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Posts Tagged ‘5:2 recipe’

Coconut, Noodle & Vegetable Soup

Posted in Asian, Food, Healthy, Soup, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on 26 June 2013| 3 Comments »

We’re always on the lookout for low-calorie dishes for weeknights (so we can afford to redress the balance at the weekend!) This one was tasty and helpfully used up some of the bits and pieces we had in the fridge.

Coconut, noodle & vegetable soup – to serve 4

  • 1-2 tbsp Thai curry paste (use whatever colour you’ve got)
  • 1 tsp groundnut (or other flavourless oil)
  • 700ml vegetable stock
  • 300ml reduced-fat coconut milk
  • 200g thick-rice noodles
  • 200g chestnut mushrooms, sliced
  • 140g sugar snap peas, halved
  • 100g beansprouts
  • 1½ tbsp Thai fish sauce
  • juice of 1 lime
  • 3 scallions shredded
  • some mint and coriander leaves to serve (if you have some)

Put a large pot over a medium heat. Cook the curry paste in the oil for a minute until it starts to release its aroma. Add the stock and coconut milk and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer and stir in the noodles. Simmer for 7 minutes, then stir in the mushrooms and sugar snaps. Cook for another 3 minutes, then add the beansprouts, fish sauce and lime juice. Take the pan off the heat.

Serve in bowls with some scallions, mint and coriander.

(Original recipe from BBC Good Food)

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Cauliflower & Potato Curry

Posted in Asian, Food, Healthy, Indian, Vegetarian, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on 26 May 2013| 2 Comments »

Another on a light theme: in calories again not flavour.

Cauliflower & Potato Curry – to serve 4

  • 2 tbsp vegetable oil
  • 1 large onion, chopped
  • large piece ginger, grated
  • 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
  • ½ tsp turmeric
  • 1 tsp ground cumin
  • 1 tsp curry powder
  • tin chopped tomatoes, drained
  • ½ tsp sugar
  • 1 cauliflower, cut into florets
  • 2 potatoes, cut into chunks
  • 1 green chilli, halved lengthways
  • squeeze of lemon juice
  • handful coriander, roughly chopped, to serve
  • natural yogurt to serve

Heat the oil in a saucepan and cook the onion for about 10 minutes or until soft. Add the ginger, garlic, turmeric, cumin, and curry powder and cook for a further minute. Stir in the tomatoes and sugar. Add the cauliflower, potatoes, and split chilli along with some salt and pepper. Cover and cook gently for about half an hour or more, stirring occasionally until the vegetables are tender. You can add a drop of water if you need to but this is a dry curry.

When the vegetables are soft, add a squeeze of lemon juice and scatter with coriander. Serve with natural yogurt.

(Original recipe from BBC Good Food)

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Easy Goulash

Posted in Beef, Food, tagged , , , , , , , , , on 4 March 2013| 1 Comment »

A mid-week creation that satisfies on flavour without any excess in calories or expense. Very like the Hungarian style of Goulash – much more soup like than a stew, so use a spoon to eat this!

Easy Goulash – to serve 4

  • 1tbsp vegetable oil 
  • 300g stir-fry strips, or minute steak cut into strips
  • 100g chestnut mushrooms, quartered
  • 2 tsp paprika
  • 500g potatoes, peeled and cut into smallish chunks
  • 600ml hot beef stock
  • 500g jar tomato-based cooking sauce
  • handful of parsley, chopped
  • natural yoghurt – to serve

Heat half the oil in a non-stick pan and fry the beef for a couple of minutes. Do this in batches so the beef fries rather than stews. Remove the meat from the pan, add a the rest of the oil and fry the mushrooms for a few minutes or until they start to brown.

Sprinkle the paprika into the pan and fry briefly, then add potatoes, stock and tomato sauce. Cover and simmer for about 20 minutes or until the potato chunks are tender. Add the beef back to the pan to warm through. Stir in the parsley and serve with some natural yogurt (if you’re not trying to keep this under 300 calories).

Wine Suggestion: We had a good Rioja Crianza with this and found the juicy fruit and flavours really matched the rich tomatoes and paprika well (well we would have if it hadn’t been a fast day on our diet!)

(Original recipe from BBC Good Food)

 

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Zesty Whiting with crushed potatoes & peas

Posted in Fish, Food, Healthy, tagged , , , , , , , , , on 2 March 2013| Leave a Comment »

The combination of flavours and textures made this a delicious Wednesday night feast. It’s also really healthy and low in calories (305 to be exact, so you can even squeeze it in if you’re on the 5:2 diet). You could use haddock or cod but whiting is much cheaper and tastes just as good.

Zesty Whiting with Crushed Potatoes & Peas – to serve 4

  • 600g potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks – we used Nicola which gave an interesting texture but floury mashing ones would be good too
  • 140g frozen peas
  • extra virgin olive oil
  • juice and zest of ½ a lemon
  • 1 tbsp capers
  • 2 tbsp snipped chives
  • 4 fillets of chunky white fish (about 120g each)
  • 2 tbsp flour

Boil the potatoes until tender, adding the peas for the final minute of cooking. Drain and roughly crush together, adding lots of salt and pepper and about a tablespoon of the oil.

To make the dressing mix 1 tbsp of the oil with the lemon juice and zest, the capers, the chives and some seasoning.

Dust the fish in the flour, tapping off any excess, and season. Heat a small splash of oil in non-stick frying pan and fry the fish for a couple of minutes on each side, or until cooked, then add the dressing to the pan to warm through.

Serve with some steamed broccoli if you like.

Wine Suggestion: Picpoul de Pinet from the Languedoc is good value and has a nice, refreshing zesty flavour that is a great match for fish. Despite coming from a warm area, this wine maintains good acidity and minerality and is well worth seeking out.

(Original recipe from BBC Good Food)

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