Yep I'm here with yet another soup, once upon a time I dreamt of running a soup kitchen, you can maybe see why. But at this time of year you can't beat a good filling soup. I like to make soups which are super free, giving your weight loss a boost. I will sometimes have some crab sticks or ham on the side my healthy extra b, I particularly like the swedish Krisprolls that you can have 3 of. If Im being really good I up the super free again and use crudities, celery, carrots, little gem lettuce leaves.

In this recipe you roast the cauliflower first and produces a really rich, deeply flavoured soup. I like to add some quark at the end too (partly because I cant get enough of  the stuff) as it makes it lovely and creamy but also adds a slightly sharp edge which I think works really well.

Ingredients

• 1 head of Cauliflower
• 1 Onion roughly chopped
• 4 cloves of Garlic, unpeeled
• Chicken Stock Pot
• Bay Leaf
• 1tsp Black Pepper Corns
• Quark/Greek Yogurt (optional)

Method

1. Pre heat the oven to Gas Mark 6. Break the cauliflower into florets place on a roasting tray with the onion and garlic, spray with fry light and roast for 20-30 mins. Until nicely roasted but not too dark.
2. Transfer the contents of the tray to a pan, squeeze the garlic out of its skin
3. Add hot water to an inch or so over the veg and add the stock pot, bay leaf and black pepper corns. Bring to the boil and then simmer gently for 10 minutes.
4. Remove the bay leaf and some of the pepper corns (or leave them all in if you like a good pepper kick like me!) and blend, adding hot water if you want, till you reach your desired consistency.
5. Dish out into bowls and dollop on a big spoonful of quark or greek yogurt on top and stir through.

So it would appear I get a little obsessive with my food and when I find something new I like, I eat it a lot! This summer's new obsession may sound a little odd but trust me its amazing, char grilled lettuce, in fact char grilled anything. This method of cooking brings out all the natural sweetness in the vegetable, and the lettuce is both soft and crunchy at the same time. It seems to work for pretty much most vegetables too, purple sprouting broccoli being another favourite.

It is a very versatile dish and I have eaten this in on its own, with grilled meats such as in the picture, with poached eggs or some broad beans thrown in for a protein punch. I have also tossed through some chopped chives, parsley and fresh mint which is particularly tasty.

Being as the summer still seems to be clinging on and we've still got our short sleeves out I'm going to make the most of this delicious sun filled dinner.

Ingredients

• Baby Gem Lettuce, washed and quartered
• Courgette, sliced lengthwise
• Red onion, sliced into wedges
• Red/yellow pepper, sliced thickly
• Salt and Pepper
• Lemon juice

Method

1. Get your griddle pan sizzling hot.
2. Spray the veg with fry light and sprinkle over the salt and pepper. Put the peppers and courgettes in the pan in a single layer. Turn them once they are nicely charred.
3. Remove to a large wide salad bowl or plate and add the onion to the griddle. Char nicely on both sides and set aside. If the pan seems to be a bit dry spray some more fry light.
4. Add the lettuce quarters straight to the griddle and char on each side for a few minutes. It doesn't take too long.
5. Mix all the veg together and squeeze over the lemon juice and any seasoning or fresh herbs to taste.

Whilst I am loving the whole array of gorgeous food you can make on slimming world there's one thing I really miss and that's baking. I love baking. Cakes, biscuits, bread, oh my God bread, I just adore it all! The wonderful alchemy of taking your mixing your ingredients and transforming them into the divine through the power of the oven.

I also love baking with my children. I love watching the joy on their faces as they get covered in flour and how the eat their way to their 5 a day before their wares even make it to the oven. As I have 2 very active pre schoolers I am quite conscious about giving the boys too much 'diet' food and like to keep food as natural as possible. Many slimming world recipes are quite artificial so i wanted to come up with something we could both enjoy. Fibre however is all good, especially for my eldest, so I thought Id try and modify some of the scan bran recipes. Im very pleased with the result, i almost cant believe how good they are!

