Eggs Royale

As it is our wedding anniversary today (37 years, I can hardly believe it), Husband wanted to take me out for breakfast. I think there is something really decadent and special about going out for breakfast, it is not something we would normally do unless we are travelling. In all those 37 years I think we've over ever been out for breakfast once! 

Anyway, I decided to make a special breakfast at home instead, and here it is.

A base of wholemeal bread (as they didn't have any wholemeal muffins in our local Tesco), with steamed spinach, poached egg and Hollandaise sauce (2 syns for 1/3 packet + milk from my Healthy Extra A choice)

Served with rocket leaves and grilled tomato for extra superfree.

Dhal Masala Vadai

Vadai (also known as also known as wada or vade or vada or bara) is a south Indian savoury fritter type snack, which can be made from lentils (dhal), chick peas (channa), gram flour (besan) or potato (aloo). It is usually deep fried, but I decided to bake mine instead to make it fit in with the Slimming World regime.

I used leftover lentils and vegetables for this, but you can of course cook these especially for the vadai. I had green lentil mixed with onions, Chinese leaves and spring greens from Friday night's dinner; and also some leftover roasted vegetables from Saturday night which I added to the mix for extra superfree (red, green and yellow peppers, red and yellow onion and sweet potato). Add spices to taste – I used ground cumin (my favourite!), ground cinnamon, ground coriander, fresh and dried ginger, fresh garlic and red chilli flakes. Whizz it all up in a food processor, using the 'pulse' button to ensure it becomes paste-like but still retains some texture. 

 

Using wet hands so that the paste doesn't still to my fingers, I formed the mixture into little balls and placed them in muffin cups flattening them ever so slightly with my hands before spraying them with Fry Light and baking in the oven at 230°C for 20-25 minutes until nicely browned and crispy on the outside. 

 

In India, vadai is eaten as a snack (often for breakfast) or a side dish, never as a main course; and is found for sale all over the south at street food. I served mine with leftover coleslaw and potato salad from yesterday's picnic lunch; tomato salad made from chopped tomatoes (flesh only), onions, a red chilli and coriander with the juice of half a lemon and some salt and coarsely ground black pepper; mint raita (made from 0% fat plain yogurt, mint sauce and sweetener); and some rocket leaves to turn it into a complete meal. Garnished with red onion. 

 

Baking the vadai rather than deep frying them means that they do become a lot more crumbly when you cut into them, and it would be difficult to eat them as a street food snack with your hands (right hand only of course); but if you don't mind the texture, the flavour was superb. Even non-lentil-loving Husband enjoyed it so much he had second helpings. 

 

Tuna Pasta Salad

Serves 2

Syn Free on Extra Easy

100g wholemeal pasta

1 tin tuna in spring water

150g cherry tomatoes, halved

75g sweetcorn, boiled and cooled

80g rocket leaves

1 tbsp capers, drained

2 tbsp fat free vinaigrette

Boil the pasta according to packet instructions; drain and rinse under cold water. Drain the tuna, reserving the liquid. Mix together all the ingredients except the dressing. Mix the vinaigrette with the liquid from the tuna and toss into the salad. Sprinkle over lots of freshly ground black pepper before serving.

Pea and Feta Salad

I made this salad to take on our picnic today, and Husband really enjoyed it. I served it with really thick cut Brunswick ham. I found the feta cheese went very well with the ham. I added in the mixed salad leaves from the original recipe, as the dish was lacking in superfree food. 

 

Serves 2

Syn Free on Extra Easy*

* Providing you use the cheese as your Healthy Extra A

Serves 4

300g frozen peas

4 slices bacon, all visible fat removed, grilled and chopped

100g feta cheese, cubed

1 small red onion, finely sliced

80g mixed salad leaves (watercress, spinach and rocket)

Cook the peas in salted water for a few minutes, then drain and rinse under running cold water. Mix all the ingredients together and serve with a dressing of your choice.

