by combining all the ingredients for the sauce in a measuring jug, stir and pop to one side.

Next chop the ends off the carrot and courgette and then spiralizer until you have lots of nice thick noodles. It will look like you have quite a lot but once cooked they shrink quite a bit. Pop the carrots into a pan of boiling water and boil for 3-4 minutes until they start to soften. The courgette doesn’t need any pre-cooking. Drain the carrots and pop to one side with the courgette.

Next, take a large fry pan, add half the oil (1/2 tbsp) and once hot, fry the garlic and ginger for a minute or two then add the prawns and crushed chillies (if you are having them) and fry until cooked through (so they are nice and pink, about 3 minutes). Remove the prawns from the pan and pop to one side (do not leave in the pan as they will shrink and go to nothing).

In the same pan add the rest of the oil and once hot, add the onion, pepper and mange tout. Fry for around 5 minutes until the veg starts to soften but still retains a little bite. Add the sauce straight into the pan and cook on a high heat for a minute until the sauce starts to thicken. Add the prawns, stir through and then add the carrot and courgette noodles, combining well in the sauce. Warm through for a few minutes until the carrot and courgette have softened and took on some of the sauce.

Squeeze over the juice of half a lime, stir and plate up.

I served mine with a little extra chilli and spring onion and an extra slice of lime.

Enjoy!

The post Spicy Prawn Stir Fry with Carrot and Courgette Noodles – 4sp first appeared on Slimming Kitchen Secrets.

Ingredients

Serves 2 = 12sp each

120g rice (I used basmati)

200g sirloin or rump steak, cut into finger sized strips

1 red and 1 yellow pepper, halved, deseeded and cut into thin strips

Handful of mushrooms, sliced

1 thumb-sized piece fresh ginger, finely sliced

2 cloves garlic, finely sliced

1 fresh red chilli, finely sliced

2 spring onions, finely slice

1 small bunch fresh coriander, leaves put to one side and stalks finely chopped

1 handful mange tout, halved

½ tablespoon sesame oil

½ tablespoon groundnut oil

2 tablespoons black bean sauce

1 tablespoon soy sauce

2 limes

1 egg

Method

The man himself Jaime Oliver advises that this recipe works best with rice that has been made earlier, cooled, and then chilled in the fridge so great for leftovers but as I made it from scratch I followed his instructions to cook the rice and then spread it out on a tray in a thin layer and pop it in the fridge so that it cools down quickly while you’re cooking the rest of the dish. So to begin…

Bring a pan of salted water to the boil, add your rice and cook according to the packet instructions. Drain the rice in a sieve, run it under a cold tap to cool, and then allow to dry out in the fridge.

Then grab a big bowl and put in the red and yellow peppers, mushrooms, mange tout, ginger, garlic, chilli, spring onions, coriander stalks and steak strips (you can also add water chestnuts at this point too if you fancy them for 0pp!). Add the sesame oil and mix everything together.

Then, preheat a wok or large frying pan on a high heat and once it’s very, very hot add half of the groundnut oil and swirl it around. Add all your chopped ingredients from the bowl. Give the pan a really good shake to mix everything around quickly. Stir fry for 2 minutes, and keep stirring so it doesn’t burn and stick to the pan. Then add the black bean sauce, and stir in half the soy sauce and the juice of half a lime. Keep moving and then taste and season with black pepper.

Remove the pan from the heat, pop everything to a bowl and cover with tin foil.

Give the pan a quick wipe (with a ball of kitchen paper) and put back on the heat. Add the rest of the groundnut oil and swirl it around. Crack in your egg and the rest of the soy sauce and keep stirring (the egg cooks veeeeeeery quickly!!). Once it’s scrambled, stir in your chilled rice, scraping the sides and the bottom of the pan as you go. Keep mixing for a few minutes until the rice is steaming hot, then taste and season with a small splash of soy sauce, if needed.

Finally, divide the rice between two bowls and spoon over the meat and black bean sauce and sprinkle over the coriander leaves. Serve with wedges of lime!

Enjoy!

The post Sizzling Beef with Spring Onions & Black Bean Sauce – Only 12sp! first appeared on Slimming Kitchen Secrets.

Now I’m under no illusions that this is something new!! However I thought I would share my way of dressing it up to take the taste to the next level!

I served the Szechuan sauce with egg noodles and the Cantonese with basmasti rice. Both were lovely, I preferred the Szechuan and my OH preferred the Cantonese!

Ingredients

Serves 2 = 8sp (previously 8pp) each

2 x 165g chicken breast, cubed

1 large onion, finely sliced

1 pepper, deseeded and sliced

2 garlic cloves, peeled and grated

1 thumb sized piece of ginger, peeled and grated

1 packet of stir fry sauce (I used ASDA Szechuan one night and Cantonese the next)

1 head of pack choi, bulb cut off, stems sliced (like celery) and leaves roughly chopped

2 or 3 spring onions, sliced

1 pack of fresh coriander, shredded

1 chilli, chopped (and deseeded depending on how spicy you like it)

1 lime, quartered

Method

Pop the chicken into a large wok or frying pan, spray with 1kal and fry until cooked. Remove from the pan and pop to one side.

In the same pan add the onion and pepper, stir fry for a few minutes (I like my onion soft so I do it for 5-7 minutes), then add the garlic and ginger and fry for another couple of minutes. Next add most of the packet of the stir fry sauce and stir through, then add the chicken back to the pan. Lower the heat, cook for a few minutes and then add the pak choi, making sure it is a little submerged in the sauce so it cooks nicely. Then add the spring onions , coriander and the juice of one of the lime quarters and stir through.

Serve with either a small portion of rice or noodles (to both I added a splash of soy sauce) (remember to add the points, I did 40g of rice for 4sp or 85g of fresh egg noodles for 4sp).

Top with chilli and pop the extra lime on the side for serving.

Enjoy!

The post Spicy Szechuan Chicken Stir Fry – 8sp first appeared on Slimming Kitchen Secrets.