One thing I would say though is do make the topping if you can. I've found it really makes the difference with these scan bran bakes as they can be quite dense and a bit dry (mine at least). Sinking your teeth through a luscious layer of soft sweet frosting really makes the whole thing feel so much more decadent. I did use sweetener but did use stevia which is supposed to be more natural.

Scan Bran Muffins.
Makes 6 - 2 Syns Each

• 5 Scan Bran/Oat Bran (6 syns)
• 1 tsp Mixed Spice
• 1 tsp Ground Ginger
• 2 tsp Cinnamon
• 2 large Carrots, grated
• 28g Raisins (4 syns)
• 2 tsp Honey (2 syns)
• 1/2 lemon, zested
• 2 Eggs, separated

Frosting

• 1 tub Quark
• Zest of 1/2 a Lemon
• Sweetener to taste
1. Pre heat the oven to Gas Mark 5
2. Blitz the scan bran on pulse in a food processor as finely as you can. 
3. In a large mixing bowl mix the scan bran, spices, grated carrot, egg yolks, raisins, honey and lemon zest.
4. In a separate bowl, whisk the egg whites to soft peaks and gently fold them into mix with a metal spoon.
5. Spoon the mixture into a greased muffin tray and bake for 25 or until a skewer comes out clean when inserted. Leave to cool on a wire rack.
6. Beat together the quark, lemon and sweetener and top each muffin generously!



NB. If you don't have a food processor many people soften their scan bran with boiling water. The most successful method of this I've found is to just cover the whole sheets with boiling water for 1 minute and then drain as much water off as possible and break up with a fork.

For a speedier version you can just put the beat the eggs straight in together instead of separating them. Then cook them in the microwave in a non metallic container for around 6 mins then take them out turn them upside down downsize for another couple of minutes. They're a little but denser this way but still tasty.
 

I have to say cooking this dish made me very happy! My mum is German and although you might not think it Germany has amazing food.  Food is so connected to memories and all my trips to visit my grandparents are wrapped up in the gorgeous delights my grandma would serve up daily. She was a tremendous cook and my mum still marvels at what she created each and every day from scratch. From gorgeous Pretzels, schnitzels and sausages to fantastic breads and cakes Germany is all about the food!


This was one of mine and my brother's favourite Sunday dinners as we were growing up and was often picked a birthday treat. As my grandma isn't with us any more and my mum and I live miles away this dish is a great way of feeling connected to my family and my roots.

The original dish isn't very slimming world friendly but one day I decided I needed a touch of home so set about tweaking. I was so pleased with the result it was almost as good as the real thing. Although nothing, not even my mum's, quite comes up to my grandma's I was a very happy woman as I sat down to eat this little piece of nostalgia. I was happy to take the syns as it was such a treat. I did also add a few extra to have gravy but it was totally worth it!

The Schnitzels are usually coated in breadcrumbs and then fried. Its not good frying them in frylight (believe me I've tried!) as the breadcrumbs need quite a lot of hot oil to become crunchy and delicious. I have made the sw scotch eggs a couple of times and was really impressed with how the instant mash potato worked so I thought I'd give them a whirl. I also found a rosemary connelly recipe on line for baked pork escalope (basically the same thing) and replaced the breadcrumbs with the instant mash. I know there is a bit of a debate around using instant mash in other ways. I have synned them here but you could also use your hex b bread and it would be free. 

The potato salad is also one of my favourites. Its different from an English potato salad as it uses a vinaigrette dressing rather than mayonnaise. It was really easy to convert this so a slimming world recipe as I just replaced the oil with a spray or 2 of frylight.

Serves 4
Syns 2.5 syns inc gravy.

Schnitzels 

4 lean Pork steaks

1 Egg beaten

1/2 pack Instant Mash Potato

Potato Salad

1 bag Salad Potatoes 

1 Onion finely diced

1 tbsp dried Dill

1 tbsp White Wine

Salt and Pepper

Frylight

Cucumber Salad

1 cucumber diced or grated

White wine vinegar

Salt and Pepper

Lemon, sliced to serve.

