Sweet Pepper and Tomato Soup

Sweet Pepper and Tomato Soup

This tasty soup packs a flavoursome punch. It is low fat (which could be reduced further by cooking the vegetables with cooking spray rather than oil), making it perfect for mealtimes in the run-up to your summer holiday (I for one am kind of struggling to get my body Beach-ready!!). I puréed half of the mixture so that I could have a smooth and a chunky soup. As I plan to be eating this for lunch for a week, I didn’t want to get bored too quickly! Personally, I preferred the chunky soup. ;)

Oh, and I'm sorry for the lack of pretty picture!

Turkey, Mushroom and Spinach Pasta Bake

This pasta dish is tasty and filling and low in fat but as the flavours are all quite subtle, it does require a decent amount of seasoning if you want it to pack any kind of punch!

Spicy Beef Enchiladas

These enchiladas are absolutely delicious. If you follow the recipe as is, they are in no way diet-friendly (although I have to say, they are definitely worth the indulgence!) but a couple of little tweaks, such as substituting Turkey mince instead of Beef and low-fat cooking spray instead of Olive Oil, would make them a little easier on the waistline. 

Butternut Squash and Vegetable Pasta

This vegetarian pasta dish is simple to make, filling and healthy. It can be spiced up with a bit of salami but is perfect the way it is.

Leek & Mushroom Gratin

This Leek and Mushroom Gratin is great because it’s just so versatile! I love it as a topping to bagels and baked potatoes but it works just as well as a light and tasty starter too.

Mediterranean Vegetable and Mozzarella Bake

This warming dish is packed full of goodness. And when it's cold and gloomy outside, the colourful mix of Mediterranean vegetables make it sunshine in a bowl.

Mid-Week Meals: Salmon and Spinach Parcels

This healthy dinner is quick and easy to make. And the filo pastry makes it feel just a little bit naughty, which is all the incentive I need when planning what to eat!

Mid-Week Meals: Cajun Chicken with Spicy Wedges and Coleslaw

Not to ruin the surprise, but I will be making a version of this meal for The Girls when they come round for dinner on Saturday. I have been struggling to stick to the diet the last couple of weeks (what can I say? My body just wasn't meant to be skinny!) but figure if I cook a Slimming World menu, I can't go too wrong?! I will actually be using the Slimming World recipe for Barbeque Chicken (which I will add next week), rather than Cajun, and will add Sweet Potatoes to the mix too, all served alongside a big, green salad (and no bread!!) This recipe serves four and is only 2 Syns per serving on the Extra Easy plan.
Fingers crossed it tastes as good as it looks!

Mid-Week Meals: Chicken and Potato Curry

As I'm sure is the case with most women in the lead up to summer, I am currently in Battle With The Bulge and am trying to get myself Beach-Ready before I have to don a bikini again in three and a half weeks. This is a Slimming World recipe and is 0 syns on the Extra Easy programme.

Boston Beef and Baked Bean Hotpot

I love this Weight Watchers dish; it's tasty and hearty and doesn't feel like 'Diet Food' at all. However, as I'm now doing Slimming World, I adapted the recipe slightly to make it Syn free. You can see below the recipe for a list of ingredients that I actually used.

Mid-Week Meals: Courgette Carbonara

I LOVE this recipe! It's relatively quick and easy and, personally, I think it's delicious; I think I've probably cooked it for most people who've come to dinner at least once? What makes me love it even more is that this recipe makes a LOT of carbonara, meaning there are always left-overs for when everyone has gone home. And it tastes just as good when it's cold!

Mid-Week Munchies: Nigella’s Calabrian Lasagne

Nigella’s Calabrian Lasagne

I have made this delicious lasagne a number of times for friends and family and it has always gone down extremely well. The recipe says that it is for six to eight people but, as it is rather a dense lasagne, I would recommend serving slightly smaller pieces with a large, fresh green salad.

And when everyone has gone home and I have finished all of the washing up, I like to treat myself to a slice of the cold leftovers; Yum!

Mid-Week Munchies: Basic Pizza Recipe

This is a recipe from Jamie Oliver’s website that I’ve used on a few occasions. You can also use the dough for bread making so it’s a useful ‘Basic’ to have! I always use Strong White Bread Flour, rather than Semolina. Apparently it works just as well!