All Of The Noms

We nommed it, then wrote about it on the internet

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My friend, knowing my obsession for ramen and udon introduced me to 'Eat Water Slim Noodles' which are a low cal diet noodle. As they don't really have any flavour of there own they absorb the flavours they are cooked with, so the other day I just threw a few things in with them and came up with a lunch under 260 calories.

I soaked the noodles in some hot vegetable stock made with half a vegetable stock cube, for about 1/2 hr.

I made a creamy sauce using 2 tbsp of creme fraiche, tiny drop of chilli oil, dried chilli flakes, pinch of celery salt and some finely chopped onion.

I added one Linda McCartney veggie sausage (cooked and chopped) and mixed everything together on a low heat for about 5 minutes.

And it was awesome =D

[inommedthis]

Chickpea Yoghurt Salad 

( makes 2 snack portions, 3 side portions )

This is one of my favourites to take to work as a mid morning snack. Its also really good with some rocket or spinach as a side dish.

400g  can chickpeas

1/2 small red onion

Fresh coriander

1 tsp Lemon Juice 

3 tbsp Yoghurt

Drain and rinse the chickpeas.

Finely chop the onion and coriander, then mix with chickpeas and yoghurt.

Add lemon juice.

This can be eaten straight away or if you are a fan of onion like me, chill in the fridge over night.

[inommedthis]

Simple cookies with only 3 ingredients.

I came across a recipe for snacks with 2 ingredients, but I added blueberries =D

Mash up one banana and a small amount of blueberries in a bowl.

Add two sachets of instant oatmeal ( I used oat so simple Apple and blueberry)

Then pop in the oven on a baking sheet for about 15 mins.

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Sweet Potato, Cauliflower and Spinach Dahl! I found this fab recipe in one of the New Covent Garden soup books (link in source) and had to try it! I've switched out 1tbsp of olive oil for fry light to make it a totally syn free recipe on Slimming World. It's hearty and full of flavour, gently spiced and filling! Fry light 1 onion, finely chopped 2 cloves of garlic, crushed 2cm piece of root ginger, peeled and grated 1tsp tumeric 1tsp cumin 1tsp ground coriander 1tsp chilli powder (the recipe says hot but I used mild) 250g dried red lentils 2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and diced (2cm pieces) 1 medium cauliflower, cut into medium sized florets 1 Bay leaf 900ml hot vegetable stock 200g fresh spinach leaves Fat free natural yoghurt and lemon wedges to serve! Fry the onion in the fry light over a medium heat for 5 mins. Add the garlic, ginger and spices and cook for 2-3 mins. Add the lentils and hot veg stock and scrape the bottom of the pan to make sure you get all the spices mixed in. Add the sweet potato, cauliflower and bay leaf and bring to the boil. Cover and simmer for 15 mins. Gently stir in the spinach and cook for another few minutes til the spinach is wilted. Season with salt and pepper. The recipe by the book says to stir in 200g of fat free yoghurt and serve with a lemon wedge so everyone else can squeeze the wedge over the dahl to taste. As I made the full recipe but wasn't serving it all straight away (eating alone tonight) I just stirred a few spoonfuls of the yoghurt into the dahl in my bowl and squeezed the lemon over. It was just the right amount and was lovely. I feel that soup can spoil if left or reheated with yoghurt already stirred through. Yum!

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Piri Piri Chicken with Toasted Garlic Quinoa and Sauteed Vegetables

I saw a lovely looking recipe on the fabulous The Cozy Apron blog!

This dish was based on this lovely recipe.

I made a few changes to the recipe for my version.

I used chicken stock instead of water to cook the quinoa which gave it a lovely flavour.

I oven roasted the chicken breast and seasoned it with Piri Piri spice.

I sautéed the veggies with sesame oil rather than olive oil, and used garlic, spinach, ribbon cut courgettes and fresh red chilli!

Oh and I had it on a plate and not in a bowl ;)

This dish was gorgeous! Will definitely be making this one again.

Yum!

H x

[inommedthis]

Wild Rice & Mixed Bean Salad

This is based on a Slimming World recipe from The Little Book of Lunches.

Its really easy to make and keeps well in the fridge for a few days.

250g dried basmati & wild rice 400g can mixed beans 400g can chickpeas 4 spring onions 2 tomatoes 1 orange or yellow pepper 1 red chilli lemon

Cook the rice according to the packet instructions, and then rinse with cold water when cooked to cool it down and get rid of any starchiness.

Drain and rinse the mixed beans of chickpeas. Add the rice to a large bowl and mix in the beans and chickpeas.

Finely slice the spring onions and chilli. Dice the tomatoes and pepper. Stir all this into the rice and bean mixture. Season with salt & pepper.

To serve, squeeze over some fresh lemon juice.

I often have this with some feta cheese, and sometimes add some ham or chicken.

The recipe makes 4-5 servings, and is FREE on Slimming World on Extra Easy, and you can use the feta as a healthy extra "a" choice. 

Yum!

H x

[inommedthis]

I made a thing! And the thing was good.

Morrocan Stew with Cous Cous.

I made this with chicken and used chicken stock, but this can very easily be made into a veggie dish by leaving out the chicken (or using Quorn pieces) and using vegetable stock instead!

Ingredients: 1 tbsp olive oil 2 garlic cloves, crushed 1 large onion, diced 2 large skinless chicken breasts, diced 1 small butternut squash, diced 1 red pepper, diced 50g (1/4 cup) dried apricots 1 courgette, diced 400g can of chickpeas (drained) 1 tsp cumin 1 tsp tumeric 1 tsp cinnamon 1 1/2 pints (4 cups) chicken stock 200g plain cous cous

Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan. Add the chicken and cook for 3-4 minutes until lightly browned.

Turn the heat to medium and add the garlic and onion. Cook for another 2-3 minutes, then add the turmeric, cumin and cinnamon. Cook for another minute to let the flavours of the spices come out.

Add the squash, apricots and red pepper and stir. Cook with the lid on for 10 mins, stirring occasionally.

Add the courgette, chickpeas and stock and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 20-25 minutes until the veggies are tender.

Meanwhile prepare the cous cous. In a large bowl add the cous cous. Add 250ml boiling water and give it a quick stir. Cover the bowl with cling film and leave for 5 minutes. Remove the cling film and fluff up the cous cous with a fork.

Serve the stew over the cous cous, et voila! Noms away.

This recipe made enough for 4 good servings. Of which I have had 2!

Yum!

H x

[inommedthis]

I think I’ve found a new favourite snack!

I’ve been looking for something tasty and crunchy to go with my cup of tea of an afternoon, as whilst the rest of the office are raiding the tuck shop and chomping on bags of Walkers and McCoys, I’ve been feeling a bit left out.

Popped to Morrisons on Sunday, and spotted these little orange beauties!

NUME Carrot Crisps! At only 79 calories for a 20g bag, they’re a really nice low-fat alternative to normal crisps. They are also only 2 Weight Watchers Pro Points per pack, or 3 1/2 syns on Slimming World.

They’re quite sweet in flavour, but still quite carroty and just savoury enough to feel like you’re eating crisps.

Only 70p a bag, or 2 for £1 (they have apple and beetroot varieties as well).

Yum.

H x