This salad was the perfect solution. It’s absolutely delicious, so filling and tasty and incredibly cheap to make. I bought the smoked mackerel from Tesco and it was only £2.00 for three fillets. Even though this was a ‘salad’, it felt like a nice fulfilling evening meal and its one I will be making on a regular occasion from now on!

Ingredients

Serves 2 = 10sp each (Flex)

300g new/salad potatoes, halved or quartered depending on their size

Handful of cherry tomatoes, halved

Half a red onion, sliced

Handful of green beans, trimmed and sliced into 3 cm lengths

Bag of mixed salad leaves

2 x 75g smoked mackerel fillet

Four or five slices of pickled beetroot

For the dressing

2 tablespoons of extra light mayonnaise

½ tsp wholegrain mustard

Splash of balsamic vinegar

1 garlic clove, peeled and crushed

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method

Pop your potatoes on to boil in salted water for around 15-20 minutes (until nice and soft).

Meanwhile pop all your dressing ingredients into a large bowl and mix up. Season well with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Chop the rest of your ingredients then take the green beans and pop in a microwaveable bowl. Cover with a 3 tbsp water and pop in the microwave for two and a half minutes so they steam nicely.

Once your potatoes are cooked, drain and pop into the bowl with the dressing and toss everything together. Add your tomatoes, green beans, onion and beetroot and flake in the smoked mackerel. Toss again.

Pop a bed of leaves in the bottom of a bowl and toss a few handfuls through your salad mixture and then pile into your bowls.

Enjoy!

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The cous cous salad that accompanies it is a lovely and fresh option rather than rice or potatoes. In my OH’s opinion, the pomegranate seeks make the dish as they leave a lovely little fruity burst in your mouth. I got mine from Tesco but they are quite easy to get a hold of these days. You will find them in the aisle with the rest of the prepared fruit.

This was the first time I’ve ever cooked with fresh fennel. Now I know some people don’t necessarily like the flavour of fennel seeds however rest assured, fresh fennel tastes nothing like it. Give it a try and you will be nicely surprised. If you really don’t fancy it (or can’t get a hold of it) just leave it out.  I got mine from Tesco in a two pack and added the rest to my bolognaise the next day!

Ingredients

Serves 4 = 8sp per serving (Flex)

For the salmon

500g boneless side of salmon, skinless and sliced in half length ways

2 tbsp harissa paste

1 tbsp honey

1 onion, finely sliced

½ bulb of fennel, finely sliced (optional but really tasty!)

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

1 tsp cumin seeds

Zest of 1 lemon

For the Cous Cous

2 tsp harissa paste

1 vegetable stock cube

¼ tsp cumin

1 tbsp currants

200g dried cous cous

240g tin of chickpeas

Juice of 2 lemons, zest of 1

Handful of fresh parsley and mint, chopped

80g tub of pomegranate seeds

Serving Suggestions

Green Salad

Fat free Greek yoghurt with a swirl of harissa and pinch of smoked paprika through it

Method

Pre heat the oven to 180c and pop in a baking tray to warm up.

Take a large frying pan, spray with 1kal and fry the onions, garlic, fennel and cumin seeds for around 10 minutes until soft.  Add the zest of 1 lemon and leave the onion mixture to cool.

In a small bowl, mix together the harissa and honey.

Then take one half of the salmon, pop onto a large sheet of baking paper and cover with half of the harissa mixture. Top the salmon with the cooled onion mixture and then cover with the other salmon fillet. Cover the top of the second salmon fillet with the remaining harissa mixture.

Take the warmed baking tray out of the oven and lift the baking paper and salmon onto it. Bake in the oven for around 30 minutes (or until cooked to your liking).

Whilst the salmon is cooking you can be getting on with making the cous cous salad.

Crumble the stock cube into a large bowl and add the harissa, currents, cumin and cous cous. In another bowl pop the chickpeas and lemon juice and season.

Pour 300ml of boiling water over the cous cous, stir and leave to soak for 5 minutes. Then add the lemon zest, parsley and mint to the chickepeas, stir and then add the whole lot to the cous cous. Finally add the pomegranate seeds to the cous cous and stir through.

Finally swirl the harissa through the Greek yoghurt and top with a pinch of smoked paprika.

You can either serve the salmon on top of the cous cous mixture, or like me, pop the cous cous on the side, salmon adjacent with a nice handful of green salad. Pop a dollop of the yoghurt on the side for a nice dipping sauce.

Enjoy!

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I don’t count roasted chicken breast on the new Flex plan so this recipe is 3sp per serving. If you do, it will be 4sp per serving.