Tagliatelli pasta

1. Boil the potatoes whole in their skins until cooked but still firm. Drain and refresh under cold water and allow to cool.
2. Once cold enough to hold peel the potatoes and slice as thinly as possible into a large salad bowl.
3. Add the finely diced onion, dill, vinegar and salt and pepper and mix.
4. Add a good tablespoon of hot water and mix again. (This takes the edge of the raw onions).
5. Add a couple of sprays of frylight, cover and leave to allow the flavours to develop.
6. Heat the oven to Gas Mark 6, 200C. Take the pork steaks and remove any visable fat then beat with a meat tenderiser or a rolling pin to flatten out.
7. Dip the steaks first in the beaten egg then in the instant mash potato and make sure it is well coated.
8. Place on a baking tray sprayed with fry light and bake towards the top of the oven for 20-25 minutes till golden brown and cooked through.
9. Whilst the pork is in the oven mix the cucumber with the vinegar and seasoning. Again you could add dill if you wanted a bit more. If it's a tad sharp for your liking add a small amount of sweetner.
10. To serve add slices of fresh lemon on top of the schnitzel and give them a sqeeze. Traditionally it would be served with a German egg noodle called spätzle but I used tagliatelli pasta. I also added a gravy made with a knorr gravy pot at 2 1/2 syns for the whole batch.

This weeks challenge at group was to have at least 5 super speed foods a day. To be honest we probably do this anyway but always good to make an extra effort.

I think the key to keeping salads interesting is to always have a couple of ingredients that you really like or that are a bit unusual. I love water chestnuts and bamboo shoots and they work just as well raw so adding them to this salad makes me a happy bunny.

This is the super lazy version, obviously you can chop what ever veg you like.

Ingredients

1 pack ready chopped stir fry including bean sprouts, bamboo shoots and water chestnuts

Ready to eat prawns

Dressing

1 tblsp soy sauce

1tblsp dark rice vinegar

1 clove of garlic finely grated

Small piece of ginger grated.

Fresh coriander coursely chopped.

Syn Free on Red or EE.

Mix the all the ingredients for the dressing together. Give it a good shake and leave for as long as you have.

Plate up the stir fry and scatter over prawns, then drizzle dressing over the top.

That's it, really that simple and soooo tasty. Obviously you can play with it however you like. I often use cooked chicken with it or even crab sticks as you find them quite a lot in Asian food. You could add some soya beans instead of prawns if you wanted to go veggie. I also sometimes add a squeeze of line over it too.

This salad is great for work too as the dressing improves with a bit of a rest just keep it separate to the veg. Maybe not before any big meetings though as the garlic and ginger pack a punch!

There were many things thrown into my day that I thought might send me off track so I though to focus myself I'd get a bit creative in the kitchen.

These muffins, based on the curry load recipe are one of my favourite slimming world recipes. Simple and very tasty! the real beauty of these is they're so adaptable. You can chuck in lots of different veggies and herbs and spices depending on what you have in. I particularly like a spoon of mango chutney for 1 syn.

I have called these 'round the world' muffins as rather than sticking with an Indian theme I have added some of my favourite flavours from all over.

I love the Asda chick pea Dahl it tastes fab and has a nice little kick. I prefer to use the the Mexican rice as I like the zestier flavours. I always add nigella seeds too as I really love them, they make me think of naan bread so that is always good! I also added a few different bits and bobs that I had in.

Free on EE/green

Ingredients

1 tin chick pea Dahl

1 packet Batchelors Mexican rice

2 eggs, beaten

1 red pepper

1tbsp nigella seeds

2 small preserved lemons

1tbsp fresh dill

1. Pre heat the oven to gas mark 5. Cook the rice according to the instruction on the packet.
2. In a large bowl mix the cooked rice with the Dahl and the eggs.
3. Add in the other ingredients and mix well.
4. Pour into a muffin tray sprayed with fry light. Bake for 35-40 minutes. Love to cool in the tin for for 5 mins then turn out and finish cooling in a wire rack.

