Thracian Tomato Casserole

This is a typical recipe from the Thracian region of southern Bulgaria. It is eaten at harvest time during the hottest days of the year. 

 

Serves 4

Syn Free on Extra Easy*

* Providing you use the bread as your Healthy Extra B

3 tbsp chopped flat leaf parsley

1kn tomatoes

40g fresh wholemeal breadcrumbs

salt and pepper

sweetener

2 tsp paprika

Place the parsley in the bottom of an oven dish. S;ice the tomatoes, discarding the end pieces. Lay the tomatoes in the dish, overlapping slightly. Sprinkle each layer with salt, pepper and a tiny amount of sweetener. Mix the breadcrumbs with the paprika, salt and pepper to taste and add over the top of the tomatoes. Bake for 20-30 minutes at 200°C. Can be served as a vegetarian main dish or as a side dish to meat.

Cod and Chips

By special request from Husband, I made 'fish'n'chips' tonight, the Slimming World way. He was very pleased with the result. I added some mange tout to the peas, in order to increase my intake of superfree.

Serves 2

Syn Free on Extra Easy*

* Providing you use the bread as your Healthy Extra B

2 cod loins

2 slices wholemeal bread from a 400g loaf

1 egg, beaten

1 tsp thyme

½ tsp garlic powder

1 tsp celery salt

¼ tsp ground white pepper

3-4 potatoes, depending on size

peas and grilled tomatoes to serve

In a food processor, reduce the bread to fine crumbs. Spread out on a non-greased baking sheet and place in the oven on a fairly high heat. Bake for a few minutes – you need to keep a close eye on it as it can easily burn – then shuffle it all about a bit and bake for a few more minutes until crunchy and golden, but not completely brown. Mix with the thyme, garlic powder, celery salt and pepper. Dip the cod loins in the beaten egg and coat in the breadcrumbs.

Peel and cut the potatoes into chips. Blanch in boiling water for 2-3 minutes, drain well and shake the colander well to rough them up a bit. Husband loves doing this bit for me.

Place the chips on a baking sheet, and bake at 220°C for 20-30 minutes. For the last 10 minutes before of the cooking time, put the cod in the oven too. Serve with peas, grilled tomatoes or vegetables of your choice.

'Sun Dried' Tomatoes

A successful attempt at using my dehydrator at last, after several failures. These tomatoes were yummy, and went very well in my bacon butty for breakfast this morning. 

 

Took a trip to the market on Sunday for a big bag of tomatoes. Cut each tomato into eight wedges, and baked them at 60°C for several hours until the were ready. The time will depend on the thickness of your tomato wedges and the type of tomato. I think mine took around ten to 12 hours. 

 

Sloppy Toms

Sloppy Toms is like Sloppy Joes but with turkey – minced meat in a sauce served in (or rather draped over) a bun. You can of course vary the herbs and spices to suit your taste. 

 

Serves 2

Syn Free on Extra Easy*

*Providing you use the bun as your Healthy Extra B

250g lean minced turkey

1 onion, finely chopped

2-3 stalks celery, chopped

a few mushrooms, chopped

200ml passata

2 tsp dried basil

2 tsp dried sage

2 tsp dried oregano

2 tsp bouillon powder

2 x 60g wholemeal rolls

Sauté the turkey, onion and celery until the onion is soft. Add the mushrooms and continue cooking until the celery is soft. Add the passata, herbs and bouillon powder.

Divide the rolls in two and toast. Place the bottom halves on two plates and spoon over the mince. Top with the upper half of the rolls.

Serve with Slimming World chips and grilled tomatoes. I sautéed my tomatoes in a pan with some chilli flakes for an extra kick. 

 

Mega Morning Mustard Mix

This was inspired by a sandwich the canteen at work used to serve, where the bacon, sausage and egg were mashed up into mayonnaise. Lovely flavour, but I wanted a bit more bite and texture, so I decided to roughly chop the ingredients rather than finely grind them. I also added chopped tomato to make sure I got some superfree in. I was initially going to make it into a sandwich, but there was way too much filling, so it became two open faced sandwiches instead. To be honest, there is probably enough there for four people. 