Ingredients

Serves 4 = 3sp serving (Flex)

1 pack of ready to eat Merchant Gourmet Puy Lentils (I got mine in Tesco), cooked according to packet instructions (I microwaved mine)

200g roast chicken, light meat, skinless, shredded

Handful of Tomatoes, halved

3 or 4 large mushrooms, sliced

¼ tsp Lebanese spice (I got mine from Tesco)

Salad veg of your choice – I had:

• 1 carrot, peeled and grated
• 1/2 red onion, diced
• 1/2 a cucumber sliced
• 1 pepper, deseeded and diced

60g half fat feta, cubed

1 lemon, halved

For the dressing

100ml fat free natural yoghurt

½ tsp Lebanese spice

1 garlic clove, peeled and crushed

Method

Pop the tomatoes and mushrooms in a frying pan, spray with 1kal and fry off for a few minutes until they start to soften. Add the cooked lentils, stir through and sprinkle through ¼ tsp Lebanese spice.

Pop the other salad ingredients (minus any leaves) in a large bowl. Pour in the warm lentil mix and stir.

Mix together the yogurt, ½ tsp Lebanese spice, crushed garlic and black pepper. Pour on top of the salad mix. Add the chicken and feta and squeeze in a little lemon juice. Combine and then stir through the salad leaves.

Enjoy!

The post Lebanese Chicken, Feta and Lentil Salad – 3sp first appeared on Slimming Kitchen Secrets.

You can make this as authentic as is gets by using chicken drumsticks but it is slightly more points. If you want to make an even lower sp version you can also use chicken breast. It tastes lovely but isn’t quite as juicy as the drumstick alternative.

Ingredients

Serves 2 =11sp (previously 11pp) each (if using drumsticks) or 5sp (previously 8pp) each if using breast

For the chicken

6 x chicken drumsticks (skin on, approx 62g of meat) or (2 x 165g chicken breast, sliced)

1 tbsp plain flour, OXO Southern Fried Chicken seasoning, Cajun seasoning

2 tbsp polenta

½ tsp chilli powder

¼ tsp salt

1 egg, well beaten

Serving Suggestions

1 butternut squash, cut into chips, seasoned with Cajun spice and roasted for 45 minutes

Large green side salad

Low fat coleslaw (don’t forget to add the extra points)

Method

Preheat the oven to 180c.

Start by popping your BNS chips in the oven if you are having them.

Pop the egg into a wide bowl and beat. Then in a separate wide bowl, mix together the flour, southern fried seasoning, Cajun, polenta and salt. Coat each chicken drumstick in the egg and then into the seasoning mixture and pop onto a baking tray sprayed with 1kal (if you have enough seasoning you can repeat this process on each leg twice but once will still make it lovely and tasty). Pop into the oven for around 35 minutes until golden and baked through. By this time your BNS chips should be cooked through.

Serve with a nice side salad and accompaniments of your choice.

Enjoy!

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Ingredients

Serves 2 = 4sp each

1 x 125g ball of low fat mozzarella , roughly chopped into 2cmish cubes

2 large tomatoes, roughly chopped

Large handful of fresh basil, roughly chopped

Large handful of salad leaves, shredded

1 tsp olive oil

Squirt of balsamic glaze

Salt and Pepper

Method

Pop the mozzarella, tomatoes, basil and salad leaves in a large bowl. Pour on the olive oil and add a squirt of the balsamic glaze, season well and toss til well combined. Serve in two big bowls.

Enjoy!

The post Basil, Mozzarella and Tomato Salad – 4sp first appeared on Slimming Kitchen Secrets.

One of my favourite salads to pick up is the Chefs Chipotle Chicken Salad. At just 8sp it’s a real bargain points wise however not such a bargain on the old purse strings. Not only that, whilst tasty, its lacking all of the zero heroes which on Weight Watchers keep you full for the rest of the day and stop you snacking.

As a result, after analysing the contents of my salad, I decided to give it a go. The results were a real treat. I essentially had a salad for less points which was twice the size. Because I had made it myself, I even managed to sneak a few extras in too!

The best part of this salad for me is the salsa. After tasting Pret’s version I thought it wouldn’t harm to try and replicate it so I literally took a cheap pot of salad (hot salsa from Aldi) and added half a tsp of chipotle paste and voila! It was amazing, a total revelation and a lovely dressing which can be added to all kind of salads and dishes for 0sp!

Ingredients

Serves 2 = 4sp (previously 5pp) each (I buy enough ingredients to make this twice a week for me and the OH).

