Halloumi

Isn't it nice when you discover something that you thought would be high in points is not as high as expected. This happened to me when out of interest I pointed halloumi cheese. Halloumi is a delicous cheese with a fabulous texture when cooked, it goes golden brown on the outside, and melts in the middle. It works particularly well in a salad with Mediterranean flavours. It has a very high melting point so is ideal for a barbecue and can be served on it's own with salad and a pitta.

It also takes on other flavours very well try it with chilli and lime sprinkled on before grilling. Or some fresh herbs.

We had in barbecued and served with salad and a sauce made from reduced tinned tomatoes, chilli, balsamic vinegar and dried oregano.

I bought light halloumi at 3.5 pts for 100g
The real stuff works out at 9 pts for 100g so well worth getting the light version

Mushroom Chopsuey

What to do when you are hungry but need your points for wine?

Mushroom Chop Suey
0 points

Mushrooms
Onion
Bean Sprouts
Garlic
Soy sauce
Five spice powder

Cook the onion, garlic and mushrooms until soft add the soy, five spice and the beansprouts and cook until the beansprouts start to wilt. Add any other free veg to bulk it out if required.

Creole Chicken

This is spicy and and tasty. I use whatever vegetables I have to hand when making this.

Creole Chicken
Serves 2 - 3.5 pts each

2 chicken breasts cut into chucks
1 Can tomatoes, cut up
1 tbsp sweet chili sauce
1 chopped red pepper
1 chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 sticks chopped celery
1 tsp chopped fresh basil or 1 tsp dried basil, crushed
1 tsp chopped fresh parsley or 1 tsp dried parsley
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp paprika
Few drops Tabasco sauce

Fry the chicken until it is sealed then add the peppers, garlic, onion and celery. Cook for 5 minutes then add the tomato and other ingredients. Cook slowly for an hour until the sauce has reduced into a thick consistency. Serve with plain boiled rice.

Seared salmon with stir fried noodles

This is a very substantial dish and I dare anyone to eat this and not feel full.

Seared salmon with stir fried noodles
Serves 2 – 8.5 pts each

2 salmon fillets approx 175g each
1 pack (300g) Amoy Straight to Wok fine noodles
500g Mushrooms sliced
½ large pack beansprouts
2 medium onions sliced
1 pepper deseeded and sliced
½ bottle oyster sauce
Chinese 5 spice powder
Szechwan Pepper
Soy sauce
Chilli flakes

Marinade the salmon in a little soy sauce and sprinkle with chilli, five spice powder and Szechwan pepper. Pre-heat a griddle pan until very hot and add the salmon skin side down. Leave for 5 mins then turn over. The salmon needs to be cooked on a high heat to sear and turn a lovely dark colour. The outside should be almost black and crispy.

In a wok stir fry the onion, pepper and mushrooms until soft with a little soy sauce then add the beansprouts, oyster sauce, 5 spice and Szechwan pepper to taste. Stir until the vegetables are completely covered and add the noodles. Once the noodles are warmed through serve with the salmon.

Vegetable Fried Rice

This is basically vegetables and rice stir fried together. I must admit to using the microwaveable pouches of rice as they are very quick and easy to point. The secret to a good fried rice is to get some colour on the vegetables and to makes sure that they are cut in such a way that they cook in the same time. I add garlic, five spice, chilli flakes, soy sauce and oyster sauce to mine and it tastes fantastic.

This was made using leek, red onion, courgette and mushrooms as that was what I had available. Carrot strips and beansprouts would also work well as do peppers and baby sweetcorn. I like to experiment with different vegetables.

Serve on it’s own as a snack or light lunch or with fish, chicken in fact there is not much it will not go with.

Made with 1 pack of Uncle Ben’s Basmati rice in microwavable pouches this will serve 2 and is 2.5 pts per portion.

Low Point Treats

My favourite low point treats

Sweet
Weightwatchers Toffee or Vanilla Yoghurts 0.5 pts each
Pink and Whites 0.5 points each
Tesco Healthy Living mini fruit lollies 0.5 pts each
Caramel Jumbo Snack-a-Jacks 0.5 pts each
Weightwatchers carrot cake slices 1 pt each
Weightwatchers lemon cake slices 1 pt each
Weightwatchers cranberry and orange cookies 1.5 pts for 2
Weightwatchers double chocolate cookies 1.5 pts for 2
Skinny cow ice lollies 1.5 pts each

Savoury
Snack-a-Jacks salted popcorn 0.5 pts per bag
Cheese Jumbo Snack-a-Jacks 0.5 pts each
Laughing Cow Light cheese triangles 0.5 pts each
Plain Rice Cakes 1pt for 3
Walkers French Fries (from multi-pack) 1 pts per bag
Walkers Quavers (from multi-pack) 1.5 pts per bag
Walkers Potato Heads (from multi-pack) 1.5 pts per bag

Summer Eating

Now that the weather is finally getting warmer and the evenings are light I find myself wanting salads again. My cravings for soups, stews and mashed potato are vanishing and my thoughts are turning to barbecues and picnics. The problem for me is not the food but the associated drink that goes with these events. I love a barbecue but one glass of wine soon leads to another (and another) until I am dangerously low on points.

