Apple & Courgette Bread

Apple & Courgette bread on the menu today. This cakey-loaf is light and moist and the perfect accompaniment to a cup of tea. Nice on it's own, or even better when served with a little low fat butter on top. The loaf will keep perfectly for a couple of days if stored in an airtight container or biscuit tin.

English Muffins

English Muffins on the menu today! English muffins are small white bread-like rolls that are delicious when toasted. Ideal with sweet or savoury toppings they are a great alternative to regular bread and are great for lunch.

Pineapple Salsa

This pineapple salsa is light and refreshing and goes great served along side grilled fish, gammon or chicken. 

Alternatively you can mix the prepared salsa into some cooked couscous or rice to make a more substantial side dish. Adding blanched broccoli or cauliflower, or cooked chicken or prawns, could easily turn it into a main course.

The basic salsa mix can be made in advance and refrigerated until you need to use it. 

Saffron & Pine Nut Pilaf

Pilaf is an Indian style of cooking where seasoned rice is simmered gently allowing the flavour to infuse. Ideal as a side dish that would go great with grilled chicken or fish, you could also turn it into a main meal by adding some cooked chicken or prawns or keep it veggie by adding dried raisins and cooked peas.

The toasted pine nuts in the dish go very well with the rice and add additional texture. Toasted mixed nuts, flaked almonds or even pumpkin seeds would all work as substitutes.

Lentil Dahl

Lentil Dahl is a simple Indian dish made with lentils, onion, garlic and ginger delicately spiced with cumin, coriander, turmeric, cinnamon and cayenne. It goes very well as a side dish with grilled fish, chicken or meat. 

Alternatively, you could add some additional cooked veg such as steamed broccoli or cauliflower or some cooked prawns or smoked fish to the dahl to make a main meal.

Wholemeal Bread

A bit of baking on the menu today! This wholemeal bread recipe is kept light by using a mixture of white and wholemeal flour.

While perfect for finger sandwiches, it's a good idea to have some soup in the house when baking this loaf as it's simply perfect for dunking!

Sesame Egg Fried Noodles

Egg fried noodles are a big favourite from the takeaway, but can contain lots of oils and calories. This recipe uses spray oil to keep the calories down, but still retains the traditional taste.f

This dish can easily be padded out with additional veg such as blanched broccoli, asparagus or mange tout to make it go a bit further. You can also add cooked chicken, prawns or ham. 

Potato Rosti

Potato rostis are a great alternative to mashed or boiled potatos. They go great with chicken or fish and can be impressive if entertaining.

The secret to making great rostis is to remove as much liquid as possible from the potato onion mix and not poking around too much when it's in the pan! 

Fajita Seasoning

Most of the large supermarkets offer fajita seasoning packets. Many are quite expensive and tend to contain lots of salt and flavour enhancers to make them last longer. This simple mix tastes great and can be kept in an airtight container for a couple of weeks.

The mix is just sprinkled over cubed chicken and fried with peppers and onions to make  fajitas. Add a little boiling water to the pan when the veg and chicken are cooked. This can be served with Wholemeal Wraps or Flour Tortillas or over Brown Rice. 

Focaccia Bread

Italian Focaccia bread on the menu today. This classic Italian flat bread is a lighter alternative to garlic bread. It combines the great Italian flavours of roasted tomatoes and fresh rosemary.

Focaccia bread is an ideal accompaniment to almost any Italian dish, but works very well when there's lots of sauce to be mopped up!

It's hard to pin down what Focaccia actually means in Italian. It seems to relate to the word 'centre' though. Let me know if you know better!

Wholemeal Wraps

Wholemeal wraps on the menu today! When trying to loose weight, wholemeal options are the best ones to chose. Wholemeal bread, pasta or cereals are better for you, fill you up more and keep you full for longer.

These wraps are kept on the light side by using low fat milk and only one teaspoon of olive oil. They are great served with some cooked chicken, lettuce and a little low fat mayo.

Wholemeal Pitta Breads

A little baking today with these delicious wholemeal pittas! As I've mentioned in previous posts, wholemeal options are the best way to go when trying to loose weight or just eat healthier. 

These pittas are a great alternative to bread when making lunches. They would also go great with Kofta Kebabs or Chicken Kebabs.

Oriental Dipping Sauce

This oriental sauce is a fantastic accompaniment for Chinese starters. The classic combination of soy, sesame, spring onion and lime work great together.

The sauce is perfect to serve in dipping bowls with Oriental Meatballs, Vegetable Spring Rolls or Wontons.

It would also work well poured over boiled/steamed rice or instant noodles. Alternatively  drizzled over mixed lettuce leaves as a quick Asian salad. 

Sweetcorn Fritters

These sweetcorn fritters are a light savoury pancake that would work well as a starter or a great lunch. Alternatively, you could make two larger fritters for a main meal or to accompany some grilled chicken or fish.

The basic batter is the same as my Buckwheat Crepes recipe. Using half buckwheat flour keeps the fritters on the light side. You could add more veg such as chopped spring onion or chopped peppers to make them go a bit further. Alternatively, you could add a little low fat cheese or even some cooked chicken or ham.

Low Calorie Pesto

Pesto is the classic Italian mix of fresh basil, pine nuts, parmesan, garlic and olive oil. To cut back on the calories, this recipe uses stock instead of olive oil, but it still retains all the flavour.

Fantastic stirred into pasta, it's also great added to sandwiches or a topping for a baked potato. 

Roast Potatoes

Oven roasted potatoes are great alternative to mash. This recipe is kept on the lighter side by using a little olive oil to get them started and spray oil to crisp them up.

Fantastic with chicken, beef or lamb roasties are an essential part of any Sunday roast dinner.

Parsnip Puree

Parsnips are a great veg that are often overlooked when planning accompaniments for a meal. Often included in supermarket special offers, they are cheaper, contain more vitamins and have more fibre than their glamourous, ubiquitous counterpart; carrots.

In this recipe, the parsnips are steamed first, locking in their sweetness and vitamins and then pureed in a little vegetable stock to form a creamy consistency. They would be a great, lower carb, alternative to regular potato mash.

Ideal with roast chicken or fish, pureed parsnips would also go great with a Sunday Roast with other veg on the side.

Potato Gnocchi

Potato gnocchi are Italian dumplings that work as a fantastic alternative to pasta. Made using mashed potato, they are a great way to use up any left over mash. They are delicious with a little grated parmesan or with your favourite pasta sauce.

My previous Sun Dried Tomato Mash or basic Mashed Potato (with two teaspoons of olive oil added) would both work great for this recipe.

When planning this post, I did look up what the word gnocchi meant in English, hoping it would be some delightful Italian shape; It means 'lumps'!

Sun Dried Tomato Mash

Sun dried tomatoes are a great stand by item that can be kept in the store cupboard.

In this recipe, they are simply chopped up and soaked in a little olive oil and seasoning, then mixed with creamy mash. 

This mash is fantastic with any grilled fish such as John Dory or would go great will grilled meat or chicken.

Garlic Roasted Potato & Butternut Squash

Winter's back! It was getting nice for a few days there but we knew it wouldn't last. Wrap up warm and  banish any residual winter blues with this delicious veggie dish!

Potatoes and butternut squash gently roasted in garlic and herbs is a great accompaniment to grilled chicken or fish. The veg can be left chunky or alternatively can be mashed with a little low fat milk and butter for a creamier consistency.