Before you start making the sauce, decide which accompaniment you fancy. I’ve made this with several options but my favourites are roast potatoes, pan fried new potatoes (boil potatoes til soft, smash a little and then crisp up in a frying pan) or rice. I usually serve with green beans (boiled for a few minutes and then finished in a 1sp of light butter, lemon juice and salt and pepper) or asparagus. All make for a lovely dish that feels like a real indulgence. Just remember to add the extra points for whichever accompaniment you prefer (I usually have 6sps worth of potatoes or rice).

SMART POINTS AND NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION

Serves 4 – 3sp on BLUE and PUPLE, 5sp on GREEN for the chicken in tarragon sauce

Per serving – 330 calories, Fat 5.1g, Carbs 10.4g, Protein 64.8g

INGREDIENTS

4 x chicken breasts (around 200g raw weight per breast)

1 large leek, washed, woody end removed and sliced into thin rounds

3 cloves of garlic, peeled and finely chopped

300g chestnut mushrooms, cleaned and sliced

1 heaped tbsp of plain flour

125ml white wine

2 tsp Dijon mustard

500ml chicken stock (made of 1 chicken stock cube)

4 tbsp light crème fraiche

Few sprigs of fresh tarragon (one left whole and 2 chopped finely)

METHOD

Note – Before you start cooking this one, have a read of the short blurb above so you can choose your accompaniment and pop it on at the right time whilst cooking the sauce.

1. Season the chicken breasts with salt and black pepper. Take a large saucepan or frying pan, spray with 1kal and on a medium/high heat fry the chicken breasts for 2-3 minutes on each side until browned. The chicken doesn’t need to be cooked through at this point, you just want some colour on the meat. Remove the chicken from the pan and pop to one side.
2. In the same pan, spray again with 1kal and add the leek. Season with salt and black pepper and fry for 3-4 minutes until the leek starts to soften. Add a little water if the pan starts to get dry.
3. Add the garlic and mushrooms and fry for 2 minutes.
4. Finally add the plain flour, stir through and fry for another minute.
5. Next add the white wine, simmer for a few minutes until reduced by half and then add the chicken stock, the mustard and the whole sprig of tarragon. Add the chicken back to the pan. Bring to the boil and then reduce to a simmer.
6. Simmer for 20 minutes until the liquid is reduced slightly and has started to thicken.
7. Reduce the heat to low/medium and then add the crème fraiche. Stir through until well combined, simmer for another few minutes and then remove from the heat.
8. Finally stir through the fresh tarragon. Taste and season with more salt and pepper if required.
9. Serve with the accompaniment of your choice.
10. Enjoy!

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Creamy Tarragon Chicken

WW - 3sp on BLUE and PUPLE, 5sp on GREEN for the chicken in tarragon sauce

Calories per serving – 330 calories, Fat 5.1g, Carbs 10.4g, Protein 64.8g

Servings 2

Ingredients

• 4 x chicken breasts around 200g raw weight per breast
• 1 large leek washed, woody end removed and sliced into thin rounds
• 3 cloves of garlic peeled and finely chopped
• 300 g chestnut mushrooms cleaned and sliced
• 1 heaped tbsp of plain flour
• 125 ml white wine
• 2 tsp Dijon mustard
• 500 ml chicken stock made of 1 chicken stock cube
• 4 tbsp light crème fraiche
• Few sprigs of fresh tarragon one left whole and 2 chopped finely

Instructions

• Note - Before you start cooking this one, have a read of the short blurb above so you can choose your accompaniment and pop it on at the right time whilst cooking the sauce.
• Season the chicken breasts with salt and black pepper. Take a large saucepan or frying pan, spray with 1kal and on a medium/high heat fry the chicken breasts for 2-3 minutes on each side until browned. The chicken doesn’t need to be cooked through at this point, you just want some colour on the meat. Remove the chicken from the pan and pop to one side.
• In the same pan, spray again with 1kal and add the leek. Season with salt and black pepper and fry for 3-4 minutes until the leek starts to soften. Add a little water if the pan starts to get dry.
• Add the garlic and mushrooms and fry for 2 minutes.
• Finally add the plain flour, stir through and fry for another minute.
• Next add the white wine, simmer for a few minutes until reduced by half and then add the chicken stock, the mustard and the whole sprig of tarragon. Add the chicken back to the pan. Bring to the boil and then reduce to a simmer.
• Simmer for 20 minutes until the liquid is reduced slightly and has started to thicken.
• Reduce the heat to low/medium and then add the crème fraiche. Stir through until well combined, simmer for another few minutes and then remove from the heat.
• Finally stir through the fresh tarragon. Taste and season with more salt and pepper if required.
• Serve with the accompaniment of your choice.
• Enjoy!

The post Creamy Tarragon Chicken first appeared on Slimming Kitchen Secrets.

This curry is a twist on Rick Stein’s version of Chettinad Chicken. His version is dry where as we fancied something with lots of spices but still nice and saucy. The result was delicious, and it has become a firm favourite in our house. The ingredients list may look a little long, but most ingredients are store cupboard essentials and it really is quite easy to throw together.

