Country Potato Salad

This potato salad is deliciously creamy and full of flavour, it is fab as a side dish, for a picnic, with a green salad, it is so versatile!!
It isn't syn free but it is so much better than any shop bought potato salad.
The amount of ingredients that i used made enough for 6 servings. The whole dish was only 4.5 syns on extra easy, so split that between 6 and it's next to nothing, and so worth it!!!!

Ingredients

2 lb new potatoes boiled until cooked and cooled
3 hard boiled eggs chopped
3 rashes of bacon with all the fat removed, fried and chopped
3 or 4 spring onions chopped
7 tbsp lighter than light mayonnaise
3 tbsp fat free natural yogurt
2 tsp wholegrain mustard
10 basil leaves chopped
salt and pepper to taste

Method

In a large bowl mix together the yogurt, mayonnaise, wholegrain mustard, salt and pepper, and basil. The gentle stir in the rest of the ingredients, being careful not to break them up. let them rest in the fridge for 30 minutes for all the flavours to infuse.

One Pan Brunch

If you don't want a lot of cleaning up and fancy a fry up this dish is just for you!!
I used 2 syns in this dish on the sausages. I used weight watcher sausages at ½ syn each.
But if you want it syn free just leave out the sausages. You can put whatever you want into it.

Ingredients

4 low fat sausages halved
6 rashers bacon with all the fat cut off
8oz mushrooms sliced
12 cherry tomatoes halved
2 eggs

Method

In a large pan sprayed with frylight cook the sausages, remove and set aside, fry the bacon remove cut in half and set aside, Fry the mushrooms until golden, add the tomatoes and return the sausages and bacon. fry for 1 minute then crack in the eggs, fry until they turn white then pop under a grill to cook the top to your liking.

Roasted Vegetable Tortilla

I first made this dish to take on a picnic, it went down so well unfortunately there was no left overs.

Now i make it for all occasions also i have it for lunch, dinner, brunch, and even breakfast, it even makes a great snack.

It tastes great hot or cold. It is jam packed full of superfree and you can use whatever veggies you like.

Best of all it is synfree on extra easy!!

This one was made in a 20cm frying pan and depending how hungry or greedy like myself you are will serve 6 to 8 people.

Preheat oven 200c, 400f, gas mark 5

Ingredients

1lb maris piper or any waxy potato diced

8oz cremini mushrooms quartered

1 red pepper diced

1 onion diced

1 small sweet potato diced

1 garlic clove minced

6 eggs whisked

1 tsp Italian seasoning

salt and pepper

Method

Whisk together the egg garlic and salt and pepper, set aside.

On a large baking tray sprayed with frylight spread out all the vegetables so they are in a single layer, spray with more frylight and sprinkle with the Italian seasoning. Bake in the oven for 30 minutes or until golden, tossing them half way through.

Transfer all the veggies to an oven proof frying pan or dish and pour over the egg mixture, bake in the oven for about 15 minutes or until the egg is set.

Delicious with a big salad with a balsamic vinegar dressing.

Spanish Hash

I love this dish, it is so versatile and goes with anything or just great by itself. Yet again another comforting dish!!
The cheese is optional, i used my healthy A or you can syn it. You can add anything you want to this, maybe some peppers, mushrooms or onions, as i said so versatile.
Best of all, all this flavour is syn free on extra easy!!

I also discovered that the tomato sauce, is great cold as a ketchup, my son loves ketchup, but this he couldn't get in his mouth quick enough, and the plus side is it's home-made so you know exactly what's in it and it's better for you.
Just keep it in the fridge.

Pre heat oven 200c, 400f, gas mark 5

This dish served 2 but were greedy.

Ingredients

1lb potatoes peeled if desired then cubed

4 eggs

60g goats cheese (optional)

Sauce Ingredients

1 onion chopped

4 cloves garlic chopped

1 red chilli chopped

1 tsp Italian seasoning

1 tin tomatoes

1 tbsp red wine vinegar

salt and pepper

Method

Spray a baking tray with frylight then lay out the potatoes and season and spray again. Roast in the oven for 30 minutes until golden, tossing and spraying half way through.

While the potatoes cook make the sauce.

In a blender blitz the onion, garlic and chilli. Fry in a pan sprayed with frylight for 2 minutes, then stir in the rest of the ingredients. Simmer for 15 minutes until the sauce has thickened to you liking. Then put it all back into the blender and blitz until smooth.

Pour into a seal-able container, you won't need all of it for this dish.

In a large oven proof pan, pour in the cooked potatoes, pour over as much sauce as you require, make 4 holes and crack in the eggs, add the cheese if using, then bake in the oven until the eggs are cooked to your liking, and serve. I served mine with Grilled chicken and a green salad.