Large handful of mixed leaves

1/4 red onion, finely sliced

2 or 3 small salad peppers, sliced

Large piece of cucumber (however much you fancy), halved and sliced

Handful of cherry tomatoes, halved

100g cooked chicken breast, light meat, shredded

2 x pieces of Serrano ham, shredded (I get mine from Aldi and you get 8 pieces for quite cheap)

1 x avocado (about 75g of flesh)

2 tbsp chipotle salsa (recipe above)

Lime, quartered (keep two pieces for the rest of the week)

Glug of balsamic vinegar

Optional but good….

1 x small tub of Aldi reduced fat lemon and coriander houmous (this is 2sp for half a tub, if you use a different houmous, remember to point it).

Cous Cous (again, point if added)

Method

Pop the salad leaves in the bottom of a large bowl (or lunch box if like me, you want to take it to work). I often take all of my ingredients in on a Monday and make my salads fresh every day but there’s no harm in preparing it in the morning. Leave the stone in the avocado if you do this to keep it fresh.

Add all of the salad vegetables on top of this and add a glug of balsamic vinegar.

Add the chicken, Serrano ham and avocado, mix up a little and then top with the salsa, a squeeze of fresh lime and a good seasoning of salt and pepper.

Add houmous and cous cous if you fancy.

Enjoy!

The post Chipotle Chicken and Serrano Ham Salad – 4sp first appeared on Slimming Kitchen Secrets.

Ingredients

Serves 4 = 1sp (previously 1sp) each

1 x butternut Squash, peeled and cut into bite sized chunks

2 x courgettes, halved and sliced

2 x pepper (colour of your choice, I used red and yellow), roughly sliced

3 x cloves of garlic, peeled and lightly crushed

1 x red onion, roughly cut into thickish slices

1 x aubergine, cut into chunks

1 x handful of cherry tomatoes, halved

1 x bag of mixed leave salad

2 x tablespoons lightest mayonnaise

3 x teaspoons harissa paste

1 x lemon

Good pinch of paprika

Salt and black pepper

Method

Whack all your veg in a roasting tin. Pop 2 teaspoons of harissa on your veg with a good seasoning of salt and pepper and a squirt of lemon juice. Give a good mix and roast in the oven on around 180c for between 45 minutes and an hour (until the butternut squash has started to crisp up a bit). You will need to turn the veg a couple of times to make sure it all gets nicely cooked. You can par boil your butternut squash for 7-8 minutes if you want everything to cook a bit quicker but its less faffy just whacking it straight in. Remove veg from the oven and set aside.

In a large bowl mix your mayonnaise, 1 teaspoon of harissa, lemon, black pepper and paprika together and taste. If you like it spicy, add a few crushed chillies. Then pour in your roasted vegetables, give a good mix and leave to cool. I take this to work in a big box and take my bag of salad leaves separately. When I’m about to eat I pop a handful of leaves in the bottom of the bowl, whack the salad on top and give a mix and voila. Yummy salad is served.

If you fancy it, and have it in, whack a tablespoon of houmous on top but remember to add the extra sp.

Enjoy!

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Ingredients

Serves 4 = 7sp (previously 6pp) each

Pack of vine tomatoes (I do six tomatoes per person)

Drizzle of balsamic vingar

3 or 4 garlic cloves, unpeeled and bashed with the flat part of a knife

1 red pepper, deseeded and thinly sliced

60g chorizo, sliced

1 x 240g tin of chickpeas, drained

120g light halloumi (I used Tesco’s)

1 x bag of salad (whichever you prefer, I used spinach, watercress and rocket)

1 lemon sliced in half and one half sliced into another four (for dressing at the end)

Red wine vinegar

Fat free natural/greek yoghurt

Method

Pop your oven on to 180c. Put your vine tomatoes in a baking dish, splash balsamic vinegar over the top, scatter garlic around and season with salt and pepper. Put in the oven, uncovered for 1 hour.

When your tomatoes have 15 minutes to go, put a good handful of salad leaves in four bowls  and pop your red pepper in a frying pan, spray with 1kal and fry for a minute or two. Then add the drained chickpeas and chorizo and fry for another five minutes. Add a little water if the pepper starts to stick. Squeeze in a little lemon juice, give a good stir and then distribute between the four bowls, topping the salad leaves.

In the same pan, fry your halloumi for a minute or two on each side until it starts to get a nice colour then add this to your salad bowls.

Dress each salad with a small capful of red wine vinegar and add a few drops of fat free yoghurt.

Take your tomatoes out of the oven, pop on top of the salad and then pour the bubbly balsamic juices over the finished dish. Serve with a little slice of lemon.

Enjoy!

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