Had a bit of a Ready Steady Cook moment this morning and came up with this rather tasty brunch. I've had this this tin of refried beans in the cupboard for ages and have been wondering what to do with it so I thought I'd do a slightly different take in egg and beans for breakfast. It would also be nice I think on a toasty b free wrap as a healthy extra.

Ingredients.

1 tin Disovery refried beans

1/2 clove Garlic

1/2 Red Onion

Cherry Tomato

Red Pepper

Chopped Halepeneos

Coriander

1/2 lime

Smoked paprika

2 eggs

1. First make the salsa topping. Finely chop the garlic and onions. Add as many chopped cherry tomatoes, red peppers, halepeneos and corriander as you like (all superfree and fantastic!) and mix. Add the lime juice, a sprinkle of smoked paprika and season. Set aside to let the flavours develop.
2. Heat the beans as directed on the tin.
3. Fry the eggs in frylight.
4. Top the beans with the salsa and then the fried eggs. Sprinkle with a little more coriander and serve.

I'm so excited about this rice recipe I just had to share. I did it the other week to have with kebabs and I loved it so much I could have just eaten a plateful of the rice!

I was thinking of the gorgeous rice you get at our local Turkish restaurant so I looked up the recipe. Obviously it used butter and oil but I replaced them with fry light and butter fry light, life savers!

Turkish rice is often a little like pilaf and has different ingredients like pasta or chickpeas. For this recipe I used broken up vermicelli.

Spray the pan with both fry lights and toast the broken vermicelli till they gently brown, then add the rice and fry that for a minute or so. Then add chicken stock made from a stock pot, my rule of thumb is add enough water to cover the rice by about a thumbnail. Bring it to the boil and let it simmer gentle for a couple of minutes then turn it off and keep the lid on the pan leave if for 10-15 minutes to absorb all the liquid. Once it's been absorbed take the lid off and gently fork through the rice. And that's it!! Its really that simple and so delicious.

I served it with roast chicken thighs (skin removed and sprayed with BBQ fry light) and a take on tabuleh. I'll post the recipe for that tomorrow. Yum just like being on holiday!

NB. You can add even more goodness to it by adding a 1/2 tin of chickpeas before the stock. Authentic and delicious.

Hello again. Well it's been a little while since I posted. I've been suffering a bit from lack of mojo but my head seems to be back in the game now!

This is my favourite breakfast at the moment. It's basically the same as the breakfast cous cous but using super grain quinoa. I'd read a lot about quinoa and how good it is for you but never had it. Although it smells a bit 'earthy' whilst cooking it actually tastes really nice. It's got a nutty crunchy popping bite to it that I really like. I still haven't done anything savoury with it yet as I normally eat it all up at breakfast.

I cook up double portions so its super quick the next day. You could always cook it the night before and keep it in the fridge till the morning.

This is a nice alternative to using up your b choice at breakfast and keeps you full right up till lunch.

Ingredients

Favourite fruit, chopped.(I use watermelon, kiwi, thawed mixed frozen berries)

2 tbsp Quinoa

Fat free yogurt (I like to use a fruity muller light or if I'm beig really virtuous plain Greek yogurt)

Instructions

1. Cook the quinoa according to the instructions on the packet. I boil mine in plenty of water for about 15 till the grains have seprated and you see the little squiggly bits.
2. Put the fruit in a large bowl add quinoa and top with yogurt. Mix it all together and devour.

Hello well it's been a while since I last posted, I've been busy having birthdays and keeping my little people entertained. I thought I'd do a little post about some of the things I'm loving at the moment. It's not just recipes that can help you on your journey. So here a few of my recent favourite things.