Gammon, Hash Omelette

I cooked a gammon joint in the slow cooker and it came out amazing, i added nothing to it, just the joint and cooked it on low for 8 hours.
It was used for snacks, sandwiches, salads and this delicious omelette.
It is syn free on extra easy.

Ingredients

3 eggs beaten
salt and pepper
200g cooked gammon chopped
250g mushrooms chopped
½ onion diced
½ cup jalapeños
1 tsp Cajun seasoning

Method

In a frying pan sprayed with butter frylight, fry the onions and mushrooms until golden, season with salt and pepper, add the Cajun seasoning, fry for 1 minute, add the gammon and fry for 1 minute. Pour over the egg cook for 2 minutes, then place under a grill until just cooked through, and serve.

Scotch Eggs

Perfect for breakfast, lunch, a picnic or snacks, low syns, but that all depends on the sausages you use.
I used Tesco's cumberland low fat sausages for these, it took 1.5 sausages to wrap the egg, so it worked out at 1.5 syns each.
I like to soft boil the eggs, so they are still soft and creamy when completely cooked.

Preheat oven 200c, 400f, gas mark 5

Ingredients

4 large eggs
6 low fat sausages
salt and pepper
1 tsp chilli powder
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp italian seasoning

Method

Put the eggs in a pan of cold water, bring to a boil then time 3 minutes, for soft boiled eggs.
Rinse in cold water immediately.
When cold peel and rinse off any shell, dry in paper towel.
Peel the skin off the sausages and mix together with the rest of the ingredients, divide into four equal portions. Lay out some clingfilm and place one of the portions in the middle cover with another piece and flatten the meat until it's big enough to cover the eggs, fold around the egg and roll into a ball using the cling film. It stops the meat from sticking to your hands.

Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, lay on a baking tray sprayed with frylight and spray again, bake for 20 minutes, turning halfway through.

Corned beef Hash

Another dish you thought you couldn't eat while being on Slimming World!! Comfort food at it's best!!

Unfortunately it is not syn free, but it is low in syns, as the only syns are in the corned beef.

The whole dish is 4 syns.

Preheat oven to 200c, 400f, gas mark 5

Ingredients

1lb potatoes peeled and diced

1 tin lean corned beef 200g

1 onion finely chopped

1 tbsp tomato puree

1 tbsp worcester sauce

1 tsp smoked paprika

1 tsp cayenne pepper

2 fried eggs to serve.

Method

Lay the diced potatoes on a baking sheet sprayed with frylight and season and spray with more frylight, bake for 30 minutes, tossing and spraying again half way through.

In a frying pan sprayed with frylight, fry the onion until soft and golden, add the corned beef and fry till soft, add the tomato puree, worcester sauce, paprika and cayenne pepper, fry for 5 minutes, stirring often, add the potatoes to the pan and mix together, then serve with a fried egg on top.

Maple Cinnamon Quinoa Bake

I had better warn you from the start there is a bit of debate about the syns on these bakes!!

As any good consultant will tell you these are considered a tweak, which means as the main ingredient is being used for something other than a main meal, (the "supposedly" thing it is meant to be used for) you may eat more than you normally would, which can cause weight gain, so hence a tweak.

So it is totally up to you what you want to syn these at, if you find you do eat a lot and start gaining then it could well be down to these bakes, it is all about the individual.

To be honest, i don't think you could eat many of these at a time as i find them very filling and normal one is enough.

They are great with a dollop of yogurt and fruit, or as a grab and go breakfast bar, but just as nice eaten plain with a nice cup of tea or coffee.

I made 20 out of my batch, so mine worked out at 0.5 syns each, as the whole batch is 10 syns, but that is only if you don't syn the quinoa.

Preheat oven to 200c, 400f, gas mark 5.

Ingredients

2 cups of uncooked quinoa cooked as per packet instructions and cooled

4 eggs beaten

80ml skimmed milk 2 syns

60ml maple syrup 8 syns

1 tsp vanilla extract

1.5 tbsp ground cinnamon

Method

In a large bowl mix together all the ingredients, then pour into a baking tray lined with parchment paper and sprayed with frylight, smooth it out and bake in the oven for 30 to 40 minutes until golden and set.

remove from the baking tray straight away so it doesn't steam. 

Cut the slab into portions and put onto a oven proof wire rack and put back in the oven for 10 minutes so the edges crisp.

You could always add nuts and raisins or cranberries to them, or maybe some chocolate chips, but these thing would have to be syned.