 

Serves 2

1 syn on Extra Easy*

* Providing you use the bread as your Healthy Extra B

2 eggs, hard boiled and chopped

2 rashers bacon, all visible fat removed, cooked and chopped

2 Joe's sausages, thinly sliced

2 tomatoes, chopped

4 tbsp lighter than light mayonnaise

4 tbsp fat free plain yogurt

¼-½ tsp mustard powder

salt and pepper to taste

4 slices wholemeal bread from a 400g loaf

Mix together the eggs, bacon, sausages and tomato in a bowl. In a separate bowl, stir together the mayonnaise, yogurt, mustard powder (to taste), salt and pepper. When thoroughly mixed, stir into the other ingredients. Divide between the four slices of bread and serve. 

 

Breakfast Pizza

On the Slimming World plan, it is only Asda and Co-op pitta breads that count as your healthy Extra B because they are the only ones with sufficient fibre content. I have tried, without any success whatsoever, to locate the Co-op ones, but Asda wholemeal pitta bread is easy to find in larger stores. 

 

Serves 2

Syn Free on Extra easy*

* Providing you use the bread and cheese as your healthy extras.

2 Asda wholemeal pitta breads

4 tbsp passata

1 tbsp finely chopped fresh basil

2 Joe's Sausages (any flavour), cooked and thinly sliced

2 rashers bacon, all visible fat removed, cooked and chopped

2 hard boiled eggs, thinly sliced

ca 150g cherry tomatoes, thinly sliced

90g reduced fat Cheddar cheese, grated

Toast the pitta breads, open the pockets and split in half. Spread the passata on the breads and sprinkle with the basil. Top the pizzas with the sausage, bacon, and egg, in no particular order, then pile on the tomatoes to ensure you get your one-third superfree in. Finally sprinkle the grated cheese over and grill for a few minutes until the cheese is brown and bubbling. 

 

Quesadillas

By making these traditional Mexican 'cheese sandwiches' with pitta bread rather than tortillas, you can enjoy this as your Healthy Extra. The pitta has to be Asda, as they are (according to Slimming World) the only ones with enough fibre to class as a Healthy Extra. Any other brand has to be synned. 

 

Serves 2

Syn Free on Extra Easy*

*Providing you use the pitta bread and cheese as your Healthy Extra A & B..

2 Asda pitta breads.

90g reduced fat Cheddar

a few slices onion

a sprinkling of chilli flakes

Split the pitta bread and stuff with the cheese, onion and chilli flakes. Grill until cheese is melted and bread browned. I toasted mine in my George Foreman Lean Mean Grilling Machine, which I find ideal for toasted sandwiches. 

 

Serve with a salad of your choice and Cebollas en Escabeche.

Cebollas en Escabeche

½ tsp chilli flakes

1 tsp allspice berries

½ tsp black peppercorns

1 tsp oregano

2 sweet onions, peeled

100ml white wine vinegar

Process the spices until coarsely ground using a spice grinder, food processor or mortar and pestle.

Cut the onions in half and thinly slice them. Mix together the onions, vinegar and spices, cover and refrigerate for at least a day before using. 

 

French Toasts with Bacon and Banana

I love the combination of fruit with savoury dishes, and banana and bacon goes remarkably well together. Of course, this would have been even nicer made with thick white bread and drizzled with maple syrup......, but considering the difference in calories and syns, I think it is worth it.

Serves 1

Syn Free on Extra Easy

2 slices wholemeal bread from 400g loaf

2 eggs

cinnamon (optional)

sweetener to taste

2 slices bacon, all visible fat removed

1 banana, sliced

Whisk the eggs with sweetener to taste and add cinnamon if using. Soak the bread in the egg mixture and fry in a little Fry Light until nicely browned on both sides. Grill the bacon until cooked to your liking. Serve with the banana. 

 

French Toasts with Raspberries

OK, so it is not a great as using thick sliced white bread for the French toasts, but considering the difference in calories and syns, I think it is worth it.

Serves 1

Syn Free on Extra Easy providing you use the bread as your Healthy Extra B

2 slices wholemeal bread from 400g loaf

2 eggs

cinnamon (optional)

sweetener to taste

raspberries

fat free natural yogurt

Whisk the eggs with sweetener to taste and add cinnamon if using. Soak the bread in the egg mixture and fry in a little Fry Light until nicely browned on both sides. Serve with raspberries and yogurt.