First off I am love, love, loving these fabulous little pasta noodles that I found in the Asda world foods section (I adore world food shopping you could loose me for hours in a good shop.). I have always loved chicken noodle soup, tinned or in packets, but struggled to find the right noodle for the job. Spaghetti wasn't right nor the Chinese egg noodles but these little beauties are just the job! So quick and easy to throw into anything to bulk it up, especially on hungry days. I made a chicken noodle soup that was actually better than the packet the other day and both my toddler and I slurped up every last bit. (Recipe coming soon!)

Next up this delightful herbal tea is making my post child bedtime relax even more blissful. I adore chai and its warm spicy goodness however the real drink is usually made with condensed milk (yum) and a lot of the instant versions also contain milk and sugars so therefore syns. These beauties have all the delicious flavours and aromas but are totally free. And whilst many herbal/fruit teas smell delicious but fail to deliver on taste these pack a tasty punch too. I'm a 'leave the bag in' sort of girl and like to add a splash if milk to make it a little more authentic.

Still on the drinks theme, this was featured in a slimming world magazine a couple of months ago and caught my eye. I'm always keen to cut out as much artificial sweetener as possible but many alternatives are quite high in syns. This bottle of gooey chocolatey delight is only 1/2 a teaspoon! And whilst they recommend 4 tsp for a cup that's still only 2 syns the same as an options. You do have to make the hot chocolate with milk obviously from your allowance or synned but I have been using the unsweetened almond milk lately which you get loads of and gives an interesting nutty flavour or I did half hot water and then topped up with milk.

It's also very versatile you can squidge a bit on your fruit salad, splurge it in your porridge, dollop it on pancakes (and even eat it on its own off the spoon, not that I do honest!). Just make sure you measure your splats and splurges so you have the right syns.

The kids love it too and it's so nice to know its not full of nasties. You can buy it in most of the major supermarkets by the other hot chocolate drinks. It's quite expensive but does seem to last quite well. Definite new favourite in this house with everyone!

And last but not least although my little milk jug up there at the top. I've done this with a few things now and I think presentation can be key sometimes. I bought myself this lovely little milk jug (50p from a car boot) so I can measure out my daily milk allownace and know that I'm not going over. My semi skimmed allowance just fits in here and I make sure I use it all day. I have found its easier to pour the milk in smaller amounts and seems to make it go further than when pouring from big bottles. It also looks lovely and makes me feel all ladylike (something I don't feel terribly often).

I did this with my wine glass and diner plate too, I bought a small pretty onea so I felt I was having a full portion rather than half a plate or a dribble at the bottom. It's all in the mind! Hxx

It's the craze that's sweeping slimming world groups across the country. Everyone love Macdonalds right, but with whopping syn counts you can't really justify them. Well here's the answer the now legendary Big Mac in a Bowl.

It's a bit of a paradox as it sounds so wrong but tastes so right. I was sceptical at first but after hearing so many people at group rave about it I thought I had to try it for myself. You have to do a bit of prep and make sure you have the ingredients in but it's definitely worth it! Truly a convert for those days when you crave a junk food hit.

Ingredients

Extra lean mice

Chopped onion

Hex a cheese slices (I used 3 low low cheesey burger slices)

Gurkins

Lettuce Shredded

Reduce fat thousand island dressing (I used Kraft low fat 1 syn per tblsp)

Fry off the mince and onion in a pan sprayed with fry light until cooked and all the water has evaporated about 10 mins.

Mix in 2 of the slices of cheese, roughly chopped and stir until melted in a bit.

Add the gurkins, and shredded lettuce and thousand island dressing stir till combined and serve.

I served it with Sw chips and salad and pinched the idea of using a piece of lettuce as the bowl. Made it look a bit posher.

Enjoy!

There has been a lot of trauma at my group recently as one of the favourite sweet treats was discovered to be much higher in syns than we thought.

Morrisons instant 'angel delight' whip was a very popular choice as it appeared they worked out at just 2.5 syns for a full packet if you used the milk from allowance. Sadly new packaging revealed the Syns are more like 10!!

