If adopting a healthier and more balanced diet is your New Year's resolution rest assured you don't have to sacrifice taste and flavour for a leaner look.
By making small swaps in your cooking ingredients you can still enjoy all the things you love without feeling guilty or like you have let yourself down.
Slimming World has created five hearty meals ideal for dinner or lunch that you can try at home.
They're dishes that all the family will love and are also ideal for mid-week and weekend cooking.
Chicken, red lentil and harissa soup
Serves 4
Ready in 45 minutes
Ingredients:
low calorie cooking spray
1 large onion finely chopped
1 large carrot peeled and finely chopped
3 garlic cloves crushed
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tbsp harissa powder
1 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp sweet smoked paprika
1 tbsp tomato purée
200g dried red lentils
1.5 litres boiling chicken stock
400g skinless cooked chicken chopped into small chunks
200g can chopped tomatoes
juice of ½ lemon
100-150g baby leaf spinach
2 tbsp finely shredded fresh mint
Method
- Spray a large non-stick saucepan with low-calorie cooking spray and place over a low heat. Add the onion, carrot, garlic and some seasoning then cover and cook for 10 minutes or untilsoft.
- Uncover and stir in the harissa powder, cumin and paprika. Cook for 1 minute or until fragrant then stir in the tomato purée.
- Add the lentils and stock and bring to a simmer, then cover and cook gently for 20 minutes.
- Uncover and stir in the turkey, tomatoes, lemon juice and spinach, if using.
- Simmer for 5 minutes or until the turkey has heated through and the spinach has wilted, if using.
- Check the seasoning and scatter over the mint to serve.
Cheesy Mexican bake
Serves 4
Ready in 1 hour
Ingredients:
low calorie cooking spray
1 red onion halved and cut into wedges
560g can of new potatoes drained and halved or quartered
400g can of artichoke hearts drained and quartered
2 large garlic cloves, chopped
1 red pepper de-seeded and cut into chunks
1 yellow pepper de-seeded and cut into chunks
2 celery sticks thinly sliced
1 large courgette cubed
1 tsp dried oregano
2 tsp sweet smoked paprika
2 tsp ground cumin
salt and freshly ground black pepper
400g can of chopped tomatoes
200g quark soft cheese
120g vegetable stock cooled
40g reduced fat Cheddar-style cheese
A little freshly grated nutmeg
Method:
- Preheat the oven to 200°C/Fan 180°C/Gas 6.
- Put the onion, potatoes, artichokes, garlic, peppers, celery and courgette in a shallow oven proof dish and sprinkle over the oregano, paprika and cumin.
- Season to taste and mix well, then spray with low calorie cooking spray and bake for 15 minutes.
- Stir in the tomatoes and return to the oven for another 10 minutes.
- Stir the quark and stock together to make a thick cream and drizzle it over the vegetables.
- Scatter the cheese on top and bake for 10-15 minutes or until golden and bubbling.
- Sprinkle with nutmeg and serve hot.
Swede-topped cottage pie
Serves 4
Ready in 1 hour
Ingredients:
low-calorie cooking spray
1kg swede peeled and roughly chopped
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 red onion finely chopped
2 garlic cloves crushed
2 celery sticks finely chopped
2 carrots peeled and finely chopped
500g lean beef mince (5% fat or less)
400g can chopped tomatoes
1 tbsp vegetable stock
1 tsp sweetener
2 tsp dried oregano
1 egg lightly beaten
vegetables to serve
Method:
- Cook the swede in a saucepan of lightly salted boiling water for 15 minutes or until tender. Drain, return to the pan and mash until smooth. Season to taste and set aside.
- Meanwhile, spray a large non-stick frying pan with low-calorie cooking spray and place over a high heat. Add the onion, garlic, celery and carrots and stir-fry for 5 minutes.
- Add the mince and stir-fry for 5 minutes, then add the tomatoes, stock, sweetener and oregano and stir well. Bring to the boil and remove from the heat.
- Preheat the oven to 200°C/Fan 180°C/Gas 6. Transfer the beef mixture to a casserole dish and spread the mashed swede over the top, smoothing the surface with a fork (add a pattern if you like!). Brush with the beaten egg and bake for 25-30 minutes or until lightly golden and bubbling.
- Serve hot with your favourite vegetables.
Baked cod stew with crispy potatoes
Serves 4
Ready in 2 hours
Ingredients:
Low-calorie cooking spray
2 onions chopped
1 red chilli de-seeded and finely chopped
2 garlic cloves finely chopped
1 yellow pepper halved, de-seeded and roughly chopped
2 red peppers, halved, de-seeded and roughly chopped
2 bay leaves8 potatoes peeled and thinly sliced
2 carrots peeled and finely sliced
4 skinless cod fillets or other white fish, cut into bite-sized chunks
100g tomato purée
300ml boiling vegetable stock
Small handful of roughly chopped fresh parsley
vegetables, to serve
Method:
- Preheat the oven to 150°C/Fan 130°C/Gas 2.
- Spray a large non-stick saucepan with low-calorie cooking spray and place over a medium heat.
- Add the onions and stir-fry for 10-12minutes or until they start to soften. Add the chill to the pan and cook for 2-3 minutes then stir in the garlic, peppers and bay leaves and cook for 1 minute.
- Lightly spray a deep oven proof dish with low calorie cooking spray and cover the base with half of the potatoes. Add the carrots and then the cod, finishing with a layer of potatoes.
- Mix the tomato purée and stock, pour over the fish and vegetables and cover with foil. Bake for 1 hour 20 minutes then uncover the dish and cook for a further 15 minutes or until the fish is cooked through and the potatoes and vegetables are tender.
- Scatter over the parsley and serve hot with your favourite vegetables.
Jambalaya
Serves 4
Ready in 50 minutes
Ingredients:
low-calorie cooking spray
1 medium onion chopped
1 red pepper deseeded and cut into chunky strips
1 green pepper deseeded and cut into chunky strips
2 celery sticks, sliced
4 garlic cloves, crushed
1 tsp chilli powder
1 tsp sweet smoked paprika
225g dried long-grain rice
1 tbsp chopped fresh thyme
2 bay leaves
400g passata
300ml boiling chicken stock
350g cooked roast pork, cut into small pieces
salt and freshly ground black pepper
225g tiger or jumbo king prawns cooked and peeled
2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
4 spring onions, thinly sliced
Method:
- Spray a large deep non-stick frying pan with low calorie cooking spray and place over a medium heat.
- Add the onion, peppers and celery, then cover and steam-fry for 5 minutes until soft and lightly browned.
- Uncover the vegetables, add the garlic, chili and paprika and cook for 1 minute.
- Stir in the rice, thyme, bay leaves, passata, stock, pork, 1 tsp salt and some pepper.
- Bring to the boil, cover again and turn the heat to low. Leave to simmer gently for 25 minutes or until all those
mouth-watering flavours have mingled together. - Fork the parsley into the rice and scatter over the spring onions to serve.