Last night we had a barbecue and the food we cooked were

Low fat sausages
Low fat burgers
Chicken breasts
Lamb steaks

These were served with lots of salad and new potatoes dry roasted with chilli and garlic.

Creamy Pasta Bake

This is cheesy, creamy and surprisingly low in points. A nice alternative to tomato based pasta dishes. I serve it with salad and maybe a little reduced fat garlic bread, although the portions are substantial enough to eat alone. Bacon medallions are available from most supermarkets and are ½ point each. You could leave these out for a vegetarian version.

Creamy Pasta Bake
Serves 6 – 4.5 points each

2 leeks finely chopped
200g sliced button mushrooms
1 pint skimmed milk
8 smoked bacon medallions
330g dried pasta
2 chicken (or vegetable) stock cubes
6 low fat cheese spread triangles
20 g grated parmesan cheese
Salt and Pepper

Put the leeks and mushrooms into a pan and add the milk. Simmer until the vegetables are cooked. Add the cheese triangles and the parmesan stirring well to ensure that it is all combined into a smooth sauce. Taste and season as required but remember the bacon will add more saltiness. Make up the stock cubes and use the liquid to cook the pasta. This should only be part cooked as it will finish off in the oven. Grill the bacon until crisp and cut into bite size portions. Add the part cooked pasta, sauce and bacon to an oven proof dish and stir to combine the ingredients ensuring that the pasta is well coated in the sauce. The sauce will appear runny at this stage but some will be absorbed by the pasta and the heat of the oven will evaporate more liquid.

Put into a preheated oven at 150 degrees and cook for 30 minutes or until the pasta is cooked through and the sauce reduced. Remove form the oven and allow to stand for a further 10 minutes. This will allow the cheese to set a little and thicken the sauce further.

Homemade Potato Wedges

This is a really quick and tasty side dish.

Spicy Potato Wedges
Serves 2 - 3 points each

600g of whole potatoes
Cajun seasoning
Salt and pepper

Microwave the potatoes whole until they are half cooked. Cut into wedges and sprinkle with salt and pepper and the Cajun seasoning. Pre-heat the grill and put a baking tray under it to until both are very hot. Spray the baking tray with oil from a mister and add the wedges. Spray the top of the wedges with the mister and put under the hot grill. Cook until the wedges are brown and crispy.

We had them today with chilli.

Cheesy Leeks

This is a wonderful accompaniment to pork or gammon.

Cheesy Leeks
Serves 2 - 1.5 pts each

2 medium leeks finely chopped
1/4 pint skimmed milk
3 low fat cheese triangles
10g grated Parmesan

Cook the leeks until soft in the milk, keep a lid on to stop too much evaporation. Add the cheese triangles and stir well. Remove from the heat and stir in the Parmesan. Serve immediately.

This would be good as a filling for jacket potato or with pasta too.

Penne Arrabiata

This classic Italian dish is an absolute dream for dieters.

Arrabiata Sauce
Serves 2 - 0 pts per portion

1 can of tomatoes
2 cloves garlic finely chopped
1 red onion finely chopped
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp dried chili flakes
1 tsp dried mixed herbs

Spray a pan with oil from a mister and cook the garlic and onions until soft but not browned. Add the chili and stir well. Then add the rest of the ingredients and cook until the tomato has reduced and a thick sauce has formed. It should be a sort of red mush and quite dark in colour.

Serve with penne pasta and a trickle of olive oil or fresh parmesan.

Fish Pie

This is a classic British dish and is one of the ultimates in comfort food. You would not believe how much of this a toddler can eat!

Fish Pie
Serves 4 - 5 pts each

2 medium fillets cod
2 medium fillets smoked haddock
1 1/2 lb potatoes
1 pint skimmed milk
6 oz Low Fat Mature Cheese
2 level teaspoon cornflour
1 level teaspoon English mustard

Peel the potatoes and boil in salted water. In a wide and shallow bowl place the milk and fish and bring to the boil. Cover tightly with a lid and turn the heat off. The fish will poach in the heat of the milk.

When the fish is cool enough to handle fake it and put into an oven proof dish. Use the poaching liquid to make a cheese sauce by heating with the cornflour until it boils and thickens, remove form the heat and add 3/4 of the cheese stirring constantly. When the cheese is melted and incorporated into the sauce add the mustard and stir again. Pour the sauce over the flaked fish and stir gently to ensure all the fish is covered in sauce.