I quite enjoyed one of these whips once the boys were in bed as my treat for getting through the day. What I like is the fluffy, airy, 'bubblyness' of the whip. I had tried a few if the quark creamy desserts and although nice weren't quite right.

I researched a bit into mousses and whips and the secret ingredient seemed to be whipped egg whites so I have it a go and I was rather pleased!

White Chocolate and Passion Fruit Whip 2 1/2 syns all plans.

NB This recipe contains raw eggs so is not recommended for the elderly, young, pregnant ladies or those with reduced immunity.

Ingredients

Half a tub Quark

2 tbls Greek Yogurt

1 sachet White Chocolate Options

Sweetener to taste

1 tsp Lemon peel grated

1 Egg White

1 Passion Fruit

1. Whisk the quark and Greek yogurt together and add the options, lemon peel and sweetener to taste.
2. Whisk the egg whites to stiff peaks and fold into the quark mixture with a metal spoon till well mixed, light and fluffy.
3. Top with the passion fruit and stir through carefully and enjoy!

I have also done a chocolate whip using Belgian Chocolate options and without the lemon. Then topped with frozen berries. There are that many flavours of options you could enjoy loads if different whips!

I've spoken about my German roots before but I didn't actually have sauerkraut until I was in my twenties, introduced to it by a German friend of mine. My family never really went in for the pickled cabbage but I absolutely love it. My friend used to bring me back packs every time she went home but now with all the European supermarkets and world food isles proper sauerkraut is available everywhere. The polish version largely available can be slightly sharper than the German version so I add a sprinkling of sweetener if its too much. Sauerkraut is really good for you and I always remember Gillian Mckeith doaling it out to anyone who liked a drink so I guess it's good for your liver.

This is how I first had sauerkraut and its still the best. Traditionally it would be served with some gorgeous wurst or hot dog but I use the frozen low fat quorn sausages, making the whole meal totally free! I like to cook the sausages in the sauerkraut so they are more like frankfurters.

Ingredients

One packet/jar sauerkraut

1 Vegetable stock cube

Tbsp Dill

tsp Peppercorns

1-2 Bay leaves torn.

Quorn sausages

Bovril

Mash

tsp Squeezy mustard (1/2 syn optional)

1. Put the sauerkraut in a pan and cover with hot water.
2. Add the stock cube, dill, pepper corns and Bay leaves. Stir well.
3. Bring to the boil over a medium heat and then reduce to a simmer. Taste and add a bit of sweetener if you think it needs it.
4. Add the quorn sausages to the sauerkraut and make sure they are well submerged. Return to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes or until the sausages are cooked through.
5. Serve with SW friendly mash, I like to use a bit of yogurt in mine if I've used my milk up, bovril gravy and I love a splodge of bright yellow hot dog mustard on the side.

Told you I like my Thai flavours so here's another one. A great way of using up the thai ingredients you've bought for other dishes. This is totally free, warming and of course totally tasty! This is a great lunch especially if you're trying to do a bit of success express as its just superfree ingredients.

Serves 2-4 Free Red Green EE

Ingredients

1 onion roughly chopped
3 cloves of garlic roughly chopped
1 medium butternut squash peeled and diced
2 carrots peeled and sliced
1 stalk lemon grass finely chopped
2" piece of ginger, peeled and sliced
Chicken or Vegetable stock
1 red large red chilli sliced (deseeded if you want a less heat)
Fish sauce
Juice of 1 lime
Good handful Thai basil (Optional but really give it an authentic touch)

1. Soften the onions in frylight for a couple of minutes then add the garlic.
2. Add the butternut squash and carrots and stir.
3. Add the stock to well cover the vegetables and a good dash of .
4. Add the lemon grass, ginger, and chilli and bring to the boil. Simmer until the vegetables are soft and tender.
5. Blend the soup to your desired consistency. Add more liquid if to thick. Add the thai basil and simmer for another 5 minutes.
6. Take of the heat and stir through the lime juice.
7. Garnish with a couple more thai basil leaves to serve.