Brownies

I made these brownies with high hopes that they would curb my craving for chocolate, and if i'm honest they do as they are very chocolatey!

I will say though if you're not a fan of the aftertaste you get from sweetener, then maybe you should give these a miss.

These are not gooey like a regular brownie but they are moist.

I personally won't be making them very often as i would prefer to use my syns on savoury foods, but for someone with a sweet tooth they are great!!

They would make a great dessert, served with fat free creme fraiche and berries.

The whole batch comes to 47.5 syns on extra easy, i managed to make 25 out of mine so they worked out at just under 2 syns each.

Preheat oven 180c, 360f, gas mark 4.

Spray a 20cm x 20cm tin with frylight and line with parchment paper.

Ingredients

400g butternut squash peeled and diced

100g 70% dark chocolate, chopped (26 syns)

4 medium free range eggs

70g sweetener (I used stevia as it is meant to have less of an after taste and doesn't make you crave more sugar, like the unnatural ones do)

75g cocoa powder (13.5 syns)

2 tbsp plain flour (7 syns)

2 tsp baking powder (1 syn)

Method

Put the butternut squash into a large microwave proof dish, splash with some water, cover with clingfilm and microwave for 10 minutes on high until the squash cuts like butter. Drain off any excess water. Add the chocolate to the dish, it should melt from the heat of the squash, with a hand mixer, whisk until its a puree.

In another large bowl whisk up the eggs and sweetener until it is light and fluffy, then fold in the cocoa, flour, baking powder and a pinch of salt.

Fold in the chocolate mix and pour into the tin, bake for 20 minutes, let it cool before removing from the tin.

Chinese Lemon Chicken

A fake away to be proud of! This dish is light and refreshing with a kick and a lot less syns than from a Chinese Restaurant, and taste so much better too!

The whole dish is only 5 syns on extra easy.

Ingredients

1 level tbsp potato flour (3 syns)
2 large skinless and boneless chicken breasts sliced
1 tbsp shaoxing rice wine (1 syn)
1 red pepper diced
1 yellow pepper diced
8 oz oriental mushrooms
1 cup edamame beans
1 onion chopped
juice of 1 lemon
200ml chicken stock
1 tsp sweetener
3 tbsp light soy sauce
1 garlic clove grated
1 red chilli finely chopped
1 inch ginger grated
1 tbsp chilli sauce (1 syn)


Method

Mix the sliced chicken with the potato flour and season.
To make the sauce mix together the lemon juice, chicken stock, sweetener, soy sauce, garlic, chilli, ginger and chilli sauce.
In a hot wok sprayed with frylight stir fry the chicken until it turns opaque then pour over the rice wine and stir fry until liquid has gone, add the onion, peppers and mushrooms and stir fry for 1 minute. Pour in the sauce and bring to a boil then simmer until the sauce has thickened and the chicken is cooked through.
Serve with egg fried rice.

Sausage, Mushroom and Red Pepper Mini Quiches

We were going on a picnic and i didn't want the boring old sandwiches, so i decided to make some mini quiches.
You can use any filling you like, but i chose Sausage, Mushroom and Red Pepper, topped with tomato.

Really easy to make, they can be syn free on extra easy and very tasty!!!

These are 2 syns for all 8 quiches.

Preheat oven 200c, 400f, gas mark 5

Makes 8 quiches

Ingredients

4 low fat sausages cooked and chopped
8oz cremini mushrooms diced
1 jarred red pepper diced
4 large eggs
25 ml skimmed milk
salt and pepper to taste
4 cherry tomatoes sliced

Method

Fry the mushrooms in a pan sprayed with frylight till golden, add the diced red pepper and chopped sausages.
Spray a muffin tin with frylight, pile in the sausage mixture.
Beat together the eggs and milk and season, pour over the sausage mixture, top with the sliced tomatoes and bake in the oven for 15 minutes till set and golden.

Spaghetti Carbonara with Shrimp

Bet you never thought you could eat this while doing Slimming World!!
To make it even better it is syn free on extra easy if you use the cheese as you healthy A.


Serves 2

Ingredients

200g dried spaghetti cooked as per packet instructions.
4 rashers of bacon bacon all fat removed and chopped up.
3 eggs
3 tbsp quark
60g grated Parmesan
20 shrimp pre cooked
salt and pepper

Method

Beat the eggs with the quark, add half the Parmesan, and salt and pepper. Set aside.

Fry the bacon with some frylight till cooked through then add the spaghetti and the egg mixture to the pan, stirring gently over a low heat till the egg starts to set.
 Add the shrimp warm through then serve, sprinkling with the remaining Parmesan.