Once the potato is cooked drain and mash mixing in the rest of the cheese. Top the fish and sauce with the potato. When you are doing this always start at the outside and work inwards otherwise the weight of the potato will push the sauce out over the sides of the dish.

Score a pattern on the top of the potato and brown under a hot grill. Serve on it's own or with green vegetables.

Sardines

Round two of my fish experimentation features the humble sardine. This is an oily fish and as such is higher in points than white fish. However they do contain omega 3 oils and we are recommended to eat at least 2 portions of oily fish per week. To my dismay I have found out that tinned tuna does not count so I have to find other alternatives and sardines are easy to cook, cheap and delicious. They also do not require any additional cooking oil.

Whole sardines are approximately 3 points each dependent on weight.

Method one

My sardines were large and I have to feed two toddlers so I decided that the best method would be to fillet them to get rid of the large bones. The sardines had been gutted and the heads and tails removed by the fishmonger.

I removed the large backbone with a sharp knife and cut the remaining into two fillets. These were then sprinkled with chilli and garlic from my grinder and a squeeze of lemon juice.

These were placed in a hot griddle pan flesh side down and cooked for about a minute then turned over for the skin to crisp for another minute.

Method two

I kept the sardines whole and just scored the skins. Lemon juice was squeezed on and they were also griddled this time for 2-3 minutes on each side.

The verdict

Method one was wonderful the flesh was moist inside and crisp outside and not having to worry about bones was great my two year old loved them.

Method two was also good but not as crisp better actually for the youngest of my family as the flesh was moister. This was a lot quicker to prepare.

We ate them with ratatouille and it worked really well plus there were no additional points to consider.

These would be wonderful cooked on a barbecue in the summer and served with salad.

Mussels

I love fresh seafood and I had forgotten how low in points it can be! I don't eat nearly enough fish and I am trying to correct this so be prepared to see a lot of seafood recipes on my blog as I try to create some low point recipes

Mussels with Garlic, Lemon and Butter
As a main course serves 2 - 2 pts per person
As a starter serves 4 - 1 pt per person

1 kilo fresh mussels in their shells
1 1/2 teaspoon half fat butter
3 small or 2 large cloves of garlic finely chopped
Juice of 1 lemon
Finely chopped parsley

Ensure that the mussels are clean and remove any beard. Discard any with cracked or broken shells and any that are open and do not close when given a sharp tap. In a large saucepan melt to butter and add the chopped garlic, do not allow to colour you just want the garlic to soften. After a few minutes add the lemon juice and parsley and stir well, then it's time to throw in the mussels. Stir again to ensure that the buttery mixture coats all the mussels. Turn up the heat and cover with a tight fitting lid. After a few minutes shake the pan to mix up the mussels. Cook for a further 3 minute then turn off the heat. Leave the mussels to steam for a couple more minutes and then serve.

Serve with pasta or fresh crusty bread but remember to add the points. if serving with pasta then reducing the liquid and maybe adding a little cream is wonderful!

Game and Poultry

Game tends to be leaner than more traditional cuts of meat and this makes it low in fat and in points. I am exceptionally lucky that I have a deer farm close by (see the links section) and that they also do a fabulous range of other meats.

All values are for raw weight large portions (6 ounces) unless stated

Venison – 4.5 pts
Kangaroo – 4 pts
Wild Boar – 3 pts
Ostrich – 4.5 pts
Crocodile – 3 pts
Rabbit – 3 pts
Rabbit whole ¼ - 2.5 pts
Pigeon whole – 4 pts
Duck breast – 3 pts (with skin 13 pts)

As these tend to be highly flavoured a little goes a long way so you may not need such large portions.

These need to be cooked wither very quickly or very slowly there is no in between or the results will be tough.

Although I love venison I have to say that my favourite is ostrich fillet served rare nicer than any fillet steak I have ever eaten.

Damage Limitation

Easter is here again and like so many religious events it is associated with food. Easter eggs abound and for some reason seem to get cheaper every year. Then there is the hot cross buns spicy little treats that are delicious especially toasted and dripping with butter! It is a terrible time of year for those of us on a diet. My top tips are

1. Buy one pack of Healthy Living or mini Hot Cross Buns. They are only supposed to be eaten on Good Friday anyway.
2. Buy yourself a special treat instead of scoffing the kid's Easter Eggs. We have treated ourselves to a box of Lindor - far too good for the kids and so rich that you cannot eat too many at a time.
3. It's a holiday so spend the time wisely, the weather is excellent this year why not go for a long walk and feed the ducks this is always a popular activity with my boys.

Have a great Easter and be good

Having a break

I'm having a break from dieting this week. I shall be being careful but not pointing. I think that after six plus months I could do with a break and we have loads of things planned this week as it's the Easter holidays. Keeping your motivation is important and after my week off I will be back on the Weightwatchers wagon with all the zeal and enthusiasm of a new starter.

Happy Easter to you all from me and the boys!