If you can’t find any curry leaves you can leave these out, but they are available in most supermarkets these days and add a lovely authentic taste to the dish, if you can find fresh they are even better!! (FYI – curry leaves are edible but if you don’t like the texture you can push to the side when eating).

If you like curries a little more creamy, feel free to add a little fat free Greek yoghurt to the curry when you add the green beans.

I’ve served this with normal basmati rice (60g portion per person) as well as with pilau grilled cauliflower rice (which is 0sp) and both are lovely options depending on how many points you have left for the day. The curry itself is only 1sp so you can always have a cheeky little naan bread  or some poppadums with it too!

Chettinad Chicken Curry

Serves 4 = 1sp per serving

Ingredients

For the spice blend

½ tbsp each fennel seeds, cumin seeds, coriander seeds, black peppercorns, black onion seeds, chilli powder

½ tsp turmeric

For the Curry

1 large onion, peeled and finely sliced

Handful of curry leaves (optional)

3 cloves of garlic, peeled and finely minced

Thumb size piece of ginger, peeled and finely minced

1 chilli, finely chopped (optional)

2 peppers, sliced

1 tbsp tomato puree

400g tin of chopped tomatoes

1 chicken stock cube

800g chicken breast, diced

1 tsp each salt and sugar

Pack of green beans, trimmed and halved

1 tsp cornflour

Small pack of coriander, roughly chopped

Small pot of fat free Greek yoghurt

Method

Start by making the spice mix. Pop all of the ingredients into a pestle and mortar (or a spice grinder if you have one) and grind until you have a very fine powder. It’s essential that you get the spice mix into as fine a powder as possible as you don’t want the finished curry to by ‘bitty’. Pop the spice mix to one side.

Take a large saucepan, spray with 1kal and add the onion and curry leaves. Fry for 8-10 minutes until the onions start to soften and then add the garlic, ginger, chilli, peppers and spice mix. Fry for another 2 minutes.

Add 1 tbsp tomato puree, fry for another minute and then add the tin of tomatoes, chicken stock cube, 400ml boiling water (I measure this out using the tomato tin), salt and sugar. Stir and add the chicken. Stir again and then pop a lid on the pan. Simmer for 15-20 minutes (until the chicken is cooked through).

After 15 minutes of simmering pop the rice on to cook according to the packet instructions).

Once the chicken is cooked through, add the green beans to the curry and simmer, lid off for 5 minutes until they are al dente. Mix 1 tsp cornflour with a small splash of cold water to make a paste. Add to the curry and simmer for another 5 minutes (this will help the curry thicken up). Finally add the coriander to the curry, stir through and take off the heat.

Serve the rice with the curry on top and a dollop of yoghurt. Enjoy!

The post Chettinad Chicken Curry – 1sp 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 result was fantastic. The sauce tastes so creamy and indulgent and is packed with the most vibrant flavours. You can add anything else you fancy to this to bulk it out ( courgette ribbons, peppers etc) but I like the sauce a little smoother so just went with the recipe below.

If you would like to reduce the points further you can swap the mascarpone for extra light soft cheese. For an extra few points though, the lovely creaminess and flavour of the mascarpone is really special.

POINTS AND NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION

Serves 2 – per serving = 13 points or 508 cals, 16.9g fat, 44.0g carbs, 47.1g protein

Ingredients

300g raw chicken breast, cut into strips

½ large onion, finely sliced

40g sun dried tomatoes, drained and finely chopped

3 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped

Sprinkle of chilli flakes

1/2 tsp plain flour

½ chicken stock cube made up with 250ml boiling water

1 tsp dried oregano

75g lighter mascarpone

100g dried pasta of your choice (I like spaghetti)

1 tbsp Parmesan cheese, grated

10g each of fresh basil and spinach, finely chopped

1 lemon

Low calorie cooking spray

Salt and black pepper

Method

1. Spray a large frying pan with low-calorie cooking spray and add the chicken.
2. Season with salt and pepper and fry for 6–7 minutes until cooked through. Remove from the pan and pop to one side.
3. In the same pan, spray again with low-calorie cooking spray, add the onion and fry for a few minutes, adding a little water if the pan gets dry. Next, add the sun-dried tomatoes, garlic and chilli flakes and fry for another 2 minutes.
4. Add the flour, stir in for a minute, and then add a quarter of the stock. Once the stock starts to thicken, add the chicken back into the pan and keep adding the stock bit by bit until you’ve used it all and the stock thickens up nicely. Add the oregano and mascarpone and reduce the pan to a low simmer.
5. At this point, pop the pasta on to cook. Once the pasta has cooked, drain, reserving a little of the cooking water.
6. Finally, add the Parmesan, most of the fresh basil, the spinach and the juice of half the lemon to the sauce, then mix and simmer for another minute to combine. You want the sauce to be thick but loose enough to coat the pasta. If it’s a little too thick, add a bit of the reserved pasta water to loosen up.
7. Finally, mix the pasta into the sauce, combine everything well and serve with a wedge of lemon and a little basil on top.

The post Sundried Tomato, Chicken and Mascarpone Pasta first appeared on Slimming Kitchen Secrets.