Jerk Turkey with Coconut Mango Salad

I cut a couple of chillies from my Bulgarian Carrot plant today to create this dish. For the jerk marinade I left the seeds in and for the salad took them out. On a hotness scale of 1-10, we both agreed the dish scored a 5-6 with an afterburn of up to 8.

Serves 2

Syn Free on Extra Easy

2 turkey steaks

For the marinade:

2 tbsp white balsamic vinegar

1 chilli, chopped

4 spring onions, chopped

a few stems of fresh thyme

1 tsp ground allspice

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp ground nutmeg

1 tsp ground ginger

1 tsp sweetener

For the salad:
2 mangoes, chopped

2 shallots, finely chopped

1 chilli, finely chopped

small handful fresh coriander, chopped

2 tomatoes, de-seeded and chopped

handful of rocket leaves

1 tub Müllerlight coconut and vanilla yogurt

Mix together all the ingredients for the marinade and whizz though food processor, liquidiser or spice grinder until it resembles a smooth paste. Spread on both sides of the turkey steaks and leave in a cool place to marinade for several hours. Grill for 7-10 minutes, or until cooked through, which will depend on the thickness of the steaks.

Mix together all the ingredients for the salad. Divide the salad between two plates and top with the jerk turkey steaks. 

 

Crunchy Sprout Scramble

Just as I was about to serve yesterday's leftover chicken Caesar salad for lunch today, I remembered that I will be using my Healthy Extra A later at dinner! As there was Parmesan cheese in the salad, I decided to quickly make something else while Husband could enjoy the salad.

Rummaging through the fridge, this is what I came up with:

handful cherry tomatoes, halved

handful of sprouting peas, beans and lentils

handful of rocket leaves

2 eggs

In a frying pan, sauté the tomatoes and rocket until just beginning to wilt. Add the sprouts and eggs and stir until the scramble has just set.

It was surprisingly good, very filling, syn free and of course also very healthy and good for you. 

 

Sea Bass with Cherry Tomato Sauce

Nice and simple, ready in less than 20 minutes. 

 

Serves 2

Syn Free on Extra Easy

2 sea bass fillets

2 cloves garlic

200g cherry tomatoes

a few sprigs of basil, leaves removed and shredded

2 tbsp balsamic vinegar

pkt rocket leaves

Fry the fish fillets in Fry Light for a few minutes each side until cooked through. Finely chop the garlic and sauté in Fry Light until starting to colour. Add the tomatoes and vinegar, and cook for a few minutes until the tomatoes are beginning to go soft, but still retain a little shape. Stir in the basil and serve. Divide the rocket leaves between two plates, put the tomatoes on top of the rocket and finally the fish fillets. Serve with lemon to squeeze. 

 

Lime Prawn Stir Fry

Serves 2

Syn Free on Extra Easy

300g cooked king prawns

1 small courgette, sliced

5-6 baby sweetcorn, sliced

1 small carrot, sliced

4-5 asparagus, sliced

1 onion, chopped

pkt rocket, watercress and spinach

1 tbsp soy sauce

juice of 2 limes

1 small chilli, chopped

1 tbsp sweetener

Sauté the onion in Fry Light for a few minutes, then add the carrot, asparagus, babycorn and courgette. Continue stir frying for a few more minutes, then add the soy sauce, lime juice, chilli and sweetener. Stir well, then add the rocket, watercress and spinach. Stir until the salad vegetables are just beginning to wilt. Serve immediately. 

 

Thai Crab Cakes

A nice quick recipe for a light lunch. The cakes were quite crumbly, but very moist and tasty.

Serves 2

Syn Free on Extra Easy

2 tins of crab meat

1-2 tbsp fat free coconut and vanilla yogurt

2 spring onions, chopped

1 small red chilli, chopped

a few mint leaves, chopped

½ tsp fish sauce

salad to serve

Drain the crab meat thoroughly and squeeze out as much of the liquid as possible. Mix with the other ingredients and form into two cakes. Chill in the fridge for an hour before using in order for the cakes to firm up a little before baking. Grill on a high heat for 5-7 minutes until heated through and slightly browned on top. Serve with a salad.